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The TimesOctober 25, 2007
Chelsea's new open-minded philosophy wins favour with the fans
Chelsea 2 Schalke 04 0
Matt Hughes
Given that his boss is the man who has everything, it is perhaps just as well that Avram Grant has promised Roman Abramovich the earth. In his first programme notes, the Chelsea first-team coach pledged to provide trophies, entertainment and winning football – everything, indeed, but the proverbial moon on a stick. Five weeks to the day since being handed the ultimate hospital pass, he is in danger of delivering. José who? Grant is yet to hear his name chanted at Stamford Bridge, but that prospect is no longer as fanciful as it once appeared.
Chelsea fans have enjoyed too much success recently to be overly impressed with victory over middling European opponents, but they are not used to winning matches in this manner. Grant’s side created enough chances to have won by far more, but conceded enough to keep Schalke 04 interested and against more clinical opponents could easily have dropped points. Such openness will be welcomed by neutrals, though not by Chelsea fans if they start to lose.
Grant’s gift appears to be coaxing more out of those players pleased by José Mourinho’s departure while maintaining the performance levels of those purportedly in mourning. Joe Cole seems to be relishing the increased licence he has been given, but Florent Malouda and Didier Drogba, who are definitely in the latter camp, show no signs of sulking. The France winger opened the scoring with his third goal of the season in the fourth minute, before Drogba effectively sealed the game with his fourth two minutes into the second half.
The Ivory Coast striker’s heart may have left the club with Mourinho, but his body and mind are completely committed to the Chelsea cause. Although frustratingly vague, Grant’s philosophy appears to be based around maintaining Mourinho’s style and structure within a looser framework. The 4-3-3 formation remains just the same, but the players are afforded far greater individual freedom and not instructed simply to preserve their energy for the next match once they have taken the lead.
Chelsea began with the high tempo beloved of their former manager and their opening goal could have come straight out of the Mourinho manual. Paulo Ferreira’s long ball from his own half was flicked on by Drogba to Malouda, who showed impressive strength to hold off Rafinha before beating him on the outside and depositing the ball between the legs of Manuel Neuer. Malouda’s shot took a cruel deflection but the German goal-keeper should still have done better.
After an impressive start to his Chelsea career, Malouda has struggled in recent weeks, but seemed back to his best last night. In his first outing with Wayne Bridge, making his first start of the season, Malouda gave Rafinha a torrid time, to such an extent that at one stage he was forced to rugby tackle him, becoming possibly the first Brazilian to master the art. With Frank Lampard and Michael Essien driving them on, it was like watching the Chelsea of old and they continued to create chances. Drogba and Lampard both headed wide but the best opportunity fell to Essien from a Malouda cross, with the Ghana midfield player’s header well saved. Neuer also got down well to block a long-range shot from Cole just before half-time.
While Chelsea’s style and conversion rate remains similar to that of the Mourinho era – direct and sporadic respectively – the main difference appears to be at the other end of the pitch, where they are far more vulnerable. Claude Makelele does not protect the back four with the efficiency he used to, which is unfortunate as the hapless Alex needs more protection than a helpless toddler.
Although missing several key players through injury, which increased when Kevin Kuranyi pulled out in the warm-up, Schalke created enough chances to have drawn level by half-time. Gerald Asamoah twice headed wide at the far post, while Carlos Grossmüller got the ball in the net in the 28th minute, but was ruled offside.
Drogba did his best to erase such concerns by scoring another direct goal that was far easier on the eye, an object lesson in counter-attacking football. In keeping with his desire to be involved at all times, Drogba began and ended the move, dropping back to feed Cole, whose brilliant pass found Ferreira in space on the right. The Portuguese is not a natural attacker but his delayed cross was weighted perfectly, with Drogba stooping low to provide a brave finish with a diving header. Unlike under Mourinho, Chelsea continued to play, which enabled Schalke to stay in the game. Soren Larsen hit a post in the 61st minute and found himself free on goal late on, only to be pulled back by a blatant professional foul from Alex, with the referee inexplicably failing to award a free kick. The Brazilian defender has replaced Khalid Boulahrouz as Chelsea’s chief liability and John Terry’s return from injury is needed urgently.
For all his desire to be entertained, such clownish capers from his centre back are probably not what Abramovich had in mind, even on his 41st birthday.
Defensive strategy
10 The defence of Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Alex and Wayne Bridge was Chelsea’s tenth back-four combination in 15 matches this season
44 Chelsea’s run of unbeaten home games in all competitions since losing 2-1 to Barcelona in February 2006
Source: Bill Edgar--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Didier Drogba and Chelsea take step forwardBy John Ley at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (1) 2 Schalke (0) 0
Roman Abramovich could have been forgiven last night for staging one of his more flamboyant birthday celebrations. The Russian billionaire, on his 41st birthday, saw his new manager achieve what his old manager could not, thanks to a player seemingly unhappy with his lot at the club.
Jose Mourinho's parting act was to see his side stumble to a 1-1 draw with Rosenborg and leave Chelsea's European aspirations in a precarious position. Now, under Avram Grant, the club have moved on, adding this scalp to that of Valencia three weeks earlier. Grant, as ever, spoke with understatement when he wished Abramovich 'happy birthday', adding: "He has done a lot for this club and I hope this is a good present for him."
The 'present' was delivered by Didier Drogba and if the striker is unhappy at Chelsea, it will be interesting to monitor his form if he falls back in love with the club. Having claimed last week that something at Chelsea was 'broken', he scored another goal, his second in two games since his controversial comments. His goal, Chelsea's second, went some way to securing their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Chelsea having been gifted the first goal, which Florent Malouda scored through the gaping legs of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, Drogba's superb second enabled them to offer some of the entertainment Grant had demanded.
With Rosenborg beating Valencia in the night's other Group B game, Chelsea are now three points clear of the second-placed Norwegians.
Mourinho finished his Chelsea career with three games without a win; Grant has won five of his last six even if at times last night the hosts rode their luck. Schalke were deprived of key striker Kevin Kuranyi in the warm-up before having a 'goal' disallowed for offside, striking a post and, towards the end, being deprived of another scoring opportunity through a blatant 'professional foul' by Alex.
That said, these are promising times for Chelsea after such a poor start under Mourinho. John Terry and Ashley Cole are still absent, but Wayne Bridge started for the first time this season.
The game was just four minutes old when Neuer gifted Chelsea. Malouda rode a challenge from Rafinha, the Schalke defender, and when he shot, the ball took the smallest of touches off the Brazilian right-back, just enough to confuse Neuer, who let it slip through his arms and legs in embarrassing fashion.
Chelsea had space and most of the possession, with Bridge enjoying freedom along the left flank, but they became frustrated by their inability to breach an ordinary defence.
More chances fell to Chelsea before the break as Michael Essien and Joe Cole were denied by Neuer.
Chelsea began the second half in similar fashion to the first, with a goal. And it went further to confirming that whatever his personal feelings, Drogba will continue to fight for the Chelsea cause.
Inside the opening two minutes Paolo Ferreira and Joe Cole chased a ball, with the defender taking up the option to carry it forward. His cross, from the right, was struck with perfection, as was the timing of the dive from Drogba, who stooped to head into the bottom corner.
The goal enabled Chelsea to assert their authority and soon afterwards Cole went close from 20 yards.
On the hour, Schalke were unfortunate again, when Soren Larsen, the late replacement for Kuryani, sent in a header that left Cech stranded on the line, only for the ball to bounce off the inside of the left post and into Cech's grateful arms.
Before the end, Alex clearly impeded Larsen and though the foul was outside the area, the Brazilian should have been sent off. He survived and now Chelsea march forward with confidence.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 2 Schalke 0: Attacking revolution remains a fantasy By Sam Wallace
What do Chelsea and Gelsenkirchen, the gritty industrial Ruhr hometown of Schalke, have in common? Neither of them are really built with entertainment in mind. Avram Grant's mission is to change all that and usher in a new era of fantasy football at Stamford Bridge, although for the time being it looks suspiciously like he is happy to win matches by any means possible.
From the top of Group B, life looks a lot more comfortable for Chelsea than seven games ago when a half-empty Stamford Bridge bore witness to Jose Mourinho's last match in charge, that desperate draw with Rosenborg. And as Roman Abramovich stepped into his limo last night he could at least comfort himself with the knowledge that stability has been restored but, at the back of his mind that nagging question: could life be better than this?
On the occasion of Abramovich's 41st birthday yesterday, his friends, cronies and hangers-on will have been asking the same question they pose around this time every year: what do you get for the Russian billionaire who has everything? The answer could be found 24 hours earlier in the Emirates Stadium where Arsenal ran riot against Slavia Prague, scored seven goals and sent their supporters home in raptures.
Grant will have felt a little more deflated than usual after a post-match press conference in which he was deluged with questions about entertainment value and comparisons with Arsenal. So far unflappable, even Grant seemed to be tiring. "I respect Arsenal but we are not taking an example from other clubs," he said. "We want to play our game. We are going step-by-step, even Arsène Wenger said he needed more than a year."
Grant has to take responsibility for making that particular rod for his own back – he even mentioned entertainment in his programme notes again yesterday. Florent Malouda was gifted a goal within five minutes through an appalling error by goalkeeper Manuel Neuer – who seemed personally determined to give Abramovich a birthday present. Within two minutes of the second half beginning, Didier Drogba hit Schalke with the classic sucker punch and put Chelsea two ahead.
The German side are renowned as the Bundesliga's nearly men and they nearly put up a decent fight last night. Carlos Grossmuller had a goal wrongly disallowed for offside, Soren Larsen headed against the post and the striker should have had a penalty when Alex da Costa pulled him down in the 85th minute. Even so Schalke, who lost striker Kevin Kuranyi minutes before kick-off, were strangely insipid.
The linchpin for Chelsea once again was Drogba who was given no stick whatsoever from the Stamford Bridge faithful for his declaration last week that he wanted to leave the club – and his subsequent bizarre retraction. Doubtless because anyone who knows Chelsea know they would be half the team without their main man – they would sooner give away every other striker on the books than him.
"Didier is a positive guy, he speaks on the pitch and that is where he needs to do his talking," Grant said. Four wins on the spin for the new manager before the visit of Manchester City on Saturday but Grant would be naive to think that would be enough to earn him the plaudits. The mantra of entertaining football will follow him all season.
Malouda scored when he took on a flick from Drogba on the left, went outside Gerald Asamoah, cut back inside and drilled a low harmless shot straight at Neuer and through the German's legs. The Schalke goalkeeper made a similarly disastrous mistake against Hansa Rostock in the Bundesliga at the weekend and ominously vowed after that match to make up for it. Paul Robinson can rest easy that there are some having a far worse time of it than him.
The killer blow from Chelsea took another 45 minutes to arrive. As usual, the likes of Claude Makelele and Ricardo Carvalho were exemplary but it was ever thus. The spark was still missing from Malouda and Joe Cole. Two minutes after the break Schalke allowed themselves to be easily opened up. For once, Chelsea got the ball moving quickly on the counter-attack, Frank Lampard switched the ball out right to Paulo Ferreira and the full-back whipped in a cross that Drogba dived to meet at the near post.
It was a brilliant finish and Drogba's fourth goal of the season. The Swedish referee should have given a penalty against Alex for his foul on Larsen, but equally Drogba should have had one a few minutes later when he was brought down by Jermaine Jones. On the Chelsea bench for the first time was Henk ten Cate, the new assistant to Grant, who, it was pointed out in the programme, coached an Ajax team that scored more than 100 goals in 41 games last season.
Those are the kind of numbers that Abramovich hopes Chelsea are posting by the time he turns 42. It is becoming an obsession at the club and it will not be any easier to achieve if Drogba does decide that his future lies elsewhere.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Ferreira, Carvalho, Alex, Bridge; Makelele; J Cole (Shevchenko, 89), Essien (Mikel, 68) Lampard, Malouda (Kalou, 83); Drogba. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Pizarro, Ben Haim, Belletti.
Schalke 04 (4-3-3): Neuer; Rafinha, Westermann, Bordon, Rodriguez (Bajramovic, 82); Ernst, Grossmuller (Azaouagh, 77), Jones; Asamoah (Rakitic, 61), Larsen, Lovenkrands. Substitutes not used: Schober (gk), Howedes.
Referee: P Frojdfeldt (Sweden).
Group B
Results: Chelsea 1 Rosenborg 1; Schalke 04 0 Valencia 1; Rosenborg 0 Schalke 04 2; Valencia 1 Chelsea 2; Chelsea 2 Schalke 04 0; Rosenborg 2 Valencia 0.
Remaining fixtures: 6 November: Schalke 04 v Chelsea; Valencia v Rosenborg. 28 November: Rosenborg v Chelsea; Valencia v Schalke 04. 11 December: Chelsea v Valencia; Schalke 04 v Rosenborg.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Drogba's flying delivery brings home comforts to Grant and Chelsea
Kevin McCarra at Stamford BridgeThursday October 25, 2007The Guardian
After the years of melodrama, this period of seclusion must be to Chelsea's taste. They opened up a three-point lead in Group B without inspiring bullish predictions that they are set to win the Champions League. No one is fixated with them for the time being. Even the referee Peter Frojdfeldt was not paying much attention when Alex, after perpetrating a short backpass, brought down Schalke's Soren Larsen in the 85th minute. No foul was awarded, no red card shown.
In reparation, Didier Drogba was denied a penalty almost immediately. Despite legitimate squabbles about such events the justice of the outcome is beyond challenge. Chelsea always had sufficient talent at their disposal to win. Their rigour has been depleted to some extent, however, and the club has to hope that this is explained wholly by the absence of the injured John Terry.Schalke, in the most ridiculous manner, failed to strain Avram Grant's side. The visitors arrived with a gift of an early goal for convalescent Chelsea. The single home game under the direction of the new manager had been the 0-0 draw with Fulham, but Grant was not made to wait long for a goal here last night.
With four minutes gone, Florent Malouda showed his characteristically tenacious skill to get away from the right-back Rafinha, but his shot was hit straight to Manuel Neuer. There was not any great speed on the ball either, yet it still ran through the goalkeeper's legs. A blunder on such a scale seemed to make Chelsea's fourth consecutive win inevitable.
At the weekend Neuer had chucked a throw-out straight to an opponent, so permitting Hansa Rostock their equaliser in a draw. Schalke must believe that the fates are pursuing a vendetta. The striker Kevin Kuranyi hurt himself before kick-off against Chelsea and, with the line-ups already submitted, Soren Larsen had to be promoted from the bench.
None the less, the visitors were never completely disheartened. They had won 2-0 away to Rosenborg in Trondheim and occasionally attacked with zest here. The intended evolution of Chelsea from the dry rigour of the Jose Mourinho era has got no further yet than an increased vulnerability.
Grant's side could not deal dependably with crosses and Carlos Grossmüller was wrongly given offside when he tucked the ball home in the 28th minute. There was errant flagging, too, after Joe Cole was released by Drogba six minutes before the interval, but his effort had been saved in any case.
While Neuer coped then there was still every reason to test him. Another Cole effort in the 45th minute was shoved out into the middle of the goalmouth, even if it did not run into the path of a Chelsea player. The match was largely humdrum and Grant, who had not included Shaun Wright-Phillips even among the substitutes, cannot have been in the mood for frivolity. Chelsea put the emphasis on getting the ball into the goalmouth in a direct fashion.
Michael Essien was as great a danger as anyone, twice threatening with headers. It was a little odd to see him taking up such a role and Frank Lampard was conservative by comparison.
Drogba, of course, is the best target of all for Chelsea and he extended the lead in the 47th minute. Paulo Ferreira's run on the right was full of good intentions but the forward, who might have been off-side by a hair's breadth, had to supply true quality, connecting with a diving header to beat Neuer.
Stereotypes about the Bundesliga were reinforced as the visitors looked quite appealing without matching Chelsea's decisiveness. The opinion, none the less, nearly had to be revised when Larsen's header pinged off a post after Rafinha had picked him out in the 60th minute.
Chelsea, for all that, retained a sporadic sprightliness. Lampard located Drogba with an especially perceptive ball but the Ivorian, for once, could not overwhelm a defence single-handed. That was a rare moment in which the lack of a striking partner for Drogba seemed a disadvantage of the 4-3-3 system, featuring two wingers, so loved by Grant's predecessor Mourinho
This was an unassuming win. The admirable visiting support teased their opposite numbers for being subdued, but it was pardonable that Chelsea minds should be drifting away from this fixture. The arrival of the revived Manchester City on Saturday must, in particular, have been starting to occupy Grant's thoughts.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Cut-price Chelsea hit the right notes - Malouda and Drogba in harmonyChelsea 2 Schalke 0
By MATT LAWTON
A chorus of 'Avram Grant' has not yet been heard at Stamford Bridge but Chelsea's supporters still had plenty to sing about last night — a first win at home in the Champions League this season, and for half the price.
Results like this as well as a reduction in the cost of tickets will ease the sense of loss that has been felt since the sudden departure of Jose Mourinho after that fateful night here against Rosenborg.
That night was memorable not only for the empty seats but the end of Mourinho's tenure, even if nobody quite realised it was the end until the following night.
The healing process continued last night, Grant guiding Chelsea to a fourth consecutive victory with goals at the start of each half.
If the football was not as entertaining and expansive as Grant promises to deliver now that he has Henk Ten Cate at his side, it was a far more accomplished display than Chelsea produced against a Rosenborg side significantly inferior to this Schalke team.
Good fortune might have enabled Florent Malouda to seize the lead for Chelsea in the fourth minute but good football brought a second for Didier Drogba after the break.
While Drogba has expressed a desire to follow Mourinho out of Chelsea at the end of the season, he appears determined to make the most of what appears to remain of his Stamford Bridge career. His goal against Middlesbrough last weekend was wonderfully clinical in its execution and this one provided a demonstration of his movement as well as menace.
He started the move when he passed to the feet of Frank Lampard and finished it when he then met a super cross from Paulo Ferreira with a quite brilliant header.
The Germans had every right to feel aggrieved when a television replay suggested they had scored a perfectly good equaliser in the first half, and they very nearly struck again when Soren Larsen sent a header against a post.
But they were beaten by the better team, as a watching Franz Beckenbauer no doubt agreed when he was not walking among Chelsea fans signing autographs.
Grant might have said Ten Cate was the deputy in those inaugural programme notes, and he undoubtedly is, but their appearance in the dug-out suggested otherwise. Ten Cate was dressed in a smart, managerial blue suit and Grant in a garish standard issue coat that matched the track suits of the coaching staff.
Even if it confused Chelsea's players, they still made the perfect start. A goal albeit thanks to the kind of keeping error that haunts followers of England.
If Malouda did well to shake off the rather half-hearted challenge of Rafinha before unleashing a reasonably well-struck shot, Manuel Neuer still should have had little difficulty gathering the ball in his arms.
As it was, Malouda's effort slipped through his hands, as well as his legs, and the Schalke goalkeeper was left wishing a huge hole could just swallow him up.
Not least because he was guilty of the error that enabled Hansa Rostock to secure a draw last weekend.
It enabled a Chelsea side missing the injured John Terry and Ashley Cole to settle into this encounter and quickly seize control. They were in command of the midfield. Far more threatening in attack.
Schalke began to lose patience, Jermaine Jones receiving a yellow card for the second of two reckless challenges that could easily have earned him two yellows and a red. Clearly, they did not appreciate the chorus of 'oles' from a Chelsea crowd just delighted to be getting value for their money.
Keen to increase their advantage, Chelsea went in determined search of a second goal and very nearly got it when Michael Essien met a Malouda corner with a header that almost skimmed the crossbar.
As Carlos Grossmuller then demonstrated, however, it is foolish to underestimate a side that currently sit second in the Bundesliga.
The assistant referee had already raised his flag when Grossmuller guided a half-volley past Petr Cech and into the Chelsea goal, but television evidence suggested he was not offside. A good decision for Chelsea but, on that evidence, a gross injustice.
Chelsea responded immediately, and very nearly added the second goal their superior industry and invention deserved.
On this occasion, however, Neuer did well, making a fine save to stop a glancing Essien header that appeared destined for the back of the net.
The Swedish assistant referees continued to baffle observers with their decisions. Didier Drogba sent Joe Cole clear with a wonderful flick of the heel but again the flag went up and again television evidence suggested he was not off-side.
Maybe it is something about being a Swedish official in a Chelsea match. It marked the end of Anders Frisk's career as a referee, anyway.
Cole tested Neuer again with a stinging shot shortly before the interval but there was little the German goalkeeper could do to deny Drogba in the 47th minute.
The Chelsea striker is on fire again this season, comfortably among the best in Europe at this moment.
Occasional drops in tempo invited Schalke to attack and when Rafinha sent in a teasing cross, Larsen went close to scoring. His header hit the post and, much to Grant's relief, bounced straight into the arms of Cech.
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Sun:
WHAT do you give the man who has everything?
In Roman Abramovich’s case, a convincing win and another reason for him to believe Chelsea are on the march to Moscow.
The Russian billionaire turned 41 yesterday and he got a little something in return after spending millions trying to make the Blues kings of Europe.
Abramovich has a Champions League dream that came a step closer with the win over Schalke.
This season’s final will be staged in the Russian capital — and it is the Chelsea owner’s goal to be in his homeland.
During Red Rom’s four years in England, Liverpool have won the competition and been runners-up while Arsenal have lost a final.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have lost twice in the semis to Liverpool during Roman’s reign and the man at the top is desperate to go one better this year.
Abramovich was off his seat last night celebrating Didier Drogba’s goal which made it 2-0 and put Chelsea on course for the knockout stages.
New boss Avram Grant has gained six points from two Champions League games in charge, following the 2-1 win at Valencia.
It confirmed the Israeli is shrewd enough to get the right results despite misgivings when he took over.
Arsenal may have been in seventh heaven on Tuesday but Chelsea are still climbing their way back to the top of their game.
Drogba said he got his mojo back before the match — and this performance showed he is playing 100 per cent for the team.
With Frank Lampard dominating the middle of the pitch and Florent Malouda a threat on the left, Drogba looked in the mood from the start.
Malouda twice had the Germans running for cover in the early exchanges. Then the defensive wall came crashing down after only four minutes.
Malouda jinked past Marcio Rafinha on the outside and his shot came off Schalke’s Jermaine Jones. It should have been easily dealt with by Manuel Neuer.
But Malouda’s effort went through Neuer’s legs as the Schalke keeper spread himself on the turf in disbelief. Chelsea fans were in full voice as they tried to inspire the Blues to more goals.
Lampard linked play through the middle with Joe Cole but Drogba could not connect with the final ball.
Malouda then crossed and Michael Essien made a great connection with his head but Neuer dived full stretch.
It did not all go Chelsea’s way in terms of possession.
Peter Lovenkrands dinked a pass to striker Carlos Grossmuller, who controlled and beat Petr Cech at his near post.
The offside flag rescued Chelsea even though a replay showed Grossmuller was in line with the home defence.
The Germans were expected to come out in the second half with all guns blazing — but it never materialised.
In fact, it took Chelsea just two minutes after the restart to grab their second of the night.
And it sealed a victory which leaves them within a win of reaching the Champions League knockout stages.
The move may not have had the sparkle of London rivals Arsenal — but it was a gem in its own right. Drogba dropped deep and played the ball inside to Lampard, who drilled a quick pass to Paulo Ferreira on the right flank.
The Portuguese full-back delivered an inch-perfect cross to Drogba, who directed his header past Neuer to kill the contest.
Even Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was off his seat to celebrate the quickfire goal that makes another knockout appearance a formality.
Grant smiled on the touchline — but did not quite share his employer’s certainty.
The manager had slight cause for concern as Alex and Wayne Bridge got in a tangle and just escaped punishment. Just before the hour mark, the threat was even greater.
Rafinha burst free on the Chelsea left and delivered a teasing ball to Soren Larsen, who was allowed a free header.
The Danish striker’s attempt seemed to happen in slow motion as it rebounded off a post and ended up in Cech’s arms.
Alex could have been sent off for a pull on Larsen near the end but this was destined to be a night for Chelsea and Abramovich to celebrate.
Grant sent a personal message to Red Rom afterwards although the present was already delivered.
A win and progress almost certain. Nothing else would suffice for the man who has everything. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------