Willian

[Shakez 755]

Willian played like typical Willian yesterday. Worked his socks off offensively and defensively and that is something he can't really be faulted for. BUT his passing and contribution in the final third were underwhelming, something that he definitely can be faulted for. He seriously needs to improve on that because if he doesn't, then I'm not really sure how long can we persist with him being in the starting XI.

It's not that we have better options at our disposal. His contribution in the final third is inconsistent and i would like it more that he had performances like against Villa and Schalke, but on the other hand the team is playing really well and we are pretty fine attacking wise anyway (ignoring the blip that was Sunderland). Our run of marathon games is still going on and it's good we have him here seemingly never getting tired. Tiredness i do notice in players like Oscar, Hazard and Fabregas. Schürrle will mostly likely be rotated in against Newcastle, and having an engine player like Willian in the squad will allow us to rest Oscar/Hazard.

For me he definitely improved from last season with his runs and getting into goalscoring positions.

[Stats 7,056]

I thought he was superb yesterday and I voted him MOTM. His defensive work and his sharpness is setting up counters was superb. Yes, we all want him to score more but if we have other players in the team scoring, that is fine by me. His pace, dribbling and stamina is amazing sometimes. I really think he is underrated and people just need to look at what else he does on the field. Hazard for instance, our best player is asked to do his defensive duties under Mourinho but he can not to it as well. Willian on the other hand can defend and counter excellently. When Drogba was played in some point in the second half yesterday, Willian ran all the way back from defence and set that counter up. It is a shame Drogba did not score that because then I reckon people would have given Willian more credit.

While you can't take anything he says at 100% face value I am sure when Mourinho was asked about Reus, there was a reason he said he did not want him. Yes, he is better than Willian but Willian is playing very well and Mourinho sees no need to drop him out the team right now. Neither do I tbh.

[Styles 9,790]

He would have had 2 goals yesterday if he just smashed the ball instead of trying to place it. Such a great team player though, love this guy's energy and effort.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

People really like to always have something to moan about, don't they?

He's been playing fine. Much better than fine in fact in recent weeks. Yes, he has his limitations and flaws, but we all know exactly what they are and I think he more than makes up for them and he clearly deserves to be in the starting XI in my mind.

So all this talk about Reus and other players coming in during Jan is just rubbish, imo. There is absolutely no need to spend big money and disrupt the chemistry of the team. Willian is more than good enough for the team right now.

[dUMB 189]

False.

You have the right to share your opinion and I have the right to not agree with you.

[zolayes 14,489]

so pleased to see willian is getting more appreciation. both him and oscar are great at recovering lost possession

[termninja 5,290]

I couldn't believe at how much he ran last night. Even in the last 10 minutes he was sprinting like it was the counter attack to win us the Champions League. In those terms he was just brilliant.

Still playing the position he is, he needs to give more end product and I'm fairly sure we can all agree on that. It's not a case of adjusting to the league, or having a bad run, he's past that, but simply a case of not having end product.

We simply get much more from a few goals and assists rather then having him running his socks off. Even Ramires produces more sometimes and still runs the same.

I still believe he can be our future on the right wing, but needs to step it up.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Willian's problem is not just lack of goals, but that he makes the wrong decisions too often. It will be understandable if he were 21 or 22 but he's 26 now.

He's also very predictable in the final 3rd. His skill set is very basic, any decent defender who has watched tapes of him can easily mark him out of a game. Great technique, speed, long passing range and work ethic but he lacks too many vital things to be a great player. He's a useful player to have in the squad due to his work ethic, every Chelsea fan knows, appreciates and sees this, but there are players who can improve us out there in the summer; Ditto going from Ramires to Fab and Mikel to Matic.

[The Chels 2,502]

He had a good game - easy match actually - and I didn't think he was good enough.

Don't mean he cannot/shouldn't play for us, but reckon we need better from a starter.

What he does right now, including the much appreciated hard work, Oscar does better. Plus oscar is better at link up play. So. That right wing position is pretty much available. Esp considering salah hasn't really delivered thus far.

Oscar is a lot more sloppy in possession than Willian. He gives the ball away far too much by failing to execute basic passes.

Willian's problem is not just lack of goals, but that he makes the wrong decisions too often. It will be understandable if he were 21 or 22 but he's 26 now. He's also very predictable in the final 3rd. His skill set is very basic, any decent defender who has watched tapes of him can easily mark him out of a game. Great technique, speed, long passing range and work ethic but he lacks too many vital things to be a great player. He's a useful player to have in the squad due to his work ethic, every Chelsea fan knows, appreciates and sees this, but there are players who can improve us out there in the summer; Ditto going from Ramires to Fab and Mikel to Matic.

There is that move he does pretty much every time he is 1v1 with a defender - move the ball a yard to his right and cross it in low at the near post. I think defenders are mostly aware of this as they're not often fooled, but it's surprising that we hardly ever capitalise on it. When Willian is in a crossing position I'm always screaming for anyone, someone to make a run to the near post because if the defender doesn't block it, that's where Willian always puts it.

[robsblubot 3,504]

Oscar is a lot more sloppy in possession than Willian. He gives the ball away far too much by failing to execute basic passes.

right, because he is the one who is trying to find the attackers with a through ball and they are difficult to pull off.

Mikel never loses possession because he never attempts through balls. Willian has been pretty bad on assists in the past few games - his job is certainly not keeping possession.

[The Chels 2,502]

right, because he is the one who is trying to find the attackers with a through ball and they are difficult to pull off.

Mikel never loses possession because he never attempts through balls. Willian has been pretty bad on assists in the past few games - his job is certainly not keeping possession.

No Oscar mostly gives the ball away by misplacing basic passes. When he gives it away trying a difficult through ball it's more understandable.

[Barbara 15,149]

Willian played like typical Willian yesterday. Worked his socks off offensively and defensively and that is something he can't really be faulted for. BUT his passing and contribution in the final third were underwhelming, something that he definitely can be faulted for. He seriously needs to improve on that because if he doesn't, then I'm not really sure how long can we persist with him being in the starting XI.

The thing is with Rami battered - don't let me start about him in the RW, but José likes - Schurrle having WC hangover and Salah somewhere over the rainbow, Willian can afford those matches. And as he works so hard, he's cementing his place on Mourinho's likeness. He's another Azpilicueta in the making. Don't get me wrong, I love Azpili (Willian too - I love everyone really ), but he - as well as Willian - are so frustrating attacking. They offer real to nothing when it comes to real goal threat. So one goal here, an assist there, but as they work very work - in the pitch and training - Mourinho won't drop them, but willian needs competition in the position. We don't have the attack fire power we showed early in the season.

[Rom2013 446]

No Oscar mostly gives the ball away by misplacing basic passes. When he gives it away trying a difficult through ball it's more understandable.

Oscar gave the ball away more often in basic moments than Willian... but Oscar did an easy assist with all the Tottenham team unbalancedd and because of that he played really well in the opinion of many people here... all the hard work was done by Hazard in reality in that goal.

Willian created a lot more than Oscar, and played well unfortunately he didn't score but he will do it a lot this season.

Willian can do everything, others can't say the same.

[Barbara 15,149]

Seriously, was I the only one seeing Willian misplacing a few (at least three) easiest ever passes? Oscar does it too, but Willian misplaces easy passes sometimes and most of the time he destroys the counter he set up by himself. He runs, dribbles, leave some opponents behind him, then he doesn't know what to do. As a consequence, normally he loses the ball, kills the counter advantage or has a bad shot.

Those are his weaknesses, I don't think it's a crime to point them out. I'm not advocating we should sign someone else or drop him, but he definitely needs competition for the position so he feels like he really needs to start offering something else. As others said, Oscar can offer what he does defensively and Cesc has been quite brilliant in that aspect lately. What we need is someone to make us more objective and deadly in front of the goal as, except for our strikers (thank God for them), no one has been really that accurate finishing for us.

[BleedsBlue 1,549]

He's like a duracell bunny always running around. incredible work rate and commitment.

[Rom2013 446]

Seriously, was I the only one seeing Willian misplacing a few (at least three) easiest ever passes? Oscar does it too, but Willian misplaces easy passes sometimes and most of the time he destroys the counter he set up by himself. He runs, dribbles, leave some opponents behind him, then he doesn't know what to do. As a consequence, normally he loses the ball, kills the counter advantage or has a bad shot.

Those are his weaknesses, I don't think it's a crime to point them out. I'm not advocating we should sign someone else or drop him, but he definitely needs competition for the position so he feels like he really needs to start offering something else. As others said, Oscar can offer what he does defensively and Cesc has been quite brilliant in that aspect lately. What we need is someone to make us more objective and deadly in front of the goal as, except for our strikers (thank God for them), no one has been really that accurate finishing for us.

Anyway... between the 3 AM's in the starting eleven (Willian, Hazard and Oscar)... Oscar was the worst last season and in reality is the only one that don't have a natural replacement. Hazard,Willian, Schurrle and Salah are wingers and Cesc is a CM.

[The Chels 2,502]

Anyway... between the 3 AM's in the starting eleven (Willian, Hazard and Oscar)... Oscar was the worst last season and in reality is the only one that don't have a natural replacement. Hazard,Willian, Schurrle and Salah are wingers and Cesc is a CM.

Oscar and Willian both have their strengths and weaknesses but the problem is that their strengths and weaknesses are pretty much the same. Willian has pace over Oscar but there isn't much difference between them overall. And sadly for us, both of them have the weakness of being very poor creatively for the position they play in. We've been playing surprisingly well with both of them in the team so far this season but I fear we will see more Sunderland-like performances with the two of them playing against parked buses.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Seriously, was I the only one seeing Willian misplacing a few (at least three) easiest ever passes? Oscar does it too, but Willian misplaces easy passes sometimes and most of the time he destroys the counter he set up by himself. He runs, dribbles, leave some opponents behind him, then he doesn't know what to do. As a consequence, normally he loses the ball, kills the counter advantage or has a bad shot.

Not only you, Barbara and not only this game but every other game. But he works hard off the ball, keeps the passing game flowing and we're amazing this season so his many deficiencies aren't limiting us a great deal, unlike last season. The fact is I can count on one hand the amount of great games he's had all season. Schalke, Maribor and Aston Villa and that's it. Sunderland away was him being the best of a very bad bunch + he'd played less minutes this season than many of his colleagues and was unsurprisingly fresher for that game.