2013/14 Pre-season Friendly Thread

Another decent really decent performance from us - the only negative was conceding our first goal in pre-season, although with a back 4 of Spearing, Coates, Wisdom & Flanagan and Jones in goal it was inevitable.

Aspas keeps impressing me; it looks like he's going to miss a few chances but he looks really lively and more than a handy player. Coutinho was his usual beautiful self and Alberto looks a very promising understudy to him. And then there's Borini....even you must feel sorry for him Pigeon. He's just not meant to score - he was so unlucky today.
 
BaZ87 said:
And then there's Borini....even you must feel sorry for him Pigeon. He's just not meant to score - he was so unlucky today.
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How long can we keep saying he's unlucky? He's in the team to score goals and he never really looks capable of doing that so can we afford to start the season with him upfront given Suarez and potentially Sturridge won't be playing?
 
As things stand he's 4th choice. Yes, he's not done enough to justify the £9-10m we spent on him but the lad's not had any luck whatsoever. He started off playing on the right, broke his foot a couple of months into the season and then soon after coming back from that injury he dislocates his shoulder. He could have easily ended up with a hat-trick today but instead 1 shot trickles along the goal-line from a near impossible angle, the keeper makes a great save and he smashes 1 against the bar.
 
4th choice behind the players currently available or 4th choice including Suarez and Sturridge? Coutinho's a certainty to start out on the left and I'd say Aspas has done enough to start on the right or through the centre. That leaves Ibe, Sterling and Borini battling for the last place and I'd place Sterling head of him at the moment.
 
4th choice of our 4 central striking options. I think Aspas is nailed on to play as the central striker if Sturridge isn't fit for Stoke and as you say, Coutinho's a certainty too but I'm not sure where he plays.

If we play with Coutinho off Aspas then I think Borini might play on one of the wings but if we go with a 4-3-3 and Coutinho on the left then I think we have to go with either Sterling or Ibe.
 
On the game I thought Ibe looked good as well as Luis Alberto, Aspas and Borini missing chance after chance is not exactly what I wanted to see but Aspas looked decent.
 
Sturridge has only just returned to full training and wasn't deemed fit enough to play any part of today's game. At best he'll get 30-45mins vs Celtic at the weekend which isn't nearly enough to consider starting him vs Stoke.
 
Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Cole; Lampard, Van Ginkel; Ramires, Oscar, Hazard; Lukaku.

Real Madrid: Casillas; Arbeloa, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Khedira, Modric; Ozil, Isco, Ronaldo; Benzema.
 
Real Madrid 3-1 Chelsea:


Marcelo 13, Ramires 16, Ronaldo 31, 56

Now onto Washington where we play AS Roma @ 01:00 on Sunday.
 
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