Man City vs Chelsea

[LDN Blue 7,903]

+1

Good points.

City played well, but I still believe we deserved something.

Yeah I know, defensively (except for the goal) we were focused the entire game. That one slip in getting slow to come back was the only time City were able to score and on that note the team should be proud. If we do the same thing vs Arsenal we'll come out on top

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Defensively we were excellent. Going forward we were shit.

Defensively they were even better, so hats off to them, the best team won. Now let's stop feeling sorry for ourselves, beat the two French teams (Marseille and Olympique Arsennais), and then do the Villa :cfc:

[ZanSnake 1,211]

One hundred and 10 percent behind ya BL

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Looking at the goal again, I hope Ramires learns now.. You don't get much time on the ball in the Premier League, a lot of that game he did get dispossessed for taking too long on the ball.

[Steve 10,227]

[Wilson 358]

Don't worry about this. It's a 1-0 unlucky loss. We will pick up again and beat them at home. Keep the faith!

[Steve 10,227]

He looked lost and out of place. His attitude looked like the drogs of old.....

[Term-X 7,891]

He looked lost and out of place. His attitude looked like the drogs of old.....

Yea, the game could be summed up by that one picture tbh.

[Styles 9,790]

City had a back 4 playing extremely deep well protected by 3,4 and at times 5 players. Chelsea forwards/midfielders rely on movement and space and City denied them any space whatsoever. It was a very cagey game in which a 0-0 would have been a fair result.

These are the kind of games settled by a set piece or counter attack. Unfortuantely for us we hit the crossbar and Essien headed over from 4 yards out. Not particularly worried or disappointed about the defeat. A 50-50 game decided by Ramires cheaply giving the ball away on the halfway line when more than half the Chelsea team were in the City box.

It would have been very interesting to see how City would have played had they gone a goal down because at 0-0 they just wanted to counter attack and if they went a goal up their game plan still doesn't change. City is probably the hardest game Chelsea will play all season in the league. No other English team has the physical attributes and defensive mindset to shut Chelsea out

All this talk about we were dominated, out played, out muscled etc is nonsense

One other thing; Bosingwa can't come back soon enough. Ivanovic is a good player and great defender but he doesn't half offer us the options Bosingwa does going forward. Bosingwa is one of the very few players in our team who can actually take the ball past an opponent. We have a real shortage of dribblers in this team and Yossi being injured was a real shame yesterday.

[Kostas 1,468]

Yea, the game could be summed up by that one picture tbh.

...

Interesting how we all focused on that exact pic.TX has a point.

[Peace. 4,352]

It would have been very interesting to see how City would have played had they gone a goal down because at 0-0 they just wanted to counter attack and if they went a goal up their game plan still doesn't change. City is probably the hardest game Chelsea will play all season in the league. No other English team has the physical attributes and defensive mindset to shut Chelsea out

All this talk about we were dominated, out played, out muscled etc is nonsense

Agreed.

Plus Mancini is one of the most defensive coachs in the world. Tactically he is like Mourinho, of course not with the same talent. And he is certainly the only one who play 3 defensive midfielders in the same team. So i guess the yesterday game was somehow the 'remake' of Inter-Barça in CL...

In my opinion there is no need to be too disapointed, even if at the end of the game the defeat is a bit offensive and wounding... And it's just football, even if you're the best team in the world with eleven Gold Ball you can loose against very weak teams.

Actually, we really need of Lampard or at least Benayoun (i would have never think to say this one day lol) ! Against teams who play football, the midfield Ramires - Mikel - Essien is enough. But against teams of the like of Shitty, a creative player is really needed.

And this year, we will have this problem only against Shitty, Real Madrid and Inter...

[Styles 9,790]

Agreed.

Plus Mancini is one of the most defensive coachs in the world. Tactically he is like Mourinho, of course not with the same talent. And he is certainly the only one who play 3 defensive midfielders in the same team. So i guess the yesterday game was somehow the 'remake' of Inter-Barça in CL...

In my opinion there is no need to be too disapointed, even if at the end of the game the defeat is a bit offensive and wounding... And it's just football, even if you're the best team in the world with eleven Gold Ball you can loose against very weak teams.

Actually, we really need of Lampard or at least Benayoun (i would have never think to say this one day lol) ! Against teams who play football, the midfield Ramires - Mikel - Essien is enough. But against teams of the like of Shitty, a creative player is really needed.

And this year, we will have this problem only against Shitty, Real Madrid and Inter...

More like Inter-Chelsea last season. They defend very deep with large numbers, we just couldn't break them down. Could we have tried a long ball approach playing the percentage game? That was worth a go as it would have turned their midfield around which we didn't do much in the game. Quite disappointed with the referee but what can you do. We've been sterotype as a big bad team so a lot of teams are allowed to get away with heavy handed tactics against us no matter how obvious it is.

I think we'll have a lot of problems this year because our squad is very thin.

[Kostas 1,468]

Could we have tried a long ball approach playing the percentage game? That was worth a go as it would have turned their midfield around which we didn't do much in the game.

It is worth pointing out that that tactic absolutely failed against Inter,I was glad we didn't resort to long balls.

The similarities to that Inter game are too many,I dread what will happen in the home game against City as our pitch is much smaller and it will be easier for them to close spaces.

[bloody 209]

man utd just lost 2 points. nice.

[Laylabelle 9,301]

Bit early for them to do the 'hahaha you lost to City'...wait till you've played them then brag!

[Styles 9,790]

It is worth pointing out that that tactic absolutely failed against Inter,I was glad we didn't resort to long balls.

The similarities to that Inter game are too many,I dread what will happen in the home game against City as our pitch is much smaller and it will be easier for them to close spaces.

I wouldn't mind a tit for tat aproach to the games against City i.e. play just as defensively as they do. Sort of like the Chelsea/Liverpool games under Mourinho and Rafa. A point is better than nothing. What can you do against teams like that? Perhaps the best thing to do is have more creative set pieces. They effectively played with a 9 man defence for the majority of the game and unless you have a Messi who can effectively take 4 or 5 players out of the game with a dribble you're going to have to be lucky to get a goal.

[EskWeston 696]

Was a frustrating game. For me our problem was letting Man City dictate the pace of the game. All season our way has been quick football and sharp first touches and passing and movement. However in this game we just let the game go at a pace that suited City, slow build up, no quick passing and moving and it did not work for us, we couldn't create the chances or keep possession. No matter who we are playing we should play to our game and let them try and cope with us.

We gave them too much respect and paid for it.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Interesting point there Esk, because I've been arguing the opposite. I think we've barely had to try this season and thus were massively complacent against a very good team yesterday. It seemed to me that the players thought we could remain in second gear and cruise to victory; this result and the way we've fortunately been let off will be the kick up the backside this team needs - we cannot afford to be arrogant or complacent because that will cost us the league.

In my view there is only one team that can stop us winning the title, and that is ourselves. If we don't show enough respect to certain teams and match that with effort and application, we'll be the architects of our own undoing.