I actually thought he played well. My only question is whether Lampard wants him to stay back and keep compact to help cover on D (he certainly plays more defensively than Hazard ever did) or if he is expected to flood forward routinely. I just cannot tell. Let's see - Willian is playing - but certainly not distinguishing himself, Pedro is not getting any younger and now a hammie issue?, and today was a warm match .... I expect as the weather starts to cool off that he will play better - can be more direct more often in cooler temps. He did help get the first goal going and the second one was him and Mount on the same sheet of music .... he had some other chances and carried the ball forward for OG late in the match ...
that could be a great story for Chelsea (historically a club that is not known for developing and playing utes) if those three help carry the water till Rudiger and Kante and the others are match fit and till the transfer ban is lifted.
I thought he had a solid game. Involved in the first two goals with the assist on the second. Created a handful of other half chances
He took his goal well and he got things going on the opener with a nice ball to Pulisic, but he disappeared after that imo. He plays balls to the wall and fades out of games after making early impacts. If he can figure out how to pace himself he has the ability to be a great player.
Mixed reviews for him on their forums although I think some of it is just overall frustration that despite creating so many chances they once again failed to make most of them pay off. Pulisic was part of that he continues to struggle shooting on frame. But hey you gotta put yourself in dangerous positions first and he's done that today. With Willian looking so shit and Pedro going down with a hamstring tweak today the minutes should be there for at least the next few games.
This looks pretty ********in good to me... Dribbles? I missed the match, excited to check it out later. Chelsea d continues to not impress huh?? Although Pukki seems the real deal and they scored o LFC too... maybe we are still underrating Norwich a bit.
Well he will at the very least be competing with Mount for time, if the 4-3-3 persists. So important to get those good performances in now... which I believe is what I said before he season began.
2 assists in his first 4 matches for the club is pretty good. Can't wait for that moment with his 1st goal.
That's pretty much how I saw it also, but back in the land of crumpets and ale, he was taking a beating. He was in turns, useless, invisible, wasteful, and horrible...again! Ah, the brits, they still can't get over being inferior to their colonies.
The mount goal in particular is textbook dortmund under Klopp and Tommy. I'm really excited to see him building this kind of passing style at Chelsea. He has been making that play the last three matches and no one could control in tight spaces or pass out of tight spaces. The first goal is football 101, good touch at pace, good awareness to wait for the overlap, then immediately moves into space near post to remove a defender and add a scoring position. Having said all that, this team is entirely reliant on Kante for winning any matches against the big 6. They simply cannot defend with confidence right now.
There must have been some season in PL history where there were considerable American, Aussie and Canadian stars.
Drenched in irony this one. We're Mount and Abraham inferior to Pulisic today? Maybe it's me being deluded* but I thought Chelsea's goals today were all individual moments of brilliance. Chelsea's overall build up play wasn't special and neither was Pulisic's assist. *It's not me being deluded
I'm with Sam upthread I think through their first month the attacking play has been very good. They create a lot of half chances and at times they can play some very pretty triangles and overlaps. They lack clinical finishing, including from Pulisic, although Tammy today provided a couple. Their defensive is another store. It's a talent problem I think and won't be solved likely until they can bring more guys in. Hence why Kante will be absolutely massive for them if they have any chance of finishing top 4.
I think Der Panzer will help solidify the backline once he gets into his rhythm. Also RLC & CHO are going to be playing by the end of the 2019. The team has the ability to improve even more.
Whatcha smokin, smokerz? Puli had a good day at the office. Several key passes. Assist, hockey assist. Didn’t seem like he turned the ball over a lot (not sure about the stats). Seems he did well.
They were great! why can't all the players play a role in the victory? No need to over think the victory. That Mount goal is created by CP knifing between 3 defenders and a perfect touch to Mount, who beat 2 men and finished strong. Both very good plays. Same with the cross. Excellent team buildup and finishing. If those young guys score a goal and are solid in possession, then they have done their job. The story of Chelsea is their awful defending.
They actually were... those two CP are involved in are all about the finish, now that I’ve seen them. Which is still ok. That’s still important combination play.
Chelsea lives or dies on it's D this season... they will score some goals, but are unlikely to win much if they need 3-4 goals every game.
The hockey assist looks simple but the right back gets so open because the defenders have to respect Pulisic’s dribble. He needs to continue to take advantage of the crowds that he draws to take the next step.
The one thing you can say with certainly about both passes - if they weren't completed there is no goal on those plays. As long as CP keeps going out and putting in an honest shift and Chelsea gets points, he will be fine. Saw a lot of noise that Barkley did not impress today. If CP is seen as a better choice than RB he'll get good minutes. Still haven't had a chance to speed thru the tape yet.
am I wrong or do Barkley and Pulisic seem to have some of the same weaknesses and strengths? They both can put on some pretty incredible dribbling displays, completely throwing a team's back line out of whack, and then they over dribble or pick the wrong pass and it's all for naught. that said, CP is improving on that aspect his action of thought is getting quicker, although perhaps it was the competition helping somewhat today. The pass that found mount around the 70 minute mark was a good example. Didn't try and get all the way to the boundry like he usually does and put in a low cross but this time put in well weighted pass slightly back that mount could have done better with.
I thought he was fine today, I am not sure some of you folks are watching the same game I was. He played within the framework of the team, got in some good spots, notched an assist, and was dangerous a few times, Looked to have put in some effort on defense until he got tired and was subbed off shortly thereafter. If people were not happy with him after this shift they aren't going to be very happy with him this season.
Agree. Created some chances, and some of those became goals. Wasn't a great performance, but contributed to winning. If people hold him up to $73M or Hazard, he's not likely to be a success. But he had a very similar game to Mount today -- Mount was a bit better thanks to the goal IMO, but otherwise very similar.