Chelsea -v- Inter CL Match Thread etc etc

leninbenjamin

Mr Alan wrote: »

Best Inter team in years in fairness, and they'd spank the **** out of Spurs.

They are still quite limited in many respects. Motta in particular is a fairly average player, Lucio and Samuel are prone to errors and can both be gotten at. They also lack a real playmaker to dictate the tempo of the game and bring the others into play. Sneijder and Maicon are excellent players who'll create chances if let, but getting them the ball in the area where they can do damage is something they struggle with at times. And they have absolutely no width.

cson

Poor from Chelsea. They seem to be an ageing team.

Mr.Nice Guy

I wouldn't read too much into this result. Inter played very well but I would fancy Barca, Arsenal and United to be able to put them away.

CHD

Also well done Inter, deserved victory.

I am a idiot for doubting Mourinho, he has a 1st 11 that can beat anyone on their day.Best of luck to him, hope he can do it.

Ush1

To be honest, game said far more about Chelsea than it did about Inter.

Headshot

Ush1 wrote: »

They're 1 point ahead in an awful Serie A. In fact, they have done everything possible to lose the league but still will win it, gives an idea of the quality of Italian football at the moment.

No mention of Barca? Barca or Man. United would give them a hiding, and I really don't like Man. United.

I know your recent posts in the utd thread tell a story, but what about their awful league, they are a superb team, I dont see the point in mentioning their league, Im talking about inter the the team

Kirnsy

magma69 wrote: »

On a bit of a side note. Sneijder is a criminally underrated player. Every time I see him play he is awesome. A real live wire who always creates chances.

can't wait to see holland again in the summer - RVP, Sneijder , Vd Vaart, Afellay and Elia. With no defence

Nalz

CL is not down to just United and Barca. Munich, Inter and even Arsenal have every chance. EVERY CHANCE

Xavi6 wrote: »

Wow, there's Frank Lampard at the final whistle! First time I saw him in about an hour.

I was at the kettle at FT, cheers Xavi I thought he went off at halftime!

cson

ShamoBuc wrote: »

When Greece won the Euros they were solid and nothing else, this Inter side will cause problems for any team, would like Inter V Utd Mourunhio V Fergie, toss of a coin between them I think.

The pace United play at would have these bet out the gate over two legs.

Raskolnikov

I blame Ancelotti and his first leg tactics. He went to the San Siro and was happy to take the 2-1 result even though Chelsea had the better of it. It left them chasing the tie, which is always difficult considering how big the game was.

Also, I don't think you can discount the injuries Chelsea had. Cole, Cech, Essien, Carvalho and Bosingwa are all first team players who were missing.

Inter did well, but I still think United or Barcelona would have too much quality.

Johner

Trilla wrote: »

CL is not down to just United and Barca. Munich, Inter and even Arsenal have every chance. EVERY CHANCE

If Arsenal avoid United until the final they have a chance but over two legs Arsenal do not stand a chance against United.

Quandary

cson wrote: »

Poor from Chelsea. They seem to be an ageing team.

Chelsea without Essien are a different outfit. Essien has enough of an engine to let the rest of the midfield play into their 40s.

Ush1

Headshot wrote: »

I know your recent posts in the utd thread tell a story, but what about their awful league, they are a superb team, I dont see the point in mentioning their league, Im talking about inter the the team

Their team has many average players. Obviously some good ones but against a top midfield and attack they would crack.

You don't see the point in mentioning their league? How else are you judging them this season, a couple of CL games??

magma69

Raskolnikov wrote: »

I blame Ancelotti and his first leg tactics. He went to the San Siro and was happy to take the 2-1 result even though Chelsea had the better of it. It left them chasing the tie, which is always difficult considering how big the game was.

Also, I don't think you can discount the injuries Chelsea had. Cole, Cech, Essien, Carvalho and Bosingwa are all first team players who were missing.

Inter did well, but I still think United or Barcelona would have too much quality.

Fair point. Those two are a huge loss. Essien is as important, if not more important, than Lampard and Drogba. His break up play is unequaled. He is the best in the world at what he does.

eZe^

CHD wrote: »

Average? Are you dumb?

Mr Alan wrote: »

Best Inter team in years in fairness, and they'd spank the **** out of Spurs.

They really aren't better than the Inter teams of the past 4 years. They just finally lived up to the hype in a K.O round. Did you watch them at all vs Barca in the group stages? They were absolutely fcuking awful in both ties, Samuel was an absolute beast at the San Siro though.

Sneijder was immense today, he's the most direct midfielder in the world at the moment, his passes are so bloody incisive, it's like he surveys the field before the ball's coming his way and reacts perfectly once it reaches him. Lovely player, Real were mad to let him go to be honest.

Eto'o, SOOOO glad to see Samu progressing, he was awful in attack today, REALLY awful, but I've said many times that he is a very very streaky finisher. However, he was immense in defence, he tracks back as effectively as Rooney imo, the amount of times he was hassling even Drogba, great to see. His goal was very well taken, on a good day he would have scored a hattrick tonight.

Motta - LOL!!!!! He provoked Drogba the ENTIRE game, I remember at Barca his sole purpose was to kick people around the park and protect Xavi/ Deco/ Ronaldinho. He made Drogba kick him by essentially rugby tackling him in the box. Hahaha, he's such a limited player, but is so streetwise and effective when needs be.

Is there any regular Serie A watchers that could tell me about Walter Samuel? I remember him always being an alright defender (regularly putting in 7/10 performances, but never an absolute rock), but this season everytime I've watched him he's been absolutely immense. He essentially single handedly kept a clean sheet against Barca at the San Siro in September.

Inter completely deserved that, and in 3 ties against English opposition they finally made it count, this team isn't that much better than last years. Sneijder has been brilliant, but Inter were due a big KO performance like that. I think Chelsea approached the game badly, their midfield was sooo static, and didn't link up with Drogba/ Anelka enough. They weren't positive enough.

I'm loving the variance in teams in this season's CL, no country is dominating, it's been a really enjoyable CL so far. (Although we'll see if it can top last years for me later )

efb

FA Cup time again for the Chels!
Love Mourinho, hate the haters!

leninbenjamin

Ush1 wrote: »

To be honest, game said far more about Chelsea than it did about Inter.

Indeed, the lack of organisation was shocking. Ivanovic was left on his own marking Eto'o for most of the match, and that's where the goal came from. The marking was sloppy, they made an absolute mess of the offside trap and when J.Cole came on he seemed to have no idea what position was playing. Malouda and Zhirkov kept getting in each other's way. And Mikel was in asleep for the whole game.

Jose is a very conservative manager, but he's a master at exploiting other teams weaknesses. He saw the holes in Chelsea's defence and he made Ancelotti look clueless for it.

Headshot

Ush1 wrote: »

Their team has many average players. Obviously some good ones but against a top midfield and attack they would crack.

You don't see the point in mentioning their league? How else are you judging them this season, a couple of CL games??

name the average players ?

ya I dont see the point in mentioning their league, but if you must insist their top of the league, playing poor but they'll still win it , tonight they have been their best performance of the season

ShamoBuc

cson wrote: »

The pace United play at would have these bet out the gate over two legs.

I hope they do clash, because alot of people seem to think it would be easy for Utd. I'm sure alot of Chelsea fans thought they would be going through when Inter came out of the bag.

CHD

Joe Cole is muck

Ush1

Headshot wrote: »

name the average players ?

ya I dont see the point in mentioning their league, but if you must insist their top of the league, playing poor but they'll still win it , tonight they have been their best performance of the season

Motta average, Stank average, Zanetti, Samuel are also WELL past their best. Balotelli and Santon, over rated. List goes on.

I don't insist but if that's how you want to judge a team, by all means, believe what you like.:)

leninbenjamin

Raskolnikov wrote: »

Also, I don't think you can discount the injuries Chelsea had. Cole, Cech, Essien, Carvalho and Bosingwa are all first team players who were missing.

You're squad lacks depth/You should have bought in January/Every team gets injuries <delete as appropriate>

thee glitz

MagicMarker wrote: »

That's not what he said.

Ah but I'm right Ted
Ok maybe it is implied they'll definitely win the league (below), but that's not what I read.

CHD wrote: »

We only win the league by going out tonight imo so this is acceptable.

I'd expect Manu to put Inter out, probably Barca to as well and Arsenal to put it up to them more than Chelsea did.

Jose...

"We were the best team by far. Chelsea is a great team, we know that and my team came here knowing very well how they play. We knew if we did not control the game by having the ball we would have no chance. We had the ball and we created the best chances and we should have scored before the goal. When we did score, Chelsea were completely out of the game. I thought everything was superior, not just our tactics but our attitude on the pitch."

and Carlo...

We didn't play how we wanted. They put pressure on our midfielders so we had difficulties playing. Inter played a very good game, with strong defence and good counter-attack. We didn't play how we wanted. We were a better team in Milan but we were not able to repeat that performance."

redout

Gotta give to Jose

Before both legs he was questioned about how he knows Chelsea so well and how that could have an impact.

His response was this doesnt count for nothing

then just now on Sky he bangs on about how he knows this team so well!

BERBA

Ush1 wrote: »

Motta average, Stank average, Zanetti, Samuel are also WELL past their best. Balotelli and Santon, over rated. List goes on.

I don't insist but if that's how you want to judge a team, by all means, believe what you like.:)

also thiago motta , if he was any good barca wouldnt have got rid , same as walter samuel with real madrid

Ush1

leninbenjamin wrote: »

Indeed, the lack of organisation was shocking. Ivanovic was left on his own marking Eto'o for most of the match, and that's where the goal came from. The marking was sloppy, they made an absolute mess of the offside trap and when J.Cole came on he seemed to have no idea what position was playing. Malouda and Zhirkov kept getting in each other's way. And Mikel was in asleep for the whole game.

Jose is a very conservative manager, but he's a master at exploiting other teams weaknesses. He saw the holes in Chelsea's defence and he made Ancelotti look clueless for it.

Really was.
I didn't see the West Ham game at the weekend but I expected Chelsea to play with a high tempo to disrupt Inter but it never came at all. They played at Inters pace and Inter are better at that. Too easy.

dor83

eZe^ wrote: »

They really aren't better than the Inter teams of the past 4 years. They just finally lived up to the hype in a K.O round.

In fairness we have a much more balanced team this year and the addition of Sneijder was huge for us, last season it was just give the ball to Ibra but now we actually play football.

eZe^ wrote: »

Is there any regular Serie A watchers that could tell me about Walter Samuel? I remember him always being an alright defender (regularly putting in 7/10 performances, but never an absolute rock), but this season everytime I've watched him he's been absolutely immense. He essentially single handedly kept a clean sheet against Barca at the San Siro in September.

I have always thought he was a very good defender, ever since he played for Roma, but most people who don't watch Serie A only remember his Real days. Since he came back he has been good, great during spells imo, but has had a couple of injuries too.

Also want to say fair play to most of the Chelsea fans on here who have been gracious in defeat, kind of expected some bitterness but thats not been the case, fair play lads.

Headshot

Ush1 wrote: »

Motta average, Stank average, Zanetti, Samuel are also WELL past their best. Balotelli and Santon, over rated. List goes on.

I don't insist but if that's how you want to judge a team, by all means, believe what you like.:)

bar Motta I honestly think your talking out of your hole, but your biggest crime to include Zanetti in that bracket, im astonished by that, Zanetti is still a class act, the Ryan Giggs of Italy or like wine, gets better with age

BERBA wrote: »

, same as walter samuel with real madrid

one name

Sneijder

Ush1

Headshot wrote: »

bar Motta I honestly think your talking out of your hole, but your biggest crime to include Zanetti in that bracket, im astonished by that, Zanetti is still a class act, the Ryan Giggs of Italy or like wine, gets better with age

Ha, so is Pirlo and he still got hammered 4 nil. Yeah, I'm talking out of my hole.:rolleyes:

Headshot

Ush1 wrote: »

Ha, so is Pirlo and he still got hammered 4 nil. Yeah, I'm talking out of my hole.:rolleyes:

Pirlo, you are seriously joking right ?
just wondering do you watch Serie A at all

BERBA

one name

Sneijder[/QUOTE]

deemed surplus to requirements at madrid

Ush1

Headshot wrote: »

Pirlo, you are seriously joking right ?
just wondering do you watch Serie A at all

Why you don't think Pirlos any good?
Yes I do, do you watch any?

Headshot

BERBA wrote: »

one name

Sneijder

deemed surplus to requirements at madrid[/QUOTE]

because its Real Madrid....

leninbenjamin

Headshot wrote: »

because its Real Madrid....

Real Madrid. Making good players look **** since 1902.

Boggles

WTF were Chelsea up to?

Absoutely no tactics, shape or formation.

Joke of a performance.

Headshot

Ush1 wrote: »

Why you don't think Pirlos any good?
Yes I do, do you watch any?

Ush your becoming one of my favourite posters because you always get in stitches

you actually think Pirlo has been great, im gob-smacked by that

Ush1

Headshot wrote: »

Ush your becoming one of my favourite posters because you always get in stitches

you actually think Pirlo has been great, im gob-smacked by that

Hahaha, the main cog in the Milan team that are 1 point behind your thuper Inter? You're my fav poster.

I've seen Inter twice this year in Milan also. I watched them in the Copa Italia against Juve, average sums them up.

JP Liz V1

The better team won both legs imo

enviro

nuxxx wrote: »

anyone seen terry digging his arm into mikel talking to the referee? mikel only wanted to shake the refs hand

Terry is a big bully

Headshot

Ush1 wrote: »

Hahaha, the main cog in the Milan team that are 1 point behind your thuper Inter? You're my fav poster.

I've seen Inter twice this year in Milan also. I watched them in the Copa Italia against Juve, average sums them up.

the main cog ? Ronaldinho has been far the main cog in the team

so 3 games ya

and you think you can judge them on those 3 games?

got to love sf sometimes

cant even believe im doing this, rather not turn into a Serie A fanboy

Mr Alan

in fairness to Terry, i thought Mikel was giving abuse to the ref and Terry shoved him away.

eZe^

Headshot wrote: »

Ush your becoming one of my favourite posters because you always get in stitches

you actually think Pirlo has been great, im gob-smacked by that

Best player in WC 06 tbqfh. Are we talking about him overall or just this season?

enviro

Mr Alan wrote: »

in fairness to Terry, i thought Mikel was giving abuse to the ref and Terry shoved him away.

I agree but he is still a bully

Ush1

Headshot wrote: »

the main cog ? Ronaldinho has been far the main cog in the team

so 3 games ya

and you think you can judge them on those 3 games?

got to love sf sometimes

No, I was at the San Siro for 2 games.:)

CHD

Boggles wrote: »

WTF were Chelsea up to?

Absoutely no tactics, shape or formation.

Joke of a performance.

This. Essien makes he tactics work. Without him the tactics are crap.

Fiskar

Thought Inter had the upper hand from the first leg and Jose has a team that could go to the final (if not for the yellow cards they picked up tonight) Scniejder worked well in midfield over both legs which is what we missed by Essien being out. We have too weak a midfield and when you've a weak midfield you need 4 not 3 in position. They were constantly under pressure in the second half.
Anelka does not fit. he had a dreadful match and has not scored much lately, he simply cannot hang onto the ball. Malouda continues to impress.
Dorgba was "held" back by Mottas play but hopefully Aguero might be the repalcement required there. Motta eventually won that battle!
Once the africian cup of nations year comes round Chelsea are always exposed and that needs to change going forward. We tend to lose important players. We lose 4 key players each time it comes round, funny these are players from Mourinhos era!
Zuirkov was a bright spark on an otherwise unsucessful night ( at least in the first half), not to mention Chelsea being robbed of penalties by the "huggy" bears in Inter Milan, How do these players get away with it? (Jose knows!):rolleyes:

Headshot

eZe^ wrote: »

Best player in WC 06 tbqfh.

Dont get me wrong, he was an awsome player but his legs are totally gone and shadow of a player he once was, of course you'll get that flash of brilliance but they

Ush1

Headshot wrote: »

Dont get me wrong, awsome player but his legs are totally gone and shadow of a player he once was, of course you'll get that flash of brilliance but they are seldom seen these days

You clearly don't watch the Serie A, should have just said that.

niallo27

Gotta feel for big JT. Top fella, took defeat with grace - class act.