closed PSG 2-1 Chelsea

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

5 hours ago, Stats said:

People right now will say anything to get on his back. Look how many fouls he was drawing first half. I recall him going past 2 players with ease then Maxwell had to foul him to stop him. I thought it was quite harsh, him going off as I thought him, Pedro and Willian looked really good on the counter.

Stats said he won one foul... I don't remember much of his game mainly because he was mostly anonymous but I do remember Willian who drew 5 fouls. His best action all game was the dribble past Maxwell, its burned in my memory because that's the only time I remember him doing something positive on the ball

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

If we're gonna give PSG all that possession someone needs to man mark Verratti. He's getting the ball way too much... Oscar needs to play the 10 but in a defensive role. If we cut off Verratti we stand a good chance of winning the tie.

[Henrique 9,133]

7 hours ago, Gilvorak said:

Hazard needs to leave this club ASAP. Our fans our beyond clueless. He was great in the 1st half and was at the heart of our best moves yet he's getting abuse for tiring? Yeah he gave the ball away but you need to take risks when you're playing on the counter and can't keep the ball.

All this criticism is mind-boggling it's like people don't even watch games anymore. Costa missed two clear-cut chances and was the worst player on the pitch in the 2nd half yet all the talk is about Hazard who's not even fit.

Hazard needs to leave the club ASAP because its clear he lost his desire to be a Chelsea player. He wasn't great in the 1st half, you might say he was okay, great is not the right word here.

Hazard is fit, his injury was decades ago and wasn't even a huge injury, and he has been involved in games for weeks, its not like he is a player that just came out from a 6 months injury and is playing his 1st or 2nd game. People are not talking about Costa because Costa has been our best player since Mourinho left, while Hazard has been shit for the whole season.

His head is elsewhere and he is definetely leaving next transfer window.

[Footballover 222]

We really could use Matic in the second half... Mikel was absolutely useless in the second half, probably couldn't overcome the fact he scored a fucking goal. 

Overall I think we did well against such a strong, confident and dominant side. We were sublime between minutes 20-45 even though they managed to score.  We deserved our goal and it was pretty clear we would concede in the second half, so I'm not too concerned about it, I'm glad we conceded just one. I actually think that for us, losing 2-1 away is far better than returning with a draw (Atletico, Barcelona in 2009 and PSG last year), we are better when we need to attack. 

Azpilicueta and Baba were great, they bring so much to our game... The spaniard was my MOTM. Cahill and Iva were also fine, good and well fought performance. Cesc was sluggish on the ball and Mikel was awful. Willian great as always and Pedro finally stepping into gear. Costa and Hazard - not good enough, we need so much more from them in the second leg. 

The tie is open and anything can happen. I know one thing - if we want to go through, we need our place to be rocking, unlike last year. 

[Special Juan 27,429]

Lots of big positives came from the game for me- Baba was brilliant, thought Brana looked good at CB and I thought Willian was once again excellent. This was far and away a much better away performance than some media outlets are writing about. Bare in mind every man and his dog had us down to be either well beaten or given the hiding of our lives in Paris, neither happened because we aren't as bad as the media want us to be.

I have no doubt in my mind we can do this lot over in London, in fact we have seen the nights we are capable of in this cup at home, we can do it again.

 

[BlueLion. 21,491]

PSG were terrible yesterday. Such an undeserved win, but that is the quality in their side - we switch off once and get punished. Should be going back to the Bridge at 1-1. 

[Milan 17,854]

Considering the return leg at the Bridge might be our last Champions League game for a year, I fully expect every single player to give his best. It was the same after the Napoli game, shite in the League and we just had to perform in Europe. We actually could win the game yesterday, we certainly had the chances to do so. That gives me another hope.

2-1 defeat away from home is not bad. But one thing is certain - we cannot approach the second leg the way we did it with Carlo Ancelotti against Inter back in 2010. Playing for a 1-0 win, knowing that even one goal in the 93rd minute will be enough. That is dangerous.

[petre.ispirescu 4,928]

I don't think we should give up already just because we can't keep a clean sheet nowadays. Chelsea was in the same situation back in 2014 and overcame a two goal deficit. Now it's only one goal and frankly even if we concede, there is enough firepower in our team to score not one, but even two goals at home and go to extra time. We've had our fair share of chances last night, two of them big opportunities, Diego 1v1 and Diego's header and that makes me feel confident going into the game at The Bridge. 

[Fulham Broadway 16,855]

         We started poorly, right from kick off we went back to keeper, gave the ball away and were frankly lucky not to concede in the first 20 minutes. This is typical Chels.  We can't afford to start like that at the Bridge. After that I thought Fabregas showed the class needed to drag us back into game and his control and confidence on ball quickly spread, a Lampardesque influence,  and we played one of our best games of the season.

        Cahill and Ivan were classic Chelsea centre backs in a tough European game. They were very strong, battled very hard but a slight criticism is that rarely seem comfortable with the ball.     Baba was encouraging and it makes a big difference having a left back with a left foot, we would be foolish not to see more of him between now and end of season.

      Willian is so comfortable on the ball always has time and composure - at the moment I'd be far more concerned if he was contemplating leaving than Hazard

[Special Juan 27,429]

2 minutes ago, Fulham Broadway said:

 

         We started poorly, right from kick off we went back to keeper, gave the ball away and were frankly lucky not to concede in the first 20 minutes. This is typical Chels.  We can't afford to start like that at the Bridge. After that I thought Fabregas showed the class needed to drag us back into game and his control and confidence on ball quickly spread, a Lampardesque influence,  and we played one of our best games of the season.

        Cahill and Ivan were classic Chelsea centre backs in a tough European game. They were very strong, battled very hard but a slight criticism is that rarely seem comfortable with the ball.     Baba was encouraging and it makes a big difference having a left back with a left foot, we would be foolish not to see more of him between now and end of season.

      Willian is so comfortable on the ball always has time and composure - at the moment I'd be far more concerned if he was contemplating leaving than Hazard

Exactly what I said in another thread.

[Fulham Broadway 16,855]

1 minute ago, Special Juan said:

Exactly what I said in another thread.

To me Willian gives so much more than Hazard, not just his attitude, but the desire to win the ball  when he doesnt have it, and his all round effort at the moment is head and shoulders above not just Hazard, but a lot of the team

[Blue Colored Sky 1,807]

3 hours ago, Henrique said:

Hazard needs to leave the club ASAP because its clear he lost his desire to be a Chelsea player. He wasn't great in the 1st half, you might say he was okay, great is not the right word here.

Hazard is fit, his injury was decades ago and wasn't even a huge injury, and he has been involved in games for weeks, its not like he is a player that just came out from a 6 months injury and is playing his 1st or 2nd game. People are not talking about Costa because Costa has been our best player since Mourinho left, while Hazard has been shit for the whole season.

His head is elsewhere and he is definetely leaving next transfer window.

He had two injuries. Why are you jumping on the conclusion at this point. Your posts are like 100% black 0% white. Ignores everything that doesn't fit the narrative.

He was MOTM against Man Utd

Was kicked out of the game but kept going. His manager tells that he still has fitness issues. Yesterday he played good in the first half but come dead in the second which is 100% fitness issue.

Stick to these little facts and wait a couple of games more to see how he does when he improves his fitness.

[Chelsea4 1,521]

I'm really sad because we deserved more at least a draw and we the better chances.

[BXL70 396]

1. Hazard a disappointment once again. He must be sold. In any case, he does not want to play for Chelsea any more. On Monday, he said he would not refuse an offer from PSG or Real. He is convinced he is the new Messi. Let him go. Good riddance.

2. Fabregas and Pedro: useless, so useless.

We only have 2 good attacking players: Willian and Costa.

[DANILA 290]

7 minutes ago, BXL70 said:

1. Hazard a disappointment once again. He must be sold. In any case, he does not want to play for Chelsea any more. On Monday, he said he would not refuse an offer from PSG or Real. He is convinced he is the new Messi. Let him go. Good riddance.

2. Fabregas and Pedro: useless, so useless.

We only have 2 good attacking players: Willian and Costa.

Pedro had his best game of the season... tracked back very well defensively

[Kieran. 6,317]

2-1 is a very even tie. 2-1 at the Bridge and we got ET. Let's go boys!

[kmk108 1,186]

3 hours ago, DANILA said:

Pedro had his best game of the season... tracked back very well defensively

People want to continue with the status quo of the season and will always see a match that way.

Pedro was massive in parts that don't get picked up on. At one point, he tracked back, made a defensive effort, passed the ball on and took off, sprinting down the pitch, only for the ball to be passed backwards.

[cosmicway 1,323]

We could not keep them at bay.
For me the best defensive performence ever was Jose's 0-0 against Atletico in the semi of 2014. Atletico might have scored with a fluke from 40 yards out, but they could not penetrate.
Yesterday it was PSG v. Courtois for long spells of the game, just like it was Barcelona v Cech in 2012 (when we were down to 10 men).
Under the circumstances we did have our chances but the ball favoured their efforts in the end.
Because I 'm a regular live bettor, in the last twenty minutes one should have placed a bet for "PSG to score the third goal". The clue is "do they have possession and reach the keeper ?" and yes they did. But I did not even look at it and so I 'm unable to tell you the price that was offered.
I don't know about the replay. Can be done but difficult. Football has changed. If we were in the sixties and if we were 2-1 behind as we are now, people would say to the French "come on guys, forget it". But sometimes it works (Napoli and PSG again).
Hazard in my opinion was not useless and certainly a better option than Oscar, but maybe he was tired - maybe he even signalled to Bruce, I don't know.