Iceman shot save, rebound couldn't be controlled. Make sure to watch FSW tonight at 10PM for highlights. Lampard baby.
The song of the day.... " are you watching are you watching ARE YOU WATCHING ARSENAL" Unflipin believeable.
If that result holds, it would be: Chelsea 9 Besiktas 6 Sparta Prague 4 Lazio 4 With 2 each left to play
This is exactly why Ranieri wants another, more expierenced full back. He's a great prospect. But, like i said on another thread he is very green and had bags to learn yet.
Well I can't stop smiling, a great performance, shame about Johnson, he will learn. Some disgraceful tactics from Lazio in one 10 min spell in the first half, but the better footballing side won.
wonderful performance... great, great result just glad the refs crazy decisions, or lack thereof, didnt ruin it for us! felt like mihajlovic's successive yellow cards were an atonement for what he didnt give in the first half, not that he didnt deserve to be sent off!
You wouldn't have seen that bit if you had - the Italian TV didn't show it... or him putting on one of the official's coats and trying to pretend he's one of the official's whilst siting on one of the buggies used to take injured people off the pitch. The guy has completely lost it.... well, he never had that much of it to lose actually - but you know what I mean.
So glad I got to watch this one An amazing match from start to finish. We dominated the first 35 and last 25 minutes of the match, and to be honest Lazio outperformed us for the middle 30 minutes. The first half was probably the best I have seen us pass the ball ever, and this is against quality opposition, not Leicester or Wolves. We started in the diamond with C-Mak in the back, Lamps and Veron patrolling the sides, and Duffer in the hole behind the front 2. I cannot tell you how well this worked against them. This formation meant our fullbacks had to make lots of supporting runs down the flanks but GJ and Bridge did this exceptionally well. For the amount of possession we had and the way we were carving them up we should have had at least 2 by the break. Lazio played very well through the middle stretches of the match, and had 4-5 chances over the course of the match where they could have scored. Carlo made some tremendous saves including one double-save from point blank range. Everything turned again when Mihajlovic was sent off. The man's a disgrace. No one really caught the spitting incident when it happened even though they showed it close up. Then the commentators caught on at the half and started on about it. His fouls on Duff were definitely bookable offences, and there were a few more beforehand that he could have got as well. They didn't show his antics after being sent off, but good riddance to him. Lazio probably have a better chance of qualifying without him. His corners and free kicks (the only decent part of his game) were terrible. Once Guddy's goal went in you knew it was over. Duffer's solo effort was pure class and Lamps' follow of Eidur's shot was deserved as he should have scored earlier. Sereni was pretty atrocious in goal for them, he punched/bobbled at least 4 balls he could have caught or tipped over and we got three goals from them. Franco being there to celebrate was touching - there is no room for him in our new team of Galacticos but he means so much to the fans. I did have a few concerns after the match though. GJ's petulance is #1 - I agree 100% with Clan on this one, the kid is good now and will be great soon, but an experienced RB will not hurt us. I'm afraid GJ is going to tire out after the New Year as well with the # of matches we are playing. So I think we need another RB, or if we buy Ayala we should use Billy G at RB. Melchiot just goes AWOL too many times during matches to be counted on. Also I don't like the way a lot of our players go to ground quickly this season. Lazio were much worse in this respect but still it is not something I condone. Mutu and Duff are the main culprits in my eyes and it's tough to distinguish since both take a good hammering from the oppo but watching the replays you can just see it happen a few times a match. I know this is the way football is played these days and everyone does it but I still think we can win without it. Veron was sublime in the first half but nowhere to be found in the 2nd. The switch to 4-5-1 probably hurt his game but he was anonymous during Lazio's dominant stretch as well. I can't fault his skill or even his commitment, I just can't understand how he drops in and out of the action for such long stretches. Also we did concede a lot of corners and with our record at defending set pieces I'm amazed they didn't nick one or two. There just too many headable balls in our box for my liking. My take on the guys: Carlo - 9/10 - Superb saves when called into action. GJ - 7/10 - would have been 8 or 9 had he not been an idiot. Made some great runs down the right but lost the ball a few times and a lot of the dangerous balls were played in from his side. Billy G - 8/10 - Made some key clearances and kept the middle secure. Almost gave away a penalty or 2 though. JT - 8/10 - Made some crunching tackles and some good headers in traffic. Got beat for a header that almost went in. Bridge - 8/10 - Solid down the left flank all night. C-Mak - 9/10 - Great effort. Typically nothing visually remarkable but just solid work moving the ball around and keeping the heat off the back 4. Veron - 8/10 - Great passing and probably the key component for the first 30 minutes, but got lost afterwards. Lamps - 8/10 - Typical of the performances he has put in this season. He and JT are becoming the home country talismans of this side the way Helguera and Raul are for Real. Duff - 9/10 - MOM. Caused all sorts of havoc when playing in the hole and wide left. Great solo effort skipping past 3 defenders as well. Mutu - 8/10 - This guy runs more than anyone I have ever seen. He runs byline to byline, side to side all over the place. He chases down the keeper and defence relentlessly, he tracks back to help the midfield, I saw him back near the LB position ot one point. Crespo - 7/10 - Always dangerous and had Lazio worried throughout but he easily could have put away 2-3 more chances. Would be the goat had we drawn or lost this one. Subs: Gronks - 6/10 - Made some nice runs but his first touch was lacking. Not his best effort, but not terrible either. Guddy - 8/10 - A danger as soon as he came on, he was in fine form in the second half. He scored off Lamps rebounded shot and vice versa. Good to see him keep on pounding in the goals. J Cole - 6/10 - Not enough action to make a real case. One more win will probably seal the top spot in our group. That Besiktas loss could have been the catalyst that kicked this team into life.
Ermmmm...... I'm still profoundly lost for words. 4-0 is very much a flattering scoreline and it brought tears in my eyes..... sob..... as this is a defining moment in our history. We went to Rome, we saw and we conquered! The lads were magnificent and Zola was on hand to have a post match celebration..... *more tears flowing*...... sob...... we can now announce our arrival into the big league....... finally! Viva Chelsea!