spadefx

Disappointing after the start we had, Leicester are a good side but with the quality in our lineup we should be more dominant. To be brutally honest, the draw was fortunate. We looked a bit leggy and out of ideas after the opening 20 minutes. That instense high press is a great plan A, but when the energy levels dropped (much like the Man U game), we missed the crucial interceptions and players nded up out of position, gifting easy counter-attacks. The lack of a top class striker to bail us out route one is going to hurt, but that's been the case since Costa (and since Drogba before that) - we need to find new ways through. Aimless crossing from the wings without midfield runners isn't the answer. Giroud (and Higuain/Morata) can pick up the odd header from a pinpoint cross, but we can't rely on that being our only route through when we aren't countering. The defensive problems are what they are, Zouma and Christensen will grow into the roles and Rudiger returning will be a massive boost. It's up front - and it's the movement and off-ball runs that we need to improve on (that, and a bit of composure in the finish). We're not miles away - you can see from how dominant we are in patches when the aggression and intensity are at 10 - but we need to adapt when the frantic energy fades, the attacking plays need to be better thought out, and stay sensible with a press when the cover's not there.

This has been an excellent, entertaining start. Great press and off-balance finish from Mount. We look sharp, and Jorginho looking in total control, really enjoying this start.

Strong lineup, and some great options from the bench. Looking forward to seeing a Lampard led Chelsea smash it this afternoon. Big day for Mount and Abraham too, they've looked sharp in pre-season, excited for them. Lets kick start this season!

Buzzing for this one, knowing we tend to step up when everyone else is writing us off, and Lampard will be driving that home. Expectations are low apparently, a lot of folk happy if we can "steal" a draw. Personally don't see anything in that Man Utd side that our squad isn't capable of handling. It's been a bright pre-season on the attacking front, our midfield's looking a lot more aggressive and direct than we set up under Sarri. We might not keep a clean sheet tomorrow while the new back four settle, but I fancy us well set up to out-score them. Looking forward to the season opener, hoping for a big statement with an aggressive win.

I'm gonna bite. Top 4, two finals, massive change in playing style. Absolutely a work in progress, there's been mistakes and there's been ups and downs in progress, but considering the squad we have and where we were last year, this has been a decent season. I'm maybe in the minority but I think he's had a promising start, and I'm looking forward to next season. Maybe just on a semi-final win high? I'm happy.

We're in a European final, celebrate a little! Frankfurt are no pushovers. I can agree there weren't any 'stellar' performances, and plenty of individual mistakes, but that team performance just won us a semi final. Every one of them deserves credit.

Absolutely buzzing, bring on the final! We really never do it the easy way! Really tough night, a lot of leggy performances and not a great deal of alternatives on the bench. Just about did enough defensively to avoid a 2nd away goal which would've ended it. Luiz and Zappa with two excellent clearances to keep us in it. Wasn't a fan of the booing for the Loftus Cheek substitution, Barkley did well and it was clearly an injury related swap. Jorginho MOTM again for me, most of our better play came through him, covered a lot of gaps defensively, and took such a calm penalty when the pressure was on. Wasn't our best football, probably deserved it over the two legs but Frankfurt certainly made us work for it. Lets hope we can wrap up a difficult, but progressive season with a Europa League win!

I think he's been much more aggressive in recent matches, don't know whether this is his own doing or Sarri's instructing him to press higher/harder. Regardless, it's working. He's beginning to show signs of why Sarri trusts him to lead this midfield and dictate our tempo. Looking a man with a winning desire, and its rubbing off on the team around, collectively we pressed and harried Frankfurt and Watford very well (albeit much better in both 2nd halves). Long may it continue, he's a class act on this form.

Superb second half. Commited men forward, took risks and it ultimately paid off. Midfield trio again very impressive. Loftus Cheek looks unstoppable when he turns and drives forward, Jorginho kept the intensity up with some excellent quick forward passing, and Kovacic too was constantly pressing and quickly moving possession forward. Pleased for Higuain too, wasn't a great performance from him but a quality goal. Giroud could've had a brace too, unfortunate as you can see the effort and desire there. Needed a win, got a win, job done with a couple goals to spare. And a nice touch with the Cahill substitution, happy we were in a position to give him a (presumably) farewell at home. Roll on Thursday, next must-win game.

Decent half, but there's not enough movement at the box, Higuain again the biggest culprit. Probably should've had a pen for the Luiz hauldown, but we've rode our luck a little too. The midfield three are doing well, but we're going to need one of them, or the full backs, to take the risk and try to break the line. Would like to see Giroud and one of Barkley/Willian introduced early in the half, fresh legs and some more attacking intent. Massive 45 minutes coming up, nervous and hopeful.

It's a decent draw, don't think anyone expected us put the tie to bed tonight and it should prevent any complacency going into the home leg. Could've scored more, could've had a few more decisions our way, but then so could they. Think the midfield trio in particular did a great job. And an important one for me was that Christensen settled into it 2nd half, need him to settle into that role alongside Luiz given they'll likely now play every game for the rest of the season. Half time, any win sees us into the final and we'll be playing at home. Like top 4 it's there for us if we deliver, crunch time now. Looking forward to hopefully seeing us deliver a strong finish to the season.

Last 15 minutes were much better after a really sluggish start. I think Willian and Pedro playing a bit closer to our midfield helped, a lot of players looked very isolated in the opening 30. Frankfurt have pressed well, fouled when they needed to and got away with a few too, mind you Christensen's very lucky to still be on the pitch so I guess both sides have benefited from some questionable calls. Great header from their forward for the goal but Luiz needed to be closer. Keep up the intensity of the end of that half and there's more chances in this for us. Jorginho slowly gained control of the pace of the match, Kante and Loftus Cheek are finding more pockets to drive into, and the front 3 are starting to threaten (fine finish from Pedro). Looks like the goal at least woke us up! Fingers crossed for a strong second half display.

Wasn't exactly the most convincing 2nd half, but it's ultimately two difficult wins against a really decent side (which I think has been a bit overlooked), without our strongest XI in either fixture. We're into the semi final, achieved everything we could've in this competiton so far, and it should be a great tie with Frankfurt. Looking forward to the matches.

Looking forward to this one. Would quite like to see Hazard, Giroud and Hudson Odoi lead the line for this but I reckon Willian will start ahead of one of the latter two depending on the system Sarri wants to play. However we lineup we'll have a lot more opportunity to break and counter than we have in recent weeks against packed defences. Plays in our favour. Always fancy us as "underdogs", plus we have a knack of upsetting title runs. Roll on Sunday!

Pleased for Alonso, well taken header and a forward run with intent when we needed it. Very poor first half from him but hopefully that's a confidence boost for future appearances. Would much prefer Emerson for the Liverpool game though. Thought Willian for his creativity and Jorginho for his marshalling stood out over the 90, but it was a very forgettable team performance against a really fired up Czech side. Such a quality difference in Loftus Cheek and Hazard in particular over Barkley and Pedro too. Probably Pedro's worst game in a Chelsea shirt, their left back gave him nothing. Anyway, another important win, the away goal's always significant and hopefully we can push on with this lead in the home leg and get to the semi final. Big weekend ahead, no rest really but confidence should be good and we're starting to pick up big results, absolutely capable of taking points from Anfield regardless of their form. And for that small group of racist "fans" filmed, hope they're promptly banned by the club. No place at any football club for people like that, the sooner that message sinks in the better.

To be fair to Slavia Prague, they've pressed us very effectively. Traore in their midfield has won everything loose in the middle. It genuinely looks like it's been a surprise to our players how good they've been, which surely shouldn't be the case. On the negative side Alonso's been awful, Pedro and Giroud haven't been able to hold a ball, and (despite a generally good work rate) our midfield trio can't find a pass forward. Need to see more from Willian too, he's been our only attacking threat so far but he's flitting in and out of the game. Unlucky with his trademark snap and curl shot. We miss Kante's tenacity, Luiz's vision and Hazard's magic, but there's enough quality on the pitch to get an important away win here. Need the "fringe" players to step up second half, this lineup's a lot better than that first half performance.

Someone needs to have a word with Alonso. He's started horribly and his head's down. Its 0-0, get over the mistakes and get up to the pace of this match.

Thought Sarri handled the Drinkwater questions very well. Journos super keen for a "not good enough" soundbite and he kept it very respectful.

To be fair to him, its games like these I'm usually wondering why he's even needed, given the opposition don't press him. Hasn't looked like he's made good use of the time and space he's been given really, but tonight he drove forward and influenced our attacks a lot more.

Very good performance, great three points. Thought Jorginho ran the show, some wayward forward passes but he had a real drive to inject the pace when needed, and take the sting out when the team needed to regroup. Giroud too, got the goal and although it wasn't a 'memorable' striker's performance, showed real fight and leadership in the final 3rd. Hazard and Loftus Cheek's goals were superb. And although I think Pedro and Willian are harshly criticized on this forum, Hudson Odoi's performance (first half in particular) was every bit as threatening as they've been at their best this season. Has to be in the starting rotation as often as they are on that form. Final hat tip goes to Christensen, thought he snuffed out a lot of attacks before they developed and played a very composed sweeper role, dealing with a few tricky overhead long balls really well. Solid team win, great couple of results to kick on in the final stretch of the season.

Really tricky first half, Brighton packing their box very effectively and pose a threat on the counter. Hopefully we can avoid the token post half-time brain fart and find a 2nd early to kill this. Sort of game we could use a Fabregas in place of Jorginho for the intricate passing. Azpi's move for the goal was crucial though, and need more of that from him, Emerson, Kante and Ruben. Promising from Hudson Odoi too, got the assist and he's definitely justifying the first start in the league. Good work rate and discipline to cover defensively too, which is the usual criticism. Sliced shot could've happened to anyone, hope he keeps his head up and smashes home the next chance. Looking forward to the second half!

Although there were a lot of justified criticisms of the starting lineup, the one that I thought held us back the most was Jorginho - not so much that he played poorly, but more that he was never needed in this sort of game. Looked a more creative side against a defensive opponent when he came off - two attack-minded midfielders in Barkley and Loftus Cheek, and Kovacic a more dynamic deep lying midfielder than Jorginho is. We've deperately needed a scrappy 'team-building' late win. Hopefully that's that shakes off the defeatist attitude we've had when trailling recently. The 3 points were all that mattered, so long as we can kick on and keep picking up wins, roll on Wednesday!

It's a good way away from my ideal lineup too but that's still a strong side, with a lot of talent to bring on if needed. There's a lot of games in a short window coming up, it might not be the rotations everyone wanted but the key thing is results. The 11 picked are plenty good enough to win this, lets see if we can get back to away wins. Looking forward to it!

Have to completely disagree on Klopp and Guardiola getting their "styles" nailed down pretty quickly. Guardiola in particular was under massive pressure throughout his first season, barely spoke to the media by the end and looked damn close to walking. He was consistently hounded for putting system first despite the players' (particularly goalkeeper and defenders) struggles. Not suggesting it's all clicking into place just yet but we at least appear to have some direction and footballing philosophy, and despite the bumps along the way we're doing OK. The team seem a lot more together than they did under Mourinho or Conte, and despite the media narrative we keep showing glimpses of brilliance in this setup, I'm happy to be patient and see it develop. This was an important win, made all the more difficult given Fulham's managerial change, and but for better finishing would've been a more comfortable scoreline. I just don't like the negativity, it's another 3 points and we're one game in hand from the top 4, I'd say we're on the right track.

Pretty much the team expected, Kepa sitting out is understandable but frustrating. Always fancy us at home, Spurs obviously have a lot of quality but so do we, and some excellent options on the bench. If we're as organised and fired up as we were on Sunday this will be a good night, looking forward to it!