Chelsea - FA Cup SF | Post-Match Thread

[Bozzie]

Turgid, from the first minute to the last. Chelsea set out to stifle every ounce of our play and it worked, partly because they did it very well and partly because we didn't play with any intent, pace, invention or commitment. Too many of our players left the pitch yesterday having had little or no positive effect on the game. 1-0 Chelsea was about the only possible outcome for that match, I'm in my 60's and, I've got to admit, not quite as nimble as I used to be but I could have kept goal for Chelsea yesterday and they'd have still won 1-0. The lack of pace in that team was a real issue but so was the lack of guile and invention up front. We're at the business end of the season and there's simply no way we can afford to try and coast through matches when others around us are finishing strongly.

 

[s1ty m]

I cannot get my head around that front 3. Truly dismal. Torres...I cannot see anything in him.

 

[The Light Was Yellow Sir]

Messi is better than Sterling but only Sterling is left in the CL....

Fair point, and I’m not really comparing the 2, but Sane looked very poor against PSG, as did Torres yesterday.

 

[remember arthur mann]

I'm out the other side. arthur, w'out knowing I was in it!

My thoughts too, succinctly put.

 

[The Light Was Yellow Sir]

The biggest worry, for me at least, is that we’re back to conceding ‘that goal’. The Leeds winner and both the Chelsea ‘goals‘ yesterday (I know only one counted). It’s the goal that Son always scores against us, the goal that Vardy used to score against us and the goal that PSG should have scored against Munich last week and will be looking to score against us in the SF.

 

[2sheikhs]

How much did you win?

Nothing. I had Chelsea to win, both teams to score.

 

[Rascal]

Beaten by a better side, no complaints from me, it happens.

My fear is we are running out of steam, we cannot know what shape the players are in mentally and physically in this most demanding of seasons and we could well slump and end with nothing. That would not surprise me either. Chelsea were better than us all over the pitch. My mate in Portugal is a Chelsea fan and knows his football, he says the change Tuchel has brought about to the team is amazing. Rudiger looks as good a centre half as there is in the world, he is immense, Chillwell looks the best left back in the country. Micah pointed out before the game where we could be got at and Chelsea did just that for the goal. We have been at an unbelievable level for a few months and now we are sliding, it was always possible as sustaining the level we were at for the length of time and the amount of games we have played is fucking impossible. Players are not robots, they are human beings and i give them all immense credit for getting us so far, but in doing so we are starting to look exhausted. I get the rotation as its physically impossible to play every game, we would be killing players if we did. Look at what's happened to Liverpool, they could not sustain the levels they reached and the lack of close season hasn't helped anybody.

We never got at them and that is rare for us against anybody, Tuchel got it spot on tactically and closed down the areas we usually exploit. Its easy to say our players were shit, sack them, sell them etc, and yes we were not at our best, because Chelsea never let us be at our best. Kev was closed down by Kante and Jorginho and was never in the game, Jesus was anonymous, Sterling and Torres got no service because Kev was closed down. Kev is now injured and if it is serious then i do fear we win nothing. Mourinho will set Spurs up the same way in the Caraboa cup and we have to find a way around that.

Its this obsession with the CL that will cost us. It might not be what I want, but its obviously what the owners,players and management want more than anything else. But if and its a big if we beat PSG, we could face Chelsea again the CL final and i have to say i wouldn't fancy us against them.

As I posted a while back Pep had told my source that the club he feared most was Chelsea, its now obvious why. I can see Chelsea winning the FA Cup and the CL, they are good enough.

 

[eastmanc]

I like Jesus. He works hard, is intelligent, has what they call "clever feet", is fully committed every game.

However, he isn't a presence that defenders fear both physically and mentally. When Aguero is playing, even not that well (rare) he's inside defenders' heads. Same goes for other top strikers. I sometimes forget that Jesus is actually playing.

We've been fortunate that we have the quality whereby other players have been able to step up and provide goals in the absence of a top striker. But sadly Jesus will never fill that role.

He didn’t really have any service or support.

 

[blue44]

Good point and I have changed my post!
I think my point still stands regarding their extra day's rest.

they have to play this tuesday though,we dont play till weds
swings and rounabouts

 

[HarrytheBlue]

So why is he being picked? Is the idea to let him play himself back into form, using the games at the business end of the season? Should he start against PSG in the hope he can have a good game?

If you check my posts you’ll find I’ve been very defensive of Raz over the last couple of months but somethings got to give.

I've always said that one of the reasons he always gets picked is that he understands and applies Pep's tactics as well as anyone. Look at Pep's coaching career and read all the books he's been involved in. He likes to concentrate play in certain areas parts of the pitch for long periods - even targeting the opposition's strongest side of the pitch at times. Why ? He likes his teams to pull the opposition out of shape by recycling the ball in small areas along the flanks - short stabbing five/ten yard passes until the opposition lose patience and discipline and come looking for the ball in numbers and lose their shape. At that point, we (Kevin and others) hit a 50/60 yard diagonal to the opposite flank - in our case usually to Walker who runs hard at the opposition who have lost their shape and are short of numbers on that side of the pitch. Where does Raheem fit into this ? In form, he's brilliant at the recycling the bit of that - short sharp passes - even though I know loads of fans are yelling 'Just effing run with it Razzer !!!!!'. He does exactly what Pep wants - hence he gets picked, but at the moment more of his short sharp passes are not reaching team mates and when he goes on a run, beats a couple of players, hesitates, and his pass gets intercepted.