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Gudjohnsen lifts Blues from their lethargyAmy Lawrence at Stamford BridgeSunday February 26, 2006The ObserverSubstitutes' benches are instructive barometers of the strength ofclub nowadays. That Portsmouth's contained a smattering ofinternational experience was encouraging - until you compared it toChelsea's: Claude Makelele, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Damien Duff. All came onto turn Chelsea from sloppy to serious.This was not their most refined performance by any means, but as ameans to an end this was a decent afternoon for Chelsea. If theircountdown to the title is echoed by Portsmouth's slide towards theChampionship, at least their opponents can take heart from the qualityof their fight.Any inkling that Portsmouth represented an anti-climax after Barcelonawas not of interest to Chelsea's manager. Jose Mourinho was animatedon the touchline, barking instructions at players who were lessenergised after their midweek exertions. He scowled, he scribbledfurious notes, and then he made a no-nonsense substitution. Asier DelHorno, the recipient of more than one earful during a lacklustre firsthalfhour, lasted even fewer minutes here than he managed three daysearlier.Affronted by perceived injustice when the £8m full-back was dismissedin the Champions League, this time Mourinho was short of sympathy. DelHorno's number was up in the 31st minute, as he gave way to Duff. Bythen Mourinho had realised that three defenders were sufficientagainst an under-confident team.And that more offensive power was necessary.Portsmouth were so ravaged by defensive injuries that Harry Redknappplayed Norwegian Azar Karadas - a striker - in the heart of his backfour. Marking Didier Drogba, he started off in remarkably assuredfashion.Early on Drogba was nudged in the back and went flying, rolling, andclutching his face before he limped off. The word theatre sprang to
With more focus, Chelsea could have been comfortably ahead by halftime. Dean Kiely excelled in throwing various body parts at a varietyof shots. Frank Lampard wasted an opportunity after Arjen Robben hadwriggled into space and seen his shot blocked - the first of threeefforts from the Dutchman in the first 45 minutes. Portsmouth survivedtheir biggest scare when John Terry\'s bullet header struck Kiely onthe chest.It would get more surprising.Redknapp fuelled his men with a sense a derring do at half time, andthey emerged for the second half in high spirits, biting at Chelsea,closing down and passing the ball more fluently.Chelsea were vulnerable to the counter attack, and Robert Huth\'ssuperb tackle spared Terry\'s blushes when Lomana LuaLua dashed onto apoor back header from his partner. At the other end Kiely again proveddefiant, dealing confidently with Shaun Wright- Phillips\'s drive andLampard\'s follow-up.Chelsea missed the midfield authority they possess when Makelele orGudjohnsen are on the pitch. On the hour, Mourinho addressed thatproblem with another meaningful substitution. On came the old headsfor the impotent Joe Cole and Wright-Phillips.Within four minutes the difference was demonstrated. Drogba chargedforward and poked a pass across the face of goal and Gudjohnsen\'sclassy dummy invited Lampard to steer past Kiely.Game over? Hardly. Richard Hughes squandered a golden opportunity,slicing free header from Wayne Routledge\'s perceptive cross, and PedroMendes\'s dipping shot inched over the bar.But Robben finished their rally with a cute finish after Gudjohnsenput him through with a beautifully weighted lob.Man of the match: Eidur GudjohnsenA class act for 30 minutes once he came on as a substitute. TheIceland international showed his guile and intelligence in crafting",1]
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mind.With more focus, Chelsea could have been comfortably ahead by halftime. Dean Kiely excelled in throwing various body parts at a varietyof shots. Frank Lampard wasted an opportunity after Arjen Robben hadwriggled into space and seen his shot blocked - the first of threeefforts from the Dutchman in the first 45 minutes. Portsmouth survivedtheir biggest scare when John Terry's bullet header struck Kiely onthe chest.It would get more surprising.Redknapp fuelled his men with a sense a derring do at half time, andthey emerged for the second half in high spirits, biting at Chelsea,closing down and passing the ball more fluently.Chelsea were vulnerable to the counter attack, and Robert Huth'ssuperb tackle spared Terry's blushes when Lomana LuaLua dashed onto apoor back header from his partner. At the other end Kiely again proveddefiant, dealing confidently with Shaun Wright- Phillips's drive andLampard's follow-up.Chelsea missed the midfield authority they possess when Makelele orGudjohnsen are on the pitch. On the hour, Mourinho addressed thatproblem with another meaningful substitution. On came the old headsfor the impotent Joe Cole and Wright-Phillips.Within four minutes the difference was demonstrated. Drogba chargedforward and poked a pass across the face of goal and Gudjohnsen'sclassy dummy invited Lampard to steer past Kiely.Game over? Hardly. Richard Hughes squandered a golden opportunity,slicing free header from Wayne Routledge's perceptive cross, and PedroMendes's dipping shot inched over the bar.But Robben finished their rally with a cute finish after Gudjohnsenput him through with a beautifully weighted lob.Man of the match: Eidur GudjohnsenA class act for 30 minutes once he came on as a substitute. TheIceland international showed his guile and intelligence in crafting
invaluable.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Independent:Chelsea 2 Portsmouth 0: Mourinho\'s tactical nous lifts ChelseaSlick switches are rewarded by Lampard and RobbenBy Steve Tongue at Stamford BridgePublished: 26 February 2006Peeved he may have been by the midweek defeat against Barc-elona,which seriously threatens the Champions\' League triumph he has beencraving these past 12 months, but Jose Mourinho earned his roublesagain yesterday.His first substitution was made after only half an hour, when AsierDel Horno\'s bad week took an even worse turn as he was ruthlesslyhauled off for Damien Duff; Chelsea immediately roused themselves andfinally scored the goals required for a routine victory following afurther double change that brought on Eidur Gudjohnsen to create bothof them.Ordinary as the champions had been until that point, a 15-point leadat the top of the table is the outcome, while Portsmouth\'s eightsuccessive away defeats tell a relegation tale. They have never scoreda goal against Chelsea in six Premiership matches and are highlyunlikely to have the chance to do so next season. It was easy toimagine the rueful tone of the conversation between the respectiveclubs\' Russian owners in the posh boxes afterwards.Roman Abramovich has had more stimulating days at the Bridge - many ofthem. After the draining drama of last Wednesday night, it wasunderstandable that both the home team and the atmosphere were flat -flatter, certainly, than the playing surface. Anticipating that,Mourinho tried to freshen up his side with four changes, restoringMichael Essien, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Robert Huth and Didier Drogba,but to limited effect. Hence the unusually early change of tack and",1]
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Chelsea's two goals. In and out of the team, when he is in, he can beinvaluable.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Independent:Chelsea 2 Portsmouth 0: Mourinho's tactical nous lifts ChelseaSlick switches are rewarded by Lampard and RobbenBy Steve Tongue at Stamford BridgePublished: 26 February 2006Peeved he may have been by the midweek defeat against Barc-elona,which seriously threatens the Champions' League triumph he has beencraving these past 12 months, but Jose Mourinho earned his roublesagain yesterday.His first substitution was made after only half an hour, when AsierDel Horno's bad week took an even worse turn as he was ruthlesslyhauled off for Damien Duff; Chelsea immediately roused themselves andfinally scored the goals required for a routine victory following afurther double change that brought on Eidur Gudjohnsen to create bothof them.Ordinary as the champions had been until that point, a 15-point leadat the top of the table is the outcome, while Portsmouth's eightsuccessive away defeats tell a relegation tale. They have never scoreda goal against Chelsea in six Premiership matches and are highlyunlikely to have the chance to do so next season. It was easy toimagine the rueful tone of the conversation between the respectiveclubs' Russian owners in the posh boxes afterwards.Roman Abramovich has had more stimulating days at the Bridge - many ofthem. After the draining drama of last Wednesday night, it wasunderstandable that both the home team and the atmosphere were flat -flatter, certainly, than the playing surface. Anticipating that,Mourinho tried to freshen up his side with four changes, restoringMichael Essien, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Robert Huth and Didier Drogba,but to limited effect. Hence the unusually early change of tack and
more scuffed than ever, hindering what few constructive passing movesthere were in a dull opening.Chelsea, predictably, put together most of them, Wright-Phillipscausing the first shudder in the visitors\' ranks with an angled shotfrom just inside the penalty area that Dean Kiely needed two grabs torepel. But Mourinho\'s high standards were not being met, and aftertwice bawling out Del Horno he pulled the full-back off, even earlierthan he had been sent off in midweek. Duff\'s arrival, albeit in anunfamiliar position, had the desired effect of livening his side up.His first touch was a square pass for Wright-Phillips, who shot toohigh. A couple more minutes and John Terry met Arjen Robben\'s curlingfree-kick from the right with a smart header that Kiely did well toparry. The goalkeeper next had to beat out a direct free-kick byDrogba before holding Huth\'s weaker header from the rebound.Early in the second half, Kiely was required to make another save asWright-Phillips shot from 20 yards, Frank Lampard for once getting nopower on the follow-up. Mourinho was soon twitching again, risking histwo remaining substitutions on the hour and finding fortune favouringhis bravery. Gudjohnsen and Claude Makelele, left out afterWednesday\'s exertions, replaced Wright-Phillips and Joe Cole, andwithin six minutes the Icelander was instrumental in forcing a goal.Drogba, on the left, laid the ball towards Gudjohnsen, who deftlystepped over it, allowing Lampard to come steaming through and shootlow inside a post for his 17th goal of the season. Even Kiely couldnot keep that one out.Cursing his nephew, Harry Redknapp responded by sending on WayneRoutledge, the little winger who has been in indifferent form sincejoining on loan from Tottenham. It was a good move to pit him against",1]
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tactics on a pitch that, far from being freshened up, looked drier andmore scuffed than ever, hindering what few constructive passing movesthere were in a dull opening.Chelsea, predictably, put together most of them, Wright-Phillipscausing the first shudder in the visitors' ranks with an angled shotfrom just inside the penalty area that Dean Kiely needed two grabs torepel. But Mourinho's high standards were not being met, and aftertwice bawling out Del Horno he pulled the full-back off, even earlierthan he had been sent off in midweek. Duff's arrival, albeit in anunfamiliar position, had the desired effect of livening his side up.His first touch was a square pass for Wright-Phillips, who shot toohigh. A couple more minutes and John Terry met Arjen Robben's curlingfree-kick from the right with a smart header that Kiely did well toparry. The goalkeeper next had to beat out a direct free-kick byDrogba before holding Huth's weaker header from the rebound.Early in the second half, Kiely was required to make another save asWright-Phillips shot from 20 yards, Frank Lampard for once getting nopower on the follow-up. Mourinho was soon twitching again, risking histwo remaining substitutions on the hour and finding fortune favouringhis bravery. Gudjohnsen and Claude Makelele, left out afterWednesday's exertions, replaced Wright-Phillips and Joe Cole, andwithin six minutes the Icelander was instrumental in forcing a goal.Drogba, on the left, laid the ball towards Gudjohnsen, who deftlystepped over it, allowing Lampard to come steaming through and shootlow inside a post for his 17th goal of the season. Even Kiely couldnot keep that one out.Cursing his nephew, Harry Redknapp responded by sending on WayneRoutledge, the little winger who has been in indifferent form sincejoining on loan from Tottenham. It was a good move to pit him against
Irishman with ease, his cross was only fractionally too far ahead ofRichard Hughes, who could only head wide.The danger, of course, was Chelsea\'s speed on the break, not entirelynegated by the pitch. Twelve minutes from time Gudjohnsen lobbed apass over the two central defenders for Robben to open his body andside-foot carefully past Kiely. Drogba, Lampard and Paulo Ferreira allmissed the target in the last few minutes, though neither sidedeserved a rout."I never felt we were under any real pressure," said Redknapp, whoneeds to look on the bright side these days. "It\'s going to be tough,but we always knew that. There\'s 11 games to go and points to playfor. But it\'s been one of those weeks." Del Horno knows the feeling.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:Lampard restores Chelsea sparkBy Roy Collins at Stamford BridgeChelsea (0) 2 Portsmouth (0) 0The one great quality that Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has alwaysappeared to possess that his predecessor, Claudio Ranieri, patentlylacked is his ability to use his substitutes and squad rotation todevastating effect.While Ranieri, the Tinkerman, seemed to switch players and line-ups ona whim, or possibly the roll of a die, Mourinho has shown ingenuity inslicing up his team sheet without a discernible reduction in quality,while constantly introducing substitutes who have proved instantmatch-winners. In recent weeks, however, some of the magic seems tohave deserted him.Mourinho came close to humiliation against Division One Colchester inthe FA Cup last weekend when leaving out Joe Cole and Frank Lampard,both of whom were restored to the team at half-time. And here, after",1]
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Duff, the irregular left-back, and when Routledge went past theIrishman with ease, his cross was only fractionally too far ahead ofRichard Hughes, who could only head wide.The danger, of course, was Chelsea's speed on the break, not entirelynegated by the pitch. Twelve minutes from time Gudjohnsen lobbed apass over the two central defenders for Robben to open his body andside-foot carefully past Kiely. Drogba, Lampard and Paulo Ferreira allmissed the target in the last few minutes, though neither sidedeserved a rout."I never felt we were under any real pressure," said Redknapp, whoneeds to look on the bright side these days. "It's going to be tough,but we always knew that. There's 11 games to go and points to playfor. But it's been one of those weeks." Del Horno knows the feeling.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:Lampard restores Chelsea sparkBy Roy Collins at Stamford BridgeChelsea (0) 2 Portsmouth (0) 0The one great quality that Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has alwaysappeared to possess that his predecessor, Claudio Ranieri, patentlylacked is his ability to use his substitutes and squad rotation todevastating effect.While Ranieri, the Tinkerman, seemed to switch players and line-ups ona whim, or possibly the roll of a die, Mourinho has shown ingenuity inslicing up his team sheet without a discernible reduction in quality,while constantly introducing substitutes who have proved instantmatch-winners. In recent weeks, however, some of the magic seems tohave deserted him.Mourinho came close to humiliation against Division One Colchester inthe FA Cup last weekend when leaving out Joe Cole and Frank Lampard,both of whom were restored to the team at half-time. And here, after
Eidur Gudjohnsen and Claude Makelele, Mourinho was forced to send bothon after an hour to make some sense of a starting line up thatresembled one of those graffiti scrawls that passed for a Ranieri teamsheet.Chelsea started so poorly that Mourinho made a substitution after halfan hour, bringing on Damien Duff for left-back Asier Del Horno, whohad been on for longer when he was sent off against Barcelona inmidweek.Once again, Del Horno\'s removal carried some relief. In midweek itallowed him to escape the rack on which he was being stretched byLionel Messi; yesterday he endured some terrible verbal abuse fromMourinho.But it was only when Makelele and Gudjohnsen, the glue in theirmidfield, galloped into the action that Chelsea sparked. Within fourminutes of his arrival, Gudjohnsen, on the turn, flicked DidierDrogba\'s pass into the path of Frank Lampard in full stride. After twoearlier clumps over the bar, Lampard was in no mood to miss that one.Portsmouth, always a South Coast shipwreck waiting to happen, were soencouraged to find themselves still in the game at half-time that theycame out with a sailor\'s roll at the start of the second, only RobertHuth\'s alert challenge preventing Lomana LuaLua from giving them ashock lead.After Lampard\'s goal, Richard Hughes was an eyelash-width fromconverting the right-wing cross of Wayne Routledge. And althoughPompey manager Harry Redknapp will be delighted that his teamcontinued to show great spirit, a point was beyond a team so ravagedby injury that Norwegian centre-forward Azar Karadas had to play atcentre-half.Their final hope was extinguished when Gudjohnsen put Arjen Robbenthrough for a clear run on goal and an inevitable shot past DeanKiely.Finally, Chelsea fans, in funereal mood after defeat by Barcelona,",1]
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believing his team could cope without the midfield intelligence ofEidur Gudjohnsen and Claude Makelele, Mourinho was forced to send bothon after an hour to make some sense of a starting line up thatresembled one of those graffiti scrawls that passed for a Ranieri teamsheet.Chelsea started so poorly that Mourinho made a substitution after halfan hour, bringing on Damien Duff for left-back Asier Del Horno, whohad been on for longer when he was sent off against Barcelona inmidweek.Once again, Del Horno's removal carried some relief. In midweek itallowed him to escape the rack on which he was being stretched byLionel Messi; yesterday he endured some terrible verbal abuse fromMourinho.But it was only when Makelele and Gudjohnsen, the glue in theirmidfield, galloped into the action that Chelsea sparked. Within fourminutes of his arrival, Gudjohnsen, on the turn, flicked DidierDrogba's pass into the path of Frank Lampard in full stride. After twoearlier clumps over the bar, Lampard was in no mood to miss that one.Portsmouth, always a South Coast shipwreck waiting to happen, were soencouraged to find themselves still in the game at half-time that theycame out with a sailor's roll at the start of the second, only RobertHuth's alert challenge preventing Lomana LuaLua from giving them ashock lead.After Lampard's goal, Richard Hughes was an eyelash-width fromconverting the right-wing cross of Wayne Routledge. And althoughPompey manager Harry Redknapp will be delighted that his teamcontinued to show great spirit, a point was beyond a team so ravagedby injury that Norwegian centre-forward Azar Karadas had to play atcentre-half.Their final hope was extinguished when Gudjohnsen put Arjen Robbenthrough for a clear run on goal and an inevitable shot past DeanKiely.Finally, Chelsea fans, in funereal mood after defeat by Barcelona,
victory. A few of them managed a chorus of One Man Went To Mow, thoughwhy anyone would need to do so on their grass-less pitch is a mystery.Pompey\'s collection of odds-and-sods signings, many coming in afterRedknapp\'s reappointment just before last month\'s transfer window,finally looked as though they might have been introduced to oneanother. Yet Portsmouth are so far adrift at the foot of the tablethat the only bright spot for their fans is the prospect of renewingrivalry with Southampton in the Championship next season.Mourinho went into the game boasting his worst statistics in thePremier League, and if anything proved that statistics are littlebetter than lies, this was it. Chelsea had won just two of their lastthree league games, while boasting a run of just one defeat in 14games. How other Premier League managers would love to experience sucha poor run.Even so, as Chelsea, surely close to retaining the Premier Leaguetitle, seek success on two other fronts, Mourinho needs to restore hisreputation as a manager with a sure hand in team rotation. But he hasnot turned into the Tinkerman just yet.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Sunday Times February 26, 2006Chelsea 2 Portsmouth 0: Lampard cheers up ChelseaROB HUGHES AT STAMFORD BRIDGETHE TIDE is running out for Portsmouth, but oh, how they gave Chelseaa run for their championship money for 65 minutes here. It was never aclassic, nobody touched the heights of Ronaldinho and Lionel Messilast Wednesday, but until Frank Lampard, nephew of the Portsmouthmanager Harry Redknapp, scored the decisive first goal, this was areal contest, a credit to the defiance at the foot of the Premiership.",1]
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found their voices as an anxious afternoon became another routinevictory. A few of them managed a chorus of One Man Went To Mow, thoughwhy anyone would need to do so on their grass-less pitch is a mystery.Pompey's collection of odds-and-sods signings, many coming in afterRedknapp's reappointment just before last month's transfer window,finally looked as though they might have been introduced to oneanother. Yet Portsmouth are so far adrift at the foot of the tablethat the only bright spot for their fans is the prospect of renewingrivalry with Southampton in the Championship next season.Mourinho went into the game boasting his worst statistics in thePremier League, and if anything proved that statistics are littlebetter than lies, this was it. Chelsea had won just two of their lastthree league games, while boasting a run of just one defeat in 14games. How other Premier League managers would love to experience sucha poor run.Even so, as Chelsea, surely close to retaining the Premier Leaguetitle, seek success on two other fronts, Mourinho needs to restore hisreputation as a manager with a sure hand in team rotation. But he hasnot turned into the Tinkerman just yet.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Sunday Times February 26, 2006Chelsea 2 Portsmouth 0: Lampard cheers up ChelseaROB HUGHES AT STAMFORD BRIDGETHE TIDE is running out for Portsmouth, but oh, how they gave Chelseaa run for their championship money for 65 minutes here. It was never aclassic, nobody touched the heights of Ronaldinho and Lionel Messilast Wednesday, but until Frank Lampard, nephew of the Portsmouthmanager Harry Redknapp, scored the decisive first goal, this was areal contest, a credit to the defiance at the foot of the Premiership.
"No surprise, was it?" asked Redknapp, "That\'s Frank for you, give himone opportunity and he\'s always likely to score."At the final whistle, Redknapp turned, briefly dejected. "We took 22points from the last 10 games the first time I took Portsmouth intothe Premiership," he said. "We need that again. I\'m going home, butbefore you write it, I ain\'t committing suicide. My life\'s too good."This, we might have presumed, was much more to Jose Mourinho\'s liking:pulverising moderate opposition in the Premiership rather than tryingto cope with the quality of Barcelona. However, with Chelsea countingdown to the retention of the championship and with Portsmouthstruggling to escape relegation, we had a first half of virtualstalemate.Chelsea, for sure, were stale after Wednesday. Asier Del Horno, stillperhaps unnerved by the thought of Messi, was absent on the fielduntil, with barely half an hour on the clock, Mourinho\'s patience ranout. He pulled off the Spaniard, replaced him with Damien Duff, andplayed with only three at the back. However, Chelsea\'s other tacticalinnovation, deploying Joe Cole in the playmaker role behind DidierDrogba, wasn\'t working either.The ball never came to Cole, bypassing him on the wings and in theair. The focus was all about giving the ball as quickly as possible toDrogba.There is an art, as the Chelsea manager will tell you, to winning freekicks in a stagnant contest. Arjen Robben and Drogba were at it fromthe start, and some of their dives were all too easily fooling refereeMike Riley.For all Portsmouth\'s effort and the hint from time to time that LomanaLuaLua had the nimble footwork to elude John Terry on the ground, theyrarely threatened to score.And the champions? Their threat came from free kicks, or from ShaunWright-Phillips. His low crosses were too sharp for Drogba, but on 33",1]
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"No surprise, was it?" asked Redknapp, "That's Frank for you, give himone opportunity and he's always likely to score."At the final whistle, Redknapp turned, briefly dejected. "We took 22points from the last 10 games the first time I took Portsmouth intothe Premiership," he said. "We need that again. I'm going home, butbefore you write it, I ain't committing suicide. My life's too good."This, we might have presumed, was much more to Jose Mourinho's liking:pulverising moderate opposition in the Premiership rather than tryingto cope with the quality of Barcelona. However, with Chelsea countingdown to the retention of the championship and with Portsmouthstruggling to escape relegation, we had a first half of virtualstalemate.Chelsea, for sure, were stale after Wednesday. Asier Del Horno, stillperhaps unnerved by the thought of Messi, was absent on the fielduntil, with barely half an hour on the clock, Mourinho's patience ranout. He pulled off the Spaniard, replaced him with Damien Duff, andplayed with only three at the back. However, Chelsea's other tacticalinnovation, deploying Joe Cole in the playmaker role behind DidierDrogba, wasn't working either.The ball never came to Cole, bypassing him on the wings and in theair. The focus was all about giving the ball as quickly as possible toDrogba.There is an art, as the Chelsea manager will tell you, to winning freekicks in a stagnant contest. Arjen Robben and Drogba were at it fromthe start, and some of their dives were all too easily fooling refereeMike Riley.For all Portsmouth's effort and the hint from time to time that LomanaLuaLua had the nimble footwork to elude John Terry on the ground, theyrarely threatened to score.And the champions? Their threat came from free kicks, or from ShaunWright-Phillips. His low crosses were too sharp for Drogba, but on 33
headed goalwards from four yards, but was repelled by the right handof Dean Kiely.Mourinho was to make further and, this time, completely rationalchanges. On the hour, he replaced Cole with Eidur Gudjohnsen and, atthe same time, withdrew Wright-Phillips and asked Claude Makelele togive the midfield some direction and solidity.Within five minutes, the game was virtually over. Chelsea, for once,flowed like champions should and, when Drogba slipped the ball insidewith his left foot and Gudjohnsen stepped over it, Lampard producedthe power that buried the ball from the edge of the penalty area.Within moments however, Portsmouth should have equalised. WayneRoutledge, who had come on for Ognjen Koroman, bemused Duff, and, fromhis accurate cross, Richard Hughes, finding a gaping hole between thehulking Chelsea centre-backs, did not even manage contact, let alone afirm header, from just eight yards.In those two minutes we had ruthless evidence of what it takes to betop of the league compared with almost bottom.Twelve minutes from the end Sean Davis carelessly conceded possessionto Gudjohnsen and watched in abject despair as he set Robben free. TheDutchman finished the job unmercifully. For having the ability toscore when others were wasteful, Lampard was again man of the match.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.cfchistory.co.uk/forum/index.php",0]
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minutes, from a Robben free kick, Terry stole in behind the defence,headed goalwards from four yards, but was repelled by the right handof Dean Kiely.Mourinho was to make further and, this time, completely rationalchanges. On the hour, he replaced Cole with Eidur Gudjohnsen and, atthe same time, withdrew Wright-Phillips and asked Claude Makelele togive the midfield some direction and solidity.Within five minutes, the game was virtually over. Chelsea, for once,flowed like champions should and, when Drogba slipped the ball insidewith his left foot and Gudjohnsen stepped over it, Lampard producedthe power that buried the ball from the edge of the penalty area.Within moments however, Portsmouth should have equalised. WayneRoutledge, who had come on for Ognjen Koroman, bemused Duff, and, fromhis accurate cross, Richard Hughes, finding a gaping hole between thehulking Chelsea centre-backs, did not even manage contact, let alone afirm header, from just eight yards.In those two minutes we had ruthless evidence of what it takes to betop of the league compared with almost bottom.Twelve minutes from the end Sean Davis carelessly conceded possessionto Gudjohnsen and watched in abject despair as he set Robben free. TheDutchman finished the job unmercifully. For having the ability toscore when others were wasteful, Lampard was again man of the match.