i was very , very impressed with Chelsea last night.
They were set up very well , ok i understand that city were missing a few but last night Chelsea fucking owned them.
I thought Matic was immense in defense and also as an attacking threat, Hazard is a wonderful player as well,
Terry and Cahill were phenomenal at the back, Terry really has stepped it up this year after a couple of inconsistent seasons, It seems to be the fashionable thing to criticize Gary Cahill but this is not the first time I have seen him play very well, no doubt some people would prefer to have Mats Hummels or some unknown from the likes of Real Oviedo who has played u-19 for Spain in their side , Terry is a leader, you need that at the back and I was delighted last night to see the two of them answer their many critics.
As an aside you had 4 Serbs on the pitch last night . Matic, Kolarov, Ivanovic and Nastasic (sp), Jovertic who came on is Monenegran , I wonder how many of them have come up from the Partizan or Red Star youth academies? I know there was a thread here (or maybe a random post) with a list of clubs and the number of players who have come thru their academies currently playing top flight football in Europe, Partizan I recall were at the top. Serbia have the bones of a decent defense there with that 4 anyhow…
[quote=“myboyblue, post: 898111, member: 180”]Matic - Red Star - Partizan
Kolarov - Red Star
Ivanovic - Sremska Mitrovica
Nastasic - Partizan[/quote]
I cannot find enough hyperbole to describe Matic, that shot in the second half ! the runs forward, getting back to support his back 4 all the time, , what a fucking player
He was excellent last night, the game worked out perfectly for Jose and the players execute the plan to the letter. Might have even interesting had Silva taken either of his chances though when City were on too early on as was the case v Spurs and a lot of sides this season. Agueros absence was felt as he would have been a totally different prospect than a half fit Negredo and the infuriating Dzeko. And don’t get me started on Demichelis as a central midfielder. Milner seems to have dropped out of favour once more, thought he might have even thrown on last night, he’s caused problems to teams off the bench this season, not least Bayern away.
Very enjoyable game all the same, thought Chelsea might have shut up shop at 1-0 but they kept looking for more which made the contest. Hazard is a joy to watch.
Who are those clowns, I can’t say I’ve heard of any of them. Mourinho once again makes mugs of the English press. I liked his trimming of Tiger Tim Sherwood as well.
Shaun Custis is one of the great modern day football minds and an outstanding journalist. Regularly seen on the Sunday Supplement on Sky Sports and chief football writer of The Sun.
Had a look at the run in for Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea this morning. Chelsea have by far the easier run in. I think they’ll win the league by about 5 points.
[quote=“briantinnion, post: 898138, member: 6”]Had a look at the run in for Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea this morning. Chelsea have by far the easier run in. I think they’ll win the league by about 5 points.
Arsenal could very well be out of it in 8 days.[/quote]
Not sure you can make that analysis about Chelsea. Chelsea in a way are better against teams who attack them but can struggle to break down teams who play 19th century football and fuck knows there are plenty of those teams in the league.
[quote=“briantinnion, post: 898138, member: 6”]Had a look at the run in for Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea this morning. Chelsea have by far the easier run in. I think they’ll win the league by about 5 points.
Arsenal could very well be out of it in 8 days.[/quote]
Massive result for Chelsea last night, Mourinho could have played it safe and gone up there for the draw but instead chose to have a go at City, on their own ground, and he exploited their weaknesses brilliantly.
I just wonder would he have been as bold if Chelsea hasn’t dropped 2 points at home to West Ham last week? In any event this win was worth more than just making up the two points on City, psychologically, it should give them the strength to go on and win the title now. Jose really is a fucking genius.
I saw a bizarre tweet from a journalist last night claiming that everyone was deceived by the result and Chelsea had been on top all game. He produced a graph to prove his point, showing Man City’s higher “goal expectancy” throughout the game.
I enjoy some nerdish stats, and I think soccer is inundated with “scoreboard journalism” where entire articles and points of view are determined by the result which often has an element of luck associated with it. But Chelsea were much the better team last night particularly after the first 10-15 minutes or so and producing a graph that says City had shots from better areas is really missing the point.
@mickee321 on your Serbian point, I asked here last week but no answers - any idea why Benfica have so many Serbs in their team? Is there some link there?
[quote=“Manuel Zelaya, post: 898141, member: 377”]On paper it looks straightforward, 4 of them at home as well, but things don’t always pan out as they look on paper.
Last 8 games are awkward for Man City. 5 trips away from Maine Road, including visits to Old Trafford, Anfield, Highbury & Goodison.[/quote]
City have been playing away from Maine Road for some time now Manuel.
[quote=“mickee321, post: 898110, member: 367”]what the fuck was DiMichelis doing out there last night?
I thought he had retired[/quote]
how does this lad still get a game at such a high level ??..he cannot defend…
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