Chelsea vs Stoke City Match Analysis

Chelsea Starting XI: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Cole; Ramires, Mikel; Mata, Oscar, Hazard; Torres

Formation: 4-2-3-1

First Half:

Formation is one people have been looking forward to with Ramires back central and Oscar in that starting midfield 3 with Hazard and Mata

10 Min

20 min

Chelsea playing with 67% possession and 6 shots (to Stoke's 3)

30 min

Possession has proven to still not be a problem (65%)

Ramires doing a fine job at holding midfielder (74% passing accuracy, 3 tackles)

Luiz being adventurous and making his way to the other penalty box which shows the dominance in possession right now

40 min

Final ball still a problem

Looks like all the defenders want a piece of the attacking action

HALF TIME: CFC 0-0 Stoke

• People on Twitter likening Chelsea to Arsenal
• 10 shots to Stoke's 5
• 65% possession
• Fox Halftime Report says faster passing in the final third and Chelsea have it

Second Half:

50 min: Oscar Yellow card; diving

Cahill and Luiz outside Stoke's box

60 min

62 Min: Moses IN Hazard OUT

Owen on for Stoke as Stoke aim to increase the attack

Great connections between Moses, Torres Mata

Moses has opened up the game as predicted

70 Min: Oscar with 90% passing and 4 shots is having a very active match

80 Min

81 Min: Lampard ON Mikel OFF

85 Min: GOAL Ashley Cole; Lifted over keeper off a Mata flick

CFC 1-0 Stoke

88 Min: Terry ON Mata OFF

93 Min: Luiz yellow card

FULL TIME: CFC 1-0 Stoke

• Possession: CFC 60% Stoke 40%
• Shots: CFC 16 Stoke 10

Positives

• Oscar starts and keeps much of his same form from the Juventus match even if he didn't score
• Moses showed abilities again and adds to width
• Clean sheet

Negatives

• Would like more goals from Torres or people to make runs past him for goals

MOTM: Ashley Cole

• 94% passing accuracy
• 1 goal
• 3 shots
• 2 tackles
• Late game saving goal put Cole at MOTM today

Queens Park Rangers vs Chelsea Match Analysis

Chelsea Starting XI: Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry (c), Cole; Mikel, Lampard; Ramires, Hazard, Bertrand; Torres

Formation: 4-2-3-1

First Half:

10 Min

14 Min: Yellow card Ramires for tackle on breakaway

Ramires sloppy tackles becoming a problem

20 Min

Hazard has been quiet so far

27 Min: Yellow card Bertrand

30 Min: QPR leading in possession (53%) but Chelsea with more shots (CFC 4 – QPR 1)

40 Min

Many people on Twitter calling for Moses

HALF TIME: QPR 0-0 CFC

Second Half:

50 Min: Not a lot going on the match both teams not very effective in final third

58 Min Moses ON Bertrand OFF

60 Min: QPR picking up on attack

70 Min: Shots are now equal

Torres getting taken down often but most aren't called until now

80 Min: Sturridge ON Torres OFF

Torres walks straight through tunnel

Sturridge does well on his first few touches.

Chelsea back in attack now; Hazard sends a sitter over

90 Min: Finishing has been poor for Chelsea

FULL TIME: QPR 0-0 CFC

Positives

• Moses debut
• Solid defending
• Still top of the table and no loss yet

Negatives

• Dropping first points of season
• Questionable reaction by Torres to being subbed off
• Poor finishing

MOTM: Ryan Nelsen (QPR)

• Was not an obvious pick to some but in a match where both defenses were on top of things and strikers were poor, the MOTM was likely to be a CB
• Statistically most tackles, most aerials won, no fouls, so a solid performance
• 89 % Passing accuracy
• 67 % Aerials won
• 57 touches

Chelsea vs Newcastle Match Analysis

Chelsea Starting XI: Cech (c); Ivan, Cahill, D Luiz, Cole; Mik, Meir; Mata, Hazard, Bert; Torres.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

First Half:

Commentator “thing about Chelsea is they only put one person in the box when Lampd's not playing”

Good play between Bertrand and Mata

Bertrand trying the early ball but Torres outnumbered

Chelsea is dominating possession

Newcastle dangerous in the counter attack but haven't had the chance

10 Min

Cahill-Luiz pair looks solid so far

Hazard has been working his usual magic centrally, Mata alright on the wing

18 min: Torres with lay-off to Bertrand nearly a goal

20 min

Player tracking

21 min: Torres wins a PK

22 min: GOAL Hazard; scores

CFC 1-0 Newcastle

Hazard's first goal for Chelsea

Commentator says Hazard is the first player who isn't Drogba or Lampard to score a PK (outside of a shout-out) since Ballack in 2008

30 min

Torres not showing the drive to beat the last defender; Seems more content to lay it off

38 min: Chelsea with 60% possession so far; 88% passing to Newcastle's 83%

40 min

4 added minutes

45+3 min: GOAL Torres from out of box to the top right; Hazard assist

CFC 2-0 Newcastle

HALF TIME:

• Hazard is best man on the pitch again with 96% passing, 1 shot, 1 assist
• Torres counters his yellow with an extra time goal
• Hazard-Torres our best 10-9 partnership at the moment
• Chelsea beginning to form a trend of good passing, less pressure on the defense
• Mikel with 100% on aerials won, 100% pass accuracy which means what is sometimes a weak DM area is somewhat secure
• Interesting point floating around Twitter: Torres fouled, Hazard scores PK then Hazard assists and Torres scores

Second Half:

Chelsea are winning the midfield battle; more passing, more aerials won

50 min

52 min: Ben Arfa gets his first shot off but not even on target; one of only 3 shots Newcastle has had

Complacency beginning to show as per usual; possession is more equal

60 min

Cheeky attempted pass by Torres as his confidence is looking to return

67 min: Ramires IN Mata OUT

70 min

Much calmer second half

80 min: Bertrand having a go from outside and winning a corner

88 min: Lampard ON Meireles OFF

89 min: Luiz head collides with Ba

90 min

4 min added when play continues

Game is being closed out. No ambition left for Newcastle

FULL TIME: CFC 2-0 Newcastle

Positives

• Hazard looks the best behind Torres in this formation
• Solid Mikel performance meant top of the box wasn't as vulnberable
• Luiz-Cahill pairing was also pretty solid; Cahill particularly put in a very good performance
• Clean sheet against a team that generally scores on a lot of teams

Negatives

• No real shining negatives this match

MOTM: Fernando Torres

• Stats:
  • 67% Pass Accuracy
  • 70% Aerials Won
  • 45 Touches
  • 1 shot (1 goal)
  • 2 Dribbles Won
• Hazard could just as easily gotten this too (Barclay's MOTM). Maybe he actually should be. No actually Hazard should be but I wanted to give some credit to Torres. In my opinion, this could be marked as the start of the Torres revival. He still needs to try and beat the last defender more than he does but his assertiveness led to a penalty and a goal. Great movement.
  
  
  

Hazard Watch (Actual MOTM)

• Barclay's MOTM
• Stats (this match)
  • 89% Pass Accuracy
  • 67 touches
  • 4 shots (1 goal)
  • 2 Dribbles Won
• Stats (season)
  • 3 Apps
  • 1 Goal
  • 4 Assists

Citi 97.3 fm Analysis

Hey readers,

So yesterday was an interesting night. Through the wonders of Twitter I had gotten in contact with a host on a private radio show in Ghana called Citi 97.3 fm . Yesterday, I was on the show (through Google+) doing halftime and post match analysis. This was a wonderful opportunity to start getting application from watching matches. You can go ahead and check them out. The post match turned out better on my part because I was more organized in my thoughts. Hopefully, over time, my analysis can be more precise and I get more opportunities to apply it. Stay tuned for more posts. Great to see people checking out my posts more.

Cheers,
Daniel

Chelsea vs Reading Match Analysis

Chelsea Starting XI: Cech; Ivanovic Cahill JT(c) Cole ;Mikel Lamps; Ramires Hazard Mata; Torres

Formation: 4-2-3-1

First Half:

Connection between the mids starting well

Ramires doesn't lift head for easy pass

A lot of Chelsea pressure

Torres with a lot of skill in his set up but still looking for a goal

17 Min: Hazard draws the penalty; Lazy and reckless tackle

18 Min: GOAL Lampard; Power PK

CFC 1-0 Reading

Midfield 3 having too much fun

Reading forwards haven't had much to do

25 Min: GOAL Reading

• 1-2 on the right wing that burns Cole
• POGBRENYAK header beats Cahill

CFC 1-1 Reading

29 Min: GOAL Reading

• Free kick bounces off Cech and in
• Guthrie

CFC 1-2 Reading

Our right back is being exploited

Left too sometimes when Cole is too far up

Battle: Harte vs Hazard

McCleary has been trouble on right wing (especially the 1-2)

Game has had it's back and forth moments

HALFTIME

Second Half:

57 Min: Oscar ON Ramires OFF

57 Min: Reading Yellow; Foul on Mata

64 Min: Reading Yellow

Chelsea needs dimension

68 Min: Sturridge ON Mikel OFF

69 Min: GOAL Cahill from long

CFC 2-2 Reading

81 Min: GOAL Torres; Controversial offside tap-in from Cole to Torres

CFC 3-2 Reading

85 Min: Meireles ON Mata OFF

Many fouls for Oscar right now

95 Min: GOAL Ivanovic (assist Hazard)

• Reading corner (Keeper up too)
• Torres starts counter
• Hazard runs it down field
• side pass to Ivanovic for the easy goal

CFC 4-2 Reading

FULL TIME: CFC 4-2 Reading

Positives

• TOP OF THE TABLE
• Hazard was a show again; 3 assists in two matches (not counting the two plays that led to penalties)
• Torres goal (even if controversial)

Negatives

• Wing backs are vulnerable (right back in particular); I am worried about more talented wingers against us
• Until Sturridge came on, no-one wanted to go wide which led to lack of dimension in play

MOTM: Eden Hazard

• 1 Assist
• 5 Shots
• 94% Pas Accuracy
• 2 Dribbles Won
• 1 Dribble Leading to Penalty
• 97 Touches