DaRick

Should really be winning this with a B-team.

For the neutrals, a terrific game. I have to admit that while the result could have been much worse, conceding late to a former Chelsea player is a real kick in the teeth (though I have to admit that it was a goal worthy of an equaliser if not a win). Objectively, a point is probably fair. Chelsea were better in the first half, Liverpool were IMO better in the second. It is interesting how Liverpool dominated possession, which is highly unusual against a Sarri side - I do get the impression that this was deliberate on Sarri's part, as if he was content to stand off a little bit and challenge Liverpool to pass their way through Chelsea rather than allow them to hit Chelsea on the counter, which Klopp typically prefers. Hazard of course stood out, but credit has to go to little Rudiger for his tackling. EDIT: Agree with those confused by the Barkley sub, Whatever Barkley's strengths, he's much less accomplished at retaining possession than Kovacic (who impressed) and you don't want to lose the ball against a counter-attacking side like Liverpool.

Had a feeling Pedro would be unfit and Van Dijk would be passed fit. Hopefully he's a bit lethargic. Nervous about this. I assume Kovacic was picked. We'll need him to retain posession.

Eden, with his belter for the ages, deserves MOM (or GOM, as @coco no doubt agrees). Hopefully we'll be saying this in the next hours. Caballero did well too, making some acrobatic stops, He has always been a fine shot-stopper - and interestingly he did show some distributional qualities (though not on par with Kepa's).

Generic American AOR to the rescue!

Seems that Jose's third season syndrome is manifesting itself yet again. Symptoms include mediocre on-pitch performance and tensions between the manager and the players/board. The cure is immediate removal from his position.

Don't forget the obligatory statue outside Stamford Bridge...

From dirty old Leeds...

Our third goal against Huddersfield came from a counter, as did our third against Arsenal (when Lacazette lost the ball). This is also a somewhat illuminating read.

You make a good point. That said, IMO Mertens was a better finisher even in his PSV days and had a better technique. Also Serie A places less of a premium on strength than the PL. From what I've seen he's a target man in the Giroud/Mitrovic mold, only more limited. Like Giroud he can make some spectacular finishes but is overall an inconsistent finisher and I actually think Giroud has a better touch.

Only a League Cup but still it's nice to get something over Liverpool, no matter how minor. Hopefully this will spur us on to performing at Stamford Bridge. On this evidence, Hazard stands between Liverpool and victory.

One idea I have had in recent times was simply to buy Werner as a wing forward (can play decently on both feet) and sub him on when we're counterattacking. He'll be absolutely lethal against tiring defenders with his extreme pace. That being said, doubt it will happen because Werner no doubt wants to play as a CF.

Purely theoretically I assume? He would fit in to the 4-3-3 as the most attacking central midfielder. Problem is, he can be lax with his defensive duties so Kante/Kovacic will have to spend more time covering him and less time going forward, making Pogba the sole attacking centre midfield outlet most of the time. Another problem is that Pogba is a little selfish so he won't contribute to the team's play like the three players @robdog mentioned, instead being more likely to go for the glorious long shot/finish - he also doesn't handle things all that well when the team's in a bad situation. Kovacic is also a superior short passer and so can keep possession better. On the other hand, he's strong, athletic, his passing is pretty good, his technique is impressive and he has a rasping long shot. If Sarri can wrap his arm around his shoulder, he might buy into Chelsea's project and start acting like more of a team player than a diva. I'll put it this way, if Sarri wants him I trust Sarri, but I would lean towards no. His overall quality is not in doubt but you don't really know how well he'll fit into the side or the team's social dynamic.

Following on from the above, I had an extended discussion in the Mitrovic transfer thread about both Mitrovic/Werner and came up with this reasoning (and yes, Werner has played on the wings)... Thoughts?

Nah, IMO both are only similar in that they bully defenders using their strength. What made Costa so dangerous was his movement - not only making runs to suck defenders out of shape to make room for teammates, but also to position himself and then time his own runs into the box. Mitrovic on the other hand is more of a target man. Not bad at movement, but his main strength is holding the ball up, aerial ability and strength - the perfect target man. He would fit Sarri's system, but as a second-option target man to replace Giroud. Better finisher too. On the other hand, with experience his movements and the timing of his runs may improve, much like Drogba's did. In his first season, I remember him being a somewhat limited target man but by 2006-07 he could do everything. I would sign him as a second striker to replace Giroud and then see how he progresses. If he impresses while Morata continues to underperform, then Mitrovic (having replaced Giroud) should be first choice. Should he take off from there, we may well have found our Costa (well, Drogba really) replacement. If both contribute a bit between them (with Morata off the bench probably like in Real Madrid) then we make the decision about them next summer. I would consider someone like Werner in a wing-forward position, coming off the bench. He is at least passable on both feet and his extreme pace will scare tired defenders. However, as a CF, no way. His movement isn't bad (if unremarkable), but his lack of strength and his inconsistent finishing (putting it mildly) make him unsuitable to be a CF in our side. I doubt he would agree to sign as a WF, so this is all theoretical anyway.

Turns out the West Ham game was a one-off. How many times has he come in from the bench and blown everyone away? Three times now I think? Out of nowhere, he just slalomed in as if he was in a racecar drifting contest and piledrived it into the net. Utter brilliance - by god we cannot afford to let him leave.

For mine the game versus West Ham was his best thus far. His distribution was assured, his handling seems to have improved and the one save that he made was Courtois-like and shows that he is capable of concentrating even when nothing much is happening. @Argo stated that one of Courtois' most valuable abilities was his ability to concentrate and pull out a spectacular save when nothing much was happening and I'm glad that Kepa seems to have that ability as well.

Willian's been a solid servant for this club but I think that his time here is slowly drawing to a close. For mine, his last season was his worst for this club overall and he's been quite patchy this season. The difficulty here is that there is no clear replacement for him. The likes of Zaha are a downgrade in most respects, while Lucas Paqueta is an AM, not a RW (and IMO we would need to loan him out for a season or two before playing him). Bailey could be that guy - he has upside but Chelsea fans will need to be very patient with him because while he is very quick, he is IMO technically quite unrefined for a winger, selfish and very inconsistent. He will score some goals but his general decision-making will frustrate. Hopefully he can improve with experience.

A very fine striker even though he is a bit of a tosspot. Acquiring him will be difficult at best for that reason.

To replace Giroud as a second option and a target man, absolutely. As a first choice, he has the touch but his movement isn't anything special IMO. I'm not convinced that he is equipped to lead the line for that reason.

I agree RE the wingers needing to run at the defence so that the false 9 can play them in. I also agree that Hazard in theory would play that role well. The problem is that in practice he is at his most dangerous running directly at defenders and I think we both know that he can't do that as easily in a false 9. IMO Hazard in recent seasons has come deep to collect the ball for one of two reasons: 1) under the more defensive Conte his creativity was needed to help break the opposition down or 2) we've been too slow in getting the ball to him and so he drops deep to collect it in frustration (like against West Ham). I have noticed that this season he has been more direct than before and indeed Sarri has indicated that he would like Hazard to run at defences more and spend less time dropping deep - so I suspect that Hazard in fact will. RE Luis Alberto, he has improved out of sight since his Liverpool days. Serie A watchers have been waxing lyrical about his passing, technique and vision, and he has scored a useful number of goals as well. He's not to be dismissed.

This is an issue with no really easy solutions. Of all the conventional strikers I can think of, the only obviously suitable one that I can think of is Icardi and he will cost a pretty penny (plus he's a bit of a tosser). All of the other prolific strikers in the big five leagues are either unavailable, ageing or have issues with movement/touch or adaptability that would make them risky (at best) signings. Specifically, I've looked at Belotti and he seems almost like a slower version of Jamie Vardy, in that both work hard and display obvious predatory instincts within the box. That would have allowed him to score many goals for mid-table sides like Torino, but at a club of Chelsea's level you need more from your strikers. His movement is Lukaku/Morata level, his first touch is just OK (IMO worse than Morata's) and his finishing is good but not outstanding. His headers are good, but I'm not convinced that we should pay a high price for him (as would be likely). If Chelsea was a mid-to-upper table side, I would be quite eager to purchase him because he has been most prolific in a 4-3-3 and he could easily be effective in a 4-4-2 ala Vardy. However, we are not. Werner is IMO best suited to counter-attacking sides due to his extreme pace. His movement is again not terrific, he's not very strong and he's not a very clinical finisher. Arnautovic I don't think is good enough to be anything other than a back-up. I would not have Mitrovic as first-choice for a club like Chelsea - his first touch is good, but his movement again isn't anything remarkable. However, he would be a quality second option as a target man and I would be happy if he replaced Giroud. I think Sarri would do well to consider using a false 9 instead of a conventional central forward. I think the likes of Fekir, Luis Alberto and maybe even Rodrigo/Kramaric would be worth a look. You want your false 9 to drop deep, collect the ball, play others in and finish - I believe that all four of these guys can do that (though I'm more enthusiastic about the former two than the latter two). Still, maybe Morata will regain his confidence and render this discussion moot. It doesn't look like that will happen though...

Jorginho gets criticised for his defensive abilities (which are still a bit lacking but he has slowly improved since his debut in this respect), not for his playmaking abilities (which are beyond reproach). In truth, criticising Kante for not creating better chances than our playmaker is harsh because that was never Kante's role (and Kante's vision is not bad anyway). One area I would like Kante to contribute more in relates to finishing. Also, playing Kante for 90 minutes against PAOK probably largely explained his comparative lack of vitality today.

Pedro was probably injured due to colliding with the PAOK goalkeeper, whereas Christensen was possibly not fit to play after the game against PAOK.

Away from home though.