Chance of a lifetime gone

[KingOfFootball]

Chelsea has done England proud and did well to display some good English football and team spirit. However, I get the feeling that this may have been the chance of a lifetime for Chelsea to win the Champions League. It's unlikely that AC Milan, Real Madrid, Bayer Munich, Juventus, Valencia, Inter Milan, Barcelona, etc. will go out early next season or not cross Chelsea's path. I believe next seasons road to the Champions League final will be much, much tougher.

[SportBoy333]

its not gone when Chelsea can spend as much if not more money than those teams you mentioned. Cross Bayren Munich off that list they are not what they used to be and their budget is behind all those teams except maybe for Valencia,

[nicephoras]

its not gone when Chelsea can spend as much if not more money than those teams you mentioned. Cross Bayren Munich off that list they are not what they used to be and their budget is behind all those teams except maybe for Valencia,

Oh give it up already with the spending nonsense. Go spam Real's boards.

[kaberon10]

Nope, stay away from our boards!

Good effort today by Chelski, but Monaco seem to have luck on their side this year. Although you guys will probably improve with a striker or two, a centerback, and maybe a creative midfielder, you won't have as easy a time next year. It will be interesting to see where you guys end up - with the big boys like Milan, Juve, ManU, Madrid, etc. or struggling to get out of a group. Any way you see it, it should be an interesting transfer season. Again, too bad about the loss today.

[SportBoy333]

Oh give it up already with the spending nonsense. Go spam Real's boards.

must be nice to have an unlimted budget :-)

[minuscapita]

Nope, stay away from our boards!

Good effort today by Chelski, but Monaco seem to have luck on their side this year. Although you guys will probably improve with a striker or two, a centerback, and maybe a creative midfielder, you won't have as easy a time next year. It will be interesting to see where you guys end up - with the big boys like Milan, Juve, ManU, Madrid, etc. or struggling to get out of a group. Any way you see it, it should be an interesting transfer season. Again, too bad about the loss today.


Give me a break!! You don’t get to the CL finals with luck!!! Is it the same luck that has been making us lose lately?
Monaco played nothing but beautiful football this season and they deserve it all.

[nicephoras]

Give me a break!! You don’t get to the CL finals with luck!!! Is it the same luck that has been making us lose lately?
Monaco played nothing but beautiful football this season and they deserve it all.

:rolleyes: You should have watched their recent League1 matches. Beautiful football? Hah.

Getting to the CL finals ALWAYS involves luck. There are many seasons in which I would easily say the best team in Europe did not win the CL. This year, the two best teams have been Milan (who're one bizzarrely odd game short of being in the final) and Arsenal, much as I dislike saying that.
Monaco and Porto? Feh.

[SportBoy333]

Monaco's attack is awesome but their defensive back 4 is really not that great. They are lucky to have made it this far with a defense who's average age is 24. Their offensive flair has carried them and their defense has been just good enough when it counts to get it done.

[IMOX77]

Oh give it up already with the spending nonsense. Go spam Real's boards.
If Chelsea would have had a solid backline maybee the result would have been different. Those guys kept getting fooled and taking the wrong steps

[minuscapita]

:rolleyes: You should have watched their recent League1 matches. Beautiful football? Hah.

Getting to the CL finals ALWAYS involves luck. There are many seasons in which I would easily say the best team in Europe did not win the CL. This year, the two best teams have been Milan (who're one bizzarrely odd game short of being in the final) and Arsenal, much as I dislike saying that.
Monaco and Porto? Feh.

I would agree with you if they were not doing well in their league but they are currently 2nd 1 point behind the first place......so it’s definitely not luck.
You can’t be lucky everywhere all the time.
They are a great team.

[Panzo]

If Chelsea would have had a solid backline maybee the result would have been different. Those guys kept getting fooled and taking the wrong stepsPerhaps, but I thought they were stable enough for much of the first half due to the pressing from Chelsea's midfielders. It was their sloppy finishing up front that really did them in. They should have been up by 4 goals from all of the great chances Monaco were gifting them. But sadly, JFH and Gudjohnsen aren't exactly clutch players at this level (though they're fine enough for grinding out results against midtable EPL teams).

So as loose as you think Chelsea's defense was in that match, Monaco's had to have been twice as bad. But by the time Chelsea brought on their most clinical finisher, the midfield had already lost their focus and wasn't pressing enough to create the number of chances they had in the first half.

[nicephoras]

I would agree with you if they were not doing well in their league but they are currently 2nd 1 point behind the first place......so it’s definitely not luck.
You can’t be lucky everywhere all the time.
They are a great team.

I never said they are a lucky team, I said getting to the CL semis requires luck. There's a difference. We're also second in the league, and the team ahead of us is far better than the team ahead of Monaco. So what's to choose between the sides? Luck, and Ranieri's less than inspired subsititutions in the second half of the first game.

As for our backline - we played most of the game with our midfield pushed far into the Monaco defense. You can't give that sort of space to a team that good.

[BridgeMonkee]

I still haven’t worked out the Monaco style yet to be honest. It’s seemingly disorganized, especially at the back and they really do allow the opposing teams a lot of space. A LOT of space, at times I think the opposition is almost completely confused by the amount of space they are given. They’re very quick and fluid in attack. A team of water carriers perhaps? You can score against this team, IF ONLY Chelsea had taken their chances better. IF ONLY, I know, I don’t really want to the go there. Back, to the style of this Monaco side. Lots of quick movement on and off the ball, but not always the most direct team. IF a team was able to push them back, hold them defensively, they could do it. But, Chelsea – Terry, Gallas, Bridge – these guys are pretty effective defenders in my view. So what happened? It’ll be interesting to see what Porto come up with. Monaco’s potential for scoring and conceding goals is extraordinary. It really is something that I don’t think we have seen before. Its almost like they play with no midfield and 5 strikers. I dunno, someone explain it to me.

[Panzo]

But, Chelsea – Terry, Gallas, Bridge – these guys are pretty effective defenders in my view. So what happened? It’ll be interesting to see what Porto come up with. Monaco’s potential for scoring and conceding goals is extraordinary. It really is something that I don’t think we have seen before.
Sounds like you're describing the sort of adventurous style of play seen quite commonly in the Brazilian league. Real Madrid is known for this too, I suppose. Remember that ManUtd-RMadrid 2nd leg last year where players were dribbling through the midfield unchallenged.

As for what happened to Chelsea, well you pretty much covered it. They came out and played the offensive style that was needed and actually got their desired 2-0 scoreline, but the defense simply couldn't hold that advantage while their offense failed to extend it due to poor finishing (and Monaco gave up plenty of chances to finish them in the 1st half).