sunday papers palace

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.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------