Arq

That's a good win. 5 points clear! I was tense as well during extra time. Now it's back to spending time with the little one.

Evans is really f**king pissing me off out there... I'm trying not to lose my temper (newborn in the room with me) but I'm finding it really tough... ;)

Drogba gets a boot to the chest (twice) and HE gets the yellow card?!?!?! Brilliant. edit: TEEERRRRRRYYYYYY!!! YEAH!!!!

I think RBJ has it spot on except for one thing. I would probably go with Deco at the tip of the diamond over Joey. Deco has been in good form as of late and I think his passing is a still little more crisp. I'm also not convinced that Joey is 100% (I want to be wrong here, I really do). If Deco seems flat or frustrated, change him out for Joey in the 50th - 55th minute. That still gives the lads the ability to get it together with Joey in there. I believe this is a must win. A victory here tells the league that we're not messing around this year. It also would give us a nice cushion for any slip-ups that could happen later on.

Ivan gets motm from me. He had a cracking performance. Sucks that he didn't get credit for that 3rd goal (it was an own goal). Still, brilliant overall. :P The 4th goal was amazing. Who says that Chelsea can't play beautiful football? Lamps' shot that hammered off the bar was just awesome. Did anyone check if he dented it? :lol:

I'm running Windows 7 via Boot Camp on my MacBook Pro. I had to try it since my gaming rig is still a Windows based machine and I wanted to do some testing on it. I have to say that I'm very unimpressed at the moment. I haven't done a lot with it, and maybe just installing Avast!, Comodo, and Firefox after doing the double install using the upgrade version soured me, but Windows 7 just feels and acts too much like Vista. I know it's basically the same engine and skin, but it really just feels like Vista with a different shell. I'm still getting the in's and out's of it though, so maybe I'll change my mind. With that said... Snow Leopard > Windows 7. :P

That it is. Villa has had quite a few minutes. I've been biting my nails something fierce since the 42nd. :P Halftime... I'm optimistic for the 2nd half.

There's that luck turning it's back on us. Spot of bad luck there that Villa took advantage of. Lamps just didn't get enough on that header (bad timing on the jump maybe?). Carvalho should have not let him escape though, that was just bad play. Cole's run in the 22nd was awesome... He deserved a goal. Whoa! Deco almost just put one in! Brilliant flick! I like the response... Very promising.

Nice strike by Drogba, but even nicer was the bit of luck that went in our favor. Friedel should have had that shot. Nonetheless, up 1. Woot! :lol:

Got to admit, this made me laugh. I don't think you missed anything Gem.

I wanted to get on here and post yesterday after the match, but with the misses being very pregnant atm sometimes I just don't get the time I'd like to have. I thought it was a brilliant match yesterday. The first 15 minutes or so was a bit scary, but the guys picked it up and got a well deserved win. I thought it was just a matter of time until Nico's goal broke the scoreless tie at the hour mark. Then I proceeded to bite my nails heavily until Malouda's goal sealed the deal. :D When Deco is healthy (and happy), the man can create some magic on the pitch. Was it just me or did it seem that every time Nico had the ball he got double-teamed? Definitely a sign of respect for his skills and play-making abilities. I was telling the misses that it seems that when Deco, Nico, and Drogba have the ball some magic is about to happen. Both of Drogba's assists were brilliant imho the second being the more "jaw dropping" of the two. Essien was just flat out amazing. He's the workhorse that doesn't get the credit he deserves. How many players named "Terry" are on this team? Just one? Wow... because JT seemed to be everywhere. A big to him. Every time we needed a clear, seemed like Terry delivered. Bravo. Cole and Ivanovic were great. Cole wasn't perfect, but he had some great runs up the pitch creating some opportunities. MOTM: Hilario. Can't ask for more then a backup goalie to come in and play with the confidence he did. Overall a superb match. Well done. I made sure I had a brew (or four) during the day afterwords. I was worried about this match. It's good to see that type of result.

2-0 to the Blues... I'm hoping they have a fire under their ass after the Wigan debacle.

I agree with what you're saying Scott, I just can't get over my gut feeling that no matter what the outcome of the investigation, nothing will be done about it. People are quick at pointing fingers, but not so quick at pointing those fingers at themselves. Here's to hoping something positive comes from the whole thing.

I missed the game, spent my time going between checking the phone for updates and watching my son get back on the pitch after the stitches in his knee were removed earlier this week. Reading the forums, sounds like I might have pitched something into my TV if I watched it. I haven't checked youtube or anywhere else yet, but how did Cech earn a red card?

Voted for Drogba. The man was unstoppable. His cross that Cole headed in really started the onslaught. Give Bosingwa an honorable mention here, thought he played great. Overall, a good day for the team. The only negative is Drogba's injury. Hope all is well there.

That was a great win! I was a bit worried after the first half, but Ashley's goal definitely helped to ease the worry. That was a wonderful header. Bossy's rocket off of the crossbar early on was nothing short of breathtaking. That thing was a laser. The second half was a dominant Chelsea performance. The boys really stepped it up, something they've seemed to do in a lot of games so far this year. I would say that Drogba was unbelievable, but it's Drogba... It's very believable. :( The guy is World class and one of the best, if not THE best, no doubt about it. Essien had a great match. Cech did as well as his save on Defoe early on prevented them from getting the lead and possibly changing the mindset of the game from then on. I have to agree with TheWestwayWonder's assessment on the non-call for Keane's supposed penalty. Well said. Is there any official word on Drogba's injury?

Nice ratings Just. Very amusing and accurate. ;)

What happened to Deco? I read he had a hamstring injury but I didn't pick up where/when it happened. Guy always seems to be hurt... :D

Good read. Unfortunately, I don't see anything coming of it. It's a definite slap in the face that Orvebo never had his performance reviewed. Without spitting out words of a conspiracy theory, why else would UEFA not review that performance? I've seen some bad refs in my time (everyone makes mistakes, right?) but that ref and match certainly took the cake. And yes, UEFA could do it again this year. Would anyone really be surprised?

I had a whole thing typed up then realized I was just fueling the fire even more. So, I'll just summarize my opinions. MOTM - Ballack with Essien a well deserver as well. The midfield of Deco, Lampard, Ballack, and Essien is damn good. And last of all, if it wasn't for Jensen, that's a 6-0 or 7-0 outcome.

Drogs for me, a great showing! :P

2-1... Drogba and Lamps with the goals. Although I'm hoping for a 3-0 or 4-0 outcome in our favor. :D

I agree with Loz's points as well. I think Anelka will start in place of Kalou and Riccy in place of Ivanovic. Malouda hasn't done anything wrong to lose his starting job, I just don't see where he would fit in the diamond if Deco plays the tip and Lamps is on the left side. I'd like to see Studge come in to sub for Anelka in the middle of the second half. Getting him some minutes will go a long way when we lose Drogs and Kalou to the ACN. I'd also like to see us not go down 1-0 and have to come from behind to win! How about just taking the lead early and just cruise to a nice victory? :)

I didn't get to watch the whole game, but from what I saw, Deco looked exceptional. His goal was just brilliant. Hands down, MOTM for me. :P

Great post Pauly. Seeing more of the diamond, how it was played, and how this club will be able to play it fascinates me.