Another shock in the Capitol One Cup semi-finals – this one saw Chelsea dominate Swansea, but 2 incorrect decisions by the referee and 2 Ivanovic mistakes gift-wrapped Swansea a shocking victory over favorites Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Scorers :
What We Learned :
- Torres – anonymous up top.
- Chelsea’s struggles continue.
- Victor Moses and Mikel will be missed.
- Chelsea need to buy more in this window.
1. Torres – anonymous up top : The only thing more intriguing than his remarkable decline over the past three years – and in truth it has become something of a tired topic – is how he has mastered the trick of avoiding getting chances. He didn’t score, didn’t really do anything and, worse still, he never looked likely to. Torres was NOWHERE to be found when Chelsea needed goals. In fact, Demba Ba had more chances in 5 minutes than Torres had the whole game. A disappointed performance from Torres as he continues to proves his “uselessness”.
2. Chelsea’s struggles continue : We slumped to a defeat in the first leg of the semi-final – a dominant performance was meant with wastefullness up top and sloppiness in the back which let to our defeat and possible exit from the tournament. A good XI was fielded and it was off to a good start, but Juan Mata, Oscar, Hazard never clicked as Torres continued to show why Ba should start over him. This display reminds us of what happened against QPR – same scenario and same result. The inconsistency is showing as Rafa Benitez can’t quite get the formula working every time. It’s very disappointing and troubling to see as a Chelsea fan and it could lead to us exiting the Europa League, FA Cup, Premier League title race and Capitol One Cup if things aren’t turned around soon.
3. Victor Moses and Mikel will be missed : Oscar was poor as some of his touches were genuinely inspired and created space for his team-mates in dangerous positions, but he drifted in and out of the game. He didn’t show that consistency, physicallity, speed and movement that Victor Moses has on the right-hand side. David Luiz shielded his back four extremely well, breaking up opposition attacks and keeping things ticking over in midfield for his team, while Ramires had a poor display by his high standards. His passing, tackling and positioning were all below par, and there were less of the driving runs from midfield which usually make him such an asset. Lampard didn’t have the impact wanted when he came on – poor display out right and in midfield, something we didn’t see often with Victor Moses and Mikel.
4. Chelsea need to buy more this window : Demba Ba was a good acquistion, but it’s obvious that we’re missing backups for Mikel, Mata, Moses, etc. We need to look into Taison, Fellaini and Isco and see if we finalise those deals soon, because it’s proving very costly to us as we stumble to more and more defeats when we need wins. If Roman Abrahmovich and the board can make some deals happen while being on track with the FFP (financial fair-play), Chelsea could have something now – better depth. This would be crucial if injuries hit and if we need to rest players. We are lacking the depth that United and City have which has propelled them forward along with their good string of results, so far.
Other Points :
- Squad rotation and depth is a problem.
- What was Ivanovic thinking about?!
- Get ready to kiss the early trip to Wembley, good-bye.
Benitez is really showing his worth..bringing ba on the 80th minutes while he allowed torres to roam aimlessly on the feild of play…benitez out before we lose everything
Benitez keep losing when it matters most eg corinthians, qpr and now capital one cup
Demba Ba should start all the games and Torres should come on in the last 5 mins. Then we will win games. Adding 2 more strikers to the attack will do us good as well.
benitez espero que cuando dijiste que tu trabajo se veia reflejado en los goles de torres , ahora que lleva 4 sin anotar mejor escondete y a oscar ponlo de 10 no de extremo el no es tan habilidoso y por eso se pierde. trata a todos por igual , solo a los españoles los defiendes
This is what we learned. Chelsea does not have any natural wingers to stretch defences with Moses here in my home country,South Africa,to represent his national team in the AFCON. I would rather have played Marin from the start on the right wing instead of Oscar,a natural Trequarista. Our attacks were narrow and that mainly over crowded Torres’ space in which we expect him to work-we all know how he should be assisted. When teams go to Stamford Bridge,especially bottom half opposition in the league table,we tend to struggle because they sit back deep. At away games where teams have to perform infront of their own fans,we tend to win and it’s easier to play through the middle because the box isn’t crowded-Torres seems to score on such occasions. Chelsea seriously have to get a regista who can initiate effective counter attacks when the opposition is still in our half after set-pieces. There is no use in blaming certain players when the team can’t create clear cut chances,get the ball onto the striker’s feet as much as possible or make through passes. What these players basically do when frustrated is just cross the ball into the box,hoping a crowded striker can head it in or a small midfielder to get onto the end of it. Ba should have started that game,he is more of a target man type of striker who will use power to tower above defenders when the team or the so called world class players can only think of crosses. Benitez should have known Swansea would sit deep and it’s the type of game when you can’t expect a striker of Torres’ type to play in. Poor decisions lead to poor results.
Is Benitez biased? Or is he a racist? Is it just me or did anyone see Torres was below par and had no business on that pitch for the next 45 mins? Zane, according to Shirley’s analysis of Ba’s first Chelsea goals, I agree with her that Ba scored based on his positioning. Torres lacks confidence, and is rarely at the right place these days. Ba deserved a start, or at least to start in the second half. I’ve been irritated since this game ended, just can’t help it, I love Chelsea!
don’t sell de bruyne.
its simple, if ba had of started we would have won 3-1
torres shuld be loaned off nd lets gv rum 4 demba ba bcos he jst playd 10mins nd he did very while torres playd 80mins nd did nothin
i guess you never watched the match, chelsea made no mistakes aside 2 sloppy ones by ivanovic. the attacking trio was better than the former game where moses just runs and shots de ball aimlessly. we did our best even without a striker. Mata should have atleast buried one and note this all of the attacking trio drifted in and out of the game, cos swansea were defending. luiz was okay, hazard disappeared in de second half, mata missed most of the chances, ramires looks tired, its simple play oscar in de middle and mata on the right side and hazard on the left. mata though is better than oscar but lacks de required pace. he is good at drifting in from de right. oscar on his day is good at determining the pace of the game with some fine one touch lay out passes.
tu si sabes de futbol oscar debe jugar en medio , el no es tan habilidoso pero tiene buena vision de juego
Chelsea should stop buying plays and start playing football. All we do is buy buy and buy, buy angels, buy demons, buy gods. When are we going to start playing some football go hell sake, because all i see is some confused and expensive idolt running around everytime we play. Disappointing.
Chelsea should stop buying plays and start playing football. All we do is buy buy and buy, buy angels, buy demons, buy gods. When are we going to start playing some football for hell sake, because all i see is some confused and expensive idolt running around everytime we play. Disappointing.
if chelsea can get 5 serious funs like u we wil b far, u have made my day.
I feel Chelsea defense quite tired right now. Chelsea should buy a defendsive midfielder as soon as possible. David Luiz can return to the his original position that is central defender. One of this three Chelsea defense can rest and rotate each time of the game. Not forgetting to buy a striker who can play in the Europa League.
I was disappointed in Benitez how can you bench Ba for this good for nothing Torres.
Oscar is better in AMF..even better than Mata in that position. And the rotation of our trio (Mata,Oscar,Hazard) was dangerous against any team. But Rafa doesn’t like use that style.
Eri : ThanksSophie/Alerte e0 Lie8ge : Je l’ai de9couverte assez re9cemment moi aussi gre2ce e0 lookbook.nu.Vale9rie : Merci !ces-fils-qui-nous-remuent : C’est vrai qu’elle a l’air sympa.Milk. : Merci beucuoap !AaAPOLLINE : De rien, j’aime beucuoap ton blog