MotM Poll: Sunderland v. Chelsea

Isn't it funny how one day you buy a new £50m striker and the next your lacklustre forwards suddenly have the game of the season.... Money well spent already I'd say.

David
http://www.keelbyunited.co.uk - A Community club

For me, Man of the Match was Anelka - can't remember the last time he played so well! Of course, the whole team were amazing today - the champions are back!

Sunderland crossbar. A bastard.

4-3-1-2 Cech-Ivanovic-Luiz-Terry-Cole-Ramires-Essien-Lampard-Anelka-Drogba-Torres

Mean.

Quite an intimidating starting 11... I agree---I loved Anelka playing a bit deep and making it happen all game long.

@charlie we played with a diamond midfield mate, DD and Kalou up front and Anelka at the tip of the diamond..... i must sat it worked flawlessly, lol Carlo gets to go back to his favorite formation!

chelsea played well today, reminded me of how they were in beginning of season and starting to look unbeatable again.

And the future doesn't look that bad after all - Cech (28), Bosingwa (28), Bane (26), Alex (28), Essien (28), Van Aanholt (20), Ramires (23), Mikel (23), Luiz (23), Torres (26), Sturridge (21), Josh (17, Yessssssss!), Kakuta (19), Mancienne (23), my dear friend Kalou (25). All under-30. Great!

Anelka, undoubtedly. I think what we saw today was a practice session to see just how versatile is our current forward-line. Kalou as a striker, Drogba as a left winger, and Anelka in his favorite role just behind the front line. Insert Torres instead of Kalou, and it might be what we will see on Sunday. If Torres does start, I imagine it would look like this: (4-2-3-1?)
Cech
Bosingwa Bane JT Cole
Ramires Lampard
Drogba Anelka Malouda
Torres
With Drogba not really staying on the right, but closer to Torres, and Anelka constantly switching from CAM to right wing. And it would require Bosingwa to make much more effort in getting forward, and more importantly, crossing some good stuff in the box. Anelka showed today as well as against Everton how he can spot a good moment for counter, and give that decisive pass to Kalou yet again.

lol, torres joining has given anelka a deserved kick up the backside as e knows his place is in jeopardy but its too late, if anelka played like that all season there would have been no need to get torres.

I don't think there'll be any doubt about who the man of the match is. And that is Phil Dowd. Just kidding. I know he didn't even ref this match.

I never, for one minute, doubted Anelka. People who come here often know that I've been critical of Kalou and Obi Mikel, and despite a few moments here and there, they continue to disappoint.

You have to say Kalou was excellent today, though. The man is still an enigma.

He was excellent, because he was fighting for his spot. Even substitute appearances are going to be rare for him, considering the level of competition for the forward positions. Anelka has been reinvented into attacking midfielder now and so he's not competing for the strikers' position. Kalou is a striker and also plays as a winger, so rationally thinking, I don't see him fitting in the new starting lineup, unless Ancelotti continues to baffle everyone with his decision to include him.

Chelsea has finally decided to play the ball through the middle and it has yielded immediate success. That Anelka throughball was glorious. His runs through the defense, in the middle, not cutting down from the corner flag, were amazing. We had so many chances, just by having one creative midfielder do his creative midfielding. The fact that Terry's goal was taken after Lampard's shot was rebounded demonstrates my point. That's what we had last year, Lamps, Deco, Essien and Ballack taking shots at the goal and the rebounds being slotted in by the strikers. In the first half of the season, we continuously tried to head it in, because we had no one to shoot.

Well, now Lampard is back, Ramires is shooting, and last but not least Anelka in attacking midfield, not just linking play, but playing almost as if the whole team was built around him. Things are shaping up.

Frank Lampard was hitting some monster shots, it's unfortunate that Gordon was in the right place at the right time to block them all.

**With the exception of the penalty