Tonto

There was a bit in the Echo saying that it's possible his attitude might put Rafa and other big clubs off as he had a history of trying to tell the coach where he should play and refusing to play on the opposite wing. I don't remember anything as specific as Rafa saying he had spoken to him and hadn't liked his attitude.

He was supposed to be the new Laurent Blanc I think. I think it was the same summer we missed out on Blanc. Dehu's now at Levante....with Ian Harte (weren't we linked with him briefly too?).

Frederic Dehu

After they played against each other in Euro 2000, Gerrard said Didi squealed like a girl when he tackled him. In his book, Stevie said it was a crappy thing to say about a club teammate, that he apologised afterwards and that, to his credit, Didi never made a deal out of it between them.

Brady and Giles both said before the pens that they hoped we'd win.

We're not making any use of Bellamy so far. Hitting hopeful punts at him that the Chelsea defence are winning easily. Fowler on for Mascherano. Gerrard back in the middle and Bellamy on the right?

He was level.

Houghton on RTE reckons Pennant is struggling with an injury.

No, Chelsea win on away goals

71% possession!!

Great position for a free kick now.....far better than a corner.

Excellent by Agger to step up and catch Drogba offside. He's looked composed so far, done some good things. ...just hit a couple of nice passes in a row, hopefully he's settled down now.

At the end, Terry ran up to Merk and started shouting about something. Merk completely dismissed him with a wave of his hand and walked away. Terry was left standing on his own muttering away.

Sissoko's covering ability is good insurance against a breakaway Chelsea goal. He's also great at scrapping for any loose balls in front of the defence which is something we could improve on from last night. The Chelsea midfield found it too easy to win the ball off Drogba's headers or our half-clearances.

Did Lampard just push Xabi in the face?

Crouch coming on....

Some poor crosses, but getting no support from Riise. He's looking for the ball the whole time and finding some space. We all know he's limited, there are others more culpable than him.

All things considered, 1-0 down at half is ok after that performance. I think the line up/system we're playing just isn't working. Rafa needs to make some changes.

Zenden's doing fine.

Think the defence is actually doing ok in the one-on-one battles with Drogba and Shevchenko. Not much Agger can do about the ref being conned by Drogba unfortunately. It's the midfield I'm worried about. Xabi and Masch are struggling to get any sort of control. Lampard and Makalele are dominating so far. Stevie is coming in from the right and helping out (and doing quite well) but it means we're lacking down the right a little.

What was Dida doing???

I can see Zenden playing tonight alright, but maybe on the left rather than the middle.

Fantastic stuff from Pennant and Kuyt. Pennant has been very good since he came on. You around for a bit after? I'll give you a call...

That looked like a pen on Bellamy. Hunt shot blocked by Finnan. We're under massive pressure now.

Not too surprised Abeloa's in for Finnan. He worked very hard against Slovakia on Wed night.