Dreadful first half. We’d have been destroyed by any top 6 team with that performance. Second half we played so much better. First goal shows what Sarri looks for with Kante. Recover the ball and bring it to the other team’s space. Not a holding midfielder but more of a box to box. We had forwards running into the box too. CHO played well but in the first half he didn’t have much the ball. Glad he scored and hopefully will get a place in the first team on a Sunday. Our midfield looked shaky during the first half, and I see that Jorginho brings something to it. But having RLC on his side makes the MF look so much better. I hope he keeps his back problems at bay cause he brings a lot to the team.

The atmosphere as expected, not much noise from us except in the second half...

btw here is the Final 16 of The Europa Liga

I bet we get Napoli

6 minutes ago, robdog said:

btw here is the Final 16 of The Europa Liga

Incoming Napoli lol

1 minute ago, Gol15 said:

Incoming Napoli lol

Oh you know the media would love that - soo much drama dripping from a tie like that - might even see Mr. A fight  Aurelio De Laurentiis in the owner boxes

2 minutes ago, robdog said:

Oh you know the media would love that - soo much drama dripping from a tie like that - might even see Mr. A fight  Aurelio De Laurentiis in the owner boxes

Otherwise if we get Zenit...Ivanovic is coming back to the Bridge

Poor first half. Kante took over, Adoi had 3 or 4 great pieces of play and great finish. Nothing to get excited about at all...but this is definitely the start of the run that sees us pick up the 2 trophies, ECL place, new EH contract and massive investment from RA in the squad in the summer.

Just now, Gol15 said:

Otherwise if we get Zenit...Ivanovic is coming back to the Bridge

checkout The Zenit fans welcoming their side coming to the stadium today

pretty cool right?

1 hour ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Seeing CHO, RLC and Ampadu all playing down that right hand side is the most pleased I’ve been this year with something Chelsea related.

and seeing them look good doing it........ and this is along the lines of what many have been saying..... most of us fans would be 1000000% more forgiving of the performances this season if we simply saw these players getting chances to grow (especially when they have been taking the limited chances given).... mind you, with young hungry players getting chances when older players seem uninterested(and thus giving those senior players a reason to try harder to keep their starting roles), the performances might have actually been better even if the results not so much.

The draw begins at 13:00CET (12:00GMT) on Friday 22 February

We are nailed on to get Napoli or Arsenal.

16 minutes ago, mojo said:

The draw begins at 13:00CET (12:00GMT) on Friday 22 February

4am my time - I guess I will awake to find out who Chelsea's opponents are

2 hours ago, rtwelch said:

Anyone see BT cut to Bruce Buck’s face after the whistle? Absolutely no emotion on his face. He looked gutted/fuming. 

Maybe he’s made his mind up already, Steve Holland as interim manager, if we fail on Sunday? Anyway, at least today was enjoyable. 

Edited February 22, 20197 yr by Floyd25

Saw only the 1st half. Was more of the same, thought Kova looked as bad as Jorginho. I can only assume as Malmö tired we took advantage. Seen highlights all nice goals, and we’re in the hat for tomorrow. Expect the usual suspects on Sunday w CHO, Ampadu, RLC on the bench if that. Hope Kepa back. Still can’t see past City winning, sad cus even before I went to Wembley last May I KNEW we were gonna stop Mourinho getting another FA Cup. Don’t have that feeling now, quite the opposite. Hope I’m proved terribly wrong, Wigan did it after all !!!

2 hours ago, Gol15 said:

Incoming Napoli lol

Zagreb here we come

1 hour ago, General said:

Saw only the 1st half. Was more of the same, thought Kova looked as bad as Jorginho. I can only assume as Malmö tired we took advantage. Seen highlights all nice goals, and we’re in the hat for tomorrow. Expect the usual suspects on Sunday w CHO, Ampadu, RLC on the bench if that. Hope Kepa back. Still can’t see past City winning, sad cus even before I went to Wembley last May I KNEW we were gonna stop Mourinho getting another FA Cup. Don’t have that feeling now, quite the opposite. Hope I’m proved terribly wrong, Wigan did it after all !!!

Kova done one bad pass at the early stages, but apart from that I thought he was fantastic. He is so confident on the ball. His close-ball control and dribbling was a joy to see. Takes risks, but it paid off. Thought he was fantastic.

Different second half, much more interesting and entertaining to watch. We focused more on building quick counter attacks and most of our passes went forward.

CHO and Willian have been brilliant for us. Subs did well as well. 

9 hours ago, Oli said:

The thing you have to realise though is that these players can only perform with whats put infront of them. I admit stellar was a bit much. But i do think its when we see these players getting a chance, is when we see our best performances. Its a shame the premier league has been a disaster for us recently with the same players guarenteed to start no matter how bad they play.

Also bare in mind Hudson Odois complete lack of minutes. Its very difficult to keep putting it on when you arent getting minutes on the pitch, with whatever limited time youre given. But he still always performs. I thought he faded out of the game in the second half but yet again he still scores. And when his pals RLC and Ampadu came on you could see how his confidence grew. He has always got an output whether a goal or assist no mater how good his performance varies over 90 mins, and he will only improve by getting more of a run in the team.

As for Christensen esp who i bang on about in every post, and also Emerson. I really think its criminal they arent first choices on the team sheet for any of our big games. Not only that but i feel they are considerably better than Luiz and Alonso, and even go as far as to say better than Rudi and Azpi on the other side. You can see how solid we are when Andreas plays, and his pace coupled with tackling ability and constant knack of snuffing out danger is what has cost us in all the big games he hasent played. Son tore us apart earlier in the season down the left. And man city ripped all four to shreds.

I cant see it but i really hope Sarri picks players on merit in the final. I dont even think the system or tactics are as much to blame as his poor selection of players. Anyway lets hope this breeds confidence and somehow we can turn it on Sunday. For me the Europa League and Carabao Cup would be a phenomenal season if we were to win both. Plus it would mean Champions League football for next year.

Good post

8 hours ago, Barry Bridges said:

and seeing them look good doing it........ and this is along the lines of what many have been saying..... most of us fans would be 1000000% more forgiving of the performances this season if we simply saw these players getting chances to grow (especially when they have been taking the limited chances given).... mind you, with young hungry players getting chances when older players seem uninterested(and thus giving those senior players a reason to try harder to keep their starting roles), the performances might have actually been better even if the results not so much.

Exactly what I felt whilst watching that second half.

Our games have been so dull of late. Get very little enjoyment watching us. But in that second half last night when we had CHO, RLC, Amapdu and Christensen on the pitch and they were linking up well with Kovacic, Willian & Giroud, we just had a much more fresher and exciting look about us. Sarri would be given 100% less stick if he was doing that more often. These youngsters NEED games and we WILL see them flourish. People expecting them to be brilliant when they get 20 minutes here, 10 minutes there, one start then back on the bench for the next month - it ain't gonna happen. They need regular playing time to gain confidence and gel. Last night, you saw some lovely little play between CHO & RLC and that should be a taste of things to come.

LET THE REVOLUTION COMMENCE!

 

^oh yes brother, bring them on.

9 hours ago, Gol15 said:

Otherwise if we get Zenit...Ivanovic is coming back to the Bridge

Let’s hope he’s retired as ‘2 goal Branislav’ then!

If Ivanocic comes back I would hope he gets a good reception, one of the few CL winners with us that is likely to come back as a player. 

11 hours ago, robdog said:

4am my time - I guess I will awake to find out who Chelsea's opponents are

good morning dude, T-42 minutes :)

Can somebody who has been on the stands please tell me if the freekick after the final offside in the 93rd minute was actually taken or the ref blew the whistle right away, cause on the TV broadcast you can't really see what happened? Please, that will be very useful information for me :)

Edited February 22, 20197 yr by FrankieLamp

Dynamo Kyiv it is at home first