Chelsea v Liverpool (PL) Sun 22nd Sep 16:30 GMT

[TomCFC85 2,512]

Can I change my name to TomoriCFC85

[DaRick 883]

Would love to see our xG for this game. It's very likely similar to Liverpool's if not better.

Other notes:

1) I was concerned about whether or not Abraham could perform against the very best defences and unfortunately he didn't do that much to dispel those concerns today. He has time on his side and was up against the best CB in the PL, but his movement mostly didn't trouble Liverpool and he snatched at his big chance. 

2) Mount had little impact on the game, maybe due to not being 100% fit. The movement and bombing runs into the box weren't so apparent today.

3) Starting Willian was OK, but IMO Frank would have been better served bringing Pulisic on rather than Pedro because he seriously troubled Liverpool during the Super Cup. 

4) Yet again, poor marking at set pieces costs us. I agree with other posters that Frank should drop the zonal marking idea - Wenger was the manager most known for it during Frank's playing career, and his defences post-Vieira/Campbell weren't particularly sound.

5) Again wretched luck with injury. Hope Emerson/Christensen are OK. Zouma wasn't the disaster that we feared that he would be - maybe because he was defending deeper, I don't know.

EDIT: 6) Great to see Tomori step up and look as if he's been occupying that back line for years. Was our best against Valencia too. Seemed able to defuse Liverpool's front 3 pretty effectively. 

 

Edited September 22 by DaRick

[Scott Harris 22,719]

2 minutes ago, Imran_CFC said:

Disappointed with the chances missed by Mount and Abraham but its understandable, with youth you always get a level of inconsistency in performance. Hopefully they learn from this and come back stronger

I don't think the youth players are the problem though, they have been the consistent ones, it's the experienced players that keep under performing.

[RMCM 1,668]

I thought Tammy did well to be honest, he missed his chances, true, but he's young and it's probably his first game against an opponent on that calibre in the prem, but i thought his running was decent and he held the ball up well a few times. I'd probably have taken Mason off for Pulisic as he looked a little but uncomfortable towards the end of the game. But honestly, i expected a loss in this game, Liverpool are a level above us, we are at the level they were at maybe 4 years ago, we're a work in progress, they're the finished article. A lot of good things to be taken from that game, most especially the performance of Tomori, I thought looked absolutely top notch today. 

This was a game we could have used RLC in though, his physicality and powerful running would have been an asset against such a physical team like Liverpool. Hopefully he'll be back soon.

[forbzy 776]

Poor finishing cost us as much as anything today. Liverpool looked wobbly at the back and we had decent chances that would have given us at least a draw.

[Chelsbear 7,947]

1 minute ago, Scott Harris said:

Exactly. I don't think we played that well today anyway. We were really poor in the first half I thought, we had no control of the game. It was an okay second half, but I'm not going to praise the team for playing one decent half of football. It's a 90+ minute game, not 45, we won't be winning many games at all if we continue to play like we did today. Carry on like this and we will struggle to get into the top half of the table and be out of the Champions League in the group stages. 

Liverpool didn’t even play well either, they looked shattered from midweek but we still struggled.

Far too many times we are saying the same things already in games we are struggling in like Sheffield United, Man U, Valencia and today yet it’s only September. 

I know we have a young team and have the ban but we still have a squad with quality players who should be doing better and not making the mistakes we are (Dave, Alonso, Willian for example).

It wouldn’t be such an issue if we knew the time would be given but if people think we can afford to lose or draw every other game and for Frank to still be here next season then they will be in for a shock.

[forbzy 776]

Shame Tammy didn't get that chance that Bats had at the end.

[bisright1 938]

3 minutes ago, DaRick said:

Would love to see our xG for this game. It's very likely similar to Liverpool's if not better.

Other notes:

1) I was concerned about whether or not Abraham could perform against the very best defences and unfortunately he didn't do that much to dispel those concerns today. He has time on his side and was up against the best CB in the PL, but his movement mostly didn't trouble Liverpool and he snatched at his big chance. 

2) Mount had little impact on the game, maybe due to not being 100% fit. The movement and bombing runs into the box weren't so apparent today.

3) Starting Willian was OK, but IMO Frank would have been better served bringing Pulisic on rather than Pedro because he seriously troubled Liverpool during the Super Cup. 

4) Yet again, poor marking at set pieces costs us. I agree with other posters that Frank should drop the zonal marking idea - Wenger was the manager most known for it during Frank's playing career, and his defences post-Vieira/Campbell weren't particularly sound.

5) Again wretched luck with injury. Hope Emerson/Christensen are OK. Zouma wasn't the disaster that we feared that he would be - maybe because he was defending deeper, I don't know.

Disagree with 1. He played well. Think mount had a big impact off the ball which is how Alonso had so much space. Zouma is a good footballer, that's why he did well today. 

[Deino 886]

Just now, Dean said:

It does but on paper we can’t be expected to get them off Liverpool, difficult though that is to admit. My main point is on expectations though. Still too high for many which explains the constant state of being disappointed.

We have dropped points against United, Leicester, Sheffield, Valencia and Liverpool despite having the better chances to win. All the while our rivals keep dropping silly points as well. 

Morale and feel good factor can only last so long before the real battle begins. This team needs results to keep from falling into mediocrity. 

 

[axman2526 2,855]

1 hour ago, Ernie_blue said:

Fans and players celebrate, everyone goes wild to find out 5mins later its disallowed. Theres no point in f**king celebrating.

VAR correct or not, should have been left to goal line technology. System. Is biased and flawed and most importantly sucks the fun out of the game.

No clean sheets, no win at the Bridge. Our home form is appalling and we need a new defensive coach.

I hate losing to Liverpool. We just helped them towards the title.

[STATS 827]

We lost, but the way the boys stood up second half and mounted that comeback was really impressive. I am just really pissed off with Arsenal getting that winner, especially considering they were 2-1 down and had 10 men. Gutting. On the positive not, Tomori was absolutely brilliant. He did not put a foot wrong. Jorginho impressed me also. Controlled a lot of the game but Tomori was the standout. His reading of the game and pace is so impressive. Just a shame we could not capitalize after we got the first goal. We lost but certainly was not embarrassed and Liverpool know they were in a game.  

[goose 1,966]

I thought Tammy did ok today against VVD. He didn’t score but had 3 good chances against him. Another day he could have scored a couple and I certainly didn’t think it was man against boy.

[RIP Mourinho 5,220]

3 minutes ago, forbzy said:

Shame Tammy didn't get that chance that Bats had at the end.

So he could miss another one?

[rtwelch 340]

Motm for us Tomori closely followed by Kante. Mount we will give the benefit of the doubt because he done it old school and got strapped up and out there 😉

The reason we give him the benefit of the doubt to him and not Willian is the fact Mount has matched Willian’s PL goals tally from last season already this season.

Tammy should have stepped up first half but hey ho. Pulisic should have come on imo like a few have said already.

Bottom line we need to start picking up wins. We continue to be a one half team.

[Scott Harris 22,719]

2 minutes ago, goose said:

I thought Tammy did ok today against VVD. He didn’t score but had 3 good chances against him. Another day he could have scored a couple and I certainly didn’t think it was man against boy.

I'm confused by some of the comments from people saying it was like man vs boy. Most games you won't see strikers getting anything other than half chances against Van Dijk, but Abraham managed to get 3 chances, two of them he should have scored from. Criticising him for not taking his chances is fair enough, but to say he looked out of his depth against Van Dijk is something I disagree with.

[Munkworth 4,454]

Rumour has it Alexander-Arnold is still stood on the touch line wasting to take a throw in. 

[forbzy 776]

5 minutes ago, RIP Mourinho said:

So he could miss another one?

He may have missed a good chance first half but I still have more confidence in him than I do in Bats

[Strider6003 2,363]

I think the Zonal marking was adopted almost universally due to refs tightening up on pulling in the box. 

I thought there a lot of good performances out there today with some bad luck re the disallowed equaliser and Christensen's injury. With your other first choice CB injured you are always up against it.

I can't comment much on there second goal though notice he scored between Alonso and Christen and Alonso moves and jumps diagonally. So as a minimum Firminho was not marked sufficiently.

Thought Kante had a quite first half yet second certainly made an impact with a clever run and superb finish.

Abraham was marked too well today and not composed enough when he got the breaks.

Thought Tomori was exceptional especially after that early yellow and also impressed with Kovacic.

Willian worked hard too.

We had some good play in the attacking build up phases just a shame we couldn't take more advantage of it.

We had a number of chances towards the end I missed as the stream died on me yet on another day we take at least one. 

 

[abramovich 3,216]

1. We can't defend set pieces. I don't have the stats but we must be among the worst sides in the league in that respect. Something has to be done, and soon.

2. Mount struggled a bit, but it was expected given his recent injury and the quality of the opponent. Plus, I think Frank planned to sub him off later in the game, but first half injuries to Emerson and Christensen messed things up. Should have scored at the end, but hey, the boy's got character on top of his ability, and that's something.

3. Tammy worked hard and made a great effort but should have scored on a couple of very good chances. Still, valuable learning experience for our young striker.

4. Kante was clearly not 100% but what a player, never stopped running and that goal would make Messi proud.

5. The whole team deserves praise for not giving up and fighting till the final whistle. We were unlucky not to get a point out of this, but I love the spirit of this group and the attitude of the players was brilliant, despite the errors. We played with no fear against a better side and forced them to start wasting time long before the end of the match. But once again, we were poor in front of goal.

6. Christensen has no future in the club, here, I said it. The boy is too fragile both mentally and physically, he's not meant for this league and for this team. 

7. Tomori is the boss.

[carrickblue 5,092]

1 minute ago, Strider6003 said:

I think the Zonal marking was adopted almost universally due to refs tightening up on pulling in the box. 

that's a good point, but if that's the case we've got to learn how to do it well or we're stuffed

[coco 11,861]

This team despite being 2-3 players short, showed enough to say were not a million miles behind them.

 

[guddy69 259]

14 minutes ago, Chelsbear said:

Liverpool didn’t even play well either, they looked shattered from midweek but we still struggled.

Far too many times we are saying the same things already in games we are struggling in like Sheffield United, Man U, Valencia and today yet it’s only September. 

I know we have a young team and have the ban but we still have a squad with quality players who should be doing better and not making the mistakes we are (Dave, Alonso, Willian for example).

It wouldn’t be such an issue if we knew the time would be given but if people think we can afford to lose or draw every other game and for Frank to still be here next season then they will be in for a shock.

Don't be ridiculous..

[WhiteWall 871]

1 minute ago, carrickblue said:

that's a good point, but if that's the case we've got to learn how to do it well or we're stuffed

I think aerially we're poor all over the pitch. Add the zonal marking element at corners and i have to hold my breath every time. If feels any contact with the ball from the opposition will end up in a goal.

[forbzy 776]

2 minutes ago, Strider6003 said:

I think the Zonal marking was adopted almost universally due to refs tightening up on pulling in the box. 

I thought there a lot of good performances out there today with some bad luck re the disallowed equaliser and Christensen's injury. With your other first choice CB injured you are always up against it.

I can't comment much on there second goal though notice he scored between Alonso and Christen and Alonso moves and jumps diagonally. So as a minimum Firminho was not marked sufficiently.

Thought Kante had a quite first half yet second certainly made an impact with a clever run and superb finish.

Abraham was marked too well today and not composed enough when he got the breaks.

Thought Tomori was exceptional especially after that early yellow and also impressed with Kovacic.

Willian worked hard too.

We had some good play in the attacking build up phases just a shame we couldn't take more advantage of it.

We had a number of chances towards the end I missed as the stream died on me yet on another day we take at least one. 

 

Mason Mount had the best chance right at the end. Unfortunaley he didn't show his usual calmness in front of goal at that point

[AlwaysRight 183]

Six games in with 8 point is awful, we really need to sort the problems out at the back it's literally shipping 2 goals a game average it's ridiculous. 10 points behind the top, if we make top 6 we'll be lucky. The team has potential, but there's too many lemons in our side to be good enough to challenge for anything.