Chelsea - Inter (16 Mar 10)

[n4l]

This was not the order of our priorities in the first leg

you know this for a fact?

in my mind, we set out to defend and when we get opportunities to attack, we attacked quickly...

If we went in thinking "we cannot concede, we cannot concede", we would not have scored so early.

really?
if i set up defensively, i CANNOT score early?

why do you automatically think that setting up defensively means ZERO OFFENSE?

they are not mutually exclusive

you can setup defensively and score tons of goals....
re: valencia in the early 2000's

It is fine to use the 4-3-1-2, but if we have the mindset of defense - 80%, offense 20% from the start of the match, Chelsea will barrage us and may even pop in an early goal like Rubin, Dynamo and Barcelona did.

conceeding an early goal has nothing to do with an offensive/defensive mindset....it has more to do with concentration

I think we should approach this match as if we tied 0-0 in the first leg, meaning if we want to go through, we have to score.

why?
the score is 2-1 and not 0-0
also, the game is 90 minutes, not 10...
there is no need to jump right out of the gate in full offense...

I have always felt that playing for a draw is the most unsafe way to approach a match...

tell that to the Liverpool, ManU, Porto, AC Milan and others who've all won the CL recently by being defensive w/counter when it is required...

and btw, who said to "play for a draw"?
setting up defensively and hitting on the counter is the wisest/smartest strategy...

 

[vitomins]

really?
if i set up defensively, i CANNOT score early?

why do you automatically think that setting up defensively means ZERO OFFENSE?

they are not mutually exclusive

you can setup defensively and score tons of goals....

You make some good points, but this part is really debatable. The way one team looks with a defensive approach, is completely different from the way another team looks with a defensive approach.

Forget about comparing to Valencia from a decade or so ago and lets look at our own team from a couple months ago.

The away match against Barcelona was the most obvious occasion that we started with a defensive mentality and look how that turned out...

ZERO OFFENSE

 

[n4l]

You make some good points, but this part is really debatable. The way one team looks with a defensive approach, is completely different from the way another team looks with a defensive approach.

Forget about comparing to Valencia from a decade or so ago and lets look at our own team from a couple months ago.

The away match against Barcelona was the most obvious occasion that we started with a defensive mentality and look how that turned out...

ZERO OFFENSE

we conceeded by the 10th minute which changed the entire game; barca with a lead is very, very hard to break down

we conceeded, not because we were defensive, but because our concentration was not right (and hasn't been for some years now in CL)

tbh, i blame that loss 1000% on mourinho, since imo, we had no game plan...
we were not playing defensive, nor trying to play possession, nor trying to play counter....
we had no clue what we were doing..
it was one of the worst games i've seen inter play for the past 5 years (next to roma 6-2)



i brought up the valencia example just to show that the offensive/defensive tactic is irrelevant and that the concentration/aggression of the players is...



as i said, it is only logical for us to play defensive and hit on the counter...

it is the best way to expose chelsea's backline to create scoring chances, while simultaneously, close down the spaces for them to attack...

in a normal game, this may not be the best tactic to start a game with, but since we have the advantage and they have to score, they must attack

trying to combat that with possession play will only open ourselves up on transition....that's the risk mou has to leverage

we have to be aggressive and remain concentrated throughout the game, this is what is most crucial imo

football is all about risk and probabilities
nothing is 100% guaranteed...

so setting up defensively does not guarantee we don't concede early, but it gives us a better chance of not conceeding early, since we will have more players in our half closing down the spaces for chelsea to exploit

similarly, setting up offensively does not guarantee we will concede, but it is more likely that we might, since we will have more players committed on offense, thus more space for chelsea to exploit..

you prefer to be a bit riskier
i prefer to be a bit safer

 

[vitomins]

we conceeded by the 10th minute which changed the entire game; barca with a lead is very, very hard to break down

we conceeded, not because we were defensive, but because our concentration was not right (and hasn't been for some years now in CL)

tbh, i blame that loss 1000% on mourinho, since imo, we had no game plan...
we were not playing defensive, nor trying to play possession, nor trying to play counter....
we had no clue what we were doing..
it was one of the worst games i've seen inter play for the past 5 years (next to roma 6-2)



i brought up the valencia example just to show that the offensive/defensive tactic is irrelevant and that the concentration/aggression of the players is...



as i said, it is only logical for us to play defensive and hit on the counter...

it is the best way to expose chelsea's backline to create scoring chances, while simultaneously, close down the spaces for them to attack...

in a normal game, this may not be the best tactic to start a game with, but since we have the advantage and they have to score, they must attack

trying to combat that with possession play will only open ourselves up on transition....that's the risk mou has to leverage

we have to be aggressive and remain concentrated throughout the game, this is what is most crucial imo

football is all about risk and probabilities
nothing is 100% guaranteed...

so setting up defensively does not guarantee we don't concede early, but it gives us a better chance of not conceeding early, since we will have more players in our half closing down the spaces for chelsea to exploit

similarly, setting up offensively does not guarantee we will concede, but it is more likely that we might, since we will have more players committed on offense, thus more space for chelsea to exploit..

you prefer to be a bit riskier
i prefer to be a bit safer

Believe it or not I actually agree with almost every point you make and normally I would lean towards the safer side.

I don't claim to coach anything close to Inter, but I have coached U16 and U17 soccer for 4-5 years, and if I were in a two legged match going away from how with a 2-1 lead, then I would play the game exactly how you have explained it above.

I guess my brain says to play it this way, but my stomach just doesn't think it will be the best way of approaching it. It is obviously smarter to go with what your head is telling you, but sometimes following your gut pays off in the end.

I have no doubt that Mourinho will approach the game exactly the way you are thinking we should approach it, I just doubt that it will be our best option. For some reason, I feel like we allow more goals when we are trying to protect a lead than when we just play our game and look for a goal this year...

 

[pazzainteramala]

4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 would be suicide in a situation like this, a 4 or 5 man inter midfield can't get more than 50% possession over a 3 man chelsea midfield, if we play sneijder cambiasso and motta/muntari/stankovic as the only midfielders in this game we would be schooled

anyone hoping that we will play 4-2-3-1 or a similar attacking formation will be disappointed, either before the game starts or after it has finished

we should play a attacking formation if cech isnt in goal..hillario is horrible

 

[jmaster]

we should play a attacking formation if cech isnt in goal..hillario is horrible

I don't agree. We shouldn't get over-confident, or we will get thrashed. We should keep counter-attacking, and use Sneijder's free-kicks to make Hilario cry

 

[skeet]

You make some good points, but this part is really debatable. The way one team looks with a defensive approach, is completely different from the way another team looks with a defensive approach.

Forget about comparing to Valencia from a decade or so ago and lets look at our own team from a couple months ago.

The away match against Barcelona was the most obvious occasion that we started with a defensive mentality and look how that turned out...

ZERO OFFENSE

barcelona cannot be compared to chelsea in terms of playing style, if we go into the chelsea game the same way we went into the barca game it wouldn't mean that chelsea will play like barcelona

i'm not saying we should use the same tactics we used against barca, but against barca we didn't have sneijder, and stankovic zanetti cambiasso and motta put together can't even be compared to one of xavi iniesta and toure/keita in terms of possession play, which is way we had zero offense, not because we played for a draw

in the first minutes of the game we will most likely be under immense pressure, and in this case the team that is more disciplined will prevail assuming luck plays no part, so playing for a goal in the start will make the defense shaky which would result in more through balls and 1 on 1's to be leaked through, and inter are not as solid as they are at home so for me that is a risk that is not worth taking imo

 

[pazzainteramala]

I don't agree. We shouldn't get over-confident, or we will get thrashed. We should keep counter-attacking, and use Sneijder's free-kicks to make Hilario cry

true bc it can be the type of game where we get little chances..but we can sub on balo second half

 

[mario.santon]

Our best opportunity is due to the fact Mou knows chelski players very well and he knows the stadium very well as well. Ancelotti records against Mou also is in Mou's favor.

We need determination, concentration and Cech being out of the game to keep our chance high

 

[Fitzy]

Another thing we need to be aware of is the pitch at Stamford Bridge is smaller than ours. This will mean there will be less space between the players than in the first leg, whatever formation we play.

 

[Victory]

Fact about UCL:

In knockout stages, it's impossible to sit back and soak up pressure like we do in Serie A. The other team will dominate possession and make chances. Only luck can save us then.

Isn't it clear so far that defensive mindset has killed us in Europe?

 

[Baldrick]

Chelsea is in really bad form last couple of games. We should use their bad form.Inter have enough quality and character to pass this opponent and qualify in next stage.Forza Inter.

 

[Tonibaloni]

every game is the story for it slef in UCL,.. look at stuttgard, it was killing barcelona... Mor, knows what he will do for sure,.. and defensive play will kill inter for sure over there

 

[Il Muro]

Bosingwa out for rest of the season.

 

[Dario]

Bosingwa out for rest of the season.

Not really bothered to be honest, ivanovic is not exactly shit... he played amazing in the 1st leg

 

[Edyy]

Inter draw and go to Finaly .

 

[CafeCordoba]

So they have only Ivanovic and Belletti as wing backs for this match? Given that also Cech is out, and the team generally not in a great form, this is our chance to get the first big victory in CL (speaking about continuing in knockout phase).

 

[Zuperman8]

So they have only Ivanovic and Belletti as wing backs for this match? Given that also Cech is out, and the team generally not in a great form, this is our chance to get the first big victory in CL (speaking about continuing in knockout phase).

Nah it will be Ivanovic and Zhirkov

 

[CafeCordoba]

Ah dammit, forgot that fucking Zhirkov! They have tons of wing backs lol.

It's ~1,5 weeks to this match. There is no news about Essien yet. As rude and low it is, we have to hope he won't make it to this match. And even if he do, he has practically no match fitness.

 

[Universe]

Ah dammit, forgot that fucking Zhirkov! They have tons of wing backs lol.

It's ~1,5 weeks to this match. There is no news about Essien yet. As rude and low it is, we have to hope he won't make it to this match. And even if he do, he has practically no match fitness.

So lets list their players who are injured/lacking fitness and do the same for our team.

Chelsea:
Bosingwa, A.Cole, Cech, Essien

Inter:
Chivu, Santon?

Anyone care add any that I missed?