Chelsea are now an astonishing 22-7 in the last 6 years in the FA Cup with 4 trophies to show for it. CFC are the definition of a tough 'out.' However, that was before we decided to embark on a paradigm shift tactically and in terms of player acquisitions.
Manchester United got off to a fast start as been customary in our recent games. Hernandez (has 7 goals in 10 games against Chelsea) in the 6th minute and Rooney free kick in the 11th minute. They should have had a 3rd too when Cech saved from Rooney and then shockingly our own David Luiz headed the ball towards our goal, Cech reacted quickly to save over the bar. There were moments in the first half where I was screaming at the TV and trying to busy myself with other tasks. It was that ugly. Two goals in the first 11 minutes due to shoddy defending and a casual offensive approach. CFC started to turn the screw in the 30th minute with Demba Ba foolishly striking a weak shot from outside the box. In the 39th minute, Moses and Mata interchanged brilliantly on the edge of the box, before Moses mishit his shot badly (it actually almost ended up out of bounds).
Recent history suggests we can give up leads but we can also come back from them. We were down 2-0 to Manchester United in our EPL game in October but managed to get goals on either side of halftime. Then 2 red cards (the second red on Torres is the subject of red devil folklore) and a late Chicarito goal led to a 3-2 victory at Stamford Bridge (Chelsea's season began a slow descent since then). The next game, a Capital One Cup match, Manchester took another 2-0 lead, before Chelsea won a thriller 5-4 in extra time at Chelsea.
In this game, Benitez [our manager] made two changes after halftime, Mikel/Hazard came in and Lampard/Moses went off. While to the average viewer it appears to be a like-like change, it is far from it. Although Chelsea and Chelsea and Man U fans both were singing "you don't know what your doing" after the substitutions were made. Chelsea fans should be ashamed of themselves for JOINING Man U fans in jeering their OWN manager. I don't care how much you dislike him, this is not helping the team or the CLUB. It is absolutely shameful. Benitez could not start Mikel/Hazard because they had played on Thursday night in a tough game in Romania, if he plays them, he is risking injury. Which is why Terry our captain with bad knees was rested. With our crowded fixture list, we cannot afford key players getting injured.
In fact, Benitez managed his team imperiously, Lampard is a forward thinking midfielder who chases back on defense leaving gaps in the midfield, Moses is a less dynamic version of Hazard but supposedly offers more defensively (in my opinion they are both poor defenders). Mikel coming into the game allowed the other MF Ramires to push forward and between his runs and energy, it creates even more space for our brilliant trio "Mazaca", Mata, Hazard, Oscar, who dominated the second half. Ian Wright who was commenting on the game claimed, "he had never seen Manchester United get dominated at Old Trafford the way Chelsea were dominating them especially in the second half." If it wasn't for the heroics of Man U's GK, David De Gea who somehow got a toe on a surefire goal for Mata, CFC would have had a 3-2 victory. Instead the game finished 2-2 and will be replayed (and the winner decided) at Chelsea at an unknown future date.
After the game, SAF [Manchester United's manager] who dislikes Benitez with such angst he would not even meet him for a pre-game or post-game handshake, didn't want to give credit to Benitez's changes after halftime, said that "United were leggy in the second half and Chelsea were by far the better team." As I mentioned to many in the run up to this game and posted in my blog, United had a HUGE advantage because they got an extra 2 days rest after a HOME game. CFC, on the other hand, had to play in Romania on Thursday night and then in Manchester on Sunday night. When Benitez heard SAF's post-game comments, he said, "I thought he was joking." CFC showed the fight and heart that has been prevalent in previous years (think Drogba, Terry and company) and was missing up to this point this year. Is this a turning point? Hopefully our young, talented players have finally realized CFC have the ability to beat anyone, anywhere; a staple of Chelsea teams in the last 10 years.
Manchester United got off to a fast start as been customary in our recent games. Hernandez (has 7 goals in 10 games against Chelsea) in the 6th minute and Rooney free kick in the 11th minute. They should have had a 3rd too when Cech saved from Rooney and then shockingly our own David Luiz headed the ball towards our goal, Cech reacted quickly to save over the bar. There were moments in the first half where I was screaming at the TV and trying to busy myself with other tasks. It was that ugly. Two goals in the first 11 minutes due to shoddy defending and a casual offensive approach. CFC started to turn the screw in the 30th minute with Demba Ba foolishly striking a weak shot from outside the box. In the 39th minute, Moses and Mata interchanged brilliantly on the edge of the box, before Moses mishit his shot badly (it actually almost ended up out of bounds).
Recent history suggests we can give up leads but we can also come back from them. We were down 2-0 to Manchester United in our EPL game in October but managed to get goals on either side of halftime. Then 2 red cards (the second red on Torres is the subject of red devil folklore) and a late Chicarito goal led to a 3-2 victory at Stamford Bridge (Chelsea's season began a slow descent since then). The next game, a Capital One Cup match, Manchester took another 2-0 lead, before Chelsea won a thriller 5-4 in extra time at Chelsea.
In this game, Benitez [our manager] made two changes after halftime, Mikel/Hazard came in and Lampard/Moses went off. While to the average viewer it appears to be a like-like change, it is far from it. Although Chelsea and Chelsea and Man U fans both were singing "you don't know what your doing" after the substitutions were made. Chelsea fans should be ashamed of themselves for JOINING Man U fans in jeering their OWN manager. I don't care how much you dislike him, this is not helping the team or the CLUB. It is absolutely shameful. Benitez could not start Mikel/Hazard because they had played on Thursday night in a tough game in Romania, if he plays them, he is risking injury. Which is why Terry our captain with bad knees was rested. With our crowded fixture list, we cannot afford key players getting injured.
In fact, Benitez managed his team imperiously, Lampard is a forward thinking midfielder who chases back on defense leaving gaps in the midfield, Moses is a less dynamic version of Hazard but supposedly offers more defensively (in my opinion they are both poor defenders). Mikel coming into the game allowed the other MF Ramires to push forward and between his runs and energy, it creates even more space for our brilliant trio "Mazaca", Mata, Hazard, Oscar, who dominated the second half. Ian Wright who was commenting on the game claimed, "he had never seen Manchester United get dominated at Old Trafford the way Chelsea were dominating them especially in the second half." If it wasn't for the heroics of Man U's GK, David De Gea who somehow got a toe on a surefire goal for Mata, CFC would have had a 3-2 victory. Instead the game finished 2-2 and will be replayed (and the winner decided) at Chelsea at an unknown future date.
After the game, SAF [Manchester United's manager] who dislikes Benitez with such angst he would not even meet him for a pre-game or post-game handshake, didn't want to give credit to Benitez's changes after halftime, said that "United were leggy in the second half and Chelsea were by far the better team." As I mentioned to many in the run up to this game and posted in my blog, United had a HUGE advantage because they got an extra 2 days rest after a HOME game. CFC, on the other hand, had to play in Romania on Thursday night and then in Manchester on Sunday night. When Benitez heard SAF's post-game comments, he said, "I thought he was joking." CFC showed the fight and heart that has been prevalent in previous years (think Drogba, Terry and company) and was missing up to this point this year. Is this a turning point? Hopefully our young, talented players have finally realized CFC have the ability to beat anyone, anywhere; a staple of Chelsea teams in the last 10 years.
The true fact is the two changes made a great impact on the game. But it is also undeniable that ManUtd players were lazy despite having a two day rest advantage over Chelsea players. The only thing that saved ManUtd is the goals we have scored at the early stage of the game. If we were 0-0 and Benitez made the change we were out of the FA competition. But now we are on it and with the helps of the magics of Hernandez we will beat Chelsea and pass to the quarterfinals and beat our neighbors to get to the finals...We are going for a double this season...
ReplyDeleteLol, remember never to bet against CHE at home, Chicarito was nowhere to be found, RVP is out of form and you all never showed up. Viva Chelsea, bye bye Manure...maybe SAF will rest players for next year and lose the EPL too..haha
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