He's starting to show what he was doing under Sarri. He offered us a lot today against Southampton, defensively and offensively. 

Good to have him back in form!

Really good game today, showed good physicality and his driving runs especially in the first half were very good.

Tuchel left him on, even when we were still chasing the result which would suggest he is trusting him a fair bit right now. 

Hopefully the international break doesn't disrupt the momentum he's been building. 

I liked how most of what he did moved the ball forwards, instead of sideways or backwards.

He did the things that Kovačić is supposed to do

1 hour ago, Zeta said:

I liked how most of what he did moved the ball forwards, instead of sideways or backwards.

I don’t recall seeing him do any pointing though…

1 hour ago, Zeta said:

I liked how most of what he did moved the ball forwards, instead of sideways or backwards.

Totally agree but he holds on to the ball for too long and his final ball is usually left wanting. All in all he has been a pleasant surprise this season 

Everything he did bar the final choice was really good today. Improve that final pass and he can see some good game time.

5 hours ago, The Don Antonio said:

Totally agree but he holds on to the ball for too long and his final ball is usually left wanting. All in all he has been a pleasant surprise this season 

A couple of times his final ball was off.. but drives us on and rarely loses in possession.. good game - more to come from him.. we all know he can score a worldie every now and then too. Hopefully he kicks on been an injury hell for him.

Thought he played well yesterday.

Added the directness, running, strength and aerial threat we missed from our usual midfielders. He's not going to be first choice, but very useful for games like yesterday and a super sub against compact defence. Let's hope he keeps form and fitness up, and credit to Tuchel to drop his favorite players and trust forms.

Ruben is back! He looked ready even in the Pre-season. What an addition to our brilliant midfield assembly. He could well be a key to success. I love how he looks to either go forward or look to open his foot for a shot. Something Kovacic nor Jorginho never does. Now we just need those shots to follow. 

I have a feeling Saul is now the... What.. 7th choice? 6th choice..? 

Whats impressed me the most is his energy levels look like they have gone up, more intensity in his defending, slide tackles and using his power and strength more.

Brilliant to see him showing what he can do. He looks strong, quick and very confident. Unbelievable change from last season at Fulham where he looked slow, laboured and about as mobile as an oil tanker.

Like Chalobah he's taking every chance he gets to impress TT.

6 hours ago, evissy said:

Ruben is back! He looked ready even in the Pre-season. What an addition to our brilliant midfield assembly. He could well be a key to success. I love how he looks to either go forward or look to open his foot for a shot. Something Kovacic nor Jorginho never does. Now we just need those shots to follow. 

I have a feeling Saul is now the... What.. 7th choice? 6th choice..? 

Too early to say that about RLC, we have seen far too many false dawns for a player I had hoped would be a combination of Ballack and Essien for us.

Far as Saul goes, I said his loan would be a waste of time and money and I think that will sadly be true as he seems a likeable guy.

4 hours ago, axman2526 said:

Far as Saul goes, I said his loan would be a waste of time and money and I think that will sadly be true as he seems a likeable guy.

Isn't that a good thing for us? It means Kova, Kante, Jorginho, RLC and Barkley are all performing.

3 minutes ago, Deino said:

Isn't that a good thing for us? It means Kova, Kante, Jorginho, RLC and Barkley are all performing.

On the one hand, on the other if Saul was the player he was 3 or 4 years back he would be a real asset to the side and playing a fair amount. Is a shame he is not.

Think about our depth. Saul Niguez is our 6th choice midfielder. He plays in the Carabao cup if he is lucky. Anyway Saul is a quality player and I really hope he can turn his fortunes around. I don't think Barkley is a threat for him. We have used Barkley mainly because he is an attacking threat as we saw on saturday. Saul is more of a box-to-box man. No reason to field him in these situations where we chase the result.

Just needs to stay fit. He was absolutely amazing in that season under Sarri. If he can get to those levels again he's probably a starter. 

feel like its the first time he has looked properly fit in a long time, looked really explosive and up for it yesterday - great to see him back out there

For a while I honestly thought RLC was done at Chelsea. Hopefully this time he'll manage to stay fit and have the kind of a career his natural ability deserves.

Edited October 5, 20214 yr by abramovich

2 hours ago, abramovich said:

For a while I honestly thought RLC was done at Chelsea. Hopefully this time he'll manage to stay fit and have the kind of a career his natural ability deserves.

Maybe we could arrange a pointless friendly on a dodgy pitch for him to celebrate?

I thought he was brilliant in the first half last night. Looked as good as he ever did and a reminder of why so many Chelsea fans had high hopes for him before the injury. 

Struggled in the second half, especially once Kovacic went off and I was surprised that Tuchel didn't replace him for Jorginho. 

Still, I'm really happy to see him get another 90 minutes for us. 

Excellent performance. Back playing where he first made a name for himself and he's looking very, very good.

Very few thought he had a chance of making it here before the season but he's clearly forced his way into the managers plans now. Also credit to Tuchel for giving him the chance to do so, among several others.

 

 

A very good performance last night especially in the first half. I suspect though dragging that huge frame around the pitch adds to what could be perceived as stamina problems from 70 mins onwards. He probably was kept on last night  for his height for the set pieces when he was clearly running on empty.