Chelsea dropped points...

Difference is we have Bruno providing a threat in the middle. Not sure Chelsea would have that with the tendency of their players to drift to the wide areas. Which just leaves Mount and Kante in there playing like Henderson, but with less creativity.

comment by N2 (U22280)
posted 4 minutes ago
comment by it'sonlyagame (U6426)
posted 1 minute ago
Is N2 an RDD sock account?
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Do I ask that many questions?
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I don't know, do you?

And their full backs are a massive part of their attack. So they need a focal point in box. It just looks to me like they’ve brought in a lot of players without really thinking about their suitability to play together. So they’re so reliant on bits of individual magic, Giroud’s headers and set pieces.

For the manager it likely is. It's probably different for the players though.

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I'm not sure about that. There's always pressure but you'd rather deal with the good kind of pressure that comes with winning and when you're doing well than the bad kind, which everyone would've been under at that stage of last season.

Though his Torresesque finishing and Lukakuesque touches and passes aren’t a positional issue.

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I think he's just having a bad time of it at the moment which isn't being helped by some of the other things that Chelsea are doing.

comment by Donny The King van de Beek (U10026)
posted 38 seconds ago
And their full backs are a massive part of their attack. So they need a focal point in box. It just looks to me like they’ve brought in a lot of players without really thinking about their suitability to play together. So they’re so reliant on bits of individual magic, Giroud’s headers and set pieces.
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Their fullbacks can still be an important part of the attack without a traditional nine around the penalty spot.

Of Liverpool’s 85 or so league goals last season, something like 15 were headers, and I think probably most of those were by defenders at set pieces.

TAA and Robertson still got 25 assists between them, largely because of the brilliant movement of Liverpool’s forwards.

This is another reason why the 4-2-3-1 setup would make more sense: you can make that same argument about interchanging of Havertz. Ziyech and Pulisic are also versatile and intelligent players who are very capable of seeking out space and close combination/overloading opportunities.

In short, they have a group of players who you could see thriving in a more fluid system.

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Yeah I'd agree with that.

But Liverpool’s whole front three act as a focal point for their full backs. All three get in the box and are good in the air. With the profile of the Chelsea forwards, and the way they involve their full backs, they really do need a number 9 when they put crosses in. They also don’t have runners from the midfield getting in the box like Liverpool do.

They can get by with individual class, though. But I don’t look at the way Chelsea play and think it’s suiting what they have in the squad right now. And I think it’s more than just Lampard not being very good, as I’ve expressed.

So to clarify, did we capitalise this evening by winning, or was it too early in the season to count?

Moving above Leicester and capitalising when they drop points aren’t the same thing. So no.