Post match reaction – Chelsea vs Bournemouth

Posted on by michaeldayy

What just happened! Chelsea has now only received one win in five premier league matches. The blues lost 1-0 to a Bournemouth side who were winless in 5 matches going into the game. Chelsea were much the dominant side for large portions of the game however were unable to finish their chances and similarly to the game against West Ham ended up losing even though the stats show that they were the better side. For the past few games Chelsea have been unable to win against sides that they should be beating convincingly. West Ham hadn’t won in eight games when they travelled to Stamford Bridge and with some heroics from David Martin they were able to scrape away with a win. Lille in the week was a comfortable game for the blues until Lille scored a scrappy goal and for the final 15 minutes Chelsea didn’t look confident at all. It seems that playing against sides that Chelsea should beat is a struggle and this is a worrying time for Frank Lampard. Maybe it’s tiredness from the many fixtures around the Christmas period, maybe its complacency or maybe teams have worked out a way to beat the blues but this is not what fans want to see from Lampard’s side.

However take nothing away from Bournemouth. Eddie Howe set his side up to absorb the pressure and attack on the counter. They did this very well and caused Chelsea lots of problems with their one on one running at players. The players would easily get past Jorginho and would run directly at Zouma and Rudiger. Rudiger having not played much football struggled to contain the pace that the cherries had up front and Zouma looked lost at times and was clearly not confident playing alongside Rudiger. Bournemouth scored in the 84th minute thanks to an audacious overhead kick by Dan Gosling which appeared to be cleared off the line by Emerson. The goal was originally disallowed for offside but VAR and goal line technology were both used and the review led the referee to correctly award the goal. This was refreshing to see technology in football being used correctly and giving a correct decision (even though the goal was against Chelsea).

With Chelsea’s transfer ban being lifted much speculation has arose surrounding potential transfers and players leaving the club. Zouma hasn’t looked like himself in the last few matches and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get benched for Tomori in the upcoming games. Kurt Zouma’s future at the club is also in doubt with ex Chelsea man Nathan Ake being looked at as a potential transfer target and Napoli centre back Koulibaly also being on Chelsea fans Christmas wish list. However top of most fans wish list is a new left back, Emerson is currently the chosen man ahead of Marcus Alonso but Emerson doesn’t look like he knows how to defend at times. Ben Chillwell from Leicester is apparently being looked at by the club and he would fit Lampard’s style of play perfectly, a quick defensive minded left back who loves to get forward and put balls into the box. If Chelsea can sign Chillwell they may be asked to pay a hefty fee and £70 million appears to be what people value the Englishman at. However the club hasn’t spent in almost a year and after getting good money from Hazard in the summer is it time for Frank to spend big?

Chelsea advance into UCL last 16 with win over Lille – Match report

Posted on by michaeldayy

Frank Lampard’s Young Chelsea side beat Lille 2-1 on Tuesday night to advance into the knockout stages of the Champions league. Chelsea finished second in the group after Valencia beat Ajax in Amsterdam the same night. 

Tammy Abraham was back to scoring ways and tapped in his 15th goal of the season. The goal was very well worked by Willian who put the ball across to Abraham on the 6 yard line where he placed the ball into the empty net on 18 minutes played. 

Chelsea’s second goal was scored by the blues captain Azpilicueta after Chelsea won a corner in the 37th minute. Following this the defender made a darting run towards the near post and powerfully headed the ball past the Lille goalkeeper. 

Chelsea had many chances in the second half but could not convert. Ex Chelsea player Loic Remy scored with a wonderful strike into the top corner of Kepa’s goal. The player didn’t celebrate but the French side now believed they could nick another goal and ruin Chelsea’s champions league hopes. 

The character of Frank Lampard’s team was questioned in the last 13 minutes after the Lille goal. However Chelsea played very well and kept the ball for the majority of the remaining minutes. There was a slight scare for the blues in the 91st minute as Remy found himself onside and in behind the Chelsea defence but his shot was straight at Kepa who gladly fell onto the ball after his original save. 

Chelsea were much the dominant team throughout the game and kept the ball well for large portions of the match. The blues again couldn’t convert second half chances similarly to the game against West Ham. However the blues managed to hold on against the French side after their late pressure. The win meant that Chelsea were reliant on the other game in group H to see where they would finish in the group. A draw between Ajax and Valencia would mean that Chelsea top the group however Valencia pulled out a 1-0 win and therefore won the group. Due to finishing second Chelsea will have a tougher game in the round of 16 but will be happy to qualify for the next round of their European competition, along with all other 8 teams from the United Kingdom who entered both the Europa league and the Champions league this season.

Full transcript for Video interview

Posted on by michaeldayy

Frank Lampard has returned to Chelsea as the first team manager, but what do you think of the appointment?

(Stuart Pearce): I’m pleased for Frank in regard that he didn’t go straight into Chelsea. I think his time at Derby has served him really well last season. I think he’s an absolute ideal fit at Chelsea, A because of his affection with the fans. But secondly as well with Jodie Morris he’s got an insight, and we spoke about it earlier, about the academy and the good players coming through and he’s not afraid to put the youngsters in the team. So I think from Franks point of view for his education it’s a great time to be Chelsea manager, expectation is not as high as it normally is because of the financial constraints. But the youngsters are thriving because he’s shown trust in them and I think he’s a great appointment.

There are certain stigmas surrounding Chelsea’s fans, what experiences have you had with the fans?

(Stuart Pearce): I think they are a passionate group, you know what I mean. They’re really good when I go there. I get treated really well by them on my media duties and stuff. They’ve been brilliant and are fortunate enough that they have had an owner come through the door, and really I know he gets a bit of criticism for moving managers on reasonably quickly. But he’s certainly delivered a lot of success at the club, the training ground is fantastic, the academy set up is brilliant. So as a football club they’re armed and ready to challenge for the title again.

Instances like these have caused a stereotype for racism amongst Chelsea fans, but what do you think?

(Cheeky Sport Joel): Some of them, I don’t want to say yeah all fans are racist because I think that’s silly to say. But I think in a lot of clubs there’s always a small minority, in some more than others. But there is a small majority of people who spoil the game for everyone else. Fortunately we’re at a stage now where it’s coming to light with the Raheem Sterling stuff and even I’ve had some things that have happened to me in the past as well. But with social media and stuff like that were able to stamp it out.

(Chelsea fan): It’s only a small minority isn’t it. You can’t like judge it off a few idiots really. It’s not a nice representation but we’re not like that we know we’re not.

Hooliganism is also a huge problem in football in recent years, have you witnessed much violence at games?

(Cheeky Sport Joel): You’ve got like the fan tension, I’ve been doing this thing for like 5 years and I haven’t seen Arsenal and Chelsea fans fighting. I just see the rivalry, usually the security just splits it. It’s not Arsenal against Tottenham is it, that’s different stuff man.

(Chelsea fan): A few. I think the one I remember the best was Palace at home when we lost 2-1. Falcao scored and Kelly scored like straight after, then after the game they’re mental aren’t they.

Final question, if the transfer ban does get lifted in January, anyone you would want to sign?

(Chelsea fan): Chillwell. I’ve wanted Chillwell for a while I think we need a better left back and I don’t think Alonso is good enough defensively and Emerson is a bit questionable. But Chillwell, and maybe Sancho if we’re lucky.