CF Monterrey 1 - Chelsea FC 3: Initial reaction and community rating form

That was fun, wasn't it? Chelsea flew half way around the world in an attempt to win their first trophy of the season, and they've now assured they'll have that opportunity in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday (for myself at least). Monterrey wasn't the toughest test for Chelsea, but at least it was an opportunity for them to try a few new things.

This was the first time we've seen Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, and Oscar start together since the Manchester City game, and David Luiz made his first Chelsea start in a central midfield role. It's hard to take too much from the game due to the opposition, but both were fun to watch. Here's a few thoughts after this one:

• It was nice to see Chelsea's back four playing a high line, as that's the obvious tactical adjustment to protect the midfield when our attacking band pushes so far forward. Unfortunately Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic looked like the were struggling to stop free runs from getting behind them for most of the second half.
• The more direct play that we saw against Sunderland was missing for most of this game. This was one of the few things I was really watching for today, and it's frustrating to see that it disappeared for the most part.
• This was not Premier League quality opposition, but David Luiz looked good in the midfield. This should inspire a bit more confidence in our ability to cope with Oriol Romeu's injury.
• Paulo Ferreira played right wing today. Who doesn't love Paulo Ferreira?
• I was thrilled to see Victor Moses get a look at center forward today. With Daniel Sturridge still out, it's nice to see what Plan C consists of.
• Marko Marin couldn't get a sniff in a 3-0 laugher. For all of you calling for him to get regular minutes, Rafa doesn't appear to agree either.
• Chelsea still have not kept a clean sheet when David Luiz does not start at center back this season.