Another Setback
Let me be honest, I wasn't expecting much from the visit to Stamford Bridge. All I was asking was a good account of ourselves. To a certain extend we got that at the beginning of the game. And things began to unravel the moment Eto'o got the lucky looping deflection over de Gea. We were missing the clinical edge at the bottom and top third of the pitch.
Let's start with the defense. There was no real problem with the personnel. Vidic was solid especially, but the positional play as a unit was suspect. Often, Carrick had to drop deep to pick runners up, while Ashley Young lacked discipline in helping Evra out on the left side of the pitch.
Chelski found plenty of joy rummaging down our left side, and the astute Mourinho saw that from a mile away.
The right side was a bit more secure, due to great understanding between Rafael and Valencia, plus also the help they got from Jones.
The fact that Jones and Carrick being pulled to help the rest of the team allowed Ramires and David Luiz to dominate the centre of the pitch. And they were both adapt at making the simple masses and keeping things ticking while the more creative players do the damage.
Then the final third. Wellbeck and Adnan were a couple of schoolboys for the Chelski defense. They had to find space either deep or on the left to receive the ball. Any long diagonal would be snuffed out easily. At this level, quantity of possession was meaningless and you were unable to make it work. The lack of quality possession just spoke volumes. Put simply, we were unable to hurt them.
I think tactically, we were found out. No point pointing to the return of Rooney and van Persie, as it would not do much unless we deploy the right personnel on the wings. This was where Adnan and Valencia would thrive. And when we were this desperate, we have to play to our strength.
Onward....
Excruciating
I did everything I could. I followed all the ritual. But still we were soundly beaten. At home. To Liverpool. How painful was that. Not just the scoreline that was the worry, but the manner on which we surrendered did not bode well for the immediate future.
The scoreline actually did not reflect what actually happened on the field. I could see the players trying, but they lack a coherent tactic. Mata, Rooney and Van Persie kept occupying the same space, causing Mata to drop deep into Fellaini's territory to pick up possession. And that isolated Van Persie. He wasn't able to make any runs as the space between the Liverpool's midfield and back line was non-existant. Everything was compact and Gerrard and Henderson were able to pick the runners up easily and release their front two.
And in Sturridge and Suarez - and to a certain extend, Sterling - they really stretched our defense.
The penalties were fair except for the third - which resulted in Vidic's expulsion. They could've had a fourth a bit later but Clattenberg thought otherwise foe some reason. A let-off for us.
We just have to improve. We have an important midweek Champions League match, a must win. It would be our only chance to be in the Champions League draw for next season.
Losing that would pile more pressure on Moysey. And that might just be the final straw...