Chelsea 2-3 Real Madrid

[Unionjack 7,531]

I always thought pre season was to get players match fit, play about with formations, try out different plays and to work out just who will be the best players in different formations.

Nothing that happened yesterday got me overly worried,

Apart from learning that Moses/Chalobah and Square might just turn out to be really good options for us we learned basically what we already knew.

We really need to sort out our defence.

Our Belgian lads had only been training a couple of days, Our main striker wasnt playing for whatever reason and the lad we bought to strenthen our CM wasn't training yet.

Ive got total faith that IF we get GOOD FB & CB and pick the right selection once our strikers stop playing musical chairs that we are goiung to have a really strong team.

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

12 hours ago, Jason said:

If we had played Real Madrid's first XI, then I can turn a blind eye on this but since we didn't, then I can't really do that. And I think you're over-exaggerating it to say it was an 'uphill battle'. It might have been Real Madrid but it wasn't the usual Real Madrid side that we know.

 But we didn't play our first team either. I could understand being upset if we had played the likes of Kante, Fabregas, Hazard, Costa and Batshuayi in the first half and lost the way we did but that's not what happened.

I called it an uphill battle because Madrid simply have a lot more quality then we do. Not having our key players just hits us harder then it does Madrid due to the general difference in quality.

 

[Jase 43,479]

5 hours ago, Belgiannutt said:

 But we didn't play our first team either. I could understand being upset if we had played the likes of Kante, Fabregas, Hazard, Costa and Batshuayi in the first half and lost the way we did but that's not what happened.

I called it an uphill battle because Madrid simply have a lot more quality then we do. Not having our key players just hits us harder then it does Madrid due to the general difference in quality.

 

It wasn't our first team but we still had a strong team out there, certainly stronger than Real Madrid. And was that team Real put out have a lot more quality than we do? I don't necessarily think so, especially when their goals came about due to rubbish defending on our part, which we should have done to prevent them.

[Muzchap 8,966]

2 hours ago, Jason said:

It wasn't our first team but we still had a strong team out there, certainly stronger than Real Madrid. And was that team Real put out have a lot more quality than we do? I don't necessarily think so, especially when their goals came about due to rubbish defending on our part, which we should have done to prevent them.

Chill - this pre-season is better than last season

Yes we cannot defend - but that's not news  We desperately need some signings and these results help prove that...

[OhForAGreavsie 5,776]

 

8 hours ago, Jason said:

It wasn't our first team but we still had a strong team out there, certainly stronger than Real Madrid. And was that team Real put out have a lot more quality than we do? I don't necessarily think so, especially when their goals came about due to rubbish defending on our part, which we should have done to prevent them.

Agreed, of course, but it was last year's team (well about half of it anyway) and we know that team was, and is, bad. I like the signs of improvement already lined up for next season's squad and we all have hopes of more. We won't all agree on the merits of every rumoured target but every linked name gives reason for optimism that the club is working to fill in the gaps.

There are many gaps, perhaps too many to fix in one window, but surely we'd all be satisfied if significant progress is made and the club is clearly trying.

[WNDS 502]

Having waited a while to process what happened in this game, I still haven't really changed my initial opinions.

The bad: Matic (in the first-half) and Oscar were awful; Willian, Pedro, Terry, and Cahill were also very poor; Traore worked hard but isn't quite as advanced in his development as I thought he was (he's probably still a good back-up option, though); RLC will need a long time to become comfortable as a striker.

The good: Hazard might well be a viable option as the second-striker, particularly if Costa leaves; Chalobah looks ready to make significant progress this season; Moses and Cuadrado showed that they could be very useful players under Conte (although Cuadrado's lack of strength/balance will probably prevent him from being a viable candidate for the starting 11); Batshuayi looks the real deal (if still a bit raw).

For the next game I'd like to see: Batshuayi and Hazard be allowed 45 minutes up front together; Cuadrado, Chalobah, and Aina given starts; Kante play at least 20 minutes from the bench.