The Official Game Status Update Thread

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It is not often that I manage to win from Blac on the pitch, but when I do, I win a prize....


My and Blac started a season in the Premier League. Blac relieved the poor Arsenal fans of Arsene Wenger, and I knocked Conte off his seat at Chelsea. Or technically still Mourinho in the game. I had a good pre-season with wins over Dortmund and Barcelona and the signing of AS Roma defender Kostas Manolas. (My best defenders at Chelsea were Terry and Cahill... relics from a bygone era.)

Blac's silly Arsenal had apparently signed Higuain from Napoli, but I bet he arrived being overweight in London. He wasn't impressive in our game at least. The Community Shield is the first official game of the season between the league and cup winners of the previous season, and a prize can be won. It was quite an amusing game from the start, with Arsenal having the ball, and my Chelsea having some rapid counter-attacks on interceptions at the back. Arsenal in turn had some goal-scoring opportunities from crosses and corners where my goalkeeper didn't look too convincing.

My game plan is quite simple, as usual: defend, defend, defend, and maybe, after some more defending, try to score. Diego Costa's role was to drop deep, annoy Arsenal's defenders, strike down their midfielders with his elbows, and in the transition phase, like the rest of the team with Falcao. The other main threat of my team would come from the flanks, with Hazard often drifting inside and Wilian providing crosses and using his speed on the counter. Fabregas played as a director from the back, only joining the attack once the team had stable control of the ball.

Both teams didn't succeed in creating many scoring chances, but it was an interesting game nevertheless. In the second half I believe it was Hazard cutting inside with the ball from the left flank (or it was Costa) to give a sharp cross for my tireless defender Kurt Zouma. Koscielny pulled him to the ground and gave a penalty, which Hazard scored. F**K YEAH!

After that goal I decided to give up football and erect a fortress to keep Arsenal from equalizing. Arsenal struggled the entire game against my rather static backline of four hard-tackling defenders who basically never gave away space and always preserved numerical superiority against Arsenal's 3 attackers. Matic and Fabregas dropped deep to shield the defence in the center, and Wilian, Hazard, and Costa tracked back to provide extra cover. Falcao remained up front as a lone striker. The structure held out against Arsenal's pressure and won the Community Shield. <3

Statistics:

Ball Posession
Arsenal 55% -- 45% Chelsea

Shots/on goal
Arsenal 12/3 -- 10/4 Chelsea

Fouls
Arsenal 14 -- 24 Chelsea