Ratings & Reactions: Villa v Chelsea

[Xela]

Just watched the disallowed goal again, **** me, Carlos was shoved into a different post code. There can be no debate whatsoever, was a clear foul. 

[rubberman]

Noticeable that tonight all the out balls bounced off Rogers & Watkins where last week they stuck and we're able to turn and initiate a counter. 

Terrible performance overall and I think the energy-saving play really bit us second half. We should have seen that we needed to up the levels much earlier.

Still a decent result in the bigger picture. 

[Dillon66]

Came home raging 'cos we've nicked a draw despite getting battered for most of the game. Wife asks if we were home or away (doesn't really follow  football)......I grumble 'feckin home'......then I get to thinking ?

As pissed off as I am at supposedly tossing off 2 points, if we had actually been playing away would I have been so cheesed off ? If it was an away 'smash and grab'we'd be high fiving and giving each other relieved glances......

So f**k it.....I'll just pretend we were away and eat my takeaway........there's always the next game.

[Villan_of_oz]

So Unai is happy after today and the point taken.....

But let's ignore what our manager thinks because what the **** does he know

[Rugeley Villa]

Olsen made a great save after the mix up but he makes me very nervous. Too many mistakes and doesn’t command his area well but pulls off some great saves when he plays. He wasn’t the reason we threw away a 2 goal lead but I was never confident with him in goal. 

[Vive_La_Villa]

Wernt great but **** it got a point against the better team on the day. Hopefully they play even better against Spurs and beat them. 

[Tom13]

1 hour ago, HalfTimePost said:

Bottle job = Draw Vs Chelsea?

Yes. We're 19 points ahead of them and were 2-0 up against them, at home.

[TomC]

10 minutes ago, Jas10 said:

 

 

Note that the list has five midfielders on it. There's a reason we were stuck playing a forward in midfield for most of the match.

 

[OutByEaster?]

I thought we were really poor tonight - regardless of the way the game went, the referee, the opposition and anything else that might get bundled up into it, we were really poor.

Our passing was atrocious - initially we started the game by allowing them to come onto us then playing quick balls into the corners for Bailey and Digne - the injury to Tielemans affected our shape, but that plan had killed off any rhythm we had in the game and we simply couldn't pass the ball - getting even two or three passes together seemed beyond us and we ended up just lumping long balls in the vague direction of our forwards, passes that Thiago Silva and Badiashille just ate up - we didn't pass it, we didn't work off the ball when we had it, there was a lack of movement, a lack of shape, a lack of all the things we've become used to under Unai. 

For me, this was our worst performance under this manager.

In terms of the result, I'll absolutely take it, we didn't deserve a point and that we got one was down to our workrate, some individual excellence, a bit of luck and the baffling toothless tiger that Chelsea are.

They're a really good side in an awful lot of ways, they pass, they have good movement, they can control a game, they're quick everywhere, they have players that are technically excellent and they have a good manager - they're a top six side - but they could be a lot more than that.- the fact that Cole Palmer is in the race for golden boot I think probably exposes how much Chelsea miss a proper striker or a bit more of a pattern in the final third - there are some young players up there that are greedy, needy and rash when they get a sight of goal. Whatever, not my circus, not my monkey - they were the better side throughout tonight and dominated proceedings.

Being 2-0 up at half time felt a bit like we'd picked their pockets - at half time they'd had 71% possession and I was still a little confused as to whether that was down to their plan or ours - in the second half it become clear that whatever plan we had, it wasn't working.

Both of the disallowed goal decisions were correct in so far as I could see, to the eye the first one was offside and the quick flash of the lines on the scoreboard seemed to confirm that and you could see the big push on Carlos for the second one from where I was at the other end of the ground - neither were controversial - other than that, the ref was crap and his linesman on the Trinity side even worse.

In terms of positives, I thought Iroegbunam did okay when he came on and Rogers looked lively when we wasn't charging up blind alleys. Oh and I thought that Olsen did okay when he came on, and the atmosphere was very good.

The injuries are a worry, Tielemans seemed to be holding his groin and Martinez his thigh - Martinez is a massive character and Tielemans has become an important part of the side, we can't afford to lose either.

I guess the bigger positive is the point - it might still turn out to be very important - it's a point that Tottenham have to go out and get, and hopefully Chelsea trouble them as much as they troubled us. I'll take it. The point is a lot better than the performance.

In short, good team in confusing but rare poor performance draw with confusing team in rare good performance.

A point gained.

[DJ_Villain]

1 minute ago, Rugeley Villa said:

Olsen made a great save after the mix up but he makes me very nervous. Too many mistakes and doesn’t command his area well but pulls off some great saves when he plays. He wasn’t the reason we threw away a 2 goal lead but I was never confident with him in goal. 

If we were still playing Burton Albion, Rotherham et al. in the Championship, Olsen would shine…

but we aren’t…

and our first choice keeper is arguably the best in the world…

No, he didn’t Enckelmen it, but as a backup, he still doesn’t put a glove on Emi…

I don’t dislike the bloke… It must be horrible to be a sub goalkeeper for probably the best at that time…

But when you know Olsen is playing, it doesn’t inspire confidence…

and the opposition know it!

[brummybloke]

6 minutes ago, Villan_of_oz said:

So Unai is happy after today and the point taken.....

But let's ignore what our manager thinks because what the **** does he know

 

You think when he has his meetings with the team tomorrow he will be hghi fiving them all saying well done ? 

[tomav84]

42 minutes ago, JoshVilla said:

I feel like I need to preface this by saying that 7 points out of 9 from Bournemouth, Arsenal and Chelsea is a good return, and I'm sure if we swapped the Chelsea & Arsenal results we'd be pretty happy.

this is a fantastic point.

this forum would read TOTALLY differently if we'd drawn to arsenal, then won against bournemouth and tonight.

[sheepyvillian]

It's the assumption that I would respond that I find most offensive. 

[Villan_of_oz]

2 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said:

It's the assumption that I would respond that I find most offensive. 

I don't agree with your opinion earlier, but that is very well played sir

Edited April 27 by Villan_of_oz

[sheepyvillian]

23 minutes ago, ozvillafan said:

While I agree that Olsen doesn't inspire confidence, the 2nd half stats were pretty much a repeat of the first - except we somehow managed to score 2.

It's a fact, and there's no getting away from it. Olsen does not inspire the same confidence in his defence as Emi does. The second  - half was ample proof.

[Indigo]

Games like tonight show that we're just not "there" yet despite how phenomenal a season that is being had. A few too many games where there's a complete lack of control and we're too easily pressed and panicked. Saying that though, coming away with points from such performances add up over the course of the season, and that's something you wouldn't associate with Villa before.

[NeilS]

I am not sure what Chelsea are complaining about, that was a blatant shove in the back. I am not sure what MotD are on about either, it was amazing the referee didn’t give that in the first instance. It was clear as day.

[sheepyvillian]

17 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

Wernt great but **** it got a point against the better team on the day. Hopefully they play even better against Spurs and beat them. 

That's a foregone conclusion. If they lose that, Poch will be sacked. 

[NeilS]

On the result, disappointing to draw from 2-0 up but will accept Chelsea didn’t deserve to lose so will take the point. That could be an important point come the end of the season.

We must play better on Thursday!

[Vive_La_Villa]

Someone said it would be 2-2. I blame them. I think it was @alreadyexists