So if majority of the people had Chelsea in 1/2nd position (add them) then they are considered as favs or second favs.
10% of 200 people on here had Chelsea as winning the league. That's not "favourites" by any stretch of the imagination.
Yeah what was my initial post which you would remember for sure as you reminded me few mins ago.
Three goals (two penalties) conceded in ten league games is ominous for everyone else. I don’t think you’d throw away a two goal lead like we did today.
Your defence seems to have regressed. Chelsea are superbly organized under Tuchel but lack a proper top class attacker.
I think we’re just playing a really open style. Our midfield seems to evaporate though sometimes. It’s so easy to get at our back four of you beat the first press.
3 goals in 10 games. It's unlikely, but if we keep this rate going the entire season, we're looking at about 11 or 12 goals after 38 games. The record is 15 goals.
Indeed and the only goal they've conceded from open play was a deflected shot. Defensively they're the best team in the league no doubt.
Having played city and Liverpool already
Reason for this is because whilst they play 3atb, their WB's operate as attackers in the attacking phase. As a result, they cause overloads and are typically the free men so are getting quality chances. Therrfore, thinking of Chelsea's WB's as defenders isn't really true. I mean expand this out a little and I think Alonso also has a few this season because of it.Defenders scoring week in week out while their strikers offer no end product. Who’s going to be their top scorer end of the season, Reece James or Chilwell?
Indeed. People talk about "5 at the back" really can't watch Chelsea.
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Seems like James took the Hakimi links personally.
I was low key wishing we would gazzump United for Sancho. He would be superb in this team.
Tuchel also mentioned this post-match - sometimes our strikers are effectively making decoy runs which helps a wing-back sneak in at the far post:
To be fair, that's how wingback operate and being set up but not many wingbacks can do it like Chelsea's since they aren't very technical compared to Chelsea's. The big reason for their end product is obviously their wingbacks are very technical. Chilwell and James are much more technical than let's say Semedo, Azpi or Bissaka.
The other variation we've made this year in particular is there are more rotations between whoever is playing inside forward and the wingbacks - think it's plausible that Tuchel was keeping things a bit more straightforward last year given the lack of time on the training pitch. This season they've been popping up in the halfspaces far more frequently - this might be a major benefit when Pulisic comes back since this rotation isolates the inside forward against a fullback much more easily and that's to his strengths.
I think it's actually helped elevate Chilwell and James to be honest.
Chilwell especially takes up the #10 role multiple times during a game. Bit like how Pep was using Cancelo last season.
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Completely agree - just personally not sure we've seen the extent of the potential benefits yet as it doesn't hugely suit any of our inside forwards to rotate wide (CHO aside, and I don't think it's a coincidence that we've looked much better with him at LW recently).
I have to be this person but I think we are looking so much more fluid without Rom as I feared would happen.
To some extent I agree - but at the same time I don't think it would have taken as long to score had he been playing yesterday, personally. I have faith that Tuchel will sort it out to be honest - even if that means Lukaku doesn't start every big match.
I said it numerous times, Werner compliments our team more than a traditional forward. The runs he makes break open defenses whether to get the ball or be a decoy, he is so quick teams need to have a man or two following him.
It's a bit of a catch 22, Lukaku is a better finisher than the others but at the same time we're less creative with him on the pitch.
I hope when he returns he's tried in the RF position Martinez often plays him at as that's probably the middle ground between fitting him in and largely sticking to the system that works (ideally I'd have him benched until he earns his spot back but can't see that happening).
Think Harvetz work off the ball is being overlooked by you. Sure he isn't stat padding like Lukaku does against the riff raff but he pulls defenders about more which opens up space for everyone else.
It was one of the big fears I had last summer when everyone was talking about buying a #9. I preferred to run it back again with Havertz and Werner than to just get a #9 thinking we can just plug him into the team and voila, now we can finish all the chances we create. Well the way we play, the CF is a huge part of the chance creation and my fear was getting Lukaku, or another striker not named Haaland, would have a negative impact on that chance creation process, and its proving to be accurate so far.
