Chelsea missed the chance to go four points clear at the top as the Blues were denied by West Brom at the Hawthorns. The curse continued as Chelsea failed to win at this ground for the third consecutive time. Jose knew that keeping the momentum going was vital therefore he put his strongest possible XI with the holy trinity of Hazard – Oscar – Willian. Torres got his place on the bench after returning from injury.
The start to the game was slow as West Brom side was more than happy to sit back and absorb all the pressure. The space in the center of the field was quite congested which denied Hazard the opportunity to weave his magic. Chelsea kept looking for openings and were eventually rewarded with a goal in the injury time of the first half, a lovely flick from David Luiz and a finish by Branislav Ivanovic. It was the Serb’s 2nd goal in 3 matches.
The second half was more of the same but as the game went into the final quarter of an hour West Brom started to move forward and create opportunities. Anichebe who was introduced with 17 minutes to go repaid the manager’s faith as he got ahead of Luiz and at the end of a pin point cross from Berahino to level for the Baggies. A massive opportunity to pile on the pressure on the title rivals missed.
What We Learned:
Chelsea fail to break teams down:
Not the first time this season that Chelsea have failed to break down teams which have men behind the ball. It’s a worry and with teams mostly applying this tactic against us we need to come up with a Plan B in order to create opportunities to score. Ramires – Matic pivot is great but with defenses that sit deep we need someone like Lampard who with his movement can create the space. Ramires had a poor game in my opinion as he was invisible for the best part of the game.
Talking Point – Luiz in defense:
One of those days when you miss John Terry in defense and although David Luiz had a decent game, provided an assist but his misjudgment resulted in the equalizer. Chelsea’s defense was solid overall but one mistake was enough for us to drop two crucial points in the title race. Not playing the blame game but i would expect the defender to be at the end of the cross in the box but Luiz sadly was no way near.
Luiz made the most passes tonight, 34 in total as shown by the graph. It would be better though if Luiz try not to bypass the midfield when making attempts to find a Chelsea player, especially when the other team has got men behind the ball. Sometimes it’s good but sometimes there need to be a sound judgement made. Luiz i think is more suited to the midfield role instead of a defender and Cahill and Luiz i am sure will be persisted with by Jose in the coming matches.
Brana’s scoring touch is back:
Ivanovic has started scoring once again and it’s ideal for us considering our strike force. Chelsea’s bulk of the goals have come from our dynamic midfield but recently Ivanovic has been chipping in as well. His goal against City was vital, always keeping one for the big occasion. Keep them coming Brana.
BPL goals for Chelsea since start of last season:
Strikers: 20 (Torres 12, Eto’o 6, Ba 2)
Centrebacks: 19 (Ivanovic 8, Terry 6, Cahill 3, Luiz 2)
PS. Ivanovic looked really scary when he lost his cool tonight and was subsequently booked for dissent. Scary lad, Brana.
A point may prove vital in the title race:
Many would see it as 2 points dropped but considering our history with the Baggies it might be a point won. However considering our form going into this fixture we should have taken all three points to maintain the lead at the top. It has been a tight race thus far with Chelsea and City dropping points against the lesser sides whereas Arsenal blow it against the big guns. Who will eventually fall short is very hard to predict right now.
Arsenal face United tomorrow, certainly all eyes will be on that clash now. Maybe Gus will weave his magic over City too? or are we asking for too much? Whatever the results are tomorrow, it’s going to be a long race and it’s certainly going down to the wire.
A disappointing draw today, but lets move on to the FA Cup. Another trip to the Etihad. Matic – Yaya Take 2.
Flop of the match Peter Cech costed us big time due to wrong calculation. think we need Terry at the back we look feeble without him organising the defence today.
It was a bad game, quite a difficult one.
mourinho, no rota la plantilla se veian cansados, donde esta kalas, schurrle mike
Not so good but we got a point…i know we will improve after d match….so let everyone be calm nd please dont criticise any1 plzzzzzzzzzzz
Any day ramires plays below per we seems to struggle. There is clumsines in cfc mid field atimes, oscar needs to stay in the hole(#10) position. No need for him to drop back all the time when we ve matic and ramires on the field. He needs to support any of our chosen striker. Why is mou risking his injured players btw? Lamps should ve come on for injured ramires for precaution with city game in mind. This is football, all top teams will drop points against these relegated battle team, so no drama. What makes this match change is that, westbrom depend on thier midfielders, if we want to deal with that, oscar needs to stay up for some time to draw them back. We have matic who plays quick forward pass for gudness sake. Moreover, luiz doesnt need too much touches of the ball to make a pass and he should be fast in making decision. We ll win the next game. ktbffh
What was mikels work on the pitch?,
He came and STOPED WHYYYYY @CECH, Come and break Anichebe’ s head petr cech
@Flenzy ask them. What was mikels wrk and Torres too, what werr they doing on the pitch? I wish everyone will study that guy nd see that anytime he plays tje opposite team put more pressure on us, the pressure was on b4 he came buh it bcame more. I didn’t knw his position yesterday. Am ready for ur insults nigerian, coz that’s ir best part.
Ramires played shit too,but all the same a point nd I hate that black kit,my spirit goes down anytym we play with that.
Must mourinho defend alwys? We were controlin d game wel n attackin dem wen mourinho frm nowhere brought mikel 2 defend n frm den albion tuk ova d game cos our mindedness became weakened.mourinho does nt av any positive football philosophy.i jux hop arsenal,city also drop point 2day
D turnin point of d mash is wen cahill got injured…aw i wish captain legend was on d pitch tonite…nd as 4 u@gabby….y always mikel…u did nt blame cech 4 nt stoppin anichebe’s goal,,nd also david luiz positionin 4 d goal..wat abt hazard killin a wondaful counter attack dat suppose to make d scores 2-0..u ar nw criticizin mikel..shame on u@gabby
A lot of ppl had bad days @ d office. Hazard had a. Poor game, oscar, willian, ramires Et al. The only prson I can pick out that did well was matic and eto. Eto’s has a motivation-he wants to win d league cos he knows dis might be his last chance to win d BPL. Buh no worries, 12 games to go. We can still do this. No one shd blame mou. We were under too much pressure then he brought mikel to solidify the game. Although we can all see now that it did not work. But u can’t blame him for trying. Next up city. A year ago, I wld be sure that we wld lose but now we have hope of doing a triple over city. Just shows yu the work jose has done to our team
i always say that luiz is not a good cB…HE better shifted to midfld permanently…KALAS cld maked anichebe wel
Flop of the match has got to be Hazard for dallying on the ball instead of passing to a Torres who would have been clear on goal. Cost us the game. This is my problem with Hazard: consistency. One day he plays like a future Balon d’Or winner, another day he plays like he’s Shaun Wright Philips.
Secondly, I still don’t see what Wilian offers. Fans here praise him, but apart from his work rate, I still don’t see what else he offers. He misplaces passes too much for an attacking midfielder, his dribbles don’t always work, he’s also a tad slow when making decisions in the final 3rd. I’d prefer Salah as the 3rd AM as he provides a serious counter attacking threat and reminds me of Robben when he was at Chelsea.
Finally, Mourinho should make sure his players avoid the trap of defending towards the end of games, especially against weaker opposition. We are a big side, I don’t know why we should be playing like a small side because we are a goal ahead.
@ vaak tank u very much.willian works like a donkey,but cant complete a drible,wastes pases & can only shoot direct 2 the keeper.
rami runs a lot but also cant complet a drible & also the worst passer of d bal in cfc.matic did great.oscar mad mikel look bad by dropin deep,now matic who pases quicker is their & d same oscar is dropin deep again.may be we are yet 2 spot d problem of dis team as many ar obsesd wit mikel & are blind 2 see so many lapses in the team.
i hear sombdy say we shouldnt criticise.i lov & prais jose b\cos he realy improvd us.but pls jose should stop bein sentimental.if he can do dat,den be sure we wil be epl champs dis season.som players confidenc are low b\cos dey dont get equal treatment from jose.luiz,wilian,rami,oscar are eror prone,yet dey are backd by jose,but schurl,mikel, dont even comit half eror as des,but yet dey pay 4 it & dis affects their output in the field of play negativly.up jose,up cfc,up al fans.
@ztye. Cant believe ure condemning willian, though he is not not as talented as hazard but boy, i ll never take anything away from him. U said he cant dribble? Did u watch the match? For now, he is better than schurrle or sallah. He is a all round player, can move fast with the ball in counter attack. The different between the later 2 is they are exeptional sprinter without the ball. Just like torres and ramires. Willian can be compared to hazard, cos they like moving with the ball. It depends on choices. Besides, schurrle is not that spectacular as u re saying, we all know his game, his passes are woeful and cant mark opponent like willian. I rate sallah high honestly but, he is still nervous, very new to epl. Stop blaming anyone, the only change i can only anticipate is to tell oscar to stay a little bit in his #10 role and luiz to stop been too eagerly disturb. He nearly got a card yesterday cos of pulling someone shirt. Luiz should watch terry and cahil more, take things simple with good positioning and technicability. My beloved team is normal, dont blame anyone pls. Mikel came in when their momentum is high, i dont blame him, mulumbu, anichebe and co were powerful, i can only tell him to leave the left side of the pivot alone for matic and azpi. Wink guys@ztye. Cant believe ure condemning willian, though he is not not as talented as hazard but boy, i ll never take anything away from him. U said he cant dribble? Did u watch the match? For now, he is better than schurrle or sallah. He is a all round player, can move fast with the ball in counter attack. The different between the later 2 is they are exeptional sprinter without the ball. Just like torres and ramires. Willian can be compared to hazard, cos they like moving with the ball. It depends on choices. Besides, schurrle is not that spectacular as u re saying, we all know his game, his passes are woeful and cant mark opponent like willian. I rate sallah high honestly but, he is still nervous, very new to epl. Stop blaming anyone, the only change i can only anticipate is to tell oscar to stay a little bit in his #10 role and luiz to stop been too eagerly disturb. He nearly got a card yesterday cos of pulling someone shirt. Luiz should watch terry and cahil more, take things simple with good positioning and technicability. My beloved team is normal, dont blame anyone pls. Mikel came in when their momentum is high, i dont blame him, mulumbu, anichebe and co were powerful, i can only tell him to leave the left side of the pivot alone for matic and azpi. Wink guys
@zyte why do u abuse willian now. That hee only shoots straight @ d keeper? Fans r too fickle. When he scored dat beauty against southampton and norwich I bet yu cldnt say what u r saying now. Oscar’s natural game is to come deep. Even if u watch him for brazil, its d same way he plays. The only thing that cann stop him from dropping deep is if he plays on d wing. That’s y last season he dint drop deep. Mikel has to go at d end of d season. He is a good player dat a team like Man U needs but not chelsea.
@ miles i praise & criticise constructivly so dat we can improve.i know i didnt abuse willian & wil neva,but be sure dat i wil prais & criticis him 4 him 2 be beta.u guys said here dat oscar drops deep b\cos mikel cnt pas bal fasta on d counter,but now matic is doing dat,den d same oscar is dropn deep again.dis is 4.2.3.1 not 4.3.3.if u had playd futbal u wil know dat wat oscar is doin distort our team balanc & atracts more presur on d team.or he should leav #10 & play in d pivo@ miles i praise & criticise constructivly so dat we can improve.i know i didnt abuse willian & wil neva,but be sure dat i wil prais & criticis him 4 him 2 be beta.u guys said here dat oscar drops deep b\cos mikel cnt pas bal fasta on d counter,but now matic is doing dat,den d same oscar is dropn deep again.dis is 4.2.3.1 not 4.3.3.if u had playd futbal u wil know dat wat oscar is doin distort our team balanc & atracts more presur on d team.or he should leav #10 & play in d pivo@ miles i praise & criticise constructivly so dat we can improve.i know i didnt abuse willian & wil neva,but be sure dat i wil prais & criticis him 4 him 2 be beta.u guys said here dat oscar drops deep b\cos mikel cnt pas bal fasta on d counter,but now matic is doing dat,den d same oscar is dropn deep again.dis is 4.2.3.1 not 4.3.3.if u had playd futbal u wil know dat wat oscar is doin distort our team balanc & atracts more presur on d team.or he should leav #10 & play in d pivo@ miles i praise & criticise constructivly so dat we can improve.i know i didnt abuse willian & wil neva,but be sure dat i wil prais & criticis him 4 him 2 be beta.u guys said here dat oscar drops deep b\cos mikel cnt pas bal fasta on d counter,but now matic is doing dat,den d same oscar is dropn deep again.dis is 4.2.3.1 not 4.3.3.if u had playd futbal u wil know dat wat oscar is doin distort our team balanc & atracts more presur on d team.or he should leav #10 & play in d pivot.
What We Learned:Mourihnos tactics don’t work against small teams defending and we need a real ten not Oscar and can he just rotate a little
A real ten? Hazard is a real ten, willian is a real ten, lampard can play in there, schurrle, maybe sallah(am not sure), mikel is a real ten also ( tumb up if u agree). I dont knw ur own definition of a real ten. Pls dont bring mata talk again
@ henderson we dont need 2 buy any #10.lets develop d ones we hav.i also believ oscar\wil\hazard wil get better wit time.dont 4get dey are stil young.
What I learnt: in as much as Hazard played well but was marked-out by WBA players, I’ll give him the stick. He is like a man that built a house and blow it up. When we were a goal up, he had the ball and team mates free begging for the ball: Torres’ first touch could have been a goal but what did he do…he stood there, waiting for WBA to come at him for him to dribble them. He should be seriously talked to. Such act kills morale. Matic/Ramires pivot: Yesterday I observed each gets the ball and there after loses it or gives a wrong pass. Ramires runs without control, Mou should know how to channel that for better usage. Matic, did any of you notice how much fouls he committed. That act put presure on the team and gives the opposition momentum. Mou should teach him to get fouled, especially when we’re under pressure. It frustrates the opposition. He should also learn to hold ball when we’re under attack to give our team a breathing space. Observe Yaya, he falls and get freekicks for his team. He should also use his weight to his benefit like Yaya. I don’t think Matic/Ram is our best pivot. I’ll choose Mikel/Matic or Mikel/Ram. Again, our midfielders should raise their heads upwards often. You see our strikers raising their hands gesturing for a pass that never comes. For does clamouring for Mikel’s leave by the end of season. Well sorry, if you play football or know anything about football, then you’ll know that when under pressure like we were yesterday, you’ll need some one to hold the ball, get you fouls that will frustrate your opponent. Mikel wasn’t the cause of our goal. If Luis had been disciplined yesterday perhaps…Iva was great but falls back late. If you notice prior to WBA equalizer, Iva’s wing was exploited! Well, we got a point better than a lose. Hopefully, Manu and Sunderland will do us favours! We still flying for the last time I checked the sky was BLUE!!!
Kes, u said matic/ramires didnt work? It worked. Ure looking at it frm the fact dat we drew. Cant u see the amount of ball recovery in the middle? Our attacking trio didnt create chances dats y. We didnt give them problems up front, dats y they keep coming to us. Every dm do commit a foul. Can u tell me any dm dat doesnt commit a foul?. If defence is gud, forget about their set piece. Gud defenders always fight for the first ball, give it to willian or hazard to start our own counter. Matic/mikel? Who is goin to play box-box? Maybe matic but dont ve the will to run. The combination is too defensive in my opinion with oscar droping back, haha. That means we re goin to see a lots of poccession in the middle and jose hate it, likewise me. I guess one of them can play on a gud day if we want to score goals but if we want to pack lambogini, very well then
@CFC, my take was that particular. Matic/Ram got many successful tackles after which they either gave them away cheaply or gave out wrong pass. You say Matic don’t have the will to go forward! Hahahaha. Mate he should if he wants to be world class. He has the physique. You’re making him a Lamborgini running 50kph! You think Matic/Mikel combo won’t be effective? You forget they play according to coach’s instructions. Yes, DM commits foul. Likewise they can also be fouled. Mikel these days get us more fouls check for yourself. Yaya as big as he is get fouled and it’s awarded. The reason I’m saying this is that it helps in frustrating our opponents and kill their rising-momentum. If you observe when WBA momentum was building, we were harding in possession of the ball. Imagine us being fouled often, won’t that affect their momentum? Just imagine!
I didnt say matic dont ve will to move farward. I said he is not a good runner, like ramires. I only say i doubt if matic/mikel ll ever work, it should, can only home mou ll try it but in my view, it ll be too defensive and been caught on d counter. We need ramires in the middle cos of fastness of d epl. I pray he can work on his woeful passes
@ cfc obsesd willian wil be better if he just pass d bal dan tryn 2 drible like hazard.i know willian works so hard.infact i admire how he keep pressin d opponents,but he cant drible lik hazard & he most times ends up passin d ball 2 d opponent.he should play his gam & stop tryn 2 be lik hazar@ cfc obsesd willian wil be better if he just pass d bal dan tryn 2 drible like hazard.i know willian works so hard.infact i admire how he keep pressin d opponents,but he cant drible lik hazard & he most times ends up passin d ball 2 d opponent.he should play his gam & stop tryn 2 be lik hazar@ cfc obsesd willian wil be better if he just pass d bal dan tryn 2 drible like hazard.i know willian works so hard.infact i admire how he keep pressin d opponents,but he cant drible lik hazard & he most times ends up passin d ball 2 d opponent.he should play his gam & stop tryn 2 be lik hazar@ cfc obsesd willian wil be better if he just pass d bal dan tryn 2 drible like hazard.i know willian works so hard.infact i admire how he keep pressin d opponents,but he cant drible lik hazard & he most times ends up passin d ball 2 d opponent.he should play his gam & stop tryn 2 be lik hazard.
@zyte every player aspore to be the best. Even eden want to be like messi and cr7, there is notin bad if willian want to impress like hazard. He doesnt gave the ball away in ‘most’ of our match. This is his first season in epl. He may be overambitious atyms but he s good player trying to make things happen. We should be talkin about ramires, oscar and luiz. Ramires has stated the same way he used to play when he was first bought by cfc. His passes are dying, heavy, wayward. Pls help me talk to him. As for oscar, he needs not to be worrying so much by dropin bak too much. Eto is stranded upfront, pls help me tell oscar to stay up where he could make assist and score some goals. Luiz? A very good defender, a very good midfielder, just need to learn some things frm the best english defenders in person of terry and cahil. No too much touches, no pushing, good positioning, accurate long pass at the right time, no ball watching, if he can change all these, ve a chance to be like cannavaro. Hey, here it first, cfc is going to beat man city the third time dis season. Just 1:0 in cfc favor. U blues, i care
@ cfc obsesd.yeah i believe & want all our players to improve.blues wil bulldoze the whole of etihhad.cfc1 m.city0.blues 4 life.
@ Willian & fans pls dont get me wrong.when i said dat willian works lik a donkey,i meant dat he work so hard.in my side donkey is usd 2 refer 2 a hardworker.i cant dispute dat.he realy works hard,but he need 2 improv his passn game.tanks.
@ miles u may be among those dat said he drops deep b\cos mikel isnt doin wel,now dat he drops deep,does it mean dat matic isnt doin wel?
if oscar keeps dropin deep,den willian should be tried as #10.u cant say he must keep dropn deep b\cos dis team playd better witout him against man.city.we hav many players who can play as #10.setle ur case wit mikel,weda he goes or not am a cfc fan & not a mikel fan & his fate doesnt depend on u,but jose decides dat.
@Zyte, I think you should extend that your advice not only to Miles but everybody else that hates Mikel’s gut, especially our Ghanaian fans. If he’s surplus to demand Mou will let him go or if Mikel feels he isn’t getting much playing time and his place in his national team is threaten he can put in a transfer request and follow the way of Juan Mata. CFC 4 Life!!!