Spiller86

Exactly. People forget it's a long season. It's not going to be all high pressing and space in the midfield to do as we please as it has been recently. In the same way as Giroud needs to play a role in the bigger tighter games to come so will Kovacic when it is important to have someone who can dribble past someone to make space on midfield.

Agreed. We'll really see what's what this year against Spurs. Jose has a habit of doing well against teams that play like us.

I said before we bought him that this is his way. He scores lots and he misses lots. He needs to take a large volume of shots to be effective. Thankfully he has been getting lots of shots so far.

Streaky performance but a win is a win. Shame to see the poor marking at corners return tonight. Nice to see Oli on the scoresheet, perhaps this will mean he can get some more minutes. As he was last year he will be more and more important in the tighter games to come after Christmas where there is more at stake and teams start to work out our current approach.

Definite handball especially given how trigger happy VAR is towards penalties these days. That aside it's another big game that Rodgers has lost. Yet again proving a nearly man.

Rodgers failing in the big moments again.

Who voted for Emerson haha. That could actually top when a heap of people used to vote for Torres as MoM whenever he didn't tie his shoelaces together!

Penalty FC at it again I see. Even when the keeper saves, it's no no let Manchester United take it again, it's very important to the Premier League that they remain relevant.

It's not still alive loz. I'm not sure it was ever open, apart from with Sarri and his cult. Anyway Frank's comments today suggest they are managing him really carefully to stop the injuries and niggles. He was saying they've got to stop him at training because he only has one speed and will put up ridiculous numbers for distance run and sprints even in training after playing 2 games in a week. We're bloody lucky to have him. Hopefully we can keep him on the park regularly, because that'll make a lot of difference to us finishing high up the table.

Top performance. Great to see Rudiger back and it gives me hope that Lampard has finally moved on from picking physically soft players who look the part but wilt at the first sign of pressure. Christensen well and truly on the outer now. Truth is we should have won by at least four. Werner again showing his streaky finishing but that assist at the end for Abraham was sublime. Well done to Mount, James and Kante who were all at the top of their game.

Kante takes care of business again as the DM. Provided that shield which is so critical with Chilwell and James advanced. Not just that but he built up the play superbly. He just keeps proving people wrong and doing it with a smile on his face. Great player and we're lucky to have him at Chelsea.

He's already a very good player and is still young. Probably more advanced than Lampard was when he first joined us, key is whether he can really take the next step to being elite like Frank did.

Ah how about the stack of goals that carried us into the top four after lockdown last season? I'm not saying he should start, I just think it is bizarre that he barely gets on the pitch at all. Same thing this time last year and then Tammy fell off a cliff and he picked up the slack. He is certainly slower than Tammy which doesn't help with the press, but we're wasting him in my view.

Understandable that he wants to move on. At his age you just want to play. He was superb last season and it boggles my mind that he hasn't featured more.

Just a note, not aimed at you or anyone specifically.

I'm sorry, didn't you know he can't play as the CDM? His passing isn't good enough or something or other.

Agreed. Beyond the usual suspects who bemoan every possible signing with an Anglo surname, many thought he could be a useful part of the squad, especially reconnecting with Kante in midfield. I worried about the price (as I often do ) but I don't I thought he would turn out this poorly. I think you're right that elite attitude is key and he sadly seems to have fallen short of that. Anyway to continue your On the Waterfront reference he coulda been a contender, he coulda been somebody, instead of a bum.

Anyone else think there are a ton of penalties being given out all of a sudden? I'm not sure if it is VAR or something else, but there seem to be lots being given all round.

Spot on. The obsession with statistics is bordering on silly. Kante got an assist for what looked like a deflection off him that happened to bounce to Werner to score. The numbers border on meaningless sometimes. Ziyech's pass won't count for a thing in the stats but it set up the goal (as did Kovacic's run). More broadly on Mateo it is certainly a new role for him. The thing I found bizarre was that he seemed to play higher up than Mount. His key strength is carrying the ball through midfield. Makes no sense to have him play furthest forward.

Oh dear. At least no criminal allegations this time. He needs to be careful, moves to Bayern can quickly become moves to Brentford regardless of talent. Just ask Josh McEachran.

Ziyech was superb. He isn't a 90 percent pass completion type of player but the ones that come off are superb. He takes risks which is key, not this pass it around in a U shape until we give it away. I think we'll see his real mettle when teams try to rough him up a bit. Has had a clean run until now.

I thought he looked a bit lost tbh. Didn't really adapt to the more advanced role. Some of his work without the ball was a bit lazy too, too much jogging back when caught above the turnover. Naturally he was a bit rusty after not playing for a few weeks.

Both have their strengths, I think we'll see Dave play more of the games where defensive stability is required. Reece's crossing is great and he looks particularly good when he has no direct opponent like tonight, but Dave will feature when you need some street smarts and good defensive decision making. Reece is at times liable to get caught ball watching or giving it away in bad areas when under pressure. A good problem to have though!

Just quietly Pochettino is the suckers appointment by United if they decide to go that way. Appointing him 3 years too late. Nagelsmann is the bloke you want to go for. As for us, criteria remains the same - make the top four and keep the team moving in the right direction. No discussion at all about a change in my view.

Not sure many are railing against him. For mine I'm happy for him to be given time to grow and evolve his approach, which he needs to do. We've seen that growth this year already with our defence starting tighten up. I remain to be convinced that he is 100% the guy who'll win us our next PL/CL but it is better than having Sarri here by about a million percent.