Mail:Kalou kicks off Sam storm: Newcastle left fuming after Chelsea grab shock winnerChelsea 2 Newcastle 1
By PATRICK COLLINS
Sam Allardyce stood and roared his protest. His face was puce, his fists were clenched and his eyes were bulging in disbelief. And for once, his anger was easily understood.
Three minutes of the match remained and Newcastle had toiled towards a result which had seemed far beyond them.
They were then denied the point they deserved by a disgracefully inept decision. Chelsea were celebrating their unreasonable fortune, and a team and a manager which need all the luck they can find were entering the new year with a sense of deep grievance.
The facts of the dispute are easily told. Michael Essien drove a shot which struck his colleague Claudio Pizarro, then skewed away into the path of Salomon Kalou.
Replays showed that the Chelsea player had started from an offside position and had simply moved further forward in pursuit of the chance. But he swept in the ball, assistant referee Mike Cairns remained static and the match was decided, the storm ignited.
"It's one of those decisions I wouldn't mind getting into trouble over," said Allardyce. "It's cost us a crucial result today. That point would have made us feel very much better. But it was the worst decision we've had this season, certainly.
"Why has he done it? Fear. Blind fear. He's got to make a crucial decision at Chelsea's home ground. Has his arm frozen? I don't know."
What he does know is that the verdict could help decide his employment chances. "We're living in a more volatile atmosphere these days, with seven managers losing their jobs already," he said. He did not need to stress the point.
Instead, he returned to the decision which shaped the match: "It was clear, blatant, no argument whatever. I'm bitterly disappointed." By contrast, Avram Grant was in the best of humour. When the injustice of the winning goal was put to him, he replied: "We created so many chances that we deserved to win anyway." Perhaps so, but that is not the way that football matches are customarily decided. Still, at least the Chelsea manager accepted that the outcome greatly enhances his team's title chances.
Chelsea spent much of the opening half-hour getting to know each other, like strangers at a party or, this being Chelsea, reps at a sales conference.They were missing John Terry and Frank Lampard but, far more significantly, they were missing Didier Drogba.
And yet they were rarely in any kind of trouble, aside from the moment in the 14th minute when John Mikel Obi lost possession at halfway and Nicky Butt played Obafemi Martins through. He had neither the pace nor the strength to exploit the chance.
By contrast, Chelsea were generating a growing volume of opportunities, with Kalou having a shot uncomfortably parried by Shay Given, then Alex rising above the ruck to bury a header in Given's midriff. The pressure grew, especially down Newcastle's left flank, and the Chelsea goal was inevitable. It came in the 29th minute when a long throw from Chelsea's right was poorly dealt with by the Newcastle defence. Shaun Wright-Phillips saw a chance but scuffed it into the ground,then the clear-headed Essien entered the chaos and discovered order with an emphatic scoring jab.
As Chelsea lifted the pace, Allardyce stood and yelled at his players with increasing despair. "Press the ball! Press the ball!" he screamed, as they scuttled haplessly through their paces. Only the diligence of Butt prevented a second goal as Wright- Phillips once more dismantled the Newcastle defence, while the same player headed wastefully wide when allowed a free header at the far post.
Newcastle had spent another depressing 45 minutes, uncertain in defence and largely outplayed in midfield. There was no conviction, no authority.They looked like a team that feared the worst, and it almost materialised within a minute of the second half when Butt, seeking to cut out yet another Wright-Phillips cross, battered it over his own bar from 20 yards.
By now, the crowd were in mocking mode. "You're even worse than Sunderland," they sang. But then the music died. Charles N'Zogbia seized upon Mikel's midfield error,attacked down the left and forced a low cross. Martins confused a clump of defenders, while Butt plunged in at the ball, urging it over the line at the second attempt. The silence was dramatic.
Incredibly, the balance then swung. Damien Duff started to impose himself upon proceedings for the first time. N'Zogbia was pushed forward as David Rozehnal was brought on at left-back and immediately looked a different player. Given made more fine saves from Kalou and Michael Ballack, and with home discontent increasing, Grant was loudly informed, "You don't know what you're doing" when he swapped the innocuous Joe Cole for Pizarro, then removed the exhausted Ballack.
The game was alive, and the plot bubbled deliciously with Michael Owen's late entry. The visiting fans were not unanimous in their welcome but his arrival was the prelude to a bitter finale. The consequences will be revealed in the months ahead. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kalou twists the knife and the anguish deepens for Allardyce
Stuart Barnes at Stamford BridgeSunday December 30, 2007The Observer
Considering his team had just fallen victim to what at best was a highly controversial decision and at worst a rank injustice, Sam Allardyce was a model of decorum. The Newcastle manager was raging inside, but knew he had to make his feelings about Salomon Kalou's late winner in a measured manner which would not be drawn to the attention of the Football Association and land him in the dock. 'It was one of those decisions that I wouldn't mind getting into trouble over,' declared Allardyce. 'But it would cost me money and I am not prepared to do that.'
Kalou looked a good two yards offside when he slid the ball past Shay Given after John Obi Mikel's shot cannoned off substitute Claudio Pizarro into his path. It was not even a close call. Referee Mike Riley consulted his assistant Mike Cairns and was told the goal should stand. Newcastle players fumed. Chelsea's celebrated, if not sheepishly, certainly in the knowledge that lady luck had been on their side.After the Boxing Day goalfest against Aston Villa, Avram Grant's side had lived on the edge again. Another draw would have been damaging to their chances of making up ground in the title race. Instead, this result, coupled with Manchester United's defeat at West Ham, means they retain a strong interest in proceedings at the top going into the New Year.
'It was a clear-cut case of offside that has cost us a crucial result,' said Allardyce. 'The ball came off a Chelsea player. There was no question of interference. He was offside by two or three yards. The referee went over to his assistant and he had the power to change the decision, which he didn't do. Did his arm freeze? Was it blind fear that got to him about a crucial decision he had to make at a crucial time on Chelsea's home ground. It was a horrible one which he can't hide from. We have had a poor Christmas and a point would have given us a boost. But we can do nothing about it. It's a huge disappointment and hurts me and my players deeply.'
Allardyce, who urged the introduction of video technology 'for the benefit of everyone', added: 'The consolation was our overall performance. I thought we were tremendous. If we can maintain that level then results will come.'
Grant maintained that he needed to see a replay of the incident before reaching a verdict. A diplomatic stance, perhaps, but there was no doubt about him being on the right track when he added: 'We should have won the game long before - we had eight or nine chances.'
Chelsea were without 10 players through injuries, suspensions or players being given a break. But under the temporary captaincy of Michael Ballack they could easily have wrapped up their 73rd successive home League match without defeat by half time.
Newcastle had not scraped a single goal in their last six League visits to Stamford Bridge, while conceding 16 in the process. Morale was under scrutiny after dodgy displays against Derby and Wigan. So, too, was the position of Allardyce. The way makeshift Chelsea went at them suggested another barren afternoon. Ballack, from a Shaun Wright-Phillips cross, blazed over from the edge of the penalty area with time and space to have done so much better.
Juliano Belletti offered Chelsea an attacking option down the right flank and from one cross Kalou got in a shot which Shay Given saved low down at the expense of a corner. The goalkeeper again showed his mettle, clawing away Mikel's shot which deflected off Nicky Butt, then held Joe Cole's corner under the crossbar.
Soon after, Cole's free-kick was met by Alex, whose unchallenged header went straight at Given. Chelsea put that miss behind them to go ahead when Belletti's long throw was defended poorly. A Wright-Phillips shot struck Kalou, evaded the attention of Steven Taylor and came loose to Michael Essien who forced in his third goal of the season.
Obafemi Martins drove high, wide and particularly handsome when pursuing a long ball out of defence, but most of the chances were being created at the other end. Wright-Phillips galloped away down the line and Butt did well to get there first before Kalou could take advantage. Next, Wright-Phillips headed Cole's far-post cross wide when he should have doubled the lead. A second almost came moments after the restart when Butt, attempting to clear a Wright-Phillips cross, sliced the ball just over his own crossbar. A few inches lower and Given would have had little chance of stopping it.
When Taylor took the full force of Belletti's shot, Newcastle held on again. But against the run of play they drew level, thanks largely to the persistence of the enterprising Charles N'Zogbia, who got away from Mikel and played the ball across. Butt, Martins and Wayne Bridge dived in and the ball went in via Butt and the Chelsea left-back.
Chelsea were culpable again in front of goal when Wright-Phillips picked out the unmarked Ballack, who should have done much better than sidefoot his effort too near Given, who saved comfortably. But Newcastle had fresh impetus from the goal. The introduction of Owen, for Martins, provided a further lift and if anything they looked the more likely to go on and win it.
Grant, who brushed off dissatisfaction from sections of the crowd at his choice of substitutions, added: 'You saw the spirit of a team missing many established players.'
Man of the match
Nicky ButtCharles N'Zogbia was an influential figure at the back and when going forward for Newcastle. But their hardworking midfielder Nicky Butt just about shaded it with a forceful performance which did much to put his side back in the picture at a time when they were hanging on.
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Chelsea 2 Newcastle Utd 1: Allardyce up in arms as lucky Chelsea accept late present Kalou scores controversial winner to keep Newcastle cheer in short supply
By Ronald Atkin at Stamford Bridge
Newcastle may be the club with a player in custody, but it was Chelsea who got out of jail in this game, breaking what appeared an inevitable deadlock. As if Newcastle did not have enough problems already, they were robbed of the draw they deserved and which would have given a lift to an otherwise bleak holiday period.
With three minutes left Newcastle were under the cosh, but surviving with perhaps unexpected confidence. Then Jon Mikel Obi had a flail at goal and the ball deflected off the substitute Claudio Pizarro to the feet of Salomon Kalou, at least two yards offside. He put the chance away comfortably, but the award of a goal by the referee Mike Riley sparked fury from Newcastle's players and bench.
Riley consulted the linesman, Mike Cairns, who mystifyingly had spotted no offence. The "goal" stood and manager Sam Allardyce had to be restrained by the fourth official as he verbally laid into Cairns. Afterwards the Newcastle manager said, "It was one of those decisions I wouldn't mind getting myself into trouble with, but I don't want to part with my money.
"But it hurts everybody at Newcastle that a result has been taken away from us by an assistant referee who got his decision horribly wrong."
Allardyce put the error down to what he termed "blind fear", in terms of making a crucial decision on Chelsea's home ground. "I think his arm froze. It it the worst decision [against us] this year. There will be no excuses from him when he sees it again. He can't hide," he said.
The Chelsea manager Avram Grant did his best, with an unaccustomed small smile, to avoid condemning the score which sealed victory for his team, opting to comment that he had not yet seen a replay of the incident. But he claimed Chelsea had wasted enough chances to have won comfortably.
Not quite true. Newcastle played with spirit, even flashes of style. Nicky Butt laboured mightily in midfield, Damien Duff livened up the attack, Obafemi Martins ran menacingly up front and, as ever, Shay Given proved an inspired barrier in goal. Chelsea, with a list of injuries and suspensions, may have been short of a star or two, but were still able to field an intimidating side. Sadly, they rarely played to that potential.
Michael Ballack, captain for the day, showed the occasional touch of brilliance, albeit at his own pace, Shaun Wright-Phillips was a top-speed threat on the right and Joe Cole had Newcastle in trouble at times. But not often enough to satisfy a querulous home crowd, who booed when Cole was replaced by Pizarro just past the hour and launched into an anti-Grant chorus of "You don't know what you're doing" when he sent on Scott Sinclair for Ballack. "I have no complaints against the supporters," Grant insisted. "They know we don't have easy times with 10 injuries."
It appeared easy times were on the horizon when Michael Essien scored short of the half-hour. Juliano Belletti's long throw provoked consternation in the Newcastle penalty area, Wright-Phillips unleashed a shot which rattled off assorted bodies and fell invitingly for Essien to turn past Given.
But the eagerness of Martins, who saw one shot painfully blocked by Tal Ben Haim and another narrowly clear the bar, ensured Chelsea were never comfortable with the lead. It was an advantage they might have doubled early in the second half when Butt, lashing out at a Wright-Phillips centre, sent the ball inches over his own bar, but after 55 minutes Newcastle pulled level.
Charles N'Zogbia got away from Mikel with ease on the left and laid the ball into the goalmouth. Martins made only marginal contact, but enough to see the ball bounce over the line off Wayne Bridge. Michael Owen, out for six weeks, then replaced Martins, but the score which decided it did not go their way.
As for Joey Barton, in prison in Liverpool facing an allegation of assault, Allardyce said, "It is something we have to put behind us because we have so many games coming up. We will deal with it later. I am disappointed---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Sunday TimesDecember 30, 2007
Chelsea earn fortunate winChelsea 2 Newcastle 1Joe Lovejoy at Stamford Bridge
It was supposed to be Sam Allardyce whose job was on the line, but instead the home crowd told Avram Grant: “You don’t know what you’re doing”, and chanted Jose Mourinho’s name on an afternoon when Chelsea were dominant, but lacked firepower, and scored their late winner from an offside position. Grant, with two defeats in his 22 games in charge, made light of the fans’ derision, but Allardyce could not afford to be so sanguine about the inexplicable decision by the referee’s assistant, Mike Cairns, to allow Salomon Kalou’s deciding goal to stand.
Newcastle, after a spirited fightback, thought they were set for a morale-boosting result after Nicky Butt’s second half equaliser, but were denied a point in cruel circumstances, when Kalou tucked away the decisive goal from six yards - and yards offside. “It wasn’t even close,” one of Grant’s aides admitted. Allardyce said: “It was clear-cut, blatantly offside, there was only a blue shirt between our goal-keeper and our goal. It was a decision I wouldn’t mind getting myself in trouble talking about, but as a manager you can’t really say what you think. It hurts deeply, though. A result has been taken away from us through no fault of ours.”
Michael Essien had given Chelsea the lead after 29 minutes, but thereafter a flood of possession came to nought for the want of the finishing usually supplied by Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Andriy Shevchenko, all of whom were absent injured, and Newcastle hit back with great spirit in the second half. From the black and white perspective, this was the performance needed to atone for that Boxing Day surrender at Wigan. More of the same at home to Manchester City on Wednesday could provide the lift-off that Allardyce needs.
Newcastle’s most notable absentee, given his circumstances, was Joey Barton, remanded in custody on charges of assault and affray. His footballing future, the manager said, would be decided at boardroom level. The initiative was with Chelsea from the outset and the first save – a good one – was made by Shay Given. It came after Shaun Wright-Phillips had burst past Charles N’Zogbia – a regular occurrence – before supplying Juliano Belletti, who cut the ball back for Kalou, whose shot was impressively repelled. Chelsea might have had the goal their superiority warranted but Alex’s free header from Belletti’s free kick went straight to Given. Newcastle’s reprieve lasted only a matter of seconds. Then Belletti’s throw-in from the right was inadequately defended, allowing Michael Ballack to head the ball on to Wright-Phillips. The England winger’s shot, scuffed into the ground, hit Kalou and was deflected to Essien, who stabbed home from the six-yard line after Steven Taylor had made a maladroit hash of clearing the danger.
Allardyce and his team were in familiar territory, behind yet again. How would they respond? With encouraging resilience and determination, although Wright-Phillips should have doubled the margin just before the interval, when he headed weakly wide at the far post from Joe Cole’s cross.
The second goal Chelsea needed might have arrived in the first minute of the second half, when Wright-Phillips’ pace again embarrassed N’Zogbia, an achilles heel of a left-back, and Butt’s intended clearance tested Given overhead.
With Chelsea on top, the home crowd had just started taunting the “Toon Army” with choruses of “You’re worse than Sunderland” when Newcastle stunned them into silence by equalising.
Not for the first time, Mikel gave the ball away carelessly in midfield and N’Zogbia drove to the byline on the left before delivering a well directed cross. Martins met it in the middle, improvising a backheel to Butt, who bundled the ball over the line.
Grant’s decision to replace Cole with Claudio Pizarro midway through the second half was greeted with abuse from the crowd, who bellowed in unision that their manager didn’t know what he was doing. It was a strange reaction, even allowing for Cole’s popularity, for he had never been anywhere near his best, and there was more of the same after 75 minutes, when Ballack, tiring after eight months out, gave way to Scott Sinclair. The home fans’ displeasure would have known no bounds had Damien Duff given Newcastle the lead against his old club, as he would have done after 68 minutes but for Belletti’s last-ditch intervention.
The winning goal bordered on the ludicrous. Mikel’s initial shot hit Pizarro and rebounded to Kalou, who was not so much feet as yards offside when he scored.
Allardyce was mortified. He said: “We’re living in a more volatile atmosphere in the Premiership, with seven managers losing their jobs already, and I want to know why that decision was made. I asked the linesman and got no answer. Why did he do it? Blind fear. He’s got to make a crucial decision at a critical time on Chelsea’s home ground, and maybe his arm was frozen.”
Match stats
Chelsea: Hilario 6, Belletti 6, Alex 6, Ben Haim 6, Bridge 6, Essien 6, Mikel 5, Ballack 5 (Sinclair 75min), J Cole 5 (Pizarro 65min), Kalou 6, Wright-Phillips 7 (Sidwell 90min) Star man: Nicky Butt (Newcastle)
Newcastle: Given 7, Beye 7, Cacapa 6, Taylor 7, N’Zogbia 5, Faye 7, Butt 9, Milner 5, Smith 5 (Rozehnal 69min), Martins 6 (Owen 73min), Duff 5 (Viduka 89min)
Scorers: Chelsea: Essien 29, Kalou 87. Newcastle: Butt 56 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Allardyce curse his luck after Kalou steals winBy Patrick Barclay at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (1) 2 Newcastle United (0) 1
The 4-4 draw with Aston Villa here on Boxing Day was always going to be a hard act to follow and this match, for half of its course, did not even try. Then Newcastle played as if determined to cast Sam Allardyce's regime in a kinder light than has been shed of late and, although they lost, it was only to a goal of the utmost fraudulence: Salomon Kalou, who scored it, was yards offside. Even Chelsea TV, whose commentary often contains a refreshing element of candour, admitted: ''We got away with murder."
Thus the losers came out with more credit, or at least sympathy, than the winners, whose manager, Avram Grant, was informed, 'You don't know what you're doing' when he replaced Joe Cole with Claudio Pizarro midway through the second half. Whatever Roman Abramovich may think, Grant has yet to convince the majority of Chelsea's support that he can build a beautiful and successful team on the platform left by Jose Mourinho. It was just as well the announcer could lift the immediate post-match mood with the result from West Ham, which left Chelsea four points behind Manchester United despite the ravages of injury and suspension.
How Newcastle must envy this crowd their petty grumbles. That Allardyce is forever ranting about the unfairness of decisions should not detract from the validity of his case here. Newcastle were just minutes from a precious point when John Obi Mikel's shot hit Pizarro and fell to Kalou, who had the decency to look restrained after putting the ball past Shay Given from close range.
Afterwards Allardyce said: "A result's been taken away from us by a linesman [Mike Cairns] who's got a decision horribly wrong." That was about the size of it and the Newcastle manager felt entitled to heap praise on his men. ''Now my job is to make sure this doesn't knock the players' confidence."
In which case he had better not show them a recording of the first half; another look at the second would fortify them for, with Nicky Butt excellent, they attacked on a broad front and cancelled out Michael Essien's opening goal.
A more modest measure of defiance had marked Newcastle's start during which Butt, catching Mikel in possession, delivered a fine through-pass on which Obafemi Martins failed to capitalise. The match soon acquired a more predictable pattern and Shay Given, after parrying an effort from Kalou, distinguished himself by clawing away a deflected shot from Mikel.
The judicious dismissal by the FA of an appeal against Ashley Cole's red card had left Chelsea lacking 10 members of their squad - with four due to depart shortly for the African Cup of Nations, expect vigorous activity by Grant when the transfer window opens on Tuesday - but they comfortably controlled matters, Mikel and Essien helping Michael Ballack, captain for the day, to pull the strings in midfield.
Then Juliano Belletti's throw was cleared only to Shaun Wright-Phillips, whose shot from 25 yards veered off Kalou and landed in the goalmouth. Essien, reacting more sharply than Steven Taylor or Claudio Cacapa, whipped it into the net. Wright-Phillips might have increased Chelsea's lead seconds from the interval, when he nodded into the side netting following Cole's cross
A different, infinitely more assertive Newcastle emerged and, with Charles N'Zogbia pushing forward to increase Belletti's workload, made progress. Butt was first evident at the wrong end of the field - sliding to intercept Wright-Phillips's ball infield, he succeeded only in forcing Given brilliantly to avert a contender for own-goal of the season - but the former Manchester United midfielder was next primarily responsible for the equaliser.
Sending N'Zogbia down the left, Butt kept running and, after N'Zogbia had got past Mikel and crossed low, was on to Martins' miscued shot, bundling the ball in off Wayne Bridge. Grant responded by replacing Cole with Pizarro, which prompted those unkind chants from the Matthew Harding Stand. If he had taken off Kalou, there would have been few complaints. Yet Kalou it was who, however luckily, won the match. Allardyce, meanwhile, had sent on Michael Owen for Martins, but such fortune was not to favour the Newcastle cause.
For Grant, when he was asked about the crucial goal, charity began at home. ''I didn't see the incident again," he said, ''but we made so many chances today we deserved to win anyway." He deflected a question about the chants too, saying: ''I think the supporters are behind us. They knew it was not easy for us today with so many key players missing. Those who did play showed a lot of character." And Cole, he added, ''had some problems with injury." So maybe Grant did know what he was doing. Two defeats in 22 matches is hardly the statistic of an impostor.
Man of the matchJohn Obi Mikel 8/10
Completed 93 per cent of passesWon 100 per cent of tackles
Telegraph verdict Moment of the match: The cruel confounding of Newcastle apart, what stands out is the memory of Nicky Butt almost scoring an own-goal from long range with an attempted clearance. Match rating: 6/10 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
morning papers villa home
The TimesDecember 27, 2007
Gareth Barry keeps his nerve as nine-man Chelsea lose their heads in thrillerChelsea 4 Aston Villa 4Alyson Rudd
And to think that managers grumble about the festive fixture list. When supporters of these clubs reminisce about the Christmas of 2007, they will remember most clearly the eight goals, three red cards, exquisite skill and late drama yesterday. In stoppage time, Ashley Cole was sent off for handling on the line and Gareth Barry stepped up to equalise for the visiting team against nine men.
It was breathtaking from the start and the result was never certain. Would Chelsea surrender their long unbeaten run at home in the league or extend it to 72 matches? Would Aston Villa be involved in a match even more incredible than their 4-4 draw away to Tottenham Hotspur on October 1? That the match ended in a draw had to be the fair result. Villa deserve plaudits for their attack-minded approach at the fortress that is Stamford Bridge, while Chelsea should be praised for their flair and resilience.
Neither manager will be happy with the red cards, but this was not an overly physical contest. Only Ricardo Carvalho’s tackle on Gabriel Agbonlahor was nasty and the Chelsea defender was sent off for it.
From Chelsea’s perspective, the preservation of that phenomenal home record was something that Avram Grant, the first-team coach, ought to feel proud about. Once Carvalho had been sent off in the 80th minute, it meant that they were without the Portuguese defender, without Frank Lampard, without Didier Drogba, without John Terry and with Petr Cech the most vulnerable he has looked in goal. This was a weakened Chelsea spine and then some. It was a wonder that did not collapse.
Drogba and Terry were out through injury, of course, but Lampard limped off in the first half. In fact, Lampard limped off and limped back on again; took off his captain’s armband then put it back on again. Grant has shown that he does not like players to decide for themselves when they should come off. But, finally, Lampard was replaced by Michael Ballack, a thigh strain depriving the England midfield player of the opportunity to score his 100th Chelsea goal in front of a Boxing Day crowd in West London. This landmark was probably the only missing piece of glitter on a sparkling afternoon.
Villa were bullish from the start, no doubt buoyed by the fact that they had inflicted a 2-0 defeat on Chelsea, then under José Mourinho’s control, in September. They took the lead in the fourteenth minute — it was early enough for Villa fans still to be grumbling that Shaun Maloney had started instead of Stiliyan Petrov, whom they had hoped would be fit enough to feature. But it was Maloney who scored, latching on to John Carew’s header from Agbonlahor’s cross.
It was a deserved lead, but there was more than an element of good fortune to Villa’s second. Maloney, a minute before half-time, shot straight at Cech. It was neither a powerful nor a well-placed attempt and Cech certainly managed to place both hands behind the shot, but he failed to hold on to it and the ball trickled over the line as Cech stared in disbelief. Grant had been relieved that the bruising Cech sustained during Chelsea’s victory away to Blackburn Rovers on Sunday had not been serious, but he must have wondered if he made the correct decision to declare his first-choice goalkeeper fit to play.
The home side were 2-0 down, but it was Villa who began to look jittery. Zat Knight made a clumsy challenge on Ballack and the shove cost him any further involvement. Knight was sent off for being the last defender rather than for any violence and the challenge did more bodily damage to the Villa defender than the German. Martin O’Neill, the Villa manager, said that he would consider an appeal as he believed that Ballack had fallen despite minimal contact.
Phil Dowd, the referee, had to wait for Knight to get to his feet before showing the red card and at that moment it seemed that Villa, despite their lead, had lost any realistic chance to cause an upset. Andriy Shevchenko converted the penalty, firing the ball into the bottom right-hand corner of Scott Carson’s net.
Villa had possessed the more spirited attitude for much of the first half, but Chelsea certainly made up for their sluggish start by attacking at the start of the second period with palpable urgency. From 25 yards, Shevchenko proved the adage about class being permanent. The ball whistled beyond the reach of Carson for Chelsea’s equaliser.
This was Shevchenko’s day and the home fans knew it. Rarely have they been as sorry to see him substituted as they were when Grant decided to haul him off before he could complete his hat-trick. The Ukrainian exhibited some beautiful skill as he held off the attentions of Barry with a pirouette and then fed the perfect through-ball to Alex, who scored to put Chelsea in the lead in the 66th minute.
But still Villa were sprightly. As Ashley Young swung in a free kick, Martin Laursen might have thought about a header but opted for a volley to make it 3-3.
Then came the moment when O’Neill thought Villa might yet win. Carvalho responded to a rampaging run by Agbonlahor with a two-footed, studs-up tackle that resulted in the second red card of the afternoon. However, Ballack’s low, unstoppable free kick in the 88th minute gave Chelsea the lead once more.
Then came the finale. Ashley Cole appeared to use his hand to stop Agbonlahor’s header crossing the line and Dowd flourished another red card. The players crowded round the referee, both sets of supporters bayed and Barry calmly walked forward to take the penalty in stoppage time to make it 4-4. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Aston Villa revival makes O'Neill look specialBy Henry Winter at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (1) 4 Aston Villa (2) 4
This was the match that had everything except a winner. It had early baths, late goals, accusations of diving, coaching assistants inviting each other down the tunnel, and another entry into the two-footed tackle hall of shame. It had a howler from one of the world's leading goalkeepers, Petr Cech. And it even had a double from Andrei Shevchenko.
Compelling entertainment from first whistle to last, this Premier League epic reminded everyone of how Martin O'Neill has galvanised Aston Villa and why Avram Grant lacks the charisma to inspire Chelsea to great heights in the post-Jose Mourinho era. "We've got the Special One," chanted Villa fans.
Grant rued the dropped points, although he continues to believe Chelsea can catch Arsenal and Manchester United in the race for the title. "As long as we have a chance, we will not give up," Grant said. "It's a big challenge, but it was from day one."
That sounded like a dig at Mourinho, insinuating that Chelsea were always going to struggle following the indifferent start to the season that helped contribute to the Portuguese's downfall. Chelsea's ambitions could be tempered further by an already packed treatment room now squeezing in Frank Lampard, who damaged his thigh, and a Heathrow departure lounge full of players heading to the African Cup of Nations in Ghana.
And suspensions. Ricardo Carvalho's reckless lunge at Gabriel Agbonlahor means the centre-half will be absent against Newcastle United, Fulham and QPR. If Didier Drogba's muscular presence is missed in attack, John Terry's steadying influence in defence and gutsy leadership is similarly pined for by Chelsea fans.
How Grant could have done with a central-defensive giant in the class of Villa's Martin Laursen, comfortably the man of the match, with respectful nods to his colleagues Gareth Barry and Ashley Young and the hosts' Shevchenko and Michael Essien.
Chelsea's defence was too generous, too hesitant. Shaun Maloney exploited a lack of organisation in the blue ranks to record his first-half double, starting in the 13th minute. When Agbonlahor clipped in a cross from the right, John Carew nodded down and little Maloney beat Cech from close range: 0-1.
Chelsea sought to raise their game, but ran into the outstanding Laursen, the defender blocking and tackling, intercepting crosses in the air and on the ground. Chelsea's mood darkened further when Lampard limped off. Michael Ballack appeared and was immediately sent into orbit by Nigel Reo-Coker.
As Grant, Henk Ten Cate and Steve Clarke leapt from the bench to remonstrate with the referee, Phil Dowd screamed "go away" at them and contended himself with a gentle admonishment of Reo-Coker. Ten Cate was in particularly volcanic mood, keeping a very loud running total of perceived Villa transgressions, which he transmitted to the visitors' bench. John Robertson and company merely laughed.
Villa's good spirits rose higher two minutes from the break. When Claudio Pizarro faltered in possession, Laursen fed the ball to Maloney, who scampered towards goal like a schoolboy chasing the morning bus. Alex, a bundle of first-half uncertainties, stood off and Maloney let fly, the ball heading for the seeming safe haven of Cech's grasp. Yet Chelsea's goalkeeper misjudged the speed and the ball bounced off him and span back into the net: 0-2.
The drama intensified moments later. Ballack, through on goal, appeared to be pushed by Zat Knight and the German collapsed like a house of cards in a hurricane. "Off, off, off" chorused the Shed at Knight, once of neighbours Fulham. Dowd needed little encouraging, pointing Knight towards the tunnel.
O'Neill was livid with Ballack. "It's 'chup'," said the Villa manager cryptically, although there was no mistaking his meaning as he signalled a gentle swallow dive with his hands. "He has gone over. There's no contact. I'm only three and a half per cent biased but it's not a penalty. I might appeal [Knight's red card]. It was very harsh."
However much Ballack milked the contact, Dowd was right. It looked a penalty. As Knight trudged away, Shevchenko neatly put the penalty away: 1-2. The initiative swung Chelsea's away. Poor Maloney. The Scot was removed as Villa went with two banks of deep-lying fours with the hard-working Carew a distant outlet.
Such was the crowded nature of Villa's dug-out that Maloney had to sit among the Chelsea supporters. At least, it saved him getting caught in the inter-bench crossfire.
The force was with Chelsea. Shevchenko was suddenly rolling back the years, and rolling his markers, equalising with the type of magnificent 25-yarder that spiced his prolific time at AC Milan and Dynamo Kiev: 2-2. Shevchenko then sent through Alex, who planted his shot firmly past Scott Carson: 3-2.
It was an astonishing turnaround, and showed the enduring class that Grant can call upon. Ballack certainly looked hungry for the fray, Essien delivered his usual 90 minutes of creating and destroying while Shevchenko appeared reborn. Yet O'Neill has sent real defiance flowing through claret-and-blue veins. When Young whipped over a free-kick, Laursen stretched out a leg and turned the ball past Cech: 3-3.
Parity of personnel also arrived, Carvalho departing for that filthy challenge. "Carvalho had no intention to hurt the player," Grant stressed. O'Neill disagreed. "It's a two-footed challenge," remarked the Villa manager. "It's a sending-off offence."
Incidents continued to abound. With three breathless minutes left, Dowd wrongly awarded Chelsea a free-kick 20 yards out after Laursen and Joe Cole had simply collided. Ballack added insult to iniquity with a low free-kick that swerved past the wall and in: 4-3.
The temperature rose with the goal count. Ten Cate inquired of O'Neill's bench whether they wanted to discuss the game's finer points in a more private setting. Again, Villa rallied and when Agbonlahor headed goalwards, Ashley Cole thrust out his chest. "Penalty," shouted Villa. "Never," yelled Chelsea, insisting the ball never touched Cole's arm. All eyes turned to Dowd, who showed Cole the direction to the dressing-rooms, and Barry the way to the spot. Villa's captain stroked in the penalty: 4-4.
As Grant was busy launching an ambitious appeal over Cole's dismissal, O'Neill was concluding: "We've been back from the dead twice." Vitality ruled at the Bridge yesterday.
Man of the match Andriy Shevchenko 9 • Scored two goals • Had three other shots• Set up Alex for Chelsea's third---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 4 Aston Villa 4: Barry cuts Chelsea adrift in race for the title By Sam Wallace
Like an old regimental flag shot to bits and tattered round the edges, Chelsea carried their unbeaten home League run to 72 games yesterday, but the question they ask themselves today is how much longer? How much longer can they compete in a Premier League title race with almost half their team injured, suspended or running on empty?
After an afternoon of pure drama at Stamford Bridge there are those who might just wish to savour the moment. While Avram Grant's mission may have been to stamp out every last vestige of controversy and excitement from a club who, at times, have sleepwalked to victory, yesterday was different in every respect. A pulse-quickening, full-blooded encounter in which every new plot line seemed more incredible than the last.
But what is left for Chelsea when the dust settles? Ashley Cole and Ricardo Carvalho both suspended for three games while John Terry, Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda are all injured. Away at Newcastle on 29 December, Grant faces the prospect of pairing Alex da Costa with Tal Ben Haim in the centre of his defence – a duo who have, at times this season, displayed all the reliability under pressure of the Chuckle Brothers.
Lampard's thigh injury is not thought to be as bad as first thought but with Manchester United now seven points clear of Chelsea, the title race is slipping away from Stamford Bridge. "These are not easy times but from the first time I came here it was not easy," Grant said. "We had a lot of injured players then but now it is even worse. But we got through before and we will try to do our best."
It was an absorbing game yesterday, one in which Aston Villa demonstrated a steel worthy of their manager, Martin O'Neill, despite having one fewer player for 34 minutes of the second half. "We were terrific," said O'Neill, whose side are eighth in the Premier League. "When we were back to 10 men each [and the score at 3-3], I thought we could win the game." At times, it seemed that anything was possible.
Take a deep breath and try to follow a tale with more twists than your average piece of Christmas tinsel. In the first half were two goals for Villa from Shaun Maloney, the second gifted to him by a rare howler from Petr Cech. One minute from the interval, Andrei Shevchenko scored from the penalty spot and added a second screamer five minutes after the break. Alex put Chelsea 3-2 ahead, Martin Laursen pulled one back and Ballack's free-kick seemed to have won the game at 4-3 two minutes from time. It was Barry's equalising penalty that was the final act in a remarkable game.
Yet that only told half a tale in which two of three red cards will be appealed. Not only did O'Neill query Chelsea's penalty for their first goal – and Zat Knight's red card – he also said that the free-kick Ballack scored from should not have been given. Chelsea will dispute that Ashley Cole's clearance off the line from Gabriel Agbonlahor's header at the end of the game was not handball – and certainly not deliberate. Precedent suggests both appeals will be rejected.
At the centre of it all was Mr Philip Dowd of Staffordshire, the referee famously described by Paul Jewell once as "Dowd by name, dour by nature". That was the one accusation you could not level against Dowd yesterday – there was absolutely nothing dour about this game. Just Shevchenko's luck: he scores two goals and his name does not even make the headlines.
Villa's first was a smartly worked move that started with Agbonlahor. He picked out John Carew at the back post, and his header down to Maloney's feet was easily tucked past Cech. The second was a real collector's piece from Cech whose feeble attempt to stop a tame shot from Maloney was reminiscent of the aberration by Scott Carson – watching from the other end – for England against Croatia.
Within a minute Michael Essien's scuffed shot had inadvertently put in Ballack, whose tangle with Knight precipitated a theatrical fall from the German. Off went Knight and Shevchenko buried the penalty. The confidence was back: the Ukrainian hit his second five minutes after half-time, a beauty from 25 yards, that flew past Carson.
Then Shevchenko played in Alex for Chelsea's third on 66 minutes, the Brazilian looking a lot more accomplished as a striker than he often does as a defender. In fact, Alex was absent six minutes later when Ashley Young's free-kick from the right was toed past Cech by Martin Laursen, who was left completely unmarked.
Still more to come. Carvalho's lunge at Agbonlahor was a red card and it was 10 men each. No matter. Two minutes from time and Ballack curved a low free-kick into Carson's goal. On the touchline O'Neill was ranting about the debatable decision to give the free-kick for a tackle by Laursen on Joe Cole on the edge of Villa's area.
The final twist came two minutes into extra-time. Another unseemly scramble in the Chelsea area and Agbonlahor's header was cleared off the line by Ashley Cole. Dowd app-eared to take advice from his linesmen and Cole was off for handball. Penalty – and the last word went to Gareth Barry.
Goals: Maloney (13) 0-1; Maloney (44) 0-2; Shevchenko (pen, 45) 1-2; Shevchenko (50) 2-2; Alex (66) 3-2; Laursen (72) 3-3; Ballack (88) 4-3; Barry (pen, 90) 4-4.
Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Ferreira, Alex, Carvalho, A Cole; J Cole, Essien, Lampard (Ballack, 26), Kalou; Pizarro (Mikel, 85), Shevchenko (Wright-Phillips, 82). Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Mikel, Ben Haim.
Aston Villa (4-4-2): Carson; Mellberg, Knight, Laursen, Bouma (Harewood, 89); Agbonlahor, Reo-Coker, Barry, Young; Carew (Moore, 78), Maloney (Davies, h-t). Substitutes not used: Taylor (gk), Gardner.
Referee: P Dowd (Staffordshire).
Booked: Chelsea Essien, Ballack; Aston Villa Reo-Coker.
Sent off: Chelsea Carvalho, A Cole; Aston Villa Knight.
Man of the match: Shevchenko.
Attendance: 41,686.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chelsea have little defence after two red cards in a roller-coaster
Kevin McCarra at Stamford BridgeThursday December 27, 2007The Guardian
The score, with a penalty for the visitors in the last minute, may have been tied up but this was a match in which logic unravelled to joyous effect. Only those with a vested interest can be immune to the delight of such a game. As the sides demolished one another's defences there was debris everywhere and reconstruction work lies ahead for each manager now that two of Chelsea's players and one of Aston Villa's will be suspended after each being sent off with a straight red card.
The visitors will miss Zat Knight, dismissed after conceding the penalty from which Andriy Shevchenko trimmed Chelsea's deficit to 2-1, unless a rare success is achieved with the appeal that the manager, Martin O'Neill, is inclined to lodge. Chelsea said last night that they would appeal against Ashley Cole's red card. The coach, Avram Grant, said: "I saw it again on the television and it was not a penalty but I cannot change it."Grant will be aghast by proceedings featuring the dismissal of Cole and Ricardo Carvalho, although Chelsea were not such a victim of the referee Phil Dowd's faltering judgment as Villa. John Terry is already out for several weeks through injury and his fellow centre-half Carvalho now faces a three-game ban for leaping at Gabriel Agbonlahor with both feet in the 80th minute. He is ruled out of Premier League matches at home to Newcastle United and away to Fulham before an FA Cup tie with Queen's Park Rangers.
"I didn't see there was any intention to hurt the player," said Grant, striving to set new standards of partisanship. In a subsequent statement Carvalho explained that he had not seen Agbonlahor after the match to apologise but had asked for a message to be passed on to him.
The Portuguese, denying any intent to hurt an opponent, may have recognised the wildness of his challenge. Grant did not go even that far but it is natural for him to have a beleaguered air. Frank Lampard, for instance, went off here with a thigh strain and Didier Drogba, currently hurt, will be bound for the African Cup of Nations next month. Grant said: "I am waiting for the day I will have all my players."
Chelsea could hardly afford to be further depleted in defence - it was four years to the day since they last conceded four, against Charlton on Boxing Day 2003 - yet Ashley Cole will endure an instant one-game ban. He was sent packing for conceding the penalty from which Villa levelled the match at 4-4. It had looked as if the Chelsea left-back had initially blocked Agbonlahor's effort with head and shoulder, but the assistant referee immediately signalled for the offence.
O'Neill, given time, might come to the view that his dissatisfaction with a draw at Stamford Bridge is evidence that Villa are evolving. Villa possessed much more zest than Chelsea in the game's initial phase and, with Agbonlahor and Ashley Young, now have attacking panache. In the short term, though, O'Neill will brood.
His side either took full advantage of the torpor in the Chelsea ranks at the outset or, perhaps, just made Grant's line-up appear sluggish. John Carew ought to have put his header into the net in the ninth minute. Five minutes later he met an Agbonlahor delivery and set up Shaun Maloney to take the first of his goals with ease. The Scot next struck in the 44th minute, hitting a moderate drive that bounced off the arm of the goalkeeper, Petr Cech, to reach the net. It was the Czech's second blunder in rapid succession following the William Gallas winner for Arsenal 10 days previously. "It happens to even the best goalkeeper in the world," said Grant.
Chelsea looked weak and directionless, but a penalty got them back on track. O'Neill, with onomatopoeic virtuosity, made a noise that was comprehensible to all as the audible equivalent of a dive when arguing that Knight had made no contact on the substitute Michael Ballack in the third minute of first-half stoppage time. Shevchenko drilled home the penalty.
Despite the blizzard of incident here, the excellence of Shevchenko ought to be kept in view. He squared the match from 20 yards with a drive into the top corner after 50 minutes. In the 66th minute the Ukrainian converted himself into a playmaker, collecting a pass from the surging Alex before stroking the return ball from which the Brazilian defender finished.
A Villa leveller defied the seeming logic of the fixture but Martin Laursen volleyed in a Young free-kick crisply. Ballack, in his first Premier League outing of the season, was even more expert from a set-piece when piloting a shot past the left hand of Scott Carson in the 88th minute. "There's no contact," O'Neill lamented of the incident involving Laursen and Joe Cole for which Dowd awarded the free-kick.
Villa's manager remained bold, though. In a final throw he put on Marlon Harewood for the left-back, Wilfred Bouma. Whether or not the penalty at the end was warranted, the outcome certainly was.
Man of the match Andriy Shevchenko (Chelsea)
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Last-gasp Barry on spot for Villa after Cole, Knight and Carvalho see redChelsea 4 Aston Villa 4
Eight goals, three red cards, two comebacks and one apology for another two-footed, reckless tackle. Who needs Jose Mourinho to liven up Stamford Bridge?
Even Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack were among the goals on a day of high drama. Let's deal with the crimesheet first.
Ricardo Carvalho deserved to be sent off for a terrible two-footed tackle on Gabriel Agbonlahor in the 80th minute. Villa manager Martin O'Neill said it was 'reckless' and Carvalho later said sorry, adding: 'It was never my intention to hurt Agbonlahor with the tackle. I was going for the ball and I don't want people to think that I tried to hurt another player.'
Ashley Cole's hand-ball on the line in added time was a clear red, despite his tiresomely predictable protests. It presented Villa with a deserved chance to level. Now Chelsea must cope without the banned Cole and Carvalho as well as the injured John Terry. Zat Knight was the first to go for a professional foul and, although Villa will consider an appeal, they can have little argument with referee Phil Dowd.
It all added up to a breathless game packed with goals and excitement. Villa raced into a 2-0 lead, then Chelsea nosed in front 3-2 and 4-3 before Gareth Barry scored in the 90th minute. Anyone get a pacemaker for Christmas?
Villa will feel they might have ended Chelsea's 72-game unbeaten run on their home patch yesterday, for they came to London with the ambition for an upset.
'I thought we were terrific in the first half,' said O'Neill.
They were leading 2-0 before Knight was sent off for a trip on Chelsea sub Ballack. Shevchenko scored the penalty.
O'Neill said: 'I've seen the incident a couple of times and I thought it was very harsh. There was no contact. But we played most of the second half a man down, came back from the dead twice and scored four goals at Stamford Bridge. I'm glad we got something out of the game — if we hadn't I'd have committed suicide.'
The opening exchanges suggested Villa were in the mood, with both Agbonlahor and John Carew going close before they took the lead with a piercing move.
Carew headed Agbonlahor's cross into the path of Shaun Maloney and the Scot slid the ball beyond Petr Cech.
Two minutes before half-time the lead was doubled. Maloney — not always a fixture in the Villa side, but a sign of their attacking intentions — struck again as Cech fumbled a low shot.
With Scott Carson watching from the other end, he would have noticed that even the best in the world can drop a clanger.
Earlier in the proceedings, Chelsea had lost Frank Lampard to injury, having taken a heavy knock on his right thigh. With Newcastle visiting on Saturday, Stamford Bridge boss Avram Grant will await the results of scans today with growing concern. It is only days until Roman Abramovich's chequebook will surely be waved around once again during the January transfer window.
Knight's clumsy challenge and subsequent marching orders presented the home team with a rescue route.
In Lampard's absence, Shevchenko took responsibility and sent Carson the wrong way.
The Ukrainian levelled the scores against Villa's 10 men with a fierce, dipping shot from 20 yards, then set up Chelsea's third in an exchange of passes with Alex which ended with the Brazilian firing home a low shot.
With Knight taken out of the equation, O'Neill had to reshuffle at half-time — withdrawing two-goal Maloney and filling the gap in his defence with Curtis Davies.
That, however, left Carew in a lone striker's role and offered them limited attacking options. Yet they managed to bring the scores level again as Martin Laursen stole in behind the home defence to steer home Ashley Young's free-kick. Then Carvalho was dismissed — but there was even more drama to come.
O'Neill and the Villa players were equally adamant that Dowd made another mistake when Laursen was judged to have fouled Joe Cole 20 yards out from the middle of the goal in the 87th minute, setting up sub Ballack to score from the freekick.
But the visitors did not dwell on their disappointment and pushed forward to provide the game's exciting finish.
With Cech out of position, Agbonlahor appeared to have headed an equaliser until the ball was blocked on the line by a combination of Cole's head and left arm. At first, referee Dowd ignored Villa's frantic appeals for a penalty.
But after consulting with his assistant, he pointed to the spot, produced a red card for Cole and Gareth Barry calmly supplied the equaliser which his side thoroughly deserved.
The loss of two points could prove crucial to Chelsea's title ambitions, but Grant refused to accept it was a lethal blow, saying: 'As long as we have a chance, we will do everything to challenge for the Premier League title.'
Chelsea: Cech, Ferreira, Alex, Carvalho, Ashley Cole, Kalou, Essien, Lampard, Joe Cole, Pizarro, Shevchenko. Subs: Hilario, Obi, Ballack, Ben-Haim, Wright-Phillips.
Aston Villa: Carson, Mellberg, Laursen, Knight, Bouma, Maloney, Reo-Coker, Barry, Young, Carew, Agbonlahor. Subs: Taylor, Moore, Harewood, Davies, Gardner.
Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gareth Barry keeps his nerve as nine-man Chelsea lose their heads in thrillerChelsea 4 Aston Villa 4Alyson Rudd
And to think that managers grumble about the festive fixture list. When supporters of these clubs reminisce about the Christmas of 2007, they will remember most clearly the eight goals, three red cards, exquisite skill and late drama yesterday. In stoppage time, Ashley Cole was sent off for handling on the line and Gareth Barry stepped up to equalise for the visiting team against nine men.
It was breathtaking from the start and the result was never certain. Would Chelsea surrender their long unbeaten run at home in the league or extend it to 72 matches? Would Aston Villa be involved in a match even more incredible than their 4-4 draw away to Tottenham Hotspur on October 1? That the match ended in a draw had to be the fair result. Villa deserve plaudits for their attack-minded approach at the fortress that is Stamford Bridge, while Chelsea should be praised for their flair and resilience.
Neither manager will be happy with the red cards, but this was not an overly physical contest. Only Ricardo Carvalho’s tackle on Gabriel Agbonlahor was nasty and the Chelsea defender was sent off for it.
From Chelsea’s perspective, the preservation of that phenomenal home record was something that Avram Grant, the first-team coach, ought to feel proud about. Once Carvalho had been sent off in the 80th minute, it meant that they were without the Portuguese defender, without Frank Lampard, without Didier Drogba, without John Terry and with Petr Cech the most vulnerable he has looked in goal. This was a weakened Chelsea spine and then some. It was a wonder that did not collapse.
Drogba and Terry were out through injury, of course, but Lampard limped off in the first half. In fact, Lampard limped off and limped back on again; took off his captain’s armband then put it back on again. Grant has shown that he does not like players to decide for themselves when they should come off. But, finally, Lampard was replaced by Michael Ballack, a thigh strain depriving the England midfield player of the opportunity to score his 100th Chelsea goal in front of a Boxing Day crowd in West London. This landmark was probably the only missing piece of glitter on a sparkling afternoon.
Villa were bullish from the start, no doubt buoyed by the fact that they had inflicted a 2-0 defeat on Chelsea, then under José Mourinho’s control, in September. They took the lead in the fourteenth minute — it was early enough for Villa fans still to be grumbling that Shaun Maloney had started instead of Stiliyan Petrov, whom they had hoped would be fit enough to feature. But it was Maloney who scored, latching on to John Carew’s header from Agbonlahor’s cross.
It was a deserved lead, but there was more than an element of good fortune to Villa’s second. Maloney, a minute before half-time, shot straight at Cech. It was neither a powerful nor a well-placed attempt and Cech certainly managed to place both hands behind the shot, but he failed to hold on to it and the ball trickled over the line as Cech stared in disbelief. Grant had been relieved that the bruising Cech sustained during Chelsea’s victory away to Blackburn Rovers on Sunday had not been serious, but he must have wondered if he made the correct decision to declare his first-choice goalkeeper fit to play.
The home side were 2-0 down, but it was Villa who began to look jittery. Zat Knight made a clumsy challenge on Ballack and the shove cost him any further involvement. Knight was sent off for being the last defender rather than for any violence and the challenge did more bodily damage to the Villa defender than the German. Martin O’Neill, the Villa manager, said that he would consider an appeal as he believed that Ballack had fallen despite minimal contact.
Phil Dowd, the referee, had to wait for Knight to get to his feet before showing the red card and at that moment it seemed that Villa, despite their lead, had lost any realistic chance to cause an upset. Andriy Shevchenko converted the penalty, firing the ball into the bottom right-hand corner of Scott Carson’s net.
Villa had possessed the more spirited attitude for much of the first half, but Chelsea certainly made up for their sluggish start by attacking at the start of the second period with palpable urgency. From 25 yards, Shevchenko proved the adage about class being permanent. The ball whistled beyond the reach of Carson for Chelsea’s equaliser.
This was Shevchenko’s day and the home fans knew it. Rarely have they been as sorry to see him substituted as they were when Grant decided to haul him off before he could complete his hat-trick. The Ukrainian exhibited some beautiful skill as he held off the attentions of Barry with a pirouette and then fed the perfect through-ball to Alex, who scored to put Chelsea in the lead in the 66th minute.
But still Villa were sprightly. As Ashley Young swung in a free kick, Martin Laursen might have thought about a header but opted for a volley to make it 3-3.
Then came the moment when O’Neill thought Villa might yet win. Carvalho responded to a rampaging run by Agbonlahor with a two-footed, studs-up tackle that resulted in the second red card of the afternoon. However, Ballack’s low, unstoppable free kick in the 88th minute gave Chelsea the lead once more.
Then came the finale. Ashley Cole appeared to use his hand to stop Agbonlahor’s header crossing the line and Dowd flourished another red card. The players crowded round the referee, both sets of supporters bayed and Barry calmly walked forward to take the penalty in stoppage time to make it 4-4. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Aston Villa revival makes O'Neill look specialBy Henry Winter at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (1) 4 Aston Villa (2) 4
This was the match that had everything except a winner. It had early baths, late goals, accusations of diving, coaching assistants inviting each other down the tunnel, and another entry into the two-footed tackle hall of shame. It had a howler from one of the world's leading goalkeepers, Petr Cech. And it even had a double from Andrei Shevchenko.
Compelling entertainment from first whistle to last, this Premier League epic reminded everyone of how Martin O'Neill has galvanised Aston Villa and why Avram Grant lacks the charisma to inspire Chelsea to great heights in the post-Jose Mourinho era. "We've got the Special One," chanted Villa fans.
Grant rued the dropped points, although he continues to believe Chelsea can catch Arsenal and Manchester United in the race for the title. "As long as we have a chance, we will not give up," Grant said. "It's a big challenge, but it was from day one."
That sounded like a dig at Mourinho, insinuating that Chelsea were always going to struggle following the indifferent start to the season that helped contribute to the Portuguese's downfall. Chelsea's ambitions could be tempered further by an already packed treatment room now squeezing in Frank Lampard, who damaged his thigh, and a Heathrow departure lounge full of players heading to the African Cup of Nations in Ghana.
And suspensions. Ricardo Carvalho's reckless lunge at Gabriel Agbonlahor means the centre-half will be absent against Newcastle United, Fulham and QPR. If Didier Drogba's muscular presence is missed in attack, John Terry's steadying influence in defence and gutsy leadership is similarly pined for by Chelsea fans.
How Grant could have done with a central-defensive giant in the class of Villa's Martin Laursen, comfortably the man of the match, with respectful nods to his colleagues Gareth Barry and Ashley Young and the hosts' Shevchenko and Michael Essien.
Chelsea's defence was too generous, too hesitant. Shaun Maloney exploited a lack of organisation in the blue ranks to record his first-half double, starting in the 13th minute. When Agbonlahor clipped in a cross from the right, John Carew nodded down and little Maloney beat Cech from close range: 0-1.
Chelsea sought to raise their game, but ran into the outstanding Laursen, the defender blocking and tackling, intercepting crosses in the air and on the ground. Chelsea's mood darkened further when Lampard limped off. Michael Ballack appeared and was immediately sent into orbit by Nigel Reo-Coker.
As Grant, Henk Ten Cate and Steve Clarke leapt from the bench to remonstrate with the referee, Phil Dowd screamed "go away" at them and contended himself with a gentle admonishment of Reo-Coker. Ten Cate was in particularly volcanic mood, keeping a very loud running total of perceived Villa transgressions, which he transmitted to the visitors' bench. John Robertson and company merely laughed.
Villa's good spirits rose higher two minutes from the break. When Claudio Pizarro faltered in possession, Laursen fed the ball to Maloney, who scampered towards goal like a schoolboy chasing the morning bus. Alex, a bundle of first-half uncertainties, stood off and Maloney let fly, the ball heading for the seeming safe haven of Cech's grasp. Yet Chelsea's goalkeeper misjudged the speed and the ball bounced off him and span back into the net: 0-2.
The drama intensified moments later. Ballack, through on goal, appeared to be pushed by Zat Knight and the German collapsed like a house of cards in a hurricane. "Off, off, off" chorused the Shed at Knight, once of neighbours Fulham. Dowd needed little encouraging, pointing Knight towards the tunnel.
O'Neill was livid with Ballack. "It's 'chup'," said the Villa manager cryptically, although there was no mistaking his meaning as he signalled a gentle swallow dive with his hands. "He has gone over. There's no contact. I'm only three and a half per cent biased but it's not a penalty. I might appeal [Knight's red card]. It was very harsh."
However much Ballack milked the contact, Dowd was right. It looked a penalty. As Knight trudged away, Shevchenko neatly put the penalty away: 1-2. The initiative swung Chelsea's away. Poor Maloney. The Scot was removed as Villa went with two banks of deep-lying fours with the hard-working Carew a distant outlet.
Such was the crowded nature of Villa's dug-out that Maloney had to sit among the Chelsea supporters. At least, it saved him getting caught in the inter-bench crossfire.
The force was with Chelsea. Shevchenko was suddenly rolling back the years, and rolling his markers, equalising with the type of magnificent 25-yarder that spiced his prolific time at AC Milan and Dynamo Kiev: 2-2. Shevchenko then sent through Alex, who planted his shot firmly past Scott Carson: 3-2.
It was an astonishing turnaround, and showed the enduring class that Grant can call upon. Ballack certainly looked hungry for the fray, Essien delivered his usual 90 minutes of creating and destroying while Shevchenko appeared reborn. Yet O'Neill has sent real defiance flowing through claret-and-blue veins. When Young whipped over a free-kick, Laursen stretched out a leg and turned the ball past Cech: 3-3.
Parity of personnel also arrived, Carvalho departing for that filthy challenge. "Carvalho had no intention to hurt the player," Grant stressed. O'Neill disagreed. "It's a two-footed challenge," remarked the Villa manager. "It's a sending-off offence."
Incidents continued to abound. With three breathless minutes left, Dowd wrongly awarded Chelsea a free-kick 20 yards out after Laursen and Joe Cole had simply collided. Ballack added insult to iniquity with a low free-kick that swerved past the wall and in: 4-3.
The temperature rose with the goal count. Ten Cate inquired of O'Neill's bench whether they wanted to discuss the game's finer points in a more private setting. Again, Villa rallied and when Agbonlahor headed goalwards, Ashley Cole thrust out his chest. "Penalty," shouted Villa. "Never," yelled Chelsea, insisting the ball never touched Cole's arm. All eyes turned to Dowd, who showed Cole the direction to the dressing-rooms, and Barry the way to the spot. Villa's captain stroked in the penalty: 4-4.
As Grant was busy launching an ambitious appeal over Cole's dismissal, O'Neill was concluding: "We've been back from the dead twice." Vitality ruled at the Bridge yesterday.
Man of the match Andriy Shevchenko 9 • Scored two goals • Had three other shots• Set up Alex for Chelsea's third---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 4 Aston Villa 4: Barry cuts Chelsea adrift in race for the title By Sam Wallace
Like an old regimental flag shot to bits and tattered round the edges, Chelsea carried their unbeaten home League run to 72 games yesterday, but the question they ask themselves today is how much longer? How much longer can they compete in a Premier League title race with almost half their team injured, suspended or running on empty?
After an afternoon of pure drama at Stamford Bridge there are those who might just wish to savour the moment. While Avram Grant's mission may have been to stamp out every last vestige of controversy and excitement from a club who, at times, have sleepwalked to victory, yesterday was different in every respect. A pulse-quickening, full-blooded encounter in which every new plot line seemed more incredible than the last.
But what is left for Chelsea when the dust settles? Ashley Cole and Ricardo Carvalho both suspended for three games while John Terry, Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda are all injured. Away at Newcastle on 29 December, Grant faces the prospect of pairing Alex da Costa with Tal Ben Haim in the centre of his defence – a duo who have, at times this season, displayed all the reliability under pressure of the Chuckle Brothers.
Lampard's thigh injury is not thought to be as bad as first thought but with Manchester United now seven points clear of Chelsea, the title race is slipping away from Stamford Bridge. "These are not easy times but from the first time I came here it was not easy," Grant said. "We had a lot of injured players then but now it is even worse. But we got through before and we will try to do our best."
It was an absorbing game yesterday, one in which Aston Villa demonstrated a steel worthy of their manager, Martin O'Neill, despite having one fewer player for 34 minutes of the second half. "We were terrific," said O'Neill, whose side are eighth in the Premier League. "When we were back to 10 men each [and the score at 3-3], I thought we could win the game." At times, it seemed that anything was possible.
Take a deep breath and try to follow a tale with more twists than your average piece of Christmas tinsel. In the first half were two goals for Villa from Shaun Maloney, the second gifted to him by a rare howler from Petr Cech. One minute from the interval, Andrei Shevchenko scored from the penalty spot and added a second screamer five minutes after the break. Alex put Chelsea 3-2 ahead, Martin Laursen pulled one back and Ballack's free-kick seemed to have won the game at 4-3 two minutes from time. It was Barry's equalising penalty that was the final act in a remarkable game.
Yet that only told half a tale in which two of three red cards will be appealed. Not only did O'Neill query Chelsea's penalty for their first goal – and Zat Knight's red card – he also said that the free-kick Ballack scored from should not have been given. Chelsea will dispute that Ashley Cole's clearance off the line from Gabriel Agbonlahor's header at the end of the game was not handball – and certainly not deliberate. Precedent suggests both appeals will be rejected.
At the centre of it all was Mr Philip Dowd of Staffordshire, the referee famously described by Paul Jewell once as "Dowd by name, dour by nature". That was the one accusation you could not level against Dowd yesterday – there was absolutely nothing dour about this game. Just Shevchenko's luck: he scores two goals and his name does not even make the headlines.
Villa's first was a smartly worked move that started with Agbonlahor. He picked out John Carew at the back post, and his header down to Maloney's feet was easily tucked past Cech. The second was a real collector's piece from Cech whose feeble attempt to stop a tame shot from Maloney was reminiscent of the aberration by Scott Carson – watching from the other end – for England against Croatia.
Within a minute Michael Essien's scuffed shot had inadvertently put in Ballack, whose tangle with Knight precipitated a theatrical fall from the German. Off went Knight and Shevchenko buried the penalty. The confidence was back: the Ukrainian hit his second five minutes after half-time, a beauty from 25 yards, that flew past Carson.
Then Shevchenko played in Alex for Chelsea's third on 66 minutes, the Brazilian looking a lot more accomplished as a striker than he often does as a defender. In fact, Alex was absent six minutes later when Ashley Young's free-kick from the right was toed past Cech by Martin Laursen, who was left completely unmarked.
Still more to come. Carvalho's lunge at Agbonlahor was a red card and it was 10 men each. No matter. Two minutes from time and Ballack curved a low free-kick into Carson's goal. On the touchline O'Neill was ranting about the debatable decision to give the free-kick for a tackle by Laursen on Joe Cole on the edge of Villa's area.
The final twist came two minutes into extra-time. Another unseemly scramble in the Chelsea area and Agbonlahor's header was cleared off the line by Ashley Cole. Dowd app-eared to take advice from his linesmen and Cole was off for handball. Penalty – and the last word went to Gareth Barry.
Goals: Maloney (13) 0-1; Maloney (44) 0-2; Shevchenko (pen, 45) 1-2; Shevchenko (50) 2-2; Alex (66) 3-2; Laursen (72) 3-3; Ballack (88) 4-3; Barry (pen, 90) 4-4.
Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Ferreira, Alex, Carvalho, A Cole; J Cole, Essien, Lampard (Ballack, 26), Kalou; Pizarro (Mikel, 85), Shevchenko (Wright-Phillips, 82). Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Mikel, Ben Haim.
Aston Villa (4-4-2): Carson; Mellberg, Knight, Laursen, Bouma (Harewood, 89); Agbonlahor, Reo-Coker, Barry, Young; Carew (Moore, 78), Maloney (Davies, h-t). Substitutes not used: Taylor (gk), Gardner.
Referee: P Dowd (Staffordshire).
Booked: Chelsea Essien, Ballack; Aston Villa Reo-Coker.
Sent off: Chelsea Carvalho, A Cole; Aston Villa Knight.
Man of the match: Shevchenko.
Attendance: 41,686.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chelsea have little defence after two red cards in a roller-coaster
Kevin McCarra at Stamford BridgeThursday December 27, 2007The Guardian
The score, with a penalty for the visitors in the last minute, may have been tied up but this was a match in which logic unravelled to joyous effect. Only those with a vested interest can be immune to the delight of such a game. As the sides demolished one another's defences there was debris everywhere and reconstruction work lies ahead for each manager now that two of Chelsea's players and one of Aston Villa's will be suspended after each being sent off with a straight red card.
The visitors will miss Zat Knight, dismissed after conceding the penalty from which Andriy Shevchenko trimmed Chelsea's deficit to 2-1, unless a rare success is achieved with the appeal that the manager, Martin O'Neill, is inclined to lodge. Chelsea said last night that they would appeal against Ashley Cole's red card. The coach, Avram Grant, said: "I saw it again on the television and it was not a penalty but I cannot change it."Grant will be aghast by proceedings featuring the dismissal of Cole and Ricardo Carvalho, although Chelsea were not such a victim of the referee Phil Dowd's faltering judgment as Villa. John Terry is already out for several weeks through injury and his fellow centre-half Carvalho now faces a three-game ban for leaping at Gabriel Agbonlahor with both feet in the 80th minute. He is ruled out of Premier League matches at home to Newcastle United and away to Fulham before an FA Cup tie with Queen's Park Rangers.
"I didn't see there was any intention to hurt the player," said Grant, striving to set new standards of partisanship. In a subsequent statement Carvalho explained that he had not seen Agbonlahor after the match to apologise but had asked for a message to be passed on to him.
The Portuguese, denying any intent to hurt an opponent, may have recognised the wildness of his challenge. Grant did not go even that far but it is natural for him to have a beleaguered air. Frank Lampard, for instance, went off here with a thigh strain and Didier Drogba, currently hurt, will be bound for the African Cup of Nations next month. Grant said: "I am waiting for the day I will have all my players."
Chelsea could hardly afford to be further depleted in defence - it was four years to the day since they last conceded four, against Charlton on Boxing Day 2003 - yet Ashley Cole will endure an instant one-game ban. He was sent packing for conceding the penalty from which Villa levelled the match at 4-4. It had looked as if the Chelsea left-back had initially blocked Agbonlahor's effort with head and shoulder, but the assistant referee immediately signalled for the offence.
O'Neill, given time, might come to the view that his dissatisfaction with a draw at Stamford Bridge is evidence that Villa are evolving. Villa possessed much more zest than Chelsea in the game's initial phase and, with Agbonlahor and Ashley Young, now have attacking panache. In the short term, though, O'Neill will brood.
His side either took full advantage of the torpor in the Chelsea ranks at the outset or, perhaps, just made Grant's line-up appear sluggish. John Carew ought to have put his header into the net in the ninth minute. Five minutes later he met an Agbonlahor delivery and set up Shaun Maloney to take the first of his goals with ease. The Scot next struck in the 44th minute, hitting a moderate drive that bounced off the arm of the goalkeeper, Petr Cech, to reach the net. It was the Czech's second blunder in rapid succession following the William Gallas winner for Arsenal 10 days previously. "It happens to even the best goalkeeper in the world," said Grant.
Chelsea looked weak and directionless, but a penalty got them back on track. O'Neill, with onomatopoeic virtuosity, made a noise that was comprehensible to all as the audible equivalent of a dive when arguing that Knight had made no contact on the substitute Michael Ballack in the third minute of first-half stoppage time. Shevchenko drilled home the penalty.
Despite the blizzard of incident here, the excellence of Shevchenko ought to be kept in view. He squared the match from 20 yards with a drive into the top corner after 50 minutes. In the 66th minute the Ukrainian converted himself into a playmaker, collecting a pass from the surging Alex before stroking the return ball from which the Brazilian defender finished.
A Villa leveller defied the seeming logic of the fixture but Martin Laursen volleyed in a Young free-kick crisply. Ballack, in his first Premier League outing of the season, was even more expert from a set-piece when piloting a shot past the left hand of Scott Carson in the 88th minute. "There's no contact," O'Neill lamented of the incident involving Laursen and Joe Cole for which Dowd awarded the free-kick.
Villa's manager remained bold, though. In a final throw he put on Marlon Harewood for the left-back, Wilfred Bouma. Whether or not the penalty at the end was warranted, the outcome certainly was.
Man of the match Andriy Shevchenko (Chelsea)
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Last-gasp Barry on spot for Villa after Cole, Knight and Carvalho see redChelsea 4 Aston Villa 4
Eight goals, three red cards, two comebacks and one apology for another two-footed, reckless tackle. Who needs Jose Mourinho to liven up Stamford Bridge?
Even Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack were among the goals on a day of high drama. Let's deal with the crimesheet first.
Ricardo Carvalho deserved to be sent off for a terrible two-footed tackle on Gabriel Agbonlahor in the 80th minute. Villa manager Martin O'Neill said it was 'reckless' and Carvalho later said sorry, adding: 'It was never my intention to hurt Agbonlahor with the tackle. I was going for the ball and I don't want people to think that I tried to hurt another player.'
Ashley Cole's hand-ball on the line in added time was a clear red, despite his tiresomely predictable protests. It presented Villa with a deserved chance to level. Now Chelsea must cope without the banned Cole and Carvalho as well as the injured John Terry. Zat Knight was the first to go for a professional foul and, although Villa will consider an appeal, they can have little argument with referee Phil Dowd.
It all added up to a breathless game packed with goals and excitement. Villa raced into a 2-0 lead, then Chelsea nosed in front 3-2 and 4-3 before Gareth Barry scored in the 90th minute. Anyone get a pacemaker for Christmas?
Villa will feel they might have ended Chelsea's 72-game unbeaten run on their home patch yesterday, for they came to London with the ambition for an upset.
'I thought we were terrific in the first half,' said O'Neill.
They were leading 2-0 before Knight was sent off for a trip on Chelsea sub Ballack. Shevchenko scored the penalty.
O'Neill said: 'I've seen the incident a couple of times and I thought it was very harsh. There was no contact. But we played most of the second half a man down, came back from the dead twice and scored four goals at Stamford Bridge. I'm glad we got something out of the game — if we hadn't I'd have committed suicide.'
The opening exchanges suggested Villa were in the mood, with both Agbonlahor and John Carew going close before they took the lead with a piercing move.
Carew headed Agbonlahor's cross into the path of Shaun Maloney and the Scot slid the ball beyond Petr Cech.
Two minutes before half-time the lead was doubled. Maloney — not always a fixture in the Villa side, but a sign of their attacking intentions — struck again as Cech fumbled a low shot.
With Scott Carson watching from the other end, he would have noticed that even the best in the world can drop a clanger.
Earlier in the proceedings, Chelsea had lost Frank Lampard to injury, having taken a heavy knock on his right thigh. With Newcastle visiting on Saturday, Stamford Bridge boss Avram Grant will await the results of scans today with growing concern. It is only days until Roman Abramovich's chequebook will surely be waved around once again during the January transfer window.
Knight's clumsy challenge and subsequent marching orders presented the home team with a rescue route.
In Lampard's absence, Shevchenko took responsibility and sent Carson the wrong way.
The Ukrainian levelled the scores against Villa's 10 men with a fierce, dipping shot from 20 yards, then set up Chelsea's third in an exchange of passes with Alex which ended with the Brazilian firing home a low shot.
With Knight taken out of the equation, O'Neill had to reshuffle at half-time — withdrawing two-goal Maloney and filling the gap in his defence with Curtis Davies.
That, however, left Carew in a lone striker's role and offered them limited attacking options. Yet they managed to bring the scores level again as Martin Laursen stole in behind the home defence to steer home Ashley Young's free-kick. Then Carvalho was dismissed — but there was even more drama to come.
O'Neill and the Villa players were equally adamant that Dowd made another mistake when Laursen was judged to have fouled Joe Cole 20 yards out from the middle of the goal in the 87th minute, setting up sub Ballack to score from the freekick.
But the visitors did not dwell on their disappointment and pushed forward to provide the game's exciting finish.
With Cech out of position, Agbonlahor appeared to have headed an equaliser until the ball was blocked on the line by a combination of Cole's head and left arm. At first, referee Dowd ignored Villa's frantic appeals for a penalty.
But after consulting with his assistant, he pointed to the spot, produced a red card for Cole and Gareth Barry calmly supplied the equaliser which his side thoroughly deserved.
The loss of two points could prove crucial to Chelsea's title ambitions, but Grant refused to accept it was a lethal blow, saying: 'As long as we have a chance, we will do everything to challenge for the Premier League title.'
Chelsea: Cech, Ferreira, Alex, Carvalho, Ashley Cole, Kalou, Essien, Lampard, Joe Cole, Pizarro, Shevchenko. Subs: Hilario, Obi, Ballack, Ben-Haim, Wright-Phillips.
Aston Villa: Carson, Mellberg, Laursen, Knight, Bouma, Maloney, Reo-Coker, Barry, Young, Carew, Agbonlahor. Subs: Taylor, Moore, Harewood, Davies, Gardner.
Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, December 24, 2007
morning papers blackburn away
The TimesDecember 24, 2007
Joe Cole lands punch to settle bruising boutBlackburn 0 Chelsea 1Matt Hughes at Ewood Park
If he could bring himself to tune into a freezing English winter from the sunshine in Setúbal, even José Mourinho would have been impressed with the resilience that Chelsea showed in holding out for three points against Blackburn Rovers yesterday. However, they will need even more fortitude in the coming weeks as a hard-fought win came at a huge cost.
Petr Cech is set to miss the holiday programme for a second successive season after suffering a side strain at the start of the second half, with his rehabilitation unlikely to have been helped by the bizarre decision to keep him on the pitch for almost 20 minutes, despite the fact that he could barely walk. With Didier Drogba and John Terry out until February, the ghost of last Christmas is returning to haunt Chelsea.
The lengthy absences of Cech and Terry last winter played a crucial part in the club’s failure to retain the title, which may go some way to explaining Avram Grant’s vacillation after the goalkeeper went down as a result of a collision with Roque Santa Cruz. The Czech Republic goalkeeper could barely stand upright, but no action was taken until he sought treatment for a second time and Steve Bennett, the referee, sent him from the field for his own good. Chelsea were fortunate that Cech was not tested while he was limping around on one leg, with his only requirement being a goal kick, and even that caused him to wince.
While Grant, the first-team coach, remained unmoved, the visiting fans saw the need for a substitution, launching into a chorus of “We need Hilário” (Carlo Cudicini had failed to travel after sustaining a rib injury in training). They may have changed their minds after the eccentric goalkeeper was finally brought on, as his first act was a wild punch at a corner by David Bentley and his second was to miss another corner completely, watching helplessly as Santa Cruz headed wide. Hilário did recover his composure to make an excellent save from Santa Cruz after another cross from the impressive Bentley, but Grant will not want to rely for too long on a man who viewed his move to Stamford Bridge as an extended holiday.
Such straitened circumstances made Chelsea’s eighth win in 12 league matches under Grant all the more impressive, a victory reminiscent of the 1-0 win at Ewood Park in February 2005 that effectively brought them their first championship in 50 years.
This team lack the cohesion and confidence of their predecessors, but retain the same hunger and fighting spirit. Whether they have sufficient quality to mount a serious challenge for the title is open to question, but they will not give up without a fight.
Forget all about Grant’s claims for a brave new era based on free-flowing attacking football, this was Chelsea of the Mourinho era; outplayed for long periods, they grabbed a goal and simply clung on. Other than two shots from Frank Lampard that were well saved by Brad Friedel, the visiting team barely mustered an attempt on goal after Joe Cole had opened the scoring in the 22nd minute.
Blackburn could count themselves unfortunate to suffer a fourth successive defeat, although they had only themselves to blame after failing to take advantage of their first-half chances and proving unable to pressurise Chelsea just after half-time, when they were at their most vulnerable. Their dominance in the first 20 minutes was almost embarrassing, as Grant’s side consistently failed to string simple passes together.
Bentley, in particular, was a revelation in his free role just off Santa Cruz without quite exploiting it to the full. The Paraguay striker provided an early sign of Blackburn’s aggressive intent with a shot blocked by Ricardo Carvalho. The resulting corner from Morten Gamst Pedersen floated menacingly across goal.
Then Bentley took over. The England midfield player is obviously eager to impress Fabio Capello, but needs to add greater cutting edge to his brilliant build-up play if he is to become the complete package. In the space of seven mesmerising minutes, Bentley cut inside from the left to shoot narrowly over, hit the bar from a free kick and played a wonderful through-ball from his own half to Santa Cruz.
Chelsea’s desperation was summed up by a clumsy challenge by Alex, who was rightly booked for clattering into Bentley as he sped down the wing.
If it had been boxing, Bennett would have considered a mandatory count of eight at this stage, but Chelsea hauled themselves off the ropes and back into the game. Andriy Shevchenko missed a good chance when he shot over the bar after a turn in the penalty area. Joe Cole gave him a finishing lesson a minute later. As Blackburn pressed forward, Carvalho won the ball on the halfway line and it fell to Salomon Kalou, who found Cole with a first-time, cross-field ball that was the mirror image of Cole’s so-called “ball of the century” against Valencia in October. The England midfield player had much work to do but did it to perfection, blasting past Friedel from the edge of the penalty area.
That was the beginning and end of Chelsea’s attacking ambition, even if a pragmatist such as Mourinho will not have been complaining.
Blackburn Rovers (4-5-1) B Friedel 7 B Emerton 5 Z Khizanishvili 6 R Nelsen 6 S Warnock 5 D Dunn Y 6 Tugay Kerimoglu 5 S Reid 5 M G Pedersen 6 D Bentley 8 R Santa Cruz 7 Substitutes: J Roberts (for Tugay, 74min) Not used: J Brown, R Savage, B McCarthy, A Mokoena Next: Manchester City (a)
Chelsea (4-3-3) P Cech 6 P Ferreira 6 Alex Y 4 R Carvalho Y 6 A Cole 6 M Essien 6 J O Mikel 6 F Lampard 7 J Cole 6 A Shevchenko 6 S Kalou 7 Substitutes: Hilário 5 (for Cech, 64), S Wright-Phillips 5 (for Shevchenko, 68), C Pizarro (for J Cole, 82) Not used: M Ballack, T Ben Haim Next: Aston Villa (h)
Referee S Bennett Attendance 23,966
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Chelsea fingers crossed over Petr Cech injuryBy Mark Ogden
Blackburn Rovers (0) 0 Chelsea (1) 1
Having lost John Terry and Didier Drogba to injuries that will sideline them until well into the new year, Chelsea will wait to discover whether goalkeeper Petr Cech faces an equally costly spell off after limping out of this crucial victory at Blackburn with a worrying hip injury.
Cech, who missed three months of last season with a fractured skull, looked in considerable pain as he left the field early in the second half after a heavy collision with the Blackburn forward Roque Santa Cruz. Although Joe Cole's first-half goal ensured that Chelsea remain in touch with Arsenal and Manchester United at the top of the Premier League, manager Avram Grant faces an anxious wait to discover the extent of Cech's injury. Grant said: "The situation with Cech is one that we will know once he has had a scan. We need to wait and see. But I cannot lie and say that it is easy to be without players. It is very difficult to play for such a long time with so many injuries. I don't like it, but there is nothing I can do about it.
"Hilario did well when he came on, but Carlo Cudicini's injury will take a few more days, so I don't have another goalkeeper for the Aston Villa game."
Weakened by the injury-enforced absences of Terry and Drogba, this encounter with Mark Hughes' Blackburn was always going to be as much a test of Chelsea's character as the quality of their squad and, after a stern examination by the home side, they headed back to Stamford Bridge having answered all of the questions posed of them.
Grant said: "I am very happy with the victory. We showed a lot of fighting spirit and made two or three chances, but it was important to get three points with the other teams winning. Six points is not a big gap because the other teams will not win all their games this season."
Blackburn did not make life easy for Chelsea, however. Their loss of form may have dimmed confidence at Ewood Park, but Hughes' team remain a threat to any opponent and they should have emerged with at least a point here.
Hughes' tactical switch which placed David Bentley in a more advanced role off the lone striker Santa Cruz gave the England midfielder the platform from which to dominate the early stages, and Chelsea appeared unable to fathom a way of containing him as Blackburn poured forward inside the opening 20 minutes.
During that period, Santa Cruz and Bentley both tested the Chelsea goal with two threatening efforts apiece and, without Terry to marshal the back four, the visitors were clinging on. Bentley's control of the play and the obvious frailties at the heart of the Chelsea defence begged the question why Hughes had not started with two front-men.
Blackburn could not translate their dominance into a goal, though, and Chelsea caught them cold when Cole displayed the clinical finishing lacking from the home side with a stunning strike to give his side the lead from their first serious attack after 22 minutes.
A slick break from defence resulted in the ball dropping to Salomon Kalou inside the Rovers half and his pass to Cole was taken by the England midfielder in full stride before he left Brad Friedel helpless with a right-foot shot that arrowed into the top corner.
Blackburn responded by again laying siege to Cech's goal and Steven Reid forced the goalkeeper to tip a close- range effort on to a post before Frank Lampard, eager to claim his 100th goal in a Chelsea shirt, hit the woodwork at the other end moments later.
Cole's goal had taken the sting out of Blackburn, though, and the second-half was more a tale of the two defences tightening up after their more generous offerings in the opening period.
A near miss by Michael Essien after 61 minutes, when a perfectly-timed tackle by David Dunn denied him a certain second goal, raised the tempo once again and Cech's departure from the action, to be replaced by the unconvincing Hilario, gave Blackburn the belief they could salvage a point.
And after seeing the Portuguese goalkeeper make an awful mess of two Morten Gamst-Pedersen corners, Rovers could scent blood, but just as Hilario was being written off as a liability, he produced the save of the game to keep out Santa Cruz's close-range header and secure the victory for Chelsea.
Hughes said: "We were dynamic, created lots of chances and having David Bentley off the front man caused them problems. We hit the bar a couple of times in the first half and, on another day, they would go in. We were caught by a sucker punch, though. We were wary of Chelsea getting the ball to feet in dangerous positions because they can set a trap for you. That's what happened and we got done by it."
Man of the matchSalomon Kalou 8 • Created the only goal• Hit two shots, one on target, one blocked• 82 per cent pass completion in opposition half---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Blackburn Rovers 0 Chelsea 1: Rovers robbed by Cole to keep Chelsea in race By Nick Harris
Chelsea were second best in almost every department at Ewood Park yesterday but Joe Cole's first-half goal was enough to make sure they maintain their position as the third force in English football this morning. On effort, chances and near misses, Blackburn would have been handed the points, and Chelsea would have flown back south nine points behind Arsenal and eight behind Manchester United.
Instead the gap is "only" six and five, and the west Londoners will still believe they have what it takes to stay in contention.
Whether that is a realistic view is another matter. For the most part, they served up turkey and were almost stuffed for their troubles. They face losing four players next month on duty in the African Nations Cup, and one of those, Didier Drogba, is already being sorely missed up front. Chelsea's captain, John Terry, will be missing for some time yet and his deputy in defence yesterday, Alex, is shadow cover on this evidence.
A goalkeeping crisis also appears to be looming. Peter Cech was forced off in agony with a strain to his side yesterday, and Carlo Cudicini is unavailable as his deputy for the moment after injuring his ribs in training. Both players will be assessed in the coming days. Their absences meant Chelsea played the last half an hour with a man between the posts – Hilario – who had not featured at all since January.
While Michael Ballack is on the brink of a consistent return – he did not feature yesterday – and the Stamford Bridge squad and resources are theoretically deep, it will take victories considerably more convincing than this one to have the faithful at the Emirates or Old Trafford quivering in their boots. Still, Chelsea's manager, Avram Grant, was predictably delighted with the spoils and relieved at least that his side are not drifting further behind for now. "It's not easy to play here," he said. "We could only draw 0-0 at home with Blackburn so we knew it would be tough. I'm happy with the fighting spirit. It was very important to take the points, especially as the other teams at the top all won this weekend. The goal was good. One touch from [Salomon] Kalou, great movement [by Cole]."
That move was the smoothest of the rare coherent sweeps forward by the visitors. It came in the 22nd minute when John Mikel won the ball with a tackle in the middle and passed to Frank Lampard.
Kalou hit a sweet first-touch diagonal pass to put Cole through, although there was still a surge of pace needed for the England midfielder to get past Ryan Nelsen. As he did so, he stretched for his shot, struck it cleanly and wheeled away to celebrate in the knowledge it was unstoppable.
The other big talking points all involved goalkeepers. In the first half, Cech pulled off one outstanding save from Steven Reid to keep Chelsea ahead. He was crouching low at the time, and stretched high to his left to push the ball away.
With 20 minutes remaining and with Hilario in goal, it was the Portuguese's turn to shine, diving superbly to his left to stop a Roque Santa Cruz header for what seemed a certain equaliser. The transition between the two keepers, early in the second half, also grabbed the attention, although not, farcically, of Grant, at least for a while.
Cech had earlier collided accidentally with Santa Cruz, and needed five minutes' treatment. He said he would stay on. Then he wanted off. Grant missed this signal and left him, unable to kick or even walk without wincing, in place for almost 10 minutes more.
"We showed balls out there today," said Mark Hughes, their manager. "We were dynamic. David [Bentley] was excellent playing just off the front. We hit the bar several times. And then we got done by a sucker punch. We showed good quality, created chances. But Chelsea are very adept at defending a lead and in the last 15 minutes they were effective at running the clock down, which is something they're good at."
All true. Bentley hit the bar in the sixth minute, and again with a dipping free-kick in the 10th. He then supplied Santa Cruz, who shot just wide, before Andrei Shevchenko hooked over at the other end. Chelsea scored before Reid was thwarted by Cech.
Brad Friedel then saved from Lampard, Bentley helped to create another chance that skimmed the bar and half-time arrived with Chelsea somehow in front. It was eventually the referee, Steve Bennett, who forced Grant to substitute Cech because he could clearly not continue. Blackburn upped the pressure again, causing early nerves for a flailing Hilario before he settled to make his own fine stop from Santa Cruz.
Goal: J Cole (22) 0-1
Blackburn Rovers (4-5-1): Friedel; Emerton, Khizanishvili, Nelsen, Warnock; Reid, Dunn, Tugay (Roberts, 73), Pedersen, Bentley; Santa Cruz. Substitutes not used: Brown (gk), Savage, McCarthy, Mokoena.
Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech (Hilario, 64); Ferreira, Alex, Carvalho, A Cole; Essien, Mikel, Lampard, J Cole (Pizarro, 81); Shevchenko (Wright-Phillips, 87), Kalou. Substitutes not used: Ballack, Ben-Haim.
Referee: S Bennett (Kent).
Booked: Blackburn Dunn; Chelsea Alex, Carvalho.
Man of the match: Bentley.
Attendance: 23,966.
The top four's holiday fixtures
* ARSENAL: 26 Dec Portsmouth (a); 29 Dec Everton (a); 1 Jan West Ham (h).
* Manchester Utd: 26 Dec Sunderland (a); 29 Dec West Ham (a); 1 Jan Birmingham (h).
* Chelsea: 26 Dec Aston Villa (h); 29 Dec Newcastle (h); 1 Jan Fulham (a).
* Manchester City: 27 Dec Blackburn (h); 30 Dec Liverpool ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cole power leaves dogged Chelsea with a warm glow
Stuart James at Ewood ParkMonday December 24, 2007The Guardian
Jose Mourinho has long departed but there is no sense of the belligerence the Portuguese instilled in his players going with him. This was a Chelsea victory the Special One would have cherished, with the visitors enduring a testing examination in Lancashire that was made all the more demanding when Petr Cech left the field in visible discomfort. Avram Grant and the Chelsea fans will prefer to dwell on Joe Cole's splendid winning goal.It proved to be a crucial contribution in an exhilarating contest that somehow failed to deliver a second goal despite numerous chances for both teams. Blackburn will nurse the greater sense of regret after slipping to a fourth straight defeat. That sequence ought to have come to an end here but the combination of Chelsea's well-organised defence and two excellent saves, first from Cech and later his replacement, Hilario, secured a much needed win for Grant's side.
Hilario's fingertip stop came seven minutes after he had supplanted Cech, the Portuguese diving full-stretch to turn Roque Santa Cruz's header behind. It had been impossible to visualise such brilliance moments earlier when Hilario, making his first appearance in more than 11 months, came off his goalline to punch clear David Bentley's corner and made no contact with the ball. Santa Cruz ought to have punished the mistake but steered the free header wide.
Grant will feel Chelsea deserved the reprieve. With John Terry and Didier Drogba both absent through injury, the Israeli is picking his team with one hand tied behind his back and he can ill-afford to add Cech to the casualty list. Cech's importance to Chelsea was illustrated in the 33rd minute when he used both hands to flick Steven Reid's snap-shot on to the crossbar. It appears unlikely, though, that Cech will feature in the Chelsea team against Aston Villa on Boxing Day. He could not hide the pain that followed Santa Cruz's seemingly innocuous challenge shortly after the restart and, after struggling to take a goal-kick, was forced to signal to the Chelsea bench that he was unable to continue. Mark Hughes admitted that Blackburn should have placed Cech under greater pressure during the 15 minutes he attempted to play on.
Instead Chelsea stood firm with the excellent Ricardo Carvalho, making his first Premier League start for six weeks, holding together the Chelsea backline and ensuring, Hilario's save from Santa Cruz apart, there were few genuine moments of consternation in the visitors' penalty area as the clock ticked down. The three points gleaned ensures the leaders Arsenal and second-placed Manchester United remain within sight if not touching distance.
Chelsea's breakthrough had been unexpected. Blackburn had started at a frantic pace, the home team's energy levels appearing to take Chelsea by surprise as they showed no signs of fatigue following their midweek travails against Arsenal. Bentley was the catalyst for much of the early pressure, with the England midfielder revelling in a free role behind Santa Cruz that caused Chelsea, and in particular Mikel John Obi, much unease.
The Nigerian seemed to be caught in two minds as to whether to maintain his central berth in front of the Chelsea rearguard or pursue Bentley's runs and risk being dragged out of position. His indecision was welcomed by the Rovers midfielder whose contribution in the opening 15 minutes included a 20-yard shot that skimmed the roof of the net, an inswinging free-kick which hit the crossbar and a through-ball that Santa Cruz should have despatched.
That period promised much yet it was Chelsea who delivered the first blow. Carvalho read Ryan Nelsen's intention to slide a forward pass into Santa Cruz's feet, the Portuguese finding Frank Lampard before the ball was moved on to Saloman Kalou. Showing technique and vision, Kalou threaded a perfectly weighted pass that exposed Nelsen's poor positioning and allowed Joe Cole to advance before propelling a 15-yard shot beyond Brad Friedel.
Chelsea would have gone ahead 60 seconds earlier had Andriy Shevchenko evinced the same ruthlessness but the Ukrainian blazed over. Cole's goal appeared to have a calming effect on Chelsea, with Blackburn knocked out of their early rhythm and Lampard beginning to feel his way into the game. The midfielder came within inches of scoring his 100th goal for the club but Friedel tipped his 22-yard strike on to the post.
The Rovers goalkeeper produced another superb save to deny Lampard in the 77th minute when he escaped on the left before spearing a drive towards the far post that was touched behind. By that point Blackburn were resigned to defeat, their spirit broken by a Chelsea side that denied the home team any further chances in the six minutes of time added on.
"Unfortunately we got done on the sucker punch," said the Blackburn manager. "At the same time both [Chelsea] keepers have had to make great saves to keep them in the game and against lesser opposition we would have won the game. But it will turn around for us. The second half of the season is always our stronger half."
Man of the match Ricardo Carvalho
Has spent much of the season on the sidelines but there was no sign that he will need to be eased back into the fray after an outstanding display in Chelsea's defence. He showed intelligence, determination and composure.
Best moment When he robbed the ball from Roque Santa Cruz in the lead up to the counter-attack that brought the goal
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Chelsea's Joe Cole scuttles Rovers
Blackburn 0 Chelsea 1
By PETER FERGUSON
Even without lionhearted leader John Terry, Chelsea strode out of one of their least favourite hunting grounds with the points they needed to keep pace with the Barclays Premier League leaders.
While home hero David Bentley produced a bravura performance to put down a marker with new England manager Fabio Capello, Joe Cole snatched the breakaway goal that made the difference.
Ewood Park on a freezing December day was never to Jose Mourinho's taste but his successor Avram Grant has set up his side to block and frustrate even the toughest opponents — and so it proved for Rovers.
Chelsea protected their lead well, even after losing goalkeeper Petr Cech with almost half an hour to go, but were fortunate to get back on the winning trail after Arsenal ended their 16-match unbeaten run.
Mark Hughes' side have now lost four in a row but have also lacked the rub of the green on several occasions. The die was cast from the first few minutes when Morten Gamst Pedersen delivered his best corner for a long time. It proved as unplayable for his team-mates as for Cech and skidded wide.
Bentley, who was in inspired form, then stepped up to thump a rising drive inches over Cech's bar.
When Bentley's free kick after 11 minutes hit the top of the bar and Roque Santa Cruz fired a foot wide of the far post after the winger's fine run and pass, Chelsea had still not bothered Brad Friedel.
They put that right soon enough. Andriy Shevchenko was off target with a swivelling shot from a poorly-cleared corner but Cole was far more accurate with Chelsea's winner after 21 minutes.
Blackburn again showed their Achilles heel of being too easily caught on the counter-attack as Salomon Kalou's sublime diagonal ball sliced them open to allow Cole to smash his shot past Friedel.
Rovers responded with gusto, only for Cech to make an impressive reaction save to turn Steven Reid's effort against the bar after Bentley's free kick squirted off the defensive wall.
But Chelsea were also cursing their fortune, and veteran Friedel's reflexes, 10 minutes from half-time. Blackburn's defence opened up so obligingly for Frank Lampard to surge through, it was as if they had decided he should have his 100th Chelsea goal for Christmas. Friedel clearly wasn't in on the wheeze.
Zurab Khizanishvili, returning at the back for the suspended Chris Samba, went to the other end to drop a looping header on to the roof of the net but the momentum was now with the visitors.
Blackburn needed a superb if risky tackle in the penalty area from Dunn to stop Michael Essien benefiting from a smart bout of Chelsea passing on the hour which could have stretched their lead.
But Chelsea were dealt a blow after 64 minutes when Cech, who had collided with Santa Cruz in punching clear soon after the restart, had to be led off following prolonged treatment on the pitch earlier.
Cech, who has worn a helmet since fracturing his skull in a collision at Reading 14 months ago, appeared to have sustained a hip injury and made way for his deputy Hilario.
The Portuguese, playing his first match in nearly a year, managed to mistime his punch from the first corner he faced, offering Blackburn the sudden hope of exploiting the changeover.
But when Santa Cruz sent in a fierce header from Bentley's cross, Hilario produced a textbook one-handed save diving to his left, and any Chelsea worries in that direction evaporated.
Friedel had to be at his best to prevent Lampard reaching his century, pulling off a smart save to deny the Chelsea midfielder, who was booed by Blackburn fans.
Indeed, as if to underline Sol Campbell's complaints about the modern fan culture, at one corner stewards had to keep fans at bay as they crowded at the wall to hurl insults in Lampard's direction.
Chelsea frustration spilled over when Essien's goalbound header from a corner was inadvertently blocked by Cole and Ricardo Carvalho was booked for a spat with Friedel after a melee developed.
They saw the game out, complete with six minutes added on, in a studied and at times cynical example of running down the clock that will win Grant's team efficiency awards but no new friends.
Hughes will surely get Blackburn back on track but yesterday's outfield bench — Robbie Savage, Benni McCarthy, Aaron Mokoena and Jason Roberts — might all be missing by the start of next season.
BLACKBURN (4-4-1-1): Friedel 7; Emerton 5, Khizanishvili 7, Nelsen 6, Warnock 5; Dunn 6, Tugay 5 (Roberts 74min, 6), Reid 6, Pedersen 6; Bentley 8; Santa Cruz 5. Booked: Dunn.
CHELSEA (4-1-4-1): Cech 7 (Hilario 64, 6); Ferreira 6, Alex 7, Carvalho 7, A Cole 6; Essien 6; J Cole 6 (Pizarro, 82), Lampard 7, Mikel 6, Kalou 6; Shevchenko 5 (Wright- Phillips 66, 5). Booked: Alex, Carvalho.
Man of the match: David Bentley.
Referee: Steve Bennett. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merry Christmas Everyone
Joe Cole lands punch to settle bruising boutBlackburn 0 Chelsea 1Matt Hughes at Ewood Park
If he could bring himself to tune into a freezing English winter from the sunshine in Setúbal, even José Mourinho would have been impressed with the resilience that Chelsea showed in holding out for three points against Blackburn Rovers yesterday. However, they will need even more fortitude in the coming weeks as a hard-fought win came at a huge cost.
Petr Cech is set to miss the holiday programme for a second successive season after suffering a side strain at the start of the second half, with his rehabilitation unlikely to have been helped by the bizarre decision to keep him on the pitch for almost 20 minutes, despite the fact that he could barely walk. With Didier Drogba and John Terry out until February, the ghost of last Christmas is returning to haunt Chelsea.
The lengthy absences of Cech and Terry last winter played a crucial part in the club’s failure to retain the title, which may go some way to explaining Avram Grant’s vacillation after the goalkeeper went down as a result of a collision with Roque Santa Cruz. The Czech Republic goalkeeper could barely stand upright, but no action was taken until he sought treatment for a second time and Steve Bennett, the referee, sent him from the field for his own good. Chelsea were fortunate that Cech was not tested while he was limping around on one leg, with his only requirement being a goal kick, and even that caused him to wince.
While Grant, the first-team coach, remained unmoved, the visiting fans saw the need for a substitution, launching into a chorus of “We need Hilário” (Carlo Cudicini had failed to travel after sustaining a rib injury in training). They may have changed their minds after the eccentric goalkeeper was finally brought on, as his first act was a wild punch at a corner by David Bentley and his second was to miss another corner completely, watching helplessly as Santa Cruz headed wide. Hilário did recover his composure to make an excellent save from Santa Cruz after another cross from the impressive Bentley, but Grant will not want to rely for too long on a man who viewed his move to Stamford Bridge as an extended holiday.
Such straitened circumstances made Chelsea’s eighth win in 12 league matches under Grant all the more impressive, a victory reminiscent of the 1-0 win at Ewood Park in February 2005 that effectively brought them their first championship in 50 years.
This team lack the cohesion and confidence of their predecessors, but retain the same hunger and fighting spirit. Whether they have sufficient quality to mount a serious challenge for the title is open to question, but they will not give up without a fight.
Forget all about Grant’s claims for a brave new era based on free-flowing attacking football, this was Chelsea of the Mourinho era; outplayed for long periods, they grabbed a goal and simply clung on. Other than two shots from Frank Lampard that were well saved by Brad Friedel, the visiting team barely mustered an attempt on goal after Joe Cole had opened the scoring in the 22nd minute.
Blackburn could count themselves unfortunate to suffer a fourth successive defeat, although they had only themselves to blame after failing to take advantage of their first-half chances and proving unable to pressurise Chelsea just after half-time, when they were at their most vulnerable. Their dominance in the first 20 minutes was almost embarrassing, as Grant’s side consistently failed to string simple passes together.
Bentley, in particular, was a revelation in his free role just off Santa Cruz without quite exploiting it to the full. The Paraguay striker provided an early sign of Blackburn’s aggressive intent with a shot blocked by Ricardo Carvalho. The resulting corner from Morten Gamst Pedersen floated menacingly across goal.
Then Bentley took over. The England midfield player is obviously eager to impress Fabio Capello, but needs to add greater cutting edge to his brilliant build-up play if he is to become the complete package. In the space of seven mesmerising minutes, Bentley cut inside from the left to shoot narrowly over, hit the bar from a free kick and played a wonderful through-ball from his own half to Santa Cruz.
Chelsea’s desperation was summed up by a clumsy challenge by Alex, who was rightly booked for clattering into Bentley as he sped down the wing.
If it had been boxing, Bennett would have considered a mandatory count of eight at this stage, but Chelsea hauled themselves off the ropes and back into the game. Andriy Shevchenko missed a good chance when he shot over the bar after a turn in the penalty area. Joe Cole gave him a finishing lesson a minute later. As Blackburn pressed forward, Carvalho won the ball on the halfway line and it fell to Salomon Kalou, who found Cole with a first-time, cross-field ball that was the mirror image of Cole’s so-called “ball of the century” against Valencia in October. The England midfield player had much work to do but did it to perfection, blasting past Friedel from the edge of the penalty area.
That was the beginning and end of Chelsea’s attacking ambition, even if a pragmatist such as Mourinho will not have been complaining.
Blackburn Rovers (4-5-1) B Friedel 7 B Emerton 5 Z Khizanishvili 6 R Nelsen 6 S Warnock 5 D Dunn Y 6 Tugay Kerimoglu 5 S Reid 5 M G Pedersen 6 D Bentley 8 R Santa Cruz 7 Substitutes: J Roberts (for Tugay, 74min) Not used: J Brown, R Savage, B McCarthy, A Mokoena Next: Manchester City (a)
Chelsea (4-3-3) P Cech 6 P Ferreira 6 Alex Y 4 R Carvalho Y 6 A Cole 6 M Essien 6 J O Mikel 6 F Lampard 7 J Cole 6 A Shevchenko 6 S Kalou 7 Substitutes: Hilário 5 (for Cech, 64), S Wright-Phillips 5 (for Shevchenko, 68), C Pizarro (for J Cole, 82) Not used: M Ballack, T Ben Haim Next: Aston Villa (h)
Referee S Bennett Attendance 23,966
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Chelsea fingers crossed over Petr Cech injuryBy Mark Ogden
Blackburn Rovers (0) 0 Chelsea (1) 1
Having lost John Terry and Didier Drogba to injuries that will sideline them until well into the new year, Chelsea will wait to discover whether goalkeeper Petr Cech faces an equally costly spell off after limping out of this crucial victory at Blackburn with a worrying hip injury.
Cech, who missed three months of last season with a fractured skull, looked in considerable pain as he left the field early in the second half after a heavy collision with the Blackburn forward Roque Santa Cruz. Although Joe Cole's first-half goal ensured that Chelsea remain in touch with Arsenal and Manchester United at the top of the Premier League, manager Avram Grant faces an anxious wait to discover the extent of Cech's injury. Grant said: "The situation with Cech is one that we will know once he has had a scan. We need to wait and see. But I cannot lie and say that it is easy to be without players. It is very difficult to play for such a long time with so many injuries. I don't like it, but there is nothing I can do about it.
"Hilario did well when he came on, but Carlo Cudicini's injury will take a few more days, so I don't have another goalkeeper for the Aston Villa game."
Weakened by the injury-enforced absences of Terry and Drogba, this encounter with Mark Hughes' Blackburn was always going to be as much a test of Chelsea's character as the quality of their squad and, after a stern examination by the home side, they headed back to Stamford Bridge having answered all of the questions posed of them.
Grant said: "I am very happy with the victory. We showed a lot of fighting spirit and made two or three chances, but it was important to get three points with the other teams winning. Six points is not a big gap because the other teams will not win all their games this season."
Blackburn did not make life easy for Chelsea, however. Their loss of form may have dimmed confidence at Ewood Park, but Hughes' team remain a threat to any opponent and they should have emerged with at least a point here.
Hughes' tactical switch which placed David Bentley in a more advanced role off the lone striker Santa Cruz gave the England midfielder the platform from which to dominate the early stages, and Chelsea appeared unable to fathom a way of containing him as Blackburn poured forward inside the opening 20 minutes.
During that period, Santa Cruz and Bentley both tested the Chelsea goal with two threatening efforts apiece and, without Terry to marshal the back four, the visitors were clinging on. Bentley's control of the play and the obvious frailties at the heart of the Chelsea defence begged the question why Hughes had not started with two front-men.
Blackburn could not translate their dominance into a goal, though, and Chelsea caught them cold when Cole displayed the clinical finishing lacking from the home side with a stunning strike to give his side the lead from their first serious attack after 22 minutes.
A slick break from defence resulted in the ball dropping to Salomon Kalou inside the Rovers half and his pass to Cole was taken by the England midfielder in full stride before he left Brad Friedel helpless with a right-foot shot that arrowed into the top corner.
Blackburn responded by again laying siege to Cech's goal and Steven Reid forced the goalkeeper to tip a close- range effort on to a post before Frank Lampard, eager to claim his 100th goal in a Chelsea shirt, hit the woodwork at the other end moments later.
Cole's goal had taken the sting out of Blackburn, though, and the second-half was more a tale of the two defences tightening up after their more generous offerings in the opening period.
A near miss by Michael Essien after 61 minutes, when a perfectly-timed tackle by David Dunn denied him a certain second goal, raised the tempo once again and Cech's departure from the action, to be replaced by the unconvincing Hilario, gave Blackburn the belief they could salvage a point.
And after seeing the Portuguese goalkeeper make an awful mess of two Morten Gamst-Pedersen corners, Rovers could scent blood, but just as Hilario was being written off as a liability, he produced the save of the game to keep out Santa Cruz's close-range header and secure the victory for Chelsea.
Hughes said: "We were dynamic, created lots of chances and having David Bentley off the front man caused them problems. We hit the bar a couple of times in the first half and, on another day, they would go in. We were caught by a sucker punch, though. We were wary of Chelsea getting the ball to feet in dangerous positions because they can set a trap for you. That's what happened and we got done by it."
Man of the matchSalomon Kalou 8 • Created the only goal• Hit two shots, one on target, one blocked• 82 per cent pass completion in opposition half---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Blackburn Rovers 0 Chelsea 1: Rovers robbed by Cole to keep Chelsea in race By Nick Harris
Chelsea were second best in almost every department at Ewood Park yesterday but Joe Cole's first-half goal was enough to make sure they maintain their position as the third force in English football this morning. On effort, chances and near misses, Blackburn would have been handed the points, and Chelsea would have flown back south nine points behind Arsenal and eight behind Manchester United.
Instead the gap is "only" six and five, and the west Londoners will still believe they have what it takes to stay in contention.
Whether that is a realistic view is another matter. For the most part, they served up turkey and were almost stuffed for their troubles. They face losing four players next month on duty in the African Nations Cup, and one of those, Didier Drogba, is already being sorely missed up front. Chelsea's captain, John Terry, will be missing for some time yet and his deputy in defence yesterday, Alex, is shadow cover on this evidence.
A goalkeeping crisis also appears to be looming. Peter Cech was forced off in agony with a strain to his side yesterday, and Carlo Cudicini is unavailable as his deputy for the moment after injuring his ribs in training. Both players will be assessed in the coming days. Their absences meant Chelsea played the last half an hour with a man between the posts – Hilario – who had not featured at all since January.
While Michael Ballack is on the brink of a consistent return – he did not feature yesterday – and the Stamford Bridge squad and resources are theoretically deep, it will take victories considerably more convincing than this one to have the faithful at the Emirates or Old Trafford quivering in their boots. Still, Chelsea's manager, Avram Grant, was predictably delighted with the spoils and relieved at least that his side are not drifting further behind for now. "It's not easy to play here," he said. "We could only draw 0-0 at home with Blackburn so we knew it would be tough. I'm happy with the fighting spirit. It was very important to take the points, especially as the other teams at the top all won this weekend. The goal was good. One touch from [Salomon] Kalou, great movement [by Cole]."
That move was the smoothest of the rare coherent sweeps forward by the visitors. It came in the 22nd minute when John Mikel won the ball with a tackle in the middle and passed to Frank Lampard.
Kalou hit a sweet first-touch diagonal pass to put Cole through, although there was still a surge of pace needed for the England midfielder to get past Ryan Nelsen. As he did so, he stretched for his shot, struck it cleanly and wheeled away to celebrate in the knowledge it was unstoppable.
The other big talking points all involved goalkeepers. In the first half, Cech pulled off one outstanding save from Steven Reid to keep Chelsea ahead. He was crouching low at the time, and stretched high to his left to push the ball away.
With 20 minutes remaining and with Hilario in goal, it was the Portuguese's turn to shine, diving superbly to his left to stop a Roque Santa Cruz header for what seemed a certain equaliser. The transition between the two keepers, early in the second half, also grabbed the attention, although not, farcically, of Grant, at least for a while.
Cech had earlier collided accidentally with Santa Cruz, and needed five minutes' treatment. He said he would stay on. Then he wanted off. Grant missed this signal and left him, unable to kick or even walk without wincing, in place for almost 10 minutes more.
"We showed balls out there today," said Mark Hughes, their manager. "We were dynamic. David [Bentley] was excellent playing just off the front. We hit the bar several times. And then we got done by a sucker punch. We showed good quality, created chances. But Chelsea are very adept at defending a lead and in the last 15 minutes they were effective at running the clock down, which is something they're good at."
All true. Bentley hit the bar in the sixth minute, and again with a dipping free-kick in the 10th. He then supplied Santa Cruz, who shot just wide, before Andrei Shevchenko hooked over at the other end. Chelsea scored before Reid was thwarted by Cech.
Brad Friedel then saved from Lampard, Bentley helped to create another chance that skimmed the bar and half-time arrived with Chelsea somehow in front. It was eventually the referee, Steve Bennett, who forced Grant to substitute Cech because he could clearly not continue. Blackburn upped the pressure again, causing early nerves for a flailing Hilario before he settled to make his own fine stop from Santa Cruz.
Goal: J Cole (22) 0-1
Blackburn Rovers (4-5-1): Friedel; Emerton, Khizanishvili, Nelsen, Warnock; Reid, Dunn, Tugay (Roberts, 73), Pedersen, Bentley; Santa Cruz. Substitutes not used: Brown (gk), Savage, McCarthy, Mokoena.
Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech (Hilario, 64); Ferreira, Alex, Carvalho, A Cole; Essien, Mikel, Lampard, J Cole (Pizarro, 81); Shevchenko (Wright-Phillips, 87), Kalou. Substitutes not used: Ballack, Ben-Haim.
Referee: S Bennett (Kent).
Booked: Blackburn Dunn; Chelsea Alex, Carvalho.
Man of the match: Bentley.
Attendance: 23,966.
The top four's holiday fixtures
* ARSENAL: 26 Dec Portsmouth (a); 29 Dec Everton (a); 1 Jan West Ham (h).
* Manchester Utd: 26 Dec Sunderland (a); 29 Dec West Ham (a); 1 Jan Birmingham (h).
* Chelsea: 26 Dec Aston Villa (h); 29 Dec Newcastle (h); 1 Jan Fulham (a).
* Manchester City: 27 Dec Blackburn (h); 30 Dec Liverpool ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cole power leaves dogged Chelsea with a warm glow
Stuart James at Ewood ParkMonday December 24, 2007The Guardian
Jose Mourinho has long departed but there is no sense of the belligerence the Portuguese instilled in his players going with him. This was a Chelsea victory the Special One would have cherished, with the visitors enduring a testing examination in Lancashire that was made all the more demanding when Petr Cech left the field in visible discomfort. Avram Grant and the Chelsea fans will prefer to dwell on Joe Cole's splendid winning goal.It proved to be a crucial contribution in an exhilarating contest that somehow failed to deliver a second goal despite numerous chances for both teams. Blackburn will nurse the greater sense of regret after slipping to a fourth straight defeat. That sequence ought to have come to an end here but the combination of Chelsea's well-organised defence and two excellent saves, first from Cech and later his replacement, Hilario, secured a much needed win for Grant's side.
Hilario's fingertip stop came seven minutes after he had supplanted Cech, the Portuguese diving full-stretch to turn Roque Santa Cruz's header behind. It had been impossible to visualise such brilliance moments earlier when Hilario, making his first appearance in more than 11 months, came off his goalline to punch clear David Bentley's corner and made no contact with the ball. Santa Cruz ought to have punished the mistake but steered the free header wide.
Grant will feel Chelsea deserved the reprieve. With John Terry and Didier Drogba both absent through injury, the Israeli is picking his team with one hand tied behind his back and he can ill-afford to add Cech to the casualty list. Cech's importance to Chelsea was illustrated in the 33rd minute when he used both hands to flick Steven Reid's snap-shot on to the crossbar. It appears unlikely, though, that Cech will feature in the Chelsea team against Aston Villa on Boxing Day. He could not hide the pain that followed Santa Cruz's seemingly innocuous challenge shortly after the restart and, after struggling to take a goal-kick, was forced to signal to the Chelsea bench that he was unable to continue. Mark Hughes admitted that Blackburn should have placed Cech under greater pressure during the 15 minutes he attempted to play on.
Instead Chelsea stood firm with the excellent Ricardo Carvalho, making his first Premier League start for six weeks, holding together the Chelsea backline and ensuring, Hilario's save from Santa Cruz apart, there were few genuine moments of consternation in the visitors' penalty area as the clock ticked down. The three points gleaned ensures the leaders Arsenal and second-placed Manchester United remain within sight if not touching distance.
Chelsea's breakthrough had been unexpected. Blackburn had started at a frantic pace, the home team's energy levels appearing to take Chelsea by surprise as they showed no signs of fatigue following their midweek travails against Arsenal. Bentley was the catalyst for much of the early pressure, with the England midfielder revelling in a free role behind Santa Cruz that caused Chelsea, and in particular Mikel John Obi, much unease.
The Nigerian seemed to be caught in two minds as to whether to maintain his central berth in front of the Chelsea rearguard or pursue Bentley's runs and risk being dragged out of position. His indecision was welcomed by the Rovers midfielder whose contribution in the opening 15 minutes included a 20-yard shot that skimmed the roof of the net, an inswinging free-kick which hit the crossbar and a through-ball that Santa Cruz should have despatched.
That period promised much yet it was Chelsea who delivered the first blow. Carvalho read Ryan Nelsen's intention to slide a forward pass into Santa Cruz's feet, the Portuguese finding Frank Lampard before the ball was moved on to Saloman Kalou. Showing technique and vision, Kalou threaded a perfectly weighted pass that exposed Nelsen's poor positioning and allowed Joe Cole to advance before propelling a 15-yard shot beyond Brad Friedel.
Chelsea would have gone ahead 60 seconds earlier had Andriy Shevchenko evinced the same ruthlessness but the Ukrainian blazed over. Cole's goal appeared to have a calming effect on Chelsea, with Blackburn knocked out of their early rhythm and Lampard beginning to feel his way into the game. The midfielder came within inches of scoring his 100th goal for the club but Friedel tipped his 22-yard strike on to the post.
The Rovers goalkeeper produced another superb save to deny Lampard in the 77th minute when he escaped on the left before spearing a drive towards the far post that was touched behind. By that point Blackburn were resigned to defeat, their spirit broken by a Chelsea side that denied the home team any further chances in the six minutes of time added on.
"Unfortunately we got done on the sucker punch," said the Blackburn manager. "At the same time both [Chelsea] keepers have had to make great saves to keep them in the game and against lesser opposition we would have won the game. But it will turn around for us. The second half of the season is always our stronger half."
Man of the match Ricardo Carvalho
Has spent much of the season on the sidelines but there was no sign that he will need to be eased back into the fray after an outstanding display in Chelsea's defence. He showed intelligence, determination and composure.
Best moment When he robbed the ball from Roque Santa Cruz in the lead up to the counter-attack that brought the goal
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Chelsea's Joe Cole scuttles Rovers
Blackburn 0 Chelsea 1
By PETER FERGUSON
Even without lionhearted leader John Terry, Chelsea strode out of one of their least favourite hunting grounds with the points they needed to keep pace with the Barclays Premier League leaders.
While home hero David Bentley produced a bravura performance to put down a marker with new England manager Fabio Capello, Joe Cole snatched the breakaway goal that made the difference.
Ewood Park on a freezing December day was never to Jose Mourinho's taste but his successor Avram Grant has set up his side to block and frustrate even the toughest opponents — and so it proved for Rovers.
Chelsea protected their lead well, even after losing goalkeeper Petr Cech with almost half an hour to go, but were fortunate to get back on the winning trail after Arsenal ended their 16-match unbeaten run.
Mark Hughes' side have now lost four in a row but have also lacked the rub of the green on several occasions. The die was cast from the first few minutes when Morten Gamst Pedersen delivered his best corner for a long time. It proved as unplayable for his team-mates as for Cech and skidded wide.
Bentley, who was in inspired form, then stepped up to thump a rising drive inches over Cech's bar.
When Bentley's free kick after 11 minutes hit the top of the bar and Roque Santa Cruz fired a foot wide of the far post after the winger's fine run and pass, Chelsea had still not bothered Brad Friedel.
They put that right soon enough. Andriy Shevchenko was off target with a swivelling shot from a poorly-cleared corner but Cole was far more accurate with Chelsea's winner after 21 minutes.
Blackburn again showed their Achilles heel of being too easily caught on the counter-attack as Salomon Kalou's sublime diagonal ball sliced them open to allow Cole to smash his shot past Friedel.
Rovers responded with gusto, only for Cech to make an impressive reaction save to turn Steven Reid's effort against the bar after Bentley's free kick squirted off the defensive wall.
But Chelsea were also cursing their fortune, and veteran Friedel's reflexes, 10 minutes from half-time. Blackburn's defence opened up so obligingly for Frank Lampard to surge through, it was as if they had decided he should have his 100th Chelsea goal for Christmas. Friedel clearly wasn't in on the wheeze.
Zurab Khizanishvili, returning at the back for the suspended Chris Samba, went to the other end to drop a looping header on to the roof of the net but the momentum was now with the visitors.
Blackburn needed a superb if risky tackle in the penalty area from Dunn to stop Michael Essien benefiting from a smart bout of Chelsea passing on the hour which could have stretched their lead.
But Chelsea were dealt a blow after 64 minutes when Cech, who had collided with Santa Cruz in punching clear soon after the restart, had to be led off following prolonged treatment on the pitch earlier.
Cech, who has worn a helmet since fracturing his skull in a collision at Reading 14 months ago, appeared to have sustained a hip injury and made way for his deputy Hilario.
The Portuguese, playing his first match in nearly a year, managed to mistime his punch from the first corner he faced, offering Blackburn the sudden hope of exploiting the changeover.
But when Santa Cruz sent in a fierce header from Bentley's cross, Hilario produced a textbook one-handed save diving to his left, and any Chelsea worries in that direction evaporated.
Friedel had to be at his best to prevent Lampard reaching his century, pulling off a smart save to deny the Chelsea midfielder, who was booed by Blackburn fans.
Indeed, as if to underline Sol Campbell's complaints about the modern fan culture, at one corner stewards had to keep fans at bay as they crowded at the wall to hurl insults in Lampard's direction.
Chelsea frustration spilled over when Essien's goalbound header from a corner was inadvertently blocked by Cole and Ricardo Carvalho was booked for a spat with Friedel after a melee developed.
They saw the game out, complete with six minutes added on, in a studied and at times cynical example of running down the clock that will win Grant's team efficiency awards but no new friends.
Hughes will surely get Blackburn back on track but yesterday's outfield bench — Robbie Savage, Benni McCarthy, Aaron Mokoena and Jason Roberts — might all be missing by the start of next season.
BLACKBURN (4-4-1-1): Friedel 7; Emerton 5, Khizanishvili 7, Nelsen 6, Warnock 5; Dunn 6, Tugay 5 (Roberts 74min, 6), Reid 6, Pedersen 6; Bentley 8; Santa Cruz 5. Booked: Dunn.
CHELSEA (4-1-4-1): Cech 7 (Hilario 64, 6); Ferreira 6, Alex 7, Carvalho 7, A Cole 6; Essien 6; J Cole 6 (Pizarro, 82), Lampard 7, Mikel 6, Kalou 6; Shevchenko 5 (Wright- Phillips 66, 5). Booked: Alex, Carvalho.
Man of the match: David Bentley.
Referee: Steve Bennett. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merry Christmas Everyone
Thursday, December 20, 2007
morning papers liverpool cc
The TimesDecember 20, 2007
Andriy Shevchenko puts seal on typical display after moment of madness from Peter CrouchChelsea 2 Liverpool 0Matt Hughes
For all the talk of change under Avram Grant at Stamford Bridge, most events at the club remain as predictable as the plot lines of an Advent calendar. As is customary at this time of year, Chelsea ground their way into the Carling Cup semi-finals, their progress coming courtesy of a hard-fought win over Liverpool in a spiteful match typical of the enmity that exists between the teams.
Apart from the visiting fans’ amusing chants of “José, get a job, José, José, get a job,” it was as if Mr Mourin-ho had never left. In keeping with the enduring status quo, the crucial goal was scored by Frank Lampard in the 59th minute, though Andriy Shevchenko grabbing the second in stoppage time made a pleasant change from his recent scripts, particularly as it was provided by Michael Ballack on the German’s first appearance for eight months.
The involvement of the ultra-aggressive John Obi Mikel in the game’s most controversial incident also came as no surprise, but few would have predicted the manner in which Peter Crouch lost his head, as Rafael BenÍtez put it.
The England striker was deservedly sent off for his two-footed lunge on Mikel a minute after Liverpool had fallen behind and the visiting team’s fight disappeared with him. After the dust had settled, Grant could take great pleasure in ending Liverpool’s run of success against Chelsea in recent cup competitions, as well as securing his first victory over a member of the so-called big four.
After narrow defeats by Arsenal and Manchester United, getting that particular monkey off his back may prove more significant than moving to within 180 minutes of his first final. The only downside of a great evening for the Israeli was an ankle injury to Shevchenko that makes him doubtful for Sunday’s trip to Blackburn Rovers, while taking the edge off Ballack’s successful return.
“It’s important to win as we lost two games to the big four we didn’t deserve to lose,” Grant said. “We wanted to be in the semi-finals and it was a good game for the supporters. I’m pleased Ballack is back in the game after a long, long time. He’s a great player, an intelligent player and important for us. Sheva knows how to score goals, as we saw today.”
Unsurprisingly, BenÍtez saw matters differently, though Liverpool rarely looked like ending a miserable run in which they have failed to score a goal in his seven visits to West London.
The Spaniard insisted that his side played well and that Crouch’s dismissal changed the game, though this may well have been a ruse to divert attention from his side’s three successive defeats in domestic competition.
BenÍtez’s real attitude towards this competition was revealed by his team selection, which showed nine changes from Sunday’s defeat at Old Trafford.
With so many stars left at home, the burglars of Merseyside will not have enjoyed their most profitable night’s work.
Grant made seven changes from the team beaten by Arsenal, though with Ricardo Carvalho and Michael Essien returning from injury and suspension respectively, they looked stronger on paper and so it proved.
Essien and Mikel established an early dominance over Xabi Alonso and Mohamed Sissoko in midfield, enabling Shevchenko and Salomon Kalou to create several chances to take the lead. The Ivory Coast striker was denied by Charles Itandje before heading wide from a corner, and the French goalkeeper also made a good save from Lampard after the acting captain had been played through by Kalou.
There was a certain inevitability about the identity of Chelsea’s opening goalscorer, who benefited from a deflection that his detractors will claim to have been equally predictable. The goal was worth waiting for in terms of the build-up play, if not the execution, with Mikel picking out Shevchenko, who held the ball up well in the penalty area before finding Lampard, whose shot was helped over Itandje by an attempted challenge from Jamie Carragher.
Crouch’s loss of control a minute later brought an early end to the contest; the lanky striker had had Liverpool’s best chances. He shot wide across the face of goal after being played in by Lucas Leiva in the 26th minute and had an attempted chip saved by Petr Cech in the 56th after a rare mistake from Carvalho.
If he was frustrated, it was nothing compared with his emotions four minutes later, when he launched himself into a wild lunge at Mikel with his right foot. As he flew through the air, he somehow connected with his left, leaving Martin Atkinson, the referee, no option but to show him a red card.
In truth, the challenge probably deserved two, but with the red mist well and truly descended, Crouch saw it differently, compounding his crime by leaning over to abuse Mikel as he lay prone on the floor, continuing with a stream of invective aimed at the home fans as he stomped off the pitch.
As he demonstrated that he could teach Fabio Capello a thing or two about industrial English, he was clearly in no mood to consider the irony that he was once a ballboy at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea (4-3-3): P Cech – J Belletti, T Ben Haim, R Carvalho, W Bridge – M Essien, J O Mikel (sub: M Ballack, 69min), F Lampard – S Kalou, A Shevchenko (sub: S Sidwell, 90), S Sinclair (sub: J Cole, 57). Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, P Ferreira.
Liverpool (4-4-1-1): C Itandje – Á Arbeloa, J Hobbs, J Carragher, F Aurélio – A Voronin, X Alonso (sub: N El Zhar, 60), M Sissoko, R Babel (sub: Y Benayoun, 73) – Lucas Leiva, P Crouch. Substitutes not used: D Martin, S Hyypia, J A Riise. Booked: Alonso, Lucas, Sissoko. Sent off: Crouch.
Referee: M Atkinson. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Chelsea thrive after Peter Crouch's aberration By Henry Winter at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (0) 2 Liverpool (0) 0
Blue was the colour, with strikes from Frank Lampard and Andrei Shevchenko deservedly sweeping Chelsea into the semi-finals of the Carling Cup, but red was the colour for Peter Crouch, deservedly sent off for a two-footed lunge at John Obi Mikel.
Lampard had just scored when Crouch suffered his moment of unexpected madness. Crouch spent so long in the air as he flew into Mikel that he almost needed clearance from Heathrow as he came into land on Chelsea's innocent No 12. With referees clearly being encouraged to punish dangerous tackles, following a widespread debate about the number of nasty offences going unchecked, Martin Atkinson had no hesitation in dismissing Crouch.
For nearly an hour, the game had just meandered along, like the Thames at low tide, murky but unmenacing, giving no hint of the fireworks that were to arrive. But when Lampard scored his deflected goal off Jamie Carragher, a switch flicked in Liverpool's fuse-box and Crouch flew in recklessly on Mikel, earning instant and deserved expulsion.
In an opening hour dominated by two excellent keepers, Petr Cech and Charles Itandje, two sides who have been at each others' throats so often in cup combat in recent seasons were all endeavour, but no finish.
This was their 10th cup meeting in three and a half years, and familiarity bred containment. Notable absentees on both sides also added to the occasionally disjointed air, certainly in the first period.
Missing Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres, Liverpool had lined up in 4-2-3-1 formation; Andrei Voronin and Ryan Babel provided the width while the hard-working Brazilian, Lucas, operated in the hole, seeking to release the front-running Crouch. Lucas, though, spent as much time racing back to close down Lampard as looking forward to assist Crouch.
They still linked up well at times. Scarcely 10 minutes had elapsed when Lucas dispossessed Mikel and rolled the ball down the inside-right channel for Crouch. Aware that support was slow in arriving, the England international elected to shoot yet his aim was poor.
Liverpool took heart from such moments of promise against a home defence welcoming back Ricardo Carvalho, but lacking real organisation in the absence of the injured John Terry. When Babel dribbled in from the left moments later, Chelsea's rearguard was caught ragged. As the unmarked Crouch waited at the far post, Babel chose the wrong option, taking the low road and his cross was blocked.
As well as Terry, Chelsea were also without Didier Drogba, the best all-round centre-forward in the country. Strangely Avram Grant persisted with a system designed for Drogba, 4-1-2-3, when Andrei Shevchenko patently prefers 4-4-2. With Salomon Kalou and Scott Sinclair initially too distant from Shevchenko, the Ukrainian struggled to impose himself.
He was not helped by a painful blow on the ankle, inflicted by Lucas, though he climbed up and watched Lampard drill the free-kick into the Liverpool wall. Eventually, the busy pair of Sinclair and Kalou tucked closer in to assist the lonely No 7. Shevchenko even created a chance for Kalou, via Michael Essien's dummy, but the Ivory Coast striker placed his shot too close to Itandje.
The young French keeper continued to impress moments later, saving superbly from Frank Lampard after Jack Hobbs and Alvaro Arbeloa had bizarrely combined to divert the ball accidentally into the path of the England international. This was fertile territory for Lampard, running through with only an onrushing keeper to beat, but Itandje managed to block Lampard's attempted dink with his chest.
Both keepers were shining; now it was Cech's chance to show his class when a quickfire Liverpool move saw Voronin and Crouch dovetailing to send Lucas through. Cech was equal to the task, saving well from Lucas.
The theme of absent friends even extended to the officials as the linesman, Paul Norman, limped away before the first whistle, having pulled up lame during the warm-up. Peter Walton, the experienced referee, grabbed the flag to show his versatility.
At least the hiatus allowed some more refugees from the gridlocked M40 to enter the visitors' enclosure in the Shed, and sing everything from paeans to Benitez and ditties of denigration to Lampard. "Where's your Mourinho?" the travelling Kopites inquired of Chelsea, followed by "Rafa's the Special One".
Lampard made light of Liverpool derision and the loss of Mourinho after 59 minutes. The second half had already seen an increase in tempo, with Chelsea first to show. Sinclair and Essien had gone close, and then came Lampard. Mikel clipped the ball into Shevchenko, who set up Lampard. The England midfielder's shot caught the sliding Carragher and dropped in over Itandje.
Then came Crouch's moment of madness. Liverpool, a man down, and a goal adrift, knew they had their work cut out.
No chance. Even Shevchenko, hitherto badly off the pace, found the mark, with a driven finish in the last minute.
Match details
Chelsea (4-1-2-3): Cech; Belletti, Ben-Haim, Carvalho, Bridge; Mikel (Ballack 67); Essien, Lampard; Kalou, Shevchenko (Sidwell 90), Sinclair (J Cole 56). Subs: Cudicini (g), Ferreira. Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Itandje; Arbeloa, Hobbs, Carragher, Aurelio; Alonso (El Zhar 58), Sissoko; Voronin, Lucas, Babel (Benayoun 72); Crouch. Subs: Martin (g), Hyypia, Riise. Booked: Alonso, Lucas, Sissoko. Sent off: Crouch. Referee: M Atkinson (Yorkshire). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 2 Liverpool 0: Red mist descends on Crouch to smooth Chelsea's progress By Sam Wallace
The Carling Cup or the Snarling Cup? Even the mild-mannered Peter Crouch lost his temper last night to become the third player in English football's angriest competition to be dismissed in the space of two days before Rafael Benitez followed up with a broadside at the referee Martin Atkinson.
It may be the trophy of last resort for the Premier League's big four, but everyone seems to want to win the Carling Cup so much that tempers are fraying. Chelsea's passage into the semi-finals to play Everton was memorable for yet another red card: Crouch's uncharacteristic lunge at John Obi Mikel earned the England striker a straight red while Benitez accused referee Atkinson of failing to protect his player.
Crouch was incensed at what he saw as two attempts by Mikel to stud him from the knee down in the moments leading up to his ill-advised two-footed lunge at the Nigerian. Despite minimal contact on Mikel, there was little option for referee Atkinson other than to dismiss Crouch – just as Didier Zokora and Denilson found themselves red-carded on Tuesday night for raising their studs.
The incident over-shadowed the goals from Frank Lampard and Andrei Shevchenko that gave Chelsea their place in the semi-final especially when Benitez accused the referee of inconsistency. He might have a point when you consider that Steed Malbranque's brutal challenge on Vedran Corluka in Tottenham's win over Manchester City went unpunished, but even Benitez had to concede that Crouch's challenge itself was "maybe" a red card.
"I have watched the replay twice and Mikel was trying to kick Crouch," Benitez said. "If the referee had blown his whistle he would have avoided the sending off. He was kicked twice and that was the reason Crouch lost his head. I have seen more dangerous tackles. Sometimes they are yellow cards, sometimes they are nothing. He [Atkinson] needed to stop it before."
Crouch was furious at what he saw as play-acting from Mikel who, despite playing dead by the touchline, was back on his feet a few minutes later. By then the game was well out of Liverpool's reach. Avram Grant may have been appointed to win the Champions League, but for now it looks like he is happy to settle for Carling Cup.
The Israeli made seven changes from the team that lost to Arsenal on Sunday, but this was still virtually the strongest team that he could field in the circumstances. Benitez picked the likes of Jamie Carragher and Xabi Alonso but let his imagination run wild with the rest of the formation. He chose a 4-3-3 system that became 4-5-1 for most of the game and left Crouch isolated and frustrated.
With Andriy Voronin on the right wing and Ryan Babel on the left, Liverpool created too little. The Brazilian Lucas Leiva exerted only a sporadic influence from the space behind Crouch. The pick of the half was a flick from Crouch that played in Leiva who missed; and an identical chance for Lampard at the other end that he could not lift over Liverpool goalkeeper Charles Itandje.
It was a match that cried out for a bit of invention and when Joe Cole replaced Scott Sinclair on 56 minutes the Chelsea manager had gambled on virtually his strongest formation.
Before then Itandje had made a brilliant one-handed save from Michael Essien's shot. At the other end a mistake from Ricardo Carvalho, back for the first time since 11 November, gave Crouch a half-chance to lob Petr Cech which he could not lift over the Chelsea goalkeeper. Then came a goal that proved to Grant he has not used up all his luck just getting the Chelsea job.
Shortly before the hour Shevchenko knocked down a ball on the edge of the area into the stride of Lampard who got his shot away just as the ubiquitous Carragher lunged across to block. The Liverpool captain was having another one of his giant games, but he will probably wish he had not got a heel to this shot. It bounced down against the turf and looped over Itandje to give Chelsea the lead.
Crouch's sending off followed the goal, the fourth of his career after red cards playing for Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City and Southampton. A Chelsea fan as a child, he was a ball boy at Stamford Bridge in his youth and he has certainly had better nights at the stadium than this. "I think he didn't need to do it," Grant said. Chelsea are hardly in a position to moralise after the brawl in last season's Carling Cup final saw Mikel sent off.
Grant had asked for protection from referees for his players and he got it last night. John Terry had the last word on the challenge that left him with three broken bones in his foot on Sunday. In his programme notes, the Chelsea captain accused Emmanuel Eboue of having "left his studs in" in the crucial challenge that did the damage.
Michael Ballack was given a run-out as a substitute, his first game in eight months out with an ankle injury, and Shevchenko added the second in injury-time. By then, the Carling Cup was starting to look like more trouble than it was worth for Liverpool.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Belletti, Ben Haim, Carvalho, Bridge; Mikel (Ballack, 68); Kalou, Essien, Lampard, Sinclair (Cole, 57); Shevchenko (Sidwell, 90). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Ferreira.
Liverpool (4-4-1-1): Itandje; Arbeloa, Hobbs, Carragher, Aurelio; Voronin, Alonso (El Zhar, 60), Sissoko, Babel (Benayoun, 73); Leiva; Crouch. Substitutes not used: Martin (gk), Hyypia, Riise.
Referee: M Atkinson (Yorkshire).----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shevchenko has the last word as Crouch sees red
David Hytner at Stamford BridgeThursday December 20, 2007The Guardian
In his youth, Peter Crouch would dream of pulling on the blue shirt of his heroes Chelsea and taking centre stage at Stamford Bridge. When the Liverpool striker returned to the club last night, he claimed the headlines for the wrong reasons.As Frank Lampard and Andriy Shevchenko conjured the goals that sent Chelsea through to the Carling Cup semi-finals and a two-legged meeting with Everton, Crouch was dragged down by a costly rush of blood.
The Londoner had battled on his own up front and squandered two presentable chances when he lashed out by the touchline in a challenge with Mikel John Obi. Crouch leapt in with both feet off the ground and although he made little damaging contact with the Chelsea midfielder, the referee, Martin Atkinson, had seen enough intent to reach for the red card.Mikel was sent into the advertising boards and Crouch, rather than exit immediately, went back to offer him a less than polite pointer. When he did leave the field, it was with a volley of abuse for the Chelsea fans who had goaded him all evening.
Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, argued that Mikel had fouled Crouch twice in the build-up and if Atkinson had intervened then, the ugliness could have been prevented. Yet even he could not excuse Crouch's assault. Chelsea's manager Avram Grant did not pull his punches. "He didn't need to do it," he said. "It was on the line and in the middle of the pitch. It was far away [from anywhere meaningful].
"I respect Rafa Benítez a lot but firstly, it was a bad tackle and secondly, there were so many fouls made on Mikel, I think there were seven or eight in the first half. The priority of the game is to protect people from bad tackles. You saw what happened to John Terry [who was injured at Arsenal], he is out for six weeks."
This was the 17th meeting of the Benítez era and spite has crackled throughout most of them. Another staple of the matches has been their tightness and even with a weakened Liverpool line-up, it appeared that something abnormal, something freakish, would be required to prise the teams apart. So it proved. Lampard's goal was the pivotal moment and it went in thanks to a cruel deflection off Jamie Carragher.
Lampard had burst on to a flick from Shevchenko; Carragher seemed to have him tracked. But when Lampard shot, the ball looped up off Carragher's outstretched boot, deceived Charles Itandje, the stand-in Liverpool goalkeeper, and landed in the far corner.
Shevchenko wrapped up the victory when he rammed home a low shot in injury time, beating the otherwise impressive Itandje at his near post, following good work by Michael Ballack. Shevchenko's delight at his fifth goal of the season was matched by Ballack. The Germany captain had not played since April and two ankle operations, a dark period during which he feared he might never play again. "Sometimes I thought, 'I'm 31, I've had 14 good years as a pro, maybe it's over'," he said on the eve of the game. "There have been moments of real despair." A weight was lifted when he appeared as a substitute.
Liverpool have still to score in seven matches under Benítez at Stamford Bridge but they had the chances here. Crouch was played in early on by Lucas Leiva but he dragged his shot well wide and, shortly after, a slick move had Chelsea chasing shadows and Lucas bearing down on Petr Cech. This time the shot speared towards the far corner, but Cech's reflexes stood the test. Lucas wheeled away in frustration.
Chelsea had several excellent chances. Salomon Kalou forced Itandje to tip over his bar and Lampard, clean through after a defensive mix-up, could not lift the ball over the keeper.
Benítez left a host of star names at home but his hopes surged in the 56th minute when Crouch seized on an awful back-header by Ricardo Carvalho, back after six weeks out with a back injury. Yet Crouch could not find a way past the alert Cech. Moments later, Lampard's goal was followed by Crouch's red mist. Game over.
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Mail:
Cr-ouch - Liverpool crash out at Chelsea after striker walks for horror lunge
Chelsea 2-0 Liverpool
By NEIL ASHTON
First Frank Lampard put Chelsea in front. Then Peter Crouch sparked pandemonium with a two-footed lunge at John Mikel Obi that sent him into the advertising boards.
Sixty seconds is all it took to separate Chelsea and Liverpool last night: 60 seconds that lurched from the good (when Lampard scored), to the bad (when Crouch's horror tackle resulted in a red card) and the ugly (as both benches traded insults on the touchline).
Crouch was out of control and Liverpool are out of the competition. Simple as that.
For nearly an hour, these heavyweights of the Barclays Premier League shadow boxed, sparred and slugged towards a dramatic Carling Cup conclusion.
The absorbing tie had been building up to this fascinating climax. Lampard, denied by the brilliance of Liverpool goalkeeper Charles Itandje in the first half, scored with the aid of a deflection from Jamie Carragher.
Rough justice on the Liverpool skipper, but there was worse to come.
Crouch, who for long spells of the game was isolated from his teammates, spent time as a ball-boy at Stamford Bridge when he was a youngster. Evidently, he threw in his club colours a long time ago.
He was sent off in shame, sent off for stupidity and sent off without a second's hesitation by referee Martin Atkinson. A three match ban for a moment of madness. Merry Christmas, Crouchy.
That was the fourth red card of the England striker's career and although the protests from the Liverpool camp lasted long into the night, there could be no excuse.
It cannot be tolerated in a country which prides itself on fair play. Crouch is not alone, but he joins a lengthening list of players who have committed the cardinal sin of a two-footed tackle in recent weeks.
Obi was sent off at Manchester United in Avram Grant's first game in charge of Chelsea and, along with Stephen Ireland, Craig Gardner, John Terry, Emmanuel Eboue, El Hadji Diouf, Didier Zokora and Steed Malbranque, is among the miscreants who have been caught with their studs showing.
Some have escaped, some have not. Either way, it is time that the Premier League's 20 clubs and their highly paid players were given a fairly stiff reminder of their responsibilities.
Crouch was deservedly punished, but there was no need for Obi's reaction either.
He is already one of the most unpopular and inflammatory players in the league and he won't have done himself any favours last night.
He could have dusted himself down and got up, but instead he stayed down. That reaction broke an unwritten code among professional players and Benitez was quick to apportion blame.
'Twice Mikel tried to foul Crouch,' he protested. Pity, then, that Crouch reacted by wrapping his legs around the Chelsea midfielder.
There is real needle between these teams, a product of their epic Champions League confrontations over the past three seasons, and the west London air was thick with acrimony.
Liverpool still hold the upper hand — 'we've won it (the European Cup) five times' sang their supporters herded into The Shed — but the Carling Cup is Chelsea's territory.
Although Grant has admitted that the competition is a long way down his list of priorities, the cup is close to the players' hearts.
It is the first trophy the likes of Terry, Lampard and Petr Cech lifted under Jose Mourinho's leadership and there is a special affinity with the competition among these players.
Terry was missing last night, ruled out for three months with a fractured metatarsal, but these able-bodied Chelsea players were busting a gut for another semi-final appearance.
They face tougher competition this time round — Everton will be stiffer opposition than Wycombe Wanderers over a two-legged semi- final — but there is a determination to deliver.
For that, they have Lampard to thank. Overshadowed by Cesc Fabregas in the 1-0 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday, he had the measure of Liverpool's three-man midfield.
Full of running and full of enterprise, Chelsea's stand-in skipper separated the teams with a characteristic effort in the 59th minute.
His looping effort deflected its way past 25-year- old Frenchman Itandje.
It was cruel for Carragher, always outstanding whenever these teams lock horns, but Liverpool limped through this quarter-final.
Without Steven Gerrard snapping at Lampard's heels, they could not find any momentum. Crouch, who skewed hopelessly wide in the first half, spent long periods of the game isolated from his team-mates.
Andriy Voronin, Lucas, Xabi Alonso, Mohamed Sissoko and Ryan Babel are all comfortable in possession, but they lacked penetration.
Pretty passing is easy on the eye, but this Liverpool team should be setting their sights higher.
When Crouch was dismissed, they found a ready-made excuse for a quarter-final exit.
Chelsea sent on Michael Ballack as a substitute for his first appearance in nearly eight months and his impact was immediate.
Wayne Bridge crossed from the left, Ballack's flick found its way towards Andriy Shevchenko and his drilled effort easily beat Itandje at his near post.
It would be easy to point the finger of blame at the Liverpool keeper for his failure to spot Shevchenko's strike, but that responsibility lies elsewhere this morning.
'He lost his head,' said Benitez of Crouch. Not to mention his place in the team.
Chelsea: Cech, Bridge, Carvalho, Belletti, Ben-Haim, Essien, Obi, Lampard, Kalou, Shevchenko, Sinclair. Subs: Cudicini, Sidwell, Joe Cole, Ballack, Ferreira.
Liverpool: Itandje, Arbeloa, Carragher, Hobbs, Aurelio, Sissoko, Lucas, Alonso, Voronin, Crouch, Babel. Subs: Martin, Hyypia, Riise, Benayoun, El Zhar.
Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sun:
Baddy long legs Kops red woe
By SHAUN CUSTIS
THE Ordinary One is on course to emulate the Special One.
Avram Grant is some way behind predecessor Jose Mourinho in the popularity stakes around Stamford Bridge — but he is keeping pace with his start as manager.
Mourinho’s first trophy as Blues boss was the Carling Cup after an extra-time victory against Liverpool.
Grant’s Blues have got the Reds out of the way and will look forward to a semi-final against Everton and a possible second successive final with Arsenal.
Last season, that match featured a 20-man brawl in the dying minutes before Chelsea carried off the trophy again in what was dubbed the Snarling Cup Final.
Goals from Frank Lampard and Andriy Shevchenko saw Chelsea home here on a night when the biggest talking point was a spectacular foul by Peter Crouch on Mikel John Obi.
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez argued that Crouch had been provoked by Mikel in the lead-up to the challenge but it was still a shocker by the 6ft 7in England striker.
Jumbo jets have flown lower across the Atlantic than Crouch did to launch his airborne two-footed assault on Mikel, which sent the Nigerian into the advertising boards.
Crouch has been reduced to a bit part at Anfield and has to make the most of starts in games like these.
But last night it was as if all his frustrations boiled over.
It was the clearest red card you will ever see although it was surprising to learn it was mild-mannered Crouch’s fourth of his career.
He did not take it well, directing a series of verbals in Mikel’s direction before telling the baying Chelsea crowd to “f*** off” as he headed down the tunnel.
Ironically, Crouch used to be one of those supporters himself. He was raised a Chelsea fan by his Blues-supporting dad, Bruce.
For good measure, manager Rafa Benitez got stuck into the fourth official — who was an innocent bystander — but there was no excuse for Crouch’s reckless behaviour.
Liverpool were one down at the time and the dismissal robbed them of any hope of getting back into the game.
The result made it a bad week for the men from Anfield, following their loss to arch-rivals Manchester United in the Premier League.
This will not please the Reds’ American owners, with whom Benitez has a fractious relationship. They are drifting out of the Premier League race and now this.
For Chelsea, it was the perfect pick-me-up after defeat at Arsenal on Sunday. They had the added bonus of Ricardo Carvalho returning after a six-match layoff — much needed after the injury to John Terry.
Crouch’s miserable evening started when he dragged a good chance so horribly across goal it almost went out for a throw-in.
He also tried to lob Petr Cech in the second half but the keeper managed to get a hand to it and Tal Ben-Haim headed away the danger.
Then Lampard, having only just smashed an opportunity from the edge of the box high over the bar, put Chelsea ahead in fortuitous circumstance as the hour approached.
Mikel’s ball in was taken down by Shevchenko and Lampard collected it on the run. He aimed a shot low towards the far corner but Jamie Carragher had made up ground and began a desperate lunge to try and block.
The ball struck the underside of the unfortunate defender’s left leg and looped up high over the Reds’ helpless French keeper Charles Itandje.
Carragher shook his head in disbelief and muttered “Jammy b*****d.”
A minute later Liverpool’s night got worse with Crouch’s dismissal.
Somebody seriously asked Benitez in the after-match Press conference if Liverpool would appeal against the sending-off.
Crouch will be lucky if he is not done for attempted murder.
If it is any consolation, he will get Christmas off!
Lampard jumped to his England team-mate’s defence afterwards.
He said: “Peter is a great lad and I’m sure he’ll hold his hands up to that.
“He’s only human — there was no malice intended.”
On his flukey strike, Lamps said: “Both teams had chances — we had the better of them.
“But we felt if we kept going we would get a goal.
“You make your own luck — I got a bit and it looped into the far corner.”
Chelsea went looking for the second goal to kill the game and Michael Ballack was introduced for his first appearance of the season.
He and Shevchenko have been the butt of most of the criticism for any Chelsea failures so it will have been with a small amount of satisfaction that they combined to finish off Liverpool in the final minute.
Sheva had just gone close with a screamer of a free-kick when he decided to lurk on the far side of the box as Wayne Bridge crossed and Ballack flicked the ball on.
The Ukrainian has not lost the poacher’s instinct and, as it dropped, he smashed a drive between Itandje and the near post. The keeper might have done better but it was travelling some.
It was Shevchenko’s fifth of the season and his 19th in Chelsea colours in 66 games.
He is getting close to an average of one in three which is seen as every striker’s benchmark.
Shevchenko has to carry the goalscoring weight on his shoulders in the absence of Didier Drogba — who has just had knee surgery and will be playing for the Ivory Coast in next month’s African Nations Cup. The responsibility on Sheva will be enormous over the next couple of months.
This can be his moment. Maybe, just maybe, Sheva will come good after all.
SEMI-FINAL DRAWChelsea v Everton
Arsenal v Tottenham
Andriy Shevchenko puts seal on typical display after moment of madness from Peter CrouchChelsea 2 Liverpool 0Matt Hughes
For all the talk of change under Avram Grant at Stamford Bridge, most events at the club remain as predictable as the plot lines of an Advent calendar. As is customary at this time of year, Chelsea ground their way into the Carling Cup semi-finals, their progress coming courtesy of a hard-fought win over Liverpool in a spiteful match typical of the enmity that exists between the teams.
Apart from the visiting fans’ amusing chants of “José, get a job, José, José, get a job,” it was as if Mr Mourin-ho had never left. In keeping with the enduring status quo, the crucial goal was scored by Frank Lampard in the 59th minute, though Andriy Shevchenko grabbing the second in stoppage time made a pleasant change from his recent scripts, particularly as it was provided by Michael Ballack on the German’s first appearance for eight months.
The involvement of the ultra-aggressive John Obi Mikel in the game’s most controversial incident also came as no surprise, but few would have predicted the manner in which Peter Crouch lost his head, as Rafael BenÍtez put it.
The England striker was deservedly sent off for his two-footed lunge on Mikel a minute after Liverpool had fallen behind and the visiting team’s fight disappeared with him. After the dust had settled, Grant could take great pleasure in ending Liverpool’s run of success against Chelsea in recent cup competitions, as well as securing his first victory over a member of the so-called big four.
After narrow defeats by Arsenal and Manchester United, getting that particular monkey off his back may prove more significant than moving to within 180 minutes of his first final. The only downside of a great evening for the Israeli was an ankle injury to Shevchenko that makes him doubtful for Sunday’s trip to Blackburn Rovers, while taking the edge off Ballack’s successful return.
“It’s important to win as we lost two games to the big four we didn’t deserve to lose,” Grant said. “We wanted to be in the semi-finals and it was a good game for the supporters. I’m pleased Ballack is back in the game after a long, long time. He’s a great player, an intelligent player and important for us. Sheva knows how to score goals, as we saw today.”
Unsurprisingly, BenÍtez saw matters differently, though Liverpool rarely looked like ending a miserable run in which they have failed to score a goal in his seven visits to West London.
The Spaniard insisted that his side played well and that Crouch’s dismissal changed the game, though this may well have been a ruse to divert attention from his side’s three successive defeats in domestic competition.
BenÍtez’s real attitude towards this competition was revealed by his team selection, which showed nine changes from Sunday’s defeat at Old Trafford.
With so many stars left at home, the burglars of Merseyside will not have enjoyed their most profitable night’s work.
Grant made seven changes from the team beaten by Arsenal, though with Ricardo Carvalho and Michael Essien returning from injury and suspension respectively, they looked stronger on paper and so it proved.
Essien and Mikel established an early dominance over Xabi Alonso and Mohamed Sissoko in midfield, enabling Shevchenko and Salomon Kalou to create several chances to take the lead. The Ivory Coast striker was denied by Charles Itandje before heading wide from a corner, and the French goalkeeper also made a good save from Lampard after the acting captain had been played through by Kalou.
There was a certain inevitability about the identity of Chelsea’s opening goalscorer, who benefited from a deflection that his detractors will claim to have been equally predictable. The goal was worth waiting for in terms of the build-up play, if not the execution, with Mikel picking out Shevchenko, who held the ball up well in the penalty area before finding Lampard, whose shot was helped over Itandje by an attempted challenge from Jamie Carragher.
Crouch’s loss of control a minute later brought an early end to the contest; the lanky striker had had Liverpool’s best chances. He shot wide across the face of goal after being played in by Lucas Leiva in the 26th minute and had an attempted chip saved by Petr Cech in the 56th after a rare mistake from Carvalho.
If he was frustrated, it was nothing compared with his emotions four minutes later, when he launched himself into a wild lunge at Mikel with his right foot. As he flew through the air, he somehow connected with his left, leaving Martin Atkinson, the referee, no option but to show him a red card.
In truth, the challenge probably deserved two, but with the red mist well and truly descended, Crouch saw it differently, compounding his crime by leaning over to abuse Mikel as he lay prone on the floor, continuing with a stream of invective aimed at the home fans as he stomped off the pitch.
As he demonstrated that he could teach Fabio Capello a thing or two about industrial English, he was clearly in no mood to consider the irony that he was once a ballboy at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea (4-3-3): P Cech – J Belletti, T Ben Haim, R Carvalho, W Bridge – M Essien, J O Mikel (sub: M Ballack, 69min), F Lampard – S Kalou, A Shevchenko (sub: S Sidwell, 90), S Sinclair (sub: J Cole, 57). Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, P Ferreira.
Liverpool (4-4-1-1): C Itandje – Á Arbeloa, J Hobbs, J Carragher, F Aurélio – A Voronin, X Alonso (sub: N El Zhar, 60), M Sissoko, R Babel (sub: Y Benayoun, 73) – Lucas Leiva, P Crouch. Substitutes not used: D Martin, S Hyypia, J A Riise. Booked: Alonso, Lucas, Sissoko. Sent off: Crouch.
Referee: M Atkinson. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Chelsea thrive after Peter Crouch's aberration By Henry Winter at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (0) 2 Liverpool (0) 0
Blue was the colour, with strikes from Frank Lampard and Andrei Shevchenko deservedly sweeping Chelsea into the semi-finals of the Carling Cup, but red was the colour for Peter Crouch, deservedly sent off for a two-footed lunge at John Obi Mikel.
Lampard had just scored when Crouch suffered his moment of unexpected madness. Crouch spent so long in the air as he flew into Mikel that he almost needed clearance from Heathrow as he came into land on Chelsea's innocent No 12. With referees clearly being encouraged to punish dangerous tackles, following a widespread debate about the number of nasty offences going unchecked, Martin Atkinson had no hesitation in dismissing Crouch.
For nearly an hour, the game had just meandered along, like the Thames at low tide, murky but unmenacing, giving no hint of the fireworks that were to arrive. But when Lampard scored his deflected goal off Jamie Carragher, a switch flicked in Liverpool's fuse-box and Crouch flew in recklessly on Mikel, earning instant and deserved expulsion.
In an opening hour dominated by two excellent keepers, Petr Cech and Charles Itandje, two sides who have been at each others' throats so often in cup combat in recent seasons were all endeavour, but no finish.
This was their 10th cup meeting in three and a half years, and familiarity bred containment. Notable absentees on both sides also added to the occasionally disjointed air, certainly in the first period.
Missing Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres, Liverpool had lined up in 4-2-3-1 formation; Andrei Voronin and Ryan Babel provided the width while the hard-working Brazilian, Lucas, operated in the hole, seeking to release the front-running Crouch. Lucas, though, spent as much time racing back to close down Lampard as looking forward to assist Crouch.
They still linked up well at times. Scarcely 10 minutes had elapsed when Lucas dispossessed Mikel and rolled the ball down the inside-right channel for Crouch. Aware that support was slow in arriving, the England international elected to shoot yet his aim was poor.
Liverpool took heart from such moments of promise against a home defence welcoming back Ricardo Carvalho, but lacking real organisation in the absence of the injured John Terry. When Babel dribbled in from the left moments later, Chelsea's rearguard was caught ragged. As the unmarked Crouch waited at the far post, Babel chose the wrong option, taking the low road and his cross was blocked.
As well as Terry, Chelsea were also without Didier Drogba, the best all-round centre-forward in the country. Strangely Avram Grant persisted with a system designed for Drogba, 4-1-2-3, when Andrei Shevchenko patently prefers 4-4-2. With Salomon Kalou and Scott Sinclair initially too distant from Shevchenko, the Ukrainian struggled to impose himself.
He was not helped by a painful blow on the ankle, inflicted by Lucas, though he climbed up and watched Lampard drill the free-kick into the Liverpool wall. Eventually, the busy pair of Sinclair and Kalou tucked closer in to assist the lonely No 7. Shevchenko even created a chance for Kalou, via Michael Essien's dummy, but the Ivory Coast striker placed his shot too close to Itandje.
The young French keeper continued to impress moments later, saving superbly from Frank Lampard after Jack Hobbs and Alvaro Arbeloa had bizarrely combined to divert the ball accidentally into the path of the England international. This was fertile territory for Lampard, running through with only an onrushing keeper to beat, but Itandje managed to block Lampard's attempted dink with his chest.
Both keepers were shining; now it was Cech's chance to show his class when a quickfire Liverpool move saw Voronin and Crouch dovetailing to send Lucas through. Cech was equal to the task, saving well from Lucas.
The theme of absent friends even extended to the officials as the linesman, Paul Norman, limped away before the first whistle, having pulled up lame during the warm-up. Peter Walton, the experienced referee, grabbed the flag to show his versatility.
At least the hiatus allowed some more refugees from the gridlocked M40 to enter the visitors' enclosure in the Shed, and sing everything from paeans to Benitez and ditties of denigration to Lampard. "Where's your Mourinho?" the travelling Kopites inquired of Chelsea, followed by "Rafa's the Special One".
Lampard made light of Liverpool derision and the loss of Mourinho after 59 minutes. The second half had already seen an increase in tempo, with Chelsea first to show. Sinclair and Essien had gone close, and then came Lampard. Mikel clipped the ball into Shevchenko, who set up Lampard. The England midfielder's shot caught the sliding Carragher and dropped in over Itandje.
Then came Crouch's moment of madness. Liverpool, a man down, and a goal adrift, knew they had their work cut out.
No chance. Even Shevchenko, hitherto badly off the pace, found the mark, with a driven finish in the last minute.
Match details
Chelsea (4-1-2-3): Cech; Belletti, Ben-Haim, Carvalho, Bridge; Mikel (Ballack 67); Essien, Lampard; Kalou, Shevchenko (Sidwell 90), Sinclair (J Cole 56). Subs: Cudicini (g), Ferreira. Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Itandje; Arbeloa, Hobbs, Carragher, Aurelio; Alonso (El Zhar 58), Sissoko; Voronin, Lucas, Babel (Benayoun 72); Crouch. Subs: Martin (g), Hyypia, Riise. Booked: Alonso, Lucas, Sissoko. Sent off: Crouch. Referee: M Atkinson (Yorkshire). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 2 Liverpool 0: Red mist descends on Crouch to smooth Chelsea's progress By Sam Wallace
The Carling Cup or the Snarling Cup? Even the mild-mannered Peter Crouch lost his temper last night to become the third player in English football's angriest competition to be dismissed in the space of two days before Rafael Benitez followed up with a broadside at the referee Martin Atkinson.
It may be the trophy of last resort for the Premier League's big four, but everyone seems to want to win the Carling Cup so much that tempers are fraying. Chelsea's passage into the semi-finals to play Everton was memorable for yet another red card: Crouch's uncharacteristic lunge at John Obi Mikel earned the England striker a straight red while Benitez accused referee Atkinson of failing to protect his player.
Crouch was incensed at what he saw as two attempts by Mikel to stud him from the knee down in the moments leading up to his ill-advised two-footed lunge at the Nigerian. Despite minimal contact on Mikel, there was little option for referee Atkinson other than to dismiss Crouch – just as Didier Zokora and Denilson found themselves red-carded on Tuesday night for raising their studs.
The incident over-shadowed the goals from Frank Lampard and Andrei Shevchenko that gave Chelsea their place in the semi-final especially when Benitez accused the referee of inconsistency. He might have a point when you consider that Steed Malbranque's brutal challenge on Vedran Corluka in Tottenham's win over Manchester City went unpunished, but even Benitez had to concede that Crouch's challenge itself was "maybe" a red card.
"I have watched the replay twice and Mikel was trying to kick Crouch," Benitez said. "If the referee had blown his whistle he would have avoided the sending off. He was kicked twice and that was the reason Crouch lost his head. I have seen more dangerous tackles. Sometimes they are yellow cards, sometimes they are nothing. He [Atkinson] needed to stop it before."
Crouch was furious at what he saw as play-acting from Mikel who, despite playing dead by the touchline, was back on his feet a few minutes later. By then the game was well out of Liverpool's reach. Avram Grant may have been appointed to win the Champions League, but for now it looks like he is happy to settle for Carling Cup.
The Israeli made seven changes from the team that lost to Arsenal on Sunday, but this was still virtually the strongest team that he could field in the circumstances. Benitez picked the likes of Jamie Carragher and Xabi Alonso but let his imagination run wild with the rest of the formation. He chose a 4-3-3 system that became 4-5-1 for most of the game and left Crouch isolated and frustrated.
With Andriy Voronin on the right wing and Ryan Babel on the left, Liverpool created too little. The Brazilian Lucas Leiva exerted only a sporadic influence from the space behind Crouch. The pick of the half was a flick from Crouch that played in Leiva who missed; and an identical chance for Lampard at the other end that he could not lift over Liverpool goalkeeper Charles Itandje.
It was a match that cried out for a bit of invention and when Joe Cole replaced Scott Sinclair on 56 minutes the Chelsea manager had gambled on virtually his strongest formation.
Before then Itandje had made a brilliant one-handed save from Michael Essien's shot. At the other end a mistake from Ricardo Carvalho, back for the first time since 11 November, gave Crouch a half-chance to lob Petr Cech which he could not lift over the Chelsea goalkeeper. Then came a goal that proved to Grant he has not used up all his luck just getting the Chelsea job.
Shortly before the hour Shevchenko knocked down a ball on the edge of the area into the stride of Lampard who got his shot away just as the ubiquitous Carragher lunged across to block. The Liverpool captain was having another one of his giant games, but he will probably wish he had not got a heel to this shot. It bounced down against the turf and looped over Itandje to give Chelsea the lead.
Crouch's sending off followed the goal, the fourth of his career after red cards playing for Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City and Southampton. A Chelsea fan as a child, he was a ball boy at Stamford Bridge in his youth and he has certainly had better nights at the stadium than this. "I think he didn't need to do it," Grant said. Chelsea are hardly in a position to moralise after the brawl in last season's Carling Cup final saw Mikel sent off.
Grant had asked for protection from referees for his players and he got it last night. John Terry had the last word on the challenge that left him with three broken bones in his foot on Sunday. In his programme notes, the Chelsea captain accused Emmanuel Eboue of having "left his studs in" in the crucial challenge that did the damage.
Michael Ballack was given a run-out as a substitute, his first game in eight months out with an ankle injury, and Shevchenko added the second in injury-time. By then, the Carling Cup was starting to look like more trouble than it was worth for Liverpool.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Belletti, Ben Haim, Carvalho, Bridge; Mikel (Ballack, 68); Kalou, Essien, Lampard, Sinclair (Cole, 57); Shevchenko (Sidwell, 90). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Ferreira.
Liverpool (4-4-1-1): Itandje; Arbeloa, Hobbs, Carragher, Aurelio; Voronin, Alonso (El Zhar, 60), Sissoko, Babel (Benayoun, 73); Leiva; Crouch. Substitutes not used: Martin (gk), Hyypia, Riise.
Referee: M Atkinson (Yorkshire).----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shevchenko has the last word as Crouch sees red
David Hytner at Stamford BridgeThursday December 20, 2007The Guardian
In his youth, Peter Crouch would dream of pulling on the blue shirt of his heroes Chelsea and taking centre stage at Stamford Bridge. When the Liverpool striker returned to the club last night, he claimed the headlines for the wrong reasons.As Frank Lampard and Andriy Shevchenko conjured the goals that sent Chelsea through to the Carling Cup semi-finals and a two-legged meeting with Everton, Crouch was dragged down by a costly rush of blood.
The Londoner had battled on his own up front and squandered two presentable chances when he lashed out by the touchline in a challenge with Mikel John Obi. Crouch leapt in with both feet off the ground and although he made little damaging contact with the Chelsea midfielder, the referee, Martin Atkinson, had seen enough intent to reach for the red card.Mikel was sent into the advertising boards and Crouch, rather than exit immediately, went back to offer him a less than polite pointer. When he did leave the field, it was with a volley of abuse for the Chelsea fans who had goaded him all evening.
Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, argued that Mikel had fouled Crouch twice in the build-up and if Atkinson had intervened then, the ugliness could have been prevented. Yet even he could not excuse Crouch's assault. Chelsea's manager Avram Grant did not pull his punches. "He didn't need to do it," he said. "It was on the line and in the middle of the pitch. It was far away [from anywhere meaningful].
"I respect Rafa Benítez a lot but firstly, it was a bad tackle and secondly, there were so many fouls made on Mikel, I think there were seven or eight in the first half. The priority of the game is to protect people from bad tackles. You saw what happened to John Terry [who was injured at Arsenal], he is out for six weeks."
This was the 17th meeting of the Benítez era and spite has crackled throughout most of them. Another staple of the matches has been their tightness and even with a weakened Liverpool line-up, it appeared that something abnormal, something freakish, would be required to prise the teams apart. So it proved. Lampard's goal was the pivotal moment and it went in thanks to a cruel deflection off Jamie Carragher.
Lampard had burst on to a flick from Shevchenko; Carragher seemed to have him tracked. But when Lampard shot, the ball looped up off Carragher's outstretched boot, deceived Charles Itandje, the stand-in Liverpool goalkeeper, and landed in the far corner.
Shevchenko wrapped up the victory when he rammed home a low shot in injury time, beating the otherwise impressive Itandje at his near post, following good work by Michael Ballack. Shevchenko's delight at his fifth goal of the season was matched by Ballack. The Germany captain had not played since April and two ankle operations, a dark period during which he feared he might never play again. "Sometimes I thought, 'I'm 31, I've had 14 good years as a pro, maybe it's over'," he said on the eve of the game. "There have been moments of real despair." A weight was lifted when he appeared as a substitute.
Liverpool have still to score in seven matches under Benítez at Stamford Bridge but they had the chances here. Crouch was played in early on by Lucas Leiva but he dragged his shot well wide and, shortly after, a slick move had Chelsea chasing shadows and Lucas bearing down on Petr Cech. This time the shot speared towards the far corner, but Cech's reflexes stood the test. Lucas wheeled away in frustration.
Chelsea had several excellent chances. Salomon Kalou forced Itandje to tip over his bar and Lampard, clean through after a defensive mix-up, could not lift the ball over the keeper.
Benítez left a host of star names at home but his hopes surged in the 56th minute when Crouch seized on an awful back-header by Ricardo Carvalho, back after six weeks out with a back injury. Yet Crouch could not find a way past the alert Cech. Moments later, Lampard's goal was followed by Crouch's red mist. Game over.
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Mail:
Cr-ouch - Liverpool crash out at Chelsea after striker walks for horror lunge
Chelsea 2-0 Liverpool
By NEIL ASHTON
First Frank Lampard put Chelsea in front. Then Peter Crouch sparked pandemonium with a two-footed lunge at John Mikel Obi that sent him into the advertising boards.
Sixty seconds is all it took to separate Chelsea and Liverpool last night: 60 seconds that lurched from the good (when Lampard scored), to the bad (when Crouch's horror tackle resulted in a red card) and the ugly (as both benches traded insults on the touchline).
Crouch was out of control and Liverpool are out of the competition. Simple as that.
For nearly an hour, these heavyweights of the Barclays Premier League shadow boxed, sparred and slugged towards a dramatic Carling Cup conclusion.
The absorbing tie had been building up to this fascinating climax. Lampard, denied by the brilliance of Liverpool goalkeeper Charles Itandje in the first half, scored with the aid of a deflection from Jamie Carragher.
Rough justice on the Liverpool skipper, but there was worse to come.
Crouch, who for long spells of the game was isolated from his teammates, spent time as a ball-boy at Stamford Bridge when he was a youngster. Evidently, he threw in his club colours a long time ago.
He was sent off in shame, sent off for stupidity and sent off without a second's hesitation by referee Martin Atkinson. A three match ban for a moment of madness. Merry Christmas, Crouchy.
That was the fourth red card of the England striker's career and although the protests from the Liverpool camp lasted long into the night, there could be no excuse.
It cannot be tolerated in a country which prides itself on fair play. Crouch is not alone, but he joins a lengthening list of players who have committed the cardinal sin of a two-footed tackle in recent weeks.
Obi was sent off at Manchester United in Avram Grant's first game in charge of Chelsea and, along with Stephen Ireland, Craig Gardner, John Terry, Emmanuel Eboue, El Hadji Diouf, Didier Zokora and Steed Malbranque, is among the miscreants who have been caught with their studs showing.
Some have escaped, some have not. Either way, it is time that the Premier League's 20 clubs and their highly paid players were given a fairly stiff reminder of their responsibilities.
Crouch was deservedly punished, but there was no need for Obi's reaction either.
He is already one of the most unpopular and inflammatory players in the league and he won't have done himself any favours last night.
He could have dusted himself down and got up, but instead he stayed down. That reaction broke an unwritten code among professional players and Benitez was quick to apportion blame.
'Twice Mikel tried to foul Crouch,' he protested. Pity, then, that Crouch reacted by wrapping his legs around the Chelsea midfielder.
There is real needle between these teams, a product of their epic Champions League confrontations over the past three seasons, and the west London air was thick with acrimony.
Liverpool still hold the upper hand — 'we've won it (the European Cup) five times' sang their supporters herded into The Shed — but the Carling Cup is Chelsea's territory.
Although Grant has admitted that the competition is a long way down his list of priorities, the cup is close to the players' hearts.
It is the first trophy the likes of Terry, Lampard and Petr Cech lifted under Jose Mourinho's leadership and there is a special affinity with the competition among these players.
Terry was missing last night, ruled out for three months with a fractured metatarsal, but these able-bodied Chelsea players were busting a gut for another semi-final appearance.
They face tougher competition this time round — Everton will be stiffer opposition than Wycombe Wanderers over a two-legged semi- final — but there is a determination to deliver.
For that, they have Lampard to thank. Overshadowed by Cesc Fabregas in the 1-0 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday, he had the measure of Liverpool's three-man midfield.
Full of running and full of enterprise, Chelsea's stand-in skipper separated the teams with a characteristic effort in the 59th minute.
His looping effort deflected its way past 25-year- old Frenchman Itandje.
It was cruel for Carragher, always outstanding whenever these teams lock horns, but Liverpool limped through this quarter-final.
Without Steven Gerrard snapping at Lampard's heels, they could not find any momentum. Crouch, who skewed hopelessly wide in the first half, spent long periods of the game isolated from his team-mates.
Andriy Voronin, Lucas, Xabi Alonso, Mohamed Sissoko and Ryan Babel are all comfortable in possession, but they lacked penetration.
Pretty passing is easy on the eye, but this Liverpool team should be setting their sights higher.
When Crouch was dismissed, they found a ready-made excuse for a quarter-final exit.
Chelsea sent on Michael Ballack as a substitute for his first appearance in nearly eight months and his impact was immediate.
Wayne Bridge crossed from the left, Ballack's flick found its way towards Andriy Shevchenko and his drilled effort easily beat Itandje at his near post.
It would be easy to point the finger of blame at the Liverpool keeper for his failure to spot Shevchenko's strike, but that responsibility lies elsewhere this morning.
'He lost his head,' said Benitez of Crouch. Not to mention his place in the team.
Chelsea: Cech, Bridge, Carvalho, Belletti, Ben-Haim, Essien, Obi, Lampard, Kalou, Shevchenko, Sinclair. Subs: Cudicini, Sidwell, Joe Cole, Ballack, Ferreira.
Liverpool: Itandje, Arbeloa, Carragher, Hobbs, Aurelio, Sissoko, Lucas, Alonso, Voronin, Crouch, Babel. Subs: Martin, Hyypia, Riise, Benayoun, El Zhar.
Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sun:
Baddy long legs Kops red woe
By SHAUN CUSTIS
THE Ordinary One is on course to emulate the Special One.
Avram Grant is some way behind predecessor Jose Mourinho in the popularity stakes around Stamford Bridge — but he is keeping pace with his start as manager.
Mourinho’s first trophy as Blues boss was the Carling Cup after an extra-time victory against Liverpool.
Grant’s Blues have got the Reds out of the way and will look forward to a semi-final against Everton and a possible second successive final with Arsenal.
Last season, that match featured a 20-man brawl in the dying minutes before Chelsea carried off the trophy again in what was dubbed the Snarling Cup Final.
Goals from Frank Lampard and Andriy Shevchenko saw Chelsea home here on a night when the biggest talking point was a spectacular foul by Peter Crouch on Mikel John Obi.
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez argued that Crouch had been provoked by Mikel in the lead-up to the challenge but it was still a shocker by the 6ft 7in England striker.
Jumbo jets have flown lower across the Atlantic than Crouch did to launch his airborne two-footed assault on Mikel, which sent the Nigerian into the advertising boards.
Crouch has been reduced to a bit part at Anfield and has to make the most of starts in games like these.
But last night it was as if all his frustrations boiled over.
It was the clearest red card you will ever see although it was surprising to learn it was mild-mannered Crouch’s fourth of his career.
He did not take it well, directing a series of verbals in Mikel’s direction before telling the baying Chelsea crowd to “f*** off” as he headed down the tunnel.
Ironically, Crouch used to be one of those supporters himself. He was raised a Chelsea fan by his Blues-supporting dad, Bruce.
For good measure, manager Rafa Benitez got stuck into the fourth official — who was an innocent bystander — but there was no excuse for Crouch’s reckless behaviour.
Liverpool were one down at the time and the dismissal robbed them of any hope of getting back into the game.
The result made it a bad week for the men from Anfield, following their loss to arch-rivals Manchester United in the Premier League.
This will not please the Reds’ American owners, with whom Benitez has a fractious relationship. They are drifting out of the Premier League race and now this.
For Chelsea, it was the perfect pick-me-up after defeat at Arsenal on Sunday. They had the added bonus of Ricardo Carvalho returning after a six-match layoff — much needed after the injury to John Terry.
Crouch’s miserable evening started when he dragged a good chance so horribly across goal it almost went out for a throw-in.
He also tried to lob Petr Cech in the second half but the keeper managed to get a hand to it and Tal Ben-Haim headed away the danger.
Then Lampard, having only just smashed an opportunity from the edge of the box high over the bar, put Chelsea ahead in fortuitous circumstance as the hour approached.
Mikel’s ball in was taken down by Shevchenko and Lampard collected it on the run. He aimed a shot low towards the far corner but Jamie Carragher had made up ground and began a desperate lunge to try and block.
The ball struck the underside of the unfortunate defender’s left leg and looped up high over the Reds’ helpless French keeper Charles Itandje.
Carragher shook his head in disbelief and muttered “Jammy b*****d.”
A minute later Liverpool’s night got worse with Crouch’s dismissal.
Somebody seriously asked Benitez in the after-match Press conference if Liverpool would appeal against the sending-off.
Crouch will be lucky if he is not done for attempted murder.
If it is any consolation, he will get Christmas off!
Lampard jumped to his England team-mate’s defence afterwards.
He said: “Peter is a great lad and I’m sure he’ll hold his hands up to that.
“He’s only human — there was no malice intended.”
On his flukey strike, Lamps said: “Both teams had chances — we had the better of them.
“But we felt if we kept going we would get a goal.
“You make your own luck — I got a bit and it looped into the far corner.”
Chelsea went looking for the second goal to kill the game and Michael Ballack was introduced for his first appearance of the season.
He and Shevchenko have been the butt of most of the criticism for any Chelsea failures so it will have been with a small amount of satisfaction that they combined to finish off Liverpool in the final minute.
Sheva had just gone close with a screamer of a free-kick when he decided to lurk on the far side of the box as Wayne Bridge crossed and Ballack flicked the ball on.
The Ukrainian has not lost the poacher’s instinct and, as it dropped, he smashed a drive between Itandje and the near post. The keeper might have done better but it was travelling some.
It was Shevchenko’s fifth of the season and his 19th in Chelsea colours in 66 games.
He is getting close to an average of one in three which is seen as every striker’s benchmark.
Shevchenko has to carry the goalscoring weight on his shoulders in the absence of Didier Drogba — who has just had knee surgery and will be playing for the Ivory Coast in next month’s African Nations Cup. The responsibility on Sheva will be enormous over the next couple of months.
This can be his moment. Maybe, just maybe, Sheva will come good after all.
SEMI-FINAL DRAWChelsea v Everton
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