No the second half was a non-event really, more like a training exercise. I wonder if Jose told them to tidy things up in defence, they were beginning to look a bit sloppy and he wouldn't want them to get into bad habits. We might have gone on to win 5-3, but that's not the Mourunho way.

Good start.

Looked rusty in places but for a tough start to the season we could not have asked for me.

Ensured the sencond half was a non event.

New guys slotted in really well and really looked ready for the season.

Did not look quite there from a defensive point of view but I expect that to be put right sooner rather then later.

All in all a very good day at the office

JT has done the ice bucket challenge.

For people who ask why Chelsea fans love him they should check out who he has nominated to take the challenge.

I for one would donate to the charity to be the person who poured the bucket over one of his nominations

Can someone please explain all the fuss about Costa Yellow card didn't watch the game and Sky Sports news are keep on mentioning it without showing the footage or telling us why he got the card.

Simple really. The Burnley keeper came charging out, missed the ball and brought Costa down. The referee (or his assistant) didn't see it that way and booked Costa for diving.
The video replays showed there was clear contact, but personally I didn't think there was any doubt to begin with. The speed and angle of the keeper's approach made it virtually impossible for Costa to avoid a collision. To his credit, Costa did try to vault over the keeper but there was nothing he could do with his trailing leg.
A double whammy really, denied a penalty and then the innocent party gets booked.

What I can't understand is this, if the referee wasn't sure (and I'm sure we can all accept that) why couldn't he just not give the penalty and carry on the game. Why compound it by handing out a yellow card ? He not only got it wrong but went on to rub salt in the wound.

If he truely belived he dived then he was right to give a yellow card but once again it comes down to what all the other randoms jobs are.

They have "assistants" all over the place now, One of them should have said "Mike mate you screwed up that one"

Dont mind Ref's making mistakes (even big ones) as that happens but when there are other people around who could help him out and they stand there like they waiting for a bus I think something needs to be done

Don't know what the ice bucket challenge thingy is about, but Terry nominating Rafa is just superb.

Its the new "fad" everyone been doing it.

It was even more of a highlight then the 3 points last night

Yes, but I don't think he could have "truly believed" it was a dive. It's more a case of asserting his authority and making out that he was on top of the game and had a perfect view of the incident. I would have more respect for referees if they occasionally admitted that they were unsure, but they appear to think this would be a sign of weakness.

I think a point a lot of pundits are making is that even without contact (which there was) it should have been a penalty. The keeper had missed the ball and was impeding Costa's progress, it's not really up to the player in that situation to take evasive action.

This is what it is. Great cause and shows the really good side of social media.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...ls-association


John Terry - taking a cold shower and nominating Mikel, Lamps and Benitez.

http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/jo...-rafa-benitez/

That second goal was just football porn and the Arsenal fans on my twitter timeline were not happy! That weighted pass by Cesc........beautiful.

So pleased Diego got a goal in his first match, takes a lot of pressure off.

Yes, its only our first game, and yes its only Burnley..no offence....though saying that...we would have drawn or lost that fixture last season....but its very promising.

Oh well, it's for charity I suppose. Did I see Justin Bieber mentioned ? I would donate a decent amount for someone to hold his head down in a bucket of water for 5 minutes.

Great to see Costa scoring last night.
Can you imagine the press if he hadn't!!!!!

The second goal OMG. Just brilliant Ivanovic and then that wonderful pass from Cese... ...so glad we signed him.

As others have said these were the kind of games we were drawing or losing last year. Early days but if we continue like this who knows what might happen.

As for the Ice Bucket Challenge from JT all I could do was look......nice with the top off!!!!

Stupid decision, it was pretty clear what happened. Why would Costa go down after passing the goalie, it was obvious he was taken down.
Other than that I really enjoyed the match, fast paced ( well until the 2nd half) but Burnley didn't give up and that made for a good game.

I was unconvinced we needed Fabregas when we bought him so I'm glad he's proved me wrong so far. I can't remember the last player we had who controlled our play so completely. Everything went through him. He's what I hoped Hazard would become if moved into the centre so hopefully Eden is taking notes. Hazard actually had a poor game by his standards and gave the ball away a lot and Oscar looked off the pace as well.

It baffled me before, but the way he played on Monday makes it even stranger that Barcelona wanted rid of him. Not that I'm complaining (for once)

I'd like to see Hazard moved to the center as well. Oscar was poor again and I feel Hazard is the player who will do the most damage from that position.

(is it just me of is the wait for our second game more brutal than the first?)

Oscar needs a spell out of the team to recharge his batteries. I'm struggling to recall the last good game he had for us?

I don think its just you. Once the season starts (and after a good start) you want the games to come thick and fast (and once they do we complain that the players need break ha ha).

I think Barca needed to clear room for some "star" signings what with the ban coming up. Think it was more polictics then from a playing point of view. Jose must have been rubbing his hands when he was told we could get him

Yes, I'd third that. Oscar worked hard (as usual) but he did give the ball away a lot. Hazard is more inventive, always looking to make something happen. I thought he was wasted playing out wide for Belgium. I would like see him given a freer role, more like Zola.
Rest Oscar, put Schurrle on the left and Willian on the right for the next few games. Let Hazard cause damage in a roaming role. We will probably need a rethink for the Man City game on the 21st Sept anyway.

I wasn't totally convinced with Cahill's performance either. But he was excellent last season, so perhaps it's just a hangover from playing for England ? We could always put Azpil in his favoured position and move Ivanovic into the centre anyway.

Apart from that, I was delighted with the team. Apart from the names that have been mentioned by others, I was once again impressed with Matic. I didn't realise he was quite such a good footballer to be honest. But some of his little touches and long/short passes are equal to any of our more natural ball players. He's been an outstanding addition, worth every penny.

The experience and extra grit he adds to the team is very noticable as well. Courtois, Costa, Ivanovic and Terry all have that something too. Hazard and Oscar may be the future, but they're unblooded and haven't won a league. I might be being unfair to them, but I've not seen them grind out a performance. They have amazing days or anonymous days. The end of last season we had too many poor days from both of them and it did look like they were saving themselves for the world cup. Hopefully having Fabregas to share the weight of expectation will relieve the pressure on them a bit.

I was surprised by how good a passer he was considering he's such a good tackler and ball winner. The partnership with Fabregas at CM looks very promising.

Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Azpilicueta; Fabregas, Matic; Schurrle, Oscar, Hazard; Diego Costa

SUBS: Cech, Zouma, Filipe Luis, Mikel, Willian, Ramires, Drogba


Same line-up 2 games in-a-row. How very rare. (about as rare as us playing at 3 on a Saturday)

No Torres on the bench

Poor so far.

Terrible. Only positive is that Hazard is getting into the game.

Bout time