Saturday, December 8, 2012

What We Learned From The Sunderland Match : 12.8.2012

What We Learned From The Sunderland Match : 12.8.2012
A good day for Chelsea Football Club, today. 3 goals for the Blues and a very solid defensive performance. 3-1 to The Chels after 94 minutes of play at the Stadium of Light as Rafa Benitez seals his first PL win as Chelsea manager and second in a row in all competitions.

Scorers :
Fernando Torres (11', 45+1')
Juan Mata (48')
Adam Johnson (66')

What We Learned :
1. Fernando Torres is almost back.
2. This is what Rafa can do.
3. Oscar-Ramires in the pivot is muito bom (very good)
4. Defensive soundness continues.
5. We're going to Japan in good form.

1. Fernando Torres is almost back: 2 goals including a brilliant penalty from El Nino that secured all 3 points for the Blues at the Stadium of Light. He wasn't inconsistent throughout the game and his impact in the 2nd half went down as we started to relax and keep the result. He scored an absolute beauty to open the scoring and then fired home a magnificent goal from the spot. Torres is starting to move better and ask for the ball while maintaining a good deal of confidence.

2. This is what Rafa can do: Rafa Benitez has shown what Chelsea are capable of in the last 3 games. Against West Ham, we had a brilliant first half that transferred into a full-game performance against Nordsjaelland and Sunderland. Rafa has mastered defensive solidarity while keeping the attack working and taking their chances well. Any fans questioning his appointment must rethink it and continue to show support for the boys in Blue.

3. Oscar-Ramires in the pivot is muito bom (very good): The 2 Brazilians linked up in the middle brilliantly throughout the match and held Sunderland's midfield back on numerous occasions. Their small frames were no concern as their speed and pace made it extremely hard for the Sunderland midfield to overdo the 2 amigos. They halted everything in the 1st half and then throughout the 2nd half kept Sunderland contained and didn't allow them to create as many chances in free-play.

4. Defensive soundness continues: Chelsea's interim coach Rafa Benitez has done what no other managers could do since Ancelotti left. He's made Chelsea a very sound and solid defensive team. We no longer struggle to see the opposition push on us and score freely while exposing our back line. That hasn't been a problem with Benitez, he's kept the space between the 2 CBs smaller and the full-backs have certainly made it hard for their wingers to penetrate them. Real promising signs for us.

5. We're going to Japan in good form: After thrashing Nordsjaelland and beating Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, we're going to the Club World Cup in Japan in good form. We will be missing Terry, but Benitez has made the CB pairings work for Chelsea. A good sign for us and hopefully our first trophy of the season comes back with the healthy Blue boys in mid-December.

Other Points :
1. Not seeing as much as Marko Marin.
2. Good to see Frank Lampard back.
3. Ramires out for League Cup quarter final v Leeds.
4. Referee inconsistency continues for the Blues.

Thanks,
Ervin

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16 comments:

  1. Mate. Oscar and Ramires good in the pivot? No. After Romeu left,we lost control in the middle and definitely lost control of the game. What we basically did well was defending by not allowing any space inbetween the lines. Before Romeu went off,we controlled the game. It was obvious to see what happened after he went off. We were under too much pressure and lacked a power player in the middle of the park.

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    1. 100 percent in suport of u. We done to the lads.

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  2. Spot on Zane. Mikel - Oscar, Romeu - Oscar, better than Ramires - Oscar. Spot on mate...

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  3. Exactly guys. Look at last weekend's game against West Ham. We controlled the game too easilly and dominated the midfield. In the second half when Allerdyce brought on Diamé,they had more control. After Romeu went off,we were like West Ham in last week's game. The only difference is we defended well as a unit today. We never controlled the game after Romeu went off.

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  4. We couldn't control it because we sat back. We didn't sit back because of Oscar-Ramires playing together, we sat back because we scored a goal. Romeu was on there in the right time, if Oscar started : we still would of had the same fire start.

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    1. Believe what you want, but my evidence is greater.

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    2. Ervin and Zane, you're both right. Let's take the positives, we all bleed blue. Again, After Romeu went off, we lacked control around the midfield area, his cover was missed, and if you doubt that Ervin, ask RB. Then Zane, there was laxity on our part after we went up by 3 goals, even Luiz and Cahill, at some point, was trying to make the defense an entertainment, and few mins later, we conceded. This is my observation. KTBFFH

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  5. The change began when Moses was removed, and then Hazard which made it worse.

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  6. We deserved to win. Lets take the club word cup now

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  7. Rafa shoul consider twice when making sub, I didn't like Mosses sub

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  8. we still don't control the last 25 min!!!

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  9. ME WHAT I LEARNT IS MIKEL IS NOT NEEDED WHEN WE WANT 2 PLAY ATTACKING FOOTBALL ND WIN OUR GAMES THAT 4 SURE ROMEO IS TELLING US SOMETHING ON THE FIELD OF PLAY.HE(ROMEO)MUST BE SUBSTITUTED ONLY WHEN WE HAVE ABOUT 3 GOALS LEAD AND WE WANT 2 DEFEND BELIEVE IT OR NOT,TANX 2 ROMEO THAT HE IS PROVING ME RYT.BUT STILL WE NEED ANOTHER STRIKER 2 SUPPORT TORRES.

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  10. luiz can be a brilliant free kick taker and a penalty taker

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  11. Really? Torres is almost back? How many times hav we heard he is getting back, nd he is bak? As far as I c he is playing better and he is sticking to his position more but his first touches n controls need wrk

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  12. i wouldnt say torres form is back..........to me its just his confidence is high............i always thought last year wen he was in his goal drought we should of let him take the penalties that were won and then we would of been clear whether he is just offf or unlucky......so its glad to see him step and want to take a penalty....especially with david luiz wanting it.....................#up blues all he needed was self confidence#

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  13. i wouldnt say torres form is back..........to me its just his confidence is high............i always thought last year wen he was in his goal drought we should of let him take the penalties that were won and then we would of been clear whether he is just offf or unlucky......so its glad to see him step and want to take a penalty....especially with david luiz wanting it.....................#up blues all he needed was self confidence#

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