Great to see Sarr and Saul stepping up. Think Sarr particularly has further room to grow into the team, just needs to smooth out a few rough edges, but he is young, energetic and strong and left footed.

Equally Werner looked good in his comeback.

Azpi's leg looked pretty bad at the end, a clear indication that he can't play as hard and as long as he has been doing. Like Jorginho he's hardly had a rest given the Euros etc.

Not spud's best performance we should have scored a couple more but hey that's footie.

i liked how we pressed them today

Saul was great, looks like a good squad player now

Alonso had a good game

Sarr solid performance

Attacking wise not lethal enough 

7 minutes ago, abramovich said:

Did anybody else think Lukaku looked a bit heavy? I don't know if it's due to injury/Covid layoff, but it looked like he's put on weight again.

I read an article where he wasn't his lean self as in Inter and returned heavier.

We played so well, our finishing let us down big time. With the way we are picking up injuries and covid cases we certainly could have done with, and deserved to get, a much bigger win.

Spurs will be delighted with the scoreline given how sh*t they were and how good we are.

Is not a joke or bravado to say we should be 5-0 and going in to a comfortable second leg, instead we have left the door open. Privately TT is probably fuming with the forwards.

I don't think I have ever, in all my 50 years of supporting Chelsea, reacted with about two minutes of solid laughter to a goal we've scored, like I did with that second goal!  

2 minutes ago, Beerqueen said:

I don't think I have ever, in all my 50 years of supporting Chelsea, reacted with about two minutes of solid laughter to a goal we've scored, like I did with that second goal!  

50 years? I thought you and @Valerie were the same age? 21 isn’t it?

3 minutes ago, Munkworth said:

50 years? I thought you and @Valerie were the same age? 21 isn’t it?

21 with a few years' experience!

3 hours ago, Sexyfootball said:

Good win. battered their A-Team 2-nil with our reserve side. Decent of Havertz to save his hat trick for the 2nd leg. Lukaku due a goal as well ... probably trying too hard tonight.

I just hope Dave is OK. We really don't need to lose another defender  ... 

 

MOTM a toss up between Saul and Alonso. Sarr's best game yet as well.

I actually think Alonso just shaded it ...

Probably betwen ziyech and saul. 

Half of the squad were unrecognizably good. 

I didn't expect that this starting 11 would work well together. 

No matter the competition, I will never get tired of beating Spurs! 

45 minutes ago, Jezz said:

No matter the competition, I will never get tired of beating Spurs! 

Totally agree.

12 hours ago, PloKoon13 said:

Havertz is no Danny Mills is he?

9 hours ago, Munkworth said:

50 years? I thought you and @Valerie were the same age? 21 isn’t it?

 

9 hours ago, Beerqueen said:

21 with a few years' experience!

I can confirm this. My hangover yesterday had nothing (nothing, I tells you) to do with an increasing inability directly proportianal to my age to hold my liquor.

None. 

Great first half yesterday (I had a setback in my recovery so had to get back to bed at halftime  )!

I wish there was a game, just one, where Chelsea took even half their chances. Good performance but tie should be done and dusted.

Shame we could not get a third, Spurs score first at their ground and it is game on.

The problem with not capitalising on chances has and will come back to bite us unless this tightens up. 

I also think they are not playing to Lukaku as much as they should. He is often getting into positions/starting runs and calling for the ball only for it to be passed back and around. He is often looking very frustrated. 

16 minutes ago, ZippyNW said:

The problem with not capitalising on chances has and will come back to bite us unless this tightens up. 

I also think they are not playing to Lukaku as much as they should. He is often getting into positions/starting runs and calling for the ball only for it to be passed back and around. He is often looking very frustrated. 

When he manages to get into the penalty area and attack the 6yd box, he becomes stationary and holds a position waiting for a delivery to come to him. I remember last night RLC broke into the right side of the spuds penalty area, Lukaku was in the 6yd box but had 3 defenders between him and RLC, instead of trying to get in front of those 3 by moving towards the near post he just stands there stationary waiting for a ball that has no chance of making it to him. You expect a lot more movement from a top striker.

6 minutes ago, coco said:

When he manages to get into the penalty area and attack the 6yd box, he becomes stationary and holds a position waiting for a delivery to come to him. I remember last night RLC broke into the right side of the spuds penalty area, Lukaku was in the 6yd box but had 3 defenders between him and RLC, instead of trying to get in front of those 3 by moving towards the near post he just stands there stationary waiting for a ball that has no chance of making it to him. You expect a lot more movement from a top striker.

Good point and it was poor. However, he often starts runs to get in behind the defence, or is holding off the run into space, shouting for the pass. The long pass in is not great all the time but occasionally I am shouting for the ball to be played over the top to him - last night he was looking really pissed off on at least one occasion.   

48 minutes ago, ZippyNW said:

Good point and it was poor. However, he often starts runs to get in behind the defence, or is holding off the run into space, shouting for the pass. The long pass in is not great all the time but occasionally I am shouting for the ball to be played over the top to him - last night he was looking really pissed off on at least one occasion.   

He may not be getting the quality ball he wants, whether it's over the top or between defenders, but i thought that was the point of a top striker, they don't get many chances as they are the most marked player in the team, but when a chance comes they take it. Last night he had the chance with the header which went just wide, he should be hitting the target with that, and then in the 2nd half a chance in the penalty area about 12 yds out, Werner managed to find him, he had to hit it first time, it went tamely straight into the keepers arms. If we need to create 6-8 quality chances for him to score every game we may have a problem.

12 minutes ago, coco said:

He may not be getting the quality ball he wants, whether it's over the top or between defenders, but i thought that was the point of a top striker, they don't get many chances as they are the most marked player in the team, but when a chance comes they take it. Last night he had the chance with the header which went just wide, he should be hitting the target with that, and then in the 2nd half a chance in the penalty area about 12 yds out, Werner managed to find him, he had to hit it first time, it went tamely straight into the keepers arms. If we need to create 6-8 quality chances for him to score every game we may have a problem.

He had another chance too in the box with just one defender to beat and by the time he made up his mind he had two defenders in front of him and it ended up a corner.

It is why for me he is a limited striker, very strong in some ways others average.

I don’t know where the assumption came from that lukaku became ‘ leaner, faster, more agile and mobile in the box’ since his time in Italy.  Still slow and lumber some to me,

 

2 hours ago, Kev56 said:

I don’t know where the assumption came from that lukaku became ‘ leaner, faster, more agile and mobile in the box’ since his time in Italy.  Still slow and lumber some to me,

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8627841/How-Antonio-Conte-revived-Romelu-Lukaku-weight-gain-Manchester-United.html

He was in Italy. Seems he has gained it back since moving. He was micro-managed by Conte in his diet. 

4 hours ago, RomansRoubles said:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8627841/How-Antonio-Conte-revived-Romelu-Lukaku-weight-gain-Manchester-United.html

He was in Italy. Seems he has gained it back since moving. He was micro-managed by Conte in his diet. 

Conte is famous for his diet management. I think I remember reading that his strictness on food was one of the reasons he fell out with Costa and other players here.