How solid did Luiz look?
I was definitely in the sceptical camp when his signing was announced but if he can keep his performances around the level he was at in the Liverpool match then he might not be the liability many of us envisioned.
Neither conceded goal could be attributed to him (though arguably we might not have conceded the first if we had Terry organising the defensive line) and he offered several nice balls forward in attack.
He did seem to be slightly restrained when it came to meeting an attacker to nick the ball after they had their first touch but I think increased aggression will come with more confidence as he settles into our backline.
In any case, Luiz's performance was overall pretty pleasing and you could probably argue that he was one of our best players. Let's just hope he can keep similar concentration levels throughout the season so when Zouma comes back from injury our defence might not look as weak as it has the last year and a half.
One positive note from last night's game...
posted on 17/9/16
comment by vava1on1 (U4692)
posted 1 hour, 48 minutes ago
Luiz was fantastic...topped the ranking in almost every department. As opposed to Kante who looked like a schoolboy last night.
http://www.101greatgoals.com/news/david-luiz-certainly-cant-blamed-chelseas-1-2-defeat-liverpool-stat-graphic/
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Not surprised about those stats to be honest. And Kante definitely looked out of sorts - along with the rest of our midfield for most of the night. It really was a poor team performance and a wake up call to those of us who thought our first few games meant we'd be a shoe in for the title race.
posted on 17/9/16
comment by Nickalopodis (U9257)
posted 6 minutes ago
hmm dont really know what kante done wrong then? Won near enough every duel he had.
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I would say it was mostly his passing that was off to be honest. I can remember a couple of times where we could've sprung a counter attack after he won the ball back and he either passed it out of play or behind the player killing our momentum.
posted on 17/9/16
And Biggish, I'm not saying that Luiz was amazing but he generally didn't put a foot wrong in defence as well as managing to contribute to our attack. Of course it wasn't a 10/10 performance but that doesn't mean it doesn't merit any praise.
If Luiz can perform like that on a regular basis and we sort out a decent partner for him then maybe we can start playing without one hand tied behind our back because of an overly defensive midfield. I can't think of a single top team who play with two destroyers like we do in Kante and Matic (not to mention Oscar who also puts in a fairly decent shift every match)
It's far too defensive and it stunts our attack as Costa and Hazard don't receive service in the right areas. Also, I'm not sure why we're still expecting Hazard to win games on his own. I know he didn't have a stellar performance by his standards but why on earth aren't Willian or Oscar picking up the slack? Messi doesn't do it on his own, neither does Ronaldo. And in the prem, City literally have 4 players on the field at any one time who can chip in with a decent number of assists/goals every season.
It's depressing to think how disfunctional our attack has been allowed to get. There's barely any attacking threat from our full backs and our attacking prowess through the centre has been muted ever since Fabregas got benched. When looking at our starting line-up only Hazard and Costa provide any sort of regular goal/assist threat. In two of our wins this season we relied on completely changing the structure of our attack by subbing on Bats and Fabregas to get the result. How can Conte not realise that this is completely unsustainable?
posted on 17/9/16
comment by Nickalopodis (U9257)
posted 1 hour, 9 minutes ago
I thought kante was our best player again. Kept winning the ball, but gave it away more than normal. Or gave it to someone who did give it away.
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I agree with you Nick, I have seen some Chelsea fans say on here that they felt he was poor last night but I didn't see it myself. He was the one player that did put a shift in, but I concede that he did give the ball away more often than usual, but for me he was much better than the rest of the midfield, who simply didn't match the effort or performance that Liverpool put in.
posted on 17/9/16
I don't get this carp about Luiz being some sort of clown. Do you believe Rooney is/was world class minididi? Look at the goals we've given away this past year with awful defensive choices/errors. £100m in transfer fees is an awful lot for a dud. The press/media just love to dig certain players out and he is one of them whilst others get an easy ride. He's not our first choice but after being snubbed the club made a last minute decision thta we needed someone and he was the best available on D Day
posted on 17/9/16
comment by minididi (U17584)
posted 25 minutes ago
And Biggish, I'm not saying that Luiz was amazing but he generally didn't put a foot wrong in defence as well as managing to contribute to our attack. Of course it wasn't a 10/10 performance but that doesn't mean it doesn't merit any praise.
If Luiz can perform like that on a regular basis and we sort out a decent partner for him then maybe we can start playing without one hand tied behind our back because of an overly defensive midfield. I can't think of a single top team who play with two destroyers like we do in Kante and Matic (not to mention Oscar who also puts in a fairly decent shift every match)
It's far too defensive and it stunts our attack as Costa and Hazard don't receive service in the right areas. Also, I'm not sure why we're still expecting Hazard to win games on his own. I know he didn't have a stellar performance by his standards but why on earth aren't Willian or Oscar picking up the slack? Messi doesn't do it on his own, neither does Ronaldo. And in the prem, City literally have 4 players on the field at any one time who can chip in with a decent number of assists/goals every season.
It's depressing to think how disfunctional our attack has been allowed to get. There's barely any attacking threat from our full backs and our attacking prowess through the centre has been muted ever since Fabregas got benched. When looking at our starting line-up only Hazard and Costa provide any sort of regular goal/assist threat. In two of our wins this season we relied on completely changing the structure of our attack by subbing on Bats and Fabregas to get the result. How can Conte not realise that this is completely unsustainable?
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It reminds of three years ago during Mourinho's first season, where Hazard was our only attacking outlet. Eden won't be back to his best until Fabregas is back and there is someone to help him out.
The fact that we haven't sorted out the fullback positions in the past four years is alarming. Ivanovic did play well during our title win, but its certainly clear for anyone for the past four years he isn't reliable as a RB.
posted on 17/9/16
It's depressing to think how disfunctional our attack has been allowed to get. There's barely any attacking threat from our full backs and our attacking prowess through the centre has been muted ever since Fabregas got benched. When looking at our starting line-up only Hazard and Costa provide any sort of regular goal/assist threat. In two of our wins this season we relied on completely changing the structure of our attack by subbing on Bats and Fabregas to get the result. How can Conte not realise that this is completely unsustainable?
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posted on 17/9/16
comment by Nickalopodis (U9257)
I thought kante was our best player again. Kept winning the ball, but gave it away more than normal. Or gave it to someone who did give it away.
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He needs to get away from thinking he's like Marco Van basten from 30 yards though
posted on 17/9/16
We, as a team, were awful. Liverpool deserved their win - and it's hard for me to say that. When Liverpool got Klopp I was devastated as I think he'd have been a great coach for us.
When Terry doesn't play, we have no defence, simple as that. He's a pensioner and still our most important player ffs! We should have broken the bank for a top defender who could lead the team this summer. I don't mind Luiz but he's not the player we needed!
Also, Conte is too cautious. Matic should not play. We are missing that extra player because he insists on Matic and Oscar as a box to box player. Fabregas gives us more going forward and as we don't look capable of keeping a clean sheet, especially with Cahill the donkey playing, we need more goals. Ivanovic should not be near the team either - all the danger came from his side last night - terrible defender.
posted on 17/9/16
Oscar is definitely the most pointless player at the club.
He does absolutely nothing special, he's a yes man and just does what he's told and probably fits in well in the dressing room etc..
But what is he actually good at? And by good I mean great?? What makes him a top player?
I just can't think of anything for the life of me... He's not skilful, he's not quick, he's not get anything about him!? Yes he can shoot, he can pass... So can pretty much most if not all professional footballers!?
He's just fooking bang average...