I didn't see all the game yet enough to see this was a close match.

Rennes worked really hard and also used some dirty arts of the game without being nasty.

Great ball by Mount which CHO dispatched really well.

We were always skating on ice at one goal up as Rennes worked so hard so the equalising goal was not a complete surprise.

Frank made decent subs and after Werner was put through (by Kante?) and messed it up Olly pops up to remind us again he is good goal scorer.

Credit to Frank, now lets prepare for the Spuds with a different challenge entirely.

3 minutes ago, Munkworth said:

If Krasnador lost they couldn’t catch us which guarantees qualification. 

Yeah I get that but it keeps Sevilla level on points with us a draw/loss would have kept them 2/3 points behind us and Krasnador would still have been on 2/4 points with us on 10. Highly unlikely they were catching us anyway.

Edited November 24, 20205 yr by EdinburghBlue

Not sure why anyone would favour Seville scoring, going through the group was never the concern finishing top is 

Who's the boss in France? That's right...

Not the greatest performance but I'm absolutely delighted with that result. We need wins when we don't play at our best. One goal conceded in the champions league so far. 

The defence was good up until that lapse in concentration that allowed the Guirassy goal. 

Our midfield with Jorginho, Kante and Havertz needed a LOT of work.

Timo and Ben had terrible games.  This game could have been 4-0 had they scored their sitters

5 minutes ago, Gol15 said:

Who's the boss in France? That's right...

Probably should have Werner on the bench for Spurs so he isn't completely exhausted after 25 minutes. The bloke has been playing 90 minutes continuously for a few months now

Just now, Deino said:

The defence was good up until that lapse in concentration that allowed the Guirassy goal. 

Our midfield with Jorginho, Kante and Havertz needed a LOT of work.

Timo and Ben had terrible games.  This game could have been 4-0 had they scored their sitters

I missed the equalizer was it again Mount up against Guirassy in the box, it looked like David vs Goliath?

9 minutes ago, SFL82 said:

Not sure why anyone would favour Seville scoring, going through the group was never the concern finishing top is 

The commentator seemed to think we could forget about the last two games if we qualified! 

Madness. We need to come top. 

 

1 minute ago, Strider6003 said:

I missed the equalizer was it again Mount up against Guirassy in the box, it looked like David vs Goliath?

Nope. Guirassy managed to get in between Silva and Zouma. Both lost their concentration for a split second

3 minutes ago, Strider6003 said:

I missed the equalizer was it again Mount up against Guirassy in the box, it looked like David vs Goliath?

mount was subbed by then... i think between Thiago and Havertz .. one of them screwed up.

Really good interview from FL. Honest, straight but authorative as well. 

We got away with that one. Well done Giroud. Cruical win given that Sevilla won. 

I had prepared another post match comment and then that beautiful big French bloke saved the day, showing why SFL will keep him come January and for sure he’s got lots more contributions like that to make in this season. Werner needs a rest, Chilly and Tammy looked way off the pace, Kova & Jorginho are not of the required level to start in the new 4-3-3. They will be moved on in time hopefully and if we get Rice next window or summer he  is an improvement upon the latter two combined imo. Defense was good today but after 500 corners they were gonna get lucky. Glad SFL gamble paid off and we can rest key players as needed now we reached KOs. Been a great 24 hours CL away victory, Joe Biden victory done & dusted!

6 minutes ago, Deino said:

Havertz needed a LOT of work.

I'd say Havertz in midfield in general needs a lot of work.

Might develop into a bit of a headache if the trio of Kante, Kovacic and Mount continue performing. Recently we've been great in 4-3-3 so it would be stupid to change that up but in that formation the only role for Havertz would be as an 8 in midfield.

Just now, Sindre said:

I'd say Havertz in midfield in general needs a lot of work.

Might develop into a bit of a headache if the trio of Kante, Kovacic and Mount continue performing. Recently we've been great in 4-3-3 so it would be stupid to change that up but in that formation the only role for Havertz would be as an 8 in midfield.

Havertz plays as an 8 to begin with. It was his manager at Leverkusen that played him all over the place. 

10 minutes ago, Sindre said:

I'd say Havertz in midfield in general needs a lot of work.

Might develop into a bit of a headache if the trio of Kante, Kovacic and Mount continue performing. Recently we've been great in 4-3-3 so it would be stupid to change that up but in that formation the only role for Havertz would be as an 8 in midfield.

It's his first game back after having COVID, let's cut the lad a little slack. 

Just now, chiefBlueCFC said:

It's his first game back after having COVID, let's cut the lad a little slack. 

Not trying to have a go at him.

Just feel he needs some extra time to adjust. Which is no surprise as players from the Bundesliga often does. Keita, Pulisic and so on.
Right now though i feel we are more solid with Kovacic in there instead of Havertz as he's not going to displace either Kante or Mount anytime soon.
 

 

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, Sindre said:

Not trying to have a go at him.

Just feel he needs some extra time to adjust. Which is no surprise as players from the Bundesliga often does. Keita, Pulisic and so on.
Right now though i feel we are more solid with Kovacic in there instead of Havertz as he's not going to displace either Kante or Mount anytime soon.
 

I thought he was starting to come into his own when he got sick. Hopefully it doesn't hurt his progression. But you are right that there is usually a learning curve coming into the Prem from outside of England.

With so many injuries at the beginning of the season Lampard had to play him in positions he is good/decent at, but not his best position. It seemed he finally got to get a run in in that position so, I'm hoping we don't see him out wide or up top and if we do it is because of the fluidity of our attackers being able to play across multiple positions throughout the match.

Kova has done a really good job of stepping up while he has been out. So, I'd imagine he continues to get that run in the squad as Lampard eases Havertz back in. But the big thing about having Havertz back, is that it gives us a chance to let Mason get a break.

Thank You Oliver Giroud,?

We should have been 3-0 up before the half hour mark. Credit to Rennes for sticking at it. Gutted when they equalised.

Delighted, to say the least, when that man Oliver Giroud. scored our winner.

Thought we played well in parts of the game, Delighted we are through already.

Streaky performance but a win is a win. Shame to see the poor marking at corners return tonight. Nice to see Oli on the scoresheet, perhaps this will mean he can get some more minutes. As he was last year he will be more and more important in the tighter games to come after Christmas where there is more at stake and teams start to work out our current approach.

17 minutes ago, Spiller86 said:

Streaky performance but a win is a win. Shame to see the poor marking at corners return tonight. Nice to see Oli on the scoresheet, perhaps this will mean he can get some more minutes. As he was last year he will be more and more important in the tighter games to come after Christmas where there is more at stake and teams start to work out our current approach.

Agreed re Oliver Giroud getting more minutes.