Closed FC Nordsjaelland 0-4 Chelsea

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

You fail to mention what Rambo lacks in passing penetration, he practically makes up for with his Yaya Toure-esque runs and surges through the middle. Very nimble yet deceptively strong. Much better than Lampard in that role, as RDM is now figuring that out.

That's an absurd comparison. Ya Ya Toure is a beast. He is also an excellent passer and a very smart offensive player. Ramires is not. (Ya Ya Toure created a chance once every 49 minutes last season. Ramires created one once every 124 minutes which is one of the worst rates among box to box midfielders in the Premier league.) He is also a terrible crosser. Ramires is excellent for a counter-attack system because his speed is incredible, but he is not a good player with the ball at his feet. Ramires has specific strengths. He's an aggressive tackler with a high success rate, he is a great dribbler, he can slot in at a number of positions, he's incredibly fast, and he has wonderful stamina but he also has severe drawbacks as a player . This is a good statistical analysis of last season. http://www.eplindex.com/14737/premier-league-team-year-1112-opta-stats-part-2-midfield.html

[Las7 951]

Problem with Lampard is the position he is being played, but obviously with Oscar Mata and Hazard there is no way Lampard can start in his most effective position(even at this age he would still be a starting attacking midfielder in most clubs in the EPL); but after being moved in a more central position he is asked and expected to do a lot more covering and defensive work which he has never really excelled in. I still think he is on the needed level for this position when we have someone faster than Mikel next to him to do most of the running in the midfield when teams attack us on the break.

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

That's an absurd comparison.

No, its not. I compared their ability to break through the middle with powerful runs. Not their technical abilities...

[NishC300 1,865]

Well I just joined the topic. A good, generally solid performance. Biggest issue for me was how our defensive line got exposed when Okore delivered that cross which Beckmann headed away. Not going to say Chelsea were lucky because our rivals UTD feed off solely luck and refs. Good going forward. Moses wasn't too bad but he simply didn't play to the standards our current Chelsea attack is playing. Lamps is gr8. He just needs to sit deeper. He can defend just need to sort out his positioning. A guy of his vision is needed at the midfield or else Oscar can play at Lamps' position. Oscar can defend so don't see why he shouldn't play there. If Oscar plays there it allows us to play someone like Marin or Moses alongside Hazard, Mata. While Oscar can be behind them. Torres though still isn't showing ferocious goal scoring ability as he was very wasteful in front of goal and he is certainly not even living up to anywhere close to the 50m. Your opinion will be appreciated :blue scalf: :blue scalf: :blue scalf: :blue scalf: :blue scalf: #KTBFFH!

[Thor 2,711]

I watched the match and broke down every one of the opposition attacks. None of them were the fault of Lampard playing too far upfield and there is no way in hell he should be playing in Mikel's spot. Of the two midfielders, Ramires is the more defensive in the pivot and rightly played a deeper role (And HE, not Lampard, made two awful defensive mistakes which led to chances). As far as us benefiting more from Ramires attacks, I am very dubious about that. Ramires is definitely better defensively than Lampard but he is vastly inferior offensively.He is a much poorer passer, has worse vision, doesn't create opportunities, and is a worse finisher. It's not even remotely close. (And the statistics bear this out. Lampard was one of the most creative midfielders in the premier league last season and Ramires was one of the least). He does create space, but only if we have natural width and in this current set-up, Ramires' counter-attack offensive game is mostly wasted. RDM has been using Ramires in the centre to provide defensive solidity and speed in the middle of the park and it's worked. Ramires is not in there for his offensive game which is very limited.

We have great passers in the team. You have Mata, Hazard, Oscar, Torres, etc. How many more great passers do you need?

Rambo's offense, which is surging runs and picking the pockets of opposing players and then striding forward is far more valuable than anything Lampard can provide, since we have players that can do everything he does already. Yes, Ramires is a terrible passer, there were several times yesterday where he could have played a through ball right on goal, but at least hes in position to create something. He covers ground far quicker than Lampard, and he provides the opportunity for instant offense.

[Jase 43,479]

Have to say the referee - Marijo Strahonja - was absolutely terrible in the second half yesterday. Almost every challenges we made on the Nordsjaelland's players, he immediately blew his whistle for a foul. Must have received phone calls from Platini at HT. Some of the decisions were just shocking and they hardly looked like a foul. Take the Mata's first goal and the Moses that was ruled out for instance. Torres brushed off that player and got the ball in the buildup for Mata's goal. Strahonja didn't see it as a foul. And then for the Moses one, he went toe-to-toe with Okore(IIRC) and then he suddenly fell onto the ground when Moses barely even touched him and the referee deemed that as a foul and his goal was ruled out. Utterly pathetic!!

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

We have great passers in the team. You have Mata, Hazard, Oscar, Torres, etc. How many more great passers do you need?

Rambo's offense, which is surging runs and picking the pockets of opposing players and then striding forward is far more valuable than anything Lampard can provide, since we have players that can do everything he does already. Yes, Ramires is a terrible passer, there were several times yesterday where he could have played a through ball right on goal, but at least hes in position to create something. He covers ground far quicker than Lampard, and he provides the opportunity for instant offense.

You need a great passer from central midfield for the 4-2-3-1. It's essential to the set-up. Chelsea are either going to move Oscar back to that position or are going to have to buy someone who fits that role long-term. Having a poor passer in that spot breaks up the offense as you can't link play between the defenders and the attacks properly.

@Bluesmaster-thought the ref had a poor game throughout. Not biased in any way, just way too quick with his whistle. The game was pretty clean. If I think about the game, I think there were maybe 5-7 fouls by either team and then you look at the stats and see 27 total fouls which is just ridiculous.I think sometimes refs feel like they need to make a mark on the game when really, they're at their best when you don't even notice them.

[Jase 43,479]

@Bluesmaster-thought the ref had a poor game throughout. Not biased in any way, just way too quick with his whistle. The game was pretty clean. If I think about the game, I think there were maybe 5-7 fouls by either team and then you look at the stats and see 27 total fouls which is just ridiculous.I think sometimes refs feel like they need to make a mark on the game when really, they're at their best when you don't even notice them.

I thought he did alright in the first half. Nothing really went wrong. It's only in the second half where he began to act like a pussy. Never really play advantage and there was even an incident where he blew the whistle because one of the Nordsjaelland player's boot came off and we were in possession then!

[Krypt 241]

After last night i get the feeling Torres can't score routine goals...

The goal against Newcastle and Arse were both great , but when he seems to be through on goal 1 on 1 he seems to fluff it , maybe a composure issue ?

but anyway its about the team and it seems like the team didn’t think they needed a second goal until the 80th Minute. We rode our luck a lot but pleased with the result and the 3 points that matters.

[Jase 43,479]

Slightly off topic this...

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/8136042/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Nordsjaelland defender Jores Okore admits Chelsea are his favourite club and he has always dreamed of playing for the Stamford Bridge outfit.

Chelsea won 4-0 win against Danish champions Nordsjaelland in the UEFA Champions League in Copenhagen.

The Danish side did hold their own for the first 75 minutes and especially young international defender Okore showed why he is so highly rated.

And if all goes to plan, Okore, who did a great job minimising the threat of Fernando Torres, will feature again when Chelsea host Nordsjaelland in their return group game.

"I was not fazed by their stature. When the game is on, I only see humans like you and me," Okore told Sky Sports.

"Of course they are a great team, which they showed, but I was just focusing on my assignments and, to be fair, I think I did pretty well.

"Hopefully I proved I have what it takes to play in a competition like the Premier League, which is one of the best leagues in the world. So hopefully I can play in England someday.

"Chelsea are my favourite team and I would love to play for them in the future. Every player dreams of playing for Chelsea and I am no exception."

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

Have to say the referee - Marijo Strahonja - was absolutely terrible in the second half yesterday. Almost every challenges we made on the Nordsjaelland's players, he immediately blew his whistle for a foul. Must have received phone calls from Platini at HT. Some of the decisions were just shocking and they hardly looked like a foul. Take the Mata's first goal and the Moses that was ruled out for instance. Torres brushed off that player and got the ball in the buildup for Mata's goal. Strahonja didn't see it as a foul. And then for the Moses one, he went toe-to-toe with Okore(IIRC) and then he suddenly fell onto the ground when Moses barely even touched him and the referee deemed that as a foul and his goal was ruled out. Utterly pathetic!!

No, he's just inexperienced at the highest level. Croatian league is shit, you cannot just walk into CL and feel comfortable coming from that league. I feel sorry for him, but there is enough time to learn. Thank God it didn't affect the result and our win.

[Kieran. 6,317]

Slightly off topic this...

I was impressed with him, but I'll have to watch him a few more times.

[Jase 43,479]

No, he's just inexperienced at the highest level. Croatian league is shit, you cannot just walk into CL and feel comfortable coming from that league. I feel sorry for him, but there is enough time to learn. Thank God it didn't affect the result and our win.

That is probably a factor but it's not rocket science to know you have to be consistent and not being so fussy with the decisions.

[Igi26 346]

That is probably a factor but it's not rocket science to know you have to be consistent and not being so fussy with the decisions.

Damir Skomina is from Slovenia (our league is even worse than Croatian) and is regarded as best referee in Europe. He and Cuneyt Cakır are favorites for CL Final this year.

[manpe 10,861]

Damir Skomina is from Slovenia (our league is even worse than Croatian) and is regarded as best referee in Europe. He and Cuneyt Cakır are favorites for CL Final this year.

I thought Pedro Proenca was regarded as the best

[DDA 9,941]

Not a fantastic performance but to come away with a 4-0 victory at the end of the night... I feel more than satisfied. I have to salute RDM for his team selections this week against both Arsenal and Nordsjaelland. Gutsy, brave and wise tactical decisions have paid off and isn't very refreshing not to have read any ridiculous stories being made up in the papers about our dressing room being at war or Lampard and Terry's disappointment at not being selected for first team action. The respect our players have for RDM is quite evident to the untrained eye and I pray to the Gods in Blue that we can carry on with this current winning form.

[Hallihallo 2]

I think Lampard had a very good game! Loved his assist to Mata.

Beside that - I think it´s sad that every time Torres has to much time to think before finishing, he almost always misses. Other than that I think he played very well, and you really can´t complain to much when you think about his involvement in three of the goals.

About the match in general: I thought that Nordsjælland did well to keep possession - especially in the first half, but it was probably because we gave them too much space and schould´ve pressed the man on the ball much harder. They did´nt create any chances other than the one Petr Cech saved in the 73th minute.

0-4 wasn´t a deserved result, but a win was by no discussion very deserved.

[Dargo 6]

After last night i get the feeling Torres can't score routine goals...

The goal against Newcastle and Arse were both great , but when he seems to be through on goal 1 on 1 he seems to fluff it , maybe a composure issue ?

but anyway its about the team and it seems like the team didn’t think they needed a second goal until the 80th Minute. We rode our luck a lot but pleased with the result and the 3 points that matters.

I think he takes more touches than he needs to, you see the 2 against Newcastle and Arsenal were pretty much 1 touch goals, but against Nords he took way too many touches when through on goal this allowed their defence to close him down, he just needs to power the gun and shoot sometimes.