A big game today in London....too bad no US TV it appears of any kind.... Both teams seem slightly off form, so it will be interesting. Last time there Miha scored a fantastic FK goal, can he repeat that kind of magic today? (or will his lack of speed kill us..) lineups: Chelsea (4-4-2): 23 Cudicini, 2 Johnson, 27 Terry, 15 Melchiot, 18 Bridge, 8 Lampard, 4 Makelele, 20 Veron, 14 Jeremi, 7 Mutu, 9 Crespo. (11 Ambrosio, 29 Huth, 13 Gallas, 30 Gronkjaer, 11 Duff, 9 Hasselbaink, 22 Gudjohnsen). Coach. Ranieri Lazio (4-4-2): 1 Peruzzi, 22 Oddo, 31 Stam, 11 Mihajlovic, 19 Favalli, 14 Fiore, 4 Albertini, 6 Dabo, 10 Stankovic, 21 S. Inzaghi, 9 Corradi. (15 Casazza, 5 Zauri, 23 Negro, 16 Giannichedda, 53 Conceiçao, 18 Muzzi, 7 Lopez). Coach. Mancini Ref.: Terje Hauge (Nor)
I can't watch........ although I mean that literally. Or listen, either. I don't think I'll be allowed to take any time off from my first real day of work. Unless I was working for a British partner I hope both teams advance to the next stage, that's all I can say. And no injuries!
1-0 lazio at the half, against the run of play... deep cross from Oddo, headed by Stankovic to Izaghi who headed in from close range... simone always seems to score in Eruope...
Had another meeting today (#&^ this darn work thing getting in the way of my soccer enjoyment!). And I can't connect to the audio. But good to see Lazio winning. Though it might mean the end of Ranieri if they do.
Chelsea totally dominated possession in the first half, and had several good chances, including a long range shot by Lampard that rattled the crossbar just before the end of the half. Nice cross from Oddo on the Lazio goal.
Chelsea has tied it through Lampard. Still half an hour to play - wonder if Lazio will pull it in and go for the point. Would seem to go against Mancini's nature, but at this point ...
Well, 2-1 Chelsea now, through Mutu, so that's not an option at this point! Boy, wouldn't this have been a fun game to watch.
2-1 defeat....curious tactics by Mancini leaving out Fiore and Dabo (been lazio's best midfielder last 2 wks). this was going to be the toughest match of the group and Chelsea had the better of play... old friend poborsky scored again for sparta in a win, leaving a logjam in the group: chelsea 6 lazio 4 besiktas 4 sparta 4
chelsea 6 lazio 4 sparta 4 besiktas 3 I believe this is how the group actually looks now. Good game by all accounts. Looking forward to the rematch.
I saw most of the game (missed Chelsea's first goal while posting on BS). Chelsea outplayed Lazio in pretty much every way, and clearly deserved the three points. For Lazio, I thought Peruzzi was solid, Stam was a rock, and Oddo played well, especially getting forward into the attack; he almost set up another goal with a beautiful cross to Corradi, Cudicini did well to tip away the header. Oddo almost provided an unbelievable finish in the last fifteen seconds of second half stoppage, with a great run out of the back and a long range shot that caught Cudicini off his line, but went just over the bar. Everyone else looked mediocre to poor. I think leaving out Fiore for Zauri was a defensive move, and Zauri worked hard on defense, but was a non factor on offense (although Fiore didn't do a lot after he came in, either). Mihajlovic seemed particularly clumsy and ineffective, and came close to getting a second yellow several times. For Chelsea, I was most impressed with Makalele - he seemed to be everywhere. That signing got a little less attention than Veron and Crespo, but might end up being the most important of the three.
Mihajlovic clumsy and ineffective? NO!!!! Newsflash: He's been clumsy and ineffective as a defender for years - the only reason they keep him in the game at all is he can be good for a free kick goal at any opportunity.
that's right, gave besiktas an extra pt yesterday for some reason. Man, saw the highlights last night. Corradi's header at 75 was a great chance and Oddo almost had that late chip. He is suspended for the next match and that hurts as much of our offense came from him attacks up the flanks...he didn't get high ratings from Kataweb which surprises me... Chelsea (4-4-2): Cudicini 7, Johnson 6, Terry 6.5, Gallas 6, Bridge 6, Lampard 7, Makelele 6.5, Veron 6.5 (19' st Gronkjaer 6,5), Duff 6.5 (33' st Geremi sv), Mutu 6.5 (42' st Cole sv), Gudjohnsen 6. (11 Ambrosio, 29 Huth, 15 Melchiot, 9 Hasselbaink). Coach. Ranieri 6.5. Lazio (4-4-2): Peruzzi 6, Oddo 5.5, Stam 6.5, Mihajlovic 6, Favalli 6, Zauri 5.5 (29' st Fiore sv), Conceiçao 5, Albertini 6, Stankovic 6 (39' st Liverani sv), S. Inzaghi 6.5 (2' st Muzzi 6), Corradi 5.5. (33 Sereni, 23 Negro, 6 Dabo, 7 Lopez). Coach. Mancini 5.5. Ref.: Hauge (Nor) 6 Goals: 1sthalf, 38' Inzaghi; 2ndhalf, 12' Lampard, 20' Mutu.
Yeah, that is a little surprising - maybe he made defensive mistakes that I missed because I was focusing on his offense, or maybe they penalized him for his dumb yellow card at the end of the game. It almost seemed to me like he was trying to draw the yellow to clear the slate and get a day off, but since the next game (I think) is a tough one against Chelsea at home, that seems unlikely. Should be another good game, hope I get a chance to watch it.
The reason, imo, that Lazio lost was Mancini's decision not to start Fiore. And also the horrible display by Stankovic. Stankovic sucked against Milan and he did the same yesterday against Chelsea. He was completely invisible for most of the game and when he did get the ball he quickly turned it back over to Chelsea. I think it's about time Stan gets benched and maybe even sold if he keeps playing this badly. Maybe those rumours of a January move to Inter are distracting him because this isn't the same player we all saw last year.
yeah no question stankovic has been a major culprit. He did help setup Inzaghi's goal...and has begun to play somewhat better but not as he should...we had a thread going on that here... Mancini said he was resting Fiore, that move made little sense...