A fair few  players showing what they can be tonight. Havertz, Cucurella, Kepa and Koulibaly in particular a few gears above their normal form.

Chilwell excellent again and looking close to the player he was pre injury.

I thought Potter got a lot right tonight until the last 25 minutes. Felt he made too many changes when we had to keep on control. It ran a big risk of leaving us disjointed and also in difficulty if Dortmund had equalised and we then had to up a gear and get another goal.

However two wins in a row. Credit where its due to Potter. Another week without hearing about some unknown manager from the suburbs of some South American ghetto who we should absolutely bring in tomorrow.

2 minutes ago, evissy said:

He is a brilliant player in European scene. Premier League is still a bit tricky for him.

He has been good since the start of the year. Problem is the bad start he had and everyone jumps over every mistake. Lacks a bit of pace but he is a bit of a faint in the centre of the back.

2 minutes ago, Frankie8Lampard said:

I think he plays better in a 3

So… yet another reason to stick with the 3?

Just now, Dean said:

I never really understand this. Have been watching the game for a few decades. Why should a player be good in Europe but not the prem? I’m not questioning it. Genuinely curious 

If you can't see a difference between Premier League football to Champions League football you maybe need to watch another few decades. 

Koulibaly has played CL a ton already to know how the games usually are. Premier League is new to him.

Still think Potter's not the man to take us forward but credit where it's due tonight. I didn't agree with the subs at all but job done nonetheless. 

4 minutes ago, strider6004 said:

I think we will make to the CL final now we are past this lot.

probably draw City, although they have some work to do, or Real..😂

👏 amazing 

The whole defence was superb there, chilwell was the best player on the pitch. 

Havertz was quality, best he's been in a long long time. 

4 minutes ago, SimonH said:

I f**king love our fullbacks.

Just throwing it out there 

They are the reason we are doing slightly better.

Cucu showed up and bossed it aggressive from the get go.

Chilwell MOTM for me.

 

Cucurella & Koulibaly very close behind him. 

Just now, Dean said:

So… yet another reason to stick with the 3?

At this point, I feel like it is embedded in our club now. We've had the most success over the last decade when we use a 3, never understood why so many people were adamant for us to switch to a 4 at the beginning of the season.

Just now, Jangz said:

They are the reason we are doing slightly better.

Calm down man. Don't get too excited.

Chilwell confirmed it for me tonight, he really is one of the finest left backs in the world 

Cucurella OUTSTANDING, hats off to you

Havertz very very good game, play like this every game please!

Koulibaly was a monster, bossed everything in the air

Oh boy I’ve missed this, winning a big game!

Get in.

Delighted for the players and coach that they’ve delivered tonight.

Kepa - 8 - Two huge saves and commanded his area all game. Best run of form he has had in a Chelsea shirt.

Chilwell - 9 - Brilliant all game. Going forward he was dangerous, then when we went defensive, he was just as good. Best player in the squad after Silva right now.

Cucurella - 8 - Aggressive, but in a good way for once. He wasn't all over the place, he knew when to tackle and when to defend.

Koulibaly - 8 - An absolute rock today. As long as he isn't isolated in 1v1 situations, he's great. 

Fofana - 8 - Some big blocks, especially the shot at the end. Looked comfortable which is a major plus point.

James - 8 - A bit off in the first half, didn't get forward much, but defensively in the 2nd half he was brilliant.

Enzo - 7 - Did the dirty work.

Kovacic - 7 - A bit sloppy in possession at times, but he was a big reason why we could create anything with his dribbling out from midfield.

Felix - 7 - Some nice touches at times, was a great link up player throughout.

Sterling - 7 - Get's big points for the goal, but his performance was frustrating at times. A bit more sharpness to his game and he could have been our best player today

Havertz - 8 - Probably his best performance of the season. He frustrated Dortmund all game. Hold up play was good, link up play was excellent. Problem is he can't maintain these levels for most games.

 

Subs:

Gallagher - 6 - Hard working, but a bit all over the place at times.

Loftus-Cheek - 5 - Never noticed him until his backheel at the end.

Pulisic - 4 - Didn't feel like the right sub to bring on. 

Zakaria - 7 - Made sure Dortmund weren't getting through.

1 minute ago, evissy said:

If you can't see a difference between Premier League football to Champions League football you maybe need to watch another few decades. 

Koulibaly has played CL a ton already to know how the games usually are. Premier League is new to him.

No need to be rude. I understand what you’re saying, and I’m not hearing anything new. If a player can handle top quality opposition in Europe, they should be able to handle lesser opposition in the premier league. I just think it’s one of these tropes that gets bandied about but doesn’t actually stand up to closer scrutiny. 

liverpool supporters seem to me the kind to play online slot machines 

Loads of well deserved praise.

Fofana should also get some of that. Recently back from injury and plays with his heart on the sleeve and in a way like he’s never been gone. Full of effort. Love to see that. 
Enzo as well - quality player. Always looking for the releasing and progressing pass while doing the real shi*t work in the middle of the pitch.

What a great day!

3 minutes ago, Frankie8Lampard said:

At this point, I feel like it is embedded in our club now. We've had the most success over the last decade when we use a 3, never understood why so many people were adamant for us to switch to a 4 at the beginning of the season.

It's because despite how good it can be, it's so reliant on having top quality wing backs. It's a formation that completely breaks down when you take one of them out or if they get injured. With other formations, it's more flexible, you have options if one player is left out.

So many good performances tonight.

Chillwell the pick for me but props to Cucurella who was great tonight.

PS Wesley Forfana is a player and he’s still young.

Edited March 7, 20233 yr by 2211

Nice to see Potter looking contented in the post match interview. Free, temporarily possibly, of the sort of pressure and abuse that you get from halfwits 

12 minutes ago, loz said:

A fair few  players showing what they can be tonight. Havertz, Cucurella, Kepa and Koulibaly in particular a few gears above their normal form.

Chilwell excellent again and looking close to the player he was pre injury.

I thought Potter got a lot right tonight until the last 25 minutes. Felt he made too many changes when we had to keep on control. It ran a big risk of leaving us disjointed and also in difficulty if Dortmund had equalised and we then had to up a gear and get another goal.

However two wins in a row. Credit where its due to Potter. Another week without hearing about some unknown manager from the suburbs of some South American ghetto who we should absolutely bring in tomorrow.


 

I think the subs were a mixed bag. I thought Conor made sense in that he gave us some more energy in the middle at a time when Dortmund were causing us some issues. I think RLC sub was purely to ensure Enzo didn't get a second yellow. Zakaria and Pulisic were a combination or eating up some clock time and some fresh legs. Overall we should have been ahead comfortably by then but we managed the game well I thought. Agree with you on Koulibaly and Cucurella. They have taken a lot of stick on forums this season but both did very well tonight. Also might be the best I've seen Havertz play in a couple of years.

Said it after the first leg that we'd go through with ease because Dortmund are nothing special, they are the media darlings and a marketable club because of their fans. Other than that they are no match for a big club and would have been a disgrace for us to have been knocked out by team consisting of Emre Can, Salih Ozcan, a bang average midfielder playing right back (Wolf) and those two clowns in the centre of their defence.

Hopefully we get one of Benfica, Milan, Inter, Spurs or Porto next and we have a big chance to the semifinals. And from there is game on.

Get in...yes this was a massive win.