Chelsea 01 Cech 28 Azpilicueta 05 Zouma 24 Cahill 03 Filipe Luis 12 Mikel 21 Matic 17 Salah 04 Fà bregas 14 Schürrle 19 Diego Costa Sporting Lisbon 01 Patricio 47 Esgaio 03 Dos Santos Nascimento 26 Rodrigues de Oliveira 33 Silva 18 Carrillo 17 Eduardo 14 Carvalho 23 Perruchet Silva 11 Capel 09 Slimani 3 youngsters on the bench (so much for "academy day" jose), and a fairly strong team, it should be a good game, COYBs!!!
So, it was a pretty routine final group game for the blues in the end. In the first half we did start brightly with the hunger and pace of andre schurrle a particular highlight, felipe luis bombing on down the left flank was promising, and it was nice to see a bit more balance in both fullback positions. ouma was solid, and with cahill providing support the back 4 was typically stoic throughout. The 433formation with matic and fabregas shielding the defence was superb, and Mikel had another great display after newcastle he did get a goal, but I doubt he knew too much about it! diego costa had a very poor game: passes didn't stick, he had maybe 2 shots in 90 minutes and most worryingly of all he simply did not look interested, perhaps he isnt fit after all? However it doesnt bode well for the impending festive period. In the second half, the pace as usual dropped-but I can hardly fault the team/manager given the circumstances. Its a little disapointing that ruben-loftus cheek didnt get more minutes, but when he eventually found himself on the pitch he gave a very good account of himself. Setting up counters, breaking tackles, and even tried to round a keeper (albiet from an offside position), he seems to be a great prospect, and I look forwards to seeing more of him. I hate to round off with a negative, but Mr salah needs to pack his bags and get out of chelsea. I don't know what happened to the player we bought from basle, but its clear he does not ply his trade at Chelsea. He was full of running, but technically abysmal. Its not the first time he has performed so poorly, and I'd be surprised if he's still at chelsea in any capacity come january. Overall, a decent game and a good win.
i don't know what happened to him, he's actually had chances in the league cup and cameos here and there. at this point i feel he's just a wasted squad place. youngsters like atsu should be in his place, as he clearly can'thandle putting on our shirt.
he started the league cup and was awful. He needs to show his worth in those matches. He wasn't up for that game.
thats what he signed up for. if he was higher quality perhaps he'd get more chances, we have to remember. we need subs like remy that can come on and change games, not someone that brings everyone else down to his level when he's failing to trap balls or kicking it out of play. its not nice, but there can be little room for sentiment IMO
