Chelsea 2018/19 - 3rd and European Champions. Sarri, not sorry

slored1

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They look great offensively, but Luiz and Rudiger isn’t the most convincing CB partnership. If they buy a competent striker and a good centre-back, I think they could become better than City.
 

Mailo

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They genuinely looked like a worse footballing side than us for much of last season.
It just shows you how much coaching has an effect.
I agree. Ours is a dinosaur. And Sarri is even older than Mourinho.

We've put ourselves in this situation again and again, but I think it's worse this time around. Who is around now?

Hope we're not the new Liverpool for the next 25 years
 

minoo-utd

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Gonna win the league again, aren't they? Good season, bad season, good season, bad season...:lol:
Hope they win it now as long as we ofcourse won't. Better they win it than Liverpool or City.
Better than bad season after another under Jose now.
 

harms

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Great to watch. Hopefully Pool will finish below both them and City.
 

amolbhatia50k

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They were delightful to watch today. Quote like this Sarri fellow. The way they played it out of their press was terrific and the chap has been here for a day.
 

charlenefan

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Question is Chelsea tend to sack their managers if they don't win the league, and this Chelsea side aren't winning the league so what happens?
 

Sunspear17

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They look great offensively, but Luiz and Rudiger isn’t the most convincing CB partnership. If they buy a competent striker and a good centre-back, I think they could become better than City.
Rudiger is fantastic. We paid £34 million for him and imo he's been a bargain. He fits Sarri's system perfectly. Luiz is also a brilliant player. Luiz isn't amazing defensively, but he (and also Rudiger) are like having extra playmakers with the balls they can play over the top to the forwards.
 

charlenefan

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He'll get 2 years for sure.
Definitely too early to say that, you're one long term Hazard injury away from being decidedly average up front and that defence isn't convincing either. Surely he won't last if you don't get top 4?

(for the record I do think you'll get top 4)
 

Sunspear17

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Question is Chelsea tend to sack their managers if they don't win the league, and this Chelsea side aren't winning the league so what happens?
Well Roman may not be our owner for much longer considering there's talk of the American guy wanting to buy us.
 

duffer

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Definitely too early to say that, you're one long term Hazard injury away from being decidedly average up front and that defence isn't convincing either. Surely he won't last if you don't get top 4?

(for the record I do think you'll get top 4)
Depends how bad it gets. If we finish outside the top 4 maybe he'll deserve the sack.

I'd put money on him being our manager at the start of next season though, all the signs so far have been very positive.
 

duffer

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Lampard back at the Bridge.
Beautiful. Him and Morris will get a fantastic reception.

In a dream scenario, Sarri does the business and leaves in 2021 to manage Italy. Lampard meanwhile has led Derby to the Prem and got them two consecutive top half finishes and takes the reigns st Stamford Bridge.
 

Orc

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If we had the beast that is Diego Costa still leading our line I think we'd challenge City for the league. The one glaring weakness in our XI. Giroud is the perfect rotation/plan b option rather than someone who we have to count on to be the main man.

Defense can look shaky at times, but as we saw today where our entire back 4 were excellent against arguably the best attack in the league they can step up when needed.
 

Johnny Love

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I love what Kovacic brings to Chelsea. He's really good at keeping that midfield dynamic with constant movement and quick passing.
 

giorno

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We're a month away from Hazard being converted into a false 9 with Pedro and Willian either side of him. By December we'll know how good they truly are.
 

Hazza83

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Have been impressed by Chelsea. Shown they aren’t just flat track bullies and have performed very well against a good Pool side. Sarri asked his wide forwards to track back a lot more than he has in other games so he’s willing to adjust as needed to nullify the opposition. Think they’ve been a little lucky that both Arsenal and Pool have been wasteful after creating multiple chances, but in the end, they’ve gotten results. Hazard is superb, but I suspect if he is out for any length of time, Chelsea will find themselves out of the title race and battling for a top 4 spot, as there aren’t any other reliable goal scorers. For now though, it looks like a 3 horse race, with City the favourites.
 

IAmAWinner

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Hope Chelsea win the title this season, but think their lack of a top class striker will deny them in the end. Was the same in 13/14 no?
 

B20

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Only team I've seen that was consistently able to pass around our press from the back. Impressive how much Sarri has put his stamp on the side in just a few months.
 

Synco

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Only team I've seen that was consistently able to pass around our press from the back. Impressive how much Sarri has put his stamp on the side in just a few months.
Although Conte has to be credited for laying the basis in that respect, he made that a priority. It's one thing Sarri could just pick up and build upon.
 

ErranMorad

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They are so fecking annoying, aren't they? There were times in the past few years where you convinced yourself that they are going to go away but they simply don't. Looked excellent yesterday. Amazing to watch them play so comfortably against a team that presses and tries to make passing so difficult for the opposition.

This is the kind of football I was expecting when Van Gaal joined United. I thought we will witness something similar after his arbitrary three month deadline. Though, it never materialized for us. And I think it has to do with identifying the right players and then recruiting them for the system. The midfield and a ball playing defender are so very important to this type of football. Sarri got himself Jorginho and Kovacic, without whom he couldn't play his football, and resurrected Luiz back from the dead. Whereas Van Gaal recruited Blind, Schweinsteiger & Schnederlin for our midfield and turned his nose at Kroos. He got rid of the only half-decent ball playing defender in our team and bought Marcus fecking Rojo, and played Blackett and McNair. Sold or sent out our pacey players in Welbeck, Nani and Zaha, and tried to play a combo of Falcao, Van Persie & Rooney together at the top. All excellent players in their day, but well past it & slow as feck when Van Gaal tried to make it work.

Chelsea have gone about the right way to get Sarri the players needed for him to make his mark. They are already playing better than I have seen any Chelsea team play in the past. No choice for us United fans but to root for them this season. Although I think they are going to come up short. Only way they can win is if Sarri phones in Europa and bows out at the group stage.
 
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Fortitude

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Miles Platting

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I have just watched Match of the day, Chelsea and Liverpool both looked great. Chelsea looked like us now when our manager was there and they have turned it around. Mr Mourinho's days are numbered with a cloud hanging over Old Trafford, it makes it worse that our two biggest rivals look so good with likeable managers.
 

Pow

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Hope Chelsea win the title this season, but think their lack of a top class striker will deny them in the end. Was the same in 13/14 no?
Yep. We should have won the title that year. Did the double over both city and the scouse. Beat Liverpool away then dropped points to norwich and sunderland, when i think if we won our last 4 we would have won the league.
 

Mick321

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Was a good game yesterday, intense, packed with quality, some good defending, good attacking, good goalkeeping from both, 2 quality finishes, had everything really. Chelsea seem too reliant on one man in attack to challenge for me but if they can hang in their till January and get someone to take the burden off Hazard who knows.
 

FootballHQ

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Cavani would be excellent for them. Or Diego Costa, for that matter...
Interesting point on Costa. Don't think he ever settled in London so guess he was always going back when Madrid came in again but I wonder if Chelsea had their time again it would've made more sense for them to loan him out for a year last August.

He comes back with Conte sacked, fresh start and Sarri ball might've been effective for him.
 

FootballHQ

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Yep. We should have won the title that year. Did the double over both city and the scouse. Beat Liverpool away then dropped points to norwich and sunderland, when i think if we won our last 4 we would have won the league.
You also lost to us and Palace in that run in. Demba Ba, Torres and Samuel Eto'o were your striking options that season.
 

Don _ Conte

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Was very very happy with Kepa yesterday.

Made a very good reaction save, generally dealt with all crosses well and showed maybe why we paid the money for him with that ball to Hazard. He is so good with his feet.
 

Adisa

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I am jealous of them. Both teams produced high quality football yesterday. :(
 

Orc

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Hopefully we keep within touching distance until January and Sarri + the recruiters are already scouting a top class forward to bring in.
 

Hazard Warning

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We are doing well considering we are playing most of our games with 10 men. Our midfield is a joy to watch :drool: Jorginho Kante Kovacic as a 3 as good as any in world football imo