Closed Chelsea 6-1 FC Nordsjaelland

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Bizarre atmosphere at the Bridge last night but a decent performance against a poor team. Ultimately I don't know if we learnt a huge amount about the players, but you have to give Rafa a bit of credit for a couple of things.

Firstly, he tried different things that a few people on here have been asking for. He moved Luiz into midfield which worked well in that match. I don't think he can play that DM role but he might be a half-decent Ramires replacement in some games. He gave Romeu a game which will be important come the time of the African nations, and he also moved Oscar into a deeper midfield role which a lot of people think will be his main position in the future.

Secondly, we saw a continuation of the midfield guys working harder to get back and also put pressure on the opposition defenders in the final third when they lost the ball. It all looked a lot more structured than it has done this season.

Finally, he gave Paulo a run-out. Its a small gesture but it's good that one of the best servants this club has had in the last few years got a game. It might not have been much but it's good to keep all the players involved and we all know that we have a small squad so we need as many bodies as possible.

Beyond that, we didn't learn much. We already knew Torres could score against poor opposition (QPR, Genk, Norwich.....Arsenal), we knew Luiz's laconic style worked well against poor opposition and I think we got a glimpse of what Hazard was like age 12 when he could bamboozle the other kids in the playground at will. Moses continues to impress and the signing of him seems remarkably astute.

But this group was lost with the draw at home to Juventus. He wasn't on the pitch today but a special mention has to go to Mikel who showed in that Juve match not just how important that position is but how unsuited he is to it. You can't fall asleep in that position and you can't give up. He did both in that game and we all know that competitions like this come down to 1 or 2 errors over the course of 6 games.

[Jase 43,479]

But this group was lost with the draw at home to Juventus. He wasn't on the pitch today but a special mention has to go to Mikel who showed in that Juve match not just how important that position is but how unsuited he is to it. You can't fall asleep in that position and you can't give up. He did both in that game and we all know that competitions like this come down to 1 or 2 errors over the course of 6 games.

Of course. People are just going to pick on Mikel and forget that Terry tried to play the offside trap but failed miserably and led to Quagliarella scoring the equalizer for Juventus then.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Of course. People are just going to pick on Mikel and forget that Terry tried to play the offside trap but failed miserably and led to Quagliarella scoring the equalizer for Juventus then.

Do you actually want to break down all the things that went wrong with that goal?

Quagliarella actually makes a run off Terry and into the space next to him that David Luiz should be in. But where's Luiz?? Well he's actually jumped up to cover the Juventus player who has just moved off the front line into the space in front of the defence that should be occupied by.....Mikel.

And where is Mikel? Well he's just been standing around for a few seconds having given the ball away.

So you can blame JT for the poor attempt at the offside trap, or you can maybe blame Luiz for jumping out of defence to create space for Quagliarella (I don't know why you haven't mentioned this) but ultimately the ball was given away by Mikel and he then compounded it by making NO ATTEMPT to win it back or even get into the right position.

I can almost forgive a player for making an honest mistake like Terry or Luiz arguably did, but for just giving up after making one? What's the excuse for that?

[Milan 17,836]

If anything, it is definitely a major boost ahead of the Japan trip. We proved to ourselves we can win a game and in some style. Confidence gained, a lot of goals scored, including Torres. Don't fuck it up against Sunderland and we can fly off to Japan.

I don't give a single damn about people laughing at us. We may be the first CL holders to be knocked out in the group stage but we ARE THE HOLDERS! Arsenal for example can't say that! Fuck'em all!

[underdrog 18]

luiz can be a revelation in that midfield role if encouraged....here is hoping that an academy graduate for cb cover up will be played in europa

[Jase 43,479]

Do you actually want to break down all the things that went wrong with that goal?

Quagliarella actually makes a run off Terry and into the space next to him that David Luiz should be in. But where's Luiz?? Well he's actually jumped up to cover the Juventus player who has just moved off the front line into the space in front of the defence that should be occupied by.....Mikel.

And where is Mikel? Well he's just been standing around for a few seconds having given the ball away.

So you can blame JT for the poor attempt at the offside trap, or you can maybe blame Luiz for jumping out of defence to create space for Quagliarella (I don't know why you haven't mentioned this) but ultimately the ball was given away by Mikel and he then compounded it by making NO ATTEMPT to win it back or even get into the right position.

I can almost forgive a player for making an honest mistake like Terry or Luiz arguably did, but for just giving up after making one? What's the excuse for that?

So, you're blaming Mikel simply because he gave up after losing the ball but forgive Terry or Luiz for making an honest mistake?! Funny. None of the defenders in the back 4 tried to play the offside trap but Terry did. Had he stayed together with Quagliarella, he wouldn't have scored it. For a defender of Terry's experience, you would expect so much better than making a dreadful error like that in a crucial moment of the game. That's just criminal! As for Luiz, yes he may have stepped out of the defence but he was trying to mark Vucinic(IIRC), not covering the space that Mikel left there. And while Mikel did lose the ball, our defence was supposed to be the last line of defence and deal with any threat that the opponent poses but did they deal with it? No and all because Terry tried to play offside trap and not stay with his man.

[underdrog 18]

assuming we lasted upto quarters how much additional money we wont be making ? 5mil at most ?

[underdrog 18]

actually this man-of-match poll is little irritating...it should be on the first page only

[The only place to be 11,313]

So, you're blaming Mikel simply because he gave up after losing the ball but forgive Terry or Luiz for making an honest mistake?! Funny. None of the defenders in the back 4 tried to play the offside trap but Terry did. Had he stayed together with Quagliarella, he wouldn't have scored it. For a defender of Terry's experience, you would expect so much better than making a dreadful error like that in a crucial moment of the game. That's just criminal! As for Luiz, yes he may have stepped out of the defence but he was trying to mark Vucinic(IIRC), not covering the space that Mikel left there. And while Mikel did lose the ball, our defence was supposed to be the last line of defence and deal with any threat that the opponent poses but did they deal with it? No and all because Terry tried to play offside trap and not stay with his man.

You make it sound as if a player 'giving up' after they gave away the ball is in some way acceptable. Sorry, but I disagree.

Mikel can't give the ball away in that position, especially when we're transitioning from defence to attack. The team is in transition and it creates spaces for the opposition if they get possession back. It's why Barcelona place so much emphasis on the first 7 seconds after losing possession - it's a period of vulnerability IF you can get the ball back. So that was his first mistake.

The second one was just standing there for about 5 seconds, not moving into his correct position or even advancing towards the man on the ball and putting him under pressure. That is unforgivable I'm afraid and I honestly don't know how you can defend it.

Luiz's error was to abandon his position, but Mikel should've been on Vucinic as he had been at other points in the match because he was dropping off the front man to occupy that space in front of the defence (Mikel's position). When Luiz left that space, Quagliarella moved into it and maybe JT should've got across quicker but anyone who watches him knows that his game is about reading the game and being in position before the ball is made rather than moving to it after the ball is played. It's what makes him such a fine defender, but it can be exposed like it was here.

But ultimately it comes back to Mikel's sloppiness with the ball and his laziness in reaction to it. YOU CAN'T DO THAT IN TOP-LEVEL SPORT.

[Jase 43,479]

You make it sound as if a player 'giving up' after they gave away the ball is in some way acceptable. Sorry, but I disagree.

Mikel can't give the ball away in that position, especially when we're transitioning from defence to attack. The team is in transition and it creates spaces for the opposition if they get possession back. It's why Barcelona place so much emphasis on the first 7 seconds after losing possession - it's a period of vulnerability IF you can get the ball back. So that was his first mistake.

The second one was just standing there for about 5 seconds, not moving into his correct position or even advancing towards the man on the ball and putting him under pressure. That is unforgivable I'm afraid and I honestly don't know how you can defend it.

Luiz's error was to abandon his position, but Mikel should've been on Vucinic as he had been at other points in the match because he was dropping off the front man to occupy that space in front of the defence (Mikel's position). When Luiz left that space, Quagliarella moved into it and maybe JT should've got across quicker but anyone who watches him knows that his game is about reading the game and being in position before the ball is made rather than moving to it after the ball is played. It's what makes him such a fine defender, but it can be exposed like it was here.

But ultimately it comes back to Mikel's sloppiness with the ball and his laziness in reaction to it. YOU CAN'T DO THAT IN TOP-LEVEL SPORT.

Mikel made a mistake yes but was it all down to just his fault for the goal? No. If you want to look at who's fault for the goal, then it was him, Terry and possibly even Luiz as well but you're totally blaming it all on Mikel for the goal which is just unreasonable. Midfielders like him can make mistakes there and that's why you have the back 4, the last line defence, to prevent such mistakes from costing us a goal. I'm sure if it was someone like Oscar, Hazard or Mata who made that poor pass, nobody would be talking about the mistake like they do now about Mikel. When he plays well, not many people will praise him but the minute he makes one mistake, suddenly the haters are out to get him.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Mikel made a mistake yes but was it all down to just his fault for the goal? No. If you want to look at who's fault for the goal, then it was him, Terry and possibly even Luiz as well but you're totally blaming it all on Mikel for the goal which is just unreasonable. Midfielders like him can make mistakes there and that's why you have the back 4, the last line defence, to prevent such mistakes from costing us a goal. I'm sure if it was someone like Oscar, Hazard or Mata who made that poor pass, nobody would be talking about the mistake like they do now about Mikel. When he plays well, not many people will praise him but the minute he makes one mistake, suddenly the haters are out to get him.

I'll praise him when he plays well. In fact he's been good in games this season, but he doesn't handle pressure well. When we do struggle in games, he's not the guy who puts his hand up and becomes 'the man'. I've been fortunate to see some of the best players in that type of position (Makelele, Deschamps, even Wisey for a time, Spackers ) and I just don't think he's good enough to be that guy for us.

He came to us with attitude problems and yes he was a little bit lazy at first (not uncommon with players who were so much more talented and physically imposing then kids their age) and my view is that under pressure people revert to type.

You can say Luiz and Terry made mistakes, but those mistakes came about because Mikel gave away the ball and didn't do his job by getting back into position.

I simply don't know how you can defend giving up. It's the one thing you don't do in football and I notice that you're doing everything to avoid addressing this point. In fact it does seem as though any time Mikel gets criticised, there are people willing to bellyache about him being victimised (well Mata wouldn't be criticised ).

Like it or not he's in one of the most important positions on the pitch (probably the most important) and whilst I like the guy, I simply don't think he's good enough for a top, top side.

[Milan 17,836]

Couldn't find Luiz's pen and Torres' first.

[termninja 5,290]

Just watched the match cuz I couldn't make it last night.

Nicely done by the lads and good to see the whole team working like a unit and playing their thing for 90mins. Shame we're out, but shit happens. Let's focus now on pushing for the title and having a good run in FA and CCup.

Whole team did well, but Hazard was just brilliant. Hazardous.

Nice to see Torres get a good game and I hope he keeps improving because we need all the help we can get.

Oriol did well as a deep playmaker, his long passing was rather good.

On to the next game....

[Igi26 346]

Cech save

Hazard penalty miss

Luiz penalty

Torres 1st

[Jase 43,479]

I'll praise him when he plays well. In fact he's been good in games this season, but he doesn't handle pressure well. When we do struggle in games, he's not the guy who puts his hand up and becomes 'the man'. I've been fortunate to see some of the best players in that type of position (Makelele, Deschamps, even Wisey for a time, Spackers ) and I just don't think he's good enough to be that guy for us.

All that because of 1 mistake? Can't handle the pressure well? Have you forgotten our Champions League run last season? You don't play in those big games if you can't handle the pressure.

You can say Luiz and Terry made mistakes, but those mistakes came about because Mikel gave away the ball and didn't do his job by getting back into position.

That just summed up my point about people being nitpicking on Mikel. How can one blame Mikel for Luiz stepping out of the defence and/or Terry for trying to play the offside trap when the rest of the back 4 didn't?! Absurd!

I simply don't know how you can defend giving up. It's the one thing you don't do in football and I notice that you're doing everything to avoid addressing this point. In fact it does seem as though any time Mikel gets criticised, there are people willing to bellyache about him being victimised (well Mata wouldn't be criticised ).

What can you do when just after Mikel gave the ball away, Juventus only made 2-3 passes and bam, Quagliarella is in to score?! You're putting the blame on Mikel because of this character of just letting it go after losing the ball but not the criminal mistakes Terry, for his his experience as a CB, made. Comical.

[Jase 43,479]

Have to say, Ivanovic just looked lost at RB last night. Average at defending and doesn't seem to know what to do when he got forward. As for the Nordsjaelland, have no idea why he didn't just step up and play the offside trap when the rest of the back 4 have done so! It was a poor goal to concede and against the better teams in a much more important game, that could have been costly!

[bluephoenix 1,125]

funny how i missed hazzard's miss in the live streaming :-\

[The only place to be 11,313]

All that because of 1 mistake? Can't handle the pressure well? Have you forgotten our Champions League run last season? You don't play in those big games if you can't handle the pressure.

That just summed up my point about people being nitpicking on Mikel. How can one blame Mikel for Luiz stepping out of the defence and/or Terry for trying to play the offside trap when the rest of the back 4 didn't?! Absurd!

What can you do when just after Mikel gave the ball away, Juventus only made 2-3 passes and bam, Quagliarella is in to score?! You're putting the blame on Mikel because of this character of just letting it go after losing the ball but not the criminal mistakes Terry, for his his experience as a CB, made. Comical.

But it's not just one mistake. Look at Liverpool last year when he was caught in possession. Or against Arsenal last season. He almost had another against Spurs this season but he managed to get out of it with some nice touches. But the simple fact is that he shouldn't have held on to the ball long enough to get caught in the first place.

He had some great moments last season in the CL run, but he benefitted from the whole team playing a lot deeper and more defensively in the Barca and Bayern games. What I'm talking about is games where he's left to hold that position on his own.

I also think Chelsea fans are pretty fair about their own team and the fact that this issue keeps coming up suggests there may be more substance to it than you are prepared to acknowledge. Mikel's mistake against Juventus was of his own making. Him giving up is unforgiveable in any sport as anyone who has watched or played sport will know. It's the one thing you don't do and it's the one thing that will upset the paying supporters.

I think he's good enough to be a squad player, where he's not put in a position that requires so much of him or where he's simply played against the weaker teams. I'm not by any means hating on him and saying we should sell him.

But I simply don't think he has what it takes to be that guy for us and I honestly don't know any other top team who would play him in their teams in such an important position. You want to absolve him of any other responsibility or blame others, but I have to give the guy a huge amount of credit for actually taking ownership of that mistake against Juve and apologising for it after the game. He clearly holds himself to a higher standard that you're prepared to hold him which reflects well on him at least.