1-0, excellent result and I expect us to rinse out dis side next week.
Some big performances tonight:
David Luiz was massive tonight, 10/10, de man was mashin up Benfica like Leonidas in 300
Torres was also very good...his passing game has been great for some time now (and he showed it again with the assist for Kalou) but his threat as a centre forward is beginning to return now that he has decided to take a few more shots...for the first time all season I was glad to see him in the starting lineup and even though he eh score he was very effective.
Shoutout to Mikel for an assured performance alongside Miereles, he looked like a top player tonight.
Truth is Benfica couldnt really defend and perhaps we could have had a couple more goals, but I happy with that result.
Have not seen the game still but I eh surprised by this result. Getting Benfica in the draw was a bit of a blessing for Chelsea. RDM had to balance a hectic rotation off the hectic schedule of the past week so the only surprise to this lineup for me was the inclusion of the long forgotten Fereira. What most of Mikel's (overblowing) critics don't seem to understand is that his role is defensive midfielder. "Defensive" being the operative word. He gives elasticity to the team's defensive scheme in slowing down or breaking down the opponents' attacks. When on Chelsea have possession he is ever present with the team's lateral movement of the ball ALWAYS being a presence to who ever has the ball as an option to receive the ball and make an outlet pass. He is not easily dispossessed. he makes very good passes to the forwards and his work rate across the field is phenomenal. But I realize long time some ah y'all men doh see dat. Y'all does want to say he's a shithong based on his lack of participation in a more forward attacking role while I have offered time and time again, that Essien (when healthy) makes many more runs into Chelsea's offensive third and hasn't proven to be any more proportionately valuable than Mikel, so what is it that makes Mikel a "shithong" as allyuh like to say? He is young and has the ability to play a more forward role in midfield so don't expect Chelsea to let him go just yet.
Torres has always been playing better for the team in the CL than in the league, especially in the scoring department. Maybe chelsea should just designate him as an out and out winger because the few times he has had to deliver the ball from that right channel into the box, he has done a far better job than practically every body else on the team. Even Lampard seems to have lost his ability to
consistently get his crosses past the opponents' first defender. Well, at least under AVB he did. Kalou is getting all the praise in the English press, but, from what I see so far of the highlights, it was Ramires and Torres that really made that goal happen.
David Luiz will be exactly what he is: a Brazilian defender. As I stated before, I will take his good with whatever bad he brings any day. In the end, I have faith that the former will outweigh the latter. They just mentioned on Sky Sports that DiMatteo benched some of the same players that AVB benhed against Napoli. so we know now that "team selection" wasn't necessarily the problem.
