Chelsea 1-0 Crystal Palace

[Blue Armour 4,290]

Whoever was in charge of timekeeping tried their best today to give Palace a chance. 7 mins ET. And more time on top of that.

[Mhsc 877]

What a signing we may have made at CB. Looks better than Fofana did for us in his brief moment with us before injury, and 2nd only to Thiago. If this is the new normal at CB we are sorted for as long as Thiago stays defying his age.

[Vesper 28,864]

joint MOTM

Thiago and Kepa

by miles our two best players

[Vesper 28,864]

Just now, Mhsc said:

What a signing we may have made at CB. Looks better than Fofana did for us in his brief moment with us before injury, and 2nd only to Thiago. If this is the new normal at CB we are sorted for as long as Thiago stays defying his age.

yes, Badiashile looked quite good

[YorkshireBlue 3,122]

4 minutes ago, Vesper said:

joint MOTM

Thiago and Kepa

by miles our two best players

Gallagher? He's been brilliant today

[Strike 7,217]

At least everyone fought well. Few good performances - Hall (apart from some shaky giveaways), Ziyech and Silva. Mason needs to be dropped - can’t ever find the right ball 

[calculatingInfinity 1,443]

Very early days, but Badiashile looks like a very nice improvement. Hopefully Thiago Silva can keep this level then, or Fofana can come in and do well next to him when fit.

Edited January 15, 2023 by calculatingInfinity

[Hamilton 2,120]

Just now, Vesper said:

joint MOTM

Thiago and Kepa

by miles our two best players

Agree

Badiashile did also good

[Mhsc 877]

Mason is literally just bringing workrate and no quality whatsoever. Needs a few weeks out to get himself together imo. People talking about selling Mason have short memories.

[Blue Armour 4,290]

Good debut for Badiashile. Clean sheet on first start is exactly what you want as a defender. And he looked confident playing in the PL for the first time. Even with his passing. Ziyech was also good today. More effective playing as a winger rather than inside forward or full back.

I would have liked D. Fofana to play a part, but in the end not surprised he gave Aubemayang and Havertz the bulk of the minutes.

Because that's just what Potter does.

Edited January 15, 2023 by Blue Armour

[Vesper 28,864]

31 minutes ago, Pizy said:

Cucu not only replaced in the first XI by a teenager and now can’t even come in for him as a sub? Man….

£62m well spent!!!

😞

[TheHulk 1,859]

A win is a win, great stuff, maybe we pull something against Liverpool.

[Johnnyeye 7,441]

much needed win, still a long way to go, but it’s a win and a clean sheet. Let’s see where we go from here. If only Kepa played like this week in week out. Kai also needs to be more consistent in front of goal. Great tribute win for Vialli, may he rest in peace 🙏💙We march on. Let’s go blues

Edited January 15, 2023 by Johnnyeye

[Vesper 28,864]

3 minutes ago, TheHulk said:

A win is a win, great stuff, maybe we pull something against Liverpool.

yes, they are playing as badly as we are atm

same issues too

MF in the mud and cannot finish for shite

[Superblue 6,370]

Thought it was the best I've seen Conor play in a Chelsea shirt. Still not convinced by him technically in the longer term in that area of the park but the energy and enthusiasm he possesses would suggest there is a role for him in situations.

Kepa made some good saves and I was impressed in the first showing of Badiashile - especially on the ball, very calm and composed, just looks more fluid than Koulibaly who comes across almost clunky in his movements all the time.

But eventually the day will come we'll be without Thiago Silva and someone is going to have to step up massively to fill that void. The guy is well past his 38th birthday, plays every game and anchors the whole team. The last half hour in particular as we started to retreat, he was immense. 

All that mattered today was the result, and that feels a huge 3 points just to try and steady the ship a little bit.

[Vesper 28,864]

9 minutes ago, Hamilton said:

Agree

Badiashile did also good

and Gallagher too, as was pointed out by others

[Pizy 18,368]

Thiago Silva is so ridiculously good. Should not be possible to still be the best defender in the toughest league in the world at nearly 40 years old. He’s insane.

Need to offer him a new 2 year contract. He doesn’t rely on pace at all so that’s not even a concern as he gets a year or two older.

[TheHulk 1,859]

Just now, Pizy said:

Thiago Silva is so ridiculously good. Should not be possible to still be the best defender in the toughest league in the world at nearly 40 years old. He’s insane.

Need to offer him a new 2 year contract. He doesn’t rely on pace at all so that’s not even a concern as he gets a year or two older.

One year more for sure and get rid of Koulibaly maybe wait until 2024 for Gvardiol.