Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal

[Vesper 28,764]

Just now, Strike said:

That last chance was offside - I just saw on the reply Cucu has smartly pushed forward to play Saliba off

yep

I posted this earlier:

[NikkiCFC 7,941]

18 minutes ago, TheHulk said:

We can make 5 subs?

Yes but in 3 slots. We already did 2,1,1 at that point. 

[Pizy 18,368]

There are some glaring weaknesses we have in defense when it comes to concentration and focus but I’m going to take the positives away from that.

Arse have been miles and miles ahead of us but we have absolutely cut that gap. We aren’t quite a top team yet but we’re heading in the right direction. We played them completely evenly there despite our best attacker having perhaps his most ineffective match of the season thus far.

Caicedo excellent, Neto getting better and better. 
 

We no longer panic and shit the bed when we concede against the big teams. In all 3 of the matches against Liverpool, United, and now Arse we give away a goal and respond well.

We are on the right track. Just a couple of steps away from being a serious team.

[Laylabelle 9,351]

2 minutes ago, Pizy said:

There are some glaring weaknesses we have in defense when it comes to concentration and focus but I’m going to take the positives away from that.

Arse have been miles and miles ahead of us but we have absolutely cut that gap. We aren’t quite a top team yet but we’re heading in the right direction. We played them completely evenly there despite our best attacker having perhaps his most ineffective match of the season thus far.

Caicedo excellent, Neto getting better and better. 
 

We no longer panic and shit the bed when we concede against the big teams. In all 3 of the matches against Liverpool, United, and now Arse we give away a goal and respond well.

We are on the right track. Just a couple of steps away from being a serious team.

Exactly and considering last season we had a lead and went whoosh and threw it away this time nice to catch up! And same with Man U..

[LAM09 6,742]

3 minutes ago, Vesper said:

yes, I am not putting this down as dropped points (I could, but the fact we came from behind to draw even and then Arse had so many more chances to win after that compared to us means a draw is a decent result)

so we are still on 7 dropped points

the 3 other draws (in those 3 games we should have beaten Palace, Forest, and Manure) and the loss to Pool that should have been a draw

The slightly worrying thing for me is our home record in the league. Too many dropped points at this stage.

As another poster mentioned, coming back from behind in consecutive league games against top sides irrespective of their current position is a positive. We just need that win against a Top 4 side soon to get past this mental block, so to speak. 

[Mhsc 876]

Can't complain about 3rd in the league, only Liverpool really look on a different level to us.

Maresca's impact is remarkable. Did not fuck around whatsoever and got us into shape way quicker than I could have expected.

One thing we still clearly miss is big game players who step up when we need them most. Maybe Caicedo is the only one who steps up or at least maintains his usual level in the big games.

Edited Sunday at 18:50 by Mhsc

[MoroccanBlue 5,296]

3 hours ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Sanchez, Madueke and Jackson going to rightfully piss us off today I imagine. 

Would you look at that.... 🙄

 

[Vesper 28,764]

45 minutes ago, Milan said:

Brighton level at best for both of them. Yet our coach thinks they are integral at Chelsea. Piss off seriously

Sanchez was dropped down to 2nd and even 3rd string GKer at Brighton

yet we splashed out £25m for him

Mamardashvili was there for the taking (2 years in a row)

plus 14 other options (for a total of 15) AT THAT TIME (many are off the board now)
 
Lucas Chevalier    
Anatoliy Trubin
Matvey Safonov 

Álvaro Valles
Michele Di Gregorio 
Bento   
Dominik Livakovic  
Predrag Rajković  
Bono (a temp fix due to age)

plus the big names (Costa has dropped in form, and not sure if all of the others are the right fit now, Maignan probably the best fit)  

Diogo Costa (erratic all of sudden)
Gregor Kobel (poor from the back)
Mike Maignan (age and cost blocked us from buying him I wager)
Jan Oblak   (not quite the same player now as at his long peak, and he is meh playing out)

plus the best teen keeper atm, super athete

Guillaume Restes

 

[Mhsc 876]

4 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Would you look at that.... 🙄

To be fair our two worst players were probably Malo Gusto and Cole Palmer

[Mário César 973]

I've been following the club since 2009 and keeping Sanchez as main goalkeeper was the worst decision I remember seeing the club make

I already knew it was going to go wrong

Anyway, I think last year, this game against Arsenal, against United and Nottm we had lost the games. I think we are improving and there is progress in mentality, although it is not enough yet

the only really bad result was against the palace. other than that, we can talk about nottm, but, looking at it from another perspective, it would never be such an easy game, given that they are having a good season

the balance, so far, has been positive and the calendar is theoretically easier. let's see what will happen from now on

[mkh 272]

Palmer played the entire 90 mins with pain in his knee…

 

Enzooo M.🫨😵‍💫

[mkh 272]

Madueke not looking too pleased as he makes way for Mudryk. Neto on the right now. 

 

Edit... 

In fact, he walked straight down the tunnel. 

 

[Vesper 28,764]

9 minutes ago, mkh said:

Palmer played the entire 90 mins with pain in his knee…

 

Enzooo M.🫨😵‍💫

I figured it was a leg issue, as he lacked leaping ability and any sort of his normal 'first few strides' explosive quick bursts

he needs rest to recover his knee health

[Mário César 973]

madueke is disappointing a little and nkunku is coming into the games very late

Frankly, I don't know if Jackson will be the answer for the club in the medium term. at least as the undisputed starter, but let's see how the season ends

[Vesper 28,764]

 

[NikkiCFC 7,941]

24 minutes ago, mkh said:

Madueke not looking too pleased as he makes way for Mudryk. Neto on the right now. 

 

Edit... 

In fact, he walked straight down the tunnel. 

 

Without that change goal wouldn't happened. Neto is much better on the right. Now hopefully Mudryk or Sancho raise their level on the other side. 

Edited Sunday at 21:03 by NikkiCFC

[mkh 272]

Enzo Maresca: "I said already that I'm in love with Wes [Fofana]. He spent all of last season injured and came back in the way he is fighting every day. He probably has to play until the end of his career with pain. You have to be strong, and he is like this.
 

[mkh 272]

Enzo Maresca on Madueke’s angry reaction after being subbed:

🗣️ "The problem is when you change a player, they are never happy. Probably the only way to be happy is after a hat trick, but it's not only about Noni, it's about the players as they want to be there through to the end.

At that moment [in the match] we saw a different way. We thought Pedro [Neto] with [Jurrien] Timber could be more aggressive -- so it was a tactical decision."

via@ESPNFC