Villarreal vs Chelsea: UEFA Super Cup Gamethread

LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cards on the table, I’m not the slightest bit optimistic about this one. If we were fully healthy, I’d love our chances, but key players our missing and Pau is exhausted, It’ll take a minor miracle to beat a team as deep and talented as Chelsea. BUT, as we all know and have learned, they play the games for a reason.

Foyth makes the lineup, which is a good thing, and Asenjo starts in goal. I presume Rulli is being reserved in case this thing goes to penalties. Our entire full first choice back line, as far as I’m concerned, starts, and with Capoue starting as well the most crucial components of our defensive structure are all in place. Trigueros will, I believe, form a midfield pairing with the Frenchman, and that will be key to retaining the ball. New man Dia starts with Gerard up top. I’m curious to see whether Alberto or Alfonso steps up onto the left side of the midfield. Either one can do it, and both will probably overlap and do a lot of the same job.

Chelsea hadn’t posted their lineup when I wrote this, and frankly I felt a little gross even searching their official club account on Twitter. I can’t stand Chelsea. Despise them. One of my least favorite clubs on earth. I don’t like the way they’ve historically treated their young players like soulless commodities, I don’t like how their solution to everything is fire the manager and spend a quarter billion in the market, I don’t like their owner... I do like Thomas Tuchel and Christian Pulisic, and as soon as the two of them leave that rotten club the better.

One match for a trophy. It’ll be called a friendly by whoever loses, and a title by whoever wins. Last match before La Liga starts, Endavant!