This thread wont be up to much, no pretty pictures or interesting facts but i'm excited to have the Champions League back. Anyway i know they're from Azerbaijan and i think they won their domestic double last season. Won all 3 league games so far so they'll come with a bit of confidence. Must win for us though with much harder fixtures to come. I've already seen that Morata and Hazard are expected to be on the bench so i hope we aren't underestimating this one. Courtois Zappa - Azpi - Christensen - Cahill - Alonso Kante - Bakayoko Pedro - Bathsuayi - Willian That teams a bit of a guess mind but looking forward to this. 3-0 Chelsea.
Well, i actually have managed to find some facts.... Formed in 1951, they were one of the founding teams of the Azerbaijan Premier League in 1992 and are one of only two teams to have played in the top flight in every season to date. They have won five Azerbaijani Premier League titles, including the last four, while also winning the last three Azerbaijan Cups. They were the first team to win the Premier League in the 92/93 season. Qarabag play their games in Baku at the Tofik Bakhramov Stadium, which also serves as the Azerbaijan national stadium. It holds 31,200 people and was built in 1951 before a $10m reinvestment into the stadium for repair and reconstruction, with it being reopened in 2012. The stadium is named after the football referee Tofik Bakhramov, who was the linesman for Geoff Hurst's controversial second goal in the 1966 World Cup final. Qarabag's manager probably has one of the better names in football, Gurban Gurbanov. The 45-year-old is a former Azerbaijani international and made 63 appearances for his country playing as a forward. He was quite the journeyman throughout his career, before hanging up his boots to take over as manager of Neftchi Baku. And apparently a guy called Ndlovu is their best player!
Should be a routine win really and I'm happy for us to rest a few but keep some big guns on the bench just in case. I think I predicted a 3-0 on soccer 6.
Finished 6-0 in the end but wasn't very exciting. The guy who played on the left side for them is probably the worst player I've ever seen play in the Champions League. Guerrero or something.
The bloke Cahill kicked in the air was a tryer. Hard to judge on that game but I really liked the look of Christensen, very composed and skilful, Zappa, who showed pace and skill, and Bakayoko with good input. On the downside, thought Michy was hopeless again, he just never gets in good positions and can"t hold the ball. He might be better with 2 up front but he's no 1 up front striker for mine.
This is incredible. First CL & Club goals for all players and Zappa looks settled albeit against Azerbaijan giants. Only constant - Cahill's struggles against oppositions - Burnley, Slovakia, Lithuania, Malta, Azerbaijan.
I will agree with you in this instance. Cahill is not having a good time of it this season so far. With Dave, Rudiger, Luiz and Christensen (plus Zouma on the books, who has looked great on loan for Stoke so far), I think Cahill is quickly being knocked down the pecking order. He wont accept a position on the bench, being an England international and all, so I think this may be his last season with us. I can see a move to Everton or somewhere similar. I would wish the guy all the luck, he comes across as a decent guy and he has put in some awesome performances for us over the years, but I just think he is becoming surplus. Luiz has been great since his return to London, and Rudi and Christensen both look the real deal so far.
Christensen looked very more composed than in his league outings to date but you have to put that down to the opposition tbf but I like the steady but sure progress he makes with every game and will one day end up as captain in my view. Zappercosta showed a good temperament and work ethic but is far from settled as you'd imagine given the short time he has been with us. He will push Moses to up his game for sure. Have to agree with your comments about Michy, he hasn't a clue what holding up the ball means and his first touch is worse than Lulaku's and makes Kalou look world class. All in all a successful evening without breaking stride, Roma will be a different story but lets wait and see as all the new boys will only get better.
Yep that's how I see it too. Christensen is showing improvement and poise for one so young and playing in a crucial position. Zappa did everything asked of him with professionalism and a good dose of skill, he looks a very good prospect, and the young Bakayoko showed all the qualities to be a huge success in his short cameo. I think Michy is the wrong style of player for our system, he looks like he needs to be running on to through balls ,not starting back to goal. Maybe he needs a chance starting wider ? Any whichaway, we look better everywhere except up front, Morata excluded.
Agree with you all. We have few options in our Defense now. Our Defense is looking stronger. Remember Defense wins titles with an 'S'. We need to build from the back & bang our opponents. I am confident that if we don't play Cahill / Alonso / Cescy trio quite often - we can be darkhorses for the title.
Stan give it up on Alonso mate. He's been mustard so far and even in contention for goal of the month. I'll let you off on the others, just.
