Chelsea Match Review I Chelsea vs Newcastle United I Premier League I 13/1/2019

Chelsea Match Review

Chelsea vs Newcastle United I Premier League I 13/1/2019

Match Overview

Premier League football returns with a match against relegation-battler Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge. This match marks the return of some players who were out injured or unavailable during the week, including Pedro and Giroud, although Loftus-Cheek and Morata remain sidelined.

The match was firmly in Chelsea’s control, as most games had been, although with chances far in-between. Chelsea had a great start with an excellent goal by Pedro from a phenomenal long pass from David Luiz in defence. Pedro got behind his marker, got a magnificent touch to control the pass, and then scooped the ball over Newcastle keeper, Dubravka, for Chelsea to take the lead.

Pedro 9’               Chelsea 1-0 Newcastle

The match then returned the way that it has been for most of Chelsea’s matches, a lot of possession and attempts to penetrate or find loose ends in the opponents defence. Newcastle tried to hit on the counter with the speed of Yedlin but Chelsea’s defence remained astute. However, Newcastle did manage to level, this time through a corner. Amid the swarm of Chelsea players, Clarke somehow found space and managed to power a header past Kepa’s outstretched hands.

Clarke 40’            Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle

Half-Time            Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle

Unlike the pre-January matches where Chelsea players seem to be affected by the result not going their way, this time, the team took it in their stride to look for a winner. Time and time again, the attacking players probed and finally, Willian showed exactly why he is worth 50 million in the eyes of Barcelona. Cornered to a tight angle at the right-hand side of the penalty box, he had the option of crossing or passing, but instead, rifled in an impossible shot that curved past Dubravka and into the goal.

Willian 57’           Chelsea 2-1 Newcastle

Fulltime                Chelsea 2-1 Newcastle

Match Highlight

Chelsea started with the usual 4-3-3 with Hazard playing in a false nine position. Willian returned to the starting line-up as a winger while Kovacic returned to the starting line-up as a midfielder.

Chelsea played with a lot of possession and they came close several times in both halves to improve the score. Pedro, in particular, almost scored twice in the first half if not for an excellent reaction save from Dubravka. Unfortunately, the score remained a paltry 2-1. Nevertheless, the 3 points is what Chelsea should be aiming for and with Arsenal losing points against the Hammers, this may prove vital in the battle for the coveted 4^th position.

Man Of The Match

David Luiz. Much have been said about his defensive abilities, but what is often overlooked by his detractors is his vision and passing skills which Sarri greatly appreciates. His vision allowed him to spot Pedro’s run from deep and his pass fell nicely for Pedro beyond his marker and one-on-one with Dubravka.

Defensively too, he was sound and solid.

Player Ratings
-          Goalkeeper
Kepa Arizabalaga, 6.5

With Chelsea’s style of possession football, opponent’s chances will be far less than it should be. Nevertheless, Kepa would still be open to quick counter attacks where he could be 1 v 1. He seems to have grown well into Sarri’s style of play and fans enjoy his quick handling of the ball to build up play.

-          Defenders
Marcos Alonso, 6

Plays an average game defensively and attackingly.

Antonio Rudiger, 6

Cleans up the back when Luiz goes slightly forward. Clean game.

David Luiz, 8

Stellar inspirational performance. His passing is becoming those like pass wizard ex-Chelsea player Fabregas.

Cesar Azpilicueta, 6

Mr Reliable. Equally game going forward and defending.

-          Midfielders
Jorginho, 6

Chelsea fans seem frustrated by his style of football which is probably the opposite to the kind of balls Fabregas used to deliver. But Jorginho is never an excellent cross-field passer or one with the killer final pass. His specialty lies in quick passing and keeping the tempo of games, which he does brilliantly.

N’golo Kante, 6.5

Love the way he still contributes so much in our defensive phase to win the ball back quickly. Yet love it even more when he could singlehandedly launch an attack with his acceleration and increasingly better dribbling skills. Only a matter of time before he scores another goal.

Kovacic, 6.5

He really contributes a lot to the build-up play, seeming as he is an excellent dribbler of the ball. Needs to work on carving goals up more neatly and getting a goal himself.

-          Forwards
Willian, 7

Pacey and good dribbling skills. One difference in this performance compared to the exciting Hudson-Odoi is perhaps Willian’s shooting boots. Unlike the new star, Willian has a lethal shot. Score more, and he might just convince Chelsea fans to wait a little more for the new kid to break into the squad.

Eden Hazard, 6.5

Mr Talented is at his usual self, getting the ball and trying to dribble through or create his own chances. Unfortunately, he couldn’t take the match into his own hands and had to rely on his team’s abilities to get that win.

Pedro, 7

The first goal was what we have been missing from Pedro for a very long time. I almost forgot he could score. Now, I’m just waiting for his long range screamers to return.

The Peak that Never Peaked

Football teams often undergo a phase of transition from one generation to the next. They reach a peak during one or a couple of seasons where the team generally keep a couple of permanent players in their roster. Then, the players reach the dreaded 30s age group and lose some of their fitness. During that critical juncture, the club has to look to blood in younger players or they will face a group with declining performance but this new generation will need game time and be able to live up to the peak of their predecessor's generation or the club will not be able to successfully transition.

But with the hype that follows modern football and the constant press and rumor mill about transfers and signings that crop up every half a year in the Summer and Winter period, these has resulted in a faster turnover of players. In particular, clubs competing for silverware and have the financial resources would quite understandably face the pressure to sign the next hottest football stars, even when their team is soundly adept. Teams that are not financially stable or not competing for silverware too face the prospects of selling their young hot players to the bigger teams. Hence, it is becoming increasingly harder to define a football generation.

Unlike the days of United '99 or Invincibles '04 or Brazil '62, it is hard to pinpoint a particular group of players to call it the Team of '19, for example. With the number of competitions in addition to the Premier League and the pace of the modern English game, teams will need more than their best 11 to win any of the competitions. They will need atleast a best 25 players, and these are what more successful clubs such as Manchester City and Chelsea are doing. Chelsea, however, face a curious prospect of transition in recent years.

The Peak of the Last Golden Generation

Chelsea did have a proper successful but ageing generation that peaked around 2008-2009, but ever since then, they have been in a state of transition. With the introduction of Callum Hudson Odoi, Andreas Christensen and Ethan Ampadu, Chelsea academy graduates, and the leaving of prominent stalwarts, Fabregas, and perhaps Willian and David Luiz, there are talks of a new generation of footballers coming to the fore. But what had happened then of the generation of footballers between the 2008-2009 and now?

Truthfully, the Chelsea team that won the Champions League in Munich 2012 was already a diminishing one. Mourinho had built that team, buying World-Class talents in their prime and gelling them with talented Chelsea players that had matured on time to become a formidable unit. that peaked circa 2008-2009. By 2012, prominent stalwarts or Legends as they are referred to now, were ageing and started to be transferred away. They did not play the same domineering swashbuckling style as they did in their peak and looked thoroughly overwhelmed throughout their Champions League run, but that team nevertheless got their last triumphant good-bye in their highly unlikely win in Munich. So what happened of the next generation?

The Hazard Generation

No one man from Chelsea has ever risen so high in acclaim among the tongues of opposition clubs as Eden Hazard. His name rings fear and admiration among all supporters.Yet in 2019, he is to be one of the oldest remaining Chelsea players at the club. Hazard joined the team right after they had won the Champions League. He joined from Lille, citing his desire to compete for trophies and win, but also in the knowledge that Chelsea was in a transitioning phase, having not done well in the Premier League in 2012. He is what will come to be defined as the succeeding generation to the Legends.

In truth, Chelsea did have another peak after that golden generation, and if I were to pinpoint the time, it would be between Mourinho's Chelsea of 2014/15 and Conte's Chelsea of 2015/16. And to lead one more speculative step on, it is during the 2017/18 season that the team was supposed to have reached its Legendary zenith, only to be thwarted by quick-change signings and a radical change in football philosophy.

Mourinho's Chelsea of 2014/15

After winning the league in the 2013/14 season, Chelsea was harshly brought to their knees in a 10th place finish humbling in 2014/15 that also saw Mourinho sacked for the second time as Chelsea manager. But indeed, it had been a strange season where Leicester City eventually won the league and where most of the expected top sides did not do very well in the Premier League or abroad. For the other clubs such as Tottenham and Liverpool, they were in a period of transition. Manchester United was in a period of declination with poor manager choices and signing since Fergie stepped down. Manchester City had the team but not the manager to fully utilise the talents at their disposal. But Chelsea had a ready-made Champion team peaking at around that period. So what had happened?

 I can give two reasons for the disastrous 2014/15 campaign. One, complacency. This reason was also reiterated by Mourinho and some of his players even after his eventual sacking. After their triumph the year before, Mourinho had seemingly cut a lot of slack on his returning Champions, even giving them more time to enjoy before returning for the pre-season. As a result, the team came back with a lot of fitness backlog as well as an overconfidence that belies their real need to catch-up. Other teams punished the Chelsea team early in the season, dishing out surprise defeats where they least expected. When analysing the Chelsea games, I concede that Chelsea was playing horrible football. There were almost no chemistry, nor good tactics, among the players. But when analysing the players individually though, I noticed that each of the players are brilliant in their own individual positions. 

Thus, this brings me to the second reason. Luck. Pundits were telling how Hazard was having a horrible season, with a goal draught that extends almost a year, but they failed to see how much of an impact he was giving to the game. He dribbles and opens up spaces week in and week out and in the later part of that season, he should have scored much many goals have it not been down to luck. For example, the keeper was having a good day or he hits the post but when one re-watches the game again, one will see that he was not playing badly. That was the reality of Hazard's 'down' season. It was pure luck, just like how a badly performing Leicester City could win the league. The same goes for almost the entire 2014/15 squad.

Conte's Chelsea of 2015/16

Hence it was to no surprise actually that Conte's team stormed to a Premier League finish the next season. People may say that it was due to Chelsea not having more football matches than the other top teams. That is partly true, but it is also because the particular team inherited by Conte contains the core of a team that has reached its peak. Conte improved the team in some areas but, in my opinion, he has weakened the team in others. Except for a small handful of players, the main squad of the team however, comprise of Mourinho's 'disastrous' team.

From front to back, this Chelsea side is loaded with individuals that had reached their peak. Courtois was a Chelsea loanee recalled to the Chelsea team from Athletico Madrid. He was the supposed successor to the legendary Petr Cech and he has rightfully displaced the latter. David Luiz has been recalled back, supposedly matured and improved since his PSG stint, and he too has reached that peak at around 28 years of age. Fabregas is still technically brilliant and have slightly reached the dull end of his peak. Matic was still good and reliable, a midfield enforcer. Up front, we had Eden Hazard of course, together with Willian and Pedro who are all players who could easily walk into any other top teams around the World around the 2015/16 season. They have reached their peak in terms of football abilities. And at the front, we had Diego Costa, the successor to King Drogba of the Legends team who one might say is an upgrade to Drogba himself as he possesses Drogba's physicality and shooting capabilities but also had speed and technical abilities.

Some of Conte's signings complimented the team and further boosted their peak potential. In particular is N'golo Kante, the ever-running midfield enforcer. When Kante came, he still was a work in progress, like many of Conte's signings. Kante is good in his job as a breaker of play and winning balls, but he was neither a good passer nor a good dribbler. It took him months in the Chelsea team before he was sufficiently 'good' in that department. The other signing that helped is Antonio Rudiger, the supposed questionable mark beside David Luiz. Rudiger was a surprise addition in a squad otherwise teeming with talented CB players and he only arrived due to Conte's use of a 3-4-3 system, but Cahill was never going to be a prominent football figure in this peak side, a probable Bosingwa of the Chelsea Legends team, while Christensen, while offering lots of promise, was indeed just a young defender prematurely coming to the fore. His inexperience showed in the later half of the season but his time will come in the coming years.

The Peak that Never Was

Chelsea's recruitments in the 2015-2017 season was a strange one. Conte preferred to sign players that are almost raw gems and hence undervalued. He was under the impression that the team was in transition, especially with John Terry, the last Legend leaving, and on the back of Chelsea's ill-fated 2014/15 season. But that was anywhere but further from the truth. John Terry stuck around because he is a loyal Chelsea player who is there to ensure the new generation fulfilled their potential. He was there until someone could fill his boots and play better than he did, which eventually came under Conte. And the Chelsea team did not fail due to a transition the previous season, but rather due to unpreparedness and overconfidence.

Conte's change in the system may have also altered or even reduced this peak. Sure, it is not without flaws, with Chelsea still needing a replacement at left-back or right-back since Ashley Cole and Ivanovic left, and they do still need a technical player to link up play in the midfield, but Conte's radical change in the system created new openings for players with a drastically different kind of skillset that the peak generation do not have. Hence, drafted in are the likes of Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses who are not really a Legend-material, but not necessarily bad, in a conventional 4-3-3. His other signings too are simply unpolished products meant for a transitional squad, the likes of Batshuayi,Danny Drinkwater, Ross Barkley, Giroud and Alvaro Morata. They are not only not at their peak, their peak may not even be as promising as the Legends team. To make matters worse, he offloaded first Matic and then Diego Costa, both of whom are quite obviously playing at their current top forms. This blunting of the peak generation eventually led to an understandable bad finish in the Premier League, this time not because of unrealised potential  but because of a hastiness to transition when the team has not fully reached the top.

Conte's Vindication
For all of Conte's doings (or undoings), he did however solved one thing that the Chelsea new peak generation required; a discipline to realise that potential. His time with Chelsea was a time with mixed reactions. It was true that every Chelsea player from the Mourinho-inherited squad knew that they had not done well and each one knew that it was down to their complacency. The iron fist of Conte was just the desired punishment or stimulis to get them back on track to realising their potential and realise them they did, when they won the Premier League in 2016.

New Peak Generation?

A peak generation usually lasts only a season or two, that is the nature of football. When one reads about ageing players moving on, especially a few at a time, that is when one can roughly predict a transitioning side. Tottenham has not recruited much players the past few seasons and that is because they are cultivating a main core of peak squad players who are currently nearing their peak. Liverpool too, has done so and may have reached that peak now. It can be said that Guardiola has created his own peak generation with a big core of capable players. With money to splash, a peak generation can be created quickly, just like Chelsea's Legends team for example. It is still a few years before we can see the current Manchester City squad decline, and with proper youth investments, the transition could be smooth and define a long era.

Many have said that current Chelsea players in their 30s are losing their fitness and edge, players such as Pedro and Willian to name a few. That is probably true as they have passed their peak period. The question now is if Chelsea can successfully transition into a new peak period, not too raw without experience, but not at their very best yet. Sarri has been quite fast in the transfer market, bringing in Jorginho, who is not an unpolished gem but also with potential to improve, and trying to blood him in quickly. Players like Kante and Hazard have a few more years to give at their best. Young academy players are coming in, although Callum Hudson-Odoi offers the most promise to reach that peak more quickly. Ampadu may take a lot more years while Christensen less. Others will still need time to fully develop, players such as Ross Barkley and Alvaro Morata. Kepa was simply a like-for-like replacement for Courtois but is ready. I rather hope Kovacic will remain in Chelsea because like Jorginho, he is a finished product in his ilk and still young. Hence, this team is a mix of players who are close to nearing their peaks, still a distance from their peaks or already mooning towards the end of their peak. Unless a drastic change occur, this irregularity will continue, resulting in a mixture of playing potential being realised for the coming years. Over time however, with ample time for replacements and the core of the team being established in all the general areas of the squad, much like Manchester City, Chelsea can be a stable dominant force with a healthy peak and transition.

It will simply take time, patience and wise decisions.

Chelsea Match Review I Tottenham vs Chelsea I League Cup I 9/1/2019

Chelsea Match Review
Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspurs I League Cup Semi Final First Leg I 9/1/2019

Final Score: Tottenham 1- 0 Chelsea

Match Overview

Just three days after our expected win against Championship side Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup, the Blues head to the Wembley Stadium for a much tougher test in our semi-final first leg clash against Spurs.

Amid a wave of transfer speculations and a spate of injuries towards the end of the Christmas period, this allowed a number of previously unutilised players to gain matches, particularly young Callum Hudson-Odoi. Instead of the largely B team that played against Nottingham Forest, Sarri opted to field in a strong XI. Dave, Kepa, Hazard, Willian, Kante, Jorginho and Alonso all came back to the starting line-up. The only new faces in the A team are Christensen and CHO, who deservedly are playing at a high level.

Like most of Sarri’s teams the team played with a lot of possession. And just like most of the criticism towards the Blues pattern of play, the Blues could not create clear-cut goalscoring chances and capitalise from their superior possession. In the end the match ended 1-0 in Spurs favour, but not with a lot of drama.

Match Highlight

Sarri employed his favoured 4-3-3 but in this game, Morata was dropped due to a slight hamstring injury and his place, Hazard led the line in a false nine position. The team generally found it easy to retain possession and Spurs were left trying out long balls. Nevertheless with the physicality of Harry Kane and the speed of Son as well as the passing range of Erikson from deep, the Spurs team were still able to inflict devastating damage whenever they have the ball. And through those means, they scored their first goal, albeit controversially.

A long ball over the Chelsea defence saw Kane racing through on goal one on one with Kepa. Kepa dove in, missed the ball and supposedly clipped Kane’s feet. There was contact, albeit slight, to which Kepa vehemently denied, hence a penalty was warranted. But the more controversial decision was whether Kane was offside or not. Shown live on what the VAR referee was seeing, it looked as if Kane was onside, played in by Dave who looked like he was almost on the same line as Kane when the cross was floated in. But Sarri later mentioned that on another camera, Kane was offside and that the referee was wrong in using the technology appropriately. Kane then duly converted the penalty to make it 1-0.

Harry Kane 26’                   Chelsea 0-1 Tottenham

The match then proceeded with largely the same stories as the last 25mins until halftime.

First Half:                             Chelsea 0-1 Tottenham

In the second half, Chelsea started brightly, trying to carve out the Tottenham defence. But there were simply no clear-cut chances and the opportunity could not come. Perhaps the closest Chelsea eventually got to scoring was a result of a corner where Christensen faced an open goal with he ball at his feet, only for him to ski his shot wide as he failed to lift his boot to shoot properly. He is a defender after all, so no apologies there, although Blues are reminded that John Terry did score belters when given the chance. Sarri attempted to freshen the squad by introducing Pedro, Kovacic and Giroud but in the end, the match still ended, 1-0.

Final Score:         Cheslea 0-1 Tottenham

Man Of The Match

It is hard to pick a Chelsea man-of-the-match following a non-outstanding match for all the players on the field. I would say Kepa, Hazard and CHO should share the MOTM accolade as they had moments that put them ahead of their other team members.

Kepa made a lot of saves against the heavy shots from Kane. Hazard was at his usual dribbling effectiveness and CHO offered a little more magic and danger down the right. But ultimately, they didn’t really stand out in their performance.

Player Ratings
-          Goalkeeper
Kepa Arrizabalaga, 6

Made a couple of brilliant saves, which seems not too dangerous but other keepers may find it hard to keep out. Conceded that penalty, although to no fault of his own as the entire defence was caught unaware and Sarri employed a very high line. Maybe could have came out earlier, but perhaps that may not have succeeded too.

-          Defenders
Cesar Azpilicueta, 6.5

Regular strong performance. Can’t really criticise nor compliment.

Andreas Christensen, 6

This was where David Luiz passing and vision may have come in handy. Instead, Christensen dealt mostly simple passes around the back. Kane gave him a hard time. He also missed that ghastly chance to score.

Antonio Rudiger, 6

Combative, yet probably not physical enough to deal with the likes of Kane. But generally solid and the goal was to no fault his.

Marcos Alonso, 6

Time and time again, Alonso delivers a rather normal performance for a team like Chelsea. He isn’t really good at dribbling nor fast, but he is confident, that’s for sure. He likes to be involved in attack, but teams are looking to him as a weak link in the team.

-          Midfielders
N’golo Kante, 6.5

He was combative throughout, winning balls and snuffing out challenges, which eventually caused Spurs to start using long balls. He was also fast and in the first half, had a couple of shots on target.

Ross Barkley, 6

Couldn’t deliver much in his position. Good at dribbling, but his shots just didn’t come off.

Jorginho, 6

Uneventful game. Had almost no influence in both attack and defence.

-          Forwards
Willian, 6.5

All dribble, no end product. A familiar story now.

Eden Hazard, 6.5

Similarly, a lot of dribbles. I actually saw Willian and Hazard making good runs when the other has the ball but they chose not to pass or cross through. Is there a grudge between them or are they just very individualistic?

Callum Hudson-Odoi, 6.5

In sparkling form, albeit could have made better decisions during the match with his link-up play with surrounding players. Probably need match experience to benefit in the long-term.

-          Substitutes
Pedro, 6

Came on as fresh legs for Willian. While he was dynamic, he was not able to cause the intended impact.

Giroud, NIL

Played for too little to rate.

Mateo Kovacic, NIL

Played for too little to rate.

All the best, Blues, for the second leg of the EFL Cup at the Bridge.

Chelsea Match Review I Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest I FA Cup I 5/1/2019

Chelsea Match Review

Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest I FA Cup I 5/1/2019

Match Overview

After a disappointing result against Southampton in the Premier League, the Blues take on Nottingham Forest in the 3^rd Round of the FA Cup. And as it transpired, it was a walk in the park for the Blues with a 2-0 win courtesy of two goals by often-maligned Alvaro Morata.

As expected, Sarri fielded a largely B team for Chelsea in the wake of a tight schedule. Out of his regular Premier League starters, only David Luiz, Ross Barkley and Alvaro Morata retained their place primarily due to a spate of injuries. This match, however, offers to showcase the talents of Chelsea’s youngsters, Hudson-Odoi, Ampadu and Christensen, and even, if the rumours are true, the final match for Cesc Fabregas.

Like a trademark Sarri side, the team retained the majority of possession although much less than what they normally would have, especially against a side who is not as technically gifted as most Premier League clubs. A similar problem of creating clear cut chances seemed to plague Chelsea in the first half, but it got better in the 2^nd half. After the two goals, Chelsea (and Nottingham) set back to play down the minutes.

Match Highlight

Sarri again started with his favoured 4-4-2. Ampadu was placed in the midfield position where Kante would have normally played in. Otherwise, the other players retained their expected starting spots.

The first half was full of action for Chelsea. Like most Chelsea fans, we were eager to see the likes of our youngsters play due to a lack of chances offered in the other competitions. In particular, we wanted to watch Hudson-Odoi on the back of a supposed 30million pound move to Bayern Munich. And impress, he did. He was electrifying on the wings, never rarely put a foot wrong and constantly gave out dangerous crosses. His speed, dribbling and great passing decisions were a delight to watch and all Chelsea fans would be begging for him to stay on with Chelsea.

The talk of the first half was Cesc Fabregas penalty miss after Loftus-Cheek was brought down in the penalty box by a late challenge. Fabregas attempted to dummy his shot, and it did trick Steele into going down quickly. But he took to long to actually make his shot in which Steele then had time to regain his footing and dive to his right to parry Fabregas penalty shot away. What a miss to end his Chelsea career!

First Half              :               0 – 0

Chelsea started the same way as they started the first half, pressing and trying to create chances. Nottingham Forest too, had more chances, although not as clearcut, as the game began to open up. It was Hudson-Odoi that eventually did open up the play. He took on a defender and zipped down the right wing before unleashing a dangerous low cross for Morata to smash in.

Alvaro Morata   49’          Chelsea 1 – 0 Nottingham Forest

Right after scoring though, Morata missed an absolute sitter, with him right in front of goal, but he somehow shot right up and out. To be fair, he was offside, but if he was not, people may talk about this for ages. Right after his sitter though, Hudson-Odoi again zipped down the right wing and delivered a high cross this time which evaded and nicely reached Alvaro Morata. Morata calmly headed past Steele who was not ready for such an early cross.

Alvaro Morata   59’          Chelsea 2 – 0 Nottingham Forest

After the goal, Chelsea seemingly played at a lower pace and tempo. Fabregas came off for Dave (to a standing ovation), and then Morata came off for Ngolo Kante. The team shape was mixed, I couldn’t really make out a solid shape for who plays where, but Emerson was pushed up front as a left winger while Hazard became a false nine. The game then closed down to a rather easy win for Chelsea.

Full Time:            Chelsea 2 – 0 Nottingham Forest

Man Of The Match

Wonderkid Callum Hudson-Odoi. He is truly worth the 30million euros or more.

His pace was absolutely brilliant but his all-round footballing abilities coupled with a sound footballing brain is what makes him stands out. It was no surprise that he had two assists in this match and he clearly outshone all the other players on the pitch.

Player Ratings
       -          Goalkeeper
Willy Caballero, 6

Didn’t have to make any saves in the first half and had quite a quiet second half with easy long distance shots at him, many of which didn’t even find its target. Nevertheless, had a cleansheet to his name.

-          Defenders

Davide Zappacosta, 6

Started the first half brilliantly by unleashing a couple of great long distance shots. Played in some good crosses as well. Played an overall decent game.

Andreas Christensen, 6

Had one nervy moment in the second half. But otherwise solid in his defending, winning most of his aerial duels. May want to improve on his forward passing abilities if he wants to nail a starting Sarri side.

David Luiz, 7

Continuing his rich vein of good form the past few weeks, he was brilliant at stemming the Forest attacking players flow just when they started to gain possession. Great at tidying things up and of course, his passing range is always a joy to watch.

Emerson, 6

Played a decent game at left back before being put in the Left Wing position. Generally had no trouble defensively and offered some help offensively. Became quite quiet in the 2^nd half.

-          Midfielders

Cesc Fabregas, 7

Not really his night as he missed that penalty but he didn’t have, by any chance, a bad game. His passing vision and range is still amazing and he could have gotten a few assists. Unlucky night, and Chelsea will miss their wizard dearly if he were to leave.

Ethan Ampadu, 5

Didn’t really do much to affect the game, but didn’t do anything bad either and apparently that is his trademark; playing simple passes and keeping the ball moving. He is still young, but I’m rather hoping that he will develop a niche in order to be a useful player for Chelsea.

Ross Barkley, 5

Had a rather quiet match. Didn’t have the same link up play as he did with the main team. Couldn’t unleash his deadly shots due to the compactness of the Forest defence. Just an average performance for the England International.

-          Forwards

Callum Hudson-Odoi, 9

Brilliant. Pace, dribbling, passing and decision-making. If he stays and develops, he could just be Hazard’s replacement.

Alvaro Morata, 7

A curious performance. On the back of his brilliant match against Southampton, (in which he did not score), he seemingly came back with a lacklustre attitude. You can see him practically sulking, even after he scored two goals. Which is ironic.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 6

Had a decent start but had to come off really early in the first half due to an injury. Couldn’t really show much but he had some good forays into the opposition’s territory only let down by some heavy touches which may have been induced by his injury.

-          Substitutes

Eden Hazard, 6

Came on around the 44^th minute for the injured Loftus-Cheek. Had a really quiet game throughout, rarely affecting play. It almost seems as if he wanted to conserve energy for matches ahead and hadn’t thought of playing at all today.

Cesar Azpilicueta, NIL

Couldn’t really see him play much. When he came on, the tempo of the game was beginning to drop off. But he did his job in keeping a cleansheet, of course.

N’golo Kante, NIL

Similarly, didn’t really play much to be able to assess his gameplay. Came on when the match tempo was already low and the players already wanting to finish the game off.

Chelsea Match Review I Chelsea vs Southampton I Premier League I 3/1/2019

Chelsea Match Review

Chelsea vs Southampton I Premier League I 3/1/2019

Picture from Highlights Football

Match Overview

What a game it was at the Bridge as our boys utterly dominated Southampton from the kick-off. As expected, Chelsea had the large share of possession but that is not to undermine the rather unexpected gutsy and commendable efforts by Southampton to hit on the counter and attack. We were very unlucky, of course, as we failed to score in the game despite some really good football and performances from back to front and we did deserve to go in front. We even had a goal wrongly flagged offside. But in the end, it was a disappointing 90 mins with the match ending 0-0 and Chelsea losing points in the fight for the Top 4 position against relegation-threatened Saints team.

Chelsea came into this match with a spate of injuries, coming into the busy January period with a game every 3 days. As our forwards Giroud, Pedro and Callum Hudson-Odoi were injured with varying degrees of chance of recovery, Morata got to start the game and tonight he did show how good he was or should have been. Fabregas and (forgotten) Drinkwater too was injured although Loftus-Cheek seemed to have recovered to make the line-up (and replace Willian who got injured :0).

Match Highlight

Chelsea played in Sarri’s favoured 4-3-3 with his favoured starting line-up all season. In the first half, Hazard came close to scoring when put through on goal and shot straight at Gunn who had an excellent match between the Saints posts. Morata had a couple of decent chances denied by Gunn too. Chelsea was at the front foot front the start, coming close to scoring and maintaining the characteristic high line. Willian came off injured, which lengthens Chelsea’s forward injury list, for Loftus-Cheek. In the end, we enter the first half break feeling like we should have been 2 goals up at least.

In the second half, we continued where we left off, attacking and trying to open up the Saints defence. With the introduction of Fabregas, for Barkley which was quite a surprise as we often thought of him as a Jorginho like-for-like replacement, Chelsea hit another gear. In fact, one of his first few touches led to Morata scoring, albeit deemed wrongly offside, which calls into question the need for VAR in the EPL. As the minutes ticked down, Chelsea grew more desperate and increased their frequency of shots, Alonso came close twice, shooting from range, only for Gunn to easily deal with it.  The match ended 0-0 in a match which I felt we played one of our best football in the past few matches.

Man Of The Match

I think, incredibly, Alvaro Morata deserves the Man-of-the-Match award for this game. His overall game play was fantastic. He was very involved in the build up and also contributed defensively. His desire to score was very apparent and he also managed to show off some flicks and tricks. He did score, and perhaps if it was not wrongly flagged offside, he would be the clear MOTM.

Player Ratings

-          Goalkeeper

Kepa Arizzabalaga, 7

Largely undisturbed by the Southampton’s attack. I think he only had to make one save all game, in the second half. But he is an assured presence at the back as always and him trying to build up play quickly to encourage his team to attack is a welcome sight.

-          Defenders

Cesar Azpilicueta,7

Reliable as always. Didn’t put a foot wrong and was quite involved in the attack. Might have gotten an assist from his trademark Dave-Morata combination in the first half.

Toni Rudiger, 7

Solid as always. It is no wonder that he has become one of Chelsea’s main 2 CBs. He is quick, has decent passing range and he is a tough fighter. 

David Luiz, 8

A few matches has gone and David Luiz has come to the fore as a really great and decent CB. His long range passing is as great and spectacular as ever and at the back he is a tough defender to fare up against.

Marcos Alonso, 7

I still have my reservations against Alonso. Although he had a good match today, I see that in the long run, he is not the perfect LB we need. Offensively he is good, often wanting to link up play with the attackers so very much. He also has quite a good scoring boot with some fans deeming him capable of playing as a striker. But he isn’t really good with the ball at his feet nor defensively nous…

-          Midfielders

Ngolo Kante, 7

Had a good match as always. Always playing that one two with the forwards and a vital cog in linking up play, If Yoshida hadn’t slide in on him near the end of the game, he might have a clear shot at goal.

Jorginho, 6

A little underutilised in this match as Southampton packed the midfield in an attempt to stifle Chelsea’s gameplay. But the forwards cutting in more than made up for this. Not really his fault that he couldn’t stem his trademark authority on this game.

Ross Barkley, 6

Not his greatest match although he was decent in our build up play. Overall decent, lost some opportunities but gained some. Fabregas actually fared better when he came on in his position. But we can foresee that he is a quality and good player.

-          Forwards

Willian, 7

Great start in the first half. He was absolutely devastating. Southampton packed the midfield but Willian continuously drifted in and dribbled through the Southampton’s defences. A pity that he had to come off really early.

Alvaro Morata, 9

Great overall performance. Gone is the usual pouting striker who goes down easily and seem disinterested in his gameplay. This is a really energised and awesome performance from him. MOTM in my opinion and really should have gotten that goal. He had a couple of chances and perhaps should be more lethal. Overall, good performance. Just unlucky and we will need him for next few games, looking at our injury list.

Eden Hazard. 8

Hazard being Hazard, his game is always at a high level. His dribbling-mesmerizing. His passing-incredible. His link-up play-phenomenal. He was instrumental in Chelsea’s attacking play, trying to penetrate the packed Southampton defence.

-          Substitutes

Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 7

Was drafted in early after Willian got injured in the first half. Had a really decent game. Linked up well in attack, great dribbling skills. I see a Pogba likeness with Loftus-Cheek and perhaps he will grow to Pogba’s stature in the coming years.

Cesc Fabregas, 8

The Wizard, he wears a magic hat. Shows that he really needs to pen a new contract quickly. His passing and vision is still phenomenal. Opened up Southampton’s defence so many times with his passing. Could have gotten an assist. Gives a run for money on all the midfield spots to be honest.

Chelsea 2018 New Year Flashback!

What a year it has been for Chelsea FC! As a Chelsea fan, I watched with a mixture of curiosity and anticipation at the many changes that happened throughout the year. Indeed, it was a time of transition, marked by the sacking of Antonio Conte as our head coach and the appointment of Maurizio Sarri as his replacement. Of course, in between this transition, after a largely disappointing season in which we finished 6^th (and out of the Champions League) we also had the chance to watch 14 of our players play in the World Cup and shine they did! So here is a recap of our season and highlights!

Sacking of Antonio Conte

Let’s be honest, towards the end of his tenure, Conte had become a hugely unpopular figure among the players. Looking at past interviews and comments from the players (past and present), a number of reasons cropped up. Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, he did not maintain a good channel of communication with his players. This was often cited by the likes of Willian, David Luiz and Diego Costa and even subtly hinted by the other players such as Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas (where they avoided directly answering questions on the players relationship with the coach). It appears that he is the kind of coach who analysed games and his team on his own and then force his ideologies onto his players through a tough regime.

This brings to his second failing, his unwillingness to compromise. It is well-known that Conte’s training sessions are unforgiving. Morata and Christensen once said that after Conte’s training, the players had to recover for the entire day or they will have trouble with fatigue and fitness for the next training or match. Essentially, the players had no free time for themselves, especially with the added fixture of Champions League football in 17/18. Coupled with a strict diet regime at the club and punishment of being dropped from the squad if they do not do as Conte please (See David Luiz and Diego Costa), it is no surprise that players such as Willian wanted to leave Chelsea If Conte isn’t sacked.

Finally, the transfer of Diego Costa in 2017. Diego Costa’s transfer came as a shock to all Chelsea fans worldwide. Everyone could see how good Diego Costa is. A target man. A hardworker. Like Drogba, but more technical and faster. But essentially, he is a strangely good and nice guy on and off the pitch. Just listen to Chelsea players talk about him, read about his charitable deeds or follow his Instagram stories. It is only the media that seemingly stereotype him as the pantomime villain of the EPL. Conte’s decision to drop Costa was a slap in the face to all Chelsea fans and perhaps the last straw to a growing toxic relationship. (Other smaller reasons include Jose Mourinho’s influence and largely disappointing transfers.)

World Cup

As a Chelsea fan, it was a great time to watch the World Cup. I actually did go to Russia to watch two matches, England vs Panama and Croatia vs Denmark. Owing to Eden Hazard playing for Belgium, I chose to support them last year. Of course, this Belgium team is at its peak of a golden generation. From front to back, the team is loaded with world class players. I initially thought, from watching the Qualifiers, that this team just couldn’t gel, but from the first match on, I was proven wrong. Roberto Martinez had found just the right formation and tactics to fully utilize the mammoth strength of this crazy talented squad. Thibaut Courtois and Batshuayi plays too. Victor Moses and the forgotten Kenneth Omerou plays for Nigeria, although they exited early in a tough group. Rudiger and Dave too, exited early with Germany and Spain’s surprising early exits. (Though it is tough to see them play in their teams…) Other players include, Gary Cahill, Andreas Christensen, Willy Caballero, Loftus-Cheek, Willian, Kante and Giroud. Kante and Giroud went on to win the coveted World Cup. In particular, Loftus-Cheek stood out as a promising youngster, Willian showed the world that he is still a phenomenal player (his play with Brazil was really good), Kante proved why he is a much-loved defensive enforcer (he really ruined Belgium’s smooth style of play, although Croatia seem to get the better of him) and Giroud has the funny accolade for not scoring a goal as the main striker in a World Cup winning team.

Overall, Chelsea players showed their incredible worth and talent in this World Cup, in particular Eden Hazard where he truly shone as probably the best player in this WC edition.

Appointment of Maurizio Sarri

Much has been speculated about his appointment before Sarri was officially appointed as head coach. His style of play has gained a fearsome reputation, Sarriball as they call it, a fast-paced vertical passing style of football. He came in late on, with much of his main squad unavailable due to World Cup commitments. But his first few matches brought to light a much different style of playing as compared to the largely defensive Conte’s side. Chelsea immediately came playing with a large number of possession, although to its effectiveness, it is yet to know. The message he brought are also positive and reassuring. Thrown away was Conte’s need for ‘suffering’ and came Sarri’s message to ‘love football’.

Sarri’s transfers were also really reassuring. His first transfer was Jorginho, a technical passer. Jorginho’s strengths lie in his fast decision-making, knowing when to receive and pass. He does not really have the vision or passing range as Fabregas, but he is more fast and defensively nous compared to his compatriot. With these attributes, he is able to dictate the pace of the game really well. Sarri also brought on Kovacic on loan from Real Madrid. This was a true icing on the cake. Kovacic is an extremely talented player, very technical and forward looking. His dribbling is a joy to watch. His only flaw lies in his shooting capabilities, where he is woefully bad at. Kepa Arrizabalaga too was drafted in as a replacement keeper for Courtois. The past matches has seen him in good form and I do rate him very highly. He is agile, quick and overall really solid between the posts, perhaps a contrast to 2018 Thibaut Courtois.

With his new style of play, some players benefitted while others didn’t. The more technical players with good passing abilities clearly benefited. David Luiz, for example. Victor Moses was dropped from the squad altogether as he was deemed not good enough as a defender yet not good enough as an attacker. Christensen, although solid, does not have Luiz’s range of passing. Fabregas was a weird choice out. He is amazing in Jorginho’s role, if not better. But he does eventually need to make way for youngblood which is a shame as he is a really good player. Some standouts in Sarri’s era includes Loftus-Cheek, who has grown to be a really confident player, good in dribbling. Ross Barkley too came with new skillsets that shone; he has a lethal shooting boot and dribbling wise he is not too bad himself. Hudson-Odoi is the hugely talented new star. One can see that he can become a world class talent, but he is not there yet and Sarri’s choice to not play him is understandable. Perhaps a loan out to a top side would do him good.

Retirements & Departures

A number of Chelsea Legends recently retired from football. King Drogba hung up his boots after his stint as player-owner at Phoenix Rising in the US. John Terry officially hung up is boots after his contract with Aston Villa ended.  He is now the assistant coach of Aston Villa. And Joe Cole too has retired at the age of 37 after playing for the Tampa Bay Rowdies since 2016.

Prominent exits in 2018 includes main goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. I know and saw many Chelsea fans deriding him for leaving us and calling him a snake. But I just want them to remember his prominent role in the 2017-18 season where he made many spectacular saves in which we won by 1 goals and that eventually adds up to our PL title. His decision to leave is rather not straightforward, with him citing family reasons, although there seems to be more to it. (Perhaps Conte). Whatever it is, he is having a tough time at Real Madrid and we wish him all the best for his upcoming season.

Looking on

There are still many matches to look out for. As of Gameweek 20, we are 5 points above Arsenal who is in 5^th place but 11 points off Liverpool at the top of the table. It seems quite unlikely we will be Champions this season, though we should be able to get in the top 4. Other things to look out for also includes the European Cup and FA Cup which we are still inside. Thus, we Chelsea fans wish them all the best and hope for a great 2019 ahead!