DaRick

Ah China, where would we be if they weren't willing to pay inflated sums? LOL

A potential banana peel, though less obviously so than say Southampton. Karanka will have all the incentive in the world to try and park the bus so an early goal would be good. At home, he may be a bit more likely to try and attack than he would be playing away. Once that happens...

Individual performances? Since the 6-0 shellacking of Arsenal in early 2014. Best runs? From memory Ancelotti's side in mid-2010 was sweeping everyone in its path, though only Aston Villa was a particularly strong side back then. IMO Aston Villa back then were not much different from Southampton or Everton today and on paper obviously inferior to Man U. Ancelotti's 2009-10 side was at its best awesome but patchy and inconsistent. Against well-drilled, organised sides like Inter we had problems because tactically we were somewhat scattershot and we never really did nail down a formation that worked for long. In my opinion the 2014-15 side was better.

Use a 4-man formation at the back to prevent dangerous 3 v 3 scenarios at the back. Form a tight band when defending so that incoming attackers run into a wall instead of space. When attacking, get the ball to the full backs and get them to try to pin the wing-backs back. If you can pin them back it robs the 3-4-3 of much of its attacking width. Also you create 1 v 1 situations on the flanks which might suck one of the two central midfielders out of position to 'help out'. Get the wingers to play as inside forwards to create a 3 v 3 situation against their defence, with the full backs providing width and a secondary attacking option if need be (crosses). The 3-4-3 is a counter-attacking formation, so I would play 3 in the midfield so I could have an extra man back to help defend against counterattacks and limit their possession. The less possession they have, the less counter-attacking opportunities there are by definition. Also try to have two box-to-box midfielders to keep their two central midfielders occupied. My strategy would require attacking full-backs and box-to-box midfielders to have a real chance of working, FWIW. The Christmas tree formation became impractical because Bosingwa, who believe it or not was a pretty good attacking full-back way back when, got injured and was replaced with Ivanovic, who was back then not accustomed to going forward. With Bosingwa out of the way, teams could simply man-mark Cole and rob us of our width while having an extra attacker free against our defence (because even if Ivanovic got forward, he would probably be impotent anyway). I am worried about Moses and particularly Alonso getting injured for similar reasons. Azpi/Willian/Aina could probably do a serviceable job replacing Moses for a game or two, but we don't have many left-footed players in this side. Pedro is two-footed but that's about it.

Pedro wasn't great last season, but he was in a very large club there. This season he hasn't been outstanding overall, but he has played very well in recent weeks.

We have no CL though, which will make a great deal of difference. Even the elimination from the League Cup may make a marginal difference.

ATM we are a formidable prospect for any side. However, despite the brilliance of our current performances and Conte's managerial excellence, our side is not really built for a 3-4-3 overall. Alonso and especially Moses are vital to our system and there is relatively little cover for them, especially Alonso. If they should get injured, there may be problems. It also seems that JT and Ivanovic are not really suitable for a 3-man formation either. JT could sub in for Luiz in theory but playing a high line then would be foolhardy because he has no pace. That being said, we do have a significant advantage over most of the rest because we have no CL or EL football to contend with. Nonetheless, I'm cautious about our title prospects, especially since the season is still relatively young. Maybe after the January transfer window things will be a bit clearer, maybe not. We'll see...

It's been so long since they were relevant that I barely remember them even being in the PL.

Looks like the only team that spontaneously combusted today was Watford... Klopp's Liverpool ATM looks like a very dangerous side. Their defence still seems vulnerable at times (unlike ours) but he has the attacking three of Mane, Coutinho and Firmino working perfectly. It would surprise me if one of Conte, Guardiola or Pocchettino did not find a way to neutralise them, though. Mou managed to do so previously, albeit by parking the bus. Still, my instinct tells me they well be at least 2nd this season because they lack CL football.

Tottenham and Arsenal cancel each other out. The ideal result. Only need Liverpool to spontaneously combust and we'll be top. At worst, we'll be 2nd.

Yeah I agree, for Barcelona he was at his best under Martino in 2013-14, when the team was considerably more direct than under Pep, Tito or even Luis Enrique. That Barcelona team was less effective than Pep's, but Pedro netted 15 league goals.

Torres at his peak was basically a poacher who used his extreme pace, movement and finishing ability to devastating effect. By the time he joined Chelsea though, he was obviously a shadow of his former self. Our system didn't really suit him, but injury robbed him of a lot of his pace and he lost a lot of self-confidence too, so his finishing went down the drain. These days, he's more of a second/all-round striker than the predatory poacher he originally was. As I've said in the past, when you think about it his career is a lot like Michael Owen's. Both were originally ace poachers who had to convert into a more all-round role after injuries blunted their pace.

Nice to see him show a flash of his pre-injury self...

He must be one of our best ever transfers. He was originally a competent RB, then he became a brilliant LB and now he's performing brilliantly at CB. Marseille must be kicking themselves.

Tonight was classic Hazard. Mazing runs? Check. Beating multiple defenders? Check. Scoring from improbable angles? Check. In this form, I'm not sure he can be stopped.

That backheel to Hazard when he was cornered by two Everton players was all class, with the resultant goal being the most sumptuous of the lot. Also good anticipation to get on the end of the rebound for the fifth. In most other games, I'd give Pedro MOTM but Hazard was simply superlative.

Most hilariously uncoordinated celebration ever. ATM though he's outperforming my expectations. Bolasie outpaced him a couple of times, but overall this was probably his best performance.

Have no particular quarrel with Man City (certainly I'd rather them win than Liverpool, Arsenal or Tottenham), but although I think Guardiola is a quality manager, he has always been surprisingly inflexible against sides that set out to defend.

Hazard, though Alonso, Costa and Pedro would be worthy candidates. Simply incredible team performance and Hazard looks unstoppable right now.

He's turned this Chelsea side into an absolute juggernaut after an initial adjustment period. Exalt.

Pep-si comes back down to earth, I see. Man City's best can be a fearsome prospect, but Guardiola's sides have often been less effective than one would expect against sides that park the bus (as we all know).

In all honesty I expected a win against a weakened Everton side, but 5-0? Wow! This Chelsea side continues to defy expectations. ATM we are playing as well as I can remember.

Astonishingly consistent this season, with an absolute pearler from distance vs Southampton. Ironically this game he missed the easier chances but absolutely nailed the long-distance curler. Forster had no chance.

IMO he's back to his best. Another very well taken goal, with his left foot this time!

Another dynamic, urgent performance from the man. Even grabbed an assist. IMO the biggest revelation of this season for Chelsea. Hazard and Costa have been brilliant, but we always knew they had it in them, whereas no-one expected this level of performance from Moses.