Closed Chelsea 3-2 Shakhtar Donetsk

[robdog 2,084]

I can't even fathom what you people must have thought when attended that match. It must been bad ass. The match is soo freakin' bad ass, I am watching it again & laughing at the commentators urging people to let their kids stay up to watch this feast of awesome footie

[Hutcho 8,443]

I can't even fathom what you people must have thought when attended that match. It must been bad ass. The match is soo freakin' bad ass, I am watching it again & laughing at the commentators urging people to let their kids stay up to watch this feast of awesome footie

We were all thinking just hold on because there is no added time clock, so we are all guessing what 3 mins is lol. And then we couldn't get the ball back and they kept winning free kicks. I was like, don't you dare blow the whistle ref.

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

I agree that Hazard isn't great at tracking back but saying he didn't help at all is just wrong.

There were multiple times where Hazard made 40-50 yard sprints to track back Srna.

He tried to do the best he could.

Srna was playing more like a right winger then a rightback.

Bertrand deserves some slack. He had a bad game but wasn't helped by Srna constantly bombing forward and shaktar playing some great possesion football. He's still young no reason to give up on him.

1 thing i would like to know is why RDM didn't intervene (tactically). I mean from the beginning it was clear that they were exploiting Srna's offensive skills.

Personally i would have told Luiz to take over Bertrands man (the right winger) , have Bertrand take care off Srna and tell Hazard to stay higher up the pitch. Creating a 1 on 1 marking for our defenders. Before you say that that would have been too risky, think about it. This was already happening only now Hazard had to constantly chase Srna losing a lot energy, Bertrand constantly had to move over to Srna giving him space and time on the ball while Bertrand was repositioning himself.

Also something i've noticed : We really don't deal well with crosses. Is it just me or is there always an unmarked player in the area between the penaltyspot and our 16 yard line ?

[dumps 284]

I agree that Hazard isn't great at tracking back but saying he didn't help at all is just wrong.

There were multiple times where Hazard made 40-50 yard sprints to track back Srna.

He tried to do the best he could.

Srna was playing more like a right winger then a rightback.

Bertrand deserves some slack. He had a bad game but wasn't helped by Srna constantly bombing forward and shaktar playing some great possesion football. He's still young no reason to give up on him.

1 thing i would like to know is why RDM didn't intervene (tactically). I mean from the beginning it was clear that they were exploiting Srna's offensive skills.

Personally i would have told Luiz to take over Bertrands man (the right winger) , have Bertrand take care off Srna and tell Hazard to stay higher up the pitch. Creating a 1 on 1 marking for our defenders. Before you say that that would have been too risky, think about it. This was already happening only now Hazard had to constantly chase Srna losing a lot energy, Bertrand constantly had to move over to Srna giving him space and time on the ball while Bertrand was repositioning himself.

Also something i've noticed : We really don't deal well with crosses. Is it just me or is there always an unmarked player in the area between the penaltyspot and our 16 yard line ?

In reference to the last part of your post: ivanovic At cb really helps defend against those. Hes got great awareness in those situations. Cahills not too bad, always puts his life at risk to block it. David has no idea though.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Too bad Srna is not LB...it would be great to have such experienced and versatile, yet still very pacey player there. Willian is better and better, but another Cam is not needed. While Fernandinho was superb all game and would be great addition to our midfield.

[CFCRazor 49]

R Name P Tackle Intc C EC SB OW F Rt Key Events

2 Branislav Ivanovic DR 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 6.43 3 Gary Cahill DC 0 1 10 6 0 0 1 6.54 4 David Luiz DC 2 5 5 3 0 1 2 7.12 5 Ryan Bertrand DL 3 1 4 2 1 0 0 6.94

David Luiz, not bad for someone who is "constantly under-performing and should be benched"http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/667816/LiveStatistics/Europe-UEFA-Champions-League-2012-2013-Chelsea-Shakhtar-Donetsk

[Rmpr 8,977]

IMO:

1. Bertrand isnt ready. Stop with the overreaction though, no need for a new LB or to loan him out.

2. Cahill + JT. For all they bring: positioning, leadership, identiny, team play, comunication, etc.

3. Luiz had an average game. He was far from his worst performance but far from a great one.

4. Ramires has to be Fernandinho (Toronto is going to love this).

5. Hazard, Mata and Torres defensive has to improve, specially against quick and dangerous opositions.

6. Oscar makes me gay.

7. Torres had a good first half, then crumbled down on the second half. NEW STRIKER PLEASE!

8. Again, RDM needs to read the game quicker, a lot quicker.

9. I want Moses but cant see us droping MAZACAR...

10. Stamford Bridge was so dead, really painful and shameful.

11. Shakthar is a very good team, will make the quarter finals.

[Sheva. 5,373]

David Luiz, not bad for someone who is "constantly under-performing and should be benched"http://www.whoscored...hakhtar-Donetsk

Fuck stats, we can all see the silly mistakes he keeps making on the pitch.

[TheCount 146]

just lol

And if they'd of played a few long balls and some wide play instead of all those 955 passes they might of won instead of wasting everyone's time

[Strike 7,271]

good going forward but exposed at the back.

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

Sooo I just watched the first half again, and boy do you notice things so much better than watching it live while you're shitting your pants. Every little mistake you scream at when you're tense.

Chelsea had a good first half. Bertrand was not nearly as bad as the live game thread made him out to be, but still quite average. Luiz was very good in the first half, one or two slightly risky plays, but overall he was excellent in the first half. Haven't seen the second yet.

Oscar, Mata and Hazard were also great. Especially Hazard, Shakthar were targetting the Chelsea left flank and Hazard put in a great shift defensively while also providing support offensively.

Torres had a decent first half, better than his recent performances but still distinctly average. Ivanovic was wasteful at times, looked like RDM instructed him to play it early or maybe he was seeing something that no one else was.

I wouldn't say we were exposed at the back either. Give Shakthar some credit, excellent team that knows how to play football. Efficient and effective football. Teams should strive to play like them instead of Barca, who are effective but not efficient. Shakthar has it all, a revelation this year.

Ref was good, let the game flow but Fernandino should have def had a yellow card that first half. He gave away like 5 fouls in the half alone and at least 2 were late and should have been yellows. Ramires prolly deserved a yellow too. Fernandinho is class though, he'd be amazing for our double pivot. Luiz Adriano is a clever striker, he has that sneaky ability to draw a lot of fouls, I'd call em dives but for some reason the ref buys it. He did this in the reverse fixture as well and it really pissed me off.

Also that Oscar goal was orgasmic and the 5 minutes succeeding the goal were probably the best football we've played this season. Still have to realize that we're still adapting and to think how far we've come in such a short time is unbelievable. A lot of us don't seem to take this into account and are raising expectations a little too fast (admittedly, hard not to).

Will watch the second half now.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

IMO:

4. Ramires has to be Fernandinho (Toronto is going to love this).

6. Oscar makes me gay.

Ramires drove me crazy today. He keeps trying to steal the ball off the attacker. His being aggressive is sometimes great, but he also lets players get by him today. Our central midfield should have done better on both the goals against us. Yes, Bertrand was exposed, but we let their attackers go unmarked in the area.

Liking Oscar might make you a pedophile. He really looks like a kid.

[samzilla 517]

On Mata's last corner just before time, my friend told me not to look away from the monitor and focus all my energy on Chelsea. All I could think of was the Champions League final, 88th minute, Mata linking up with Drogba. As Mata took the corner, in my head I could hear "Drogbaaaaaaa!". It's clear Moses heard it too.

[Stats 7,060]

Important victory! Yes, Hazard could have helped out Bertrand a bit more but I think going forward he was our most consistent threat. Tbh I was confused with RDM. He made a good choice in bringing on Moses to change the game but why he brought on Sturridge for the last 2 mins completely baffled me. Couldnt he see that Torres was not making an impact ? It would have been much wiser to bring Sturridge on earlier because apart from Torres goals and 1 decent run I thought he was awful.

On the other hand picked up a soft spotfor Shakhtar, thought they were really unlucky last night and on the balance of play, would say they just about deserved it. I hope they go through along with us, due to their efforts in the Champions League this season. I wonder how things would be with Willian here.... looks a terrific player. Also judging by the game last night, if we are still out on the look for another DLP I would consider Fernandinho, what a quality player, dominated both games against us and his dribbling and passing is class, same type of mould as Dembele.

[Rmpr 8,977]

Ramires drove me crazy today. He keeps trying to steal the ball off the attacker. His being aggressive is sometimes great, but he also lets players get by him today. Our central midfield should have done better on both the goals against us. Yes, Bertrand was exposed, but we let their attackers go unmarked in the area.

Liking Oscar might make you a pedophile. He really looks like a kid.

You know I like Ramires, but he drove me ceazy too.

Mate, I'm 18. I should be the victim...

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

Mate, I'm 18. I should be the victim...

Well, if you have to be the victim, I probably wouldn't chose Oscar...maybe more along these lines-http://forum.talkchelsea.net/topic/12849-sexiest-women-thread-v2/page__fromsearch__1

[Thor 2,453]

What do people want from Torres? To walk on water and levitate the ball into the net when he pleases?

He scored a goal, had beautiful link up play, and created a few chances for himself.

Yeah, hes not the best striker in the world, not close, but today he played just fine. In fact better than fine. This is coming from someone who's given up on him ever returning to spectacular form.

[Rmpr 8,977]

Well, if you have to be the victim, I probably wouldn't chose Oscar...maybe more along these lines-http://forum.talkchelsea.net/topic/12849-sexiest-women-thread-v2/page__fromsearch__1

LMAO.

Well, it would definetly want to be a victim of one of these godness.

They dont bring me football orgasms like Oscar does though.

EDIT: Alright, this is getting really gay now, I better stop.