Chelsea 2-1 Dinamo Zagreb

[Milan 17,835]

wow PSG on the cards thanks to a 92nd minute goal, bet your money on us getting them

[Blue Armour 4,168]

18 minutes ago, Vesper said:

we are fucking massively cursed with injuries the last several years

When did we turn into Arsenal? They used to have this on a regular basis in the Wenger years.

[Blue Armour 4,168]

13 minutes ago, LAM09 said:

It feels like the latter at this point. I remember the days when Arsenal used to have an entire squad made of glass; we've taken that slot now. 

And it's almost always hamstring.

We're having 3-4 hamstring injuries every year. Ridiculous management of the players.

[Blue Armour 4,168]

The clubs physios must be downright awful.

[Magic Lamps 11,453]

31 minutes ago, Gundalf said:

The injured players werent regulars. 

Doesn't help getting injuries still. Chilwell should a regular anyway. He clearly is the best solution to LWB. A case can be made for Zakaria having to feature more regularly as well. The point remains, that today was an unnecessarily high-risk selection which once again completely backfired. It is unclear what was the objective of playing such a strong team in the first place.

[milka 3,308]

Kante , James , now Chilwell . Another ruined season .

Fuck football .

 

[whats happening 1,440]

28 minutes ago, Vesper said:

FUCK

Benfica scored 6 away goals so they win their group on away goals and we may well face PSG!

OMG

benfica or psg, doesnt really matter.

[Vesper 27,335]

Just now, whats happening said:

benfica or psg, doesnt really matter.

LOLOLOLOLOL

smdh

[LAM09 6,552]

23 minutes ago, Vesper said:

LOLOLOLOLOL

smdh

PSG failed to beat Benfica after all. Also, we normally fare better when we're the underdog, tbh.

Edited November 2, 2022 by LAM09

[Magic Lamps 11,453]

34 minutes ago, Vesper said:

disaster injury if Chilwell is out until after the WC

we are fucked, and England is fucked, they likely have lost their 2 best starting fullbacks now

I think it is quite evident the clown would play Shaw over Chilly again anyway. A pulled hamstring grade 1 or 2 usually takes 4-8 weeks to heal, so it is quite likely he will miss the WC which would be greatly appreciated tbh. If he is out say 5 weeks but only misses our next 3 games but can slot back right into the side after the WC that would be by far the lesser evil.

[cosmicway 1,258]

I watched Real Madrid and ours today.
Both Real Madrid's opponents and our opponents were second tier champions league teams, extinguished from the groups.
The difference is big.
RM once they have the ball they perform artworks - only some last minute save can stop them.
In comparison we are struggling.
Their secret is motion off the ball and accurate passing. They communicate as if they possess telepathy.

The RM defense was shaky. They conceded one like we did and despite the 5-1 result Tibot was the hero of the match ! Saved a pen as well.
That's why we scored three against them the year before and four last year.
But from the midfield downwards there are a lot of lessons to learn.

 

[whats happening 1,440]

29 minutes ago, Vesper said:

LOLOLOLOLOL

smdh

benfica would wreck us easily.

[Superblue 6,331]

Thought Zakaria looked good tonight. Difficult to judge too much against today's opposition but he looked sharp and had that bit of pace which I was worried he might have lost from his injury struggles.

What he does give the team is a more solid base to work from. He's capable of breaking up play and his size and physicality gives us a presence in the middle that we lack. At the very least now, he should offer an option that Potter should be more confident now to utilise.

Regarding Chilwell, whilst I'm disappointed we've lost another player now for the last 3 games before the break, I'd rather a few of our players be out for this World Cup and get themselves fit instead. I'm not bothered about how England do; they create a blind spot for me as it is with a Spurs player captaining them. 

[Magic Lamps 11,453]

15 minutes ago, whats happening said:

benfica would wreck us easily.

they are nothing special. They have a decent coach in Roger Schmidt but no real danger man. Enzo fernandes and antonio silva look mildly interesting but that is about it. They are a physically inferior side. If we outbattle them like we did Milan, we should win.

[cosmicway 1,258]

Benfica cannot be an opponent in the round of 16 - PSG can.

[whats happening 1,440]

13 minutes ago, Magic Lamps said:

they are nothing special. They have a decent coach in Roger Schmidt but no real danger man. Enzo fernandes and antonio silva look mildly interesting but that is about it. They are a physically inferior side. If we outbattle them like we did Milan, we should win.

sure man they are nothing special, while we are truly something special. 

[Magic Lamps 11,453]

1 hour ago, whats happening said:

sure man they are nothing special, while we are truly something special. 

Get a grip. They might have upset the odds by drawing PSG twice but they still are just a Liga Dross side that will falter when the stakes are higher. We have beaten better Benfica sides in 2012 and 2013 with equally mediocre Chelsea squads. But let's just put a pin in this. In the unlikely case we draw them in the quarter finals you are welcome to put a tenner on them, I will give you even odds 😉

[Stats 6,982]

Positives: Mount looked really good. Thought he was our best player on the night alongside Chilwell who got that unfortunate injury. Zakaria looked very good too and I know it isn't against a top team necessarily but very surprising that he has not managed even one minute. Has a good physical presence about him and glad he took his opportunity. Sterling getting back on scoresheet was bonus too. Thought other than the goal he was quiet but a goal is a good way to get back his confidence. I hope he is playing LW against Arsenal on Sunday as if he is up against White, he will cause him massive problems.

Cons: Injury to Chilwell and Broja not starting then using him out wide left then wide right. I did not understand what Potter was doing with Broja. I was annoyed he was not starting in first place as he started against Brentford and got subbed (not due to his performance) where he looked a threat but because that was his first ever start, Potter said he always planned on giving him around 60 mins. So I would have expected him to start another game since then and he has not and not as if our attackers have looked great in that period. What was more annoying last night was that he did not even play up front. He almost looked like a LM/LW then a RM/RW and we had Mount at the same time in the CF role. Was really confused.

But a small confidence boost before Arsenal. Annoyingly worst fear have arisen and Saka has returned to full training so will be starting on Sunday while our LB who would be most likely marking him that game now gets injured. A shame but hopefully Cucu steps up on Sunday. Bring on Arsenal!