Closed Chelsea 3-0 Schalke

[Blue Traveler 256]

Steady performance by the lads. Hopefully it'll continue.

Willian was fantastic tonight but Eto'o has to be MOTM.

And with Azpi adapting to that left back position he should be on the pitch in every game. Too good to be on the bench.

[Barbara 15,149]

Is it just me or is Mikel starting to have more attacking responsibility this season?

was he who found Schurrle in the box in the first half, from the midfield? Then Schurrle was blocked and Eto'o got the rebound, but Hildebrand defended it. Do you remember that play? If it was Mikel, take bow! that was superb. If it was Ramires, than it's more of the same, hehehehehe

[darrus 422]

WTF all this stuff about Hazard? Looks like the guy got himself into trouble. Just what I needed to spoil a good evening...

[zolayes 14,489]

Why is sir Alex there?

looking for free high class red wine ,, Fucking freeloader Id give him Tesco Plonk

[Weckerz 3,781]

WTF all this stuff about Hazard? Looks like the guy got himself into trouble. Just what I needed to spoil a good evening...

He got punished for being late at the club and missing out on the final preparations. Nothing special.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

was he who found Schurrle in the box in the first half, from the midfield? Then Schurrle was blocked and Eto'o got the rebound, but Hildebrand defended it. Do you remember that play? If it was Mikel, take bow! that was superb. If it was Ramires, than it's more of the same, hehehehehe

Beat you to it

He definitely can. He showed a glimpse with that sublime ball over the top for Schurrle in the first half. But I prefer him in the holding role handling the pressure.

[Sheva. 5,373]

was he who found Schurrle in the box in the first half, from the midfield? Then Schurrle was blocked and Eto'o got the rebound, but Hildebrand defended it. Do you remember that play? If it was Mikel, take bow! that was superb. If it was Ramires, than it's more of the same, hehehehehe

Mikel.

[Kojo 4,676]

Striker problem?

Yeah this one game proves we don't have a striker problem, that one game versus about 8 where they have all failed to score.

[Jase 43,479]

[Milan 17,859]

Brilliant! You claim something at first and a few minutes later, you prove it with a picture, that's how it should be done

[Sheva. 5,373]

Boateng really quiet in both games, surprising since he's been really good since he joined Schalke.

[Hamon 103]

Eto'o, Willian, Cahill, Azpi.

[didierforever 7,349]

brilliant result and brilliant performance. 3 goals and all from our strikers. dint think there would be a match in this season where i would be saying that. with this result and the basel result we just need 3 points in the next 2 games (maybe not even that if bucuresti keeps taking points off other teams) and we will be top.

the perfect performance to answer all the critics about our last match.

here is my player rating

cech- another "cechesque" performance. dealt with all the crosses masterfully. made A good save. 8/10

iva- full of running, full of energy, got himself into a number of good positions in attack only to be let down by the standard of cross. should be doing better in that aspect. 6/10

cahill- wonderful performance. that tackle from the outside of the boot in the box was ORGASMIC. showed why he should be partnering JT and SHOULD BE SELECTED AHEAD OF LUIZ. also GC-JT get another clean sheet to their name. co-incidence???!!! i dont think so. 9/10

JT- solid. specially in the first 5-10 minutes when we seemed to be all over the pitch. made some important interceptions and in general was SOLID. 8/10

azpi - started the game poorly but finished it wonderfully. the number of interceptions he made and the no. of times he got the better of draxler was amazing. 8/10

rambo - its getting so repetitive and boring to say this for all of his performance "NOT LIKE A BOSS, BUT THE BOSS HIMSELF". his run for the 2nd goal where he simply took the CB along with him, showcase the amount of work he does for the team. 9/10

mikel - love him or hate him, he gets the job done. he IS a better DM than SFL specially against big teams where we need that stability in front of the back 4. 7/10

schurrle - has been better than hazard this season and this performance showed exactly why. he is not trying to be a playmaker and he is not trying to do fancy stuff with the ball. whenever he gets the ball, he runs with it towards the LB, makes the apt runs and works awesomely for the team's defence. 7/10

oscar - the perfect link up guy. he is the key to our transition from defence to attack. he is the key to us defending as a unit by marking the opposition midfielders out of the game. good game. 7/10

willian -MOTM. what a buy he has been. BLOODY BALL OF ENERGY!!! him, rambo and oscar just simply dont stop running. amazinf workrate, amazing runs, provides with the width when attacking and the perfect pacy counter option when defending. between him and MATA on the right-wing, WILLIAN SHOULD BE SELECTED. 10/10

etoo- good link up play, good hold up play (suprisingly). the 2nd time he has got the better of a keeper. and the finish to his 2nd goal was top-notch. 8/10

subs:

ba - good goal. i have no doubt that he ll be starting against wba due to the physicality factor. suprisingly dint look rusty to me. 8/10

kdb- decent 15 minutes. does not help him to get in the first team but still hope to see some of his class that people talk about. 7/10

lamps - not much to say. great chip/pass to ba.

my only problem with the match was that bertrand dint get a chance. he was good against cardiff, he was brilliant against arsenal and definitely deserved a chance today. hopefully he starts this weekend.

[Barbara 15,149]

Beat you to it

was still catching up. Had a lot of work to do after the match ended and only now I could come here. But that was a great pass nonetheless and should be mentioned by everyone, not only the two of us

Anyway, my analysis although it may be a bit off because again I was taking notes for a report to be posted immediately after the match. But amazing display by three men in particular for me: Willian (MOTM), Eto'o (5 shots on target, two goals, and impressive work-rate), Azpilicueta (absolutely a beast closing the doors at the left flank, our best player in the position, impeccable work-rate).

Those three definitely were a step above the rest (with Willian a bit above the other two), and I guess we didn't have any bad player in the pitch today.

The first half was a bit frustrating, but after the goal I felt like we were never looking back, and we never did. It was a very uneventful match except for the first 10 minutes - dominated by them, not us.

We scored the goals, most importantly, our strikers continue to carry on their form, which is very important. I don't care if they aren't the best strikers in the world, if Lukaku scores more or if letting Sturridge go was a mistake. It finally feels like we have two (or three) strikers in form, getting into the net and winning us matches with their goals, but also contributing during the match, creating chances, linking up, working hard to press.

Talking about pressing, we were fabulous on that again. The boys finally woke up to realize we need to continue to work hard to accomplish the results and while I'll need to rewatch that first half to diagnose what was the problem with our attack then, I'm happy with the attitude - that changed. I didn't feel like I did in the match against Newcastle in the first half (today and then). I felt today we were facing a much better defense, our players weren't inspired creatively, but I wasn't under the impression they didn't turn up or were doing fancy passes exchanges instead of shooting like on the weekend. If the weekend showed a bit of arrogance and a lot of laziness, today first half seemed to have been problematic because they weren't playing well or getting rid of their markers. I guess there was a bit of pressure from Mourinho, and I suppose they felt it a bit, but I guess at the end of the day they handled everything with class and quality. So crisis averted, media? (also, I had to use a stream bc ESPN has been sucking with Milan x Barça and Arsenal x Dortmund playing at the same time, but those people who commentated for Sky Sports are DISGUSTING! The way the guy reacted to our first goal, and how he kept mentioning it in a derogatory way in the second almost made me punch my laptop).

I think it was positive all things considered, and Eden better be on time the rest of the week. I think being in the stands and getting a bit riled up may be useful for him.

And Rafa Nadal was there, posing with my Samba Boys, so my life is complete

[didierforever 7,349]

nadal and chelsea together...

[CHOULO19 24,332]

my only problem with the match was that bertrand dint get a chance. he was good against cardiff, he was brilliant against arsenal and definitely deserved a chance today. hopefully he starts this weekend.

He picked up a knock in training yesterday. Not sure if he will be fit for the weekend.

[Barbara 15,149]

fandoms colliding

I just posted this in my FB, Twitter and Tumblr. I'll love you forever for this. Expect tons of kittens in retribution

[didierforever 7,349]

He picked up a knock in training yesterday. Not sure if he will be fit for the weekend.

damn shit!!!! these 2 games could have been so important in making him a real contender for cole's spot.