That situation where Toney was asking for a penalty looked highly dubious to me - linesman flagged for offside but the replay showed that Toney was clearly onside and then got fouled by Chelsea player. That should have been a penalty, hopefully a decision that will even itself out when it matters.
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Thing is as I said elsewhere if Brentford were getting through to Mendy I’d be worried but the fact they had him beaten with those post ones and he had to save so many suggests it isn’t as watertight as they would hope.
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No, he wouldn’t. The first Chelsea team under him and this one are light years apart. They’re not conceding but not through a lack of chances. They’re coughing up plenty and it’s been a combination of poor finishing, great goalkeeping and pure luck that they have not conceded more. Their general play is stifled and mechanical and there is a lot of last ditch stuff going on. The results have been good and they’re going to be a challenge, I’m sure, but I’m also quite positive that they’re going to come a cropper somewhere and get twatted.
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The biggest concern Id have as a Chelsea fan is the forwards are not scoring. Grinding out results with a tight defense is one thing if you have a reliable drip of goals from forwards. They really dont though and they should be worried about how many goals they’ve had to rely on so far from players you cant rely on to be scoring their goals. That is a quirk and will revert to normal and unless they can get their forward line firing in time they may find themselves in a difficult patch
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I think people are forgetting something more wider.
Chelsea have gone through so many (different) changes in last years. So. Many.
It’s been bloody less than a year since Tuchel took over. And it was in the middle of a season. Them winning the CL and having generally the best strength in depth in the league doesn’t mean that the process is over and they should now dominate all parts of the game in all moments. If I was a Chelsea fan the only thing I’d want now is for people to shut up a little bit and give time. And I think the club want that, too. Someone to stay a little bit longer this time.
The fundamentals look good enough for them to continue evolving under Tuchel, compete and win. How much? That remains to be seen.
I haven’t seen anything this season which should create panic from their perspective. Some things have been pretty good, some less good. But dear me do they need a bit of stability. The last thing they need now is more and more changes. That would be really pointless.
Deep down, City and Liverpool are the two league’s best sides. If Chelsea can’t win it this season, I wouldn’t look at it as failure. But it’s up to them now to enter the conversation. And so far, they are. Luck pretty vague and relative anyway. If they continue to be up there (and especially in the league), it’s because of reasons.
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Lukaku twisted his ankle and Werner has done his hamstring. Big blows for Cheslea with both due to be out for a while. They do have a relatively straight forward run of games though.
Yeah they’ve got Norwich next…
Who knows about Newcastle but Burnley takes them up to the International break so I wouldn’t expect them to slip up in any of them.
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Little bits of good fortune like this can make a difference over the season. Injuries up top, but coinciding with easier games and then an international break. They should cope just fine.
Unfortunately!
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I assume Newcastle may appoint next week but who knows.
A Burnley of a few years back could have made it tough, guess we will see.
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I’m not so sure as there aren’t that many top managers available, and without C/L they won’t be attracting any this season.
I think their best bet would be to find a few players that they can get on loan for 6 months to get them out of the relegation spots, and then plan for a full rebuild starting in the summer, but even that is something that will probably take a few seasons
Going have to appoint someone, I doubt the caretaker bloke is going be much cop.
Anyhow still expect Chelsea will get the win.
Like watching a big kid beat up on a little kid.
Well done, you must be proud.
Will be interesting to see if that’s something Tuchel can do. He seems to fall out with people fairly often.
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Kepa flop
Barkley flop
Pulisic almost a flop
Ziyech flop
Saul a flop so far
Werner flop
How much money did they spent on those players?
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Harsh assessments on Pulisic and Ziyech I think.
Pulisic is our Keita. You see a proper player in there just cannot get the run of games.
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Any idea how much he earns? Must be among the top-ten GK in terms of wages.
Ziyech is an … with a chip on his shoulder. Overrated, big.
Werner might not be banging in goals but he’s working well off the ball and in other areas.
Too early to rate Saul.
Pulisic is unlucky with injuries but there’s clearly a player there
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Kovacic out until the international break.
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