Closed Chelsea 1-1 Schalke

[TacticalBlues 2,817]

Just got back from the game. Frustrated we didn't win it given we had more than enough chances to do so, but a draw's not a bad result all things considered.
Was really impressed with Luis, Hazard was also great. Have to say Draxler was superb too, had to applaud him as he came off
On another note, first time seeing the the new lights, they look amazing:

[quickpassnmove 924]

It was frustrating.

[thekid9 418]

Jose got it wrong...End of.

[Wizacar 93]

Our defence looks very shaky and Courtois cannot buy a clean sheet to save his life. Dont expect him to shut out city next week. It seems Matic is missing Luiz next to him. May be we need a certain JOHN OBI MIKEL to help matic out and also cover for ivanovic when he bombs foward.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

I really don't understand the thinking that since Cesc wasn't the only player that did something wrong, there isn't then a legitimate claim to criticize him. How does that work exactly? Do we now have to wait for the other 10 players to put in top performances before we can then feel justified in shinning the lens on Cesc? What I'm seeing are people being unnecessarily hypersensitive for reasons I really don't know why.

For me personally, I certainly wasn't expecting him to be a defensive behemoth (I don't think anyone was) but I was expecting him to be a lot more controlled in midfield and a lot more assured in possession when under pressure. That wasn't the first time he was easily dispossessed in our own half and I don't trust him to retain possession when he's being pressed. The through balls and 6 assists are nice, but I just think that he'll go through a period where the assists will dry out and I hope he'll be able to show something more.

When we conceded the goal, he wasn't dispossessed in our half. It was close to the attacking third. If you're criticizing him for being fouled and pushed off the ball in the attacking third, then it's pretty strange, considering it happens to players all the time. One can criticize him for his pressing, but the conceded goal wasn't a big mistake from him, IMO. Our defenders had plenty of time and opportunity to stop the counter attack and should have stopped it. If he had lost the ball close to our third, then yes, the conceded goal would have really been his fault.

[Mustafa 885]

Not too upset about the game. We didn't win but atleast we didn't KILL ourselves trying to get 2 extra points which we probably won't REALLY need at the end of the group phase. We don't face Schalke away till matchday 5, so if we win all of our games from between now and then we're already through.

On the plus side, we didn't have to put in nearly as much effort in as City did, to only lose in the last minute So that a positive, I guess.

Side-note: I have to bring up Draxler. The guy was fucking immense. That run at the end of the first half... Then his little flicks and neat turns! He was just awesome. If we ever do ship Oscar out to PSG, I would love it if he was his replacement. Him or Isco He's only 20 *feints* so much talent!!

[Reddish-Blue 2,347]

Pathetic finishing, not sure why Drogba played in the second half

Positives: great to see Filipe Luis get a chance to stake his claim

Negatives: we just dropped 2 points

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

What will happen if every teams in this group got 1-1 in every match 6 times? Who will be qualified?

[didierforever 7,349]

One word - COMPLACENCY.

Its good we got this out of our systen before the city game.

Dd was poor. Seemed completely off the pace. His only role should be coming of the bench if both the strikers.

Hazard was a goal threat all thru out the natch but he needs to start being more selfish. Cutting past 4 people and create a bit of space but then passing it sidewaus to willian should not be his first choice.

Cesc, rambo and GC could all have done better in the goal.

All in all, a poor performance. Forgettable and simply can't wait for sunday to put this behind us.

[didierforever 7,349]

One word - COMPLACENCY.

Its good we got this out of our systen before the city game.

Dd was poor. Seemed completely off the pace. His only role should be coming of the bench if both the strikers.

Hazard was a goal threat all thru out the natch but he needs to start being more selfish. Cutting past 4 people and create a bit of space but then passing it sidewaus to willian should not be his first choice.

Cesc, rambo and GC could all have done better in the goal.

All in all, a poor performance. Forgettable and simply can't wait for sunday to put this behind us.

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

In pre match we discussed who should play on this match, Costa, Remy, Costa, Remy. And we've got Drogba instead.

Jose's face :

[iseah100 5,612]

Hate coming to post match threads, the reactions here are ridiculous. It's one game, against the toughest team in the group. Our finishing was off, we'll bounce back.

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

Well, more and more I'm thinking about it, I am very happy the other match come with a draw too. We still could have a chance to secure the 2nd place at least in just 4 match played.

The negative point is that, probably we will have to play almost all of our strongest player.

[Dion 2,476]

When we conceded the goal, he wasn't dispossessed in our half. It was close to the attacking third. If you're criticizing him for being fouled and pushed off the ball in the attacking third, then it's pretty strange, considering it happens to players all the time. One can criticize him for his pressing, but the conceded goal wasn't a big mistake from him, IMO. Our defenders had plenty of time and opportunity to stop the counter attack and should have stopped it. If he had lost the ball close to our third, then yes, the conceded goal would have really been his fault.

Yeah. He was like two meters away or less from their box IIRC. It happens to every attacking player, of course it would be better if he didn't, but it's really not the end of the world when a player is dispossessed around the box of the opposing team. He was nowhere near our own half and there were plenty of players behind him to stop it, I remember when I think Draxler passed in front of Ramires and the latter held his hands up in the air like saying he didn't do anything - damn you Ramires, do something, you seem to have no problem receiving a yellow for no reason at all, at least show the same inclination to get one to stop a counter ffs. It was both our defenders fault and Draxler's merit that they could score in that counter. Also the way Cahill dealt with Huntelaar was just woeful.

[bethos1 802]

I'm not too bothered by this, we'll probably still win this group quite easily. If we had finished our chances in the 1st half we would have won this easily.

[Stingray 9,441]

Let me put it this way. It was the most "WTF!" moment I've ever seen on TC. Does that help?

Mmmmmmm

[Jase 43,479]

It's not his offensive contributions that are used to overlook his defensive 'deficiencies'. The problem imo is people having completely distorted expectations about what's his role in the team. His offensive RESPONSIBILITIES (not contributions) are what make his defensive RESPONSIBILITIES lighter - but by no means nonexistent. As a DLP or second pivot player, or top midfielder in a triangle he's been executing his defensive responsibilities just fine - with a few mistakes here and there (the whole team bar Costa has been making mistakes).

It isn't because he has 6 assists that he's forgiven for his defensive mistakes. It's because he's here to assist and control the tempo of our midfield that he won't be hold as much responsible for defending as some expect. Mourinho has been so clear about why he was brought here, about what we needed, but it seems people can't accept it... or the problem is something else...

I'm sorry for saying it, and I'm starting a new paragraph because this is aimed only at you or even at you at all, but it seems like some fans despite their complaints the whole of last season about how defensive we were set up and how dull and predictable our attack was, aren't ready at all for a new approach. Like, not even close ready for it. People want us to continue to excel defensively while being an attacking minded team - sorry, it's physically and numerically impossible. Others want our pivot/midfield to be as static and conservative as last year, sorry, but that's a change Mourinho wanted and the very reason why Cesc was brought here. And I'm sorry, but if a player is here to be a playmaker, regardless if played as a #10, #8 or false #7, we can't demand him to be an ace defensively. There's a distance between the workhorse and the guy who puts a shift defensively. Fàbregas has been executing - for most of it - what is expected from him both defensively and offensively. He only needs to polish some of his actions and get a better understanding with his new teammates. He can improve, but he can't change into this play some people are expecting (first, that's not who he is; second, that's not why he's here for). I don't even understand where they're coming from, what exactly they expect. I mean, is the expectation to play with two #6? Is for him to have the same energy, pace and stamina as Ramires? Is for him to double Oscar's tackles stats of his first four months last season? what do people want? I can't understand. Nothing seems reasonable... it seems like they want him to be what he isn't and for him to play a role he wasn't brought here to play.

I know perfectly what his main role is in the team, which is to help give us more offensive threat from deep positions or even just in general, something that was completely missing from our side last season. It's not even rocket science to know that. Not expecting him to be amazing defensively and start charging around in every game, making 30-40 tackles! That would be just ridiculous. My gripe with him just right now is just more about his pressing. It's like I told Skippy last night, that is something team must improve on as a unit but if the team just happen not to press, then he should just stay in position and not get too eager to close players down (same goes to some others TBF). When that happened, suddenly we get passed around too easily because one player is out of position to begin with and everyone else gets dragged around.

The root of the problem is that people want us to be a more attractive, but they aren't ready to accept the demands that comes with it. It's very simple actually. Comparisons with Lamps shouldn't even be made in the first place. Different players, different responsibilities given by José, but mainly different approaches of the game between then and now. It's like trying to get a square plug into a round switch - there's a saying for that in English, but I forgot it.

Don't you mean square peg in a round hole?

[Jase 43,479]