Just now, petre ispirescu said:

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.

Benfica are no push overs this season . 

1 minute ago, forbzy said:

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.

Individually I don't think any of the changes were bad ones. I just thought it was too many when we only had a one goal lead.

Another great thing about this win is they’re a really good side. I think they were definitely a better organised unit than us. Obviously the result writes the script, but this wasn’t easy at all. Things looked ominous when they started to control things in the first half - I thought, here we go again. But we didn’t fade as we had  in so many recent games. That’s a big change. More generally, the fact we could beat such a well-drilled team while nowhere near our full potential (in my view) could bode really well. 

Massive win. 

Hope thzt gives some much needed momentum! 

41 minutes ago, just said:

@TimesUpPotter @TimesUpPotter @TimesUpPotter @TimesUpPotter @TimesUpPotter @TimesUpPotter

Oh my God, what a disaster, what a nightmare, what a catastrophe for you!! You must be absolutely gutted. A Potter win AND the return of Pulisic!!! Don't do anything stupid. Stay away from sharp objects and tall buildings. If you need The Samaritans to talk you through your grief and loss their number is 2-0 2-0 2-0 2-0.

I don't usually respond to plastic old head hunters like @justthink he often forgets which club he supports and is more interested in arguing with someone than the football but i'll make an exception tonight because the mood is good.

We were terrific. What a performance from most the lads! we were outstanding to a man and absolutely deserved to go through, if it hadn't taken to nearly his 30th match in charge for a performance like tonight I'd have been singing Potters praises but credit where it's due we performed really well today and hopefully can keep the momentum going.

Absolutely no negatives at all other than the tiny one you mentioned, personally I wouldn't have mentioned it but the return of Pulisic was a shocker.  Think he thought he was still coming off the bench at Dortmund!

Either way enjoy the evening mate, i'm touched your first thought after the game was about me but tonight is surely the best night of our season and we might not score 2 goals in a game again so surely it's a night for celebration and positivity!

Edited March 7, 20233 yr by TimesUpPotter

13 minutes ago, Dean said:

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. 

Main difference I see, is almost all epl teams pressing high up the pitch putting the defenders under more pressure especially when teams, like Chelsea, try to play it out from the back...  sometimes I wish Chelsea would just hoof it up the pitch...

5 minutes ago, petre ispirescu said:

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.

Interesting. I thought they were really good, very well organised. You’re probably right though. There are certainly better teams in Europe.

I thought Koulibaly and Cucurella performed admirably.

Havertz too, though sometimes his frustrating self, overall was decent. 

 

I'll just mention in passing that Bellingham looked pants. Didn't pass the eye test for a 150million touted player... 

Let's hope we can build on this

Just now, TimesUpPotter said:

I don't usually respond to old head hunters like @Just think he often forgets which club he supports and is more interested in arguing with someone than the football but i'll make an exception tonight because the mood is good.

We were terrific. What a performance from most the lads! we were outstanding to a man and absolutely deserved to go through, if it hadn't taken to nearly his 30th match in charge for a performance like tonight I'd have been singing Potters praises but credit where it's due we performed really well today and hopefully can keep 

Absolutely no negatives at all other than the tiny one you mentioned, personally I wouldn't have mentioned it but the return of Pulisic was a shocker.  Think he thought he was still coming off the bench at Dortmund!

Either way enjoy the evening mate, i'm touched your first thought after the game was about me but tonight is surely the best night of our season and we might not score 2 goals in a game again so surely it's a night for celebration and positivity!

No worries @HazardousChoice. Potter and Pulisic! Have a beer on me. 

Lets goooooo

 

28 minutes ago, 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 

The problem with Havertz is himself, I don't think he puts in anywhere near the same effort levels game after game. He wants it more in Europe because it's the biggest stage in club football. If he plays against Leicester, I don't expect to see the Havertz we saw today and I don't think anybody can argue with us for thinking that way, we have seen it time and time again. 

2 minutes ago, Bebe1980 said:

Main difference I see, is almost all epl teams pressing high up the pitch putting the defenders under more pressure especially when teams, like Chelsea, try to play it out from the back...  sometimes I wish Chelsea would just hoof it up the pitch...

Thank you. I’m sure you’re right. But say you’re the manager of a top European side about to play Chelsea in the CL. You could watch a video of Chelsea against, say, Southampton (or any other low ranked team we’ve struggle against) and say to your players - “look how defender x struggles when under pressure” and incorporate that into your game plan. What prevents that when it’s a European match? Also, is it true that the European teams don’t press high up the pitch? Id say we were pressed pretty hard and high up / in our area for several  periods of tonight’s match. 

Don't know about anyone else but 2-0 up under the old away goals rule it would have been knuckle biting time but I felt even if they pulled one back we would have scored another. Was watching the game with my son when Havertz missed the penalty I went straight to the khazi swearing my head off only to hear mid stream Dad Dad it's being retaken  at my age it's a Mastermind piss ( I've started so I'll finish) then could hear my son shout f**king yes get in I got out praying that my Mrs won't be back till after the game otherwise a massive bollocking is due.

 

MOTM for me it was Kai Havertz.

With five shots and two chances created, Kai Havertz was directly involved in over half of Chelsea's 13 shots tonight. And that doesn't include his disallowed goal. He hit the post. He hit the post again with penalty. He scored the pen, by hitting it exactly the same, that was nice. . .he was class.
Chillwell had a nice game too. Always there. Always competing.
Enzo is the real deal. Enzo has real talent.
Kova as captain. Yeah. He's alright. Effort. Dignity.
Yep, this was a good night.

See we do much better when we do not ‘win’ possession.

14 minutes ago, just said:

No worries @HazardousChoice. Potter and Pulisic! Have a beer on me. 

Is that who he is 😂 the worse disguise since this guy.

Edited March 7, 20233 yr by bluehaze

3 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

The problem with Havertz is himself, I don't think he puts in anywhere near the same effort levels game after game. He wants it more in Europe because it's the biggest stage in club football. If he plays against Leicester, I don't expect to see the Havertz we saw today and I don't think anybody can argue with us for thinking that way, we have seen it time and time again. 

My original post was in relation to KK, but I’m sure everything you say here is valid.  I think it has a lot to do with confidence too with Havertz. I think they all want to win. We’ve been pretty unlucky in some of our recent games, including the first leg of this one. I saw some fancy stat somewhere about how we should have had x amount of points more in our last x many games than we actually got. Anyway, let’s hope Havertz and others can find the same form in the PL. 

 

25 minutes ago, loz said:

Individually I don't think any of the changes were bad ones. I just thought it was too many when we only had a one goal lead.

Yes. I see your point. There was also the risk that we would be lacking some creative options if Dortmund had managed to take the game to extra time.

‘Pound Land’ documentary on BT Sports now lads, Ken Bates story.

7 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

 

that's class

Bellend ham is a hateful prick. He falls over and rolls about at the slightest touch, and whinges at the ref over everything. That was a dirty and cowardly tackle on James at the end, leg breaker had it connected. Don’t think the conversation between to two was that friendly at the end and I think James will be saving that one in the memory bank.

Aside from that I do think he is a good player, hard to believe he’s not 20 till June.

What about Kepa….. nearly ran out The Bridge, stayed and fought for his place, a couple of good saves tonight and given the captains arm band for arguably our best game of the season so far 

👏👏