- Our defence looks strong this season. On first glance Maguire and AWB appear to be strong upgrades over the previously existing options.
- The strike force of Rashford and Martial has potential if we can create chances consistently for them. They're both skillful, have a strong goal threat and plenty of room for improvment
- On the other hand our general play before we doubled the lead, was disjointed and to be honest Chelsea completely bossed us particularly in midfield. The result was terrific but if we keep up that level of cohesion and control in our buildup, we'll be in trouble this season. While Ole won 4-0, Lampard's cheslea for the most part appeared to be far more of a well drilled football team. They just didn't have the clinical touch that we did.
- Pereira and Mctominay in midfield/right - not good enough. Can't see how the former is good enough whereas the latter should ideally be a squad option not an automatic starter despite the terminator hype train.
- I liked the high press. Please keep it going rather than using it sparingly as Mourinho did.
It was a game that could easily have gone either way and I felt we were poor for the majority of the game. Chelsea are in a very similar situation to us as they are also trying to bring some younger players in to their team while also trying to change their style of play and setup to how Lampard wants which will be tough as a inexperienced manager at a big club under a transfer ban and I feel they will struggle badly this season.
Still they could have easily beat us and that shows there is still alot of work to be done but the main thing that can be taken away from this result was the confidence boost that will hugely help everyone at the club and the belief that the work in preseason and what Ole is trying to implement is the way forward and its a result like this against other big teams that provides that boost.
I'm happy to say that I finally have confidence in our defense for the first time in 6-7 years and although there will be much bigger tests than today if the back four of Shaw, Lindelof , Maguire and AWB can play together week in week out I can see it being the best defence we've had since Fergie left. Every team needs a settled back four and hopefully barring injuries we can finally have that and with De Gea behind them we have a solid base to build on for the rest of the season.
As for our midfield I think it may be a problem area for us this season, i think the 3 man midfield is the way forward and also allows Pogba play in that LCM role that he plays his best football in, however the other 2 positions are still lacking and I feel Matic would have been a better option than Mct today just for the fact his positioning and interceptions would have been a big asset especially when playing in the CDM spot. I feel McT will get better with more time in the role but for big games like today Matic even just for his experience would have been a better option in my view. As for the RCM I fear Pereira might not be good enough but we'll see, he has an assist in him and has energy that Herrera provided in that role but has pace that I feel can be a real asset for us there.
Defensively we are poor in midfield though as all 3 that played today don't completely suit the high press style we are playing and turning over the ball is a major problem. This could improve with time but I believe the type of player we need and that could turn that midfield from an average to a world class midfield and that would suit our play style and if it could be described perfectly then it's N'golo Kante. Pace ,energy, tackling, passing, interceptions if we could get a player like him I think our midfield would thrive. Unfortunately there's only one Kante but I thought Gueye from Everton would have been a steal or maybe Ndidi from Leicester, two players who are close enough that would provide that energy we lack in midfield.