Chelsea 2 Crystal Palace 1

[Ham]

Worth mentioning that whilst Jackson was pony as a number 9, he was very good creatively throughout.  

Credit where it's due.  

[xceleryx]

Apparently this is the first game in which both a left and right winger scored in the same match since Willian and Pedro did under Sarri in 2019. 

[Bigpokey24]

We need to search far and wide for a player like this. 

 

[NFAS]

4 hours ago, NoblyBobly said:

Well it’s way way to early to make that judgement. He is no where near fully fit and ready but I sniff a decent player. 
 

edit: I will grant you though that putting on a Chelsea shirt seems to have a bad effect on your talent. 

Hasn't he just got over a fever? that would take its toll on some, believe it or not. I know he hasn't set the world on fire but its not his fault he cost what he did. He's learning the difference between playing for us and Brighton I reckon.

[Original 21]

Got to be kidding me…

 

 

[Michael Tucker]

A young player got injured. it happens. But it doesn't mean that he's chronically  injury-prone, or 'made of glass'. For goodness sake, get a grip!

[ROTG]

6 hours ago, johnnybozo said:

Gusto makes me think we really should cash in on Glass Legs James

Gusto is Emerson level player, be careful of what you wish for. 

[ROTG]

3 hours ago, xceleryx said:

Apparently this is the first game in which both a left and right winger scored in the same match since Willian and Pedro did under Sarri in 2019. 

Unfortunately only one was from open play. 
not sure penalties really count. 

[ROTG]

6 hours ago, boratsbrother said:

Caicedo was being lambasted by the commentators for his awfully negative  sideways and  backwards passing 

I wonder if Jurgen is glad he dodged that bullet?

[Thiago97]

Some positive periods of the game. Signs of link up from Jackson , Nkunku and Mudryk that reflected what we seen in pre season.  Lavia moved the ball a little quicker when he came on, I thought he ended the game injured though, so hopefully that is a minor issue. Madueke again showing he has some bottle and personality in him. He deserves to start at Luton. Gusto played well throughout the game.
On the negatives , the whole defence just look like they have a major error in them every game. Badiashille needs bringing out of the team for 3-4 matches cos he looks an accident waiting to happen every game right now. Disasi is marginally a safer bet to partner Silva, who himself has had an error in him recently.  Scoring goals has never been more important right now, cos when you are approaching games knowing that Gusto , Disasi, Badiashille and Colwill are very likely to be playing these games, you know you are going to give up chances and goals to the opposition every game.  We will need minimum two goals for most games to stand a chance of winning. 

[xceleryx]

1 hour ago, ROTG said:

No so sure. Looks like the kid has missed 25 games through injury in two seasons. Not what I would call ridiculous more a case of poor data analysis 

"Moaning about another injury"

"Poor application"

"Happy to collect an 8 year pay cheque"

"Made of glass"

Take your pick, they're all ridiculous parts of what was originally said - the poor understanding of what constitutes "injury prone" is the cherry on top. 

[SideshowLuiz]

Jackson is off to AFCON soon, isn't he? Hopefully some time away in a new environment will do him (and the remaining players) some good.

[Alex]

9 hours ago, kev61 said:

He was rarely in the picture.

I thought he was very much initially, although he did fade after a while before being withdrawn. He  played a role in setting up Mudryk's goal with Gusto

[asvaberg]

What worries me a bit is that we had two goalscorers yesterday, and none of them smiled of joy when they scored. This is a concern when it comes to team moral and happiness. 

Edited December 28, 2023 by asvaberg

[CarefreeMuratcan]

6 hours ago, Bigpokey24 said:

We need to search far and wide for a player like this. 

 

There is a recent PL series focusing on the history of major PL players (it's on Sky Sports) and he is one of the episodes. It goes in detail in all the 'transfer in, transfer out" shenanigans and how he fucked Fergie over haha!

He was an attacking midfielder that was asked by Jose to play as a DM for us, for Nigeria he would continue to play an attacking role.

He fulfilled his duty better than those who were DMs from the start. That right there is the difference. I will never forget his words post-CL win "I am knackered". 

[CarefreeMuratcan]

21 minutes ago, asvaberg said:

What worries me a bit is that we had two goalscorers yesterday, and none of them smiled of joy when they scored. This is a concern when it comes to team moral and happiness. 

That's just a "kids these days" thing. Nothing to worry about. They will be buzzing inside. 

I think young Gilchrist is a cut from the traditional cloth though. He was celebrating tackles and throw in wins like goals. 

[My Blood Is Blue]

First and foremost, we won and that, at this point is all that matters. The rest of this season is about us grinding out as many results as we can, it’s not about how pretty the football is. So I’m content with that.

That said, in terms of a performance, it wasn’t great, but it was about par with how we are this season. I’ll be repeating what a lot of others have said already, but…

Petrovic should now be our number 1. He isn’t a top quality goalkeeper, but he is a solid and safe pair of hands and doesn’t put us under pressure with his distribution. For where we are as a team at the moment, that will do.

Gusto had a really good game, I really like the look of him. He’s only 20, so room for improvement, but he’s already difficult for players to get past and gets involved going forward. Has an engine on him and works really hard.

The rest of the back 4 filled me with no confidence last night.

Caicedo was recovering from a fever, so I won’t judge too much, but he wasn’t great and i’m yet to see anything resembling a £100m midfielder.

Gallagher is our captain, he is quality, he is everywhere and he drives this team on. He cannot be sold under any circumstances.

Mudryk did well, he was doing a lot of the things we’ve wanted to see him do, running direct at players out wide and cutting inside and across defenders, forcing them to make decisions. Pleased he got another goal. I hope Poch gives him a run of games now, as he’ll actually have some confidence.

Jackson… oh dear. The only positive for him is that he’s still better than Broja.

Nkunku, difficult to say, didn’t do too much last night, but understandable after being out for so long, but you can see he’s a proper player and I’m looking forward to watching him once he’s settled in and got up to speed.

Madueke did well when he came on, he’s what you want from a sub in that position, he offers something different and he makes defenders makes decisions with his directness. Not one of our best players, but is actually quite a good option to have from the bench against tired defenders.

Lavia cameo was ok, a bit sloppy at times. Maatsen did ok, but I just don’t think he’s good enough for this level. Broja definitely isn’t good enough for this level.

Gilchrist, just love the passion. I’ve seen him play a few times and he’s always looked decent and I know JT really rates him. Was surprised to see him come on today and will be interested to see how long he stays around the first team now. 

As I said at the start, 3 points is the main thing and that’s all that matters for now.

[Bison]

6 hours ago, johnnybozo said:

Another kid made of glass

Don't worry, we've got the perfect replacement lined up. 😌

 

[Floyd25]

4 hours ago, ROTG said:

Gusto is Emerson level player, be careful of what you wish for. 

He’s definitely better than that, not only better defensively, but better going forwards and still only 20, to be fair to Emerosn though he was brilliant at receiving the ball, looking around and then passing it backwards again. 

[My Blood Is Blue]

1 minute ago, Floyd25 said:

He’s definitely better than that, not only better defensively, but better going forwards and still only 20, to be fair to Emerosn though he was brilliant at receiving the ball, looking around and then passing it backwards again. 

Full French international at 20 years of age and it’s a good French side. I think Gusto is a good player and has the room and potential to get even better. I think he’s a good signing.

[Floyd25]

6 hours ago, Bigpokey24 said:

We need to search far and wide for a player like this. 

Think we took players like him for granted at the time. 

[Chelsea_Matt]

I stand by all my criticisms, but positivity beats negativity and at the end of the day, I may not like us much at the moment but I do love us! 

- We may, just may, have solved the goalie issue.

- Gallagher and Gilchrist. Proper Chels. At last. 

- Madueke - bright, confident, great penalty

- Gusto - improving…? Had a great game imo 

- Mudryk finally looking dangerous. 

- Nkunku - cautiously optimistic!

Last minute winners - you can’t beat them! 💙

[thevelourfog]

Similar thoughts to any other game this season, although it is of course much nicer to have them after a victory.

We have lots of players who look sublime in one moment without anything coming from what they do, and who look totally pointless for many other. Jackson should have had two assists in the first half with brilliant link up and then put in probably the worst CF 45 minutes I've seen this season in the second. Mudryk drove into space brilliantly at points, but lost possession almost immediately and unnecessarily every single time he asked to receive the ball to his feet. 

Gusto was very impressive imo. He's raw and prone to rash errors, but he is the one Clearlake "data" buy where I can see the player they think he will become. Colwill is not a LB, and Maatsen showed pretty clearly why he isn't getting in a look in there.

Pleased for Madueke. Not seeing what he did beyond winning and scoring the penalty, think that's the result driving interpretation of the performance, both those two things deserve credit.

The penalty, btw. I know some will argue that is why VAR exists, but I'd say it is a problem VAR created. Any ref worth their pay sees that, the clearest of fouls, and calls it if they know they can't abdicate that responsibility. 

Please get a decent result against Luton, lads.

[jasonb]

16 hours ago, asvaberg said:

..... Or finish the game before the break. 4-0 at half time is a decent start today 🥳🎄❤️

Or hire John Terry for the half time talk with a tin bucket to kick around in the corridor outside. 

[Proud-Blue]

Relieved we won the game. 

In the first half I thought we were quite good. I was surprised that Palace played such a high line, but maybe that's just a sign teams like them think they can beat us? Regardless, we looked much better when we had more space to pass into but still didn't really take full advantage of it. That was a chance to use Mudryk's pace more. Clyne would never have kept up with him.

After looking quite dangerous in the first half we reverted to type in the second. Same slow build-up, lack of ideas, barely testing their keeper. This isn't a coincidence; Palace dropped their line a few yards. It is deeply concerning that we can be blunted by such a simple football tactic.

Honestly, if we had not been awarded the penalty, I cannot see how we would have scored. You need a set piece or an outrageous amount of luck to beat teams playing deep with the way we attack. See Newcastle for another example where Trippier gave us a goal.

Badiashile is struggling. I love the guy, but I think that Newcastle error has really hurt his confidence. Might he time to take him out of the limelight for a bit. He'll be back to his best soon.

This said, there were plenty of positives too. Gusto was fantastic and needs to be starting. Mudryk is definitely improving and Gallagher was once again immense.

I also thought Lavia looked good. I think some people expected him to just be a shield for Enzo and Caicedo, but his needle throughballs are actually promising and something he did at Southampton too. He could be quite important for helping us resolve our low block issue if he gets the right movement in front of him.

 Finally, Nkunku. He's going to be crucial for us. Some of those passes he played today were sublime. Need to keep him fit at all costs.

So overall, relief, and a few things to work on. I hope the lads are ready because Luton away is going to be a battle.