Shwarzer 6              Looked steady and seemed to command the box ok

Apiculieta 6             Not given Jose any reason to drop Ivan but done ok

Bertrand 6             Decent and deserves a chance as Ash needs a rest

Cahill 6                    Steady as usual, didn't appreciate the Luizesque back heel

Luiz 5                      Didn't look his best tonight in defence or midfield (lovely ball to KDB and free kick aside)

Van Ginkel N/A       real shame for the boy, hope he gets another chance soon

Essien 7                  Looked assured and good enough to give Jose a real option

Mata 6                    pressure on him tonight, could have been better

De Bruyne 5           looked nervy and not at his best

Torres 7                  Good stuff from him, needs to do this at the top level

William 4                takes up nice positions with good movement, wish I could find another positive

 

Subs:

 

Ramires 6               little time, big impact

Ba 4                        little time, no impact but one decent shot though I expected Torres to go wide.

Terry 6                   Felt safer as soon as he came on, usual JT

Edited September 24, 201312 yr by Chippy

Everyone 8 except Willian

Willian 1. Send him back to Russia plz

Schwarzer 6             Quiet game, safe performance. Distribution not great.

Apiculieta 6              Got forward well and defending was fine. Conned into a yellow card by a awful dive.

Bertrand 7               Lively going forward and never looked troubled in defence.

Cahill 6                    Straight forward performance. Solid.

Luiz 5                      Very odd performance. At times acted as if he was undermining the opponents. Pretty dodgy game all round.

Van Ginkel N/A         Gutted. He desperately wanted to stay on but it's obvious to everyone that it was a nasty buckle. Hope he's not out long.

Essien 8                   MOTM. Protected the back 4 and surged forward when space opened up. Deserves more games.

Mata 5                     Looked so desperate to work hard that he forgot to play football, far from his usual sublime self.

De Bruyne 5            Generally pretty poor. Passing was off and control was sloppy to. Missed a great chance.

Torres 7                  Obviously good to see him score and a great assist. Should have scored another 1/2. Workrate was top notch.

William 5                  Looked nervous throughout and didn't really take anyone on. Didn't do much wrong, but didn't do much right either. Nothing performance.

 

Subs:

 

Ramires 6                Passing was consistently inconsistent, as usual but his pace is so important to the team. Incredible speed for his goal.

Ba 5                       Didn't really have time to do much, 1 decent shot but not much else. Didn't want him on, 10 mins to go = bring Baker on surely?! Fantastic talent.

Terry 6                   Very solid, never phased. Downside was that it pushed Luiz into midfield, where he was very poor. Hate the obsession that Luiz is a midfielder. He's not.

Ramires 6               little time, big impact      

 

 

 

 

Rami MOTM

Can't disagree with your markings too much Chippy although I thought Torres was our clear MOTM so deserves and 8 and Mata probably only a 5 by his standards. It was rather painful watching him at times. He will try and adapt his game but getting stuck into tackles will never be his game and I think he is one whose attacking game will suffer by trying to change him. Time will tell, but on the evidence of last night, Mata, Willan and KDB stand little chance of being involved in the Sp*rs game. I was really looking forward to watching the three of them play together but all three were poor (although Mata was the best of the three).

 

Thought Luiz was shocking last night. We will need our big-game players against Sp*rs but after that performance I can't see Mourinho risking him on Saturday either (might be handy to have on the bench though).

Shwarzer - 6          Did what was need, claimed crosses with confidence    

Apiculieta - 6         Looked solid for a first start of the season, ventured forward with confidence

Bertrand - 6          Overlapped well and did nothing wrong defensively, pushing Cole for a starting place for me.   

Cahill - 6               Not sure what the back heel was all about?    

Luiz - 5                  Not a midfielder for me, was sloppy in possession too often.  

Van Ginkel N/A      Hoping the injury isn't too serious.  

Essien - 7              The Bison is back! The surging runs are a joy to watch might be needed more following MvG's injury.     

Mata - 6                Worked hard both offensively and defensively, it was clear to me he was trying much harder with regards to tracking back.    

De Bruyne - 5       Missed opportunity for me didn't really contribute anything of significance.

Torres - 7             Goal and an assist, looked positive throughout.   

William - 5             Couldn't get into the game and wasted a couple of decent chances.   

 

Subs:

 

Ramires 6             Things kicked on with his introduction, midfield noticeably worse after he withdrew at half time. 

Ba 4                      Little time to contribute, one half decent shot. 

Terry 6                  Did what was expected. 

Mata - 6                Worked hard both offensively and defensively, it was clear to me he was trying much harder with regards to tracking back.    

You cannot make a silk purse out of a sows ear, nor a assassin out of a choirboy,

not without ruining the original species IMO.

Can't disagree with your markings too much Chippy although I thought Torres was our clear MOTM so deserves and 8 and Mata probably only a 5 by his standards. It was rather painful watching him at times. He will try and adapt his game but getting stuck into tackles will never be his game and I think he is one whose attacking game will suffer by trying to change him. Time will tell, but on the evidence of last night, Mata, Willan and KDB stand little chance of being involved in the Sp*rs game. I was really looking forward to watching the three of them play together but all three were poor (although Mata was the best of the three).

 

Thought Luiz was shocking last night. We will need our big-game players against Sp*rs but after that performance I can't see Mourinho risking him on Saturday either (might be handy to have on the bench though).

 

 

I'd love to think Torres can play in the way he did yesterday against top opposition but too many times I've seen him flatter to deceive against teams a level below although I think he has looked better in most of his games since Mourinho came in, obviously Essien played against the same team but I gave him my vote more because his ability has never been in doubt for me but his fitness and hunger to dominate a game has, that looked almost like it used to for me and although it is obvious that that he had a relatively easy time compared to what he will face, I thought he looked a bit of a tank again, you are possibly right as Torres actual effect on the outcome was probably greater but seeing what looked like the old Bison was more exciting for me.

 

I was gutted for KDB as I think he has a great future, really thought he'd take the game by the scruff of the neck but he looked strangley nervous and maybe (understandably) un match fit.

 

I didn't expect much more of Mata as I think changing his game is going to take some time, I think he can adapt as was clear last night but it will stifle his attacking flair and I would imagine because he's having to think about the different aspects he's trying to bring to his game, he won't be so natural in his normal game until he's had a lot more than one game getting used to it...he was never going to come out and shut everyone down, track back with last ditch tackles and pull strings attacking wise all over the pitch this early into his transition, I doubt he ever will but I don't think Jose expects that, maybe just a bit more winning second balls and tracking his man and we'll see him get chances, especially if he performs well off the bench.

 

Wilian for me was a big let down, he looked greedy, lightweight and even got outpaced when he kept trying to put the ball one side of a player and run round the other, the ball usually was not far enough behind and he just got muscled off on his way round, movement wise I thought he got in good positions but he looks miles behind Hazard to me.

 

I don't understand Luiz to be honest, I've always said I prefer the JT Cahill partnership but I do like Luiz and realise he has some thigs that our options haven't, you would think with the competition for places we have he could control his urges enough to play like a normal CB for a while just to keep us solid until the team has a chance to gel.

Edited September 25, 201312 yr by Chippy

Agree with all that Chippy.

 

Re Luiz I am sure it is something that Mourinho will work on as we all know what a talent the player is and many of us have tipped him to be the future captain, which I personally still hope to be the case. But a captain needs discipline and that's something Luiz still clearly lacks far too often. I love his approach to the game and how at times he gives the team a lift and drives us forward but this habit of always trying to win the first ball when it's often not there to be won is far too much of a dangerous trait to have. I can picture Mourinho now playing him back the videos of a couple of recent games and saying "David, what the f**k do you think you were doing?"!!