Would have taken this result after the first 30 minutes.

dominated the second half but were unable to put this tie to bed, very disappointing. Apart from the Luiz free did we really trouble their keeper in the second half. It’s just the same old, same old for me.

Positives though were RLC who I think could raise his game to dominate the mid field the more he is played, and Kante who gives his all in every game.

Needed 2 away goals in my opinion. Decent result but 2-2 would have been better.

I thought Christensen had a very good second half.

+1 there were a couple of times when made runs & he held back - I know his position but wish just would take a gamble once

Ah frick Arsenal won 3-1 so even if we get through we get to play them...an anticlimactic opponent.

Jorginho was great tonight

15 minutes ago, Ernie_blue said:

We are only battling for 4th because of Sarri's brilliant management  Arsenal and Man Utd have been on top form and us fans have been lucky to have such a talented manager at the helm, plus the football has been outstanding.

Haha. Nurse, Mr blue's medicine please!! 

8 minutes ago, ozboy said:

Jorginho was great tonight

Jorginho was a beast.  He can tackle.

8 minutes ago, Ernie_blue said:

We are only battling for 4th because of Sarri's brilliant management  Arsenal and Man Utd have been on top form and us fans have been lucky to have such a talented manager at the helm, plus the football has been outstanding.

We don't have a good enough team to fight for the title. That's football...just look at Arsenal and United as you say.

We're going through a bad time and we still have a chance of top 4 and winning the Europa League.

Whatever happens between now and the end of the season is nothing compared to the direction we could go in the next couple of years if we get things wrong.

Lets just hope we hang in there and make the right decisions at the top.

28 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Ah frick Arsenal won 3-1 so even if we get through we get to play them...an anticlimactic opponent.

Don't forget that they're sh*t away from home. Wouldn't count Valencia out just yet.

I actually think we lost a lot of impetous when Hazard came on.

Ruben and Jorginho were excellent.

Better in the 2nd half. Hopefully we won't regret not taking some of those chances.

Stand out performers: 

Loftus-Cheek - After a poor start, grew into the game and was our most likely to score again
Jorginho - Much more robust performance
Pedro - Although he messed up a few times, thought he did well on the right hand side

Poor performances:

Giroud - Very poor. Heavy first touch, didn't win much in the air, didn't hold the ball up well.
Willian - Shocking. Always over-plays with stupid flicks when the simpler pass or shot is on.
CB - Christensen and Luiz, neither fill me with much confidence.

Who's that lad with the afro I see running about? Is he a footballer? 

1 hour ago, Zero said:

Don't forget that they're sh*t away from home. Wouldn't count Valencia out just yet.

They are and yet they won at Napoli. Guess Premier league form counts for nothing with them in this competition.

Would have taken 1-1 before the game and we played well after we scored.

Game of Two Halves I suppose.

Pedro and Loftus-Cheek were out two top players last night.

Just my humble opinion,
 

7 hours ago, Zeta said:

CB - Christensen and Luiz, neither fill me with much confidence.

To me it looks like Luiz is definitely playing not 100% fit.

10 hours ago, mwblue10 said:

What seat did you have in the dressing room?

No need to, after seeing numerous games this season wolves, spurs, Arsenal, Bournemouth, City away and those inept performances where manager was incapable of tactically changing or motivating team.

Excellent performance last night, bar a few shaky moments in defence.

Thought Sarri got it spot on with the line up and the subs. All the pundits moaning about Hazard being left out but I thought it was the right call for the away leg and bring him on for the last 30. Just a shame he was a little more subdued when he came on. But thought we played really well and we were just a decent striker short of us winning the game comfortably.

 

11 hours ago, charierre said:

Not so sure on that, RLC wasn't showing any signs of fatigue and that decision probably cost us the win. Baffling substitution at a time when we were dominant.

This is Sarri's explanation:

Quote

‘He is a very important player. He has improved a lot during the season. When he is at the top physically he is a very important player for us. It’s not easy for him to train with consistency because of his back, but in this match he was really fit. Unfortunately with 10 minutes to go he had cramp and asked for a substitution.’

 

Jorghino and RLC stood out and I thought Christiansen improved as the game went on. Lovely goal by Pedro after a super build-up. Unlucky not to score more.

Jorginho was brilliant last night i thought. 

Barring the first 25 mins, I thought it was one of our better away performances this season albeit Frankfurt looked absolutely knackered after 30 mins, which was bizarre. Have they played more games than us this season? Maybe they aren't used to playing with such intensity for long periods?... Whatever it is, it bodes well for the return leg.

Thought Luiz had one of his more commanding, assured games and our midfield seemed to have a good balance with Jorginho, Kante, RLC, who all played well.

Kante was immense, and in a lot of ways, is more invaluable than Hazard who was in 3rd gear during his cameo - perhaps saving himself for Sunday?...

Giroud was largely frustrating, Pedro his more effective, energetic self, whilst Willian was quiet and I wouldn't be suprised if he was carrying a knock. He didn't look right at all.

Frankfurt looked dangerous on the counter and will be a better team next week with Rebic available, but I'm struggling to believe they will go through. We seem to have a bit more quality and suprisingly, we look alot fitter than them.

3 minutes ago, Elliott said:

Barring the first 25 mins, I thought it was one of our better away performances this season albeit Frankfurt looked absolutely knackered after 30 mins, which was bizarre. Have they played more games than us this season? Maybe they aren't used to playing with such intensity for long periods?... Whatever it is, it bodes well for the return leg.

I think it was mentioned during the commentary that they've had a tough season and very little squad depth, so by this stage of the season they're knackered.

I thought we put in a good away performance too, it's a shame that we couldn't quite make our second half pressure count and grab another goal, whilst they managed to score with far fewer shots. Story of our season to a degree! Still, an away goal and a draw isn't the worst result away from home in Europe. Thought RLC and Jorginho stood out, Pedro did well for the goal too. Christensen had a good second half after looking a bit shaky at times in the first and picking up a silly yellow.

21 minutes ago, Elliott said:

Frankfurt ?looked absolutely knackered after 30 mins, which was bizarre. Have they played more games than us this season?

Chelsea have played 59 games, E. Frankfurt have played 46 games so far.

12 minutes ago, Remy10 said:

I think it was mentioned during the commentary that they've had a tough season and very little squad depth

Chelsea squad size 26, Frankfurt 34 players.

1 minute ago, coco said:

Chelsea have played 59 games, E. Frankfurt have played 46 games so far.

Chelsea squad size 26, Frankfurt 34 players.

Fair enough. Serves me right for listening to the commentary. I think their point was about not really trusting the 'backup' players, but I guess the same could easily be argued about us. Kudos to our medical staff and fitness coaches I suppose!

A decent 2nd half performance, probably should of gone on to win, but at least we didn't lose.

Makes next week similar to a one off match now, unless we can keep a clean sheet.

Edited May 3, 20197 yr by 2211