Carabao (EFL) Cup 18/19

[Live in the Now]

Sarri should have forced the official to put the board up. Once that happens it's over and Kepa is forced to leave the field.

 

[YNWA14]

Everyone knows the Chelsea team is toxic. It isn't a secret and literally every manager that has gone there under the current core has alluded to it.

 

[Evilo]

There you go.
Nonsense.

 

[S E P H]

Yeah I'm afraid he's going to be fired, but I'm not sure which reaction he could have had to avoid this.
If he ignores like he's doing now, there's a good chance his authority is extremely undermined. Chelsea officials see this.
If he goes mad against his team's biggest investment, there's a good chance Chelsea officials think he's a circus (even though it's all on Kepa) and look elsewhere.

It was no doubt a lose-lose situation there for Sarri no matter what, however, you gotta show power over your players even at the sake of suspending him one game. Now, players can potentially tone him out and/or question his authority in the future if it ever comes to it again. Kepa really put him in a very bad situation, he's the main fault, but Sarri is the true loser here.

 

[Timeless Winter]

Feel bad for Sarri, he didn't deserve that. If I was him I'd bench Kepa every single game or I'd quit today.

 

[Wee Baby Seamus]

Okay, I've sat with the match a little bit and settled down from my initial rage and frustration. Here are my thoughts on the match on the whole (except for the Kepa situation):

On the Chelsea side:

• Hazard was absolutely unplayable, especially in the second half. I thought starting him in the 9 rather than playing Higuain was incredibly sharp from Sarri.
• Pedro had a solid match (even if he should've shot when played in by Hazard rather than try to pull it back), but Hudson Odoi was absolutely immense. I'm really happy that he was first off the bench, and I hope it's an indicator that Sarri will use him more going forward.
• Kante was terrific on both ends of the ball, and - for all that lots of Chelsea fans are frustrated with his present position - I think his placement within this formation gives him a lot of freedom to go forward that he uses really well.
• Jorginho had a great second half and appeared far more confident, which is gonna be huge for the rest of the season. He also played a little higher in the last third of the match and got more involved, which is good; I wanna see him act less as a metronome and more as a deeper playmaker.
• Kovacic has to start over Barkley. Always. And if it's not gonna be Kovacic, then it has to be Loftus Cheek. Barkley's a nice guy but he doesn't have the quality. Loftus Cheek was great after coming on IMO.
• Sarri showed great flexibility with this match, which was super welcome. The 4-5-1 behind the ball clearly worked pretty well.
• Rudiger has improved a ton this year, and he had a great game today. I love him and I love Luiz, but I don't think that they work too well as a partnership; they're both very instinctive defenders as opposed to calmer tactical ones. A solid back four, I think, only has one or the other because I think they both need a more relaxed partner.
• Penalties were unlucky, especially Luiz's. I saw some fans on Twitter blaming Sarri for picking the wrong folks to take them, which I think is hysterical. The "weird" picks from Sarri both scored (Azpi and Emerson), while the two who missed are both guys with a long and successful record at taking. Jorginho's was very very poor, I will say.
• Emerson has to start every big match going forward. He was great today, and Alonso is not fit enough to play in a four against good opposition.

On the City side:

• Bernardo Silva is world class. Full stop.
• Sterling was City's MOTM for me, I think.
• Zinchenko sticks out like a sore thumb when you look at City on paper, and he sticks out like a sore thumb when you look at them on the pitch. I know Mendy is injured, but they need to have a stronger back-up considering how often Mendy is hurt.
• I hate Sergio Aguero with a burning passion. Something about him just pisses me off.
• Poor game from David Silva, who I thought was pretty silent throughout. Part of that is a testament to Kante and Barkley doing a good job keeping him out of the game, but still a disappointing performance.
• De Bruyne HAS to be higher up the field to be effective. It was a problem in the WC (and the reason why he was great against Brazil was because Martinez pushed him higher) and it was a problem today. His passing range is obviously spectacular, but he's just so much more dangerous closer to goal, and he's wasted when he's sitting back with the centre backs. I think part of that today comes down to still recovering from injury (and so less mobile), but the team is more dangerous when he's further up.
• The lack of a back-up for Fernandinho is a problem for City that they need to fix.
• Bad game by Laporte, who I thought was sloppy on and off the ball.

 

[Cassano]

Plenty of very average goaltending while being the priciest goalie in the world? And now acting like a perfect idiot?

He is 3rd in the league in clean sheets. Far from average.

 

[Evilo]

He is 3rd in the league in clean sheets. Far from average.

That's your whole argument? Clean sheets? A team stat?

 

[Live in the Now]

If a team paid 80m for a keeper and had them perform like Kepa they would be pretty angry I think. It's not that he makes a lot of mistakes even though he's made some, it's that otherwise his performances are ordinary.

Then you have that incident. I think I would bench him for a month.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

I think everybody knows that he wasn't value for money, but that shouldn't be a slight on his play. Sure, he has had a few mistakes, which is to be expected from most goalies, but otherwise he has done well from what I understand. Not just ordinarily. His distribution is top notch too.

 

[Cassano]

That's your whole argument? Clean sheets? A team stat?

Great distribution, saved Chelsea plenty of points this season and generally a calming presence there. He is good, disregarding the price tag (probably a 40m keeper instead of an 80m one lol).



Can't believe im defending a chelsea player

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

I wouldn't say Kepa is overrated. I mean no one has said anything outrageous about his talent level or his on field performance. He's had some great matches and some awful performances. He's adjusting to a new league and language with a tire fire team in front of him at times. So, I'd hardly blame him that much, His price tag is hilarious though, it's doubtful if he ever lives up to it. This doesn't make him overrated though. Overpaid yes.

Another thing Sarri was put in a hard position although I think he made the right move in trying to play it off and basically lie to the press. It's an obvious lie but this matter should be dealt with internally. He's doing the right thing. Kepa acted like a child but to sell him after this would be beyond stupid and rash. Suspend him force him into an apology in front of his teammates then move on. End of story.

 

[hatterson]

I don't think he's out of place as a keeper on Chelsea, but he's also not a strong point of a defense like De Gea or Allison and his distribution isn't at the level of Ederson (and Chelsea doesn't play that type of system anyway). He's a perfectly acceptable/passable keeper and Chelsea *shouldn't* be upset with his on field performance, he just has the unfortunate issue of trying to live up to the crazy price tag. The sub antics today are entirely different, and shouldn't relate to his skill or price tag.

 

[Cassano]

I don't think he's out of place as a keeper on Chelsea, but he's also not a strong point of a defense like De Gea or Allison and his distribution isn't at the level of Ederson (and Chelsea doesn't play that type of system anyway). He's a perfectly acceptable/passable keeper and Chelsea *shouldn't* be upset with his on field performance, he just has the unfortunate issue of trying to live up to the crazy price tag. The sub antics today are entirely different, and shouldn't relate to his skill or price tag.

I mean the top 3 in PL are world-class (Alisson, DDG, Ederson), everyone will certainly look out of place compared to those 3.

 

[hatterson]

I mean the top 3 in PL are world-class (Alisson, DDG, Ederson), everyone will certainly look out of place compared to those 3.

What I mean is that although he’s a clear level below those guys, it’s not a clear deficiency like say when Mignolet was at Liverpool.

 

[Chimaera]

Per his transfer fee, he’s overrated.

It was overpayment for a number of reasons, but he has to live up to that contract and fee to not be overrated. He’s a good keeper, but it’s going to take a lot more to ever be worth it.

I mean, Alisson, has to be basically one of the best three in the league to justify the cost. Kepa has to do that as well, and he hasn’t. Maybe eventually.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Per his transfer fee, he’s overrated.

It was overpayment for a number of reasons, but he has to live up to that contract and fee to not be overrated. He’s a good keeper, but it’s going to take a lot more to ever be worth it.

I mean, Alisson, has to be basically one of the best three in the league to justify the cost. Kepa has to do that as well, and he hasn’t. Maybe eventually.

No this line of thinking doesn't make any sense. I'll explain it in a way that easily relatable to you, Carrol was bought for 45 million he sucks and everyone knew/knows that. The fee does not change his ability or how he's perceived.

 

[hatterson]

No this line of thinking doesn't make any sense. I'll explain it in a way that easily relatable to you, Carrol was bought for 45 million he sucks and everyone knew/knows that. The fee does not change his ability or how he's perceived.

A fee 100% changes how a player is viewed. Pogba is a perfect example.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

A few 100% changes how a player is viewed. Pogba is a perfect example.

Not really.I mean has anyone on here argued Kepa being better than he actually is? THere's little commentary on him to begin with and most of it is lukewarm.

 

[Chimaera]

Chelsea overrated his ability, and as such, overpaid to get him. His ability and performance have not been equal of his fee, as such, he’s overrated.

I buy some of the argument that they knew he wasn’t as good as the fee, but, he still has to live up to some of the expectations it brings. You can’t be the most expensive keeper ever (and by a fair margin), and not have too high expectations to where he’s overrated.

I can understand some of the “well everyone doesn’t think he’s good, so he’s underrated”, but it’s hard to not consider him a bit underwhelming when you consider what they paid.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Chelsea overrated his ability, and as such, overpaid to get him. His ability and performance have not been equal of his fee, as such, he’s overrated.

I buy some of the argument that they knew he wasn’t as good as the fee, but, he still has to live up to some of the expectations it brings. You can’t be the most expensive keeper ever (and by a fair margin), and not have too high expectations to where he’s overrated.

I can understand some of the “well everyone doesn’t think he’s good, so he’s underrated”, but it’s hard to not consider him a bit underwhelming when you consider what they paid.

Not necessarily they were stuck in a hard spot and had to overpay for a goalie after Allison snubbed them and Court walked out.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Just watched the highlights of the game. So, from that clip it honestly looks a bit of an overreaction by Sarri. It looked like Kepa picked up a knock which Sarri thought he couldn't recover from Kepa tells him he's fine but Sarri insists that he comes off. A more stable manager could've dealt with this much better. Kepa is in the wrong here still but it puts it into context. From the clip I've seen anyway. If anyone has an extended version...

 

[Havre]

Clearly Sarri comes across rather pathetically. 1) If he believes Kepa is injured -> then why get worked up by him being fine? He should have been pleased. Thumbs up that is it. 2) If he wants to make the change because of the upcoming shoot-out then he just needs to make the change.

Not that I think one incident makes or breaks things, but there is a risk this seriously hurt his authority in the group. He comes across as the opposite of a good leader for about 5 minutes. Indecisive and emotional. Not a good combination.

 

[les Habs]

Wow. Disgraceful from Kepa. Were I a Chelsea supporter I'd want him transfer-listed and moved to the Reserves. I'd also want Azpilicueta stripped of his vice-captaincy. As for Sarri, his only mistake was letting Kepa stay on. I don't know what the rules are regarding a substitution, but I would suspect that if a player signaled to come off from the bench then at the end of the day he'd have to come off.

 

[Evilo]

Great distribution, saved Chelsea plenty of points this season and generally a calming presence there. He is good, disregarding the price tag (probably a 40m keeper instead of an 80m one lol).



Can't believe im defending a chelsea player

No, Kepa has hardly saved much of anything for Chelsea this season.
Certainly WAY less than his fee would indicate.
Allison has done FAR FAR more with his team.