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