morning papers everton fa cup replay

The Guardian Jon Brodkin at Stamford Bridge Thursday February 9, 2006 Robben keeps his feet as Everton fall Both halves of Merseyside will be feeling the impact of Jose Mourinho this morning. No sooner had the Chelsea manager offered a testy riposte to Rafa Bentez's criticism of Arjen Robben than his players set about tearing Everton to pieces. It will have delighted Mourinho not only that Robben showed the more positive side to his game last night but that Shaun Wright-Phillips looked more like the carefree, confident player he signed. Chelsea were far too quick, strong and clever for a fragile Everton and this replay was effectively over by half-time, with the Premiership champions 3-0 ahead and strolling towards a fifth-round game at home to Colchester United thanks to a combination of impressive attacking and woeful defending. Mourinho's team still have a treble in their sights and here was proof that, after an indifferent spell, they are touching the heights again. Mourinho feels his team did not receive the credit they deserved for Sunday's victory over Liverpool because attention focused on the Robben furore, and took a swipe at Bentez in his programme notes. Liverpool's manager was heavily critical of Robben for falling to the turf after receiving a light push on the throat from Jose Reina, who was sent off. "Liverpool question the moral actions of our player but I do not remember them questioning anyone last May when the ball did not cross the line and the players of the attacking team were running to the officials putting pressure on them to give a goal," Mourinho wrote in reference to the Luis Garca goal against Chelsea which took Liverpool to the Champions League final. Interestingly, in an episode deepening the rivalry between the clubs, he did not defend Robben's actions. Robben deserved only praise for his efforts here, which included a well-taken opening goal from a move of high quality and constant thrusts or passes of danger. A Chelsea side missing a handful of regulars looking capable of scoring almost every time they attacked, it was impossible to reconcile Everton with a team who arrived on a nine-game unbeaten run. David Moyes' team were not helped by a bizarre ankle injury to Richard Wright in the warm-up, giving the third-choice Iain Turner a difficult debut. Wright was warming up in the goal in front of Everton's fans despite a large wooden sign requesting he use temporary nets close by. He moved the sign into the net and fell on it when he stretched to make a save, turning his ankle. For Wright, who injured himself almost three years ago after tumbling out of a loft, this was a bitter blow at a time when he hoped to re-establish himself. Moyes said an X-ray showed the goalkeeper did not suffer a break. Turner could not be faulted and saved Everton from heavier punishment. More experienced players let him down, including the full-back Nuno Valente, who was substituted at the interval as Everton were overwhelmed by a side passing at pace and with accuracy, mixing direct football with a more measured build-up. Frank Lampard was excellent in directing play and Robben and Wright-Phillips gave their opponents a difficult time with their pace and trickery on the flanks. The sight of Wright-Phillips playing with freedom and belief was encouraging. He has endured a tough time since his move from Manchester City and has started only 10 matches but here an improved performance was summed up when he eluded three opponents and was fouled by Valente to win the penalty from which Lampard made it 2-0. These were good signs for Chelsea and England, even if Wright-Phillips still sometimes took thw wrong option. No Everton player had a similar ability to take an opponent regularly out of the game and, after failing to turn promising early possession into chances, they quickly found the match beyond them. Robben put them ahead excellently, steering a shot past Turner after the influential Hernan Crespo collected a pass from Eidur Gudjohnsen on his chest and flicked it into his path. After making it 2-0, Lampard swung over a free-kick which Everton defended so awfully that the closest player to Crespo was a team-mate as he diverted in a near-post header. James Beattie, who left at half-time with a calf problem, wasted Everton's first chance not long before the interval. Though Moyes' players showed spirit in the second half, they still lacked a cutting edge and looked vulnerable. "The second half was a bit more like us," the manager said, though. "The first half wasn't." Mikel Arteta scored with a penalty after Robert Huth handled a James McFadden shot, but there was an Chelsea instant response with Huth's blocked free-kick falling for John Terry to blast in. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Independent : Chelsea 4 Everton 1: Wright-Phillips fires Chelsea's creative instinct By Sam Wallace, Football Correspondent Published: 09 February 2006 He managed to keep his counsel for three days, but on the fourth Jose Mourinho could hold back no longer. He launched a stinging riposte to Liverpool's condemnation of Arjen Robben last night and then his team set about savaging Everton. After beating Liverpool in the Premiership on Sunday, Chelsea have quelled the whole of Merseyside within the space of four days and, with a dazzling performance from Shaun Wright-Phillips, this time they did it in style. Colchester United of League One await in the FA Cup fifth round on 19 February, a novel way for the Premiership champions to prepare for the visit of Barcelona in the Champions' League three days later. Play like they did last night and Chelsea will not need to fear either lower-league Essex men or the pride of Catalonia. Their assistant manager Steve Clarke said afterwards that his club do not get the recognition their achievements deserve - last night was a performance with scarcely a blemish. Robben scored the first on 22 minutes, a beautiful piece of work that saw Hernan Crespo guide Eidur Gudjohnsen's long ball into the path of the Dutch winger. Robben was substituted after the hour and hugged by his manager before he departed down the tunnel, but even the Dutchman at his marauding best was eclipsed by Wright-Phillips who made his first start since 7 January and played his first-ever 90 minutes in a Chelsea shirt. In his programme notes Mourinho claimed the Liverpool manager, Rafael Benitez, had attempted to cover up his team's defeat by criticising Chelsea. Mourinho raged against the English press - "not in love with us" - and Sky television, but he stopped short of a direct defence of Robben, who went down after being pushed by the Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina, who was sent off. Instead, Mourinho pointed out that Liverpool had not complained when Luis Garcia scored the winning goal in the second leg of the Champions' League semi-final at Anfield in May - which was later shown not to have crossed the line. "Liverpool question the moral actions of our player," Mourinho said. "But I do not remember them questioning anyone last May when the ball did not cross the line and the players of the attacking team were running to the officials putting pressure on them to give a goal. Maybe we are living in two different worlds. But that's life and we have to live with it. The better we are, the more difficult it is." He gave ironic praise to Benitez for what the Chelsea manager saw as diversionary tactics after a defeat that effectively ended Liverpool's slim title hopes. "Great managers are intelligent," Mourinho wrote. "So after the game when they were well beaten by us he ... speaks about Reina, and talks the details out of the great game Chelsea have played." Reina may have considered himself unlucky, but he was certainly no worse off than last night's visiting goalkeeper Richard Wright, who injured himself in the warm-up and was replaced by the 21-year-old debutant Iain Turner. Wright had ignored a sign in the goalmouth asking him to practise in a temporary goal and, having moved it back, caught his ankle on it when he jumped for a cross. For a player who once lost his place in the Everton team after injuring himself falling out of his loft, it was a cruel blow but, having watched his replacement concede three goals by half-time, he may have felt that he had a lucky escape. Wright-Phillips tormented Everton's left-back Nuno Valente and he had dribbled past three defenders before the Portuguese international made a poorly timed challenge on the winger on 36 minutes. From the penalty spot Frank Lampard scored Chelsea's second before Everton's defence was motionless in the 39th minute when Lampard's cross was edged home by the gentlest of touches from Crespo's head. James Beattie made an appalling mess of the away side's best first half chance on 40 minutes when he was slow to trap a ball four yards out and hoofed his shot far over the bar. Everton claimed a goal back when Robert Huth handled substitute James McFadden's shot and Mikel Arteta slipped in the penalty on 71 minutes. The German international played a part in Chelsea's fourth when he rammed an artless free-kick into the Everton wall and the rebound fell to John Terry who volleyed home from inside the area. Clarke gave a feisty defence of his club's reputation, complaining Reina's original bad tackle on Gudjohnsen was "not even mentioned. We gave another high-level performance on Sunday and we didn't get the credit," he said. "There wasn't a lot talked about the football or that we had beaten one of top rivals." Today should at least be different. Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cudicini; Johnson, Huth, Terry, Gallas; Essien; Wright-Phillips, Gudjohnsen, Lampard (Geremi, 79), Robben (Cole, 63); Crespo (Maniche, h-t). Substitutes not used: Cech (gk), Del Horno. Everton (4-4-1-1) Turner; Hibbert, Weir, Ferrari, Valente (Davies, h-t); Arteta, Cahill, Neville, Kilbane; Osman (Carsley, 83); Beattie (McFadden, h-t).Substitute not used: Naysmith. Referee: P Dowd (Staffordshire). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Telegraph : Stylish Chelsea sail through By Henry Winter Chelsea (3) 4 Everton (0) 1 Often criticised for delivering only three-star wins, Chelsea put on a Ritz-like performance last night, showing pace, power and fabulous finishing to set up an FA Cup fifth-round meeting with Colchester United. For Arjen Robben, who set Chelsea on their way with a superb first, it was a sweet night after the furore over his tumble against Liverpool on Sunday. Another team from Merseyside, another push-over, this time an impressive one as Robben brushed Everton aside. On a dispiriting night for the visitors, Everton's cause had not been assisted by the injury sustained by Richard Wright in the warm-up. The keeper turned his ankle, and hobbled away to be replaced by Iain Turner. The promising young Scot, recruited for a nominal fee from Stirling Albion and present because of Nigel Martyn's thigh strain, could have wished for an easier place to make his Everton debut, and he was soon being bombarded. Three down by the break, it could even have been worse. Even before Robben came calling with such devastating effect in the 23rd minute, Turner was busy, reacting smartly to long-range efforts from Lampard, Wright-Phillips, Robben and Gudjohnsen. Far from fazed by the demands, Turner looked reasonably assured, although he was grateful to the typically determined Tony Hibbert for clearing Robert Huth's powerful header off the line. The pace and precision of Chelsea's movement was beginning to stretch and alarm Everton. Superb technical dexterity defined the hosts' opening goal, setting the scene for Chelsea's rampant superiority. The move was begun by Gudjohnsen, showing fine touch and vision to pick out another clever run from Crespo. The Argentine, lurking around the 18-yard line, met the ball with exceptional control, chesting it down and then flicking it into the path of Robben, the flowing Dutchman. The Shed was treated to more sumptuous skills unfolding in front of them: Robben accepted possession with a velvet touch and finished with a brutal touch, the ball fired across poor Turner. Robben's left foot is a remarkable weapon in Chelsea's well-stocked armoury. Now, to the Bridge's delight, it was the turn of Chelsea's other touchline flier to show. Wright-Phillips, enjoying a rare start, was a bundle of tricks and trouble for Nuno Valente, Everton's startled right-back whose substitution at half-time appeared an act of mercy by David Moyes. His speed having already accounted for Kevin Kilbane, Wright-Phillips raced into the box where he was caught by Nuno Valente. Everton were distraught, knowing all hope of continued FA Cup involvement had all but disappeared down the Thames. Phil Neville certainly knew what lay immediately in store as he tossed the ball to Lampard, like a condemned man handing an axe to the executioner. Lampard is used to playing the role from the spot, and drilled his low penalty to Turner's right. Lampard's capacity to breathe such vivid life into a dead ball was seen again before half-time. Lining up a free-kick on the left, the England international targeted the near-post with a fizzing delivery met by the subtlest of headed flicks by Crespo, a forward with an honours degree in reading the game. Crespo's 24th goal in 38 Chelsea starts encapsulated why he is such a feared predator: the blend of timing, thought, and deft technique again destroyed a defence. His finish contrasted with James Beattie's hopeless miss moments later, the Everton striker lifting the ball horribly over. It proved Beattie's final involvement, the striker being removed at half-time. So was Crespo, rested before the Barcelona assignment. Gudjohnsen, such a versatile footballer, pushed upfront as Maniche slotted into midfield. Within minutes Gudjohnsen was threatening, running on to Robben's wonderful pass, and being denied only by the alert reactions of Turner. Then came Robben, sprinting through and clearly caught from behind by Hibbert. Robben stumbled but stayed on his feet, but the danger passed. It was a clear penalty. Maybe Robben was paying the price for a reputation as a diver. Mourinho soon took him off, giving Robben a huge hug to remind the world of his appreciation. Everton came to life and they pulled one back 18 minutes from time. When James McFadden's shot was clearly handled by Huth, Mikel Arteta inflicted full punishment form the spot. Angered, Chelsea restored their three-goal cushion in spectacular fashion. Huth's free-kick was blocked but Terry latched on to the loose ball, smashing it into the net in style. Team details Chelsea (4-1-2-2-1): Cudicini; Johnson, Huth, Terry, Gallas; Essien; Gudjohnsen, Lampard (Geremi 79); Wright-Phillips, Robben (J Cole 63); Crespo (Maniche, h-t). Subs: Cech (g), Del Horno. Booked: Gallas. Everton (4-1-3-2): Turner; Hibbert, Weir, Ferrari, Nuno Valente (Davies, h-t); P Neville; Arteta, Cahill, Kilbane; Osman (Carsley 82), Beattie (McFadden, h-t). Subs: Naysmith, Anichebe. Booked: Nuno Valente, Cahill, Carsley. Referee: P Dowd (Staffordshire) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Times: Wright-Phillips takes chance to show off undoubted class By Matt Dickinson, Chief Football Correspondent Chelsea 4 Everton 1 ARJEN ROBBEN'S contribution was bound to be closely scrutinised last night, which probably explains why he kept his feet even when fouled in the penalty area. But the performance of Shaun Wright-Phillips may have had the wider significance. Not just for Jose Mourinho or Chelsea, who will require all of their fringe players as they continue to fight on three fronts, but also for England, who will need their full attacking artillery at the World Cup finals this summer. Admittedly against easily outgunned opponents in last night's FA Cup fourth-round replay, Wright-Phillips gave a reminder of his talent as well as his existence. If the winger could be accused of selfishness at times, it was hardly surprising given that he has hardly seen a ball for months. This was only his third start since November and his first full 90 minutes since his £21 million transfer from Manchester City. Mourinho gave him a kiss on the forehead as he walked off, although the winger should bear in mind that his next start is more likely to be against Colchester United in the fifth round than Barcelona in the Champions League. Chelsea are gathering the form and momentum to carry them through both diverse challenges and Everton were swatted aside with three goals in 17 first-half minutes. The visiting team's evening had got off to a troubling start when they lost Richard Wright before kick-off. The former England goalkeeper was deputising for the injured Nigel Martyn but tripped over a sign telling him that, because of the state of the pitch, he could not practise in the goalmouth. He once hurt himself stepping down from his loft, so this was not his most unusual injury. It left Iain Turner with about ten minutes to prepare for his debut. "Good luck. He's going to need it," the master of pre-match ceremonies said. As predictions go, it was as accurate as it was arrogant. Turner had picked the ball out of his net three times by half-time, but this was not a case of a young player being overcome with nerves. The Scotland Under-21 goalkeeper, an imposing 6ft 4in, acquitted himself impressively. He could do nothing about any of the goals, the first featuring an instant return to the headlines for Robben. Set up by a wonderful flick from Hernan Crespo, he stayed on his feet long enough to slip the ball past Turner. It did not wipe out his antics against Liverpool but provided a reminder that he brings flair to Mourinho's side. So, too, Wright-Phillips. Full of penetrative running, he created Chelsea's second goal when his dash through the penalty area was ended by a daft, crude foul by Nuno Valente. Frank Lampard was his usual composed self with the spot kick and four minutes later it was 3-0 as Lampard whipped a free kick towards the near post. Crespo, unmarked, supplied a feint touch with his curly locks to beat Turner. Chris Woods, Everton's goalkeeping coach, approached the 22-year-old as he made his way off at the interval, presumably to tell him that he was far less culpable than some more senior colleagues. James Beattie's only significant contribution had been to shoot comically high over the crossbar and, complaining of a calf injury, he made way at the break along with the hapless Valente. Mourinho also decided to tinker, although the withdrawal of Crespo was to give the striker a break, given that Didier Drogba is still required by Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations. With Eidur Gudjohnsen moving up front, Stamford Bridge prepared for the rout, but the next goal was to come at the other end when James McFadden's shot was blocked by Robert Huth's arm. Mikel Arteta dispatched the penalty. The goal provoked an instant response from Chelsea, who restored their lead when Huth's free kick was deflected to John Terry. The Chelsea captain's shot into the far, top corner was stunning in its ferocity. The scouts from Barcelona, and not just Colchester, had plenty to mull over. CHELSEA (4-3-3): C Cudicini G Johnson, J Terry, R Huth, W Gallas E Gudjohnsen, M Essien, F Lampard (sub: Geremi, 80min) S Wright-Phillips, H Crespo (sub: Maniche, 46), A Robben (sub: J Cole, 64). Substitutes not used: P Cech, A Del Horno. Booked: Gallas. EVERTON (4-4-1-1): I Turner T Hibbert, D Weir, M Ferrari, N Valente (sub: S Davies, 46) M Arteta, T Cahill, P Neville, K Kilbane L Osman J Beattie (sub: J McFadden, 46). Substitutes not used: G Naysmith, L Carsley, V Anichebe. Booked: Valente, Cahill, Carsley. Referee: P Dowd.