Dunno about that, I did feel that Mata didn't work as hard for us (I'm a London ex-pat), as he could.
Torres is loved by the fans as he's always willing to come back and help out in defence.
Up here in Manchester, the City supporters thought they'd win.
A woman in our doctor's surgery waiting area yesterday afternoon, was telling her friend how she and her husband were going to the match and it'd be a great night and they'd be back on top of the league by the time they came home!

Whoops!

Luiz was great last night, and hes had the potential to be a world class player ever since hes joined us, IMO. He just needs to sort some aspects of his game and he is not far from being up there with the best in the world.

Its a massive year for him as well, is he not the Brazil Captain? He could well be lifting the world cup and Brazil will rely heavily on him to organize their defence.

Double it after he starts in the World Cup for Brazil!

Thiago Silva's the captain of Brazil, Luiz is the vice-captain.

He's shown what he can do when deployed in midfield so I hope Mourinho continues to use him there alongside Matic and Rambo.

PLEASE don't go in the World Class thread and post this - it'll end in carnage!

Luiz is a liability as a defender in world terms as he takes too many risks and was born sloppy and reckless. His weaknesses are usually less fatal in midfield whilst his strengths are better exploited from there too - he's certainly a better bet than Mikel any day of the week.

He's certainly 100% value for money entertainment-wise!

If you can get north of £30m for him then I'd take it for the sake of Financial Fair Play. I don't think Luiz is reliable enough to succeed Terry and the arrival of Matic will limit his opportunities in the middle.

Also Jose is playing some blinding mind games this season - he has done really well since hes returned back to us. A few dodgy games but overall i think hes got most things spot on. Our Squad looks better than its ever been since he was last in charge. Our tactics are looking spot on and the players are playing for the manager.

His latest comments that we arent title challengers are all mindgames - We are defenitely in the running for the title this season, even if we are still a team that can improve. I think we are 2nd favorites behind City but still ahead of Arsenal in terms of squad.

City should win the league this season, but so far they havent ran away with it which gives us a chance.

Luiz is not a liability in world terms. He was a standout player for Brazil in the confederations cup!

Both clubs have 4 games left against the better clubs. City have none of those at home whilst Chelsea have three. My money's on Chelsea now.

My nan stormed the disco at the church hall but she's no John Travolta when all said and done.

For me Luiz is someone that is going to be something special.

No he will never be able to replace JT because they are very different type of players who play a very different type of football and have different skill sets. He is not a "English" defender. He offers something in many different areas of the park. I can see him forming a very good partnership with Matic and being played in a slightly different way like he did against City.

This is a guy I am expecting to see in the "team of the year" for many years to come. I can see him having a stella world cup. He has already attracted some massive clubs even after the idiots who for some reason are paid actual money (personaly I would not give them monopoly money) to comment on our game for being a "playstation player". If we lose this guy it will be another player we will regret selling.

His performances have dipped recently (his finishing on Monday is usually a lot better than what was displayed) but we definitely need a Ramires type of player in our team. If he's on top form, he'll perform successful tackles and break up counter attacks. His best performance this season is probably the one against Southampton at home. He was unbelievable in that game; he made 10 tackles and also got the assist for the third goal. It doesn't matter if he plays out wide like he did on Monday or in midfield; he'll always track back and try to win the ball back.


No doubt about that, the boy is class! He made 11 dribbles on Monday night; he is going to be one special player in a few years.

I don't really know what else to add but I agree with everyone here by saying what a performance the team displayed! Cahill was phenomenal! My biggest fear with Cahill is his 1v1 defending but he didn't put a foot wrong. If only that header went in, it would have topped off a fantastic performance!

I must admit that i'd given up on Luiz, to the point where i'd have been happy for him to be sold in the transfer window.
Fortunately, Jose has finally put him back in the spot where Rafa was getting the best out of him and we now have a player once again!

One question for next season.
Along with a top quality striker, do we need a top quality passer of the ball in midfield?
Going forward we have pace and players who can run with the ball, but pace and running with the ball can't always unlock a defence, as we saw against West Ham.

I wouldn't object to seeing someone else come in next to Matic. Much as I like Ramires I can't deny that his passing and finishing let us down too often.

If Luiz is to stay in midfield he still needs to cut out the OTT fouls. If his move to midfield isn't permanent I'd still take any profit on him.

I do think we need to start looking at centre backs, JT has maybe only this season left and if he does sign another contract one season after that. Otherwise we could start a season in a couple of seasons time with not only a new keeper between the sticks but a new centre back pairing as well.

Presumably Zouma will be part of the squad next season, rather than farmed out on loan? Would make sense to keep him here and start integrating him into the team. I'd have him as 3rd choice initially behind Terry/Cahill, but start him in the domestic cup games etc.

Luiz should stay in midfield as his main position. He's just not cut out to play at centre-back in this league, so if Mourinho doesn't plan to use him in midfield long-term then we may as well sell.

Alot does depend on if JT stays or goes and also I guess what he wants, If he can get a 2/3 year big money deal from the U.S/Turkey etc I cannot blame him if he thought really hard about it more so if we just offer him a one year deal. Not playing international football could mean he able to play at a pretty decent level for a couple of years I just not sure if its at title winning level. As always with Chelsea it going to be a very important time between the end of this and the start of next and a very expensive one, I am quite looking forward to see how we line up on day one next season, Could be as different as it was from the Livepool game at the end of Bate's time and the season after that

I don't think it's a priority. The stats against West Ham were freakish, I think it was the most chances created without scoring in Premiership history ? Besides, I'm not sure there would be a place for that type of player in Mourinho's line-up. A playmaker who is prepared to roll up their sleeves and put in a shift defensively every week is difficult to find.
If Jose decides to go back to a 4-3-3, we can always pull Oscar a little deeper to use as our link alongside Matic and Ramires (or Luiz). We are still some way short of the midfield we had when Mourinho was last in charge, but that's going to be almost impossible to replicate. The likes of Makelele, Ballack, Essien and Lampard at his best were really something special.

Headings to the bridge today, looking forward to it! Seems like a good time to play Newcastle as well as they lost cabaye and look to be in a bit of trouble at the moment

I agree with this. I just think West Ham was "one of those games". More than anything, having a top drawer striker would have helped.

Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, D Luiz, Azpilicueta; Matic, Lampard (c); Willian, Oscar, Hazard; Eto’o

Schwarzer, Cole, Mikel, Ramires, Schurrle, Salah, Ba

Liverpool helping you guys today.

Good to see salah on the bench, luiz starting in defence today - hope he has a good game.

Argh - I didn't even notice Luiz in defence! Where is Terry??

He's got a minor muscle strain according to the Chelsea twitter, so is being rested as a precaution.

Usual slow start