When you see everyone fit, and you hear Conte say that he rotated because he trusted the players, it shows that we do have the fdepth to compete.  I am worried that we are still one major injury away from that being totally screwed, though.

Loved the game tonight, it's the sort of result, regardless of opposition, that does wonders for the psyche of the team.

As for players that stood out: Christensen; he covered some of Cahill's mistakes (and no this isn't a Cahill bash), and looked very assured playing out of the back.

Zappacosta; i hope he crosses more.  Today i was immediately reminded of Jesper Gronkjaer, but then I saw Zappa put in more and more great crosses.  Wonderful energy and a true "Conte" player in that he knows the system, and gives it his all.  Could we really have plucked two obscure wing backs from the Serie A in consecutive seasons who go on to be superb for us?  I surely hope so, and given his crossing and Morata's heading, it could be a joy to watch.

Bats:  Kinda stood out for the wrong reasons, as in the first half his second touch was a tackle.  Became more assured as the game went on and did well in both goals.  Facing the goal, little time to think...gets it done.  I'm not sure he's there, nor ever will he be, when it comes to holding the ball up with his back to goal.

I'm actually quite amazed that i saw some on twitter claim that Willian again proved hos inconsistent he was, as I thought his determination and one-two's were great.  

COYB

 

 

After the stumbling block we encountered at the beginning of the season, it's great to see the team has regained its mojo quickly.

I think tonight demonstrated that we have the depth to compete with the best.

Unfortunately the timezone for an Australian is dreadful so I couldn't see much of the game.

Having seen the highlights though, it seemed that Qarabag generally sat back and played like a Championship/League 1 side, which was honestly unsurprising given the distance they traveled. Probably 5 of the 6 Chelsea goals were caused or assisted by poor defending IMO (exception being Zappacosta's goal). 

This is not taking anything away from this Chelsea side, which had a job to do and did it with admirable professionalism. Pedro scored one of his intermittent blinders, Zappacosta motored down the flanks and scored a truly majestic debut goal, Fabregas pretty much ran the joint from what I could tell and Michy took advantage of a tiring defense to snatch a late goal.

One would hope Qarabag adjust to the demands of the CL, or at least are a more difficult proposition at home (distance should help), because otherwise I can see them winding up with 0 points. 

Opta have given Tibo an assist for Zappacosta's goal. 

He ran the length and then slammed a cross into the top corner. Not sure Tibo played much of a role!

^Just another example of how nonsensical stats are becoming in the game and should always be taken with a pinch of salt.

Expected this result, maybe not 6 goals but a comfy win.

Good to get our noses in front in the group early, with tougher games to come.

Zappa looks good, his goal was a complete fluke though.

7 hours ago, EdinburghBlue said:

I must admit that although he scored twice, Bats didn't show me anything tonight that makes me think he's got what it takes to make it here, his touch is absolutely rotten a lot of the time.

 

Christensen is even more impressive in person, he's actually really quick which I don't think he gets credit for, very composed on the ball even under pressure.

 

Kante is a machine (as if we didn't already know that) but the guy is literally everywhere and just going absolutely non stop for every second he's on the pitch.

 

Willian was really good tonight, could do with releasing the ball a bit quicker but a very good performance from him. 

 

Zappacosta has some engine on him as well, seems like he has a decent bit of pace about him as well.

 

really pleased with the performance tonight, full of confidence going in to the weekend now!

I agree with you on everything else but what it comes to Willian. He is a brilliant player except for the missing last pass to a team mate. I think there was a good change in the first half us scoring a couple of more goals had Willian given the pass instead of trying to drbble.

3 hours ago, The Brit said:

^Just another example of how nonsensical stats are becoming in the game and should always be taken with a pinch of salt.

The assist is the biggest nonsensical stat in football unless it is a key pass. Its a bit like who supplied the pass to Maradona before he scored the wonder goal against England or in nearer times to Charlie Adam for his effort against us. 

 

Good result and a nice payout £5 at 28/1 

5 hours ago, DaRick said:

Unfortunately the timezone for an Australian is dreadful so I couldn't see much of the game.

Having seen the highlights though, it seemed that Qarabag generally sat back and played like a Championship/League 1 side, which was honestly unsurprising given the distance they traveled. Probably 5 of the 6 Chelsea goals were caused or assisted by poor defending IMO (exception being Zappacosta's goal). 

This is not taking anything away from this Chelsea side, which had a job to do and did it with admirable professionalism. Pedro scored one of his intermittent blinders, Zappacosta motored down the flanks and scored a truly majestic debut goal, Fabregas pretty much ran the joint from what I could tell and Michy took advantage of a tiring defense to snatch a late goal.

One would hope Qarabag adjust to the demands of the CL, or at least are a more difficult proposition at home (distance should help), because otherwise I can see them winding up with 0 points. 

I think Qarabag showed that, offensively, they can ruffle a few feathers but only at home and, especially with their crowd behind them. Unfortunately for them, their defence is dire.

33 minutes ago, Kev56 said:

Good result and a nice payout £5 at 28/1 

You bar steward. What exactly did you put your money on? Amount of goals scored?

40 minutes ago, Kev56 said:

Good result and a nice payout £5 at 28/1 

Don't spend it all at once.

See a lot of people saying Willian was our standout player. Other than a lot of fancy dribbles he did very little against a shocking defense. There were a number of times when he should have played a pass and instead held onto the ball for too long. For this reason, Pedro would always be my pick ahead of him. 

3 minutes ago, RIP Mourinho said:

See a lot of people saying Willian was our standout player. Other than a lot of fancy dribbles he did very little against a shocking defense. There were a number of times when he should have played a pass and instead held onto the ball for too long. For this reason, Pedro would always be my pick ahead of him. 

Couldn't agree more!

 

Willian was frustrating me all game with his over-elaborate flicks that he kept messing up.

Our threads for MOTM are gone

I'm going with my pick:

Courtois - 7, didn't have much in the goal, assist for Zappacosta's goal.

Cesar Azpilicueta - 7.5, a good header, wasn't tested much defensively but did his job very well.

Andreas Christensen - 8, was our best defender, read the game very well with his passing and did the job very good defensively.

Garry Cahill - 7, made a dangerous tackle at the beginning, had few moments but overall he did well, led us to the victory, won air balls and won some tackles.

Davide Zappacosta - 8, very good CL debut, a fantastic goal, assist for the 6th goal, had good runs on the wing and was pretty dangerous for us in the attack. Defensively hasn't tested much. 

Cesc Fabregas - 9, my MOTM, brilliant game by him. Controlled the game, great assist, great long balls, created few chances + some great defensive actions. Simply Magic Hat!

NGolo Kante - 7, was also a debut in CL for him. Had some wrong passes, but did his job well. Always was active, won duels, won tackles. Has to work on his passes more, had one moment that could end with a goal for them.

Marcos Alonso - 6.5, quiet game by him. Had few chances to score, Qarabag defended well there. Wasn't that good with his crossing, but still was positive for us.

Willian - 8, good game by Willian. Enjoyed some Brazilian football, tricks, and skills, was worth a goal in that game. He has a good shooting ability, he has to shoot much more.

Pedro - 6.5, scored a beautiful goal but had a quiet game as well. Lost some balls in dangerous areas, had some moments that ran into 4-3 players and lost the ball. He had better days.

Michy Batshuayi - 6.5, wasn't really impressed with him by his football. He showed a very high motivation, he was hungry and scored at the end, but it wasn't good enough.

Subs:

Eden Hazard - 6, I will be honest, I was disappointed with his performance. I was expecting to see some amazing things from his legs, but he made only a few runs and lost the ball which we regularly don't see. Still, need more time, I understand that he comes after an injury but we know different Hazard. Maybe he saves the best for Arsenal.

Tiemoue Bakayoko - 7, assist + goal. Came from the bench and succeed to mark himself in the game. Was a positive player in our attack but hasn't really tested defensively.

Antonio Rudiger - 6, had the last minutes in the game. Had one wrong pass there, but looked good in those minutes. Looks like a beast of a defender.

 

 

Antonio Conte - 9, very good rotation, starting lineup and good chances. Great start for him in the CL with us!

 

Edited September 13, 20178 yr by IliyaKrostin

Perfect result for me, confident boosting with a big win regardless of the opponent, and rested 5 players. In the past, we took the foot of pedal and settle for the 2:0 or 3:0, this time we went for it. The last 2 goals initiated by high pressing so late in the game with result wrapped up. That wing back looked good, another good performance and he will be starting in the league next weekend. I will take a 3:0 against Arsneal this weekend.

7 hours ago, The Brit said:

^Just another example of how nonsensical stats are becoming in the game and should always be taken with a pinch of salt.

Assists stat is a terrible indicator to use. I remember last season Ozil got an assist for a Ramsey goal, which was basically him passing an incredibly simple pass 3 yards for Ramsey to curl it into the top corner.

Satisfying result.  Good to see us rack them up even if it was against a  rather shambolic team.  It's been a while now.

10 hours ago, The Brit said:

^Just another example of how nonsensical stats are becoming in the game and should always be taken with a pinch of salt.

Stats are what Arsenal fans have used to legitimise Ozil's terrible performances over the past 3-4 years. 

Edited September 13, 20178 yr by Slojo

Great, no excellent result. Wish all our games could be like this! LOL!

Far Tougher tests to come but did what we had to.. goal difference may be a factor by end of the group stage so massively important to get the big win. UTC.