***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***

[Altimus]

Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***

Costa's form is down and has been down for a while. As in Madrid, when his form hits then it hits bad.

He needs a brace to change that.


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[KG]

Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***

Costa's form is down and has been down for a while. As in Madrid, when his form hits then it hits bad.

He needs a brace to change that.


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He still does a lot of other things that help but yeah, you normally want your ST to you know....score goals.

As for the United game, there was no reason why Ake shouldn't have played at LWB. As much as we all love Dave, it's not feasible for him to play all 11 positions and Conte soon realized it hence the switch of him and Moses. This was the first real time since the switch to the 3 in the back that Conte got it wrong. They knew Alonso was sick and when he pulled out during warmups the logical choice should have been made. Besides, if you're going to recall a player like Ake who was featuring regularly at Bournemouth that you should give him the occasional run-out.

I also thought once it was clear that Ander was marking Eden that Cesc should have been subbed on at HT. Even though he can't move that well he can exploit the space vacated with his passing. Diego and Pedro needed to step up but unfortunately Diego continued his poor run of form and Pedro had an unusually poor game.

I'm sure they'll work on this in the training ground as we might see it in the remaining fixtures but onward to Spurs in the FA Cup.

[Keano16]

Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***

Ake wasn't on the bench so that's why Zouma came in.

[KG]

Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***

Ake wasn't on the bench so that's why Zouma came in.

He made the bench after Alonso couldn't go. He wasn't on it originally when the lineups came out though.


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[The_Wise_One]

Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***

Bats and Ake starting for the FA cup game. Really excited to watch them both.

[kwebbvols4423]

Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***

Boom!!!!!!!

[The_Wise_One]

Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***

That cruel backspin at the end was the oh so sweet icing on the cake.

[Brahvocado]

Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***

What a great game.

Anyone else think starting Hazard on the bench was tactical? United supposedly "gave everyone the blueprint" for beating us by nullifying Hazard, so perhaps Conte assumed Spurs would spend time preparing for that, and switched things up to throw off their game plan.

[KG]

Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***

What a great game.

Anyone else think starting Hazard on the bench was tactical? United supposedly "gave everyone the blueprint" for beating us by nullifying Hazard, so perhaps Conte assumed Spurs would spend time preparing for that, and switched things up to throw off their game plan.

I could see that. He said in his presser that it was just rest but that could be tongue in cheek.

Felt a lil bad for Willian but understand the move since Pedro is much better on the defensive side when it comes to covering and applying pressure.

I thought Ake was pretty solid. The header by Kane was just class, not much he could do about it but he did a great job of stepping up and applying pressure to Kane whenever his back was to goal. Apart from the goal Kane was largely MIA.

Bats was OK for me. Starved of service apart from long hopeful balls he did have a nice flick which sent Pedro off ultimately drawing the foul which led to Willian's free kick. I would have liked to see him chase some of those balls with a little more vigor but perhaps I'm being a little harsh on him.

On to Saints Tuesday and Arsenal in the final. A double would be a great cap to what's been a great season.

[KG]

Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***



...............


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[Brahvocado]

Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***

Ake was more than solid imo, he had a great game.

[Brahvocado]

Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***

I love Gary Cahill and I've got no time for anyone who doesn't agree.

[KG]

Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***

I love Gary Cahill and I've got no time for anyone who doesn't agree.

Honestly he's one of the best transfer deals in our history. He has such a knack for goal around the box. As long as he's not backing off defenders he's OK with me.


Those two 1-2's that led to Diego's last goal

[The_Wise_One]

Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***

I was really impressed with Fabregas. It's nuts how much better he is at passing then the rest of our team. It'll be interesting to see how things shake out with him this summer. He should clearly be a starter.

[Brahvocado]

Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***

I was really impressed with Fabregas. It's nuts how much better he is at passing then the rest of our team. It'll be interesting to see how things shake out with him this summer. He should clearly be a starter.

To be fair, he's better at passing than most players in the world. 2nd all-time Prem assists despite taking a 3 year break.

I think this is probably the best way to use him tbh. He doesn't have the legs to play every minute of every game, and vs some of the more mobile and dynamic midfields of top European teams we might be better off with the Kante/Matic pairing (or whoever replaces Matic if he leaves).