A Little of It All

Happy Birthday Juan Mata! :)

What a first leg! Good defensive tactics gave us a 0-0 draw in our away Champions League match against Atlético Madrid. There were a few ups and downs along the way, with injuries & yellow cards having an effect not only on the second leg, but for the rest of the season as well. Here’s what happened:

Mourinho’s starting XI had a defensive base. We were focused on not letting Atlético score any goals. Due to Ivanovic’s yellow, he couldn’t play. Ashley Cole was back (beard & all). We also got to see both Birthday Boys playing side by side. Mourinho had more of a 4-3-3 approach, so Torres, Willian and Ramires were all lined up together.

In the first half, and basically throughout the game, possession was mainly Atlético’s. Defense was strong though, and we made sure not to concede a goal. Can’t say how many times John Terry’s head shot the ball away. He was having a real great game. Although not much was happening with us offensively, Willian did a really good job trying to earn us possession. Something devastating happened in the 18th minute. Cech was trying to prevent Atlético from scoring, so he jumped up to shoot the ball from the top of the crossbar & instead hits his hand and falls awkwardly. I was so worried for him. When Eva wouldn’t let him continue playing (although he really wanted to stay) I knew something was bad. Cech dislocated his shoulder & is out for the rest of the season :( Really sad about this, because Cech has saved us countless times. Schwarzer became the oldest player to participate in the Champions League. He had to step up to the plate and overall he did well in this game.

Second half definitely changed more things going into the second leg. Lampard & Mikel both received yellows, which adds to the yellows they previously had. Both guys have to miss the next game. Terry, who had been the strongest defender in the game, got injured. Felt so bad. According to Mourinho, he’s out for the rest of the season, unless we make it to the finals. The squad’s definitely going to be shaken up for the second leg, but hopefully Hazard will be fit in a week so he can play. Also, Ivanovic will be back, which is a positive. Game wise, Atlético had their chances, but we wouldn’t let them advance on them. They were definitely aggressive, but we were standing our ground. Getting the draw seemed to be the main objective in this game and we ended it by doing so. Not really anything to note because we didn’t have many chances.

Bad officiating let a game slip away from us. Everyone was disappointed in the job Mike Dean did in Saturday's game against Sunderland. We lost at home, 2-1. Mourinho's streak ended at 77 Premier League wins at the Bridge. Still such an accomplishment. There were plenty of chances, but things worked out in the end for the team at the bottom of the table. Here's what happened:

Mourinho had been quiet the entire week leading up to the game. His lineup was a bit shocking, but made sense as to why. Petr Cech didn't play due to a stomach bug. That made me worried at the beginning of the game. Due to Hazard's injury, he also didn't play. Eto'o was out front so I hoped we would see something good from him since we were at home. Eto'o prevailed, but it still wasn't enough.

This game was frustrating not only due to the multiple attempts we had, but also the officiating. Our first try came in the 10th minute, with Willian having a shot. The only goal of the game happened two minutes afterwards (12th minute). Off of a corner kick, the ball went straight to Eto'o, who was wide open. He was able to get his foot across and strike the ball in for the goal! Samuel Eto'o, he only scores at home! It was a good goal & his celebratory dance was even better. I had hoped that my worries were all for nothing. Sunderland's goal only minutes later brought back the nervous feeling. Other attempts for us in the first half happened in the 26th minute with Oscar having a try, and throughout the 41st-43rd minutes, where I had hoped the ball would reach the back of the net at some point. There was also a moment where many thought that we should've earned a penalty due to a handball. Ivanovic was jumping up & down but Mike Dean didn't care. Going into halftime, I had hoped we would come back and get the win.

Sadly, nothing in the second half worked out in our favor. The substitutions of Ba, Schurrle & Torres didn't have an impact on changing the game. Torres looked good though & it was very evident that he was doing his best. Hopefully we'll get to see him in today's game. To put the nail in the coffin, Mike Dean awarded a penalty in the 82nd minute for Dave fouling Jozy Altidore. I didn't see it as a penalty at all. If anything the penalty Ivanovic was trying to get was worth one more than what happened with Dave. So Sunderland wins and now we have to hope for the other teams in the table to somehow fall in the last couple of games.

Happy Birthday John Obi Mikel! :)

Happy Birthday David Luiz! :)

Now's the perfect time to keep up the consistency. We're almost towards the end of the season and these competitions are getting real close. Sunday's 1-0 win against Swansea put us one step closer in the Premier League. Another Demba Ba goal gave us what we needed. Here's what happened:

After his performance against PSG, Mourinho rewarded Ba with a starting position, thus making him our striker out front. As the game continued, Eto'o joined him. Since Hazard out due to injury, our midfield consisted of Willian, Salah, & Schurrle. At halftime, Oscar replaced Schurrle. I was curious to see how the Salah & Ba dynamic would work, since we hadn't seen them together previously.

The game started off interestingly. Salah had a good chance in the 6th minute when he side-footed wide from inside the penalty area. Then ten minutes later (16th minute), Swansea went down to 10 men! After Chico received a yellow for a foul on Willian, he received another by pulling Schurrle down. Having Swansea down to 10 men gave us more of an advantage. We patiently tried to break Swansea, but were unable to do so in the first half. Going into halftime, I hoped that we would get the goal that we needed, because we had gotten close.

Mourinho's double substitution happened right as we came back from halftime. He wanted a goal so he put in Oscar & Eto'o to try to help out. Two attempts happened early in the second half. 54th minute, Ba had a very close shot that was just a little wide. 58th minute, Eto'o just barely missed as well. But, with the persistence came the goal that we needed. 68th minute, Matic played a brilliant ball forward across the field, where it went towards Ba. Ba gets the ball, controls it in, and gets the goal! & it's not even one his normal types either where he slides in! It was from distance and happened nicely! Ba's confidence must be so high right now, I'm happy for him. After the goal, our main objective was to maintain our lead and to possibly add to the scoresheet. Eto'o gave it a couple good tries (one of which could've happened when the Swansea keeper came out). But in the end, it didn't matter because we still got the win.

Anything is possible at the Bridge! Last night's game was awesome. Performed in typical Chelsea style. In the 2nd leg against PSG, we won 2-0 & advanced to the semi-finals on a 3-3 aggregate! That away goal last week is exactly what we needed. The spirits were high & now we just wait to see what comes next. Here's what happened:

Mourinho's lineup was basically his usual. No Ramires due to getting a second yellow, which meant that we got to see Lampard. Signature midfield of Oscar, Willian & Hazard (although that didn't remain for very long). Eto'o was back from injury & was our striker out front. As the game played out, all three strikers were featured.

We definitely looked better in the first half in last night's game than we did in last week's game. I got a bit nervous though when Hazard got injured during a play early on. He was taken off in the 18th minute for Schurrle. Hope nothing's serious with Hazard, because we need him back ASAP. Schurrle was put in and that changed the way PSG tried approaching the game. The glimmer of hope began in the 32nd minute. Ivanovic had a long throw in, that rolled off of the back of David Luiz straight to Schurrle. Schurrle doesn't hesitate at all as he kicks the ball straight to the back of the net! SCHURRLE! Great goal that helped make the focus even more clear going into halftime. All we needed was one more goal to move on to the next round.

It wouldn't be Chelsea without finally clinching within minutes of the game's end. But before that moment came, we had a few chances that were extremely close. The first one happened in the 51st minute, with Schurrle's shot hitting the top of the crossbar. The same play happened only a minute later (52nd minute) with Oscar also hitting the bar too. Definitely thought one of those shots were going in, but they were both just a few centimeters too high. Great effort though!  The only real close shot that PSG had was with a open shot by Cavani. He missed and I was happy. In the second half, Ivanovic ended up getting a yellow card, which made it his second in the competition. That means just like Ramires in last night's game, Ivanovic will be out of the first leg of the semis. Bummed about that news, but that means we'll probably get to see Ashley Cole in the Champions League again. After Ivanovic's yellow, Ba gets put in the game for Lamps in the 66th minute. I was a bit shocked that it was Ba over Torres, but figured Mourinho wanted some sort of dynamic added at that moment. Torres was put in 11 minutes later with instructions to Schurrle. The most amazing moment happened in the 87th minute. This was a moment where everything stopped, I had my eyes transfixed on the television & then just started cheering. Torres has the ball, passes to Eto'o. The ball bounces back towards Oscar, who slams it forward right to Ba. Ba puts his leg out and just pushes forward. DEMBA BA GETS THE GAME WINNING GOAL! Signature Ba weird-goal and everything! That moment was everything we needed. & the celebrations! Ba running and sliding, Ivanovic tackling him down, Willian, Torres, everyone running to Ba. David Luiz & Dave laying on the ground celebrating. Mourinho sprinting down the sideline celebrating! (& trying to make his way down towards the team to give instructions to Torres, Schurrle, and Eto'o in order to maintain the lead for the final minutes). PSG tried their best to crush our hopes in stoppage time, but Cech was in control. When the final whistle blew, celebrations broke out. Everyone hugging Ba, Lamperry celebrating, David Luiz praying & our three strikers all linked together. Couldn't be happier with that ending.

We're so much better than yesterday's result. It could've been worse, but now we really have to bring it home & win! In the first leg against PSG in the Champions League, we lost 3-1. We got a crucial away goal, but also gave up three goals that didn't make things any easier. Here's what happened:

Mourinho threw a curveball at us when he decided to play with no striker. Instead of using Torres or Ba, he had Schurrle out front. Schurrle's great, but I wasn't sure how that decision was going to play out. We also had all four Brazilians out on the pitch.

Things definitely didn't start out ideal. In the 4th minute, PSG gets their first goal. Terry was trying to clear the ball, but as he does so, the ball goes straight to the PSG player's chest. The guy bounces it off and strikes it right past Cech. Nice goal for PSG, bad for our defense. Shortly after that goal, Ramires gets a yellow card & with that we find out that he cannot play in the 2nd leg. Curious to see what Mourinho does about that. Game wise, we weren't really going anywhere. Whenever we got the ball, we would lose possession not too long after. I was glad that the one time we did have the ball, we benefitted from it. Oscar tried to create a play towards goal, but got tripped in the box. We earned a penalty! In the 26th minute, our PK man, Hazard, made it work! The keeper went to the opposite side. The highlight of the game! Way to go to Hazard for getting us the crucial away goal. After that moment, things began to look better. What I think killed us was halftime. We began to get a momentum leading up to it, where my commentators even said that we were beginning to look like a "typical Mourinho side". Coming back from halftime, we were exactly how we started. Losing possession easily, PSG having multiple attempts, etc. One of their attempts must've scared David Luiz. In the 61st minute, we got an own goal. There were so many players in front of the goal the moment it happened, but as the commentators noted, it was evident who had done it because "guilty" was written all over his face. I felt bad for Geezer, he hasn't played as often as he used to & then when he does, that happens. 2nd own goal of the season, two games in a row. Come on Chelsea! Our defending is usually solid! After that, things slowed down greatly and I thought we would get through only being a goal behind. Well PSG changed that thought when we let the "joke goal" (as Mourinho put it) happen in 90+ minute. The scorer went around Dave, Lamps & Terry to score. That definitely shouldn't have happened, that was such an easy chance. PSG saw the opportunity & took it.

We need to move past this. Yesterday's game against Crystal Palace was not what we needed, as the game ended with a 1-0 loss. No one should be singled out to blame for the loss. Here's what happened:

With playing team that was in 17th in the table, I thought this would be smooth sailing. I suppose Mourinho did as well, since he left out Willian & Oscar from the lineup. We had Matic & Luiz in the defensive midfield again, which I thought was good. Hazard, Lampard & Schurrle were our midfielders  and Torres out front.

Sadly, there's not too much to say about this game. Crystal Palace definitely did not look like a team that's towards the bottom. They had so many chances throughout the game. Luckily Cahill & Cech stopped many of them. We had about three offensive tries the entire game. One was in the 18th minute, with Schurrle almost having a goal. The assist would've been from Dave but Schurrle's shot was a bit wide. The next two tries were in the 53rd and 73rd minutes. Both were from Hazard and the Crystal Palace keeper had great saves on each of the shots. It was a shame too, because that was basically it for us. The ball went back & forth between both sides, but we had no offensive attack. Can't say it was the black kits putting the jinx on us. The worst part of the game happened in the 52nd minute. Terry was doing his best to stop Crystal Palace from scoring. His header to try to clear the ball was converted into an own goal. My heart sank when I saw him in the crouched position with his head buried in his hands. No one should be bashing him. Mistakes happen, and what he has done for this club in all of the years he's been with us has been incredible. The same goes with the rest of the players in the club. One person wasn't at fault, but all. We are a team. A true fan supports through it all: "Win, lose, or tie, Chelsea till I die".

Happy Birthday Sergio Ramos! :)

The Arsenal Massacre. Saturday's game against Arsenal was everything to ask for when describing a win over a rival club. We won 6-0! Yes, six goals. Six glorious goals. Making Arsenal look foolish all throughout the game. Proving time and time again that London is blue. Arsene Wenger's 1000th game with Arsenal ends in an epic blue victory. Here's what happened:

Mourinho's lineup was good. Willian & Ramires were on red card suspension after the game against Villa. David Luiz played along side Matic, and Schurrle joined Hazard & Oscar in the midfield. Eto'o was our striker out front, with Torres being on the bench.

Samuel Eto'o does it again! In the game against Galatasaray, he got a goal within five minutes of the game's beginning. In Saturday's game, he does the same exact thing. 5th minute, Schurrle has a great assist to Eto'o, who strikes the ball into the lower left corner from distance! Samuel Eto'o, he only scores at home!! What a goal. Going 1-0 that early is so great. As I finished celebrating Eto'o's goal, Schurrle joins right on in & scores one of his own! 7th minute, Matic is able to steal the ball in the midfield, where he passes to Schurrle. Schurrle's goal is almost identical to the one Eto'o had scored only minutes ago because it was at the same angle & ended in the same area! 2-0 and seven minutes of the game. WOW!! Fun fact, my commentators said that all of Schurrle's goals have come when he has started. His starts are his boost of confidence! I felt bad for Eto'o when he was taken out of the game in the 10th minute after being able to help us early on. He seemed to have hurt himself, and Torres was put into the game. Happy to see Torres of course, but I hope Eto'o's okay. Game wise, I didn't think things could get any better after the Schurrle goal, but then Arsenal goes down to 10 men! I never imagined any of this would be happening, especially so early on! With the Arsenal red card, we earned a penalty kick that our awesome PK man Hazard took in the 17th minute. Nice goal & we go up 3-0. After the three goals, things quieted down for a little bit for the next twenty-five minutes. We had more possession, but we weren't going for goal every minute. In the 42nd minute, we went up 4-0! The ball went from Matic to Schurrle, who then passed to Torres. Torres times his move perfectly where he passes to Oscar, who scores! Oscar's back! The setup to the goal was executed so well. Going into halftime with such an advantage, I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.

Second half was more or less quiet, which was perfectly fine. All I wanted was for Petr Cech to keep a clean sheet because letting Arsenal score would be bittersweet. We did score two more goals though! 66th minute, Arsenal's miserable afternoon continued when the defence backed off and allowed Oscar to shoot from the edge of the area. Brace for Oscar! Glad to see Oscar having a good game. Minutes after his second goal, Mourinho takes out Oscar & replaces him with Salah. This game was even special for Salah, who scored his very first goal with us in the 71st minute! Matic's pass helped to set him up. Congrats! Pretty cool to get your first goal with only being in the game for a few minutes. Really not much to say after that. Arsenal had no chance.

Happy Birthday Fernando Torres!! :)