cech 7.5 great saves, dodgy kicking. loses half a point for coming out for the free kick from which koscielny hit the post (the offside).

invanovic 8 finally appears to have woken up. by far his best effort of the season.

luiz and terry 7. excellent aside from the clown goal conceded. they've been playing together for far too long for that goal to be acceptable or understandable. awful dive from luiz.

cole 8 excellent. a lot of different players attacked him and he was reliably and consistently up to the challenge.

mikel and ramires 8 looked like a natural partnership. probably the best both have played. cazorla had only a small inpact on the game which says it all really.

hazard 7.5 good threat, smart movement and tidy on the ball.

oscar 7 struggled today. he's got an engine though and an appetite to do defensive things the other of our 3 creators do not. is going to be a great player for many years.

mata 7.5 slightly quiet on the ball as he feels his way back into the side. brilliant set pieces.

torres 7.5 tireless workrate and good attitude. took his goal brilliantly. a bit clumsy with the ball.

subs:

moses- going to be a great option on the bench. offers directness and pace which has been lacking since robben really.

bertrand- very useful, a really good player to have in the squad. avb wanted to spend millions on a guy to do something ryan is perfectly well.

cahill- arguably made an error for the giroud chance late on, leaving space for podolski (I think) to find a pass in the inside channel.

all in all a great win really. credit robbie, he was spot on.

Yep, Robbie got the selection and the subs spot on today.

Can't argue with the marks there other than Torres who I think deserves at least an 8 and was my MOTM. Mikel had a great game and although Ramires did a lot of good work, he was also guilty of giving the ball away more than anyone else,

One of the first times I've looked at someones match ratings and not thought the points were too high, I'd pretty much agree with all of it maybe a bit harsh on Oscar as I think anyone would have struggled with the role he played and he done well...fair points award for him though.

I think I can agree with most ratings, but maybe lower Ramires 0,5. I thought he made quite a few mistakes, mostly early in the game. Also, Cech might have some dodgy kicking, but he made two brilliant saves and probably stopped that last chance for Giroud(?).

So 0,5 off Ramires and add it to Cech. Then I'll be happy, I think.

RDM needs at least a 9 for today, his subs were pretty much perfect. Those ratings are spot on too.

Cech 8

Cole 7

Terry 8

Luiz 7

Ivanovic 7

Mikel 7.5

Ramires 7.5

Oscar 6

Mata 7.5

Hazard 7

Torres 7.5

Moses 6.5

Bertrand 6.5

Cahill N/A

I'd agree with them all except Luiz. I watched him very, very closely throughout the time he was on the pitch and he made some God awful decisions. He was partially at fault for the goal by leaving Gerviho and deciding, for some unfathomable reason, to run towards our goal.

I would summarise Luiz thus: doesn't learn from his mistakes, makes far too many rash decisions and challenges, often caught out positionally, likes to play in midfield, (and occaisionally up front), more than he does at the back, doesn't know the meaning of the phrase "marking a man". He rarely looks around him to see who is where and what danger is lurking, preferring instead to follow the ball like a 10 year old school boy.

All told, for me, he is a complete liability and as much a quality centre-half as I am the Emperor of China. The sooner he is out of our back four the more solid and defensively sound we will be.

I would try him out in front of the back four, (he spends a lot of time there anyway), to see if he is any less of a liability. If he isn't, I would happily sell him.

Rant over.

I can't decide if Luiz has improved or not since he first came to Chelsea; he remains very erratic. He can give the odd immense performance like in the CL final, but he can be utterly insipid as against Atletico Madrid. Even when playing well, he remains prone to lapses of concentration. He's still relatively young though.

I can't decide if Luiz has improved or not since he first came to Chelsea;

Simple answer, he hasn't.

Apparently he is the Clown Prince of the dressing room, always messing about and joking. That's fine I suppose, if you like clowns. I don't. Unfortunately he seems to have the same attitude to many of his defensive duties.

Hope he grows up and soon.

It's a difficult one just. He is obviously a popular member of the dressing room, which is always important. But I still have the same concerns and I was most relieved when Cahill came on.

For me it depends on the progress of Bruma and Kalas. Both are earning excellent reviews at their respective clubs. Both if I'm not mistaken will be homegrown as well. Those two players have maybe another season before they are ready to play a role, and that gives Luiz sometime to mature (which I hope he does). If there are still these issues then like you I would be open to him leaving.

Edited September 30, 201213 yr by Spiller86

Cech 8

Cole 7

Terry 8

Luiz 7

Ivanovic 7

Mikel 8

Ramires 7.5

Oscar

6Mata 8

Hazard 7.5

Torres 7.5

Moses 6.5

Bertrand 6.5

Cahill N/A

Edited September 30, 201213 yr by jc_cfc

It's a difficult one just. He is obviously a popular member of the dressing room, which is always important. But I still have the same concerns and I was most relieved when Cahill came on.

For me it depends on the progress of Bruma and Kalas. Both are earning excellent reviews at their respective clubs. Both if I'm not mistaken will be homegrown as well. Those two players have maybe another season before they are ready to play a role, and that gives Luiz sometime to mature (which I hope he does). If there are still these issues then like you I would be open to him leaving.

It's not difficult for me because he keeps making the same mistakes over and over and over again. His positional awareness is shocking at times.

Allegedly Barcelona were interested in Luiz in the summer, well I would be a very, very happy bunny to see him in their back four. Not sure where he would get in though. Pique is miles better than him and the only comparison he would bear with Carles Puyol, (a 100% proper centre-half), is in the hair department!

Cech 8 (motm)

Cole 8

Terry 7.5

Luiz 7

Ivanovic 7.5

Mikel 8

Ramires 7

Hazard 7

Mata 7.5

Oscar 6.5

Torres 7.5

I have the same concerns about Luiz but feel he really should be learning to be more diciplined and doing that as back up.

I really don't see anything he is capable of as a centre back that Cahill isn't more accomplished at and feel he might learn to concentrate more if he wasn't first choice and needed to prove himself consistantly capable if he was going to be.

He has had good games for us but he always does give you that heart in the mouth feeling wheras a Terry Cahill partnership feels very reliable.

It's not difficult for me because he keeps making the same mistakes over and over and over again. His positional awareness is shocking at times.

Allegedly Barcelona were interested in Luiz in the summer, well I would be a very, very happy bunny to see him in their back four. Not sure where he would get in though. Pique is miles better than him and the only comparison he would bear with Carles Puyol, (a 100% proper centre-half), is in the hair department!

I agree with everything you've said about him here. I said similar words in that thread about him getting a new long term deal. yesterday I think he had a good game (aside from the goal, which I still don't think jt can be completely absolved of either) but you are completely correct- the same mistakes happen over and over.

I think you can be an attacking and adventurous side with a good defence. I don't think it's one thing or the other. unfortunately as long as luiz is in defence we will never be able to relax with a single goal lead.

It's not difficult for me because he keeps making the same mistakes over and over and over again. His positional awareness is shocking at times.

Allegedly Barcelona were interested in Luiz in the summer, well I would be a very, very happy bunny to see him in their back four. Not sure where he would get in though. Pique is miles better than him and the only comparison he would bear with Carles Puyol, (a 100% proper centre-half), is in the hair department!

pique and puyol are probably the most overrated cbs in todays football. luiz is a better player than both of them

A bit disappointed in some of the Oscar ratings. He was involved in a lot of our better movement and his defensive work was massive for us. Not a Hollywood showing by any means but I thought worth at least a 7/7.5.

don't think luiz is as bad as he's being made out. I think he's been better defensively than Ivan this season.

he sometimes tries to win the ball instead of standing his man up, which result in silly free kicks. very similar to carvalho in that respect. but I think he's definitely improved his positioning, and decision making.

if he was that much of a liability we would have conceded more than we have. my main issue with luiz has been his distribution, he's been hitting way to many long straight balls.

don't think luiz is as bad as he's being made out. I think he's been better defensively than Ivan this season.

he sometimes tries to win the ball instead of standing his man up, which result in silly free kicks. very similar to carvalho in that respect. but I think he's definitely improved his positioning, and decision making.

if he was that much of a liability we would have conceded more than we have. my main issue with luiz has been his distribution, he's been hitting way to many long straight balls.

Yes, too often he lumps the ball up field. Either that or he passes to Terry, watch out for it next time he plays, his first reaction is to pass to the other CB. Still felt he did dine yesterday, he headed away a good few balls, and at the end of the day we only conceded 3 goals this season. Best defensive record in the league I think, and within the top 5 for scoring.