Ratings & Reactions: Chelsea v Villa

[fruitvilla]

Overall I thought"
The result was better than the performance.
Not that the performance was bad, but perhaps a little lack lustre. 

Zaniolo was my man of the match, but the centre-backs were tidy, Cash and Digne had good games I thought, though Digne looked a little slow coming back and was muscled off the ball. Kamara looked more like it. Luiz usual excellent self. McGinn and Diaby were OK. Watkins scored but was relatively quiet otherwise. Martinez was excellent.

Hope Ramsey is OK ... looked a little hobbled to me. Bailey OK. Tielemans hmmn defer comment. Dendoncker too short a cameo. Oh and I forgot Duran.

Edited September 24, 2023 by fruitvilla

[Tomaszk]

4 minutes ago, StefanAVFC said:

He says after a clean sheet and win at Chelsea 

Wonderful and consistent form.

Prejudice as it comes.

Gerrard=winner though.

Brexit logic.

[BleedClaretAndBlue]

Only just noticed Bailey’s touch on that breakaway that the ref pulled back. He’s done him a favour there

[Brumstopdogs]

Thought Boubs was back to the level we know he is capable of today..

 

[BleedClaretAndBlue]

 

[Brumstopdogs]

 

[Brumstopdogs]

 

[RicRic]

Douglas Luiz MOTM Exceptionally tidy and silky across the pitch today and the way he scissored through three of their players in the first half was exquisite.. he looks so assuring on the ball and so pleasing on the eye.  My fav player this season 

Kamara - Very Fine performance looked like he was proving a point today and did so well.

Mcginn - Underrated today played very hard and showed grit

Zaniolo - Showed again his moments of magic … still needs to show his a 90 minute player and bring that consistency.

Konsa - Absolutely superb end of

Pau Torres - Strengthened heavily for this match , calm and majestic, got caught out a couple times by sterling but a lot of defenders do with his speed.

And finally Martinez was a rock in that goal and showed leadership for that backline

Excellent win, wish we could do similar jobs to the man city’s and liverpool’s as them teams ALWAYS get away with beating us and im fed up of it 

 

UTV  

[TRO]

On 23/09/2023 at 12:04, markavfc40 said:

I think that is a little unfair. You imagine that team on Thursday and replace some of the players with Mings, Carlos, Buendia, Ramsey and Moreno. Or even just 2 or 3 of those starting.

We have a very good squad. During the game the other night the commentators continually mentioned how strong our squad is this season. Unfortunately though that squad has been missing, for pretty much the whole start to the season, four week in week out starters in Mings, Emi, Ramsey and Moreno. 

On top of missing players through injury we have also been trying to bed in five new players. I think in the forward positions you can get away with introducing players more quickly but defensively, where partnerships and understandings, which are crucial in that position, take time to build I'd imagine the intention was that Torres would be introduced slowly over the first few weeks of the season not be elevated to first choice starter within 30 minutes of the season starting. You then throw in the fact that Carlos has started only a handful of games for us, is just back from a long term injury, and is now out again, and that Lenglet is just through the door, then I don't think it should surprise anyone that defensively we have looked a mess at times. 

I am under no illusions it is going to take time for things to click and we get back to the consistent level of performance we showed in the last third of last season. Just as it took time when Emery first arrived for us to achieve those consistent levels. 

I am though supremely confident we will get back to those levels of consistency and the reasons for that are simple. Firstly we have a very good squad of players and secondly we have an excellent manager. All that is needed now is time for those new players that have come in to build understandings/on pitch relationships with their new team mates, and the manager to drill into them what he wants, and for us to have a little more luck with injuries which hopefully is happening with Moreno, Ramsey and Carlos all back. Give it a  little bit of time and we'll be fine. 

I want to believe all that, and it gives me comfort to do so....However

His first 6 games rendered 4 wins 1 loss and 1 draw, before the 3 game wobble, He has once again started with 4 wins out of 6 which is great, but it didn't take much time in his initial start, he hit the ground running......but fast forward to today, watching their long balls over the top with impunity, in the early exchanges had me running for the imodium....A clinical side like Liverpool would have buried us.....He has to deal with that, before it derails us.

I think defensively or without the ball, we look tentative and hesitant...and teams have sussed us out, that the long ball over the top opens us up, they had undefended space to play in.....Folk can choose what the reason is, but it is way off our performances after the wobble of last season.

There are things to be happy about, 6th place, and 12 points is a great start....but I am not convinced at present, we have things right, particularly defensively....Our home form remains resolute, but away from home, despite todays win, I don't think we look as convincing as last season.

but thats just my opinion.

Ps big thanks to the usual respondees, their predictability is warming.

 

Edited September 24, 2023 by TRO

[Spoony]

As the league table begins to settle we are still right up there. The turnaround under Emery is just something else. 

[sne]

Good times, good times.

We've come a long way in a short time.

Edited September 24, 2023 by sne

[TRO]

13 minutes ago, Marka Ragnos said:

I think it was more like we made it easier in certain zones. Diaby seemed a bit disengaged at times. Cash seemed to give their left so many opportunities to cross. It was driving me crazy. But Kamara, Zanny, Duran, Tielemans, and Bailey -- yes, Bailey -- were aggressive and relentless. Was it Bailey or Tielemans who did that hysterically funny thing towards the end where he''d been knocked to the ground and they passed the ball whilst on their arses, flailing on the pitch? Never seen that before from Villa. I feel like some of our players have heard you, @TRO. They are challenging more.

I thought it was marginally better as the game progressed, and after they went down to 10 men...but like so many teams do now....they shutdown our ability to pass the ball, they negated us, and we didn't do it to them, anywhere near enough, later in the game we did start to do it, probably after the goal.

We are making it hard for ourselves imo....by neglecting some fundamentals.

 

[TRO]

9 minutes ago, RicRic said:

Douglas Luiz MOTM Exceptionally tidy and silky across the pitch today and the way he scissored through three of their players in the first half was exquisite.. he looks so assuring on the ball and so pleasing on the eye.  My fav player this season 

Kamara - Very Fine performance looked like he was proving a point today and did so well.

Mcginn - Underrated today played very hard and showed grit

Zaniolo - Showed again his moments of magic … still needs to show his a 90 minute player and bring that consistency.

Konsa - Absolutely superb end of

Pau Torres - Strengthened heavily for this match , calm and majestic, got caught out a couple times by sterling but a lot of defenders do with his speed.

And finally Martinez was a rock in that goal and showed leadership for that backline

Excellent win, wish we could do similar jobs to the man city’s and liverpool’s as them teams ALWAYS get away with beating us and im fed up of it 

 

UTV  

..........because they have the ability to exploit our weaknesses....and sadly, they know exactly what to do.

Edited September 24, 2023 by TRO

[Marka Ragnos]

3 minutes ago, TRO said:

We are making it hard for ourselves imo....by neglecting some fundamentals.

What for you are the most critical of those fundamentals? Chelsea themselves were playing super aggressively, it has to be said. They were throwing the kitchen sink at us, but repeatedly ran out of skills and ideas in front of the goal. And Sanchez was very good.

[ChicagoVillan1983]

Love it how us being so much better than any time I've been a Villa fan and yet people still glass half empty...

[ferguson1]

Christ, just enjoy this evening folks. It’s been a fantastic afternoon and we’re sitting in a very healthy league position after a difficult start to the season. 

[TRO]

2 minutes ago, Marka Ragnos said:

What for you are the most critical of those fundamentals? Chelsea themselves were playing super aggressively, it has to be said. They were throwing the kitchen sink at us, but repeatedly ran out of skills and ideas in front of the goal. And Sanchez was very good.

Defending

Can't we play super aggressively, as thats what most of the top teams do....and we want to be one of them ,right.

Sanchez was superb as was Emi..... but we still invite teams to play through us, the way we play ( early on in the game)....some of their attacks were simply too naive, so direct, and so easy.....We fail to get touch tight at set pieces too, that header of theirs, could be a goal on another day....the amount of times they was clean through, was worrying.....Thank the gods, they can't finish.

 

[Louis]

Chelsea - the gift that keeps on giving.

[maqroll]

2 hours ago, Farlz said:

Big important win. We needed that today, especially with it being away where we’ve looked pretty suspect this season. 

Just Brighton to go then we can really start looking forward to a good run after that hopefully. 

Are you expecting a loss at home vs Brighton?

[TRO]

8 minutes ago, ferguson1 said:

Christ, just enjoy this evening folks. It’s been a fantastic afternoon and we’re sitting in a very healthy league position after a difficult start to the season. 

just debating the finer elements of the game, and how it could have been different.....Problem is, is hard to do that after a defeat too, as most don't want to discuss it and think the boot is going in......so its hard to find the right times to analyse/appraise.

of course, we are enjoying the result.