Independent:
Newcastle test depleted championsNewcastle United 1 - Chelsea 1By Simon Williams16 May 2005
Like a master painter applying the final touch to a piece of art, Chelsea hoped to sign their name on the Premiership season with a flourish here. For once, things did not go to plan.
Nevertheless, as far as their manager, Jose Mourinho, is concerned, this has been an excellent first draft of his Stamford Bridge project. For now, it remains a work in progress, with new arrivals expected in the summer as the final pieces are put together for a squad hoping to dominate Europe as well as England "You can always improve," said Mourinho, who has already suggested he will sign three new players when the transfer window reopens. "We can improve on certain aspects of our game, but it is almost impossible to improve on 95 points and 29 wins."
With the blue ribbons already tied on the Premiership Trophy and the Carling Cup, Chelsea had nothing to play for at St James' Park and rested several big names.
Newcastle did have something to play for, the point needed to ensure this would not go down as their worst Premiership campaign. They got it, their tally of 44 equalling the worst, under Kenny Dalglish, in 1998. But wins for Fulham and Birmingham condemned them to their lowest finish, 14th.
Yet, Newcastle actually held their own for much of this contest and, although they were grateful to an excellent reaction save from Shay Given to keep out Jiri Jarosik late on, probably shaded things overall.
They went ahead when Titus Bramble poked Alan Shearer's near-post header goalwards and Chelsea full-back Geremi helped it in. A minute later, though, Chelsea were level. Eidur Gudjohnsen anticipated Jarosik's flick-on, Celestine Babayaro went to sleep and then, realising his mistake, put enough of his arms around the striker to give him the excuse to tumble over. Frank Lampard converted the penalty.
Newcastle huffed and puffed after the break, but rarely looked like blowing Chelsea's house down. Patrick Kluivert - in his last game for the club - went closest to a winner, but his header was well saved by Carlo Cudicini.
Honours even on the day, but a world apart over the course of the season.
Goals: Geremi og (33) 1-0; Lampard (34) 1-1.
Newcastle (4-4-2): Given; Carr (Taylor, 46), Boumsong, Bramble, Babayaro; Milner, Jenas, Ambrose, N'Zogbia; Kluivert (Chopra, 75), Shearer. Substitutes not used: Harper (gk), O'Brien, Robert.
Chelsea (4-5-1): Cudiciini; Johnson, Carvalho, Huth, Geremi; Jarosik (Watt, 90), Tiago, Makelele, Lampard, Cole (Morais, 89); Gudjohnsen (Oliveira, 84). Substitutes not used: Cech (gk), Grant.
Booked: Newcastle Babayaro, N'Zogbia; Chelsea Tiago, Carvalho, Geremi.
Referee: H Webb (S Yorkshire).
Man of the match: Bramble.
Attendance: 52,326.
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Telegraph;
Mourinho overcome with modesty By Rob Stewart (Filed: 16/05/2005)
Match details
In pictures: Final day of the Premiership
Newcastle (1) 1 Chelsea (1) 1
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is not normally associated with modesty but even he was forced to concede that he will struggle to surpass this season's record-breaking endeavours next term.
At St James' Park, after Chelsea moved on to an unprecedented Premiership haul of 95 points and re-wrote the record for least goals conceded (15), Mourinho admitted that "it will almost impossible to beat the points record next season".
He added: "The record does make you realise this season has been magnificent. It has been fantastic and that is why I want to stay in this country. It is the best football country in the world.
"Our objective will to be champions again and improve in certain aspects, but we know next season will be harder because people know the side and what we can do."
Earlier, Mourinho had watched as the game suddenly burst into life after an insipid first half-hour and then developed into a feisty, sometimes bad-tempered affair.
Newcastle were gifted the lead when Geremi inadvertently diverted the ball in after Alan Shearer had risen to head on Charles N'Zogbia's 32nd-minute corner.
The home side's advantage proved to be a short-lived one.
Celestine Babayaro misjudged Frank Lampard's through-ball and resorted to fouling Eidur Gudjohnsen inside the penalty box. Lampard stepped up to beat Shay Given from 12 yards, driving the ball straight into the middle of the goal in the 34th minute, despite losing his footing as he struck the ball for his 19th goal of a memorable campaign.
After the break, both sides had chances but both goal-keepers showed inspired form. Jermaine Jenas miscued from close range, Carlo Cudicini did well to palm away Patrick Kluivert's header and then Given excelled with saves that thwarted Eidur Gudjohnsen and, most impressively, Jiri Jarosik.
Newcastle manager Graeme Souness, whose club have been linked with an £18 million bid for Real Madrid's Michael Owen, said: "I can't comment on speculation."
But Souness is aiming to overhaul his squad after the club's worst-ever Premiership finish (14th).
Match details
Newcastle (4-3-3): Given; Carr (Taylor h-t), Boumsong, Bramble, Babayaro; Ambrose, Jenas, N'Zogbia; Milner, Shearer, Kluivert (Chopra 76). Subs: Harper (g), O'Brien, Robert. Goal: Geremi (og 32). Booked: Babayaro, N'Zogbia, Kluivert, Jenas. Chelsea (4-5-1): Cudicini; Geremi, Huth; Carvalho, Johnson; Cole (Morais 89), Makelele, Lampard; Tiago, Jarosik (Watt 90); Gudjohnsen (Oliveira 84). Subs: Cech (g), Grant. Goal: Lampard (pen 34). Booked: Cole, Tiago, Carvalho, Geremi. Referee: H Webb (Rotherham).
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Times:Hunt for big name beginsBy George CaulkinNewcastle United 1 Chelsea 1 MICHAEL OWEN HAS POLITELY informed Newcastle United that he has no intention of becoming a Geordie galáctico this summer. The England forward has been courted assiduously over recent months by Graeme Souness, whose club are under increasing pressure to attract a stellar name to St James’ Park. Season-ticket renewal forms are scheduled to land on supporters’ doormats within the next few days. Yesterday’s 1-1 draw with record-breaking Chelsea was symptomatic of a wearing season, which, worryingly for Newcastle directors, has concluded with as much apathy as dissent. Change must follow if the club are to propel themselves back up the Barclays Premiership table and while the squad will be remodelled, Owen will not be forming a dream partnership with Alan Shearer, his former international team-mate.
Owen’s first season at Real Madrid has been a mixture of the successful and the frustrating. Since leaving Liverpool for £6 million nine months ago, he has scored a healthy 12 league goals for the Spanish club, but his starting appearances have been limited. Yet Owen is not agitating for a return to England and officials at the Bernabéu are keen for him to stay.
An attractive bid from one of the leading three clubs in the Premiership — or even Liverpool — would not be greeted negatively by the 25-year-old, but despite being flattered by Newcastle’s interest (the club reacted with distinct coolness to weekend reports that a £20 million offer had been tabled for Owen) a lack of Champions League football does not appeal.
Freddy Shepherd, the Newcastle chairman, must look elsewhere for reinforcements in attack. Craig Bellamy, who is on loan with Celtic, will be sold, while an option to extend Patrick Kluivert’s contract will be fed through the office paper shredder. Crystal Palace’s relegation may prompt a bid for Andrew Johnson.
Kluivert is a useful personification of Newcastle’s ills. A weekly wage of £67,000 is apparently not enough to drag enthusiasm or effort from a player who has won 79 caps for Holland and whose final appearance here concluded with him being replaced by Michael Chopra, newly returned from a spell at Barnsley. If Kluivert has any professional pride, it should have been dented.
There will be other departures. After the team had traipsed to the centre circle to acknowledge supporters, Laurent Robert — an unused substitute — jogged to the Gallowgate End and, stripped to his underwear, threw his clothes into the crowd. Even that was more edifying than the sight of Celestine Babayaro, cajoled by José Mourinho, celebrating with Chelsea when his former team-mates were awarded a guard of honour before kick-off. “What I’ve learnt at the club is how people react when the pressure’s on, who’s with me, who is maybe with me and who isn’t it,” Souness said.
For Newcastle and the champions there was symmetry in the setting of new standards. Newcastle finished fourteenth in the table, their lowest position in the Premiership, with a joint-worst total of 44 points. Chelsea, shorn of eight senior players yesterday, made a more heroic stab at history, with the fewest goals conceded (15), the most clean sheets (25), most victories (29) and most points (95).
The match itself lacked impetus, notwithstanding the eight yellow cards shown by the officious Howard Webb. In the 33rd minute, Newcastle grasped the lead when a corner from Charles N’Zogbia scraped Shearer’s forehead and Gérémi, harried by Titus Bramble, knocked the ball across the line. The advantage lasted two minutes; Babayaro hauled down Eidur Gudjohnsen and Frank Lampard stroked his nineteenth goal of the season , from the penalty spot.
There was a wonderful save by Shay Given from Jiri Jarosik and a solid performance from Carlo Cudicini, whom Mourinho revealed will be offered a contract extension. “The most important thing is to show Carlo love, respect and trust,” he said, qualities that are rare at Newcastle. It promises to be a busy close season.
Newcastle United's season(C minus)It is hard to imagine a more shambolic season. Newcastle United dismissed Sir Bobby Robson as manager just a few weeks into the campaign, endured endless internal squabbling and ended up with about 25 points fewer than their talented players should have managed. They reached two semi-finals through luck on the pitch in the FA Cup and luck in the draw in the Uefa Cup, and no one is pretending that they have had a good year.
Chelsea's season(A plus)Roman’s roubles plus Mourinho’s mind equalled Chelsea’s championship. Abramovich’s arrival in 2003 immediately prompted the team’s highest league placing for 49 years as they finished second before the Portuguese took them up the final step. Usually one of England’s most inconsistent sides, they have swapped randomness for remorselessness, their efficiency creating 11 1-0 wins in the Premiership, although those were supplemented by seven victories in which they scored four. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sun:
JOSE MOURINHO admitted his rivals would up the stakes in the summer after champions Chelsea had finished their record-breaking season with a dull draw at Newcastle.
Geremi’s own goal gave Graeme Souness’ men a 33rd-minute lead.
But Frank Lampard levelled from the penalty spot within a minute after former team-mate Celestine Babayaro was adjudged to have fouled Eidur Gudjohnsen.
Chelsea finished the season with a new lowest goals against figure, just 15 in 38 league games.
OWN UP ... Chelsea defender Geremi puts the ball into his own net
They also set new marks for most wins (29), most clean sheets (25) and most points.
But Mourinho confessed he did not think it would be as easy for Chelsea to retain their crown next season.
He said: “I think it will be hard because they know the team we have, they know what we can do and they know they need to be better if they want to fight with us for the championship, so it is absolutely natural.
“Manchester United, Arsenal, I can guess Liverpool, Newcastle, teams with power, I think it is normal they want to improve and fight with us for the championship. It is normal.”
Mourinho was happy enough with a result which gave his side a points total which he forecast will be difficult to top.
He added: “One day it will be beaten, but it is not easy.
“It is an unbelievable record. Ninety five points is a lot of points.
“Away from home, it is absolutely incredible what we did. We lost one game, we got two or three draws and consecutive victories; at home, we did not lose one single game.
“We lost a few points - I think four draws - but we did not lose a game, so the season was fantastic.
“We do not fight for these records, we fight to be champions. But when you go into the end of the season and you find you beat so many records in this incredible league, it is something that makes you think that the season was magnificent.”
Opposite number Graeme Souness will spend the coming weeks attempting to rebuild his squad, although he declined to confirm whether the likes of Patrick Kluivert and Laurent Robert will be sold.
He said: “What I have learnt in my time at this club is how people react when the pressure is on, who is really with me, who might be with me and who is not with me.
“It has been a very interesting learning period, one which I hope I never have to repeat.
“There is some stuff I have not particularly enjoyed having to deal with, but I think that is Newcastle United.
CHAMPIONS ... Newcastle players give Chelsea a guardof honour as they walk out at St James' Park
“We are far clearer in what our aims are and what I expect from them than we were eight months ago.
“It is fair to say we are looking to improve things greatly next year.”
The Magpies might have taken all three points had Carlo Cudicini not clawed away Kluivert’s 70th-minute header.
But Shay Given had to produce an even better save seven minutes from time to keep out Jiri Jarosik’s deflected drive.
Newcastle equalled an unwanted record of their own - their haul of 44 Premiership points was the same as they collected under Kenny Dalglish in 1997-98.
Chelsea were given a guard of honour onto the pitch, just as they had been at Old Trafford in midweek.
But the fare was dull and neither side created anything until Newcastle took the lead out of nothing on 33 minutes.
Alan Shearer got up well to flick on Charles N’Zogbia’s inswinging corner, and as Titus Bramble prepared to pounce at the far post, Geremi could only help the ball into his own net.
Just seconds later Babayaro was harshly adjudged to have dragged back Gudjohnsen, who needed no persuasion to go to ground.
Lampard slipped as he ran up to the ball, but he made good enough contact to send it over Given and into the net.
Both sides were trying to play enterprising football, but Given had little to do before the break and opposite number Cudicini was troubled only by a James Milner corner which almost crept under his crossbar.
Chelsea launched the first attack of the second half with Lampard firing straight at Given after being set up by Tiago.
But the home side should have regained the lead with 48 minutes gone when Darren Ambrose found space in the box and pulled the ball back for Jermaine Jenas who missed his kick in front of goal.
Milner was causing all kinds of problems as he switched from wing to wing and Babayaro lashed a 20-yard volley just wide on 65 minutes.
Given had to pull off a good one-handed save to keep out Gudjohnsen’s 73rd-minute left-foot drive as the visitors rallied.
Geremi rescued Cudicini with eight minutes left when he cleared off the line after the keeper had punched an N’Zogbia corner straight at Glen Johnson.
It took a superb save from Given to keep out Jarosik’s deflected drive seconds later.
DREAM TEAM STAR MAN: FRANK LAMPARD (Chelsea). Does not know the meaning of an end-of-season game.
Dream Team ratings Newcastle: Given 6, Carr 6 (Taylor 6), Boumsong 6, Bramble 5, Babayaro 5, Jenas 5, Ambrose 5, N’Zogbia 6, Milner 7, Shearer 5, Kluivert 4 (Chopra 6). Subs not used: Andrew O’Brien, Harper, Robert. Booked: Babayaro, N’Zogbia, Kluivert, Jenas. Chelsea: Cudicini 6, Geremi 5, Ricardo Carvalho 8, Huth 7, Johnson 6, Makelele 6, Jarosik 5 (Watt 6), Tiago 7, Lampard 8, Cole 5 (Nuno Morais 6), Gudjohnsen 5 (Oliveira 6). Subs not used: Cech, Grant. Booked: Cole, Ricardo Carvalho, Tiago, Geremi.
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Guardian:
Mourinho's record-breakers take Geordie salute
Michael Walker at St James' ParkMonday May 16, 2005
Jose Mourinho generally takes the biscuit. Yesterday he took two. Walking away from the press room, Mourinho smiled as he snaffled a couple for the journey back to London. His Chelsea team, missing eight of their significant contributors this season, had just extended their Premiership points record by one and but for a brilliant reaction save by Shay Given from Jiri Jarosik near the end, it would have been three.So Chelsea actually dropped two points. Must do better next term. Thus their record on the road was an oh-so disappointing 15 wins, three draws and Lampard: 19th goal of season one defeat. So much room for improvement.Similarly their total of 95 points - meaning they finished 12 points ahead of Arsenal - will take some matching. So will the record 25 clean sheets. "It is an unbelievable record," said Mourinho with all the modesty he could muster, "95 points is a lot of points. "The clean sheets gave us a big push to be champions. At the beginning of the season, when we were not so fluent, clean sheets gave us a lot of points. People said Chelsea were boring, but Chelsea were building."
The construction turned out to be formidable, immovable, only 15 goals conceded in 38 games. By the end they had more records than John Peel. "I think next season will be harder," Mourinho said. "They know what we can do and they know they have to be better - Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle, teams with power."
Having been applauded on and applauded off by a most generous Tyneside public - not least to their own players - Mourinho was returning the gesture by including Newcastle in that list of potential challengers. One note for Mourinho, Ladbrokes have Newcastle at 100-1 to win next season's title.
Those odds looked tight on a day when Newcastle achieved their lowest-ever Premiership finish, 14th. Geremi's own goal at least spared Newcastle their lowest points total - they equalled it - but the magnanimous reception afforded the squad at the end might have been different had Chelsea pushed more vigorously for the win.
Newcastle, moreover, had sucked out some of the poison beforehand in announcing that there would be no lap of "honour", but there were moments when Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Eidur Gudjohnsen combined that should have made the home fans shiver.
Unsurprisingly those fans had awoken to reports of Newcastle bidding for Michael Owen - his will be the first of many names to be attached to the Geordies. A bid has been officially denied but the club's interest is long-standing. However, Owen has discreetly informed Newcastle that he will not be leaving Real Madrid for them.
Alan Shearer declared yesterday that he knows "it will be physically impossible for me to play every game in 2005-06", so the manager Graeme Souness will have to start rebuilding from the front. It now appears he will be in position to do that, even though the insecurity of being Newcastle manager has not yet persuaded him to move lock, stock and barrel to the north-east.
And he has already begun rowing back on earlier statements about supporters being "excited" if they knew the signings he was poised to make. Now he says it will be "difficult" and it will be more so if he cannot offload Craig Bellamy and Laurent Robert.
Robert waved goodbye yesterday following another afternoon on the bench, though he will only depart if someone chooses to buy him. Patrick Kluivert is expected to leave, as is Lee Bowyer. There are also question marks over Kieron Dyer, Nicky Butt and most worryingly for Newcastle, Jermaine Jenas and Given.
Given was beaten here by Lampard's penalty. In a game of seven yellow cards, Carlo Cudicini made a 70th-minute save from Kluivert of similar importance to the Irishman's later. Those incidents aside it was all a bit of a stroll in the sunshine and at the end Mourinho took the biscuits. Well, he has walked away with everything else.
Man of the match: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
Monday, May 16, 2005
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
morning papers man united
Independent:
Champions expose United's flaws with show of might in ManchesterManchester United 1 - Chelsea 3By Sam Wallace, Football Correspondent11 May 2005
Jose Mourinho can consider his Premiership season complete. The last citadel in his all-conquering tour of the country fell last night and that Manchester United could still be overcome by a Chelsea team - under-strength and with nothing save pride to play for - says much about the pedigree of the new champions.
It also says much about how far behind them United have fallen. Not only has Mourinho put 20 points between himself and Sir Alex Ferguson but his team have become the first opponent of United's in 103 games to come from a goal behind to beat them. The Portuguese coach did not greet this second Old Trafford victory - as he did his first with Porto last year - with a dash down the touchline, but he is proving an implacable opponent for Ferguson.
At least one of the Premiership season's great runs came to an end even before kick-off last night, but no one could really blame John Terry for absenting himself from the rest of Chelsea's campaign. With the job done, the 24-year-old this week finally resolved to undergo a toe operation.
The Chelsea captain will have noted Sir Alex Ferguson's "sincere congratulations" at the new champions "formidable achievement" in his programme notes. But the praise ceased there. "We need to remind them," Ferguson said, "that staying on top is sometimes more difficult than actually getting there."
The guard of honour that United formed to welcome Chelsea out of the Old Trafford tunnel extended to their supporters who know when it behoves them to be gracious. They applauded Chelsea the same way they did Ronaldo when he scored a hat-trick for Real Madrid here two years ago. Yet last night there was a sense among the home support that there could hardly have been a more apposite time for a show of might from their team.
United looked like they might deliver just that in the first 10 minutes. Cristiano Ronaldo dropped a shoulder and forced his way past William Gallas while Robert Huth bounced off Wayne Rooney when he attempted to dispossess the United striker. Glen Johnson stationed on the right side did not look like one of Jose Mourinho's most inspired tactical choices. Carlo Cudicini made heavy work of turning aside a Ronaldo drive.
United's goal on seven minutes was not exactly a testament to the strength of a Chelsea defence without Terry. A corner cleared to the edge of the box went from Roy Keane to Paul Scholes who cracked in a shot that Huth could do no better than deflect straight to the feet of Rooney. He drove in a low angled ball across the goal, the kind of cross Chelsea dealt with all night in Munich last month, but this time Ruud van Nistelrooy forced it home.
It was only the Dutch striker's fifth Premiership goal of the season, but as a portent for the game it could scarcely have been more encouraging. Where United lost their way after that will stand as an epitaph to their season. The momentum that they had gained, especially in midfield, was lost and within 10 minutes Chelsea had equalised with a goal that said much about United's troubled confidence. Tiago collected the ball a generous 30 yards from goal and, with few other options, stroked a curling shot at the top right corner of Roy Carroll's goal. The United goalkeeper's failure to get a glove anywhere near it looked, at first glance, like poor judgement. A second viewing confirmed however that the Portuguese midfielder had picked his spot perfectly and, scraping the inside of the post, caught the United goalkeeper moving in completely the wrong direction.
The bewilderment that the cameras caught in Carroll's face suggested a man who feared for his FA Cup final place, but on the evidence of a second viewing that would be harsh. Joe Cole went close to scoring a second on 39 minutes when he collected the ball from Eidur Gudjohnsen and swept a shot just wide of the post. When Van Nistelrooy was sent through, Ricardo Carvalho jockeyed him away from danger.
Darren Fletcher also rattled Cudicini's bar on 56 minutes, but the unfolding story at the other end was more pertinent. The irony of Rio Ferdinand facing the same club who have been relentlessly cast as potential suitors was hard to avoid. But that he should have had enjoyed such an inauspicious performance against them will have been hard for United's support to accept.
When Eidur Gudjohnsen broke through on to Tiago's through ball on 61 minutes, the United defence, Ferdinand included, failed to offer a token of resistance before the striker lifted an accomplished finish over Carroll.
Chelsea's grip on the game looked comfortable while United faltered. The panic in their area manifested itself in Wes Brown's sliced attempt at a clearance that cannoned off Gallas and only narrowly fell wide. Joe Cole added the third from Lampard's left-wing cross on 83 minutes from a position that was undoubtedly offside. But the point had been made and it can only be interpreted as grim news for Old Trafford.
Manchester United (4-4-1-1): Carroll; G Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Silvestre; Ronaldo, Fletcher (Saha, 72), Keane, Rooney; Scholes; Van Nistelrooy. Substitutes not used: Howard (gk), Smith, O'Shea, Fortune.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cudicini; Geremi, Huth, Carvalho, Gallas; Makelele; Johnson (Jarosik, 72), Lampard, Tiago, Cole (Grant, 90); Gudjohnsen (Morais, 86). Substitutes not used: Cech (gk), Forssell.
Referee: G Poll (Hertfordshire).
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Telegraph:
Chelsea snatch record from UnitedBy Henry Winter at Old Trafford (Filed: 11/05/2005)
Match details
In pics: Premiership action
Man Utd (1) 1 Chelsea (1) 3
Manchester United's hopes of proving a point or three against the new champions disappeared in embarrassing fashion here last night. Goals from Tiago, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Joe Cole not only inflicted upon United their only home League defeat of the season, but also allowed Jose Mourinho's men to rewrite the record books.
Record-breakers: Eidur Gudjohnsen and Joe Cole celebrate Victory enabled Chelsea to break United's Premiership record 92 points and 28 wins in a season. After going behind to Ruud van Nistelrooy's goal, they took comfortable control and now have an astonishing record of 94 points and 29 wins. Those United fans who remained to the end clapped Chelsea off the pitch. United's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, was reminded painfully how far his team are behind Chelsea.
While United's in-house television company had been hosting a debate on "are Chelsea worthy champions", their manager was lauding Mour-inho's "formidable achievement". Writing in his programme notes, Ferguson promised "no cheap Portuguese plonk in the manager's office tonight, but fine wine deserving of a champion". The visitors brought some vintage flourishes of their own, notably the Premier Cru finishes of Tiago and Gudjohnsen.
Ferguson had made his players form a guard of honour for Mourinho's title-winners, a sporting gesture although possibly done to remind his charges that their standards have slipped. Old Trafford's reaction to the sight of the new champions was warm applause, albeit spiced with a flurry of boos. "Have you ever won the Treble?" came the query from the Stretford End. Chelsea fans reacted by chanting "One Malcolm Glazer".
Even the visitors' baiting of their United counterparts failed to raise the temperature much. This was "after you Claude" Makelele fare. In the first half, especially, the game had the low-heat feel of a Community Shield, which it could well be if United overcome Arsenal in the May 21 FA Cup final. United appeared to have one eye on Cardiff, while Chelsea had two on Cancun and other imminent holiday destinations.
The pervading spirit of pacifism did not suffuse two men in red. Wayne Rooney and Roy Keane have their pride and both of them powered into Chelsea. Keane was soon cautioned for catching Cole, and could have walked for upending Frank Lampard.
By then United had scored, and Keane and particularly Rooney played their parts in Van Nistelrooy's eighth-minute poacher's goal. From the wreckage of a United corner, Keane laid the ball back to Paul Scholes, whose firm shot was diverted by Robert Huth to Rooney. The England international drilled the ball into the box for Van Nistelrooy to pounce from close range with a confident flick. Chelsea screamed for offside but Glen Johnson had played the Dutchman on and failed to react to the incipient danger. Chelsea's defence is simply not the same without John Terry, who spent yesterday undergoing an operation on his troublesome toe.
Chelsea responded stylishly to the rare indignity of falling behind in a Premiership game. Within 10 minutes the champions were level. Tiago, collecting possession 35 yards out, spotted that United players were dropping off him expecting a pass to a blue shirt, so he seized the moment and let fly. The Portuguese international caught the ball beautifully, but it was still extraordinary that Carroll failed to move. Maybe the United keeper was expecting the ball to speed wide, but it faded in.
United briefly threatened, Ricardo Carvalho denying Van Nistelrooy with a wonderful late interception, while the busy Rooney also went close. But cometh the hour, cometh Chelsea again, with an attack that cut straight through United. Lampard fed Tiago, whose driven low pass was controlled by Gudjohnsen and and dinked over the on-rushing Carroll.
The champions twisted the knife with 10 minutes remaining, though the verdict from United's perspective was death by misadventure. Wes Brown's suicidal clearance was cut out by Lampard, who darted into the area and cut the ball in to Cole. Exploiting astonishing largesse from the linesman, the clearly offside Cole turned the ball home. He was then replaced by the home-grown defensive midfielder Anthony Grant, who insiders at the Bridge say has a real chance.
Match details
Manchester United (4-3-2-1): Carroll; G Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Silvestre; Fletcher (Saha 71), Keane, Scholes; Ronaldo, Rooney; Van Nistelrooy. Subs: Howard (g), Smith, O'Shea, Fortune. Booked: Keane, Van Nistelrooy. Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cudicini; Geremi, Huth, Carvalho, Gallas; Makalele; Johnson (Jarosik 71), Lampard, Tiago, J Cole (Grant 89); Gudjohnsen (Nuno Morais 85). Subs: Cech (g), Forrsell, Grant. Booked: Makelele, Lampard, Gallas. Referee: G Poll (Tring).
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Times;
Chelsea march into historyBy Oliver KayManchester United 1 Chelsea 3 FORMING a guard of honour to applaud Chelsea’s champions on to the Old Trafford pitch was supposed to be the ultimate indignity in a season of depressing underachievement for Manchester United, but further humiliation was to follow last night as they were outfought, out-thought and, in the end, comprehensively outclassed in a defeat that may have had Sir Alex Ferguson wondering if he will ever claim victory over José Mourinho.
This was Ferguson’s sixth meeting with Mourinho since United were drawn against FC Porto in the last 16 of the European Cup last season and the sixth time that the notion of sorcerer against apprentice seemed rather misguided. They share many things — and afterwards, Ferguson had promised, they would share a “fine wine deserving of a champion” as distinct from the “cheap Portuguese plonk” he was offered at Stamford Bridge in August — but theirs are careers and teams that appear to be moving in opposite directions as the balance of power in English football continues to shift.
It is hard to say what was the most impressive aspect of Chelsea’s victory. There was the number of records that they broke in the process; there was the fact that they did it without a host of first-choice players, including John Terry, who will miss England’s tour to the United States after undergoing surgery on his toe; there was the fact that they came from behind to win, the first team to do so against United in 103 league matches; and, most remarkably, there was the fact that victory left them 20 points clear of the eight-times Premiership champions.
Mourinho called it “amazing”, while Ferguson preferred simply to call it “a fantastic game of football”. High on quality throughout, in a sense it was, but it was also a game that served to demonstrate the gulf that has opened between these teams over the course of the season.
United started well enough, taking an eighth-minute lead through Ruud van Nistelrooy, but Chelsea, after achieving parity through Tiago’s spectacular goal, were well worth the two-goal margin they gained through second-half goals from Eidur Gudjohnsen and Joe Cole.
Chelsea, having been applauded on to the pitch, were given an even warmer ovation after the final whistle by an Old Trafford crowd who recognise class when they see it. Those same supporters even stayed behind long enough to applaud the United players through a somewhat sheepish lap of honour of their own, but that was one of the few positives of the night for Ferguson, who, in advance of the FA Cup Final against Arsenal on May 21, must have been disturbed by the carefree manner of his team’s defending.
It all started so well for United. Van Nistelrooy pounced for only his fifth Barclays Premiership goal of an injuryravaged season, tapping home from Wayne Rooney’s driven cross-shot, but nine minutes later the champions were level, Tiago letting fly with a 30-yard strike that flew into the top corner past Roy Carroll, who, on this occasion, was not to blame.
Up to that point, Chelsea had been disappointing, but thereafter they were by far the better team. Cole, in particular, grew in influence, curling a shot inches wide as the interval approached, but they were helped by the collective travails of a United defence that seemed to have opted for Horlicks, rather than the traditional cup of tea, at half-time.
Wes Brown and Mikaël Silvestre were wretched, but it was Rio Ferdinand who was at fault when Chelsea took the lead on the hour, failing to intercept Tiago’s pass and allowing Gudjohnsen to beat Carroll with a cool finish.
Darren Fletcher rattled the Chelsea crossbar, but Frank Lampard seized on Brown’s poor clearance to set up the excellent Cole for a tap-in with seven minutes remaining. There should have been an offside flag, but, by that stage, Chelsea’s superiority was beyond question. “That’s why we’re the champions,” their supporters sang, to the apparent amusement of Mourinho. Ferguson, for once, could only watch. And learn.
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-3-3): R Carroll — G Neville, R Ferdinand, W Brown, M Silvestre — D Fletcher (sub: L Saha, 72min), R Keane, P Scholes — W Rooney, R van Nistelrooy, C Ronaldo. Substitutes not used: J O’Shea, Q Fortune, A Smith, T Howard. Booked: Keane, Van Nistelrooy.
CHELSEA (4-1-4-1): C Cudicini — Gérémi, R Carvalho, R Huth, W Gallas — C Makelele — G Johnson (sub: J Jarosik, 72), Tiago, F Lampard, J Cole (sub: A Grant, 90) — E Gudjohnsen (sub: Nuno Morais, 86). Substitutes not used: M Forssell, P Cech. Booked: Makelele, Lampard, Gallas.
Referee: G Poll.
MARK OF CHAMPIONS
Chelsea set three Premiership records last night
29 wins — beat 28 set by Manchester United in 1999-2000
94 points — beat 92 set by Manchester United in 1993-94
9 successive away league wins — beat Arsenal in 2001-2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guardian;
Chelsea ease into record books
Kevin McCarra at Old TraffordWednesday May 11, 2005The Guardian
Chelsea, with two trophies secured, could have tolerated a defeat but it was Manchester United who endured all the suffering. At the end of their final home match there was a galling trudge of honour for the players in front of fans who had also seen them consigned to third place a year ago. Jose Mourinho has begun to resemble a grim reaper and Sir Alex Ferguson must shudder and wonder how much life can be left in his tenure unless he engineers a transformation soon. A wonderfully sporting crowd applauded the victors but they will not bear many more nights like this. Chelsea broke into United's home and, like vandals, smashed the records that Ferguson had proudly collected. Mourinho's side have now amassed the most points ever achieved in the Premiership. They have also run up 29 league wins, where United only ever reached 28. It is the times to come that obsess Ferguson and fill him with concern. Joe Cole was fractionally offside when he tucked in the third goal, after Wes Brown had mishit a wild pass to Frank Lampard, but Chelsea were a formidable side after the interval despite the absence of, among others, Petr Cech, Arjen Robben, Damien Duff and John Terry.
For the first time in 103 league matches, too, United were beaten after taking the lead, with the harm done by a makeshift line-up. While with Porto, Mourinho knocked Ferguson's team out of the Champions League, and this season he has floored them in the League Cup and completed a double in the Premiership.
The Portuguese is a grave threat to his rivals, but wealthy United are among a handful of clubs in the world who are equipped financially to meet on broadly equal terms. The pressure on Ferguson would not be so severe if he did not enjoy such great resources. Though United had acceptable spells and may beat Arsenal in the FA Cup final, that will not suffice when the memory of the Premiership, and this match in particular, looms in so many minds. There are several excellent players but the creation of a potent team is as elusive as ever.
Despite Terry's absence Chelsea's competitiveness was not much diluted and Tiago, after an indifferent season, was a prominent figure. Ferguson had written in his programme notes that he wanted "to put down a marker with Chelsea". By the end, the visitors had erected a monument to their achievements.
United did start as if they meant to make it an unhappy night for Lampard and co as Ruud van Nistelrooy got his first league goal since November 27. The Dutchman knew that Glen Johnson had kept him onside and held his position to turn in a cross-cum-shot from Wayne Rooney in the seventh minute.
Chelsea, however, began to pass the ball with more patience than Ferguson's men and their poise grew. None the less the equaliser was astonishing because the prolonged move that led Claude Makelele to lay the ball off to Tiago still left the midfielder 30 yards from the target. His swerving drive left the goalkeeper Roy Carroll still and spellbound before it brushed the inside of a post to fly high into the net.
United would later revive and cause havoc, with Ricardo Carvalho making a perfect challenge to stop Van Nistelrooy from capitalising on Paul Scholes's pass. But shortly before the interval Mikaël Silvestre was caught in possession and on the counter-attack Tiago and Eidur Gudjohnsen opened up space for Cole, who cut inside to bend a finish marginally wide. Once more it was proving impossible for United to show they were even on a par with Chelsea, despite Ferguson's far-fetched protestations about minor factors such as refereeing decisions making all the difference to the campaign.
Mourinho's team excelled after the interval. They fashioned opportunities because of the space they enjoyed on the break, but they were also the more measured team. A splendid pass by Cole after 49 minutes sent Johnson clear but he lacked the confidence to finish with his left and cover arrived.
United were persistently adventurous and there was, for a while, a contrast of styles if not eras. Where Chelsea bided their time, Ferguson's players were belligerent. After a neat combination between Cristiano Ronaldo and Scholes, Darren Fletcher swept a 25-yard shot against the bar.
It was to be Chelsea's stealth which broke the deadlock. Though United were correct to protest that Geremi had raised an arm to foul Ronaldo, they should have been more vigilant as the visitors sprang into the attack. Tiago's through-ball was exquisite and Gudjohnsen scored with ease.
Chelsea are the conundrum to solve and United, on this evidence, are bereft of answers.
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Sun:Man Utd 1 Chelsea 3 THE ICEMAN STUNNETH ... Gudjohnsen chips goal No2 By IAN TUCKEYSunSport Online
CHAMPIONS Chelsea pulled off one of the season's classiest comeback wins - to humiliate Manchester United with a stack of new records.
The Blues dictated the last half-hour to reach 94 points - beating United's Premiership record by two - as well as wrecking the unbeaten home term of Alex Ferguson's full-strength side.
Chelsea's recovery was so comprehensive that it mocked the claims of United boss Alex Ferguson and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger that the three teams are on a par.
United's initial edge in urgency led to Ruud van Nistelrooy's opener, but the Blues soon defied the absence of key men like John Terry and Arjen Robben.
The busy Tiago, for once outshining Frank Lampard and Claude Makelele in midfield, hit a superb 30-yard leveller to underline United's need for a new keeper.
Then, when Chelsea finished much the stronger, Eidur Gudjohnsen clipped a stylish second goal due as much to United's defensive failings as the Blues' elegant probing.
TI GLEE ... Frank Lampard (left) hails Chelsea's first scorer Tiago
Joe Cole tucked in a late third from an offside position to add an irrelevant touch of injustice.
It all left the Blues celebrating a ninth away win in a row and a staggering 20-point lead over third-placed United, who they have beaten three times out of four this season.
And Chelsea chief Jose Mourinho has still NEVER lost against United.
Fergie had acknowledged the Blues' first title in 50 years by ordering his players to form a pre-match guard of honour.
Gary Neville, in particular, looked far from comfortable with that - while other serial winners like Roy Keane and Paul Scholes must surely have been equally fired up by the rare reversal of circumstances.
Early on, then, Cristiano Ronaldo and main menace Wayne Rooney regularly tested Chelsea's stand-in keeper Carlo Cudicini.
Then van Nistelrooy prodded in Rooney's seventh-minute cross-shot for his first Premiership goal since November.
But United's long-known keeper problems resurfaced within 10 minutes.
Tiago found plenty of space to whip in a right-footer with little backlift that flew in off the top of the right post - Roy Carroll barely moving, perhaps thinking the shot was going wide.
Blues' duo Cole and Tiago promptly became the major influences in midfield.
And United's limited response was flattered by Darren Fletcher thundering a right-footer off the bar 10 minutes past the break.
RESPECT ... Alex Ferguson (right) greets Jose Mourinho
After that, though, it was Chelsea's rhythm and confidence that improved - peaking with the type of breakaway strike that United at their best used to serve up regularly.
One second Ronaldo was tumbling under Geremi's challenge on the edge of the area.
Then, almost before you could say "United are going to finish third for the second season running," Tiago was sending Gudjohnsen through the middle to wait for Carroll to move and then dink the ball cleverly in over the keeper's diving body.
Cole completed United's misery as Old Trafford began to empty, tucking home once Lampard had exposed gaps in the home defence to cross from the left.
Many of the United fans still present at the end clapped the Blues off.
But scarcely half the ground was full by the time Fergie's men took their supporters' muted applause following an indifferent Premiership season.
DREAM TEAM STAR MAN: TIAGO (Chelsea).Scored one cracker and made another.
MAN UTD: Carroll 5, G Neville 5, Brown 5, Ferdinand 5, Silvestre 5, Fletcher 6 (Saha 6), Keane 6, Scholes 7, Ronaldo 6, Rooney 7, Van Nistelrooy 7. Subs not used: Howard, Smith, O’Shea, Fortune. Booked: Keane, Van Nistelrooy.
CHELSEA: Cudicini 6, Johnson 6 (Jarosik 5), Carvalho 7, Huth 7, Gallas 6, Geremi 7, Tiago 9, Makelele 8, Lampard 6, Cole 8 (Grant 5), Gudjohnsen 8 (Morais 5). Subs not used: Cech, Forssell. Booked: Makelele, Lampard, Gallas.
REF: G Poll 8.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mirror:
FOOTBALL: OLD GUARD MEETS THE NEW GUARDMan Utd 1 Chelsea 3 The Grudge FinaleOliver HoltIT WAS a gesture that seemed to belong to another time.
A time when a manager and his players didn't have an excuse for every defeat and a referee to blame for every decision. A time when respect underpinned rivalry more than animosity. A time many of us have never known.
The decision of the United players to form an honour guard for Chelsea's champions and clap them on to the Old Trafford pitch was a move of such class that it almost disguised the fact United are now labouring painfully in another side's shadow.
Almost but not quite. Because that honour guard was a poignant and powerful symbol of the passing of the flame.
Advertisement It was the prelude to a match when the team of the past confronted the team of the present and the future and were humbled again, a match that showed United just how wide the chasm has grown between them.
This was a Chelsea team without Damien Duff and Arjen Robben and John Terry and Paulo Ferreira and yet still it was comfortably better than a United side close to full strength.
Chelsea's second goal, in particular, was a strutting example of their dominance and United's ills.
Rio Ferdinand, whose protracted contract negotiations have started to affect team spirit at Old Trafford, looked anything but a £120,000-a-week defender when he failed to intercept a through-ball to Eidur Gudjohnsen.
Gudjohnsen advanced calmly on Roy Carroll and lifted the ball over him and into the net. And so United were left to try to search for solace in that honour guard at the start.
It takes a certain strength to demonstrate that kind of humility, to stand there and applaud a team you have chased in vain all season.
For men as proud as Roy Keane and Gary Neville to do that suggests not only a recognition of Chelsea's achievement but a conviction that they can return to the summit next season.
It may even have been Sir Alex Ferguson's way of reminding his team of exactly what they have surrendered by forcing them to pay homage to Jose Mourinho's side.
This was a reminder to United of the time when they were kings, one more desperate attempt to jolt them out of relative mediocrity.
Men like Keane, Neville and Paul Scholes, of course, have never forgotten how Tony Adams and Lee Dixon waited by United's changing room door to shake each of them by the hand after the classic 1999 FA Cup semi-final replay in United's treble year.
Last night they found their own way of emulating it. Applauding their generosity of spirit made a pleasant change from picking a way through the tangle of problems that seem to have beset the club that are Chelsea's role model for success.
Malcolm Glazer's threatened takeover, Ferdinand's shameless meetings with Peter Kenyon, and doubts about how long Ferguson will continue in the job are casting a long shadow over United's future.
Ferguson was as generous as his players in his welcome to Chelsea. He made it plain that Mourinho's side had already changed the landscape of English football.
"We know Chelsea have raised the financial stakes but money isn't the total reason for success," Ferguson said. "There's still a team to be built, balance to be created, tactics to be applied and spirit to be generated.
"All this Jose Mourinho has done and, what is truly remarkable, in his first season at Stamford Bridge.
"To come into the Premiership and leave us all standing is brilliant and everyone at Manchester United offers sincere congratulations.
"In winning the Premiership so handsomely, they have raised the bar for the rest of us.
"It had never particularly worried me that we were slow starters each season because after all the league is a marathon not a sprint. But now I have to question that kind of thinking because Chelsea this season turned it into a sprint from start to finish.
"We must be better prepared because we don't want to be playing catch-up again in the league."
Fine words. And all those who love fine football and respect what Ferguson has achieved must hope United rally again next season.
The abiding memory of last night, though, will not be of anything United did on the pitch but of that honour guard.
And of the Chelsea fans singing a particularly cruel ditty. "We were here when you were good," it went.
They're the kings now. It may be quite a while before they have to form an honour guard for anyone.
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Champions expose United's flaws with show of might in ManchesterManchester United 1 - Chelsea 3By Sam Wallace, Football Correspondent11 May 2005
Jose Mourinho can consider his Premiership season complete. The last citadel in his all-conquering tour of the country fell last night and that Manchester United could still be overcome by a Chelsea team - under-strength and with nothing save pride to play for - says much about the pedigree of the new champions.
It also says much about how far behind them United have fallen. Not only has Mourinho put 20 points between himself and Sir Alex Ferguson but his team have become the first opponent of United's in 103 games to come from a goal behind to beat them. The Portuguese coach did not greet this second Old Trafford victory - as he did his first with Porto last year - with a dash down the touchline, but he is proving an implacable opponent for Ferguson.
At least one of the Premiership season's great runs came to an end even before kick-off last night, but no one could really blame John Terry for absenting himself from the rest of Chelsea's campaign. With the job done, the 24-year-old this week finally resolved to undergo a toe operation.
The Chelsea captain will have noted Sir Alex Ferguson's "sincere congratulations" at the new champions "formidable achievement" in his programme notes. But the praise ceased there. "We need to remind them," Ferguson said, "that staying on top is sometimes more difficult than actually getting there."
The guard of honour that United formed to welcome Chelsea out of the Old Trafford tunnel extended to their supporters who know when it behoves them to be gracious. They applauded Chelsea the same way they did Ronaldo when he scored a hat-trick for Real Madrid here two years ago. Yet last night there was a sense among the home support that there could hardly have been a more apposite time for a show of might from their team.
United looked like they might deliver just that in the first 10 minutes. Cristiano Ronaldo dropped a shoulder and forced his way past William Gallas while Robert Huth bounced off Wayne Rooney when he attempted to dispossess the United striker. Glen Johnson stationed on the right side did not look like one of Jose Mourinho's most inspired tactical choices. Carlo Cudicini made heavy work of turning aside a Ronaldo drive.
United's goal on seven minutes was not exactly a testament to the strength of a Chelsea defence without Terry. A corner cleared to the edge of the box went from Roy Keane to Paul Scholes who cracked in a shot that Huth could do no better than deflect straight to the feet of Rooney. He drove in a low angled ball across the goal, the kind of cross Chelsea dealt with all night in Munich last month, but this time Ruud van Nistelrooy forced it home.
It was only the Dutch striker's fifth Premiership goal of the season, but as a portent for the game it could scarcely have been more encouraging. Where United lost their way after that will stand as an epitaph to their season. The momentum that they had gained, especially in midfield, was lost and within 10 minutes Chelsea had equalised with a goal that said much about United's troubled confidence. Tiago collected the ball a generous 30 yards from goal and, with few other options, stroked a curling shot at the top right corner of Roy Carroll's goal. The United goalkeeper's failure to get a glove anywhere near it looked, at first glance, like poor judgement. A second viewing confirmed however that the Portuguese midfielder had picked his spot perfectly and, scraping the inside of the post, caught the United goalkeeper moving in completely the wrong direction.
The bewilderment that the cameras caught in Carroll's face suggested a man who feared for his FA Cup final place, but on the evidence of a second viewing that would be harsh. Joe Cole went close to scoring a second on 39 minutes when he collected the ball from Eidur Gudjohnsen and swept a shot just wide of the post. When Van Nistelrooy was sent through, Ricardo Carvalho jockeyed him away from danger.
Darren Fletcher also rattled Cudicini's bar on 56 minutes, but the unfolding story at the other end was more pertinent. The irony of Rio Ferdinand facing the same club who have been relentlessly cast as potential suitors was hard to avoid. But that he should have had enjoyed such an inauspicious performance against them will have been hard for United's support to accept.
When Eidur Gudjohnsen broke through on to Tiago's through ball on 61 minutes, the United defence, Ferdinand included, failed to offer a token of resistance before the striker lifted an accomplished finish over Carroll.
Chelsea's grip on the game looked comfortable while United faltered. The panic in their area manifested itself in Wes Brown's sliced attempt at a clearance that cannoned off Gallas and only narrowly fell wide. Joe Cole added the third from Lampard's left-wing cross on 83 minutes from a position that was undoubtedly offside. But the point had been made and it can only be interpreted as grim news for Old Trafford.
Manchester United (4-4-1-1): Carroll; G Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Silvestre; Ronaldo, Fletcher (Saha, 72), Keane, Rooney; Scholes; Van Nistelrooy. Substitutes not used: Howard (gk), Smith, O'Shea, Fortune.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cudicini; Geremi, Huth, Carvalho, Gallas; Makelele; Johnson (Jarosik, 72), Lampard, Tiago, Cole (Grant, 90); Gudjohnsen (Morais, 86). Substitutes not used: Cech (gk), Forssell.
Referee: G Poll (Hertfordshire).
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Telegraph:
Chelsea snatch record from UnitedBy Henry Winter at Old Trafford (Filed: 11/05/2005)
Match details
In pics: Premiership action
Man Utd (1) 1 Chelsea (1) 3
Manchester United's hopes of proving a point or three against the new champions disappeared in embarrassing fashion here last night. Goals from Tiago, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Joe Cole not only inflicted upon United their only home League defeat of the season, but also allowed Jose Mourinho's men to rewrite the record books.
Record-breakers: Eidur Gudjohnsen and Joe Cole celebrate Victory enabled Chelsea to break United's Premiership record 92 points and 28 wins in a season. After going behind to Ruud van Nistelrooy's goal, they took comfortable control and now have an astonishing record of 94 points and 29 wins. Those United fans who remained to the end clapped Chelsea off the pitch. United's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, was reminded painfully how far his team are behind Chelsea.
While United's in-house television company had been hosting a debate on "are Chelsea worthy champions", their manager was lauding Mour-inho's "formidable achievement". Writing in his programme notes, Ferguson promised "no cheap Portuguese plonk in the manager's office tonight, but fine wine deserving of a champion". The visitors brought some vintage flourishes of their own, notably the Premier Cru finishes of Tiago and Gudjohnsen.
Ferguson had made his players form a guard of honour for Mourinho's title-winners, a sporting gesture although possibly done to remind his charges that their standards have slipped. Old Trafford's reaction to the sight of the new champions was warm applause, albeit spiced with a flurry of boos. "Have you ever won the Treble?" came the query from the Stretford End. Chelsea fans reacted by chanting "One Malcolm Glazer".
Even the visitors' baiting of their United counterparts failed to raise the temperature much. This was "after you Claude" Makelele fare. In the first half, especially, the game had the low-heat feel of a Community Shield, which it could well be if United overcome Arsenal in the May 21 FA Cup final. United appeared to have one eye on Cardiff, while Chelsea had two on Cancun and other imminent holiday destinations.
The pervading spirit of pacifism did not suffuse two men in red. Wayne Rooney and Roy Keane have their pride and both of them powered into Chelsea. Keane was soon cautioned for catching Cole, and could have walked for upending Frank Lampard.
By then United had scored, and Keane and particularly Rooney played their parts in Van Nistelrooy's eighth-minute poacher's goal. From the wreckage of a United corner, Keane laid the ball back to Paul Scholes, whose firm shot was diverted by Robert Huth to Rooney. The England international drilled the ball into the box for Van Nistelrooy to pounce from close range with a confident flick. Chelsea screamed for offside but Glen Johnson had played the Dutchman on and failed to react to the incipient danger. Chelsea's defence is simply not the same without John Terry, who spent yesterday undergoing an operation on his troublesome toe.
Chelsea responded stylishly to the rare indignity of falling behind in a Premiership game. Within 10 minutes the champions were level. Tiago, collecting possession 35 yards out, spotted that United players were dropping off him expecting a pass to a blue shirt, so he seized the moment and let fly. The Portuguese international caught the ball beautifully, but it was still extraordinary that Carroll failed to move. Maybe the United keeper was expecting the ball to speed wide, but it faded in.
United briefly threatened, Ricardo Carvalho denying Van Nistelrooy with a wonderful late interception, while the busy Rooney also went close. But cometh the hour, cometh Chelsea again, with an attack that cut straight through United. Lampard fed Tiago, whose driven low pass was controlled by Gudjohnsen and and dinked over the on-rushing Carroll.
The champions twisted the knife with 10 minutes remaining, though the verdict from United's perspective was death by misadventure. Wes Brown's suicidal clearance was cut out by Lampard, who darted into the area and cut the ball in to Cole. Exploiting astonishing largesse from the linesman, the clearly offside Cole turned the ball home. He was then replaced by the home-grown defensive midfielder Anthony Grant, who insiders at the Bridge say has a real chance.
Match details
Manchester United (4-3-2-1): Carroll; G Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Silvestre; Fletcher (Saha 71), Keane, Scholes; Ronaldo, Rooney; Van Nistelrooy. Subs: Howard (g), Smith, O'Shea, Fortune. Booked: Keane, Van Nistelrooy. Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cudicini; Geremi, Huth, Carvalho, Gallas; Makalele; Johnson (Jarosik 71), Lampard, Tiago, J Cole (Grant 89); Gudjohnsen (Nuno Morais 85). Subs: Cech (g), Forrsell, Grant. Booked: Makelele, Lampard, Gallas. Referee: G Poll (Tring).
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Times;
Chelsea march into historyBy Oliver KayManchester United 1 Chelsea 3 FORMING a guard of honour to applaud Chelsea’s champions on to the Old Trafford pitch was supposed to be the ultimate indignity in a season of depressing underachievement for Manchester United, but further humiliation was to follow last night as they were outfought, out-thought and, in the end, comprehensively outclassed in a defeat that may have had Sir Alex Ferguson wondering if he will ever claim victory over José Mourinho.
This was Ferguson’s sixth meeting with Mourinho since United were drawn against FC Porto in the last 16 of the European Cup last season and the sixth time that the notion of sorcerer against apprentice seemed rather misguided. They share many things — and afterwards, Ferguson had promised, they would share a “fine wine deserving of a champion” as distinct from the “cheap Portuguese plonk” he was offered at Stamford Bridge in August — but theirs are careers and teams that appear to be moving in opposite directions as the balance of power in English football continues to shift.
It is hard to say what was the most impressive aspect of Chelsea’s victory. There was the number of records that they broke in the process; there was the fact that they did it without a host of first-choice players, including John Terry, who will miss England’s tour to the United States after undergoing surgery on his toe; there was the fact that they came from behind to win, the first team to do so against United in 103 league matches; and, most remarkably, there was the fact that victory left them 20 points clear of the eight-times Premiership champions.
Mourinho called it “amazing”, while Ferguson preferred simply to call it “a fantastic game of football”. High on quality throughout, in a sense it was, but it was also a game that served to demonstrate the gulf that has opened between these teams over the course of the season.
United started well enough, taking an eighth-minute lead through Ruud van Nistelrooy, but Chelsea, after achieving parity through Tiago’s spectacular goal, were well worth the two-goal margin they gained through second-half goals from Eidur Gudjohnsen and Joe Cole.
Chelsea, having been applauded on to the pitch, were given an even warmer ovation after the final whistle by an Old Trafford crowd who recognise class when they see it. Those same supporters even stayed behind long enough to applaud the United players through a somewhat sheepish lap of honour of their own, but that was one of the few positives of the night for Ferguson, who, in advance of the FA Cup Final against Arsenal on May 21, must have been disturbed by the carefree manner of his team’s defending.
It all started so well for United. Van Nistelrooy pounced for only his fifth Barclays Premiership goal of an injuryravaged season, tapping home from Wayne Rooney’s driven cross-shot, but nine minutes later the champions were level, Tiago letting fly with a 30-yard strike that flew into the top corner past Roy Carroll, who, on this occasion, was not to blame.
Up to that point, Chelsea had been disappointing, but thereafter they were by far the better team. Cole, in particular, grew in influence, curling a shot inches wide as the interval approached, but they were helped by the collective travails of a United defence that seemed to have opted for Horlicks, rather than the traditional cup of tea, at half-time.
Wes Brown and Mikaël Silvestre were wretched, but it was Rio Ferdinand who was at fault when Chelsea took the lead on the hour, failing to intercept Tiago’s pass and allowing Gudjohnsen to beat Carroll with a cool finish.
Darren Fletcher rattled the Chelsea crossbar, but Frank Lampard seized on Brown’s poor clearance to set up the excellent Cole for a tap-in with seven minutes remaining. There should have been an offside flag, but, by that stage, Chelsea’s superiority was beyond question. “That’s why we’re the champions,” their supporters sang, to the apparent amusement of Mourinho. Ferguson, for once, could only watch. And learn.
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-3-3): R Carroll — G Neville, R Ferdinand, W Brown, M Silvestre — D Fletcher (sub: L Saha, 72min), R Keane, P Scholes — W Rooney, R van Nistelrooy, C Ronaldo. Substitutes not used: J O’Shea, Q Fortune, A Smith, T Howard. Booked: Keane, Van Nistelrooy.
CHELSEA (4-1-4-1): C Cudicini — Gérémi, R Carvalho, R Huth, W Gallas — C Makelele — G Johnson (sub: J Jarosik, 72), Tiago, F Lampard, J Cole (sub: A Grant, 90) — E Gudjohnsen (sub: Nuno Morais, 86). Substitutes not used: M Forssell, P Cech. Booked: Makelele, Lampard, Gallas.
Referee: G Poll.
MARK OF CHAMPIONS
Chelsea set three Premiership records last night
29 wins — beat 28 set by Manchester United in 1999-2000
94 points — beat 92 set by Manchester United in 1993-94
9 successive away league wins — beat Arsenal in 2001-2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guardian;
Chelsea ease into record books
Kevin McCarra at Old TraffordWednesday May 11, 2005The Guardian
Chelsea, with two trophies secured, could have tolerated a defeat but it was Manchester United who endured all the suffering. At the end of their final home match there was a galling trudge of honour for the players in front of fans who had also seen them consigned to third place a year ago. Jose Mourinho has begun to resemble a grim reaper and Sir Alex Ferguson must shudder and wonder how much life can be left in his tenure unless he engineers a transformation soon. A wonderfully sporting crowd applauded the victors but they will not bear many more nights like this. Chelsea broke into United's home and, like vandals, smashed the records that Ferguson had proudly collected. Mourinho's side have now amassed the most points ever achieved in the Premiership. They have also run up 29 league wins, where United only ever reached 28. It is the times to come that obsess Ferguson and fill him with concern. Joe Cole was fractionally offside when he tucked in the third goal, after Wes Brown had mishit a wild pass to Frank Lampard, but Chelsea were a formidable side after the interval despite the absence of, among others, Petr Cech, Arjen Robben, Damien Duff and John Terry.
For the first time in 103 league matches, too, United were beaten after taking the lead, with the harm done by a makeshift line-up. While with Porto, Mourinho knocked Ferguson's team out of the Champions League, and this season he has floored them in the League Cup and completed a double in the Premiership.
The Portuguese is a grave threat to his rivals, but wealthy United are among a handful of clubs in the world who are equipped financially to meet on broadly equal terms. The pressure on Ferguson would not be so severe if he did not enjoy such great resources. Though United had acceptable spells and may beat Arsenal in the FA Cup final, that will not suffice when the memory of the Premiership, and this match in particular, looms in so many minds. There are several excellent players but the creation of a potent team is as elusive as ever.
Despite Terry's absence Chelsea's competitiveness was not much diluted and Tiago, after an indifferent season, was a prominent figure. Ferguson had written in his programme notes that he wanted "to put down a marker with Chelsea". By the end, the visitors had erected a monument to their achievements.
United did start as if they meant to make it an unhappy night for Lampard and co as Ruud van Nistelrooy got his first league goal since November 27. The Dutchman knew that Glen Johnson had kept him onside and held his position to turn in a cross-cum-shot from Wayne Rooney in the seventh minute.
Chelsea, however, began to pass the ball with more patience than Ferguson's men and their poise grew. None the less the equaliser was astonishing because the prolonged move that led Claude Makelele to lay the ball off to Tiago still left the midfielder 30 yards from the target. His swerving drive left the goalkeeper Roy Carroll still and spellbound before it brushed the inside of a post to fly high into the net.
United would later revive and cause havoc, with Ricardo Carvalho making a perfect challenge to stop Van Nistelrooy from capitalising on Paul Scholes's pass. But shortly before the interval Mikaël Silvestre was caught in possession and on the counter-attack Tiago and Eidur Gudjohnsen opened up space for Cole, who cut inside to bend a finish marginally wide. Once more it was proving impossible for United to show they were even on a par with Chelsea, despite Ferguson's far-fetched protestations about minor factors such as refereeing decisions making all the difference to the campaign.
Mourinho's team excelled after the interval. They fashioned opportunities because of the space they enjoyed on the break, but they were also the more measured team. A splendid pass by Cole after 49 minutes sent Johnson clear but he lacked the confidence to finish with his left and cover arrived.
United were persistently adventurous and there was, for a while, a contrast of styles if not eras. Where Chelsea bided their time, Ferguson's players were belligerent. After a neat combination between Cristiano Ronaldo and Scholes, Darren Fletcher swept a 25-yard shot against the bar.
It was to be Chelsea's stealth which broke the deadlock. Though United were correct to protest that Geremi had raised an arm to foul Ronaldo, they should have been more vigilant as the visitors sprang into the attack. Tiago's through-ball was exquisite and Gudjohnsen scored with ease.
Chelsea are the conundrum to solve and United, on this evidence, are bereft of answers.
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Sun:Man Utd 1 Chelsea 3 THE ICEMAN STUNNETH ... Gudjohnsen chips goal No2 By IAN TUCKEYSunSport Online
CHAMPIONS Chelsea pulled off one of the season's classiest comeback wins - to humiliate Manchester United with a stack of new records.
The Blues dictated the last half-hour to reach 94 points - beating United's Premiership record by two - as well as wrecking the unbeaten home term of Alex Ferguson's full-strength side.
Chelsea's recovery was so comprehensive that it mocked the claims of United boss Alex Ferguson and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger that the three teams are on a par.
United's initial edge in urgency led to Ruud van Nistelrooy's opener, but the Blues soon defied the absence of key men like John Terry and Arjen Robben.
The busy Tiago, for once outshining Frank Lampard and Claude Makelele in midfield, hit a superb 30-yard leveller to underline United's need for a new keeper.
Then, when Chelsea finished much the stronger, Eidur Gudjohnsen clipped a stylish second goal due as much to United's defensive failings as the Blues' elegant probing.
TI GLEE ... Frank Lampard (left) hails Chelsea's first scorer Tiago
Joe Cole tucked in a late third from an offside position to add an irrelevant touch of injustice.
It all left the Blues celebrating a ninth away win in a row and a staggering 20-point lead over third-placed United, who they have beaten three times out of four this season.
And Chelsea chief Jose Mourinho has still NEVER lost against United.
Fergie had acknowledged the Blues' first title in 50 years by ordering his players to form a pre-match guard of honour.
Gary Neville, in particular, looked far from comfortable with that - while other serial winners like Roy Keane and Paul Scholes must surely have been equally fired up by the rare reversal of circumstances.
Early on, then, Cristiano Ronaldo and main menace Wayne Rooney regularly tested Chelsea's stand-in keeper Carlo Cudicini.
Then van Nistelrooy prodded in Rooney's seventh-minute cross-shot for his first Premiership goal since November.
But United's long-known keeper problems resurfaced within 10 minutes.
Tiago found plenty of space to whip in a right-footer with little backlift that flew in off the top of the right post - Roy Carroll barely moving, perhaps thinking the shot was going wide.
Blues' duo Cole and Tiago promptly became the major influences in midfield.
And United's limited response was flattered by Darren Fletcher thundering a right-footer off the bar 10 minutes past the break.
RESPECT ... Alex Ferguson (right) greets Jose Mourinho
After that, though, it was Chelsea's rhythm and confidence that improved - peaking with the type of breakaway strike that United at their best used to serve up regularly.
One second Ronaldo was tumbling under Geremi's challenge on the edge of the area.
Then, almost before you could say "United are going to finish third for the second season running," Tiago was sending Gudjohnsen through the middle to wait for Carroll to move and then dink the ball cleverly in over the keeper's diving body.
Cole completed United's misery as Old Trafford began to empty, tucking home once Lampard had exposed gaps in the home defence to cross from the left.
Many of the United fans still present at the end clapped the Blues off.
But scarcely half the ground was full by the time Fergie's men took their supporters' muted applause following an indifferent Premiership season.
DREAM TEAM STAR MAN: TIAGO (Chelsea).Scored one cracker and made another.
MAN UTD: Carroll 5, G Neville 5, Brown 5, Ferdinand 5, Silvestre 5, Fletcher 6 (Saha 6), Keane 6, Scholes 7, Ronaldo 6, Rooney 7, Van Nistelrooy 7. Subs not used: Howard, Smith, O’Shea, Fortune. Booked: Keane, Van Nistelrooy.
CHELSEA: Cudicini 6, Johnson 6 (Jarosik 5), Carvalho 7, Huth 7, Gallas 6, Geremi 7, Tiago 9, Makelele 8, Lampard 6, Cole 8 (Grant 5), Gudjohnsen 8 (Morais 5). Subs not used: Cech, Forssell. Booked: Makelele, Lampard, Gallas.
REF: G Poll 8.
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FOOTBALL: OLD GUARD MEETS THE NEW GUARDMan Utd 1 Chelsea 3 The Grudge FinaleOliver HoltIT WAS a gesture that seemed to belong to another time.
A time when a manager and his players didn't have an excuse for every defeat and a referee to blame for every decision. A time when respect underpinned rivalry more than animosity. A time many of us have never known.
The decision of the United players to form an honour guard for Chelsea's champions and clap them on to the Old Trafford pitch was a move of such class that it almost disguised the fact United are now labouring painfully in another side's shadow.
Almost but not quite. Because that honour guard was a poignant and powerful symbol of the passing of the flame.
Advertisement It was the prelude to a match when the team of the past confronted the team of the present and the future and were humbled again, a match that showed United just how wide the chasm has grown between them.
This was a Chelsea team without Damien Duff and Arjen Robben and John Terry and Paulo Ferreira and yet still it was comfortably better than a United side close to full strength.
Chelsea's second goal, in particular, was a strutting example of their dominance and United's ills.
Rio Ferdinand, whose protracted contract negotiations have started to affect team spirit at Old Trafford, looked anything but a £120,000-a-week defender when he failed to intercept a through-ball to Eidur Gudjohnsen.
Gudjohnsen advanced calmly on Roy Carroll and lifted the ball over him and into the net. And so United were left to try to search for solace in that honour guard at the start.
It takes a certain strength to demonstrate that kind of humility, to stand there and applaud a team you have chased in vain all season.
For men as proud as Roy Keane and Gary Neville to do that suggests not only a recognition of Chelsea's achievement but a conviction that they can return to the summit next season.
It may even have been Sir Alex Ferguson's way of reminding his team of exactly what they have surrendered by forcing them to pay homage to Jose Mourinho's side.
This was a reminder to United of the time when they were kings, one more desperate attempt to jolt them out of relative mediocrity.
Men like Keane, Neville and Paul Scholes, of course, have never forgotten how Tony Adams and Lee Dixon waited by United's changing room door to shake each of them by the hand after the classic 1999 FA Cup semi-final replay in United's treble year.
Last night they found their own way of emulating it. Applauding their generosity of spirit made a pleasant change from picking a way through the tangle of problems that seem to have beset the club that are Chelsea's role model for success.
Malcolm Glazer's threatened takeover, Ferdinand's shameless meetings with Peter Kenyon, and doubts about how long Ferguson will continue in the job are casting a long shadow over United's future.
Ferguson was as generous as his players in his welcome to Chelsea. He made it plain that Mourinho's side had already changed the landscape of English football.
"We know Chelsea have raised the financial stakes but money isn't the total reason for success," Ferguson said. "There's still a team to be built, balance to be created, tactics to be applied and spirit to be generated.
"All this Jose Mourinho has done and, what is truly remarkable, in his first season at Stamford Bridge.
"To come into the Premiership and leave us all standing is brilliant and everyone at Manchester United offers sincere congratulations.
"In winning the Premiership so handsomely, they have raised the bar for the rest of us.
"It had never particularly worried me that we were slow starters each season because after all the league is a marathon not a sprint. But now I have to question that kind of thinking because Chelsea this season turned it into a sprint from start to finish.
"We must be better prepared because we don't want to be playing catch-up again in the league."
Fine words. And all those who love fine football and respect what Ferguson has achieved must hope United rally again next season.
The abiding memory of last night, though, will not be of anything United did on the pitch but of that honour guard.
And of the Chelsea fans singing a particularly cruel ditty. "We were here when you were good," it went.
They're the kings now. It may be quite a while before they have to form an honour guard for anyone.
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Sunday, May 08, 2005
sunday papers charlton
Observer:
Chelsea first for Makelele as champions celebrate
Kevin Mitchell at Stamford BridgeSunday May 8, 2005The Observer
There are few sights more evocative of innocent celebration than football fans thronging through the streets on their way to the ground of their choice to welcome home the new champions. And, whatever your allegiance, it was a heartening scene along the Fulham Road yesterday, girls in golden shoes lingering outside the fancy boutiques and youths bearing unfurled blue flags, cans of Special Brew and fixed grins on their way to the Chelsea Megastore to bolster the coffers of their favourite Russian landlord. Romance unconfined. Inside Stamford Bridge, the party continued on the pitch. John Terry, Chelsea's once-scowling general - now a responsible adult capable of breaking up nightclub fights rather than starting them - flicked aside a blue balloon to clear calmly. Joe Cole, rehabilitated in pure footballing terms by a 'Special One', paused to acknowledge the fans before slipping a deft pass to William Gallas, surely one of the best makeweights in the game, albeit lamentably one-footed. And there on the touchline as ever was José Mourinho, self-consciously wrapped up in his designer coat (soon to be auctioned for charity) on a pleasant May day. Where would Chelsea have finished without him and his blessed coat?
The manager and the congregation rose as one when Eidur Gudjohnsen's blond head just failed to nod a corner past the Charlton goalkeeper Stephan Andersen in the 10th minute. It would set the pattern for near misses that littered a game curiously lacking passion or urgency.
In the first half, at least, the qualities that separated Chelsea from the pack this season were on show: the synchronised fluidity of the midfield, Frank Lampard guiding the traffic, although he might have done better with a free header in the 21st minute; Cole tormenting on the left, Gudjohnsen on the right and, without fuss, the estimable Claude Makelele guarding the backdoor in front of Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, Chelsea's resident bouncers.
Foils rather than opponents, Charlton provided a sad counterpoint. Alan Curbishley could do little in recent weeks but concede the obvious: his players are performing like inattentive schoolboys. Thrashed by Manchester United, they ought to have come to Stamford Bridge in search of redemption but were rarely in the contest.
When Jonathan Fortune latched a lazy right boot on to a glorious opportunity 10 yards out to send the ball sailing into the stands on the half hour, there was barely a ripple of dismay among the travelling support. It looked all too familiar.
Only Matt Holland and Danny Murphy were wholly comfortable in this company. How Murphy, one of the Premier League's cleverest footballers, must be missing the boys at Anfield.
In the 35th minute, Cole laced a curling shot from outside the box that beat everything but the post.
Bryan Hughes found himself in space at the other end, turned and shot, but Carlo Cudicini, on sun-bathing duties in goal before giving Lenny Pidgeley a turn later on, had to do little more than yawn as the ball glided harmlessly by.
Charlton were unable to hold the ball for more than a few passes and, when it returned to its rightful owners, Gudjohnsen stretched his long frame to get in an airborne shot that cleared the bar by inches.
The visitors might have grabbed the lead five minutes before the break when Holland set up Fortune, but, again, he sprayed it.
Andersen did brilliantly moments later, clawing at Cole's feet and Gudjohnsen's as he kept Chelsea at bay with more conviction than the defenders in front of him.
The game, a torpid stroll in the main, needed a goal to rouse the faithful but merely ambled on in the sunshine. Terry's header ran along the top of the net 12 minutes into the second half and Carvalho had a nosebleed. Luke Young cleared Lampard's delightful lob off the line. Cudicini tipped Murphy's shot away. It rained briefly. José took his coat off.
Thankfully, Chelsea don't Mexican wave; when the action is as poor as this, they just throw celery. And so it flew in the second half - a celery-bration, if you like.
In the last minute, Lampard went over outside the area without much assistance from Fortune's tackle, but the penalty was given and Makelele converted after Andersen had blocked his first effort, his first goal for the club.
Afterwards, the 1955 title winners were paraded, but not named - a clumsy oversight. The club masseur got a name check, though, and all 101 members of the playing and back-room staff were listed in Mourinho's programme notes, a nice touch. Roy Bentley, the skipper 50 years ago and looking sprightly still, beamed as he held the cup aloft in front of the faithful. There was that warm glow about the occasion, the sort of feeling that makes the whole melodrama of football worthwhile, a day when Abramovich and his mystery millions count for very little at all. It is good to have a bit of metropolitan swagger back at the top of the domestic game.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Ricardo Carvalho
On a day lacking in urgency, Carvalho at least looked interested. He was as sound as a bell in Chelsea's idiosyncratic back four, an outfit that at times seems neither fish nor fowl. He distributed intelligently and when the opportunity arose moved deftly into space to create chances for Joe Cole and Eidur Gudjohnsen.
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Times:
Chelsea 1 Charlton 0: Makelele lifts Chelsea's title partyBrian Glanville at Stamford Bridge IT SHOULD have gone out with a bang, but it went with something of a whimper. Chelsea’s triumphant season, that is to say, champions of England again after a hiatus of 50 years. Yesterday, against modest Charlton, all too well-known for their end-of-season malaise, the new champions could win only after a last-minute penalty which should not have been given at all. Frank Lampard, the football writers’ player of the year, was unquestionably toppled by Jonathan Fortune outside the box, and Claude Makelele’s penalty was parried by Stephan Andersen, before the midfielder shot home the rebound for his first goal for the club in 94 appearances.
What really overshadowed the occasion, celebrated after the game in ecstatic style, was Chelsea’s elimination from the Champions League by Liverpool. It probably would not have happened had Chelsea in both those ties been virtually without their gifted wingers, Damien Duff, who missed both games, and Arjen Robben, who could make only token appearances on each occasion.
Liverpool themselves would surely find a crucial need for a winger, ideally Harry Kewell, when they meet AC Milan in the final in Istanbul. Last Wednesday, PSV drove Milan’s defence to distraction on the flanks in Eindhoven.
Chelsea’s controversial manager, Jose Mourinho, tactlessly asserted at Anfield that “the linesman scored”, much to the fury of Uefa, whose favourite person he wasn’t in the first place. Mourinho might have considered the fact that had the goal not been given, the referee could well have awarded a penalty and sent off his goalkeeper, Petr Cech.
There is no doubt that Chelsea deserve this Championship, but what are the portents for English football? Given Roman Abramovich’s billions, and the £200m-plus lavished on transfer fees, is there any club in the country capable of keeping up with Chelsea? Still, as we know, money isn’t everything, it cannot protect you from the curse of injury.
Not that Mourinho’s tactics at Liverpool were impeccable. Why, in the final throes, did he bring on a centre-back, in Robert Huth, to play up front when he had Mikael Forssell on the bench? Yesterday, Eidur Gudjohnsen, that accomplished opportunist, at least was used up front, where he can surely do more damage, rather than behind the lone striker as at Anfield. The problem being that even against such opposition as Charlton, he was on his own until Forssell finally came on after 66 minutes.
Lampard, after a fine season which deservedly had him named as Footballer of the Year, enjoyed a somewhat muted afternoon. But Joe Cole was in effervescent form. So long under-valued and under-used both by club and country, he revelled yesterday in his free role, ever ready for a crack at goal and indeed in the first-half forcing the save of the game. This when, after an exchange with Gudjohnsen, he let fly a right-footed drive which Andersen turned one-handed onto the right-hand post.
Earlier on, coming in from the right, Cole had had by way of variety his left-footed shot blocked by Andersen. Charlton, though, with only Kevin Lisbie upfield, had their sporadic moments. One came as early as the ninth minute when Danny Murphy sent Bryan Hughes scampering past Carlo Cudicini, only for John Terry to hook the ball off the line. In the closing minutes of the first period, there was a flurry of activity. Gudjohnsen volleyed over a cross by Geremi. Five minutes later, when Murphy returned the ball from a right-wing corner, Fortune’s shot flew narrowly wide. Then, in one his few illuminated moments, Tiago sent Cole through, Andersen blocked his shot, and Gudjohnsen’s follow-up was stopped by Fortune in the goalmouth.
Eight minutes into the second half, a high cross from the right by Glen Johnson was headed against the top of the right-hand upright by Terry. Eleven minutes later, Lampard lobbed the keeper, but Luke Young cleared from under the bar. Charlton promptly counter-attacked when Ricardo Carvalho was stranded by a rebound. Away went Lisbie, finding Holland, whose shot was capably turned behind by Cudicini. Chelsea brought on Forssell and Jiri Jarosik, Geremi dropping to his more familiar role at right-back, and the home side continued to call the tune.
Lampard finished a run with a ball to Cole on his left, and Cole’s shot went narrowly past the right-hand post. Close to the end, Chelsea took off Cudicini, replacing him with their young third-choice keeper, Lenny Pidgeley, who acquitted himself well when he blocked in the goalmouth after Murphy’s right-wing corner.
Mourinho said afterwards: “I was writing diagrams for if there was a penalty in the last minute and we were 2-0 up, then Claude Makelele would take it. But he took it, it was a miracle.
“I told the players at half-time that we were not playing badly, we were playing the ball well, but without ambition.”
He added: “I’m happy, I’m tired and I’d like to go for a holiday. I’m proud for myself, the players and the fans. Maybe we did it before everybody expected, even inside the club. I know a lot of people didn’t believe in our first season. But my nature is not to be happy with what we do; we want more. This is the beginning of a process.
“It is my first season, but we want more. Our next season is another season. On the pitch I had my staff together. I was saying to them: enjoy today, because tomorrow is another day. “For me, after we beat Tottenham at White Hart Lane and Arsenal lost at Bolton was the day when we believed (they would win the League) for the first time.”
STAR MAN: Stephan Andersen (Charlton)
Player ratings. Chelsea: Cudicini 6 (Pidgeley 81min,6), Johnson 6 (Jarosik 66min,6), Terry 7, Carvalho 7, Gallas, Geremi 6, Makelele 6, Cole 7, Lampard 6, Tiago (Forssell 66min,6), Gudjohnsen 7
Charlton: Andersen 8, Young 6, El Karkouri 7, Fortune 7, Konchesky 6, Kishishev 6, Holland 6, Murphy 6, Hughes 6, Johansson 6, Lisbie 6
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NOTW:Unsung Claude the hero as party starts
Big Mak, large prize
From Rob Beasley at Stamford Bridge
IT was not a penalty but who, outside the shadow of the Millennium Dome, really cares?
And how fitting that it was unsung hero Claude Makelele who struck the last-gasp winner as Chelsea celebrated winning the title for the first time in 50 years.
The Frenchman has been a rock for Jose Mourinho and his side this season and his dedication to his midfield holding role means he doesn't get forward too often.
His team-mates even joke that he doesn't even come close to scoring in training.
In fact, in penalty practice on Friday, he missed two out of two!
But that didn't stop the whole Chelsea side ushering him forward to the spot after Jonathan Fortune was judged — wrongly as it turned out — to have tripped Frank Lampard in the box.
Bounce
Charlton keeper Stephan Andersen did his best to right the wrong by diving to his right to save Makelele's first attempt.
But the 32-year-old would not be denied his first goal in two seasons and 94 games at the club. He was first to the loose ball — but even then he miskicked it and had to rely on a lucky bounce.
Makelele was promptly buried under an avalanche of team-mates, a testimony to both his talent and popularity.
Charlton just had time to kick off again before ref Mike Riley blew the whistle to allow Chelsea's celebrations to begin. But Chelsea head coach Jose Mourinho insisted his side had disobeyed his strict orders.
Mourinho said: "I said if there's a penalty — Frank Lampard. If there's a penalty in minute 90 with us leading 2-0, then Makelele.
"And when the penalty came in the last minute I think everyone thought ‘What do we do?' It was the last minute but we were not up 2-0.
"And Makelele had missed two out of two in training. Yes two out of two."
But Makelele finally delivered his goal.
It was just as appropriate a moment as Lampard scoring the goals that sealed the title at Bolton last week.
The dynamic pair sum up how Chelsea have won the title at a canter this term. Lampard has been the creator and Makelele the destroyer. The Englishman has has grabbed the goals and made the chances.
Behind him, his French team-mate has provided the determination and energy.
To be fair, on any other day there might have been a raging debate over Riley's decision to point to the spot.
Fortune's challenge was clearly outside the area.
Charlton boss Alan Curbishley probably would have had something to say afterwards but when he went into the Press Room to give his thoughts, he found it empty. The reporters were still in the stands watching Chelsea pick up the trophy and parade it around the ground.
Curbs turned on his heels and marched off — no doubt muttering under his breath.
But the Valley boss could not really complain. Chelsea were by far the better team, even if they did lack urgency. Lampard's shot flashed past the angle midway through the first-half and Cole was twice denied by Andersen.
Earlier, the visiting keeper had touched a curling Joe Cole effort onto the bar.
Carlo Cudicini had to show his brilliance in the 64th minute to prevent a goal from Matt Holland.
The Italian has had to stomach being second fiddle to Petr Cech at the Bridge this season but he showed he is still one of the best around with a flying save.
Salute
And there was a lovely touch from Mourinho as he subbed Cudicini nine minutes from time.
The whole of the ground stood to salute the Italian in what will surely be his last match at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea.
Last season he was deemed the best in the league, now he has been reduced to a bit-part player.
But that's today's Chelsea. The players are assured of a treasured place in the club's history but little else.
Roman Abramovich's money and the Mourinho's ambition mean that Cudicini will not be the last through the exit door.
The Blues aren't just celebrating a first title in 50 years. They believe they are celebrating the start of a footballing dynasty that will rule English and European soccer for years to come.
And who can argue? Who can stop them?
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Independent:
Week of the goal that wasn't and the penalty that wasn'tChelsea 1 - Charlton Athletic 0By Nick Townsend at Stamford Bridge08 May 2005
Fifty years ago, Chelsea's achievement was received by their players with a restraint appropriate for the times. The manager, Ted Drake, had to request his captain, Roy Bentley, to bring his team up from the dressing room to accept their fans' plaudits. "The crowd wants to see the team, Roy," Drake had quietly informed him.
Yesterday, here, after a somewhat fortuitous defeat of Charlton, everyone demanded to be a part of it. You could not have kept anyone with Chelsea heritage, young or old, away from a pitch festooned with streamers, as that elusive championship trophy returned to be held aloft by the Players' Player of the Year, John Terry. Not least Drake's 2005 counterpart, Jose Mourinho, whose son Zuca and daughter Matilde, escaped their mother, Tami, and rushed to him as he strode forward to receive his medal at the end of a lengthy queue of his players.
Yet he will be aware there is no more appropriate recipient of the trophy than Terry - the man who surely should have also secured the football writers' Footballer of the Year ahead of the award's winner, his team-mate Frank Lampard.
It is perhaps unfortunate that the man we honour on Thursday week, in tribute to a season in which the England man's goals, industry and sheer verve in midfield have contributed so greatly to Chelsea's title, should have ensured victory here by winning one of the most debatable penalties awarded all year.
The Blues' season has been punctuated with controversy, both on and off the pitch. Why should this final home game be any different? Lampard fell in the area in the final minute after a challenge by the visitors' Jonathan Fortune, but not only did there appear to be an absence of any contact, but any offence was committed outside the area. The referee, Mike Riley, was in benevolent mood, however.
Claude Makelele, a player who had hitherto never scored in 94 Chelsea games, hardly appeared the ideal man to take responsibility for the spot-kick. Indeed, he was not. The Danish goalkeeper Stephan Andersen made a fine save, but obligingly the ball ran to the defensive midfielder, who followed up and forced the ball home. It was as well he did. "I wrote on a diagram for my players yesterday: 'Penalty: Lampard'," Mourinho explained. "I told them 'If we have a penalty in the 90th minute, and it is two-zero to us: Claude Makelele'. What happens? It is zero-zero, and Makelele takes the penalty." He gestures mock irritation. "Makelele took two penalties in training yesterday, and missed them both..."
The visitors, rightly, did not appreciate the humour of the moment. At the final whistle, the Charlton assistant, Mervyn Day, strode out and appeared to inform Riley that he was a "cheat". The manager, Alan Curbishley, equally indignant, confined himself to a wag of his finger at the official. There was a suspicion that Riley had been swayed by the occasion, rather like, as Chelsea claimed, the Slovakian assistant had been influenced by the Kop at Anfield on Tuesday night. Surely not?
The result meansthe Blues are only a win away from overtaking Manchester United's Premiership points record of 92. They could achieve that at Old Trafford on Tuesday. That would be further evidence of Chelsea's supremacy this season.
Mourinho declared that the defining moment was his side's eclipse of Tottenham at White Hart Lane. "Arsenal lost at Bolton when we were still in the bath." A pause. "They played after us that day," he reminded us. "Like they do always."
Mourinho added: "We did it [claimed the title] maybe before everyone expected us to. Even some people inside the club didn't believe we could do it in my first season. Now we want more. This is the beginning of a process, not the end."
Uncannily, he almost echoed Ted Drake's observation of 50 years previously: "Now that we have won the championship, I don't think there is anything beyond our power." How erroneous he was.
One suspects that it will not be half a century before yesterday's scenes are repeated; certainly not if Roman Abramovich remains faithful to his aim of building "the most successful football club in the world in the next 10 years".
This was the day when the men of New Chelsea, a creation made possible by Abramovich's extravagant ambition, became not merely a significant part of the club's history but rejoiced with their predecessors. It was an emotional spectacle for many of those present as eight Chelsea Pensioners and 13 surviving members of that 1955 squad, led by Bentley, brought the Premiership trophy to the podium for Terry to raise in triumph.
Not to be outdone, the partners of the Chelsea players joined the festivities. It was hard to escape the feeling that they bore much similarity with their fictional TV equivalents. While their partners may have won the battle of midfield, it was difficult to say who won the competition for the most exposed midriff.
This was always going to be more a celebration than an examination of their opponents during this lunchtime confrontation. Joe Cole completed the home programme with a splendid exhibition, and struck a post in the first half. Terry repeated that act after the interval.
At the end, the faithful mocked their Champions' League conquerors. "Are you watching Liverpool?" they sang. Mourinho could not resist the observation: "I would say that they don't have in Istanbul the best final they could have."
Tuesday night's defeat clearly still rankles. But he knows in his mischievous heart that yesterday's presentations were confirmation of the one that really counts.
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Telegraph:
Makelele kicks off celebrationsBy Simon Hart (Filed: 08/05/2005)
In pictures: Premiership actionIn pics: How the title was won
Chelsea (0) 1 Charlton (0) 0
Before John Terry sent the blue streamers skywards at Stamford Bridge by hoisting the Barclays Premiership trophy above his head, another presentation underlined the significance of yesterday's occasion. A few minutes after the final whistle, 13 white-haired old men, the surviving members of the last Chelsea squad to scale the heights of English football, walked on to the pitch to receive the trophy they won in 1955, but which was never formally presented to them. "We're sorry it's taken 50 years," said the stadium announcer as Roy Bentley, the captain, was given it by Terry and Frank Lampard.
Swinging it: Chelsea's Joe Cole enjoys being top as scorer Claude Makalele celebrates
The presence of the Chelsea FC pensioners was a poignant reminder of the transience of success, though one suspects that Stamford Bridge will not have to wait quite so long for a repeat of yesterday's raucous celebrations. As Jose Mourinho said afterwards: "My nature is not to be happy but to want more. This is the beginning of a process; this is not the end. This is my first season and I have five more years on my contract. I am already thinking about next season."
Fortunately for Chelsea, Roman Abramovich is of the same opinion. Yesterday he broke his customary silence with a "thank you" message in the match programme, dedicating the title to the "long-term supporters who did not live to see Chelsea reach the pinnacle of English football once again", and setting out his ambition of "building the most successful football club in the world in the next 10 years and beyond". His message added: "I view this championship as just the beginning of a new era for Chelsea and would like to reiterate my long-term commitment to the club."
His words will be music to the ears of the fans who yesterday basked in the glory of his £300 million investment on a day of high spirits and not a trace of any lingering disappointment from last week's defeat at Anfield.
Even the pre-celebration warm-up, the small matter of Chelsea's last home game of the season against Charlton Athletic, supplied the perfect hors d'oeuvre for the post-match high-jinks, a 90th-minute penalty which Claude Makelele stabbed home on the rebound after seeing his spot-kick saved by Stephan Andersen.
It was the Frenchman's first goal for Chelsea in 94 appearances, a fitting reward for one of the unsung heroes of Chelsea's campaign, though Mourinho later admitted his players had gone against his pre-match instructions in allowing him to take the kick. Makelele, who had missed two penalties out of two in training on Friday, was only meant to take a penalty if Chelsea were already two goals ahead.
His winning goal brought the entire Chelsea bench on to the pitch for a celebratory pile-up of bodies, though Charlton, who had defended stoutly and deserved a point, were furious with referee Mike Riley and were already heading back to south London by the time the trophy presentation began. One had to sympathise. Not only did the penalty incident clearly take place outside the penalty box but Jonathan Fortune appeared to make no contact with Lampard as he went to ground.
Victory means Chelsea are still on course for three records and can claim the first of them at Old Trafford on Tuesday night when a win will take them past Manchester United's own Premiership water mark of 92 points in a season.
They have now also equalled United's record of 28 victories in a 38-game season and, having conceded just 13 goals, remain on course to beat Arsenal's record of 17 goals against, set in 1998-99.
But such esoteric statistics were a long way from the minds of the Chelsea faithful after the final whistle as first the backroom staff and then the players were introduced one by one, walking through a guard of honour formed by Chelsea Pensioners before taking their place on the victory podium. Nearby, their family members stood in a large group joining in the applause, the children wrapping themselves in streamers.
Unfortunately, the only hiccup was a malfunctioning sound system that reduced the stadium announcer's commentary to a series of stuttering beeps reminiscent of comedian Norman Collier. When it came to the Chelsea manager's arrival, his surname was completely lost, though the announcer did manage did spit out: "Jose". It was enough.
Mourinho received the biggest roar of all as he walked out of the tunnel, to be met by his two children, Matilde and Jose, who had broken free from their mother and rushed towards him. He hugged them and escorted them back to his wife, Tami, before returning to the podium. As Terry received the trophy and the players set off on their lap of honour, Mourinho could still be seen on the podium in a close huddle with his backroom team.
Asked later what he was saying to them, Mourinho replied: "I told them to enjoy the day because tomorrow is another day."
To their credit, the Charlton supporters remained in their seats to watch the scenes as the Chelsea players, including their own former hero Scott Parker, strutted around the pitch. The reality is that it could be a lot longer than 50 years before a club with Charlton's slender resources get the chance to celebrate their own title. In the short term, the future looks distinctly blue.
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Chelsea first for Makelele as champions celebrate
Kevin Mitchell at Stamford BridgeSunday May 8, 2005The Observer
There are few sights more evocative of innocent celebration than football fans thronging through the streets on their way to the ground of their choice to welcome home the new champions. And, whatever your allegiance, it was a heartening scene along the Fulham Road yesterday, girls in golden shoes lingering outside the fancy boutiques and youths bearing unfurled blue flags, cans of Special Brew and fixed grins on their way to the Chelsea Megastore to bolster the coffers of their favourite Russian landlord. Romance unconfined. Inside Stamford Bridge, the party continued on the pitch. John Terry, Chelsea's once-scowling general - now a responsible adult capable of breaking up nightclub fights rather than starting them - flicked aside a blue balloon to clear calmly. Joe Cole, rehabilitated in pure footballing terms by a 'Special One', paused to acknowledge the fans before slipping a deft pass to William Gallas, surely one of the best makeweights in the game, albeit lamentably one-footed. And there on the touchline as ever was José Mourinho, self-consciously wrapped up in his designer coat (soon to be auctioned for charity) on a pleasant May day. Where would Chelsea have finished without him and his blessed coat?
The manager and the congregation rose as one when Eidur Gudjohnsen's blond head just failed to nod a corner past the Charlton goalkeeper Stephan Andersen in the 10th minute. It would set the pattern for near misses that littered a game curiously lacking passion or urgency.
In the first half, at least, the qualities that separated Chelsea from the pack this season were on show: the synchronised fluidity of the midfield, Frank Lampard guiding the traffic, although he might have done better with a free header in the 21st minute; Cole tormenting on the left, Gudjohnsen on the right and, without fuss, the estimable Claude Makelele guarding the backdoor in front of Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, Chelsea's resident bouncers.
Foils rather than opponents, Charlton provided a sad counterpoint. Alan Curbishley could do little in recent weeks but concede the obvious: his players are performing like inattentive schoolboys. Thrashed by Manchester United, they ought to have come to Stamford Bridge in search of redemption but were rarely in the contest.
When Jonathan Fortune latched a lazy right boot on to a glorious opportunity 10 yards out to send the ball sailing into the stands on the half hour, there was barely a ripple of dismay among the travelling support. It looked all too familiar.
Only Matt Holland and Danny Murphy were wholly comfortable in this company. How Murphy, one of the Premier League's cleverest footballers, must be missing the boys at Anfield.
In the 35th minute, Cole laced a curling shot from outside the box that beat everything but the post.
Bryan Hughes found himself in space at the other end, turned and shot, but Carlo Cudicini, on sun-bathing duties in goal before giving Lenny Pidgeley a turn later on, had to do little more than yawn as the ball glided harmlessly by.
Charlton were unable to hold the ball for more than a few passes and, when it returned to its rightful owners, Gudjohnsen stretched his long frame to get in an airborne shot that cleared the bar by inches.
The visitors might have grabbed the lead five minutes before the break when Holland set up Fortune, but, again, he sprayed it.
Andersen did brilliantly moments later, clawing at Cole's feet and Gudjohnsen's as he kept Chelsea at bay with more conviction than the defenders in front of him.
The game, a torpid stroll in the main, needed a goal to rouse the faithful but merely ambled on in the sunshine. Terry's header ran along the top of the net 12 minutes into the second half and Carvalho had a nosebleed. Luke Young cleared Lampard's delightful lob off the line. Cudicini tipped Murphy's shot away. It rained briefly. José took his coat off.
Thankfully, Chelsea don't Mexican wave; when the action is as poor as this, they just throw celery. And so it flew in the second half - a celery-bration, if you like.
In the last minute, Lampard went over outside the area without much assistance from Fortune's tackle, but the penalty was given and Makelele converted after Andersen had blocked his first effort, his first goal for the club.
Afterwards, the 1955 title winners were paraded, but not named - a clumsy oversight. The club masseur got a name check, though, and all 101 members of the playing and back-room staff were listed in Mourinho's programme notes, a nice touch. Roy Bentley, the skipper 50 years ago and looking sprightly still, beamed as he held the cup aloft in front of the faithful. There was that warm glow about the occasion, the sort of feeling that makes the whole melodrama of football worthwhile, a day when Abramovich and his mystery millions count for very little at all. It is good to have a bit of metropolitan swagger back at the top of the domestic game.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Ricardo Carvalho
On a day lacking in urgency, Carvalho at least looked interested. He was as sound as a bell in Chelsea's idiosyncratic back four, an outfit that at times seems neither fish nor fowl. He distributed intelligently and when the opportunity arose moved deftly into space to create chances for Joe Cole and Eidur Gudjohnsen.
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Times:
Chelsea 1 Charlton 0: Makelele lifts Chelsea's title partyBrian Glanville at Stamford Bridge IT SHOULD have gone out with a bang, but it went with something of a whimper. Chelsea’s triumphant season, that is to say, champions of England again after a hiatus of 50 years. Yesterday, against modest Charlton, all too well-known for their end-of-season malaise, the new champions could win only after a last-minute penalty which should not have been given at all. Frank Lampard, the football writers’ player of the year, was unquestionably toppled by Jonathan Fortune outside the box, and Claude Makelele’s penalty was parried by Stephan Andersen, before the midfielder shot home the rebound for his first goal for the club in 94 appearances.
What really overshadowed the occasion, celebrated after the game in ecstatic style, was Chelsea’s elimination from the Champions League by Liverpool. It probably would not have happened had Chelsea in both those ties been virtually without their gifted wingers, Damien Duff, who missed both games, and Arjen Robben, who could make only token appearances on each occasion.
Liverpool themselves would surely find a crucial need for a winger, ideally Harry Kewell, when they meet AC Milan in the final in Istanbul. Last Wednesday, PSV drove Milan’s defence to distraction on the flanks in Eindhoven.
Chelsea’s controversial manager, Jose Mourinho, tactlessly asserted at Anfield that “the linesman scored”, much to the fury of Uefa, whose favourite person he wasn’t in the first place. Mourinho might have considered the fact that had the goal not been given, the referee could well have awarded a penalty and sent off his goalkeeper, Petr Cech.
There is no doubt that Chelsea deserve this Championship, but what are the portents for English football? Given Roman Abramovich’s billions, and the £200m-plus lavished on transfer fees, is there any club in the country capable of keeping up with Chelsea? Still, as we know, money isn’t everything, it cannot protect you from the curse of injury.
Not that Mourinho’s tactics at Liverpool were impeccable. Why, in the final throes, did he bring on a centre-back, in Robert Huth, to play up front when he had Mikael Forssell on the bench? Yesterday, Eidur Gudjohnsen, that accomplished opportunist, at least was used up front, where he can surely do more damage, rather than behind the lone striker as at Anfield. The problem being that even against such opposition as Charlton, he was on his own until Forssell finally came on after 66 minutes.
Lampard, after a fine season which deservedly had him named as Footballer of the Year, enjoyed a somewhat muted afternoon. But Joe Cole was in effervescent form. So long under-valued and under-used both by club and country, he revelled yesterday in his free role, ever ready for a crack at goal and indeed in the first-half forcing the save of the game. This when, after an exchange with Gudjohnsen, he let fly a right-footed drive which Andersen turned one-handed onto the right-hand post.
Earlier on, coming in from the right, Cole had had by way of variety his left-footed shot blocked by Andersen. Charlton, though, with only Kevin Lisbie upfield, had their sporadic moments. One came as early as the ninth minute when Danny Murphy sent Bryan Hughes scampering past Carlo Cudicini, only for John Terry to hook the ball off the line. In the closing minutes of the first period, there was a flurry of activity. Gudjohnsen volleyed over a cross by Geremi. Five minutes later, when Murphy returned the ball from a right-wing corner, Fortune’s shot flew narrowly wide. Then, in one his few illuminated moments, Tiago sent Cole through, Andersen blocked his shot, and Gudjohnsen’s follow-up was stopped by Fortune in the goalmouth.
Eight minutes into the second half, a high cross from the right by Glen Johnson was headed against the top of the right-hand upright by Terry. Eleven minutes later, Lampard lobbed the keeper, but Luke Young cleared from under the bar. Charlton promptly counter-attacked when Ricardo Carvalho was stranded by a rebound. Away went Lisbie, finding Holland, whose shot was capably turned behind by Cudicini. Chelsea brought on Forssell and Jiri Jarosik, Geremi dropping to his more familiar role at right-back, and the home side continued to call the tune.
Lampard finished a run with a ball to Cole on his left, and Cole’s shot went narrowly past the right-hand post. Close to the end, Chelsea took off Cudicini, replacing him with their young third-choice keeper, Lenny Pidgeley, who acquitted himself well when he blocked in the goalmouth after Murphy’s right-wing corner.
Mourinho said afterwards: “I was writing diagrams for if there was a penalty in the last minute and we were 2-0 up, then Claude Makelele would take it. But he took it, it was a miracle.
“I told the players at half-time that we were not playing badly, we were playing the ball well, but without ambition.”
He added: “I’m happy, I’m tired and I’d like to go for a holiday. I’m proud for myself, the players and the fans. Maybe we did it before everybody expected, even inside the club. I know a lot of people didn’t believe in our first season. But my nature is not to be happy with what we do; we want more. This is the beginning of a process.
“It is my first season, but we want more. Our next season is another season. On the pitch I had my staff together. I was saying to them: enjoy today, because tomorrow is another day. “For me, after we beat Tottenham at White Hart Lane and Arsenal lost at Bolton was the day when we believed (they would win the League) for the first time.”
STAR MAN: Stephan Andersen (Charlton)
Player ratings. Chelsea: Cudicini 6 (Pidgeley 81min,6), Johnson 6 (Jarosik 66min,6), Terry 7, Carvalho 7, Gallas, Geremi 6, Makelele 6, Cole 7, Lampard 6, Tiago (Forssell 66min,6), Gudjohnsen 7
Charlton: Andersen 8, Young 6, El Karkouri 7, Fortune 7, Konchesky 6, Kishishev 6, Holland 6, Murphy 6, Hughes 6, Johansson 6, Lisbie 6
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NOTW:Unsung Claude the hero as party starts
Big Mak, large prize
From Rob Beasley at Stamford Bridge
IT was not a penalty but who, outside the shadow of the Millennium Dome, really cares?
And how fitting that it was unsung hero Claude Makelele who struck the last-gasp winner as Chelsea celebrated winning the title for the first time in 50 years.
The Frenchman has been a rock for Jose Mourinho and his side this season and his dedication to his midfield holding role means he doesn't get forward too often.
His team-mates even joke that he doesn't even come close to scoring in training.
In fact, in penalty practice on Friday, he missed two out of two!
But that didn't stop the whole Chelsea side ushering him forward to the spot after Jonathan Fortune was judged — wrongly as it turned out — to have tripped Frank Lampard in the box.
Bounce
Charlton keeper Stephan Andersen did his best to right the wrong by diving to his right to save Makelele's first attempt.
But the 32-year-old would not be denied his first goal in two seasons and 94 games at the club. He was first to the loose ball — but even then he miskicked it and had to rely on a lucky bounce.
Makelele was promptly buried under an avalanche of team-mates, a testimony to both his talent and popularity.
Charlton just had time to kick off again before ref Mike Riley blew the whistle to allow Chelsea's celebrations to begin. But Chelsea head coach Jose Mourinho insisted his side had disobeyed his strict orders.
Mourinho said: "I said if there's a penalty — Frank Lampard. If there's a penalty in minute 90 with us leading 2-0, then Makelele.
"And when the penalty came in the last minute I think everyone thought ‘What do we do?' It was the last minute but we were not up 2-0.
"And Makelele had missed two out of two in training. Yes two out of two."
But Makelele finally delivered his goal.
It was just as appropriate a moment as Lampard scoring the goals that sealed the title at Bolton last week.
The dynamic pair sum up how Chelsea have won the title at a canter this term. Lampard has been the creator and Makelele the destroyer. The Englishman has has grabbed the goals and made the chances.
Behind him, his French team-mate has provided the determination and energy.
To be fair, on any other day there might have been a raging debate over Riley's decision to point to the spot.
Fortune's challenge was clearly outside the area.
Charlton boss Alan Curbishley probably would have had something to say afterwards but when he went into the Press Room to give his thoughts, he found it empty. The reporters were still in the stands watching Chelsea pick up the trophy and parade it around the ground.
Curbs turned on his heels and marched off — no doubt muttering under his breath.
But the Valley boss could not really complain. Chelsea were by far the better team, even if they did lack urgency. Lampard's shot flashed past the angle midway through the first-half and Cole was twice denied by Andersen.
Earlier, the visiting keeper had touched a curling Joe Cole effort onto the bar.
Carlo Cudicini had to show his brilliance in the 64th minute to prevent a goal from Matt Holland.
The Italian has had to stomach being second fiddle to Petr Cech at the Bridge this season but he showed he is still one of the best around with a flying save.
Salute
And there was a lovely touch from Mourinho as he subbed Cudicini nine minutes from time.
The whole of the ground stood to salute the Italian in what will surely be his last match at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea.
Last season he was deemed the best in the league, now he has been reduced to a bit-part player.
But that's today's Chelsea. The players are assured of a treasured place in the club's history but little else.
Roman Abramovich's money and the Mourinho's ambition mean that Cudicini will not be the last through the exit door.
The Blues aren't just celebrating a first title in 50 years. They believe they are celebrating the start of a footballing dynasty that will rule English and European soccer for years to come.
And who can argue? Who can stop them?
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Independent:
Week of the goal that wasn't and the penalty that wasn'tChelsea 1 - Charlton Athletic 0By Nick Townsend at Stamford Bridge08 May 2005
Fifty years ago, Chelsea's achievement was received by their players with a restraint appropriate for the times. The manager, Ted Drake, had to request his captain, Roy Bentley, to bring his team up from the dressing room to accept their fans' plaudits. "The crowd wants to see the team, Roy," Drake had quietly informed him.
Yesterday, here, after a somewhat fortuitous defeat of Charlton, everyone demanded to be a part of it. You could not have kept anyone with Chelsea heritage, young or old, away from a pitch festooned with streamers, as that elusive championship trophy returned to be held aloft by the Players' Player of the Year, John Terry. Not least Drake's 2005 counterpart, Jose Mourinho, whose son Zuca and daughter Matilde, escaped their mother, Tami, and rushed to him as he strode forward to receive his medal at the end of a lengthy queue of his players.
Yet he will be aware there is no more appropriate recipient of the trophy than Terry - the man who surely should have also secured the football writers' Footballer of the Year ahead of the award's winner, his team-mate Frank Lampard.
It is perhaps unfortunate that the man we honour on Thursday week, in tribute to a season in which the England man's goals, industry and sheer verve in midfield have contributed so greatly to Chelsea's title, should have ensured victory here by winning one of the most debatable penalties awarded all year.
The Blues' season has been punctuated with controversy, both on and off the pitch. Why should this final home game be any different? Lampard fell in the area in the final minute after a challenge by the visitors' Jonathan Fortune, but not only did there appear to be an absence of any contact, but any offence was committed outside the area. The referee, Mike Riley, was in benevolent mood, however.
Claude Makelele, a player who had hitherto never scored in 94 Chelsea games, hardly appeared the ideal man to take responsibility for the spot-kick. Indeed, he was not. The Danish goalkeeper Stephan Andersen made a fine save, but obligingly the ball ran to the defensive midfielder, who followed up and forced the ball home. It was as well he did. "I wrote on a diagram for my players yesterday: 'Penalty: Lampard'," Mourinho explained. "I told them 'If we have a penalty in the 90th minute, and it is two-zero to us: Claude Makelele'. What happens? It is zero-zero, and Makelele takes the penalty." He gestures mock irritation. "Makelele took two penalties in training yesterday, and missed them both..."
The visitors, rightly, did not appreciate the humour of the moment. At the final whistle, the Charlton assistant, Mervyn Day, strode out and appeared to inform Riley that he was a "cheat". The manager, Alan Curbishley, equally indignant, confined himself to a wag of his finger at the official. There was a suspicion that Riley had been swayed by the occasion, rather like, as Chelsea claimed, the Slovakian assistant had been influenced by the Kop at Anfield on Tuesday night. Surely not?
The result meansthe Blues are only a win away from overtaking Manchester United's Premiership points record of 92. They could achieve that at Old Trafford on Tuesday. That would be further evidence of Chelsea's supremacy this season.
Mourinho declared that the defining moment was his side's eclipse of Tottenham at White Hart Lane. "Arsenal lost at Bolton when we were still in the bath." A pause. "They played after us that day," he reminded us. "Like they do always."
Mourinho added: "We did it [claimed the title] maybe before everyone expected us to. Even some people inside the club didn't believe we could do it in my first season. Now we want more. This is the beginning of a process, not the end."
Uncannily, he almost echoed Ted Drake's observation of 50 years previously: "Now that we have won the championship, I don't think there is anything beyond our power." How erroneous he was.
One suspects that it will not be half a century before yesterday's scenes are repeated; certainly not if Roman Abramovich remains faithful to his aim of building "the most successful football club in the world in the next 10 years".
This was the day when the men of New Chelsea, a creation made possible by Abramovich's extravagant ambition, became not merely a significant part of the club's history but rejoiced with their predecessors. It was an emotional spectacle for many of those present as eight Chelsea Pensioners and 13 surviving members of that 1955 squad, led by Bentley, brought the Premiership trophy to the podium for Terry to raise in triumph.
Not to be outdone, the partners of the Chelsea players joined the festivities. It was hard to escape the feeling that they bore much similarity with their fictional TV equivalents. While their partners may have won the battle of midfield, it was difficult to say who won the competition for the most exposed midriff.
This was always going to be more a celebration than an examination of their opponents during this lunchtime confrontation. Joe Cole completed the home programme with a splendid exhibition, and struck a post in the first half. Terry repeated that act after the interval.
At the end, the faithful mocked their Champions' League conquerors. "Are you watching Liverpool?" they sang. Mourinho could not resist the observation: "I would say that they don't have in Istanbul the best final they could have."
Tuesday night's defeat clearly still rankles. But he knows in his mischievous heart that yesterday's presentations were confirmation of the one that really counts.
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Telegraph:
Makelele kicks off celebrationsBy Simon Hart (Filed: 08/05/2005)
In pictures: Premiership actionIn pics: How the title was won
Chelsea (0) 1 Charlton (0) 0
Before John Terry sent the blue streamers skywards at Stamford Bridge by hoisting the Barclays Premiership trophy above his head, another presentation underlined the significance of yesterday's occasion. A few minutes after the final whistle, 13 white-haired old men, the surviving members of the last Chelsea squad to scale the heights of English football, walked on to the pitch to receive the trophy they won in 1955, but which was never formally presented to them. "We're sorry it's taken 50 years," said the stadium announcer as Roy Bentley, the captain, was given it by Terry and Frank Lampard.
Swinging it: Chelsea's Joe Cole enjoys being top as scorer Claude Makalele celebrates
The presence of the Chelsea FC pensioners was a poignant reminder of the transience of success, though one suspects that Stamford Bridge will not have to wait quite so long for a repeat of yesterday's raucous celebrations. As Jose Mourinho said afterwards: "My nature is not to be happy but to want more. This is the beginning of a process; this is not the end. This is my first season and I have five more years on my contract. I am already thinking about next season."
Fortunately for Chelsea, Roman Abramovich is of the same opinion. Yesterday he broke his customary silence with a "thank you" message in the match programme, dedicating the title to the "long-term supporters who did not live to see Chelsea reach the pinnacle of English football once again", and setting out his ambition of "building the most successful football club in the world in the next 10 years and beyond". His message added: "I view this championship as just the beginning of a new era for Chelsea and would like to reiterate my long-term commitment to the club."
His words will be music to the ears of the fans who yesterday basked in the glory of his £300 million investment on a day of high spirits and not a trace of any lingering disappointment from last week's defeat at Anfield.
Even the pre-celebration warm-up, the small matter of Chelsea's last home game of the season against Charlton Athletic, supplied the perfect hors d'oeuvre for the post-match high-jinks, a 90th-minute penalty which Claude Makelele stabbed home on the rebound after seeing his spot-kick saved by Stephan Andersen.
It was the Frenchman's first goal for Chelsea in 94 appearances, a fitting reward for one of the unsung heroes of Chelsea's campaign, though Mourinho later admitted his players had gone against his pre-match instructions in allowing him to take the kick. Makelele, who had missed two penalties out of two in training on Friday, was only meant to take a penalty if Chelsea were already two goals ahead.
His winning goal brought the entire Chelsea bench on to the pitch for a celebratory pile-up of bodies, though Charlton, who had defended stoutly and deserved a point, were furious with referee Mike Riley and were already heading back to south London by the time the trophy presentation began. One had to sympathise. Not only did the penalty incident clearly take place outside the penalty box but Jonathan Fortune appeared to make no contact with Lampard as he went to ground.
Victory means Chelsea are still on course for three records and can claim the first of them at Old Trafford on Tuesday night when a win will take them past Manchester United's own Premiership water mark of 92 points in a season.
They have now also equalled United's record of 28 victories in a 38-game season and, having conceded just 13 goals, remain on course to beat Arsenal's record of 17 goals against, set in 1998-99.
But such esoteric statistics were a long way from the minds of the Chelsea faithful after the final whistle as first the backroom staff and then the players were introduced one by one, walking through a guard of honour formed by Chelsea Pensioners before taking their place on the victory podium. Nearby, their family members stood in a large group joining in the applause, the children wrapping themselves in streamers.
Unfortunately, the only hiccup was a malfunctioning sound system that reduced the stadium announcer's commentary to a series of stuttering beeps reminiscent of comedian Norman Collier. When it came to the Chelsea manager's arrival, his surname was completely lost, though the announcer did manage did spit out: "Jose". It was enough.
Mourinho received the biggest roar of all as he walked out of the tunnel, to be met by his two children, Matilde and Jose, who had broken free from their mother and rushed towards him. He hugged them and escorted them back to his wife, Tami, before returning to the podium. As Terry received the trophy and the players set off on their lap of honour, Mourinho could still be seen on the podium in a close huddle with his backroom team.
Asked later what he was saying to them, Mourinho replied: "I told them to enjoy the day because tomorrow is another day."
To their credit, the Charlton supporters remained in their seats to watch the scenes as the Chelsea players, including their own former hero Scott Parker, strutted around the pitch. The reality is that it could be a lot longer than 50 years before a club with Charlton's slender resources get the chance to celebrate their own title. In the short term, the future looks distinctly blue.
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Wednesday, May 04, 2005
mourning papers liverpool away
Guardian: Mourinho fails to break down the red army's iron curtain
Richard Williams at Anfield Wednesday May 4, 2005
As Jose Mourinho's dreams of retaining the trophy he won as an underdog last year crashed around him, shattering on the immense barricade erected by his direct adversary, nothing became him as well as his manner of accepting defeat - at least until he got in front of a microphone. There was a long embrace for Rafael Bentez, followed by a moment of commiseration with John Terry and a march across the pitch to bestow a firm handshake on every Liverpool player. And then a swift withdrawal to contemplate the first serious reverse of his dazzling career in management. Under the increasingly distraught eyes of Roman Abramovich, Mourinho had simply been outwitted. Unable to call on the duo of Damien Duff and Arjen Robben, whose swift and unpredictable combinations gave wings to Chelsea's season back in November, he could find nothing in his armoury with which to pierce Liverpool's astonishing resistance.
For Anfield constructed three layers of defence last night. The first, the conven tional back four, did everything that could have been expected of them, with Jamie Carragher again setting the tone. But those demands had already been reduced by the partnership of Didi Hamann and Igor Biscan in a front screen which gradually eroded the morale of Chelsea's forwards. And the third layer was formed by the 17,000 fans filling the old Kop and creating a steel wall of noise that surely kept out Eidur Gudjohnsen's blazing cross-shot in the sixth and final minute of stoppage time.
A goal at that moment would have sent Chelsea through to the final in Istanbul and they will tell themselves that, on balance, they played the better football. But the facts are that Liverpool did the job they set out to do and Chelsea did not. Now Mourinho's players will return to Stamford Bridge forever ruing their crucial inability to score a goal at home in last week's first leg.
You could only wonder what Sven-Goran Eriksson, watching from his seat in the front row of the directors' box, made of it all, this festival of English passion in which no more than five Englishmen were on the field at the kick-off. If the England manager could capture such emotions and transfer them to the national team, then success at the World Cup next summer would be all but assured.
It was strange how a pair of foreign coaches and the players from 13 other nations represented in the starting line-ups could concoct a match so true to the way in which the English game likes to think of itself. As the ball rocketed from one penalty area to the other, interrupted only by muscular clearances and full-blooded tackles, television audiences in Milan, Madrid, Barcelona and Munich must have been amazed by the mood of furious physical commitment in which the evening was unfolding.
Hemmed in under the angry gaze of the Kop, Chelsea's defenders could not hear themselves think in the opening minutes. As promised, the Liverpool fans were doing their best to provide their team with a 12th man against the newly crowned Premiership champions, their ardour fuelled by tales of the club's glorious past.
Unable to settle themselves down by playing the ball across the line while awaiting the moment to probe a weakness, Chelsea's back four were undone in the fourth minute by nothing more or less than Liverpool's unbridled passion. Communication must have been impossible at the moment when Steven Gerrard's pressure forced Frank Lampard to concede possession inside his own half. A fault-line opened in the blue rearguard and suddenly Liverpool had the goal that would be enough to decide this tie.
For once there was no intervention from the man charged with the primary responsibility for keeping Liverpool's attackers at bay. But when Chelsea gradually recovered their composure and began to piece their game together, Claude Makelele was at the heart of their revival.
Making his 67th Champions League appearance, the little Zaire-born midfielder exerted a significant influence as Chelsea recovered their composure and fought their way back into the first half, abetted by the industrious and selfless Tiago and by Ricardo Carvalho's lightning-fast interceptions. But Lampard, a yard off the pace, failed to take advantage, while Didier Drogba's incorrigible wastefulness constantly presented Liverpool with possession they had no right to expect.
As the second half wore on, the absence of the threat posed in the middle third of the season by Robben and Duff became excruciatingly obvious. Robben's arrival for the final 20 minutes, clearly half-fit, along with the bafflingly hopeless Mateja Kezman and the later insertion of Robert Huth at centre-forward, all demonstrated the extent of Mourinho's desperation. As a piece of tactical thinking it seemed on a par with his decision to send out three substitutes at half-time against Newcastle United in the FA Cup in February, ending up with eight fit men on the pitch and a 1-0 defeat. Not, in fact, the work of a football genius.
Last night, however, he could probably have sent out Roy Bentley, Peter Osgood, Kerry Dixon and Gianfranco Zola without denting Liverpool's resistance in those final minutes. The Kop was breathing its fire into the hearts of the red-shirted defenders now arrayed in front of them and Chelsea's dream of a treble shrivelled in the promised glow. Now, at least, they can relax and enjoy their championship.
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Independent :
Reds march on to Istanbul after bringing Chelsea down to earth Liverpool 1 - Chelsea 0 By Sam Wallace at Anfield 04 May 2005
It was the night that Liverpool had dreamed of but scarcely dared to believe possible and it told us that everything we thought we knew about English football might just be wrong. That Roman Abramovich's money can buy Chelsea the world, that Jose Mourinho is a coach without equal and that Liverpool's days as the kings of Europe are more suited to the history books than the here and now.
The new champions of the Premiership have been beaten and it was a defeated inflicted in thrilling and tense circumstances. Luis Garcia's goal after four minutes set up a night at Anfield that will stand comparison with all the classics this stadium has witnessed. Against a club infinitely blessed with wealth and a staggering 33 points ahead of them in the Premiership, Liverpool claimed their place in the club's sixth European Cup final.
For Rafael Benitez it was a night that will surpass his Uefa Cup triumph with Valencia last year and raises him close to the status of past managers like Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan within a single, astonishing season. And for all the great foreign players who have been brought to Anfield to revive this club, it was Jamie Carragher who stood like a colossus among his Liverpool team-mates to withstand the late Chelsea siege.
It was a night that will be remembered by Liverpool on a par with St-Etienne in 1977 and the thrilling defeat of Roma three years ago and it means that in Istanbul on 25 May, they have a chance to win their fifth European Cup. The banner in the Kop that read "Make us Dream" might have been touched with the sentimentality to which Anfield is prone but now the home support have good reason to hope.
It had been an affront to Anfield tradition that, winning the toss, John Terry chose to defend the goal in front of the Kop. But no one could have expected them to pay for it so quickly. Liverpool's first goal was not quite as swift as the John Arne Riise strike against Chelsea that took just 45 seconds of the Carling Cup final but it was equally devastating and its effect on the atmosphere in the old stadium was quite electrifying.
Riise was the first to break out of the Chelsea midfield on four minutes, dashing towards the area and laying a ball into Steven Gerrard 20 yards from goal. With only one touch, the Liverpool captain sent a flick through the heart of the Chelsea defence towards Milan Baros who was locked in a race for the ball with his Czech Republic team-mate Petr Cech. The Chelsea goalkeeper lost by a fraction.
The touch that Baros applied to the ball did not look enough to have carried it over the line, but with the Liverpool striker comprehensively floored by Cech's challenge, the eye was drawn to the referee, Lubos Michel. In the end, the Slovakian official's refusal to award a penalty was academic: Garcia prodded the ball towards the empty net and on the line William Gallas was adjudged to have failed in his attempt to get the ball clear.
With the crucial camera blocked by Gallas, the television replays were inconclusive but inside Anfield that point was incidental once referee Michel had signalled a goal. The place shook with the noise. In the main stand, the only people left in their seats were Abramovich and his generous entourage.
Their goal did not open the way for Liverpool to dominate the rest of the half, although they succeeded in restricting Chelsea in all the approaches in which the champions have proved dangerous all season. Claude Makelele saw much less of the ball and both Frank Lampard and Eidur Gudjohnsen were immaculately dispossessed by Dietmar Hamann when they looked like they might pose a threat.
But Chelsea's key deficiency was Didier Drogba, who has for some time looked like he might not be the striker to take them towards a historic treble this season. Against the peerless Carragher he was much less than a danger and, at times, bordered on being an irrelevance. Chelsea's players headed for the dressing rooms at half-time without even mustering a single shot on goal.
Mourinho's teams at Porto and Chelsea have achieved nothing without a sense of calm in the tightest of moments yet there was not a great deal of serenity in the second half.
Even with Lampard and Gudjohnsen attempting to impose some order in the centre of midfield, the Premiership champions seemed unable to summon enough composure to connect more than five passes. After the hour, Drogba shanked a promising free-kick into the Kop.
It was 67 minutes before Chelsea struck a shot at Jerzy Dudek's goal - a Lampard free-kick which the Polish keeper did well to turn wide. Twice in the closing stages the substitute Djibril Cisse broke clear to run on goal and missed. Carragher and then Gerrard robbed the ball from Arjen Robben in the closing stages. Six minutes added time invoked fury and then, at the death, Gudjohnsen drove the last chance wide. On the final whistle: Red joy
Liverpool (4-4-1-1): Dudek; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore; Garcia (Nuez, 84), Hamann (Kewell, 73), Biscan, Riise; Gerrard; Baros (Cisse, 59). Substitutes not used: Carson (gk), Smicer, Warnock, Welsh.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Geremi (Huth, 76), Terry, Carvalho, Gallas; Makelele; Cole (Robben, 67), Tiago (Kezman, 67), Lampard, Gudjohnsen; Drogba. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Johnson, Forssell, Nuno Morais.
Referee: L Michel (Slovakia).
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Sun:
Liverpool 1 Chelsea 0 By SUNSPORT ONLINE REPORTER
LUIS GARCIA fired Liverpool into the Champions League final after a pulsating clash at Anfield.
The Spaniard netted after just four minutes to put Rafa Benitez's men through to the final in Istanbul on May 25.
But Garcia's winner was surrounded in controversy as Chelsea protested that it had not crossed the line.
Jose Mourinho's side also wasted a glorious chance to go through in the SIXTH MINUTE of injury time when Eidur Gudjohnsen fired wide of an open goal from inside the six yard box.
After last week's 0-0 stalemate at Stamford Bridge the last thing anybody expected was an early goal, but Liverpool seized the initiative.
Steven Gerrard played a delightful first-time ball over the top to Milan Baros.
The Czech ace was taken out by Chelsea keeper Petr Cech but referee Lubos Michel allowed play to continue.
Garcia hooked the ball goalwards and the linesman ruled his effort had gone over the line despite William Gallas' desperate goal-line clearance. TV replays were inconclusive, but it appearad the ball had just gone over.
Baros was in the book three minutes later for a knee-high tackle on Ricardo Carvalho.
Having given his side the lead Garcia almost gifted Chelsea an equaliser midway through the first half.
He was caught in possession on the edge of his own box by Frank Lampard who fed a ball through to Joe Cole.
The England midfielder made good ground but the angle was acute and he lifted his shot over Jerzy Dudek but wide.
Chelsea dominated possession in the opening period but created very little as they came up against a wall of red shirts camped on the edge of the Liverpool area.
It was the same at the start of the second half as it became attack against defence.
Kop central defender Jamie Carragher was simply awesome at the back as Liverpool saw off wave after wave of Chelsea attacks.
A tiring Milan Baros was replaced by Djibril Cisse on the hour.
Two minutes later Drogba curled a free-kick just over the bar as Dudek waited to make his first save of the night.
Gudjohnsen then fired over from 25 yards as Chelsea became increasingly desperate.
Liverpool conceded another free-kick in a dangerous position on 68 minutes and this time Dudek was called into action.
Lampard's free-kick was sweetly struck and heading for the bottom left corner. But the Pole made a superb save at full stretch to turn the shot round the post.
Carvalho escaped a booking for a foul on substitute Harry Kewell which would have forced him to miss the final had Chelsea made it to Istanbul.
Jose Mourinho introduced fit-again Arjen Robben for the disappointing Joe Cole and Mateja Kezman for Tiago.
Robben was instantly in the action, seeing one effort superbly blocked by Carragher and then firing over.
In a last act of desperation by the Blues, centre-back Robert Huth was sent on up front in place of Geremi.
But the next chance fell at the other end as Djimi Traore's cross dropped perfectly for Cisse. The Frenchman's header was weak and straight at Cech.
Chelsea then wasted a glorious opening of their own. Drogba looked odds on to bury Robben's centre from the left, but he missed the ball completely and it rebounded off Traore to safety.
Carvalho was almost caught out at the back on a rare Liverpool raid. He gifted the ball to Cisse but his shot was deflected just wide of the post with Cech scrambling across his goal.
Chelsea should have levelled deep into injury time. Terry launched himself to win a header in the box and Dudek flapped at the ball, gifting Gudjohnsen an incredible opening at the far post.
But staring at an open goal he snatched at his shot and it went inches wide.
DREAM TEAM STAR MAN: JOHN ARNE RIISE (Liverpool).
Liverpool: Dudek, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Hamann (Kewell 73), Biscan, Luis Garcia (Nunez 84), Riise, Gerrard, Baros (Cisse 60). Subs: Carson, Smicer, Warnock, Welsh.
Chelsea: Cech, Geremi (Huth 76), Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Gallas, Tiago, Makelele, Lampard, Cole (Robben 68), Drogba (Kezman 68), Gudjohnsen. Subs: Cudicini, Johnson, Forssell, Nuno Morais.
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Telegraph:
Glorious Liverpool a big noise again By Henry Winter at Anfield (Filed: 04/05/2005)
In pictures: Garcia sends Liverpool through
Liverpool (1) 1 Chelsea (0) 0 Agg: 1-0
This was the magical night when Liverpool Football Club found themselves again, when they lived up to the weighty legacy of their glorious past and played with unyielding belief to reach the May 25 final of the Champions League.
Clincher: John Terry watches Luis Garcia's shot head for goal Driven on by the magnificent Didi Hamann, Liverpool ran the Chelsea juggernaut off the road to Istanbul. And the noise was just incredible.
Either PSV Eindhoven or AC Milan await on the banks of the Bosphorus but Liverpool will fear no one now. Luis Garcia's early strike did the damage, but this was an evening of red-shirted gladiators all over the pitch. Hamann was immense in midfield, Steven Gerrard and John Arne Riise not far behind in influence. In defence, the magnificent Jamie Carragher stood firm as Jose Mourinho's astonishing Champions League run ended.
Building for two hours from the moment the turnstiles clicked open, a wave of unbelievable noise had rolled into Chelsea's players, knocking them back, scrambling their senses and lifting Liverpool, who immediately seized the initiative in this all-Premiership passion play through Garcia's lightning strike.
John Terry and company had not needed to glance up at the sign in the tunnel reminding them that "This is Anfield". The pillars and rafters of this famous stadium were shaking as the songs, screams and chants cascaded down from all sides. This could only be Anfield on a major European evening. Even Roman Abramovich, the man with all the riches, looked on awestruck. Money cannot buy tradition like this.
Feeding on the fervour of their support, Liverpool were sharper, hungrier, high on adrenalin, on tempo, and on ambition, certainly in the first half. Within four minutes the fired-up hosts were ahead. Inevitably, Gerrard was involved, flicking the ball brilliantly over the thick blue line of Chelsea's defence for Milan Baros to chase. Petr Cech raced from his line, Czech keeper against Czech striker with no mercy allowed for a compatriot.
The collision was bone-juddering. Cech clattered Baros as the Liverpool forward poked the ball over him. Cech should have been dismissed but Lubos Michel waved play on, allowing Garcia to dart in to apply the coup de grce.
William Gallas hooked the ball away but the Slovak linesman, Roman Slysko, ruled it had crossed the line. Four separate television angles proved inconclusive, making it even more of a massive decision by Michel and his linesman.
Chelsea, deprived of Damien Duff and with Arjen Robben starting on the bench, struggled to find their stride. Liverpool dominated the half, snapping into tackles, launching counter-attacks, matching their fans' fervour.
Hamann was superb, shielding the back four as if his career, let alone his season, depended on it. The German resembles an unassuming academic but he could give the toughest of warriors a lecture in steely defiance. Challenge after challenge was unleashed on those in blue who dared enter his domain; Frank Lampard and Eidur Gudjohnsen were both dispossessed by Hamann tackles brimming with timing and commitment.
Stunned, Chelsea looked for an outlet but Didier Drogba was too sluggish, even wasting a wonderful Joe Cole pass midway through a frenetic first half.
Cole, commendably, and Lampard, inevitably, sought to fight through the red-tinged storm, trying desperately to drag Chelsea back into contention. Lampard even lost his habitual composure with officialdom, ordering Michel to watch some of the Liverpool tackles.
In truth, there was little malicious about the challenges from the men in red. Hamann and Gerrard, Igor Biscan and Carragher simply took the sight of a Chelsea player in possession as an affront to them personally and Liverpool collectively.
Every Chelsea touch drew relentless derision, every time Mourinho stepped into the technical area he was greeted with the sort of abuse that would make even Wayne Rooney blush.
One banner hanging from the Anfield Road stand read "Away You Go Mourinho", which was the politest welcome.
Mourinho's Liverpool counterpart, Benitez, was constantly up from his seat, gesticulating at his players, vicariously sharing every kick and emotion with them. They love Benitez here. A Spanish flag adorned the Kop emblazoned with "Vote Rafa". No Euro-sceptics here.
The Kop were at their colourful best, all manner of messages carried on sheets and banners. "Make Us Dream" read one. All Merseyside society was here; Steve McManaman had come from Manchester, Michael Owen from Madrid. No one wanted to miss this. Yet tense times lay ahead.
As the second half unfolded, Chelsea were beginning to gain in danger, at last stitching together some counter-attacks. But Hamann would not let them pass, blocking a shot from Cole and then sliding in to spirit the ball away from the charging Gudjohnsen.
Still Chelsea pressed, Drogba and Gudjohnsen both shooting over from range.
Then came Lampard just after the hour mark, hitting a free kick low and hard, the ball accelerating goalwards until Jerzy Dudek dropped to his right to push it to safety.
Mourinho had to make his move. Robben raced on, so did Mateja Kezman. Chelsea were laying siege to Dudek's area and only a fine interception by Carragher prevented the ball reaching Drogba. Carragher then thwarted Robben.
And still Chelsea came, Drogba heading wide, but Liverpool hit back, lifting the siege and Djibril Cisse twice went close. Six minutes of injury time had to be negotiated. And then, as Anfield held its breath, the well-placed Gudjohnsen shot wide, Michel blew for full time and Anfield just went crazy.
Match details
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Dudek; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore; Hamann (Kewell 72), Biscan; Garcia (Nunez 83), Gerrard, Riise; Baros (Cisse 58). Subs: Carson (g), Smicer, Nunez, Warnock, Welsh. Booked: Baros. Chelsea (4-1-2-2-1): Cech; Geremi (Huth 75), Carvalho, Terry, Gallas; Makelele; Tiago (Kezman 67), Lampard; J Cole (Robben 67), Gudjohnsen; Drogba. Subs: Cudicini (g), Johnson, Forssell, Nuno Morais. Referee: L Michel (Slovakia).
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Times:
Garca gives Liverpool a night to remember By Oliver Kay Liverpool 1 Chelsea 0 (Liverpool win 1-0 on agg) THIRTEEN years ago, in the days when Chelsea's idea of an expensive overseas import was Dmitri Kharine, an upstart named Vinnie Jones dared to scrawl graffiti on the "This is Anfield" sign that was put in the players' tunnel by the late, great Bill Shankly. "We're bothered," Jones wrote after helping the Londoners to their first victory there in decades, but it is doubtful that Chelsea's class of 2005 will forget being brought down to earth as the old ground reverberated last night with a passionate fervour not witnessed in 20 years. Whatever they go on to achieve under Jose Mourinho, Chelsea and their billionaire owner learnt last night that there are some things money cannot buy. Four famous Scousers once sang that it can't buy you love, but add to that the type of passion that was required to propel Liverpool into their first European Cup final since 1985. Mourinho had shaken his head when asked whether the Kop could be the opposition's twelfth man, but instead they proved to be Liverpool's ninth, tenth and eleventh, inspiring players such as Djimi Traore and Igor Biscan to play like the immortals that they might now become.
The legitimacy of Luis Garca's fourth-minute goal was fiercely questioned by Chelsea's players, but above all it was a sense of local pride, embodied on the pitch by Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard, that tipped the scales in Liverpool's favour. They might not be good enough to triumph in the final on May 25, when their opponents will almost certainly be AC Milan, but their mere presence in Istanbul will be enough to restore much of the pride that the club have lost in the years since their ill-fated previous European Cup final.
In reality, win or lose, Istanbul will be the end of the road for some of these Liverpool players, men such as Jerzy Dudek and Milan Baros, whose efforts for much of this season have convinced Rafael Bentez that they need to be replaced. It might not even signify the start of something, given that the 33-point gap that separates them from Chelsea in the Barclays Premiership will be difficult to bridge, but even if it proves to be nothing more than a glorious one-off, it will be savoured by the supporters.
In his efforts to play down the Kop factor, Mourinho, laughably, had sought comparison with the atmosphere his team had overcome at Anfield on New Year's Day, when Merseyside was nursing a collective hangover. This was a completely different proposition, the home supporters creating such a din that the Chelsea coach might have struggled to make himself heard in the dressing-room. As two of his players, William Gallas and Didier Drogba, failed to emerge until after the pre-match rigmarole had begun, it seemed for a moment that perhaps they had decided against making an appearance.
John Terry may have felt that he had scored a minor psychological blow by winning the toss and forcing the home team to play towards the Kop in the first half, but, if anything, it worked in Liverpool's favour. Within four minutes the energy drawing Liverpool towards their goal had become palpable as Gerrard's flicked pass spread panic through the Chelsea defence and gave Baros a clear run on Petr Cech. Baros lifted the ball over his fellow Czech and was impeded as he did so, but Garca knocked the loose ball goalwards and it was deemed to have crossed the line before Gallas could clear.
The goal sparked brief protests from Chelsea's players, but a sense of injustice was soon replaced by a desire to make amends. They quickly regained their composure, Claude Makelele using all his experience and knowhow to give them a foothold in midfield, but they struggled to find a way through a Liverpool defence in which Carragher, yet again, was outstanding. Drogba, sent clear by Joe Cole, had half an opening in the sixteenth minute but was tackled by Dietmar Hamann just as he was preparing to shoot.
It was becoming a classic, not in terms of incident but in terms of drama. The problem for Liverpool was that Chelsea were starting to monopolise possession. Chances remained scarce, but the home team were retreating ominously. It seemed a risky tactic, but it paid off, with Carragher, Steve Finnan and Sami Hyypia keeping Chelsea at arm's length.
Remarkably, it took until the 68th minute for Dudek, redundant at Stamford Bridge, to make his first save of the tie, diving full length to keep out a free kick from Lampard.
Arjen Robben gave Chelsea a more penetrative edge, immediately producing a shot that was blocked by the redoubtable Carragher, but Mourinho was not happy with what he was seeing, his histrionics on the touchline making even Bentez seem relaxed.
Finally, the Portuguese sent on Robert Huth as an emergency striker, a desperate measure that almost reaped dividends when the ball fell to Eidur Gudjohnsen in stoppage time. The forward dragged his shot across goal, a miss that was justice, the Kop will say, for his part in Xabi Alonso's suspension for a yellow card in the first leg.
Liverpool might have been without the influential Spaniard last night, but they got by with a little help from their friends.
LIVERPOOL
4-3-2-1
JERZY DUDEK 6/10 Had little to do in a tense first period but was more than a match for a thunderous Lampard free kick in the second. Bad punch late on
STEVE FINNAN 7/10
Tenacious in the tackle and troublesome when he did elect to venture forward. Gudjohnsen, Cole and Robben got little change out of him
JAMIE CARRAGHER 8/10
Mr Dependable yet again. Nullified what little threat Chelsea did pose. Imposing in the air, menacing in the tackle and poised with the pass
SAMI HYYPIA 7/10
Won his aerial battle with Drogba comfortably, the Finn formed an impenetrable back wall with Carragher that never looked like being broken
DJIMI TRAOR 6/10
One of his better performances in a Liverpool shirt; his shambolic showing in the FA Cup against Burnley will be but a distant memory
DIETMAR HAMANN 6/10
Marshalled the midfield well. Allowed Lampard little time to settle, so much so that no one might have known that Xabi Alonso was missing
IGOR BISCAN 5/10
Held his position in midfield well, without really posing a threat. He is gradually earning cult status with the Kop, at least in Europe
STEVEN GERRARD 6/10
A delightful through-pass for Baros that led to Liverpool's goal capped a solid night's work for the captain. Will he want to go to Chelsea now? JOHN ARNE RIISE 6/10
Played an important part in the goal and patrolled the left flank well. He kept Tiago's involvement down to a bare minimum
LUIS GARCA 7/10
If the Spaniard continues scoring in Europe like this, he will soon be as popular as The Beatles. Showed great speed and awareness for his goal
MILAN BAROS 7/10
Always a willing runner, the Czech Republic forward led the line superbly. Stole away well from Carvalho to set up Liverpool's goal
Substitutes: Djibril Cisse (for Baros, 60min): Was unlucky not to add a second goal late on. Harry Kewell (for Hamann, 73): Provided an outlet up front but struggled to get into the game. Antonio Nez (for Garca, 84): No time to make an impact.
Substitutes not used: Scott Carson, Vladimir Smicer, Stephen Warnock, John Welsh. Booked: Baros
CHELSEA
4-1-4-1
PETR CECH 4/10
Wonderful all season but looked awfully hesitant when trying to beat Baros to the ball for Liverpool's goal, an error that proved costly
GRMI 4/10
Was well pegged back by Riise and as a consequence struggled to get forward. Never really got into the game
RICARDO CARVALHO 4/10
Should have prevented Liverpool's goal by closing down Baros but was caught terribly out of position. An evening to forget
JOHN TERRY 5/10
The player of the year was given a torrid time late on by Cisse and never got to grips with Baros. Not what is expected of the England man
WILLIAM GALLAS 4/10
Was given the runaround by Garca. Never could shackle the Spaniard, despite a valiant attempt to clear Liverpool's goal on the line
TIAGO 3/10
Looked more like a man who would have rather been watching on television. Squandered ball carelessly on the rare occasions he had it
CLAUDE MAKELELE 5/10
Provided some defensive cover, but not enough. Gerrard managed to sneak through on occasion. Not one of the Frenchman's best games
FRANK LAMPARD 6/10
Worked hard and always willing. But for a thunderbolt of a free kick, the England player never grabbed game by the scruff of the neck
EIDUR GUDJOHNSEN 4/10
Started brightly enough but faded. Normally so adept at supporting the lone front man, he looked out of sorts and his shooting was feeble
DIDIER DROGBA 4/10 Cut a forlorn figure alone up front. Was starved of service but still rarely looked like troubling Liverpool's magnificent centre-half pairing
JOE COLE 5/10
A willing runner in the first period but faded thereafter. This was the Joe Cole of old very showy but little substance
Substitutes: Arjen Robben (for Cole, 68): Should have scored late on but skied over the crossbar; Mateja Kezman (for Tiago, 68): Never got into the game; Robert Huth (for Geremi, 75): In the thick of it as soon as he came on, nearly helped Chelsea to an equaliser. Substitutes not used: Carlo Cudicini, Glen Johnson, Mikael Forssell, Nuno Morais. Referee: Lubos Michel (Slovakia)
Richard Williams at Anfield Wednesday May 4, 2005
As Jose Mourinho's dreams of retaining the trophy he won as an underdog last year crashed around him, shattering on the immense barricade erected by his direct adversary, nothing became him as well as his manner of accepting defeat - at least until he got in front of a microphone. There was a long embrace for Rafael Bentez, followed by a moment of commiseration with John Terry and a march across the pitch to bestow a firm handshake on every Liverpool player. And then a swift withdrawal to contemplate the first serious reverse of his dazzling career in management. Under the increasingly distraught eyes of Roman Abramovich, Mourinho had simply been outwitted. Unable to call on the duo of Damien Duff and Arjen Robben, whose swift and unpredictable combinations gave wings to Chelsea's season back in November, he could find nothing in his armoury with which to pierce Liverpool's astonishing resistance.
For Anfield constructed three layers of defence last night. The first, the conven tional back four, did everything that could have been expected of them, with Jamie Carragher again setting the tone. But those demands had already been reduced by the partnership of Didi Hamann and Igor Biscan in a front screen which gradually eroded the morale of Chelsea's forwards. And the third layer was formed by the 17,000 fans filling the old Kop and creating a steel wall of noise that surely kept out Eidur Gudjohnsen's blazing cross-shot in the sixth and final minute of stoppage time.
A goal at that moment would have sent Chelsea through to the final in Istanbul and they will tell themselves that, on balance, they played the better football. But the facts are that Liverpool did the job they set out to do and Chelsea did not. Now Mourinho's players will return to Stamford Bridge forever ruing their crucial inability to score a goal at home in last week's first leg.
You could only wonder what Sven-Goran Eriksson, watching from his seat in the front row of the directors' box, made of it all, this festival of English passion in which no more than five Englishmen were on the field at the kick-off. If the England manager could capture such emotions and transfer them to the national team, then success at the World Cup next summer would be all but assured.
It was strange how a pair of foreign coaches and the players from 13 other nations represented in the starting line-ups could concoct a match so true to the way in which the English game likes to think of itself. As the ball rocketed from one penalty area to the other, interrupted only by muscular clearances and full-blooded tackles, television audiences in Milan, Madrid, Barcelona and Munich must have been amazed by the mood of furious physical commitment in which the evening was unfolding.
Hemmed in under the angry gaze of the Kop, Chelsea's defenders could not hear themselves think in the opening minutes. As promised, the Liverpool fans were doing their best to provide their team with a 12th man against the newly crowned Premiership champions, their ardour fuelled by tales of the club's glorious past.
Unable to settle themselves down by playing the ball across the line while awaiting the moment to probe a weakness, Chelsea's back four were undone in the fourth minute by nothing more or less than Liverpool's unbridled passion. Communication must have been impossible at the moment when Steven Gerrard's pressure forced Frank Lampard to concede possession inside his own half. A fault-line opened in the blue rearguard and suddenly Liverpool had the goal that would be enough to decide this tie.
For once there was no intervention from the man charged with the primary responsibility for keeping Liverpool's attackers at bay. But when Chelsea gradually recovered their composure and began to piece their game together, Claude Makelele was at the heart of their revival.
Making his 67th Champions League appearance, the little Zaire-born midfielder exerted a significant influence as Chelsea recovered their composure and fought their way back into the first half, abetted by the industrious and selfless Tiago and by Ricardo Carvalho's lightning-fast interceptions. But Lampard, a yard off the pace, failed to take advantage, while Didier Drogba's incorrigible wastefulness constantly presented Liverpool with possession they had no right to expect.
As the second half wore on, the absence of the threat posed in the middle third of the season by Robben and Duff became excruciatingly obvious. Robben's arrival for the final 20 minutes, clearly half-fit, along with the bafflingly hopeless Mateja Kezman and the later insertion of Robert Huth at centre-forward, all demonstrated the extent of Mourinho's desperation. As a piece of tactical thinking it seemed on a par with his decision to send out three substitutes at half-time against Newcastle United in the FA Cup in February, ending up with eight fit men on the pitch and a 1-0 defeat. Not, in fact, the work of a football genius.
Last night, however, he could probably have sent out Roy Bentley, Peter Osgood, Kerry Dixon and Gianfranco Zola without denting Liverpool's resistance in those final minutes. The Kop was breathing its fire into the hearts of the red-shirted defenders now arrayed in front of them and Chelsea's dream of a treble shrivelled in the promised glow. Now, at least, they can relax and enjoy their championship.
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Independent :
Reds march on to Istanbul after bringing Chelsea down to earth Liverpool 1 - Chelsea 0 By Sam Wallace at Anfield 04 May 2005
It was the night that Liverpool had dreamed of but scarcely dared to believe possible and it told us that everything we thought we knew about English football might just be wrong. That Roman Abramovich's money can buy Chelsea the world, that Jose Mourinho is a coach without equal and that Liverpool's days as the kings of Europe are more suited to the history books than the here and now.
The new champions of the Premiership have been beaten and it was a defeated inflicted in thrilling and tense circumstances. Luis Garcia's goal after four minutes set up a night at Anfield that will stand comparison with all the classics this stadium has witnessed. Against a club infinitely blessed with wealth and a staggering 33 points ahead of them in the Premiership, Liverpool claimed their place in the club's sixth European Cup final.
For Rafael Benitez it was a night that will surpass his Uefa Cup triumph with Valencia last year and raises him close to the status of past managers like Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan within a single, astonishing season. And for all the great foreign players who have been brought to Anfield to revive this club, it was Jamie Carragher who stood like a colossus among his Liverpool team-mates to withstand the late Chelsea siege.
It was a night that will be remembered by Liverpool on a par with St-Etienne in 1977 and the thrilling defeat of Roma three years ago and it means that in Istanbul on 25 May, they have a chance to win their fifth European Cup. The banner in the Kop that read "Make us Dream" might have been touched with the sentimentality to which Anfield is prone but now the home support have good reason to hope.
It had been an affront to Anfield tradition that, winning the toss, John Terry chose to defend the goal in front of the Kop. But no one could have expected them to pay for it so quickly. Liverpool's first goal was not quite as swift as the John Arne Riise strike against Chelsea that took just 45 seconds of the Carling Cup final but it was equally devastating and its effect on the atmosphere in the old stadium was quite electrifying.
Riise was the first to break out of the Chelsea midfield on four minutes, dashing towards the area and laying a ball into Steven Gerrard 20 yards from goal. With only one touch, the Liverpool captain sent a flick through the heart of the Chelsea defence towards Milan Baros who was locked in a race for the ball with his Czech Republic team-mate Petr Cech. The Chelsea goalkeeper lost by a fraction.
The touch that Baros applied to the ball did not look enough to have carried it over the line, but with the Liverpool striker comprehensively floored by Cech's challenge, the eye was drawn to the referee, Lubos Michel. In the end, the Slovakian official's refusal to award a penalty was academic: Garcia prodded the ball towards the empty net and on the line William Gallas was adjudged to have failed in his attempt to get the ball clear.
With the crucial camera blocked by Gallas, the television replays were inconclusive but inside Anfield that point was incidental once referee Michel had signalled a goal. The place shook with the noise. In the main stand, the only people left in their seats were Abramovich and his generous entourage.
Their goal did not open the way for Liverpool to dominate the rest of the half, although they succeeded in restricting Chelsea in all the approaches in which the champions have proved dangerous all season. Claude Makelele saw much less of the ball and both Frank Lampard and Eidur Gudjohnsen were immaculately dispossessed by Dietmar Hamann when they looked like they might pose a threat.
But Chelsea's key deficiency was Didier Drogba, who has for some time looked like he might not be the striker to take them towards a historic treble this season. Against the peerless Carragher he was much less than a danger and, at times, bordered on being an irrelevance. Chelsea's players headed for the dressing rooms at half-time without even mustering a single shot on goal.
Mourinho's teams at Porto and Chelsea have achieved nothing without a sense of calm in the tightest of moments yet there was not a great deal of serenity in the second half.
Even with Lampard and Gudjohnsen attempting to impose some order in the centre of midfield, the Premiership champions seemed unable to summon enough composure to connect more than five passes. After the hour, Drogba shanked a promising free-kick into the Kop.
It was 67 minutes before Chelsea struck a shot at Jerzy Dudek's goal - a Lampard free-kick which the Polish keeper did well to turn wide. Twice in the closing stages the substitute Djibril Cisse broke clear to run on goal and missed. Carragher and then Gerrard robbed the ball from Arjen Robben in the closing stages. Six minutes added time invoked fury and then, at the death, Gudjohnsen drove the last chance wide. On the final whistle: Red joy
Liverpool (4-4-1-1): Dudek; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore; Garcia (Nuez, 84), Hamann (Kewell, 73), Biscan, Riise; Gerrard; Baros (Cisse, 59). Substitutes not used: Carson (gk), Smicer, Warnock, Welsh.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Geremi (Huth, 76), Terry, Carvalho, Gallas; Makelele; Cole (Robben, 67), Tiago (Kezman, 67), Lampard, Gudjohnsen; Drogba. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Johnson, Forssell, Nuno Morais.
Referee: L Michel (Slovakia).
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Sun:
Liverpool 1 Chelsea 0 By SUNSPORT ONLINE REPORTER
LUIS GARCIA fired Liverpool into the Champions League final after a pulsating clash at Anfield.
The Spaniard netted after just four minutes to put Rafa Benitez's men through to the final in Istanbul on May 25.
But Garcia's winner was surrounded in controversy as Chelsea protested that it had not crossed the line.
Jose Mourinho's side also wasted a glorious chance to go through in the SIXTH MINUTE of injury time when Eidur Gudjohnsen fired wide of an open goal from inside the six yard box.
After last week's 0-0 stalemate at Stamford Bridge the last thing anybody expected was an early goal, but Liverpool seized the initiative.
Steven Gerrard played a delightful first-time ball over the top to Milan Baros.
The Czech ace was taken out by Chelsea keeper Petr Cech but referee Lubos Michel allowed play to continue.
Garcia hooked the ball goalwards and the linesman ruled his effort had gone over the line despite William Gallas' desperate goal-line clearance. TV replays were inconclusive, but it appearad the ball had just gone over.
Baros was in the book three minutes later for a knee-high tackle on Ricardo Carvalho.
Having given his side the lead Garcia almost gifted Chelsea an equaliser midway through the first half.
He was caught in possession on the edge of his own box by Frank Lampard who fed a ball through to Joe Cole.
The England midfielder made good ground but the angle was acute and he lifted his shot over Jerzy Dudek but wide.
Chelsea dominated possession in the opening period but created very little as they came up against a wall of red shirts camped on the edge of the Liverpool area.
It was the same at the start of the second half as it became attack against defence.
Kop central defender Jamie Carragher was simply awesome at the back as Liverpool saw off wave after wave of Chelsea attacks.
A tiring Milan Baros was replaced by Djibril Cisse on the hour.
Two minutes later Drogba curled a free-kick just over the bar as Dudek waited to make his first save of the night.
Gudjohnsen then fired over from 25 yards as Chelsea became increasingly desperate.
Liverpool conceded another free-kick in a dangerous position on 68 minutes and this time Dudek was called into action.
Lampard's free-kick was sweetly struck and heading for the bottom left corner. But the Pole made a superb save at full stretch to turn the shot round the post.
Carvalho escaped a booking for a foul on substitute Harry Kewell which would have forced him to miss the final had Chelsea made it to Istanbul.
Jose Mourinho introduced fit-again Arjen Robben for the disappointing Joe Cole and Mateja Kezman for Tiago.
Robben was instantly in the action, seeing one effort superbly blocked by Carragher and then firing over.
In a last act of desperation by the Blues, centre-back Robert Huth was sent on up front in place of Geremi.
But the next chance fell at the other end as Djimi Traore's cross dropped perfectly for Cisse. The Frenchman's header was weak and straight at Cech.
Chelsea then wasted a glorious opening of their own. Drogba looked odds on to bury Robben's centre from the left, but he missed the ball completely and it rebounded off Traore to safety.
Carvalho was almost caught out at the back on a rare Liverpool raid. He gifted the ball to Cisse but his shot was deflected just wide of the post with Cech scrambling across his goal.
Chelsea should have levelled deep into injury time. Terry launched himself to win a header in the box and Dudek flapped at the ball, gifting Gudjohnsen an incredible opening at the far post.
But staring at an open goal he snatched at his shot and it went inches wide.
DREAM TEAM STAR MAN: JOHN ARNE RIISE (Liverpool).
Liverpool: Dudek, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Hamann (Kewell 73), Biscan, Luis Garcia (Nunez 84), Riise, Gerrard, Baros (Cisse 60). Subs: Carson, Smicer, Warnock, Welsh.
Chelsea: Cech, Geremi (Huth 76), Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Gallas, Tiago, Makelele, Lampard, Cole (Robben 68), Drogba (Kezman 68), Gudjohnsen. Subs: Cudicini, Johnson, Forssell, Nuno Morais.
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Telegraph:
Glorious Liverpool a big noise again By Henry Winter at Anfield (Filed: 04/05/2005)
In pictures: Garcia sends Liverpool through
Liverpool (1) 1 Chelsea (0) 0 Agg: 1-0
This was the magical night when Liverpool Football Club found themselves again, when they lived up to the weighty legacy of their glorious past and played with unyielding belief to reach the May 25 final of the Champions League.
Clincher: John Terry watches Luis Garcia's shot head for goal Driven on by the magnificent Didi Hamann, Liverpool ran the Chelsea juggernaut off the road to Istanbul. And the noise was just incredible.
Either PSV Eindhoven or AC Milan await on the banks of the Bosphorus but Liverpool will fear no one now. Luis Garcia's early strike did the damage, but this was an evening of red-shirted gladiators all over the pitch. Hamann was immense in midfield, Steven Gerrard and John Arne Riise not far behind in influence. In defence, the magnificent Jamie Carragher stood firm as Jose Mourinho's astonishing Champions League run ended.
Building for two hours from the moment the turnstiles clicked open, a wave of unbelievable noise had rolled into Chelsea's players, knocking them back, scrambling their senses and lifting Liverpool, who immediately seized the initiative in this all-Premiership passion play through Garcia's lightning strike.
John Terry and company had not needed to glance up at the sign in the tunnel reminding them that "This is Anfield". The pillars and rafters of this famous stadium were shaking as the songs, screams and chants cascaded down from all sides. This could only be Anfield on a major European evening. Even Roman Abramovich, the man with all the riches, looked on awestruck. Money cannot buy tradition like this.
Feeding on the fervour of their support, Liverpool were sharper, hungrier, high on adrenalin, on tempo, and on ambition, certainly in the first half. Within four minutes the fired-up hosts were ahead. Inevitably, Gerrard was involved, flicking the ball brilliantly over the thick blue line of Chelsea's defence for Milan Baros to chase. Petr Cech raced from his line, Czech keeper against Czech striker with no mercy allowed for a compatriot.
The collision was bone-juddering. Cech clattered Baros as the Liverpool forward poked the ball over him. Cech should have been dismissed but Lubos Michel waved play on, allowing Garcia to dart in to apply the coup de grce.
William Gallas hooked the ball away but the Slovak linesman, Roman Slysko, ruled it had crossed the line. Four separate television angles proved inconclusive, making it even more of a massive decision by Michel and his linesman.
Chelsea, deprived of Damien Duff and with Arjen Robben starting on the bench, struggled to find their stride. Liverpool dominated the half, snapping into tackles, launching counter-attacks, matching their fans' fervour.
Hamann was superb, shielding the back four as if his career, let alone his season, depended on it. The German resembles an unassuming academic but he could give the toughest of warriors a lecture in steely defiance. Challenge after challenge was unleashed on those in blue who dared enter his domain; Frank Lampard and Eidur Gudjohnsen were both dispossessed by Hamann tackles brimming with timing and commitment.
Stunned, Chelsea looked for an outlet but Didier Drogba was too sluggish, even wasting a wonderful Joe Cole pass midway through a frenetic first half.
Cole, commendably, and Lampard, inevitably, sought to fight through the red-tinged storm, trying desperately to drag Chelsea back into contention. Lampard even lost his habitual composure with officialdom, ordering Michel to watch some of the Liverpool tackles.
In truth, there was little malicious about the challenges from the men in red. Hamann and Gerrard, Igor Biscan and Carragher simply took the sight of a Chelsea player in possession as an affront to them personally and Liverpool collectively.
Every Chelsea touch drew relentless derision, every time Mourinho stepped into the technical area he was greeted with the sort of abuse that would make even Wayne Rooney blush.
One banner hanging from the Anfield Road stand read "Away You Go Mourinho", which was the politest welcome.
Mourinho's Liverpool counterpart, Benitez, was constantly up from his seat, gesticulating at his players, vicariously sharing every kick and emotion with them. They love Benitez here. A Spanish flag adorned the Kop emblazoned with "Vote Rafa". No Euro-sceptics here.
The Kop were at their colourful best, all manner of messages carried on sheets and banners. "Make Us Dream" read one. All Merseyside society was here; Steve McManaman had come from Manchester, Michael Owen from Madrid. No one wanted to miss this. Yet tense times lay ahead.
As the second half unfolded, Chelsea were beginning to gain in danger, at last stitching together some counter-attacks. But Hamann would not let them pass, blocking a shot from Cole and then sliding in to spirit the ball away from the charging Gudjohnsen.
Still Chelsea pressed, Drogba and Gudjohnsen both shooting over from range.
Then came Lampard just after the hour mark, hitting a free kick low and hard, the ball accelerating goalwards until Jerzy Dudek dropped to his right to push it to safety.
Mourinho had to make his move. Robben raced on, so did Mateja Kezman. Chelsea were laying siege to Dudek's area and only a fine interception by Carragher prevented the ball reaching Drogba. Carragher then thwarted Robben.
And still Chelsea came, Drogba heading wide, but Liverpool hit back, lifting the siege and Djibril Cisse twice went close. Six minutes of injury time had to be negotiated. And then, as Anfield held its breath, the well-placed Gudjohnsen shot wide, Michel blew for full time and Anfield just went crazy.
Match details
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Dudek; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore; Hamann (Kewell 72), Biscan; Garcia (Nunez 83), Gerrard, Riise; Baros (Cisse 58). Subs: Carson (g), Smicer, Nunez, Warnock, Welsh. Booked: Baros. Chelsea (4-1-2-2-1): Cech; Geremi (Huth 75), Carvalho, Terry, Gallas; Makelele; Tiago (Kezman 67), Lampard; J Cole (Robben 67), Gudjohnsen; Drogba. Subs: Cudicini (g), Johnson, Forssell, Nuno Morais. Referee: L Michel (Slovakia).
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Times:
Garca gives Liverpool a night to remember By Oliver Kay Liverpool 1 Chelsea 0 (Liverpool win 1-0 on agg) THIRTEEN years ago, in the days when Chelsea's idea of an expensive overseas import was Dmitri Kharine, an upstart named Vinnie Jones dared to scrawl graffiti on the "This is Anfield" sign that was put in the players' tunnel by the late, great Bill Shankly. "We're bothered," Jones wrote after helping the Londoners to their first victory there in decades, but it is doubtful that Chelsea's class of 2005 will forget being brought down to earth as the old ground reverberated last night with a passionate fervour not witnessed in 20 years. Whatever they go on to achieve under Jose Mourinho, Chelsea and their billionaire owner learnt last night that there are some things money cannot buy. Four famous Scousers once sang that it can't buy you love, but add to that the type of passion that was required to propel Liverpool into their first European Cup final since 1985. Mourinho had shaken his head when asked whether the Kop could be the opposition's twelfth man, but instead they proved to be Liverpool's ninth, tenth and eleventh, inspiring players such as Djimi Traore and Igor Biscan to play like the immortals that they might now become.
The legitimacy of Luis Garca's fourth-minute goal was fiercely questioned by Chelsea's players, but above all it was a sense of local pride, embodied on the pitch by Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard, that tipped the scales in Liverpool's favour. They might not be good enough to triumph in the final on May 25, when their opponents will almost certainly be AC Milan, but their mere presence in Istanbul will be enough to restore much of the pride that the club have lost in the years since their ill-fated previous European Cup final.
In reality, win or lose, Istanbul will be the end of the road for some of these Liverpool players, men such as Jerzy Dudek and Milan Baros, whose efforts for much of this season have convinced Rafael Bentez that they need to be replaced. It might not even signify the start of something, given that the 33-point gap that separates them from Chelsea in the Barclays Premiership will be difficult to bridge, but even if it proves to be nothing more than a glorious one-off, it will be savoured by the supporters.
In his efforts to play down the Kop factor, Mourinho, laughably, had sought comparison with the atmosphere his team had overcome at Anfield on New Year's Day, when Merseyside was nursing a collective hangover. This was a completely different proposition, the home supporters creating such a din that the Chelsea coach might have struggled to make himself heard in the dressing-room. As two of his players, William Gallas and Didier Drogba, failed to emerge until after the pre-match rigmarole had begun, it seemed for a moment that perhaps they had decided against making an appearance.
John Terry may have felt that he had scored a minor psychological blow by winning the toss and forcing the home team to play towards the Kop in the first half, but, if anything, it worked in Liverpool's favour. Within four minutes the energy drawing Liverpool towards their goal had become palpable as Gerrard's flicked pass spread panic through the Chelsea defence and gave Baros a clear run on Petr Cech. Baros lifted the ball over his fellow Czech and was impeded as he did so, but Garca knocked the loose ball goalwards and it was deemed to have crossed the line before Gallas could clear.
The goal sparked brief protests from Chelsea's players, but a sense of injustice was soon replaced by a desire to make amends. They quickly regained their composure, Claude Makelele using all his experience and knowhow to give them a foothold in midfield, but they struggled to find a way through a Liverpool defence in which Carragher, yet again, was outstanding. Drogba, sent clear by Joe Cole, had half an opening in the sixteenth minute but was tackled by Dietmar Hamann just as he was preparing to shoot.
It was becoming a classic, not in terms of incident but in terms of drama. The problem for Liverpool was that Chelsea were starting to monopolise possession. Chances remained scarce, but the home team were retreating ominously. It seemed a risky tactic, but it paid off, with Carragher, Steve Finnan and Sami Hyypia keeping Chelsea at arm's length.
Remarkably, it took until the 68th minute for Dudek, redundant at Stamford Bridge, to make his first save of the tie, diving full length to keep out a free kick from Lampard.
Arjen Robben gave Chelsea a more penetrative edge, immediately producing a shot that was blocked by the redoubtable Carragher, but Mourinho was not happy with what he was seeing, his histrionics on the touchline making even Bentez seem relaxed.
Finally, the Portuguese sent on Robert Huth as an emergency striker, a desperate measure that almost reaped dividends when the ball fell to Eidur Gudjohnsen in stoppage time. The forward dragged his shot across goal, a miss that was justice, the Kop will say, for his part in Xabi Alonso's suspension for a yellow card in the first leg.
Liverpool might have been without the influential Spaniard last night, but they got by with a little help from their friends.
LIVERPOOL
4-3-2-1
JERZY DUDEK 6/10 Had little to do in a tense first period but was more than a match for a thunderous Lampard free kick in the second. Bad punch late on
STEVE FINNAN 7/10
Tenacious in the tackle and troublesome when he did elect to venture forward. Gudjohnsen, Cole and Robben got little change out of him
JAMIE CARRAGHER 8/10
Mr Dependable yet again. Nullified what little threat Chelsea did pose. Imposing in the air, menacing in the tackle and poised with the pass
SAMI HYYPIA 7/10
Won his aerial battle with Drogba comfortably, the Finn formed an impenetrable back wall with Carragher that never looked like being broken
DJIMI TRAOR 6/10
One of his better performances in a Liverpool shirt; his shambolic showing in the FA Cup against Burnley will be but a distant memory
DIETMAR HAMANN 6/10
Marshalled the midfield well. Allowed Lampard little time to settle, so much so that no one might have known that Xabi Alonso was missing
IGOR BISCAN 5/10
Held his position in midfield well, without really posing a threat. He is gradually earning cult status with the Kop, at least in Europe
STEVEN GERRARD 6/10
A delightful through-pass for Baros that led to Liverpool's goal capped a solid night's work for the captain. Will he want to go to Chelsea now? JOHN ARNE RIISE 6/10
Played an important part in the goal and patrolled the left flank well. He kept Tiago's involvement down to a bare minimum
LUIS GARCA 7/10
If the Spaniard continues scoring in Europe like this, he will soon be as popular as The Beatles. Showed great speed and awareness for his goal
MILAN BAROS 7/10
Always a willing runner, the Czech Republic forward led the line superbly. Stole away well from Carvalho to set up Liverpool's goal
Substitutes: Djibril Cisse (for Baros, 60min): Was unlucky not to add a second goal late on. Harry Kewell (for Hamann, 73): Provided an outlet up front but struggled to get into the game. Antonio Nez (for Garca, 84): No time to make an impact.
Substitutes not used: Scott Carson, Vladimir Smicer, Stephen Warnock, John Welsh. Booked: Baros
CHELSEA
4-1-4-1
PETR CECH 4/10
Wonderful all season but looked awfully hesitant when trying to beat Baros to the ball for Liverpool's goal, an error that proved costly
GRMI 4/10
Was well pegged back by Riise and as a consequence struggled to get forward. Never really got into the game
RICARDO CARVALHO 4/10
Should have prevented Liverpool's goal by closing down Baros but was caught terribly out of position. An evening to forget
JOHN TERRY 5/10
The player of the year was given a torrid time late on by Cisse and never got to grips with Baros. Not what is expected of the England man
WILLIAM GALLAS 4/10
Was given the runaround by Garca. Never could shackle the Spaniard, despite a valiant attempt to clear Liverpool's goal on the line
TIAGO 3/10
Looked more like a man who would have rather been watching on television. Squandered ball carelessly on the rare occasions he had it
CLAUDE MAKELELE 5/10
Provided some defensive cover, but not enough. Gerrard managed to sneak through on occasion. Not one of the Frenchman's best games
FRANK LAMPARD 6/10
Worked hard and always willing. But for a thunderbolt of a free kick, the England player never grabbed game by the scruff of the neck
EIDUR GUDJOHNSEN 4/10
Started brightly enough but faded. Normally so adept at supporting the lone front man, he looked out of sorts and his shooting was feeble
DIDIER DROGBA 4/10 Cut a forlorn figure alone up front. Was starved of service but still rarely looked like troubling Liverpool's magnificent centre-half pairing
JOE COLE 5/10
A willing runner in the first period but faded thereafter. This was the Joe Cole of old very showy but little substance
Substitutes: Arjen Robben (for Cole, 68): Should have scored late on but skied over the crossbar; Mateja Kezman (for Tiago, 68): Never got into the game; Robert Huth (for Geremi, 75): In the thick of it as soon as he came on, nearly helped Chelsea to an equaliser. Substitutes not used: Carlo Cudicini, Glen Johnson, Mikael Forssell, Nuno Morais. Referee: Lubos Michel (Slovakia)
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