Chelsea (H) 06.03.17 - 8pm k/o SS1

thornburyiron

I think the squads being what they are we can rule out anything from the top 6 teams as we are way way behind them.
There were some positives but I think we are far too slow and labouring in everything we do which means generally we lose the ball and teams like Chelsea are at our throats before we know it.
We made very bad mistakes which cost us two goals tonight and you just can't do it against the top teams.

jay_in_cpt

Beaten by the champions elect..
We didn't cave in but didn't create enough, also down to their excellent defending..
Both goals were soft , but not gutted with our performance, disappointed we got nothing, but fair result IMO ..
A few injuries / knocks, just hope they are minor / precautionary ..

EXETERHAMMER

Pains me to say it, but Chelsea are a very good team. We didn't get rolled over, but they were very much in control.

Hantshammer

Well we never got rolled over but they were too classy for us. Not sure what Bilic sees in Fernandes but my main gripe is with our back passing and Noble taking free kicks too quickly putting team mates under pressure without looking for a better option.

Hantshammer

Is Fletcher injured? Would have liked him to have come on instead of Fernandes

Moore_than_a_nick

I thought Fernandes was quite bright when he came on - presumably what Bilic sees in him is a central midfielder who is actually quite quick as well as decent in passing and intercepting.

However, I was sitting for much of the game thinking we are only going to score through Lanzini running through them or from a corner. I wanted Ayew on for Feghouli at half time, but then thought that would leave Kouyate more exposed. (We really miss Antonio.) So I thought let's put Ayew on for Nobes, put Lanzini in the middle with Obiang and switch to 4-4-2. Carroll just looked isolated.

Overall just disappointed that we a) told Chelsea we expected Carroll to start (they looked very prepared to deal with him, and I'd like to see the club's communications aimed at winning games not managing demand for tickets); b) didn't put decent enough crosses into him; and c) didn't then come up with a plan B, other than hoping that Lanzini would waltz through them, which he did... too late. If Lanzini had scored his earlier chance after being put through by Nobes, we could have had a very different outcome. But we can't expect him to take every chance.

Last point: while we made mistakes for their two goals, to a degree we were undone by Moses' defending (including a block almost off the line). Who would have thunk it? Happy for the lad, and always liked to watch him (still remember the scoop he did over some defender's head), but wish he had been more consistent with us. It's been a season of transformations from last season.

Moore_than_a_nick

Hantshammer said:

Is Fletcher injured? Would have liked him to have come on instead of Fernandes

It seems that Noble had a dead leg in training and was a doubt, so perhaps his fitness was the reason for bringing more or less like-for-like on for him. Though of course still no reason why Bilic couldn't have been more adventurous even in this case. But it would have had to have been Calleri, not Fletcher. Haven't seen or heard anything about a Fletcher injury, so don't know why he wasn't on the bench, but perhaps Bilic thought Ayew and Calleri were enough. I kind of wish Calleri hadn't have scored his one goal, since that might have revived his selection chances here instead of making Bilic realise he should play Fletcher more.

Adam

To confirm the atmosphere: it was amazing at the beginning. Best it's been in the league. Once their goal went in, it seems the puff went out of both the players and the fans. The atmosphere never really recovered until we scored at the end.

claretandbluesky

I think we played pretty well and the effort and pace of the game which we pretty much kept up shows we have a great attitude at present which means for me that Slav is doing his job well.

The downside is that the gulf in class between top 4-5 and the middle 8-9 is getting bigger once again. We played well and we gave it all we had but we do not have the class players that Chelsea have and that tells over 90 minutes despite effort and attitude.

Imagine if we heard tomorrow we were signing just one of Hazard, Luiz, Costa (?) Willian, Kante, or Cahill, we would be ecstatic, and yet Chelsea fielded them all this evening. I cant fault ourselves but slightly depressed we are so behind the top teams once again after bridging the gap last season.

TwistandShout

I thought we played pretty well. The pitch doesn't suit us at all though, when we lose the ball when attacking its almost 3 vs 3.
The opposition always look like they are going to score as soon as we lose it. I love Noble but he can't play the games at 'home' for me, he's not quick enough for the big spaces.

In the summer we need to spend big on some pacy players

chicagohammer

All in all I think it was good performance, Chelsea are a very good team and had to be really disciplined, they know they were in a game today, the biggest difference to me was how quick they were on the counter, we seemed pedestrian in comparison.

Lanzini should have hit the target in the first half and I think we should have had a penalty when Fabio leaned into the ball, his arm was by his side and if the ball had struck him then I do not think it would be given but he clearly leaned towards the ball and deflected it away.

Randy pulled a worldly save to deny Costa,

To be honest it was a fair result, I saw effortnd I was on the edge of my seat most of the game and I cannot ask for more than that.

That was certainly not a poor performance against the best team in the league.

MIAHammer

It wasn't the first time this season where we've over-committed on a set piece and have been caught out.

NEoldiron

Hants
"Noble dithering"
Who'd've thunk it ;whistle

Pearces_Left_Foot

Chelsea never really needed to get out of second gear they were compact hard to break down and quick on the counter. First goal why did n't Noble cross it ! Andy and the two centre back are up and he passes to a player with two Chelsea players on him ;devil

WHU_Champo_league_in_7_years

At the end of the day we lost by 1 goals against the champions elect....and they aren't just gonna win it but by a margin

Stupid first goal to give away when Chelsea really weren't doing much offensively

But hazard is one of the best players in the world and Costa one of the best centre forwards and they break so quick they are so hard to stop

Noble should be dropped....he can't keep up with the game and dithers too much on the ball

Would like to see a Kouyate-Obiang pivot with Byram the likely candidate for RB

Think Ayew deserves a couple starts, he's our big money player and he could be a key member in our squad if he gets game time

FlorinRaduclious

RaducliousReport:

Personally I thought we played relatively well. We had a fair chunk of possession (52%, BBC) and spread the play pretty decently. In general we stopped Chelsea dominating and limited them to 9 shots, 4 on target (they have averaged 14.8 / 5.5 per game this season, whoscored). However we created few clear cut chances. Chelsea stifled our game plan in the final third for the most part and unfortunately their class showed when it mattered. Their first goal was a mistake threefold; Noble should have crossed when he had the ball, Snodgrass once he received the ball should either have played his pass better or instead taken a touch forward and then crossed it himself with his right, and finally leaving Cress back on his own against a Chelsea side known for counter attacking was very naïve. For the second goal I think unfortunately Reid got wrong footed and Costa ghosted him. We continued to press and eventually got a goal after good work by Carroll and Ayew fed Lanzini to fire home. A disappointing result, but a 2-1 loss to the likely league champions isn't shameful.

Randy wasn't really at fault for either goal and was solid and dependable. One excellent save from a Costa turn and shot.

Other than the 2nd goal Reid played well, comfortable with the ball at feet. Fonte had an odd game, as generally he played very well but he made three separate singular silly mistakes which Chels almost profited from.

Again Kouyate provided a constant wide option when we had the ball, and did some good work overall. However defensively his positioning at right back is often lacking and his awareness of who is around him sometimes lets him down. I really would halt this experiment now and give Byram the role until season's end, see how he does.

Cresswell had a decent game. Passing was generally sharp and he stopped Moses from being effective offensively however this did limit his own attacking opportunities. Still managed to overlap Snod where possible but unlucky not to get more crosses away.

I thought both Obiang and Noble had good games. In a central midfield where Fabregas, Kante, Pedro and Hazard all roam they held their own pretty well. For me in the first 20 minutes Noble was the most effective player on the park. However, he takes his share of the blame for the first goal. Both players covered lots of ground and spread the play well. Obiang also made a couple of excellent tackles.

Our little gem struggled to find space with Fabregas and particularly Kante filling those gaps he loves to exploit and as result we couldn't get Lanzini on the ball as much as we would have liked. When he did get it he had some good drives and nice touches. Took his goal superbly.

Feghouli stayed wide and resultantly his relatively high press stopped Alonso pushing on too frequently. Wasn't particularly influential offensively himself first half but always provided an option. Made his best driving dribbles ironically during the 15 minutes before his substitution.

A fair chunk of our attacking play seemed to come down the left as Snodgrass and Cress combined well. Unfortunately he was defended against amply and once again being so left footed didn't cut inside very often and hadn't the pace to go outside the wing back. I still feel he would be more effective on the right side. Did put in some good corners.

Chelsea defended against Carroll masterfully. He made some good flick-ons and was a constant menace but was outnumbered up top and wasn't allowed to dictate the centre backs like he often does. Sadly Luiz in particular had a great game. On a positive note in spite of the prematch worry about his fitness he completed the full 90 and never stopped trying.

The subs all did decently after coming on but could not change the match enough to affect the final result. Byram pushed forward well but looked a little lacking in match sharpness. Fernandes had some good touches but couldn't preside over the Chelsea centre, and Ayew struggled for space but looked sharp and did well for our goal.

FlorinFactoid:
With only one vowel across the surname initials of our starting 11, the longest word I could make was 6 letters (Been getting into Countdown the last couple of weeks on 4OD). Frocks.

grey_til_I_dye

Florin

I'd pretty much agree with all of that.

I thought Chelsea played a really intelligent game. They'd clearly identified the flanks as the main area where we might hurt them, and set out to close them off.

I'm not so sure we denied them possession; I think they ceded it to keep things tight, confident they would get chances on the break, which they did.

It looked like a European away performance (or any Italian away performance from the 80's.)

MunichHammer

As has been said before, we lost to a superior team and probably the next PL champions. There is no shame in that. In fact, Randy made some great saves, we should have had a penalty and AC, who had been out injured for the past 4 weeks came through the match alright.
Our next three matches will be much more of a benchmark. We are all but safe from relegation and it is now imperative that we get this season over and done with. Most teams have trouble adapting to a new stadium and we are no different to that. Next season will be better, I am sure of that and if we get the odd shrewd signing we can end up top half once more.

Moore_than_a_nick

Did anyone else think that if Obiang had predicted that Hazard would try to slot it between Randy and the near post (which seemed quite easy, given the angles - it was about all that was on) that he could have slid in and at least prevented the goal if it went fairly low (as it did)? Instead, he seemed to check his run, as if he thought Hazard might go for the far post and then it was too late to put in the block.

FlorinRaduclious

Grey - you are spot on there. Their game plan was perfect and the players played it expertly. Last line nails it. Conte has proved to be the most effective manager in the league this year. Start of the season the team was playing well in one formation but had some minor areas of weakness, so he adjusted the side to a formation not previously played much in our league and has got them doing it superbly, without really showing any weakness. Compared to the frailties to the likes of very good attacking Klopp and Guardiola sides is noticeable.

Yes, my wording wasn't quite right, I agree that we didn't deny them possession but that we stopped them dominating the ball and knocking in 3+ goals without reply like they have done to Leicester (twice: 3-0); Bournemouth (3-0); Everton (5-0); Man Utd (4-0); Arsenal (3-0); Burnley (3-0); just in the league this season.

We put a good account for ourselves but the better team won basically.

Vorselaarhammer

We need Cheik back in MF he can cover more ground in the MF 2 than Noble. I hope Ayew starts getting a run of games.

A frustrating night but I am not sure if Chelsea just just didn't get out of 3rd gear. A very Italian performance (meant in the best way possible).

Their counter attacking was Superb and scared the life out of me.

IronHerb

I'm not sure Chelsea actually got into 3rd gear. They didn't break sweat.

alderz

I think we need Kouyaté back in midfield now, tbh, particularly for home games. I don't think it would have made too much difference last night, but we definitely lacked pace on a big pitch.

Next time I would like to see:

Randolph; Byram Fonte Reid Cresswell; Kouyate Obiang; Antonio Lanzini Ayew; Carroll

NEoldiron

Alderz, you do realise that you've dropped the undroppable, don't you? ;hmm

Vorselaarhammer

Herb - ;ok

thornburyiron

I don't know why the "big pitch" keeps getting used as an excuse, it's not much bigger than the Boleyn. If it's in our mindset that it's a much wider pitch than the Boleyn then why did Snodgrass, Byram and Cresswell on more than one occasion run the ball out of play. Surely they would be thinking they'd got yards to spare.
If we'd played at the Boleyn or on a 5 a side pitch, the outcome would probably be the same. Chelsea are man for man much better than us in all aspects. They are technically better, pacier, move better and think faster and more intelligently. The first goal was a prime example as we had 6 or 7 players including our 2 CB's in their area and Noble did not put the ball in the box but instead did his usual dithering and then a 2 yard pass. They had Hazard and Pedro in our half not far from our box but when they got the ball they were off like whippets. When Hazard passed to Pedro and sped through there was only going to be one outcome.
All of the top 6 have improved from last year and normal service has been resumed and at the moment we can't do much about it. Round about 9th to 13th is presently all we can hope for but some decent signings in the summer may help us go for 7th or 8th but I think top 6 is a long way off.

alderz

NE

Up until now, Noble has been my preferred option at CM, but I just think that we need a bit more mobility in the middle of the park at the moment.

Unless you mean Snodgrass?

Slaven_Cups_His_Beard

The pitch is 15 feet longer, its absolute nonsense to say that is a factor, the sight lines and open spaces beyond the touch lines maybe.

Rush green has training pitches the same size as the LS, it's a red herring.

I thought we played okay we were pressing and keeping possession quite well, the goals were avoidable again.

Noble doesn't just put an aimless cross in and tries to keep it on the floor, and that's wrong? Oh times have changed. Snodgrass gave it away far too cheapily as he did a few times last night.

My only gripes are playing one of our best midfielders at RB and no help for AC, apart from that we were fine, move on to the next and I fancy three points vs Bournemouth

coyi

NEoldiron

Alderz your first guess was correct.
I'll be honest, I've never rated Noble, apart from last season, for the simple reasons that are always mentioned, ie. lack of pace, dithering, passing (almost always sideways or backwards). He's also often reckless with his tackling around the penalty area.
Can't fault his commitment, though, but commitment alone is not enough for the PL. He's Champo quality, but sadly not more.

IronHerb

Slimy,
But why would it be an aimless cross? We had everyman and his dog in their penalty area and so Nobes opts for the 5m pass, that has been his trademark, to a player already under pressure. In the past we would have played the aimless cross to a single isolated striker in the opposition box. So it was a poor option played poorly.