Closed FC Nordsjaelland 0-4 Chelsea

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

20 minutes through the first half... main point for me is how noticable it is without a natural defensive midfielder. Rami and Lampard both arent that defensively gifted hence why we are being out passed in front of our defence. having mikel or romeu there partnering really blocks out those passes/space and is a lot more defensively sound. wouldn;t work against more talented teams, so we got away with it tonight.

I agree that playing without a true DM would be risky against better clubs, but it wasn't remotely the problem tonight. Our (limited) defensive problem was due mostly to us not pressing them when they were in possession. They were then able to bring the ball up unmolested.

The chances we gave up:

1-Shot from about 20 yards out. Cole horrible pass and then Ramires horrible tackle. Shot went sailing over net.

2-Moses was slow on closing his man who was able to get a pass in to someone Cole was marking who made a nice cross to Nordstrand but Cahill got there first

3-A shot hit off Lampard's head and deflected out. Moses was a little late in closing but the shot was about 30 yards out and low and an easy save for Cech.

4-Ramires was badly beaten by his man who took a shot from outside the box that went wide

5-Ivanovic let his man get behind the D (also, poor communication so they didn't know) and he hit a free header over the bar.

6-Ivanovic was out of position and his man got way too central and then Luiz probably should have marked him closer and he took a great shot that hit the bar and then rebound came to one of their players and hit Cole with the shot.

Of those, #2 wasn't even a shot and #3 was an easy save and even #1 would have taken a ridiculous shot to have scored. We're talking about really conceding 3 good chances. Ramires made two awful defensive plays, but they were his usual kind made by chasing the ball instead of playing the man and getting beaten because of it. His positioning was fine, he just made two bad decisions. Ivanovic had bad positioning on two plays. Mikel does allow us to pass the ball up the field better as he drops deeper and then hands it off to a more attacking player, but I think people have got insanely obsessed with the double pivot and look at that area as the cause of all of our problems even when it is fine. Again, this isn't a combination I'd use very often, you need someone who is excellent defensively and very conservative in the DM spot.

[Sheva. 5,373]

We did try to press them, but they almost always passed their way out, it was simply brilliant passing by them.

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

Plenty have now seen what a beast Rambo is in midfield. Just as I predicted.

[Strike 6,981]

Plenty have now seen what a beast Rambo is in midfield. Just as I predicted.

he could be a devastating asset if used properly. nips possession well although his technical skills are a hindrance in the middle of the park (first pass against arsenal - lol) but expect him to improve on that as the season wears on. much better than on the wing anyway

[Strike 6,981]

Anyone have a gif of the Luiz free kick? Haven't seen it.

http://forum.talkchelsea.net/topic/14353-goals-and-highlights-gif/page__st__18#entry514785

[Mustafa 885]

Dissapointed in Torres... this was the ideal game for him to go and get a goal. He's one of those players who likes it when his opponents play a high line so he can make those intelligent runs of his and get a shot on goal... Had a couple chances which he should have finished

[Thor 2,161]

I thought Moses was terrible and for the most part everyone played quite poorly outside of Ramires and Oscar, with Cech doing what he needed to do, and Hazard being quality when he came on. Moses just looked uncomfortable out there, more so than anything else. His first touch nearly every time was appalling, which makes me think it was more to do with nerves.

Mata seems to have been voted man of the match again, but I thought he played quite average. I'll stop complaining about it since I did last game too, and I'll probably be called a Mata hater or something, despite him probably being my favorite player now. Seems as if you put up stats you're automatically given the MOTM on here. I thought Oscar was the one that completely dominated the middle today, and his touch, particularly on the run was sublime.

[klopfzeichen 78]

I thought Oscar was the one that completely dominated the middle today, and his touch, particularly on the run was sublime.

I agree with everything you said but mostly about this. Oscar's vision and quality impresses me everytime. He's going to be a beast in the future.

[Kezza 1,965]

Had a couple chances which he should have finished

Seems to be the most used sentence on here lol

[Jase 43,479]

Thought RDM got away with playing Ramires and Lampard in the double pivot. If any one of them is gonna play there, a proper DM has to be used beside them be it Mikel or Romeu. At times in the game, Ramires and Lampard wandered too high up the pitch and the amount of space that were left behind in between the lines was huge when the ball got turned over. Without Mikel in there, nobody really got hold of that midfield to keep the ball properly and protect the back four and Nordsjaelland found too much space and time on several occasions, which thankfully for us failed to make their chances count but the warning signs are there!

[dejavuetall 1]

Since mikel did nt stat, we knw his worth. Am kinda excited about our attacking third. Hazard,oscar and mata are gonna rape alot of epl team. Quite excited playn city and manure.

[The Rising Sun 696]

http://www.sportyhub..._8831be5ae.html

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Are you trying to promote your website on here?

You have done this in other Matchday threads as well. Nothing wrong in trying to give Chelsea fans links to their club goals, but you need to contribute as a member, as THIS FORUM IS NOT A VESSEL FOR YOUR ECONOMIC GROWTH.

[sodasys 40]

Chelsea third goal last night was made by MAZACAR .1)Oscar pass to Mata. 2)Mata pass to Hazard. 3)Hazard pass to Oscar. 4)Oscar pass to Mata. Mata to Score..

[kellzfresh 7,226]

I thought Moses was terrible and for the most part everyone played quite poorly outside of Ramires and Oscar, with Cech doing what he needed to do, and Hazard being quality when he came on. Moses just looked uncomfortable out there, more so than anything else. His first touch nearly every time was appalling, which makes me think it was more to do with nerves.

Mata seems to have been voted man of the match again, but I thought he played quite average. I'll stop complaining about it since I did last game too, and I'll probably be called a Mata hater or something, despite him probably being my favorite player now. Seems as if you put up stats you're automatically given the MOTM on here. I thought Oscar was the one that completely dominated the middle today, and his touch, particularly on the run was sublime.

I seriously agree with you. Oscar was the one that controlled the game and linked up with the players more.

I know mata scored two goals but oscar could have easily had a goal(if the ref let play go on) and 2 assists(if torres could finish a one on one in his life). And he had serious work rate through out the match, fantastic player.

[ymalleb 14]

yet again, i vote Oscar as the MOTM for the same reason. His stamina, vision & passing is second to none for me, hardly put his foot wrong despite he rather new to UCL football as well. Quite disappointed with Moses, i thought he going to settle very well less that i know the nerves got him first.

Ramires was immense in the midfield, why RDM did not use him at the middle of the park against Atletico still put me into a doubt. Finally Torres could've done better with his finish, overall i give him credit to him for giving a decent performance, not he missed from 3 yards.

[andy1234562 2]

To be honest, I was really impressed by Torres. He was making intelligent runs and showed a great work rate (good tackle for first goal)...a little more luck and Torres could have got a brace/hat-trick.

Lampard looked slick playing higher up; many good passes and intelligent runs.

Mata was superb and the tika-taka passing in the opposition's penalty box (kinda like enemy no#1 Barca) was really smooth and nice.

RDM has really improved our tactics !!11

[themightyblue 443]

Have some people forgotten that we probably could have been comfortable had we taken our chances in the first half. Not saying that we played well, but we were hardly lucky. Let them off quite a bit

[Ollie 4,400]

It wasn't great but we won and Robbie once again learnt a lot about the players. Lampard slows the game down so now after seeing the last 2 games, it's surely confirmed to everyone that Ramires and Mikel are the 2 holding midfielders. 4-0 was extremely harsh, i enjoyed watching them play although we scored some nice goals, they were taking huge risks and that cost them the game. our class shone through in the end but it wasn't great. The Juve/Shakhtar result was a great result though, now it's in our hands to top the group. Juve could struggle getting out of the group now. Long way to go.

On a side note, that Okora at the back for the danes is only 21, he's absolutely fantastic. Gotta pick him up before others do. He'll be at a big club soon, no doubt.

I voted Mata man of the match because he got 2 goals, the first very important and he took them so well. He's back to his best for sure, he looked comfortable on the ball yesterday too and made it look easy. Nobody was phenomenal.