Independent:
Kezman finds title rhythm for the BluesChelsea 4 - Crystal Palace 1Steve Tongue at Stamford Bridge20 March 2005
Spring is in the air and so is Chelsea's first championship for 50 years. On a scorching afternoon, when players of both sides were grateful that so much of the pitch was in shade, Crystal Palace's manager, Iain Dowie, won the award for most sensible dress - a T-shirt and shorts - but his opposite number Jose Mourinho, incongruously sporting a scarf, continued to home in on the big prize.
A maximum of 14 points are now required from eight games to secure it. Despite undergoing something of a defensive crisis - they conceded a goal for the second time in three matches, making 10 in all this season - Mourinho's men recovered their poise in the second half, regaining the lead through the excellent Joe Cole and adding to it with two goals by the substitute Mateja Kezman, the first a howler by the visitors' goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly.
Crystal Palace, as usual, were resolute and caved in only after seeing players of the quality of Arjen Robben, Tiago and Kezman come off the substitutes' bench. They may have earned a deserved draw against Manchester United last time out, but Dowie knows these are not the matches to decide his team's fate. Home games against Norwich and Southampton will do that.
Mourinho, innovatory as ever, chalked up another first by sending Cole, his man of the moment, to address the media. Hard as he tried to emphasise the importance of the whole team, Cole inevitably found himself questioned about his own outstanding form, observed yesterday by Sven Goran Eriksson's assistant, Tord Grip.
"I still think centre-midfield would be my best position, but it's important to be versatile these days and I'm just happy I'm playing," he said. "The main thing is just stepping closer to winning the title. I'm just so excited and can't stop looking at the fixture list."
What he has seen there recently is a run of games against the bottom four clubs - Southampton conclude the sequence at St Mary's next Saturday - which was comforting at a time when Robben's injury had provoked the nearest thing to a blip Chelsea are likely to endure.
The matches with Norwich and West Bromwich Albion were not easy and nor was this one for over an hour. Palace have spirit and a penalty-box predator in the striker now known as Andrew Johnson, so the irony here was that his aim deserted him at a crucial moment.
In the statutory two minutes added on the end of the first half, with Aki Riihilahti having equalised Frank Lampard's opening goal, Petr Cech was for once caught out of position as Tom Soares returned a free-kick into the Chelsea area, where Johnson screwed wide of an open goal from eight yards.
Lampard, John Terry's only serious rival as Footballer of the Year, had earlier been hero and villain in the space of quarter of an hour. In the 28th minute Cole, outstanding from the start, fed his former West Ham team-mate, who drew back his foot 30 yards out and drilled an irresistible shot beyond Kiraly into the corner of the net. If the lead was deserved, it had been a while coming. Cole produced two good efforts early on and Terry's ambitious volley flew across goal, Didier Drogba then shooting at Kiraly from a difficult angle from Cole's fine pass.
Cole's improvisation set up another good chance, Kiraly thwarting Duff, before the breakthrough came, only to be followed by improbable retaliation. Wayne Routledge, previously wasteful with his crosses, took a low corner on the left, Lampard miskicked and the ball fell perfectly for Riihilahti, the extrovert Finn, to sweep in. There were only two minutes until the interval, packed with further chances at each end. First Kiraly did well to turn Drogba's overhead kick for a corner, Ricardo Carvalho heading wide from the flag-kick, and then Johnson spurned the chance to score his 19th Premiership goal of the season.
"I'm not going to criticise Andrew for that," Dowie said. He was more upset with his team's marking nine minutes after the interval. As Eidur Gudjohnsen, again playing deep in midfield, surged forward, Cole was left with too much space on the right, making the angle for a shot that fizzed across the possibly unsighted goalkeeper into the far corner of the net.
Dowie responded boldly, introducing two attackers in Sandor Torghelle and Dougie Freedman only to be upstaged immediately by the return of Robben, seven weeks after the wide man was clogged at Blackburn. The next change proved the decisive one, though even Mourinho could hardly have planned the bizarre third goal. Kezman arrived with a written note for Paulo Ferreira, who was still glancing at it when Robben set up the Serb for his first touch on the left-hand edge of the penalty area. An innocuous drive straight at the goalkeeper turned into something else as Kiraly went down on all fours and somehow allowed the ball between his arms and then his legs. He should have stuck to his usual baggy tracksuit trousers, tropical temperatures or not, and would probably have kept it out.
The visitors understandably seemed to lose heart for the remaining quarter of an hour and Kezman's second goal, following up a drive by Lampard in added time, was hard on them. The long winter may be over, but Palace's long march to safety is merely approaching the critical stage.
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Observer:
Cole stops Lampard taking rap and leaves Blues singing
Amy Lawrence at Stamford Bridge Sunday March 20, 2005The Observer
Pateience is a virtue Joe Cole has had to depend upon ever since he left the comfort zone of his boyhood club, West Ham. He needed buckets of it when it seemed that José Mourinho considered him little more than peripheral at the start of the season, to go with the endless supply required whenever he is called up - usually for little more than the ride - for England. His patience is being rewarded with the most exciting and efficient form of his life. So much so, the wide attackers that have been so critical to Chelsea's title charge this season - Damien Duff and Arjen Robben - find themselves with serious competition. 'There are three of us going for two places and it is bringing the best out of all of us,' enthused Cole. Watched by Tord Grip, Sven-Göran Eriksson's England assistant, he was the day's most influential performer in another small step for Chelsea towards that giant leap called the championship. 'I'm just so excited,' Cole added. 'I can't stop looking at the fixture list and thinking if we win this game and that game... but you have to check yourself.'
The idea that Crystal Palace would check the runaway leaders seemed far-fetched, but the tom cats from the Premiership's nether regions were spirited enough to ensure it wasn't the gentle afternoon stroll that the scoreline suggests.
Palace did not seem overly distraught. This was not the game that would define their survival bid, although results elsewhere will make them breathe a little faster. They can take heart from the fact that they had a reasonable number of positive moments and, but for some cunning defensive interventions from Ricardo Carvalho when the game was better balanced, the result may not have been as comfortable for Chelsea.
Palace did well to keep parity for half an hour. Instructions to keep tight on their opponents were taken all too literally by Tom Soares, who ripped Glen Johnson's shirt sufficiently for a new one to be needed. Better to be too close than not close enough? And how. Shortly after play restarted, Frank Lampard found himself with enough time and space to dance on the spot and count to 10 before he decided to let fly. His scorching drive fizzed past Kiraly's full-stretch dive - another picture-book goal for Lampard's collection.
Lampard the superhero was basking in the sunshine, taking pot shots, diving for headers, generally running the show... and then he dropped the clanger that allowed Palace an unexpected reprieve. Wayne Routledge scooped a corner towards the near post, where Lampard was stationed. The England midfielder's fresh-air kick did little but confuse everyone and deflect the ball across the face of goal for Aki Riihilahti to prod home.
The eccentric Finn kissed his badge earnestly. The Palace supporters went bananas. And it all went quiet for the league leaders. Chelsea were fortunate not to go 2-1 down in the seconds before half-time when Andy Johnson skewed wide.
Palace emerged after the break with a more aggressive sense of adventure, perhaps sensing the possibility of a famous win. But in doing so they left themselves exposed on the break and Chelsea soon capitalised. Eidur Gudjohnsen cantered upfield and slipped the ball to Cole, whose fierce drive nestled into the far corner of the net. As Mourinho noted in his programme notes: 'People have forgotten about Arjen because Joe and Damien have been magnificent.'
A chant not heard for the best part of half a century echoed around Stamford Bridge: 'And now you're gonna believe us, we're gonna win the league.' Kiraly evidently believed it far too strongly. Substitute Mateja Kezman shot ambitiously from an improbable angle outside the box, but Palace's Hungary keeper let the ball slip through his hands and legs as if auditioning for David Seaman's next Christmas video.
Iain Dowie refused to apportion any blame, even if he did acknowledge that his team enjoyed a good spell at 2-1 down. 'It could have been oh-so-different,' he mused. It was tough on Kiraly, who apart from his clanger produced three excellent saves to repel Didier Drogba's overhead kick, Robben's merry dance and a rasping drive from Tiago. Chelsea's fourth came in stoppage time when Kezman stabbed in from close range.
Problems on the London Underground and an anti-war march might have delayed the journey home for the Chelsea faithful, but these days lingering around Stamford Bridge and basking in the glow is no hardship.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Joe Cole The sight of Arjen Robben returning to the fray had the Chelsea supporters in raptures, but it speaks volumes for Joe Cole's performances of late that the Holland star has not been missed. Another busy and mature display here was capped with a smartly taken goal. José Mourinho may feel young Joe has been worth waiting for.
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Telegraph:
Cole sparks Chelsea goal rushBy Roy Collins at Stamford Bridge (Filed: 20/03/2005)
Chelsea (1) 4 Crystal Palace (1) 1
Chelsea had been hoping to restore some tricky wing skills to their starting line-up to steady any Premiership nerves and send them swaggering over the finish line.
But manager Jose Mourinho was thinking less of Dutchman Arjen Robben than Joe Cole, a revelation in his role on the right side of midfield, brilliantly setting up Frank Lampard for the opening goal before claiming a classy goal himself that rightly earned him the man of the match award.
On target: Frank Lampard shoots for goal
Cole, the slowest flowering young English footballing talent, despite years of watering and nurturing of his obvious talent, is finally coming into full, glorious bloom, fittingly so here on a glorious spring day at Stamford Bridge. And with spring having finally sprung, high summer for this Chelsea team closing in on the title cannot be far away.
But this was no one-off performance from Cole. It was his eighth successive start for Chelsea, easily his longest sequence, and the third time in four games that he has completed a full 90 minutes. It has been a long time, six years in fact, since Cole was unveiled as a teenage sensation at West Ham and was tipped for such early greatness that he perhaps forgot to take a pinch of salt as he swallowed the praise.
But after his move to a more salubrious London postcode and much grooming from Claudio Ranieri and, more decisively, from Mourinho, a player whose disparate talents never looked like adding up to a cohesive footballer is now looking one of the jewels in Mourinho's crown and one whose skills were far too much for a spirited, if limited, Palace side. They ran out in the colours of Chelsea's recent Champions League opponents, Barcelona, but there was never to be any confusion about their real identities.
Mourinho, with a rare display of grace towards opponents, praised Palace's efforts under manager Iain Dowie beforehand and expressed his hope that they stay up.
Even allowing for Mourinho's double-talk, he was probably genuine because in their own way, Palace are built in his image; hard working, defiant and with belief in the team ethos leaking through every pore of every player.
On more than one occasion, defenders Gonzalo Sorondo and Emmerson Boyce showed their willingness to throw themselves in the way of crosses and launch themselves into desperate covering tackles, while during a period of first-half dominance, Michael Hughes had the confidence and cheek to pull off a back heel, much to the delight of travelling fans.
Cole is finally absorbing not just the teamwork ethic and the demands to tackle back but learning that when he gets the chance to use some of his magic at the top end of the pitch, it needs to be hurtful rather than just crowd pleasing. Before making the goal for Lampard, he had already put in Didier Drogba for an opportunity from which he probably should have scored and, with a pickpocket's pass, set up Damien Duff for a strike that goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly saved with his foot.
Still, Palace refused to play the role of victim, equalising when Lampard made a hash of clearing Wayne Routledge's corner and the impressive Aki Riihilahti tucked it in, the first goal Chelsea had conceded at home in the Premiership since Nov 20. Three minutes later, with referee Phil Dowd about to blow for half-time, it should have been two when Andrew Johnson missed a golden opportunity inside the box.
Dowie knows, of course, that his team's Premiership survival is not something to be secured at swanky venues like this but in backstreet battles against their fellow strugglers. But it was to their credit that they were willing to give it such a go at a ground where humiliation was always going to lurk.
It finally arrived when Kiraly allowed a speculative shot from substitute Mateja Kezman to slip through his legs for Chelsea's third in the 77th minute, ending any notion of a second Palace comeback.
By then, Cole had already scored his fine effort, taking a pass from Eidur Gudjohnsen and curling the ball into the far corner, while Robben had returned to the fray for the first time since sustaining a broken foot at Blackburn last month.
Typically, he was soon sprinting clear down the left wing, though this time Kiraly showed fine handling skills to tip his shot for a corner.
By then, it was just a case of keeping the score down for Palace, though Kezman managed another in injury time, his fourth goal in five games after taking seven months to score his first Premiership goal from open play. With even his ugly ducklings turning into swans, no wonder Mourinho's treble bid is continuing to go along so swimmingly.
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Times;
Chelsea 4 Crystal Palace 1: Cole sparkles for rampant Blues Rob Hughes at Stamford Bridge THE spring bulbs are out, things are hotting up, and Chelsea are very nearly in full bloom for their first Championship in 50 years. But, do not discard Crystal Palace, a team of doughty fighters, and their chances of sustaining Premiership football next season.
Nobody can deny that Chelsea, with their deep reserves of talent and their willingness to fight for the right to impose it, will go past the winning post within a month.
Iain Dowie, the Palace manager, admitted: “If we defend like we did on the first and fourth goals we’re going to concede. But this Chelsea side is capable of winning in so many different ways; defend and they can grind it out, attack them and they become flamboyant.”
The one description that will never explain a side managed by Dowie is lambs to the slaughter. They may have travelled 10 away games in all competitions without victory before arriving at Stamford Bridge yesterday, but while their energy levels are high so is their desire.
With sleeves rolled up, they attempted to take the game to the home side. Even so, with frequently nine Palace players garrisoned defiantly around their own box, Chelsea managed to eke out the lead. With Frank Lampard in your colours, you have a guarantee of something spectacular. Yesterday was his 300th Premiership appearance, the 138th consecutive time he has played for Chelsea in the top flight. And on 29 minutes, it was his 41st goal in a Chelsea shirt. The essence of Palace is that every man does his bit, everyone tackles back, regardless of position. But in that moment, Wayne Routledge failed to give the required cover for Emmerson Boyce, and when the ball was pulled back outside the penalty area, there was Lampard. Palace failed to mark him tightly enough and he had time for a touch to control the ball, turn his body, and the skill to propel the ball high into the net.
How would Palace respond? Their supporters had lost voice, lost heart, until something of a freak goal happened three minutes before half-time. Rout-ledge aimed in a corner from the left, Lampard made a hash of clearing it, and when the ball ricocheted off his heel Aki Riihilahti claimed the final touch in the ensuing chaos.
And now, tasting the blood of Chelsea, chasing what would be the biggest upset of the season, Palace piled forward and with the last kick of the first half, Andy Johnson had the chance to add to his remarkable goal tally this season; 41,667 people in the stadium thought he couldn’t miss, but Johnson took one touch too many and, off-balance, screwed the ball so wide of the far post that it was embarrassing.
And how now would Chelsea show their wrath? They have, as we know, two of everything and in a moment that personified the combative nature of the game, when Tom Soares literally got to grips with Glen Johnson, he ripped the shirt right off the shoulder of the Chelsea defender. Instantly, slickly, Chelsea produced a replacement in a blue shirt in Johnson’s name from the dugout. Riches will buy you almost anything.
Good will, however, might be difficult to achieve alongside the touchlines. Hiding under an anonymous pseudonym, someone wrote in the match programme: “The trouble with Britain is that corruption, immorality and cruelty, describe our media. Media in Britain is about profit, not truth.” That was a response to the outcry in Europe, indeed around the world, that Chelsea have disgraced their season by irresponsible comments from Jose Mourinho that caused the premature retirement of a referee who he insinuated had “influenced” the Champions League match in Barcelona.
In the second period Chelsea waited for Palace to run out of steam. In the 54th minute Joe Cole, once again mixing tenacity with the gifts that were nurtured at the West Ham academy, put Chelsea ahead for the second and decisive time. In a sweeping move Eidur Gudjohnsen supplied the final pass and Cole, unmarked, stepped into the penalty area and with his right foot guided the ball low inside the far upright. Cole, hoping to be very much involved with England this week, said: “I think I ’ve always been able to produce it in flashes but, here, I think I’ve found my team. The management want more out of me. I’m playing well and a lot and around me I see so many great players. The important thing in a footballer is to be versatile and, this season. I’ve learned to be tactically aware and efficient. Finishing the 90 minutes makes a massive difference to me. I feel fitter and stronger than I did before.”
When the substitutes came on, although the loudest cheer of the afternoon was for the return of Arjen Robben, it was Mateja Kezman who twice added to the scoreline. They were the easiest brace of goals he will score. The first, seconds after he had taken the field was a low cross from the left that Gabor Kiraly allowed through his hands, knees and legs over his goalline.
That howler from an otherwise decent keeper was punished further in the 90th minute when, after three shots had been blocked in front of the goal, Kezman stole in to scuff the ball into the net.
STAR MAN: Joe Cole (Chelsea)
Player ratings. Chelsea: Cech 7, Johnson 6, Carvalho 7, Terry 6, Ferreira 6, Makelele 6, Lampard 7, Cole 8, Gudjohnsen 7 (Kezman 77min,7), Duff 6 (Robben 73min,6), Drogba 6 (Tiago 62min,6) Crystal Palace: Kiraly 5, Boyce 6, Hall 7, Sorondo 7 (Freedman 73min,6), Granville 6, Routledge 6 (Torghelle 73min,5), Riihilahti 7 (Watson 87min,5), Leigertwood 6, Hughes 7, Soares 6, Johnson 6 Scorers: Chelsea: Lampard 29, Cole 54, Kezman 78, 90 Crystal Palace: Riihilahti 42
Referee: P Dowd
Attendance: 41,667
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NOTW:Lampard, Cole and Kezmanturn up heat in Blues title bid
Feel the four-ce!
From Rob Shepherd at Stamford Bridge
JOE COLE was Joe Cool as Chelsea overcame the heat to take another stride nearer their first title in 50 years.
Palace had threatened to slow the Blues' surge to the Premiership crown when Aki Riihilahti rubbed out Frank Lampard's opener three minutes before half-time.
But in the 54th minute the outstanding Cole put Chelsea back in command with a clinical finish.
Chelsea were helped by the fact Palace keeper Gabor Kiraly was caught with his trousers down.
The normally tracksuit-bottomed Kiraly should have done better with Cole's strike and then made one of the blunders of the season when Mateja Kezman made it 3-1.
Hungary international Kiraly performed a forward roll instead of diving to his right to stop the shot.
Sub Kezman completed his double in the 90th minute when he drove home after a goalmouth scramble.
Tribute
The Blues now need just five more wins to clinch the title and Cole said: "I'm just so excited. I keeping looking at the fixture list and thinking if we can win this game, this game and that game it's ours.
"It's terrific. I'm so happy I'm playing here at the moment — it's going so well for us."
Cole paid tribute to boss Jose Mourinho and added: "He gets his point across very clearly — you know exactly what he wants you to do. He leaves nothing to chance.
"You know your job and after that we all fight for each other."
Mourinho said; "Joe has been magnificent. He's been playing some great football, making chances and scoring goals."
It was touching 80 degrees at a sun-drenched Stamford Bridge.
So warm, in fact, Kiraly dispensed with his usual trackie bottoms and opted for shorts.
Early on the Eagles offered warning they had not come to lie down and be overwhelmed by Chelsea.
In the fourth minute Riihilahti unleashed a fierce 20-yard volley which flew just beyond Petr Cech's left-hand post.
Chelsea took some time to get into their stride and when they did, their finishing was not as sharp as it should be.
In the 14th minute Cole threaded in a deft pass and Didier Drogba beat the offside trap.
Eidur Gudjohnsen screamed for the ball to be squared but Drogba went for goal instead and scuffed his effort, allowing Kiraly to save easily.
Palace continued to battle doggedly but succumbed to a wonder goal by Lampard on 29 minutes.
The England midfielder picked the ball up 25 yards out and unloaded a brutal, swerving shot which flew into the top left-hand corner.
On 41 minutes Lamps threatened to put the game to bed when he hit another long-range effort, but this one lacked the power to beat Kiraly.
Chelsea were dominant but Palace forced themselves back into the game a minute later — and ironically it was Lampard's mistake which opened the door.
He attempted to lash away a Wayne Routledge corner but succeeded only in slicing the ball across the face of his own goal.
It fell to Riihilahti, who joyously stabbed home from close-range.
Two minutes later Drogba produced a superb bicycle kick but Kiraly dived to his left and tipped the effort around his post. In first-half stoppage time Palace really should have given Chelsea something to think about but the normally reliable Andy Johnson missed an open goal.
Cole was full of menace and invention down the right and on 52 minutes tested Kiraly at the near post.
But two minutes later Kiraly completely lost his bearings after Cole was set up by Gudjohnsen.
Cole, some 16 yards out, coolly measured up his shot and struck it well with the outside of his foot.
The ball whizzed beyond the keeper, who inexplicably rolled rather than dived.
Exposed
On 78 minutes Kiraly allowed the tamest of shots from Kezman to slither through his legs.
Kiraly should have kept his tracksuit bottoms on having been so rudely exposed by Cole and Kezman.
Palace boss Ian Dowie said: "If we defend like we did for the second and fourth goals then we are going to concede goals.
"And no one needs to tell Gabor he's made a mistake. I'm certainly not going to blame him — he's done well for us.
"And Andy's also done well for us so I'm not going to blame him over the chance at 1-1.
"Yes, we could have been 2-1 up at half-time and it could have been so different.
"But the reality is we are still two points clear of the relegation places and we have to push on from there."
Man of the match JOE COLE (Chelsea) COLE is having a purple patch at the moment and has never been so consistent.
The midfielder now looks the player he always promised to be. Full of tricks and invention, he delivers where it hurts. Score verdict SURELY nothing can stop Chelsea's surge to the Premiership title. Palace made it difficult for them in the first half and can still beat the drop but, in the end, Chelsea's class and quality was too much for the Eagles.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
morning papers baggies
Times:
Chelsea find clear blue waterBy Matt Dickenson, Chief Football CorrespondentChelsea 1 West Bromwich Albion 0 IF ANYTHING going on at Stamford Bridge can be described as routine, it was a victory that extended Chelsea’s lead at the top of the Barclays Premiership to 11 points. Even José Mourinho needs a quiet night once in a while, the manager ducking the post-match media conference and slipping into the night. It was left to Steve Clarke to talk and the Portuguese’s assistant claimed that his boss was unruffled by recent controversies. “He’s bothered about winning trophies,” Clarke said. “We are in the last eight in the European Cup, the Carling Cup is in the bag and we are clear in the league. I think he’s very happy.”
Winning a first championship in 50 years has become an afterthought in the past couple of weeks and a victory memorable more for Didier Drogba’s misses than his goal was always likely to be an anticlimax. In the week since the tumultuous triumph over Barcelona, Mourinho had been interrogated by an FA Premier League lawyer and become embroiled in an escalating row with Uefa.
All the talk had been about a manager who has made Sir Alex Ferguson’s feud with Arsène Wenger not only seem tame, but also dreadfully passé. It was time to return to the business of winning the league, a task that should be accomplished with weeks to spare.
Drogba appeared intent on making life difficult but, with only nine matches left and fixtures against Crystal Palace and Southampton next, Chelsea will not falter now. “I just can’t see them losing three or four games. I think they are more or less there now,” Bryan Robson said.
Robson had tried to prepare the ground for an upset by claiming to have been “wound up” by John Terry’s disclosure that Chelsea are under orders to annihilate opposition, but, even with the bold selection of three forwards, his team was always likely to be in retreat. “The lads stuck at it and you could sense that their fans were edgy in the last 15 minutes,” the West Bromwich Albion manager said. But only because Drogba was so wayward.
The forward’s tally of nine goals from 20 Premiership appearances is respectable, particularly for a player whose first season in England has been interrupted by injuries, but his strike midway through the first half should have been one of many. Fortunately for him it was unmissable as Frank Lampard hit a wonderful pass behind the full back and Damien Duff crossed first-time from the left to leave Drogba with an open goal from eight yards.
Mourinho has yet to show signs of wavering belief in his £24 million forward but the next hour might have induced some doubts. The Ivory Coast forward could claim to have been unfortunate when, having rounded Russell Hoult, the goalkeeper, he saw the ball pinched off his toes by Martin Albrechtsen, but there were no excuses for some spectacular second-half misses.
Although dominant, with Duff and Joe Cole impressing, Chelsea allowed some slackness to creep into their play after an urgent opening. The knowledge that Albion were unlikely to capitalise on their few chances was hardly going to concentrate the mind and Drogba was particularly guilty.
For his first bad miss, the striker had done the hard work by turning Thomas Gaardsoe, but his left-foot shot dribbled past the post. Not long afterwards Cole crossed and, to Drogba’s embarrassment, his header from six yards sailed wide. Worse was to come when he skied a shot high into the stands from close range.
Drogba was a relieved man when, late on, Kanu’s goal-bound volley was bravely blocked by Robert Huth, who was standing in for Ricardo Carvalho. Drogba finished the match flat out on the pitch after taking a kick to the stomach. It summed up his night.
Still, Mourinho could be happy with yet another victory and clean sheet, which kept his team on course for Premiership records for points accumulated and fewest goals conceded. Facing Geoff Horsfield and Ronnie Wallwork rather than Ronaldinho and Xavi, Chelsea were never going to be deprived of possession and the manager could be happy with the contributions from Lampard, Cole, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Duff.
Arjen Robben, who did not make the squad even though he has recovered from a broken foot, should be fit to return this weekend and, although the Chelsea staff and players will continue to make all the right noises about there being “a long way to go”, they should cruise over the finishing line.
CHELSEA (4-1-2-3): P Cech — P Ferreira, J Terry, R Huth, W Gallas — C Makelele — F Lampard, E Gudjohnsen (sub: J Jarosik, 74min) — J Cole (sub: M Kezman, 86), D Drogba, D Duff (sub: A Smertin, 90). Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, R Carvalho.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION (4-3-3): R Hoult — M Albrechtsen, T Gaardsoe, P Robinson, N Clement — Z Gera, R Wallwork, K Richardson (sub: J Greening, 87) — K Campbell, Kanu, G Horsfield (sub: R Earnshaw, 83). Substitutes not used: T Kuszcak, R Scimeca, D Moore. Booked: Clement.
Referee: N Barry. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Independent:
Misfiring Drogba hits winner as Chelsea go 11 points clearChelsea 1 - West Bromwich Albion 0By Sam Wallace16 March 2005
Jose Mourinho will consider this one of his side's more incomplete performances but the consequences of victory over West Bromwich Albion could hardly be more stark. Chelsea lead the Premiership by 11 points and they could afford a performance of reckless profligacy from the striker Didier Drogba, whose single goal was a poor return on a rich collection of opportunities.
A week after they shredded the Barcelona defence, Chelsea did much the same to a side who scarcely bare comparison with the last visitors to Stamford Bridge, but without the same devastating results.
Drogba was presented with more opportunities to put this game beyond reach than he will care to remember but, in contradiction to the natural laws of Premiership football, West Brom stayed in contention to the very end.
When Bryan Robson implemented a 4-3-3 formation last night, it was tempting to think that he was risking annihilation. There was no Arjen Robben in the Chelsea squad, his return from two broken bones in his foot will have to wait, but there was much to concern Robson.
In particular Joe Cole, whose seven consecutive starts, his best run of the season, have been earned in Robben's absence. The England international has flourished on the right wing, he distinguished himself against Barcelona last week, and he was at the heart of many of Chelsea's best early attacks. A ball hit low across the West Brom area on 13 minutes needed only the most basic of touches to turn it home.
Robert Huth returned in the centre of defence for Chelsea, his first match since 30 January, and, even against an ambitious attack of Kevin Campbell, Geoff Horsfield and Kanu, the home side achieved an easy kind of dominance. On loan from Manchester United, Kieran Richardson was the away side's most steady source of resistance in the centre of midfield but Damien Duff's mastery of full-back Martin Albrechtsen down Chelsea's left proved too much for West Brom.
The Irish winger cut a shot just wide of the post from John Terry's knock-down on the edge of the area - a touch from Drogba would have been decisive. The Chelsea striker wasted one more opportunity to open the scoring on 23 minutes when he could not lift a lob over goalkeeper Russell Hoult and then Chelsea broke through with less than 20 minutes of the half to play.
Frank Lampard slipped a ball past Albrechtsen and, as the full-back turned to chase, Duff sprinted past his left shoulder to gather the pass and cross for Drogba in the centre. Drogba finally managed to score.
What Robben will add to this side when he returns on Saturday against Crystal Palace will be enough to wilt the confidence of Chelsea's vain pursuers because, even without him, their service to Drogba was lavish in the extreme. He was presented with another Cole through ball on 34 minutes and, although he beat Hoult, was guided wide of the goal by Zoltan Gera's intervention.
It took Mourinho 74 minutes to decide that he would switch his team to a defensive aspect and in replacing Eidur Gudjohnsen with Jiri Jarosik, the Chelsea coach signalled that he was satisfied with a one-goal victory. The introduction of the functional Czech midfielder is always the surest sign that Mourinho has decided to consolidate victory although that was not to say that his side did not have a chance to extend their lead.
Drogba will look back on last night as a chance to have scored four. Lampard's through ball that found him on 62 minutes allowed the striker to turn Thomas Gaardsoe but, with Hoult advancing, he could only sweep the ball wide.
With a more ruthless finisher in their attack, Chelsea would have shattered what remained of West Bromwich's confidence but even with their visitors fully stretched they failed to close the game out.
A cross from the left from Cole on 71 minutes was headed wide by Drogba without a challenger in sight and he was equally careless when Duff cut the ball back to him with nine minutes remaining.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Ferreira, Huth, Terry, Gallas; Makelele; Cole (Kezman, 86), Lampard, Gudjohnsen (Jarosik, 74), Duff (Smertin, 90); Drogba. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Carvalho.
West Bromwich Albion (4-3-3): Hoult; Albrechtsen, Gaardsoe, Clement, Robinson; Gera, Wallwork, Richardson (Greening 87); Campbell, Kanu, Horsfield (Earnshaw 83). Substitutes not used: Kuszcak (gk), Scimeca, Moore.
Referee: N Barry (Lincolnshire).
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Telegraph:
Wasteful Chelsea almost thereBy Christopher Davies (Filed: 16/03/2005)
Match details
Chelsea (1) 1 West Bromwich Albion (0) 0
Amid Jose Mourinho's on-going fight against the football authorities, Didier Drogba's first-half goal at Stamford Bridge helped Chelsea to close in on their first title for 50 years.
Making a point: Didier Drogba showed support for his manager Chelsea returned to action a week after beating Barcelona in the Champions League looking for three of the 20 points they required to become the fourth different team to win the Premiership. But they made hard work of beating relegation-threatened Albion who showed great spirit in defeat.
Drogba, who finished the game with an injury, missed half a dozen chances as Chelsea's laboured, twelfth 1-0 win of the season extended their lead over second-placed Manchester United to 11 points with nine games to play.
Chelsea have dropped only 13 points from five drawn games and one defeat - the least number dropped in a Premiership season was 23 by Manchester United in 2000-01, when they won the title with 91 points.
Chelsea have conceded nine goals - the Premiership's most miserly defence in a season was Arsenal in 1998-99 when they let in 17. Mourinho's side have managed 30 shut-outs in 46 league and cup matches this season and with 22 clean sheets Chelsea are one short of the record set by Arsenal six years ago.
While Chelsea are marching towards the title, West Bromwich are staring at relegation to the Championship. Without an away win all season, they have won only two of their last 21 league games.
Neale Barry, the referee at the centre of the "cheat, cheat" controversy after the Carling Cup semi-final first leg against Manchester United, made his first return to Stamford Bridge since Mourinho's outburst led to the Chelsea manager being fined £5,000 by the Football Association.
Mourinho could have been forgiven a silent curse after only two minutes when Eidur Gudjohnsen headed over the crossbar from three yards following a corner by Damien Duff had been nodded on by John Terry. Joe Cole, who recently spoke out about the "foreign disease" of diving, was guilty of a theatrical fall in the 10th minute, but went on to show the more positive side of his game, giving West Bromwich left-back Paul Robinson a testing time.
Drogba was clear one-on-one with Russell Hoult in the 23rd minute but the goalkeeper came out to block the Chelsea striker's shot. West Bromwich were doing better than Barcelona a week ago - by that stage the Catalans were 3-0 down.
Three minutes later Chelsea were ahead after a brilliantly worked move finished off by Drogba, who made up for his earlier misses. Frank Lampard found Duff, who had stayed onside, down the left and after making ground he crossed for Drogba to score with a left-foot shot from close range.
Jubilant Chelsea players ran to celebrate in a public display of bonding with their manager, who has been branded "an enemy of football" by Volker Roth, chairman of UEFA's referees committee.
Albion would have had to create history to secure three points - they have never won a Premiership game after conceding the opening goal.
The first half had been a damage limitation exercise for the visitors, who should have been happy to go in at the interval trailing by only one goal. Chelsea had been almost embarrassingly superior, with Duff and Cole in particular causing problems, but poor finishing had let Albion off the hook.
A curling shot by Zoltan Gera that was only a yard wide was a reminder to Chelsea that their failure to kill the game off left them vulnerable to a counter-attack.
Drogba missed another sitter in the 63rd minute from a defence-splitting pass by Lampard.
Despite scoring Chelsea's goal Drogba was having a nightmare and he missed another easy opportunity when, in the 70th minute, he headed over the bar from five yards with no defender nearby. The striker then put a shot from seven yards into the upper tier of the Matthew Harding stand.
Chelsea had Robert Huth to thank when the Germany defender headed clear a goal-bound volley by Kanu.
Match details
Chelsea (4-1-2-3): Cech; Paulo Ferreira, Terry, Huth, Gallas; Makelele; Lampard, Gudjohnsen (Jarosik 74); Cole (Kezman 86), Drogba, Duff (Smertin 90). Subs: Cudicini (g), Ricardo Carvalho. West Bromwich (4-3-2-1): Hoult; Albrechtsen, Gaardsoe, Clement, Robinson; Gera, Wallwork, Richardson (Greening 86); Kanu, Campbell; Horsfield (Earnshaw 84). Subs: Kuszcak (g), Scimeca, Moore. Booked: Clement. Referee: N Barry (Lincolnshire).
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Guardian:
Drogba's winner sends Chelsea 11 points clear
Kevin McCarra at Stamford BridgeWednesday March 16, 2005The Guardian
It takes patience to be champions. Chelsea had to put up with their failure to kill off a purposeful West Brom quickly as Didier Drogba squeezed one goal into his extensive collection of misses before being injured in stoppage time. The Premiership leaders now need a maximum of 17 points to clinch the title, but this win was harder to come by than they had supposed. Ticket prices are sometimes graded by the category of fixture and managers, too, occasionally provide a rating of their own on the team-sheet. Chelsea's Robert Huth, for instance, started here for the first time since January 30 while the renowned Ricardo Carvalho settled down on the substitutes' bench.
Arjen Robben, more intriguingly, can only have been sitting in the stands. The winger was expected to make a comeback but he was still in discomfort from his broken foot at the time of Chelsea's game with Barcelona last week. Was it that Jose Mourinho decided not to put him to the test here, in an examination his side were bound to pass without him? West Bromwich might have appeared to be acquitting themselves fairly well before Chelsea took the lead, but even then there had been a gentle stream of opportunities. Joe Cole, lively and influential, had crafted one cross with his left foot from the right that eluded Drogba by inches.
With his season splintered by injuries, the performances of the striker have not had the smoothness he showed at Marseille, but he always taxes defenders. When he beat the offside trap in the 23rd minute Russell Hoult had to close him down speedily to prevent a lob from going over his head.
Drogba was bound to profit eventually, particularly once Chelsea started to concentrate on exploiting Martin Albrechtsen's unsuitability as a right-back. After 26 minutes, Damien Duff feinted to go back towards the halfway line before spinning away from the Dane to chase a through ball from Frank Lampard and the Irishman's low cut-back was converted by Drogba.
West Brom, none the less, did enjoy moments of hope and players like Zoltan Gera could show, sporadically, that they are more than just toilers. A miniature revival has also been sufficient to have the manager calculating the target for survival, and Bryan Robson reckons that five or six wins will do the trick.
It all sounds plausible until you remember that this was the first of only 10 league games that remain for a West Brom team who have only harvested three victories so far. In adversity it is better to turn to kinder statistics, and the club are well aware that they have lately come off the bottom of the table for the first time in four months.
That is slightly encouraging and West Brom, with time running out, have no need to shun risk-taking. The team featured three forwards, with Nwankwo Kanu returning to the starting line-up. While Chelsea did not teeter under any sort of onslaught, Robson had reasoned that a little attacking would at least interrupt Mourinho's schemes.
The Portuguese, in view of his obsessiveness, will have been well aware that his side have not kept a clean sheet in five matches. Meetings with Barcelona and a League Cup final against Liverpool excuse wobbliness, but West Brom were trying to stop Chelsea from feeling fully at ease again.
The leaders remained relaxed enough at the opening of the second half for Claude Makelele, in his own area, to attend to an attack by controlling Paul Robinson's cross and playing a one-two with Lampard.
Even so, there is always some unease when a lead is slender and West Brom were willing to commit greater numbers when they attacked. Chelsea were given a glimpse of how matters could go wrong when Gera came in from the left and put a curling shot a yard wide.
The Stamford Bridge side should also have been rueful about their failure to seal the win. In the 62nd minute Makelele tackled, Lampard passed and Drogba went round Thomas Gaardsoe only to scuff beyond a post.
The same striker missed again with a header in the 71st minute although Cole's cross had found him unmarked. Almost immediately Huth had to head Kanu's strong volley over his own bar as, to Chelsea's regret, the game grew interesting.
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Sun:
Chelsea 1 West Brom 0 By SUN ONLINE REPORTER
DIDIER DROGBA almost fluffed his lines as Chelsea surged 11 points clear at the top of the Premiership.
The Ivory Coast hitman missed a string of easy chances to demolish bottom of the pile West Brom at Stamford Bridge.
But the £24million summer buy did find his range midway through the first half to settle this match and put more breathing space between the Blues and rivals Manchester United and Arsenal.
Albion twice had the ball in the back of the net in the early stages. But the linesman's flag denied them both times and even Drogba could not miss Damien Duff's inch-perfect cross in front of an open goal.
West Brom pushed Chelsea all the way as they fed off the confidence of last week's victory over Birmingham.
But Bryan Robson's men could not find a way past the Blues backline, which registered yet another clean sheet.
Chelsea skipper John Terry marshalled his defence impeccably and the England ace almost got the home side off to the perfect start as he headed Duff's corner goalwards in the first minute.
Unfortunately, Eidur Gudjohnsen sensed a goal himself and as he tried to deflect the ball in, he succeeded in heading it wide.
Drogba should have broken the deadlock in the fifth minute but his shot on the turn from six yards was too weak to beat Russell Hoult in the visitors’ goal.
Drogba then sent a free-kick by Frank Lampard over the bar as West Brom struggled to cope with the rampaging Chelsea forward line.
Joe Cole was causing Albion all sorts of problems down the right flank and in the 11th minute he provided two crosses which really should have brought the Londoners some reward, but Drogba and Gudjohnsen could get close enough to finish them off.
ALL GO JOE ... Cole looks to spark another Blues attack
Soon after Duff was inches wide with a left-foot piledriver from the edge of the box, which again Drogba just failed to convert with a cheeky flick.
In the 22nd minute, Lampard put Drogba in the clear but this time Hoult was alive to his attempted chip.
Albion had the ball in the net twice but both attempts were clearly offside.
And Chelsea made the crucial breakthrough when Lampard carved open the static West Brom defence with an inch-perfect pass for Duff.
The Republic of Ireland international sprinted clear before delivering a low cross that Drogba converted easily from six yards out.
Kevin Campbell got in a free header from a right-wing cross by Ronnie Wallwork but the ball bounced over the bar.
Chelsea continued to search for more goals and Cole sent Drogba clear again in the 33rd minute but this time, although he rounded Hoult, he was unable to prevent Martin Albrechtsen clearing the loose ball.
Cole shot straight at Hoult from 20 yards just before the break but there was no respite for Albion after the interval, despite Neil Clement testing Petr Cech with a long-range effort.
On 50 minutes, Duff forced Hoult to dive low to his right to prevent him scoring Chelsea’s second goal.
That should then have arrived on the hour when Lampard was again the architect of another stunning Chelsea move.
This time the England international midfielder played a slide-rule pass to Drogba who turned Thomas Gaardsoe on the edge of the box, only to send his low drive around the outside of the right-hand post
In the 63rd minute, Lampard sent a long-range free-kick just a foot over Hoult’s crossbar as the pressure continued unabated on the Albion goal.
Chelsea should have wrapped the game up in convincing fashion in the last 12 minutes but Drogba was guilty of two glaring misses.
First he headed wide from Cole’s cross and then blasted the ball over the bar from six yards after Duff again found him with a low cross from the left.
But by then, he had just done enough to leave the Chelsea fans singing for their first title in 50 years.
DREAM TEAM STAR MAN
JOE COLE (Chelsea). Oozes class and confidence.
SUN RATINGS
CHELSEA: Cech 6, Ferreira 6, Terry 7, Huth 7, Gallas 6, Cole 8 (Kezman 5), Makalele 7, Lampard 8, Gudjohnsen 6 (Jarosik 5), Duff 7 (Smertin 5), Drogba 5. Subs not used: Cudicini, Carvalho.
WEST BROM: Hoult 7, Albrechtsen 5, Gaardsoe 6, Clement 6, Robinson 6, Gera 7, Richardson 7 (Greening 5), Wallwork 6, Campbell 6, Kanu 6, Horsfield 5 (Earnshaw 5). Subs not used: Kusczak, Scimeca, Moore. Booked: Clement.
Chelsea find clear blue waterBy Matt Dickenson, Chief Football CorrespondentChelsea 1 West Bromwich Albion 0 IF ANYTHING going on at Stamford Bridge can be described as routine, it was a victory that extended Chelsea’s lead at the top of the Barclays Premiership to 11 points. Even José Mourinho needs a quiet night once in a while, the manager ducking the post-match media conference and slipping into the night. It was left to Steve Clarke to talk and the Portuguese’s assistant claimed that his boss was unruffled by recent controversies. “He’s bothered about winning trophies,” Clarke said. “We are in the last eight in the European Cup, the Carling Cup is in the bag and we are clear in the league. I think he’s very happy.”
Winning a first championship in 50 years has become an afterthought in the past couple of weeks and a victory memorable more for Didier Drogba’s misses than his goal was always likely to be an anticlimax. In the week since the tumultuous triumph over Barcelona, Mourinho had been interrogated by an FA Premier League lawyer and become embroiled in an escalating row with Uefa.
All the talk had been about a manager who has made Sir Alex Ferguson’s feud with Arsène Wenger not only seem tame, but also dreadfully passé. It was time to return to the business of winning the league, a task that should be accomplished with weeks to spare.
Drogba appeared intent on making life difficult but, with only nine matches left and fixtures against Crystal Palace and Southampton next, Chelsea will not falter now. “I just can’t see them losing three or four games. I think they are more or less there now,” Bryan Robson said.
Robson had tried to prepare the ground for an upset by claiming to have been “wound up” by John Terry’s disclosure that Chelsea are under orders to annihilate opposition, but, even with the bold selection of three forwards, his team was always likely to be in retreat. “The lads stuck at it and you could sense that their fans were edgy in the last 15 minutes,” the West Bromwich Albion manager said. But only because Drogba was so wayward.
The forward’s tally of nine goals from 20 Premiership appearances is respectable, particularly for a player whose first season in England has been interrupted by injuries, but his strike midway through the first half should have been one of many. Fortunately for him it was unmissable as Frank Lampard hit a wonderful pass behind the full back and Damien Duff crossed first-time from the left to leave Drogba with an open goal from eight yards.
Mourinho has yet to show signs of wavering belief in his £24 million forward but the next hour might have induced some doubts. The Ivory Coast forward could claim to have been unfortunate when, having rounded Russell Hoult, the goalkeeper, he saw the ball pinched off his toes by Martin Albrechtsen, but there were no excuses for some spectacular second-half misses.
Although dominant, with Duff and Joe Cole impressing, Chelsea allowed some slackness to creep into their play after an urgent opening. The knowledge that Albion were unlikely to capitalise on their few chances was hardly going to concentrate the mind and Drogba was particularly guilty.
For his first bad miss, the striker had done the hard work by turning Thomas Gaardsoe, but his left-foot shot dribbled past the post. Not long afterwards Cole crossed and, to Drogba’s embarrassment, his header from six yards sailed wide. Worse was to come when he skied a shot high into the stands from close range.
Drogba was a relieved man when, late on, Kanu’s goal-bound volley was bravely blocked by Robert Huth, who was standing in for Ricardo Carvalho. Drogba finished the match flat out on the pitch after taking a kick to the stomach. It summed up his night.
Still, Mourinho could be happy with yet another victory and clean sheet, which kept his team on course for Premiership records for points accumulated and fewest goals conceded. Facing Geoff Horsfield and Ronnie Wallwork rather than Ronaldinho and Xavi, Chelsea were never going to be deprived of possession and the manager could be happy with the contributions from Lampard, Cole, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Duff.
Arjen Robben, who did not make the squad even though he has recovered from a broken foot, should be fit to return this weekend and, although the Chelsea staff and players will continue to make all the right noises about there being “a long way to go”, they should cruise over the finishing line.
CHELSEA (4-1-2-3): P Cech — P Ferreira, J Terry, R Huth, W Gallas — C Makelele — F Lampard, E Gudjohnsen (sub: J Jarosik, 74min) — J Cole (sub: M Kezman, 86), D Drogba, D Duff (sub: A Smertin, 90). Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, R Carvalho.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION (4-3-3): R Hoult — M Albrechtsen, T Gaardsoe, P Robinson, N Clement — Z Gera, R Wallwork, K Richardson (sub: J Greening, 87) — K Campbell, Kanu, G Horsfield (sub: R Earnshaw, 83). Substitutes not used: T Kuszcak, R Scimeca, D Moore. Booked: Clement.
Referee: N Barry. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Independent:
Misfiring Drogba hits winner as Chelsea go 11 points clearChelsea 1 - West Bromwich Albion 0By Sam Wallace16 March 2005
Jose Mourinho will consider this one of his side's more incomplete performances but the consequences of victory over West Bromwich Albion could hardly be more stark. Chelsea lead the Premiership by 11 points and they could afford a performance of reckless profligacy from the striker Didier Drogba, whose single goal was a poor return on a rich collection of opportunities.
A week after they shredded the Barcelona defence, Chelsea did much the same to a side who scarcely bare comparison with the last visitors to Stamford Bridge, but without the same devastating results.
Drogba was presented with more opportunities to put this game beyond reach than he will care to remember but, in contradiction to the natural laws of Premiership football, West Brom stayed in contention to the very end.
When Bryan Robson implemented a 4-3-3 formation last night, it was tempting to think that he was risking annihilation. There was no Arjen Robben in the Chelsea squad, his return from two broken bones in his foot will have to wait, but there was much to concern Robson.
In particular Joe Cole, whose seven consecutive starts, his best run of the season, have been earned in Robben's absence. The England international has flourished on the right wing, he distinguished himself against Barcelona last week, and he was at the heart of many of Chelsea's best early attacks. A ball hit low across the West Brom area on 13 minutes needed only the most basic of touches to turn it home.
Robert Huth returned in the centre of defence for Chelsea, his first match since 30 January, and, even against an ambitious attack of Kevin Campbell, Geoff Horsfield and Kanu, the home side achieved an easy kind of dominance. On loan from Manchester United, Kieran Richardson was the away side's most steady source of resistance in the centre of midfield but Damien Duff's mastery of full-back Martin Albrechtsen down Chelsea's left proved too much for West Brom.
The Irish winger cut a shot just wide of the post from John Terry's knock-down on the edge of the area - a touch from Drogba would have been decisive. The Chelsea striker wasted one more opportunity to open the scoring on 23 minutes when he could not lift a lob over goalkeeper Russell Hoult and then Chelsea broke through with less than 20 minutes of the half to play.
Frank Lampard slipped a ball past Albrechtsen and, as the full-back turned to chase, Duff sprinted past his left shoulder to gather the pass and cross for Drogba in the centre. Drogba finally managed to score.
What Robben will add to this side when he returns on Saturday against Crystal Palace will be enough to wilt the confidence of Chelsea's vain pursuers because, even without him, their service to Drogba was lavish in the extreme. He was presented with another Cole through ball on 34 minutes and, although he beat Hoult, was guided wide of the goal by Zoltan Gera's intervention.
It took Mourinho 74 minutes to decide that he would switch his team to a defensive aspect and in replacing Eidur Gudjohnsen with Jiri Jarosik, the Chelsea coach signalled that he was satisfied with a one-goal victory. The introduction of the functional Czech midfielder is always the surest sign that Mourinho has decided to consolidate victory although that was not to say that his side did not have a chance to extend their lead.
Drogba will look back on last night as a chance to have scored four. Lampard's through ball that found him on 62 minutes allowed the striker to turn Thomas Gaardsoe but, with Hoult advancing, he could only sweep the ball wide.
With a more ruthless finisher in their attack, Chelsea would have shattered what remained of West Bromwich's confidence but even with their visitors fully stretched they failed to close the game out.
A cross from the left from Cole on 71 minutes was headed wide by Drogba without a challenger in sight and he was equally careless when Duff cut the ball back to him with nine minutes remaining.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Ferreira, Huth, Terry, Gallas; Makelele; Cole (Kezman, 86), Lampard, Gudjohnsen (Jarosik, 74), Duff (Smertin, 90); Drogba. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Carvalho.
West Bromwich Albion (4-3-3): Hoult; Albrechtsen, Gaardsoe, Clement, Robinson; Gera, Wallwork, Richardson (Greening 87); Campbell, Kanu, Horsfield (Earnshaw 83). Substitutes not used: Kuszcak (gk), Scimeca, Moore.
Referee: N Barry (Lincolnshire).
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Telegraph:
Wasteful Chelsea almost thereBy Christopher Davies (Filed: 16/03/2005)
Match details
Chelsea (1) 1 West Bromwich Albion (0) 0
Amid Jose Mourinho's on-going fight against the football authorities, Didier Drogba's first-half goal at Stamford Bridge helped Chelsea to close in on their first title for 50 years.
Making a point: Didier Drogba showed support for his manager Chelsea returned to action a week after beating Barcelona in the Champions League looking for three of the 20 points they required to become the fourth different team to win the Premiership. But they made hard work of beating relegation-threatened Albion who showed great spirit in defeat.
Drogba, who finished the game with an injury, missed half a dozen chances as Chelsea's laboured, twelfth 1-0 win of the season extended their lead over second-placed Manchester United to 11 points with nine games to play.
Chelsea have dropped only 13 points from five drawn games and one defeat - the least number dropped in a Premiership season was 23 by Manchester United in 2000-01, when they won the title with 91 points.
Chelsea have conceded nine goals - the Premiership's most miserly defence in a season was Arsenal in 1998-99 when they let in 17. Mourinho's side have managed 30 shut-outs in 46 league and cup matches this season and with 22 clean sheets Chelsea are one short of the record set by Arsenal six years ago.
While Chelsea are marching towards the title, West Bromwich are staring at relegation to the Championship. Without an away win all season, they have won only two of their last 21 league games.
Neale Barry, the referee at the centre of the "cheat, cheat" controversy after the Carling Cup semi-final first leg against Manchester United, made his first return to Stamford Bridge since Mourinho's outburst led to the Chelsea manager being fined £5,000 by the Football Association.
Mourinho could have been forgiven a silent curse after only two minutes when Eidur Gudjohnsen headed over the crossbar from three yards following a corner by Damien Duff had been nodded on by John Terry. Joe Cole, who recently spoke out about the "foreign disease" of diving, was guilty of a theatrical fall in the 10th minute, but went on to show the more positive side of his game, giving West Bromwich left-back Paul Robinson a testing time.
Drogba was clear one-on-one with Russell Hoult in the 23rd minute but the goalkeeper came out to block the Chelsea striker's shot. West Bromwich were doing better than Barcelona a week ago - by that stage the Catalans were 3-0 down.
Three minutes later Chelsea were ahead after a brilliantly worked move finished off by Drogba, who made up for his earlier misses. Frank Lampard found Duff, who had stayed onside, down the left and after making ground he crossed for Drogba to score with a left-foot shot from close range.
Jubilant Chelsea players ran to celebrate in a public display of bonding with their manager, who has been branded "an enemy of football" by Volker Roth, chairman of UEFA's referees committee.
Albion would have had to create history to secure three points - they have never won a Premiership game after conceding the opening goal.
The first half had been a damage limitation exercise for the visitors, who should have been happy to go in at the interval trailing by only one goal. Chelsea had been almost embarrassingly superior, with Duff and Cole in particular causing problems, but poor finishing had let Albion off the hook.
A curling shot by Zoltan Gera that was only a yard wide was a reminder to Chelsea that their failure to kill the game off left them vulnerable to a counter-attack.
Drogba missed another sitter in the 63rd minute from a defence-splitting pass by Lampard.
Despite scoring Chelsea's goal Drogba was having a nightmare and he missed another easy opportunity when, in the 70th minute, he headed over the bar from five yards with no defender nearby. The striker then put a shot from seven yards into the upper tier of the Matthew Harding stand.
Chelsea had Robert Huth to thank when the Germany defender headed clear a goal-bound volley by Kanu.
Match details
Chelsea (4-1-2-3): Cech; Paulo Ferreira, Terry, Huth, Gallas; Makelele; Lampard, Gudjohnsen (Jarosik 74); Cole (Kezman 86), Drogba, Duff (Smertin 90). Subs: Cudicini (g), Ricardo Carvalho. West Bromwich (4-3-2-1): Hoult; Albrechtsen, Gaardsoe, Clement, Robinson; Gera, Wallwork, Richardson (Greening 86); Kanu, Campbell; Horsfield (Earnshaw 84). Subs: Kuszcak (g), Scimeca, Moore. Booked: Clement. Referee: N Barry (Lincolnshire).
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Guardian:
Drogba's winner sends Chelsea 11 points clear
Kevin McCarra at Stamford BridgeWednesday March 16, 2005The Guardian
It takes patience to be champions. Chelsea had to put up with their failure to kill off a purposeful West Brom quickly as Didier Drogba squeezed one goal into his extensive collection of misses before being injured in stoppage time. The Premiership leaders now need a maximum of 17 points to clinch the title, but this win was harder to come by than they had supposed. Ticket prices are sometimes graded by the category of fixture and managers, too, occasionally provide a rating of their own on the team-sheet. Chelsea's Robert Huth, for instance, started here for the first time since January 30 while the renowned Ricardo Carvalho settled down on the substitutes' bench.
Arjen Robben, more intriguingly, can only have been sitting in the stands. The winger was expected to make a comeback but he was still in discomfort from his broken foot at the time of Chelsea's game with Barcelona last week. Was it that Jose Mourinho decided not to put him to the test here, in an examination his side were bound to pass without him? West Bromwich might have appeared to be acquitting themselves fairly well before Chelsea took the lead, but even then there had been a gentle stream of opportunities. Joe Cole, lively and influential, had crafted one cross with his left foot from the right that eluded Drogba by inches.
With his season splintered by injuries, the performances of the striker have not had the smoothness he showed at Marseille, but he always taxes defenders. When he beat the offside trap in the 23rd minute Russell Hoult had to close him down speedily to prevent a lob from going over his head.
Drogba was bound to profit eventually, particularly once Chelsea started to concentrate on exploiting Martin Albrechtsen's unsuitability as a right-back. After 26 minutes, Damien Duff feinted to go back towards the halfway line before spinning away from the Dane to chase a through ball from Frank Lampard and the Irishman's low cut-back was converted by Drogba.
West Brom, none the less, did enjoy moments of hope and players like Zoltan Gera could show, sporadically, that they are more than just toilers. A miniature revival has also been sufficient to have the manager calculating the target for survival, and Bryan Robson reckons that five or six wins will do the trick.
It all sounds plausible until you remember that this was the first of only 10 league games that remain for a West Brom team who have only harvested three victories so far. In adversity it is better to turn to kinder statistics, and the club are well aware that they have lately come off the bottom of the table for the first time in four months.
That is slightly encouraging and West Brom, with time running out, have no need to shun risk-taking. The team featured three forwards, with Nwankwo Kanu returning to the starting line-up. While Chelsea did not teeter under any sort of onslaught, Robson had reasoned that a little attacking would at least interrupt Mourinho's schemes.
The Portuguese, in view of his obsessiveness, will have been well aware that his side have not kept a clean sheet in five matches. Meetings with Barcelona and a League Cup final against Liverpool excuse wobbliness, but West Brom were trying to stop Chelsea from feeling fully at ease again.
The leaders remained relaxed enough at the opening of the second half for Claude Makelele, in his own area, to attend to an attack by controlling Paul Robinson's cross and playing a one-two with Lampard.
Even so, there is always some unease when a lead is slender and West Brom were willing to commit greater numbers when they attacked. Chelsea were given a glimpse of how matters could go wrong when Gera came in from the left and put a curling shot a yard wide.
The Stamford Bridge side should also have been rueful about their failure to seal the win. In the 62nd minute Makelele tackled, Lampard passed and Drogba went round Thomas Gaardsoe only to scuff beyond a post.
The same striker missed again with a header in the 71st minute although Cole's cross had found him unmarked. Almost immediately Huth had to head Kanu's strong volley over his own bar as, to Chelsea's regret, the game grew interesting.
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Sun:
Chelsea 1 West Brom 0 By SUN ONLINE REPORTER
DIDIER DROGBA almost fluffed his lines as Chelsea surged 11 points clear at the top of the Premiership.
The Ivory Coast hitman missed a string of easy chances to demolish bottom of the pile West Brom at Stamford Bridge.
But the £24million summer buy did find his range midway through the first half to settle this match and put more breathing space between the Blues and rivals Manchester United and Arsenal.
Albion twice had the ball in the back of the net in the early stages. But the linesman's flag denied them both times and even Drogba could not miss Damien Duff's inch-perfect cross in front of an open goal.
West Brom pushed Chelsea all the way as they fed off the confidence of last week's victory over Birmingham.
But Bryan Robson's men could not find a way past the Blues backline, which registered yet another clean sheet.
Chelsea skipper John Terry marshalled his defence impeccably and the England ace almost got the home side off to the perfect start as he headed Duff's corner goalwards in the first minute.
Unfortunately, Eidur Gudjohnsen sensed a goal himself and as he tried to deflect the ball in, he succeeded in heading it wide.
Drogba should have broken the deadlock in the fifth minute but his shot on the turn from six yards was too weak to beat Russell Hoult in the visitors’ goal.
Drogba then sent a free-kick by Frank Lampard over the bar as West Brom struggled to cope with the rampaging Chelsea forward line.
Joe Cole was causing Albion all sorts of problems down the right flank and in the 11th minute he provided two crosses which really should have brought the Londoners some reward, but Drogba and Gudjohnsen could get close enough to finish them off.
ALL GO JOE ... Cole looks to spark another Blues attack
Soon after Duff was inches wide with a left-foot piledriver from the edge of the box, which again Drogba just failed to convert with a cheeky flick.
In the 22nd minute, Lampard put Drogba in the clear but this time Hoult was alive to his attempted chip.
Albion had the ball in the net twice but both attempts were clearly offside.
And Chelsea made the crucial breakthrough when Lampard carved open the static West Brom defence with an inch-perfect pass for Duff.
The Republic of Ireland international sprinted clear before delivering a low cross that Drogba converted easily from six yards out.
Kevin Campbell got in a free header from a right-wing cross by Ronnie Wallwork but the ball bounced over the bar.
Chelsea continued to search for more goals and Cole sent Drogba clear again in the 33rd minute but this time, although he rounded Hoult, he was unable to prevent Martin Albrechtsen clearing the loose ball.
Cole shot straight at Hoult from 20 yards just before the break but there was no respite for Albion after the interval, despite Neil Clement testing Petr Cech with a long-range effort.
On 50 minutes, Duff forced Hoult to dive low to his right to prevent him scoring Chelsea’s second goal.
That should then have arrived on the hour when Lampard was again the architect of another stunning Chelsea move.
This time the England international midfielder played a slide-rule pass to Drogba who turned Thomas Gaardsoe on the edge of the box, only to send his low drive around the outside of the right-hand post
In the 63rd minute, Lampard sent a long-range free-kick just a foot over Hoult’s crossbar as the pressure continued unabated on the Albion goal.
Chelsea should have wrapped the game up in convincing fashion in the last 12 minutes but Drogba was guilty of two glaring misses.
First he headed wide from Cole’s cross and then blasted the ball over the bar from six yards after Duff again found him with a low cross from the left.
But by then, he had just done enough to leave the Chelsea fans singing for their first title in 50 years.
DREAM TEAM STAR MAN
JOE COLE (Chelsea). Oozes class and confidence.
SUN RATINGS
CHELSEA: Cech 6, Ferreira 6, Terry 7, Huth 7, Gallas 6, Cole 8 (Kezman 5), Makalele 7, Lampard 8, Gudjohnsen 6 (Jarosik 5), Duff 7 (Smertin 5), Drogba 5. Subs not used: Cudicini, Carvalho.
WEST BROM: Hoult 7, Albrechtsen 5, Gaardsoe 6, Clement 6, Robinson 6, Gera 7, Richardson 7 (Greening 5), Wallwork 6, Campbell 6, Kanu 6, Horsfield 5 (Earnshaw 5). Subs not used: Kusczak, Scimeca, Moore. Booked: Clement.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
morning papers barcelona home
Times:
Chelsea find a leader to supply final twist in taleBy Matt Dickinson, Chief Football CorrespondentChelsea 4 Barcelona 2(Chelsea win 5-4 on agg)
HE NOT only knocked them out of the European Cup, he also sent Barcelona away kicking and screaming. On top of defending the trophy that he regards as his to keep, José Mourinho appears intent on belittling the mighty clubs of the Continent on the way.
No club and no rival coach is to be spared the lash of the Portuguese’s tongue, but this most extraordinary manager keeps coaxing performances from his teams to back up his provocative words and gestures. The more he talks, the better his Chelsea team play.
Their success last night was all the greater for the fact that they had to win the tie twice. Having stormed ahead with three goals inside 19 minutes, they conceded two to trail on away goals at the interval. The resolve of players such as Frank Lampard, John Terry and Petr Cech in the second half revealed European champions of the future, if not this season. Their opponents would have made worthy finalists, with Samuel Eto’o and Ronaldinho outstanding, so Chelsea’s triumph must not be underestimated.
Terry scored the decisive goal with a towering header in the 76th minute and, even though there were claims of a foul on the goalkeeper by Ricardo Carvalho, Chelsea deserved their victory. With six goals, countless chances and the astonishing scenes of brawling after the final whistle, it might take a book to tell the full story of this unforgettable night. The latest chapter in the remarkable Mourinho story was the most compelling yet.
“It is time to shut up and get on with what should be a fantastic match,” a Uefa spokesman had said earlier in the day in a message to Mourinho. He proved a master of understatement. You would have to be as old as a Chelsea pensioner to remember a more gripping night at Stamford Bridge.
Delicately balanced at kick-off, the scales tipped dramatically the home team’s way before lurching in Barcelona’s favour. So much had happened by half-time that Ronaldinho and Paulo Ferreira swapped shirts as they walked to the dressing-room. With five goals, shots against the woodwork and a number of stunning saves, it must have felt as though they had already played 90 minutes.
Eidur Gudjohnsen began the early blitz when, after a slip by Xavi, Lampard set Mateja Kezman on a run down the right. His cross found Gudjohnsen at the far post and, with a neat turn inside, the forward made the room for a composed finish.
Quickest to every challenge, Chelsea struck twice more with the sort of lightning raids that many had thought beyond them in the absence of Arjen Robben and Didier Drogba. Lampard scored the second, pouncing after Joe Cole’s deflected shot had been weakly parried by Víctor Valdés, and a brilliantly weighted pass from Cole sent Duff scurrying through for the third. Stamford Bridge was in ecstasy and Mourinho’s decision to start with Kezman and leave out an extra midfield player in Tiago was looking a masterstroke.
Chelsea seemed so bullish that Duff, never the most showy of players, celebrated his goal by running right up to the Barcelona bench, to the visiting team’s fury. Mourinho’s prediction that the tie would be decided in the final seconds was looking untypically pessimistic.
If only his players had been more circumspect. Seemingly in an impregnable position, they lost goals to mistakes from three of their most dependable players. First, Ferreira inexplicably challenged for a header with his arms raised high above his head. Ronaldinho looked unusually nervous before scoring from the spot, but there was a nonchalance in his second goal that will have drawn gasps of admiration even from Chelsea supporters. Certainly Carvalho looked mesmerised as the Brazilian swayed over a stationary ball as if he was on the dance floor before toepoking it through the narrowest of gaps from 20 yards.
In challenging for the same ball moments earlier, Carvalho and Terry could be held responsible, but they could console themselves that this was the work of a sporting genius.
A match played at breathless pace throughout could have gone either way as both teams struck the woodwork, but in Cech, Chelsea had the game’s outstanding performer. He kept his team in it. An inspiration throughout the season, Terry did the rest.
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): P Cech — P Ferreira (sub: G Johnson, 51min), J Terry, R Carvalho, W Gallas — C Makelele, F Lampard — J Cole, E Gudjohnsen (sub: Tiago, 79), D Duff (sub: R Huth, 86) — M Kezman. Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, A Smertin, Gérémi, S Parker. Booked: Ferreira, Kezman, Johnson.
BARCELONA (4-3-3): V Valdés — J Belletti (sub: L Giuly, 84), C Puyol, Oleguer, G van Bronckhorst (sub: Sylvinho, 46) — Xavi, Gerard, Deco — A Iniesta (sub: M López, 86), S Eto’o, Ronaldinho. Substitutes not used: A Jorquera, F Navarro, D Albertini, Damiá. Booked: Van Bronckhorst, Xavi.
Referee: P Collina (Italy). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guardian:
Blue touchpaper ignites early blaze
Richard Williams at Stamford BridgeWednesday March 9, 2005The Guardian
Eight minutes gone, 1-0, 2-2 on aggregate, Chelsea going through on the away goal scored for them by Juliano Belletti in the Camp Nou. That'll do for Jose Mourinho, right? Utterly, utterly wrong. For 20 minutes last night Stamford Bridge was ablaze as this season's Premiership masters of the niggardly 1-0 win stormed to an unimaginable three-goal lead, thanks to lethally direct counter-attacking and a slice of luck.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Confronting the team generally reckoned to be the most potent exponents of pure attacking football in Europe, Mourinho astonished no one by including a surprise on his teamsheet. The presence of Mateja Kezman alongside Eidur Gudjohnsen suggested that the Portuguese coach had the scoring of goals in mind. But he can never have imagined the opening quarter of this match. Chelsea's start was simply beyond Mourinho's wildest dreams. Gudjohnsen's opening goal provided a masterclass in how to hit your opponents on the break. Damien Duff's third came from glorious passes by Kezman and Joe Cole. And if the intervening goal owed everything to the deflection and the goalkeeper's parry that placed the ball in Frank Lampard's path at point-blank range, then it was only a fair reward for the urgency with which Chelsea had attacked the match.
But then Paulo Ferreira was adjudged to have handled the ball by Pierluigi Collina, praised by Mourinho this week as the man he would want to referee every game in which his side is involved, and the complexion of the evening changed completely. Ronaldinho slid the penalty past Petr Cech and then, with the instant cold-eyed opportunism of the master assassin, hit home a wonderful instant shot to restore Barcelona's lead in the tie.
If you are going to concede two goals at home for only the second time this season, then Fifa's world player of the year might well be the man who is going to make you suffer. But even in the eight minutes before Gudjohnsen struck Chelsea's first goal, Barcelona's careful passing had given an indication of what might be to come. When they went 3-0 down they did not fold but kept playing their fluently expressive game, trusting in quality to bring them back as the gold shirts of their little midfield trio, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and Deco, flickered across the turf.
And so the brief but incandescent rivalry between Mourinho and Frank Rijkaard took another turn. Who could have guessed that the opening period of the match would have turned out to be a contrast between the furious attacking of Mourinho's players and the patient interplay of those sent out by Rijkaard? Stamford Bridge rocked and reeled as the gods turned their faces this way and that.
Barcelona's 9,000 fans had brought balloons in the red and blue colours of the Blaugrana, but they seemed to have been efficiently pricked by Chelsea's opening onslaught. By half-time, however, they were once more floating merrily in the west London night air and their songs were silencing those of the home crowd.
Only the harshest of purists would have suggested that the defensive generosity of both sides was perhaps a reason why these two great metropolitan clubs, each with a history illuminated by a galaxy of stars, have won the European Cup only once between them. If the half-time score from San Siro - 0-0 between Milan and Manchester United - might have seemed more pleasing to the connoisseur of the European Cup, this match offered the sort of intoxicating flavour of those great nights in the early years of the competition, when Real Madrid borrowed Brazil's philosophy of noting their opponents score and then simply scoring a few more.
Last night, however, there seemed to be two Real Madrids on the pitch. Not that Mourinho will have appreciated the entertainment. This was not the way he sets out to win matches, not the way he took Porto to the Uefa Cup and the European Cup in successive seasons. And if he were going to give up the senior trophy, this would not be the way he wanted to do it.
Although the scoring rate slowed down as the second half went on, there was no lessening of remarkable incident, each team responding to the other's initiative with an effort of their own. When Lampard's drive was deflected for a corner, and Victor Valdes plunged on to Gudjohnsen's header, the play went straight down the other end for Belletti to sting Cech's palms and for the goalkeeper to get down and tip away an effort from the resulting flag-kick.
Given the rancorous preludes to both legs and the bad feeling after the match in the Camp Nou, the conduct of this match came as a relief. Under Collina's stern gaze both teams played hard and kept their complaints to a minimum. Not that they had much time to catch the referee's eye, thanks to the sheer pace of the play. Not until the 68th minute did Collina need to brandish a yellow card, when Xavi went down under a minimal challenge and lay on the grass complaining. Ricardo Carvalho's stunning and completely fair tackle on Samuel Eto'o, executed as the Cameroon forward seemed to have escaped him as he raced into the area, was more emblematic of the style of an extraordinary encounter.
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Independent:
Terry puts Chelsea in dreamland as Barcelona fall in epic struggleChelsea 4 - Barcelona 2Chelsea win 5-4 on aggregateBy Sam Wallace09 March 2005
They summoned a performance from the gods to beat Barcelona and, in doing so, Chelsea also had to beat a player whose football seems at times to exist in another dimension. Ronaldinho contributed some sublime moments to this contest but the news that even the greatest player in the world does not possess enough talent to shake the destiny of Jose Mourinho's side might yet be all the evidence Chelsea need that they can win this Champions' League.
It was a towering epic of a match, a game that shifted from elation to despair and then back again for Chelsea as rapidly as these two teams committed themselves to the plundering of one another's penalty areas. Ronaldinho's second goal will long be remembered, but in the end even his peerless command of a football was eclipsed by the usual Chelsea suspects. Frank Lampard, Petr Cech and, above all, John Terry, whose header on 76 minutes decided this captivating tie.
As usual where Mourinho is concerned they ended with the exchange of insults and punches in the tunnel, although the Portuguese coach could at least be excused involvement. He was on the pitch celebrating when his scout Andre Villas Boas provoked a riot with Frank Rijkaard, and the incensed Barcelona players were bundled down the tunnel like a misbehaving rock band being escorted offstage. But that was a footnote to a game of staggering scope and quality.
It began with 11 minutes from Chelsea in which they did not so much tweak open Barcelona's defence as smash it off its hinges. Three goals and a rampaging show of brash confidence from a team that was switched from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2. Still without Arjen Robben, and with Didier Drogba suspended, Mourinho opted to replace one striker with two. And Mateja Kezman and Eidur Gudjohnsen expressed his new attacking philosophy in breathtaking terms.
The Barcelona defence was already looking suspiciously square when Lampard gobbled up possession from Xavi on eight minutes and speared a ball down the right for Kezman to chase. The striker beat Giovanni van Bronckhorst and squared for Gudjohnsen. He stepped round Juliano Belletti and scored.
Lampard had already volleyed a header from Terry wide when he added the second on 17 minutes. Joe Cole glided down the right and cut in past Van Bronckhorst and, when his deflected shot was pushed out by Victor Valdes, Lampard was there to tuck the ball home.
Two minutes later the Barcelona defence allowed Cole to poke a pass through the line to Damien Duff, who ran free and zipped the ball under Valdes. From there it looked like the mauling had left Barcelona irredeemably wounded but it was impossible to ignore the threat of Ronaldinho.
He headed wide on 23 minutes, Samuel Eto'o had a shot brushed over by Cech and then, on 26 minutes, Paulo Ferreira misjudged a Belletti cross that struck his hand. The referee Pierluigi Collina gave the penalty and, although Cech got close, Ronaldinho's shot found its target. And with a wrenching certainty, the game's traffic was turned in the other direction.
Ronaldinho's second goal on 28 minutes started on the edge of the area and, by the time he had the ball under control, the Brazilian was static with Ricardo Carvalho just feet from him. For a couple of heartbeats, Ronaldinho's foot flexed and twitched behind the ball. Then, in an instant, he dispatched past Cech what can only be described, in English schoolyard parlance, as a toe punt. But what a toe punt.
The shot did not just take Chelsea's goalkeeper by surprise, it wrong-footed an entire stadium. No backlift and no warning, and Cech never even moved. With the score 4-4 on aggregate, and Barcelona leading on away goals, all the momentum from Chelsea's blistering start had been exhausted. On 45 minutes Cole struck the post and Gudjohnsen was unable to finish the rebound.
It was in danger of becoming one man's exhibition and, almost in recognition of that fact, Ferreira secured a small memento when he took the bizarre decision to change shirts with Ronaldinho as the teams left the pitch at half-time. The Portuguese right-back was substituted soon after but there was no hiding the fact that Chelsea were some distance from recreating their early dominance.
They probed away at Barcelona and the scavenging of possession by Lampard kept them moving forward. Then, on 76 minutes, they went back to what they know best. Terry rose to head Cole's corner down past Valdes and the captain's eighth goal of the season stood despite Barcelona's protests. Mourinho left the pitch blowing kisses to the away fans, who returned by showering him with bottles. It was a gladiatorial exit after an evening of living dangerously.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Ferreira (Johnson, 50), Carvalho, Terry, Gallas; Cole, Makelele, Lampard, Duff (Huth, 85); Gudjohnsen (Tiago, 78), Kezman. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Smertin, Parker.
Barcelona (4-1-2-3): Valdes; Belletti (Giuly, 83), Puyol, Oleguer, Van Bronckhorst (Silvinho, h-t); Gerard; Deco, Xavi; Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Iniesta (Lopez, 85). Substitutes not used: Jorquera, Navarro, Albertini, Damia.
Referee: P Collina (Italy).
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Telegraph:
Terry supplies a sensational finishBy Henry Winter (Filed: 09/03/2005)
Match details
Chelsea (3) 4 Barcelona (1) 2Chelsea win 5-4 on agg
In pictures: Champions League action
In a bewitching game at Stamford Bridge last night, Chelsea thrillingly refused to pay homage to Catalonia. Just when it looked as if Barcelona were going through to the Champions Legaue quarter-finals on the away-goals rule, John Terry plundered the most precious goal of his career.
High and mighty: John Terry heads in Chelsea's winning goal against Barcelona
Exploiting Barcelona's long-standing fear of Chelsea's strength at set-pieces, Terry rose superbly to meet Damien Duff's 76th-minute corner with a header that will go down in Blues legend. All the early good work and goals from Eidur Gudjohnsen, the magnificent Frank Lampard and Duff appeared to have gone to waste when Ronaldinho struck twice but Terry, a wonderful leader, had the last word.
In elegant scenes at the end, Jose Mourinho was pelted with bottles for blowing kisses at the Barcelona fans. Ronaldinho and visiting players also scuffled with Chelsea stewards who were trying to usher them down the tunnel. The trouble appeared to have been initiated by a Chelsea scout, Andre Villas. Frank Rijkaard remonstrated with him and chaos ensued. It was a sad way to conclude a spectacular game and one which will need a UEFA investigation.
This was sensational football, European conflict at its most mesmerising. Through strength of touch, word and personality, the World Player of the Year dragged Bracelona back into contention after the three-goal whirlwind that was Chelsea's remarkable welcome for their guests.
Talk about a half of two halves. Billed as the Spanish entertainers versus the English containers, the pre-match script and newspaper jibes of Johan Cruyff had been ripped to pieces as easily as Mourinho's stirred-up men tore Rijkaard's defence apart. Mourinhio's tactical switch, deploying Mateja Kezman as a lone striker with Gudjohnsen squeezing the space around Xavi, worked brilliantly early on.
Within eight minutes, Chelsea were ahead, the outstanding Lampard dispossessing Xavi in midfield and sending Kezman scampering down the right. His cross was tamed with an assured first touch by Gudjohnsen, who manoeuvred himself cleverly around Juliano Belletti and scored with a firm right-footer.
The Blues were in the mood, hounding Barcelona in midfield and breaking upfield swiftly. Suddenly, Ferreira was releasing the lively Joe Cole down the right, the England international deceiving the overwhelmed Giovanni van Bronckhorst before firing goalwards. The ball deviated off Oleguer, bringing a wonderful reaction save from Victor Valdes. Lampard, oozing class all night, was quickest to the loose ball which he planted confidently into Valdes' net.
And there was more, thrillingly so for the raucous Bridge faithful. Kezman laid the ball off to Cole in the centre-circle and the No 10's response was worthy of his shirt number, the ball dexterously transferred forward for Duff to run onto. The Irishman's touch was magnificent, the ball propelled crisply underneath Valdes. Inspired.
Duff's wild celebration carried him into the Barcelona technical area, forcing Rijkaard to retreat, a fitting snapshot of the match to date. Yet there is such class in the Catalan ranks. Barcelona forced themselves back into the game, primarily through the technical majesty and will to win of Ronaldinho.
Yet the lead-in to the Brazilian's 27th-minute penalty was laced with controversy. Chelsea were incensed that Pierluigi Collina had immediately decreed that Ferreira had handled Belletti's cross. Collina was convinced and, although Petr Cech guessed right in both senses, Ronaldinho's low spot-kick still found the mark.
The Brazilian had not finished for the half. Showing the kind of skills that youngsters in Sao Paulo and Rio learn in their futsal classes, Ronaldinho controlled a pass from Deco 20 yards out and began to tease Ricardo Carvalho, moving his hips and shoulders to confuse the Chelsea centre-half. Suddenly, that dangerous right foot came down, hammering into the ball and placing it past a stunned Cech.
The aggregate scoreline read 4-4 but Chelsea trailed on away goals. Then, nirvana. Duff curled over a corner and Terry's header arrowed past Valdes. Barcelona were livid, arguing vainfully that their keeper had been impeded by Carvalho.
Match details
Chelsea (4-4-1-1): Cech; Ferreira (Johnson, 50), Carvalho, Terry, Gallas; J Cole, Makelele, Lampard, Duff (Huth, 86); Gudjohnsen (Tiago, 78), Kezman. Subs: Cudicini (g), Smertin, Geremi, Parker. Booked: Ferreira, Kezman. Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdes; Belletti (Giuly, 84), Puyol, Oleguer, Van Bronckhorst (Silvinho, h-t); Xavi, Gerard, Deco; A Iniesta (Maxi Lopez), Eto'o, Ronaldinho. Subs: Jorquera (g), Navarro, Albertini, Damia. Booked: Van Bronckhorst, Xavi. Referee: P Collina (Italy).
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Sun:
Chelsea 4 Barcelona 2 (Chelsea win 5-4 on agg)
JOHN TERRY was Chelsea's Champions League hero in a six-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues skipper headed a 76th-minute goal to hand the Londoners a 5-4 aggregate win over Barcelona and a place in the quarter-finals.
Jose Mourinho's men surged into an unbelievable three-goal lead after just 20 minutes thanks to strikes from Eidur Gudjohnsen, Frank Lampard and Damien Duff.
Ronaldinho's double, the first from the penalty spot, gave Barca the advantage on away goals.
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech had to produce a string of outstanding saves to keep his side in the match.
And with time running out for Chelsea, Terry popped up from a corner to head home, although Ricardo Carvalho looked to have impeded Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes on the goal-line.
Mourinho flung himself into an ecstatic sea of players at the final whistle, while assistant Andre Villas was involved in an ugly spat with Barca coach Frank Rikjaard.
So much for being boring. Having been accused of negative tactics in the Nou Camp, Mourinho had bravely fielded Mateja Kezman just ahead of Gudjohnsen after two goals in his past two games.
Amid an aggressive start by the home side, Kezman made an immediate impact, surging down the right flank after Lampard had won possession before producing an inviting cross for his strike partner.
THANK YOU TERRY MUCH ... Terry heads home the clincher
Gudjohnsen’s first touch took him past Gerard, before then lunging forwards to power his shot past Valdes with just eight minutes gone.
That was, in itself, enough to take Chelsea through but their tails were up and Lampard shot over the bar on the turn from just eight yards out.
No matter. At this stage, Chelsea were rampantly pouring forward and when Cole’s shot was deflected, Valdes could only parry the ball and Lampard was onto it in a flash to finish.
"Boring, boring Chelsea" rang out ironically around Stamford Bridge, but the home side were not finished there.
Next it was Cole producing the midfield inspiration, driving a through-ball for Duff to scamper onto and roll underneath the body of the stranded Valdes.
That should have been game over. The time to regroup, refocus and recharge the batteries.
Instead, Chelsea continued to attack and quickly paid the price.
Not even two warning signals, when Cech denied Samuel Eto’o at full stretch and Ronaldinho directed a header just inches wide were enough.
For when Paulo Ferreira, with his back to the ball, unnecessarily handled, Ronaldinho converted the ensuing penalty and the tie was transformed.
Now Barcelona only needed one goal to go through and even though Cech again performed acrobatics to deny Deco, Ronaldinho duly obliged.
JOLLY GUD SHOW ... Gudjohnsen opens the scoringPicture: REUTERS
Not that there seemed much danger when the Brazilian was confronted by an imposing wall of defenders on the edge of the penalty area.
But with a minimal back-lift, he still conjured a moment of pure inspiration as he crafted a shot that curled into the far corner, leaving Cech motionless.
Eto’o also skimmed a shot over the bar from Ronaldinho’s inspired through-ball, but Chelsea rallied and Cole struck the post, with Duff just failing to convert the rebound as he stretched.
And that was all in the first half.
Ferreira was withdrawn soon after the restart after suffering a torrid time at Ronaldinho’s hands, with Glen Johnson the next to be run ragged by the Brazilian.
However, Chelsea are made of sterner stuff these days and although they lacked shape, Terry and Lampard led the revival as the match continued to fizzle with excitement.
Lampard twice came close, but Cech just scrambled Juliano Belletti’s long-range effort around the post and then produced an incredible save from Carles Puyol.
Valdes, meanwhile, was also equal to a thunderbolt from Cole, while Lampard and Gudjohnsen both threatened.
However, Chelsea left themselves open to the counter-attack and when Cech tipped Andres Iniesta’s shot onto the post, Eto’o should have punished Johnson’s hesitation.
STANDARD LAMP ... Frank Lampard taps in
That was the escape they needed. For when Terry headed home Duff’s corner, Barcelona’s pleas for a foul on Valdes were ignored.
Mourinho immediately introduced Tiago for Gudjohnsen and defender Robert Huth soon followed in a five-man amid a frantic final spell as Deco flashed an injury-time free-kick just wide.
Villas waved kisses at Rikjaard at the whistle, while Ronaldinho and Eto'o had to be restrained as they walked down the tunnel.
DREAM TEAM STAR MAN
PETR CECH (Chelsea). String of superb saves to keep Chelsea in it.
SUN RATINGS
CHELSEA: Cech 9, Ferreira 5 (Johnson 6), Terry 8, Carvalho 7, Gallas 6, Makelele 6, Cole 9, Lampard 7, Duff 6 (Huth 5), Kezman 6, Gudjohnsen 7 (Tiago 5). Subs not used: Cuducini, Smertin, Geremi, Parker. Booked: Ferreira, Johnson, Kezman.
BARCELONA: Valdes 6, Belletti 7 (Giuly 5), Puyol 6, Oleguer 7, Van Bronckhorst 5 (Sylvinho 6), Xavi 7, Gerard 6, Deco 8, Iniesta 7 (Maxi 5), Eto’o 7, Ronaldinho 9. Booked: Van Bronckhorst, Xavi.
Chelsea find a leader to supply final twist in taleBy Matt Dickinson, Chief Football CorrespondentChelsea 4 Barcelona 2(Chelsea win 5-4 on agg)
HE NOT only knocked them out of the European Cup, he also sent Barcelona away kicking and screaming. On top of defending the trophy that he regards as his to keep, José Mourinho appears intent on belittling the mighty clubs of the Continent on the way.
No club and no rival coach is to be spared the lash of the Portuguese’s tongue, but this most extraordinary manager keeps coaxing performances from his teams to back up his provocative words and gestures. The more he talks, the better his Chelsea team play.
Their success last night was all the greater for the fact that they had to win the tie twice. Having stormed ahead with three goals inside 19 minutes, they conceded two to trail on away goals at the interval. The resolve of players such as Frank Lampard, John Terry and Petr Cech in the second half revealed European champions of the future, if not this season. Their opponents would have made worthy finalists, with Samuel Eto’o and Ronaldinho outstanding, so Chelsea’s triumph must not be underestimated.
Terry scored the decisive goal with a towering header in the 76th minute and, even though there were claims of a foul on the goalkeeper by Ricardo Carvalho, Chelsea deserved their victory. With six goals, countless chances and the astonishing scenes of brawling after the final whistle, it might take a book to tell the full story of this unforgettable night. The latest chapter in the remarkable Mourinho story was the most compelling yet.
“It is time to shut up and get on with what should be a fantastic match,” a Uefa spokesman had said earlier in the day in a message to Mourinho. He proved a master of understatement. You would have to be as old as a Chelsea pensioner to remember a more gripping night at Stamford Bridge.
Delicately balanced at kick-off, the scales tipped dramatically the home team’s way before lurching in Barcelona’s favour. So much had happened by half-time that Ronaldinho and Paulo Ferreira swapped shirts as they walked to the dressing-room. With five goals, shots against the woodwork and a number of stunning saves, it must have felt as though they had already played 90 minutes.
Eidur Gudjohnsen began the early blitz when, after a slip by Xavi, Lampard set Mateja Kezman on a run down the right. His cross found Gudjohnsen at the far post and, with a neat turn inside, the forward made the room for a composed finish.
Quickest to every challenge, Chelsea struck twice more with the sort of lightning raids that many had thought beyond them in the absence of Arjen Robben and Didier Drogba. Lampard scored the second, pouncing after Joe Cole’s deflected shot had been weakly parried by Víctor Valdés, and a brilliantly weighted pass from Cole sent Duff scurrying through for the third. Stamford Bridge was in ecstasy and Mourinho’s decision to start with Kezman and leave out an extra midfield player in Tiago was looking a masterstroke.
Chelsea seemed so bullish that Duff, never the most showy of players, celebrated his goal by running right up to the Barcelona bench, to the visiting team’s fury. Mourinho’s prediction that the tie would be decided in the final seconds was looking untypically pessimistic.
If only his players had been more circumspect. Seemingly in an impregnable position, they lost goals to mistakes from three of their most dependable players. First, Ferreira inexplicably challenged for a header with his arms raised high above his head. Ronaldinho looked unusually nervous before scoring from the spot, but there was a nonchalance in his second goal that will have drawn gasps of admiration even from Chelsea supporters. Certainly Carvalho looked mesmerised as the Brazilian swayed over a stationary ball as if he was on the dance floor before toepoking it through the narrowest of gaps from 20 yards.
In challenging for the same ball moments earlier, Carvalho and Terry could be held responsible, but they could console themselves that this was the work of a sporting genius.
A match played at breathless pace throughout could have gone either way as both teams struck the woodwork, but in Cech, Chelsea had the game’s outstanding performer. He kept his team in it. An inspiration throughout the season, Terry did the rest.
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): P Cech — P Ferreira (sub: G Johnson, 51min), J Terry, R Carvalho, W Gallas — C Makelele, F Lampard — J Cole, E Gudjohnsen (sub: Tiago, 79), D Duff (sub: R Huth, 86) — M Kezman. Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, A Smertin, Gérémi, S Parker. Booked: Ferreira, Kezman, Johnson.
BARCELONA (4-3-3): V Valdés — J Belletti (sub: L Giuly, 84), C Puyol, Oleguer, G van Bronckhorst (sub: Sylvinho, 46) — Xavi, Gerard, Deco — A Iniesta (sub: M López, 86), S Eto’o, Ronaldinho. Substitutes not used: A Jorquera, F Navarro, D Albertini, Damiá. Booked: Van Bronckhorst, Xavi.
Referee: P Collina (Italy). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guardian:
Blue touchpaper ignites early blaze
Richard Williams at Stamford BridgeWednesday March 9, 2005The Guardian
Eight minutes gone, 1-0, 2-2 on aggregate, Chelsea going through on the away goal scored for them by Juliano Belletti in the Camp Nou. That'll do for Jose Mourinho, right? Utterly, utterly wrong. For 20 minutes last night Stamford Bridge was ablaze as this season's Premiership masters of the niggardly 1-0 win stormed to an unimaginable three-goal lead, thanks to lethally direct counter-attacking and a slice of luck.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Confronting the team generally reckoned to be the most potent exponents of pure attacking football in Europe, Mourinho astonished no one by including a surprise on his teamsheet. The presence of Mateja Kezman alongside Eidur Gudjohnsen suggested that the Portuguese coach had the scoring of goals in mind. But he can never have imagined the opening quarter of this match. Chelsea's start was simply beyond Mourinho's wildest dreams. Gudjohnsen's opening goal provided a masterclass in how to hit your opponents on the break. Damien Duff's third came from glorious passes by Kezman and Joe Cole. And if the intervening goal owed everything to the deflection and the goalkeeper's parry that placed the ball in Frank Lampard's path at point-blank range, then it was only a fair reward for the urgency with which Chelsea had attacked the match.
But then Paulo Ferreira was adjudged to have handled the ball by Pierluigi Collina, praised by Mourinho this week as the man he would want to referee every game in which his side is involved, and the complexion of the evening changed completely. Ronaldinho slid the penalty past Petr Cech and then, with the instant cold-eyed opportunism of the master assassin, hit home a wonderful instant shot to restore Barcelona's lead in the tie.
If you are going to concede two goals at home for only the second time this season, then Fifa's world player of the year might well be the man who is going to make you suffer. But even in the eight minutes before Gudjohnsen struck Chelsea's first goal, Barcelona's careful passing had given an indication of what might be to come. When they went 3-0 down they did not fold but kept playing their fluently expressive game, trusting in quality to bring them back as the gold shirts of their little midfield trio, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and Deco, flickered across the turf.
And so the brief but incandescent rivalry between Mourinho and Frank Rijkaard took another turn. Who could have guessed that the opening period of the match would have turned out to be a contrast between the furious attacking of Mourinho's players and the patient interplay of those sent out by Rijkaard? Stamford Bridge rocked and reeled as the gods turned their faces this way and that.
Barcelona's 9,000 fans had brought balloons in the red and blue colours of the Blaugrana, but they seemed to have been efficiently pricked by Chelsea's opening onslaught. By half-time, however, they were once more floating merrily in the west London night air and their songs were silencing those of the home crowd.
Only the harshest of purists would have suggested that the defensive generosity of both sides was perhaps a reason why these two great metropolitan clubs, each with a history illuminated by a galaxy of stars, have won the European Cup only once between them. If the half-time score from San Siro - 0-0 between Milan and Manchester United - might have seemed more pleasing to the connoisseur of the European Cup, this match offered the sort of intoxicating flavour of those great nights in the early years of the competition, when Real Madrid borrowed Brazil's philosophy of noting their opponents score and then simply scoring a few more.
Last night, however, there seemed to be two Real Madrids on the pitch. Not that Mourinho will have appreciated the entertainment. This was not the way he sets out to win matches, not the way he took Porto to the Uefa Cup and the European Cup in successive seasons. And if he were going to give up the senior trophy, this would not be the way he wanted to do it.
Although the scoring rate slowed down as the second half went on, there was no lessening of remarkable incident, each team responding to the other's initiative with an effort of their own. When Lampard's drive was deflected for a corner, and Victor Valdes plunged on to Gudjohnsen's header, the play went straight down the other end for Belletti to sting Cech's palms and for the goalkeeper to get down and tip away an effort from the resulting flag-kick.
Given the rancorous preludes to both legs and the bad feeling after the match in the Camp Nou, the conduct of this match came as a relief. Under Collina's stern gaze both teams played hard and kept their complaints to a minimum. Not that they had much time to catch the referee's eye, thanks to the sheer pace of the play. Not until the 68th minute did Collina need to brandish a yellow card, when Xavi went down under a minimal challenge and lay on the grass complaining. Ricardo Carvalho's stunning and completely fair tackle on Samuel Eto'o, executed as the Cameroon forward seemed to have escaped him as he raced into the area, was more emblematic of the style of an extraordinary encounter.
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Independent:
Terry puts Chelsea in dreamland as Barcelona fall in epic struggleChelsea 4 - Barcelona 2Chelsea win 5-4 on aggregateBy Sam Wallace09 March 2005
They summoned a performance from the gods to beat Barcelona and, in doing so, Chelsea also had to beat a player whose football seems at times to exist in another dimension. Ronaldinho contributed some sublime moments to this contest but the news that even the greatest player in the world does not possess enough talent to shake the destiny of Jose Mourinho's side might yet be all the evidence Chelsea need that they can win this Champions' League.
It was a towering epic of a match, a game that shifted from elation to despair and then back again for Chelsea as rapidly as these two teams committed themselves to the plundering of one another's penalty areas. Ronaldinho's second goal will long be remembered, but in the end even his peerless command of a football was eclipsed by the usual Chelsea suspects. Frank Lampard, Petr Cech and, above all, John Terry, whose header on 76 minutes decided this captivating tie.
As usual where Mourinho is concerned they ended with the exchange of insults and punches in the tunnel, although the Portuguese coach could at least be excused involvement. He was on the pitch celebrating when his scout Andre Villas Boas provoked a riot with Frank Rijkaard, and the incensed Barcelona players were bundled down the tunnel like a misbehaving rock band being escorted offstage. But that was a footnote to a game of staggering scope and quality.
It began with 11 minutes from Chelsea in which they did not so much tweak open Barcelona's defence as smash it off its hinges. Three goals and a rampaging show of brash confidence from a team that was switched from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2. Still without Arjen Robben, and with Didier Drogba suspended, Mourinho opted to replace one striker with two. And Mateja Kezman and Eidur Gudjohnsen expressed his new attacking philosophy in breathtaking terms.
The Barcelona defence was already looking suspiciously square when Lampard gobbled up possession from Xavi on eight minutes and speared a ball down the right for Kezman to chase. The striker beat Giovanni van Bronckhorst and squared for Gudjohnsen. He stepped round Juliano Belletti and scored.
Lampard had already volleyed a header from Terry wide when he added the second on 17 minutes. Joe Cole glided down the right and cut in past Van Bronckhorst and, when his deflected shot was pushed out by Victor Valdes, Lampard was there to tuck the ball home.
Two minutes later the Barcelona defence allowed Cole to poke a pass through the line to Damien Duff, who ran free and zipped the ball under Valdes. From there it looked like the mauling had left Barcelona irredeemably wounded but it was impossible to ignore the threat of Ronaldinho.
He headed wide on 23 minutes, Samuel Eto'o had a shot brushed over by Cech and then, on 26 minutes, Paulo Ferreira misjudged a Belletti cross that struck his hand. The referee Pierluigi Collina gave the penalty and, although Cech got close, Ronaldinho's shot found its target. And with a wrenching certainty, the game's traffic was turned in the other direction.
Ronaldinho's second goal on 28 minutes started on the edge of the area and, by the time he had the ball under control, the Brazilian was static with Ricardo Carvalho just feet from him. For a couple of heartbeats, Ronaldinho's foot flexed and twitched behind the ball. Then, in an instant, he dispatched past Cech what can only be described, in English schoolyard parlance, as a toe punt. But what a toe punt.
The shot did not just take Chelsea's goalkeeper by surprise, it wrong-footed an entire stadium. No backlift and no warning, and Cech never even moved. With the score 4-4 on aggregate, and Barcelona leading on away goals, all the momentum from Chelsea's blistering start had been exhausted. On 45 minutes Cole struck the post and Gudjohnsen was unable to finish the rebound.
It was in danger of becoming one man's exhibition and, almost in recognition of that fact, Ferreira secured a small memento when he took the bizarre decision to change shirts with Ronaldinho as the teams left the pitch at half-time. The Portuguese right-back was substituted soon after but there was no hiding the fact that Chelsea were some distance from recreating their early dominance.
They probed away at Barcelona and the scavenging of possession by Lampard kept them moving forward. Then, on 76 minutes, they went back to what they know best. Terry rose to head Cole's corner down past Valdes and the captain's eighth goal of the season stood despite Barcelona's protests. Mourinho left the pitch blowing kisses to the away fans, who returned by showering him with bottles. It was a gladiatorial exit after an evening of living dangerously.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Ferreira (Johnson, 50), Carvalho, Terry, Gallas; Cole, Makelele, Lampard, Duff (Huth, 85); Gudjohnsen (Tiago, 78), Kezman. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Smertin, Parker.
Barcelona (4-1-2-3): Valdes; Belletti (Giuly, 83), Puyol, Oleguer, Van Bronckhorst (Silvinho, h-t); Gerard; Deco, Xavi; Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Iniesta (Lopez, 85). Substitutes not used: Jorquera, Navarro, Albertini, Damia.
Referee: P Collina (Italy).
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Telegraph:
Terry supplies a sensational finishBy Henry Winter (Filed: 09/03/2005)
Match details
Chelsea (3) 4 Barcelona (1) 2Chelsea win 5-4 on agg
In pictures: Champions League action
In a bewitching game at Stamford Bridge last night, Chelsea thrillingly refused to pay homage to Catalonia. Just when it looked as if Barcelona were going through to the Champions Legaue quarter-finals on the away-goals rule, John Terry plundered the most precious goal of his career.
High and mighty: John Terry heads in Chelsea's winning goal against Barcelona
Exploiting Barcelona's long-standing fear of Chelsea's strength at set-pieces, Terry rose superbly to meet Damien Duff's 76th-minute corner with a header that will go down in Blues legend. All the early good work and goals from Eidur Gudjohnsen, the magnificent Frank Lampard and Duff appeared to have gone to waste when Ronaldinho struck twice but Terry, a wonderful leader, had the last word.
In elegant scenes at the end, Jose Mourinho was pelted with bottles for blowing kisses at the Barcelona fans. Ronaldinho and visiting players also scuffled with Chelsea stewards who were trying to usher them down the tunnel. The trouble appeared to have been initiated by a Chelsea scout, Andre Villas. Frank Rijkaard remonstrated with him and chaos ensued. It was a sad way to conclude a spectacular game and one which will need a UEFA investigation.
This was sensational football, European conflict at its most mesmerising. Through strength of touch, word and personality, the World Player of the Year dragged Bracelona back into contention after the three-goal whirlwind that was Chelsea's remarkable welcome for their guests.
Talk about a half of two halves. Billed as the Spanish entertainers versus the English containers, the pre-match script and newspaper jibes of Johan Cruyff had been ripped to pieces as easily as Mourinho's stirred-up men tore Rijkaard's defence apart. Mourinhio's tactical switch, deploying Mateja Kezman as a lone striker with Gudjohnsen squeezing the space around Xavi, worked brilliantly early on.
Within eight minutes, Chelsea were ahead, the outstanding Lampard dispossessing Xavi in midfield and sending Kezman scampering down the right. His cross was tamed with an assured first touch by Gudjohnsen, who manoeuvred himself cleverly around Juliano Belletti and scored with a firm right-footer.
The Blues were in the mood, hounding Barcelona in midfield and breaking upfield swiftly. Suddenly, Ferreira was releasing the lively Joe Cole down the right, the England international deceiving the overwhelmed Giovanni van Bronckhorst before firing goalwards. The ball deviated off Oleguer, bringing a wonderful reaction save from Victor Valdes. Lampard, oozing class all night, was quickest to the loose ball which he planted confidently into Valdes' net.
And there was more, thrillingly so for the raucous Bridge faithful. Kezman laid the ball off to Cole in the centre-circle and the No 10's response was worthy of his shirt number, the ball dexterously transferred forward for Duff to run onto. The Irishman's touch was magnificent, the ball propelled crisply underneath Valdes. Inspired.
Duff's wild celebration carried him into the Barcelona technical area, forcing Rijkaard to retreat, a fitting snapshot of the match to date. Yet there is such class in the Catalan ranks. Barcelona forced themselves back into the game, primarily through the technical majesty and will to win of Ronaldinho.
Yet the lead-in to the Brazilian's 27th-minute penalty was laced with controversy. Chelsea were incensed that Pierluigi Collina had immediately decreed that Ferreira had handled Belletti's cross. Collina was convinced and, although Petr Cech guessed right in both senses, Ronaldinho's low spot-kick still found the mark.
The Brazilian had not finished for the half. Showing the kind of skills that youngsters in Sao Paulo and Rio learn in their futsal classes, Ronaldinho controlled a pass from Deco 20 yards out and began to tease Ricardo Carvalho, moving his hips and shoulders to confuse the Chelsea centre-half. Suddenly, that dangerous right foot came down, hammering into the ball and placing it past a stunned Cech.
The aggregate scoreline read 4-4 but Chelsea trailed on away goals. Then, nirvana. Duff curled over a corner and Terry's header arrowed past Valdes. Barcelona were livid, arguing vainfully that their keeper had been impeded by Carvalho.
Match details
Chelsea (4-4-1-1): Cech; Ferreira (Johnson, 50), Carvalho, Terry, Gallas; J Cole, Makelele, Lampard, Duff (Huth, 86); Gudjohnsen (Tiago, 78), Kezman. Subs: Cudicini (g), Smertin, Geremi, Parker. Booked: Ferreira, Kezman. Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdes; Belletti (Giuly, 84), Puyol, Oleguer, Van Bronckhorst (Silvinho, h-t); Xavi, Gerard, Deco; A Iniesta (Maxi Lopez), Eto'o, Ronaldinho. Subs: Jorquera (g), Navarro, Albertini, Damia. Booked: Van Bronckhorst, Xavi. Referee: P Collina (Italy).
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Sun:
Chelsea 4 Barcelona 2 (Chelsea win 5-4 on agg)
JOHN TERRY was Chelsea's Champions League hero in a six-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues skipper headed a 76th-minute goal to hand the Londoners a 5-4 aggregate win over Barcelona and a place in the quarter-finals.
Jose Mourinho's men surged into an unbelievable three-goal lead after just 20 minutes thanks to strikes from Eidur Gudjohnsen, Frank Lampard and Damien Duff.
Ronaldinho's double, the first from the penalty spot, gave Barca the advantage on away goals.
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech had to produce a string of outstanding saves to keep his side in the match.
And with time running out for Chelsea, Terry popped up from a corner to head home, although Ricardo Carvalho looked to have impeded Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes on the goal-line.
Mourinho flung himself into an ecstatic sea of players at the final whistle, while assistant Andre Villas was involved in an ugly spat with Barca coach Frank Rikjaard.
So much for being boring. Having been accused of negative tactics in the Nou Camp, Mourinho had bravely fielded Mateja Kezman just ahead of Gudjohnsen after two goals in his past two games.
Amid an aggressive start by the home side, Kezman made an immediate impact, surging down the right flank after Lampard had won possession before producing an inviting cross for his strike partner.
THANK YOU TERRY MUCH ... Terry heads home the clincher
Gudjohnsen’s first touch took him past Gerard, before then lunging forwards to power his shot past Valdes with just eight minutes gone.
That was, in itself, enough to take Chelsea through but their tails were up and Lampard shot over the bar on the turn from just eight yards out.
No matter. At this stage, Chelsea were rampantly pouring forward and when Cole’s shot was deflected, Valdes could only parry the ball and Lampard was onto it in a flash to finish.
"Boring, boring Chelsea" rang out ironically around Stamford Bridge, but the home side were not finished there.
Next it was Cole producing the midfield inspiration, driving a through-ball for Duff to scamper onto and roll underneath the body of the stranded Valdes.
That should have been game over. The time to regroup, refocus and recharge the batteries.
Instead, Chelsea continued to attack and quickly paid the price.
Not even two warning signals, when Cech denied Samuel Eto’o at full stretch and Ronaldinho directed a header just inches wide were enough.
For when Paulo Ferreira, with his back to the ball, unnecessarily handled, Ronaldinho converted the ensuing penalty and the tie was transformed.
Now Barcelona only needed one goal to go through and even though Cech again performed acrobatics to deny Deco, Ronaldinho duly obliged.
JOLLY GUD SHOW ... Gudjohnsen opens the scoringPicture: REUTERS
Not that there seemed much danger when the Brazilian was confronted by an imposing wall of defenders on the edge of the penalty area.
But with a minimal back-lift, he still conjured a moment of pure inspiration as he crafted a shot that curled into the far corner, leaving Cech motionless.
Eto’o also skimmed a shot over the bar from Ronaldinho’s inspired through-ball, but Chelsea rallied and Cole struck the post, with Duff just failing to convert the rebound as he stretched.
And that was all in the first half.
Ferreira was withdrawn soon after the restart after suffering a torrid time at Ronaldinho’s hands, with Glen Johnson the next to be run ragged by the Brazilian.
However, Chelsea are made of sterner stuff these days and although they lacked shape, Terry and Lampard led the revival as the match continued to fizzle with excitement.
Lampard twice came close, but Cech just scrambled Juliano Belletti’s long-range effort around the post and then produced an incredible save from Carles Puyol.
Valdes, meanwhile, was also equal to a thunderbolt from Cole, while Lampard and Gudjohnsen both threatened.
However, Chelsea left themselves open to the counter-attack and when Cech tipped Andres Iniesta’s shot onto the post, Eto’o should have punished Johnson’s hesitation.
STANDARD LAMP ... Frank Lampard taps in
That was the escape they needed. For when Terry headed home Duff’s corner, Barcelona’s pleas for a foul on Valdes were ignored.
Mourinho immediately introduced Tiago for Gudjohnsen and defender Robert Huth soon followed in a five-man amid a frantic final spell as Deco flashed an injury-time free-kick just wide.
Villas waved kisses at Rikjaard at the whistle, while Ronaldinho and Eto'o had to be restrained as they walked down the tunnel.
DREAM TEAM STAR MAN
PETR CECH (Chelsea). String of superb saves to keep Chelsea in it.
SUN RATINGS
CHELSEA: Cech 9, Ferreira 5 (Johnson 6), Terry 8, Carvalho 7, Gallas 6, Makelele 6, Cole 9, Lampard 7, Duff 6 (Huth 5), Kezman 6, Gudjohnsen 7 (Tiago 5). Subs not used: Cuducini, Smertin, Geremi, Parker. Booked: Ferreira, Johnson, Kezman.
BARCELONA: Valdes 6, Belletti 7 (Giuly 5), Puyol 6, Oleguer 7, Van Bronckhorst 5 (Sylvinho 6), Xavi 7, Gerard 6, Deco 8, Iniesta 7 (Maxi 5), Eto’o 7, Ronaldinho 9. Booked: Van Bronckhorst, Xavi.
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