Memorable night and the Bridge for sure. We deserved it over the two legs and made them look very ordinary despite gifting them their three goals. Onwards and upwards and onto the semi.
wow what a game. This is surreal!! Hopefully - this will kickoff our season & lets go for it!! Just wish Eden is ok.
Watched the game in Ho Chi Minh City at 2am. Maybe it's the time, but I thought we played below the game at their place, and they were more direct.We were really stiff to hit the bar twice, and did some good stuff, but they looked more fluid and tidy to me. What we did do though was restore the fight of the CL winning team and just battle on. The subs and the team on the field at the end shows Jose was out of tricks as well, what with Luiz virtually alone in midfield, Hazard out, Ba, Torres and ,am I right in thinking Eto'o, all on the pitch together, we will probably not see such a line up again. Who would have thought all 3 of our underperforming strikers and Luiz who polarises supporters, holding out a late flourish from PSG? Jose and his team reacted as if they had won the whole thing and who can blame them. We might not play the best football this season, but we do seem to have the fire back, and it just might take some putting out. With Brana out of next match, how we line up will be fascinating. Special mention to Cech who looked like he was determined to erase the last game from memory.
Check Jose's interview before http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/26932979 and after http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/26949750 They would have called him deluded or arrogant ,eh? I say confident (before) and grounded (after).
CP - in terms of Brana, I guess Azpillicueta (sp.) will go back to his actual position of RB and Ashley will return as LB?? May well play x2 def midfielders (unless against Man U), in Mikel & Luiz. Not the best (in terms of skill) performance - I actually thought we played better (or at least as well) at PSG. What was obvious yesterday, was the mentality of the team - they absolutely believed with 100% conviction that we were going through. It was almost the old "us vs. the World" again, a bit like when we won it - no-one believed it was possible.....except the team. Whatever happens, with this and the Premier League tighter than a nun's knickers, we're in for a ride and a half over the next month
Well done, over the 2 legs I'd say you slightly edged it so fair play. I'm quite pleased as I believe our match at Anfield is right in the middle of your semi final. Congratulations though, keeping the English flag alive in the CL (although **** blue plastic ones!)
Thats just how I would hope the back 4 line up, but I wouldn't count on it with Jose !!!! Know what you mean about the performance, I just felt we were sending a lot of wayward passes, losing possession then having to regroup as PSG pounced. We did get better most of 2nd half, but nervy ending hey?? Agree completely with the feeling, just like it was in our run to win the CL, guts and effort. Looked like a great atmosphere too, you could feel it even here in Vietnam. Incidently loads of Lampards and even the odd Zola floating around today, all happy to talk and celebrate.The club is doing a good job in Asia.
Considering the reduced squad Jose had to choose from and losing Hazard early --a brilliant result! Lets go win it
PSG passed the ball nicely and looked in control up until we got the first goal. But they were average defensively and we always looked like getting a goal from a set piece. They are kind of like a worse version of Barca. Not much of a plan B and couldn't cope when we mixed things up a bit. Special mention to Luiz as well who gets some stick from some but put in another immense performance in central midfield. The lads work ethic and will to win is infectious.
Satisfying outcome from our dramatic performance was cocking a snoop at the endless obituaries that appeared in the sports media since the first leg. A night of high drama at the Bridge that ranks alongside Bruges (71), Barca (05), and Napoli (12) to name a few.......no history, yeah right. No doubt about TSO hasn't lost his ability to fire up the team in big matches.
Joes does it again. His CL record is quite simply fantastic, the frogs deserved to lose for sitting on their advantage and not trying to put the tie to bed with an away goal. Could you win it again, against the odds? I wouldn't bet against you now....
I hope so Tobes, like you said his CL record speaks for itself so fancy our chances against anybody. I'll be rooting for United tonight in the hope we get them at some point and I'd also love Barca too. Real are his former club, he loves returning to former clubs. Only team I wouldn't like is Bayern and possibly Atletico. I stuck a £5 free bet on us to win the double at 100/1 before the game!
Well done to a club that is becoming a great one with a great owner and a special one(manager)! I don't care how much money you have spent you have spent wisely!
Yep, his first half was poor, letting Lucas get behind him and skinned by lavezzi. And making Frank take a tactical yellow by giving the ball away for the fourth time leading to another counter. Jose obviously gave him a half time rocket, he responded and classic man management: Jose singled him out for praise post match. Well deserved, second half, Luiz was a 'monster' and an 'animal'. Hopefully he can put his Paris and palace performances behind him now
I'm not mate, as I want the spectre of them winning the thing gone, in case we nail 4th spot That fiver could prove to be inspired, as a win like that breeds confidence and can really galvanise a side.
Starting to believe we have a chance now. Once you get to the semis it is really anyone's. Problem we have (same at 2012 though) is that the draw has favoured the top teams so we're probably going to have to go through 2 of Barca, Real and Bayern to win it. Of the 3 I'd take Barca in the semis. They aren't as special as when we've played / beat them before and most likely to succumb to more direct and physical tactics. Bayern and Real have similar quality but Jose knows Real inside out which may give us a bigger chance. What we do have though is Jose and we wont have to play as an away team if we make the final like in 2012 either.
Some stats about last night: This was only the second time in 111 games that PSG had been beaten by two goals, in a sequence stretching back to March 2012. Chelsea had a 3-1 deficit to recover from the first leg at Parc des Princes and their opponents arrived on the back of a club-record, 11-match winning run, with only one occasion in their previous 46 games when they had failed to score. Guardian harsh on Luiz: Thiago Motta v David Luiz "We have no defensive plan for Thiago Motta," José Mourinho had suggested on the eve of this contest. "He can play free, no problem. We can't be worried about him." The Portuguese was illustrating how his side had to approach this game with attack rather than suffocation in mind, rather than dismissing the threat posed by a player who had been integral under his stewardship at Internazionale. Yet there were still periods when ignoring Motta seemed like folly. He had been pressed in the first leg in an attempt to cut off the supply line to Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede was absent here, but the Italy international was still influential, the timing of his interceptions on Samuel Eto'o early on, or Andre Schürrle as half-time approached, that of a master of his art. He even strode forward when he could, sending team-mates to the byline, but while Motta oozed composure, his opposite number was frantic. David Luiz can appear too flustered to stamp authority on midfield, particularly when his radar is awry in the tackle and his passing off kilter. He will have taken solace in the leap away from Thiago Silva and flick that landed with Schürrle to give Chelsea the lead, but his distribution remained erratic and had the locals pining for Nemanja Matic.
