Telegraph:
Woodgate winner signals Spurs' new dawnBy Henry Winter at Wembley Stadium
Tottenham Hotspur 2 Chelsea 1 Aet 1-1
Jonathan Woodgate should be able to climb on to the London property ladder now. In the house of the rising sums, the £757 million Wembley residence that is the symbol of an exorbitant market that has so shocked Woodgate, the new arrival from Middlesbrough surely earned the deposit for a 'des res' in the capital.
Having surprised many with his comments about how even wealthy footballers found London expensive, Woodgate will not be short of offers of spare rooms in the Tottenham area. Goals pay the rent and match-winning headers like Woodgate's are priceless.
To Woodgate the spoils, to Avram Grant the brickbats. Like a profligate heir, Grant has now squandered half the family silver he inherited from Jose Mourinho. Like a startled fawn, Chelsea's manager failed to react when the team cried out for guidance, for inspiration. Steve Clarke delivered the rallying cry before extra-time. Grant listened.
A manager who never lost a cup final in England, Mourinho would have raged against the dying of the light, exhorting his players to find something extra, enacting one of his substitute master-strokes to vary Chelsea's danger. The Blues' huge army of support, who became so used to trophies under Mourinho, deserve better than Grant.
An authority figure? No chance. When Michael Ballack, Didier Drogba, Petr Cech and John Terry lost it with the excellent referee, Mark Halsey, at the final whistle, Grant froze again.
Only a timely run from his assistant, Henk Ten Cate, defused the tension. For all the recent eulogies to Grant about his being a high-class manager, even a worthy successor to Mourinho, the Far-From-Special One has faltered when the pressure has been most intense. Grant's decision to start Frank Lampard ahead of the fitter Michael Ballack certainly backfired. Lampard is a magnificent thoroughbred, but he needed a few more runs on the gallops before such a demanding race as this.
Grant's tactics were patently flawed. It is hard to believe Nicolas Anelka joined from Bolton simply to mark Alan Hutton, the Spurs right-back. Anelka is an exceptional attacking talent, capable of destroying opposing defences when unleashed through the middle but he was allowed to support Drogba properly only after Spurs made it 2-1. Juande Ramos promptly introduced another defensive sentry in Younes Kaboul to help weather the long-ball storm.
With the quality of personnel at his disposal, Grant should be reaching finals. So he has failed his first big test. He was also asked by Roman Abramovich to make Chelsea more entertaining but there is a joylessness about Grant's teams, a machine-like quality that will never endear Chelsea to neutrals or purists.
Unlike Spurs. Yesterday was a fabulous day for football, one that those onlookers whose pulses are quickened by vibrant attacking should mark in their diaries and celebrate every year. Spurs, the team with the more constructive intentions, went home rewarded with the ultimate in footballing 'bling', winners' medals dangling around their necks. The players who finished with champagne poured over their sweat-stained features were entertainers like Jermaine Jenas, Aaron Lennon, Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov. Good. Here was football in keeping with the Tottenham tradition, that Bill Nicholson would have approved of, that Glenn Hoddle, Ossie Ardiles and Danny Blanchflower, would recognise. Until the final passage of play, when even the back-tracking Berbatov proved you can be famous defensively for 15 minutes, Spurs brimmed with attacking desire.
Even Ramos' defenders exuded adventure at times. Hutton looked to give Spurs some much-needed width. Ledley King, comfortably the man of the match for a series of immaculate interceptions, also stepped into midfield. Woodgate scored. Pascal Chimbonda clipped the bar with an early header.
Enterprise ruled. Anchorman Didier Zokora also moved to an upbeat tempo, although the club should write into his contract that he must lay the ball off the moment he crosses halfway. Some of Zokora's shooting was a danger to traffic on the North Circular. Yet his willingness to race between boxes encapsulated the reality that Spurs wanted victory more. So did the tears cascading down Keane's face. The chants emanating from the Spurs faithful were almost visceral in their intensity. One club, one hunger. Spurs craved this chance to escape the shadows of Arsenal and Chelsea lengthening across the London skyline.
The reasons to be cheerful here contained additional verses. Sharing the silverware around is healthy for football. For those who admire Paul Robinson as a person and as a keeper, who respect the professional way he has focused on rebuilding his career after setbacks for club and country, the sight of him making some fine saves was uplifting
But when Chelsea took the lead seven minutes from half-time, exploiting Robinson's solitary mistake, romantics and Spurs lovers feared the worst. As cleverly as Drogba disguised his intentions, as swiftly as he placed the ball around the wall, the goal could have been prevented. Keane leapt across, unintentionally freeing up some space for the ball to carry through. Robinson also went to his right, and was caught flat-footed as Drogba's strike curled into the other corner: 1-0.
Spurs players, thrillingly, were certainly prepared to stand up and be counted. Tom Huddlestone arrived to bring better distribution into midfield. Chimbonda, shamefully, walked slowly off and disappeared straight down the tunnel. When Chimbonda learned the English language, he must have missed the lesson teaching words like loyalty, team-work and grace.
With Malbanque now left-back, Ramos' change worked. Lennon sprang to life, running at Chelsea's defence far more potently. Cutting in from the left after 70 minutes, Lennon lifted the ball across to Huddlestone. In a whirl of limbs, Wayne Bridge handled, his offence spotted by the alert linesman, Martin Yerby. Terry ranted away but Halsey was not for turning. And Berbatov was not for failing. The Bulgarian seems to play the game at his own speed, and this penalty was no exception. Berbatov moved in slowly, waiting for Cech to commit himself, and then sweeping the dead-ball the other side: 1-1.
Zokora should really have settled the final during normal time, but never exuded confidence when released through by Keane, allowing Cech to save superbly. Zokora, following up waywardly, accidentally caught the keeper, who required smelling salts.
Whether Cech was still groggy four minutes into the additional period remains a matter of conjecture. What is certain is that one of the world's most respected keepers was strangely uncertain as Jenas' free-kick swerved across. Cech was beaten by Woodgate, whose eventual house-warming promises to be some party.
Man of the match Jonatahan Woodgate (Tottenham) • 3 shots, one winning goal• 89 per cent pass accuracy
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The TimesFebruary 25, 2008
Jonathan Woodgate displays a nose for successTottenham 2 Chelsea 1 (aet: 1-1 after 90min)
Martin Samuel, Chief Football Correspondent, at Wembley
Jonathan Woodgate may not be able to find a house in London, but he will always have a home at Wembley after this. A winning goal in extra time to deliver the first trophy for Tottenham Hotspur this century should ensure that next time he searches for accommodation in the capital, the northern suburbs hold particular appeal.
Woodgate was widely ridiculed last week for complaining that London property prices were exorbitant, even on £65,000 a week, so his estate agent will be hoping that he is also eligible for a trophy, a win or at least a goal bonus, having seen his client qualify for all three in one match.
Woodgate was slightly lucky to score in the third minute of extra time yesterday, the final touch that sent the ball into Chelsea’s net coming off his nose rather than his forehead, but it was no more than Tottenham deserved, having been considerably the better side for almost all of the 120 minutes. Even Chelsea’s first-half lead came against the run of play.
If this was a triumph for Woodgate, Tottenham and Juande Ramos, their head coach – who has been at White Hart Lane less than four months – it was a catastrophe for Chelsea’s regime under Avram Grant. There was nothing to suggest that Grant has advanced the club one iota since the departure of José Mourinho, who, Chelsea fans will recall, never lost a final in three seasons. Grant’s team bore more than a passing resemblance to the one that got Mourinho the sack in September. They played dull, direct football, with their most inventive player, Joe Cole, stranded on the sidelines. And they lost. This is what happens when an owner phones a friend instead of a manager with vision, which is what Tottenham sought once it had been decided that Martin Jol was not the man for the job.
In Ramos, they have secured an experienced coach at the peak of his powers, and with a place in the last 16 of the Uefa Cup already safe – albeit with a difficult tie against PSV Eindhoven, the best team in the Netherlands to come next month – who knows what will have been achieved by the end of his first season?
Tottenham are the most improved team in the country under his stewardship and on this evidence will clearly be stalking the top four next season.
They snuffed out Chelsea defensively and overran them in midfield, and it was only in the final 15 minutes that Grant’s players came to life. Between Didier Drogba’s goal in the 38th minute and a free kick from an acute angle by Frank Lampard nine minutes into injury time, Chelsea offered nothing. As Drogba’s goal was a dead ball, too, in terms of memorable chances from open play, Chelsea had none between the 22nd second of the match proper, when Juliano Belletti had a shot deflected, and the 112th minute when Paul Robinson, the Tottenham goalkeeper, saved at the feet of Salomon Kalou, a substitute.
Not that the situation in Chelsea’s goalmouth was exactly a siege, but Tottenham demonstrated greater ambition, created better chances and could have wrapped the game up without the additional 30 minutes had Didier Zokora not missed the chance of the game with ten minutes remaining, when set clear by Robbie Keane. With Chelsea’s defence horribly square, Zokora had only Petr Cech, the goalkeeper, to beat, but his hesitation belied a man gripped by fear and he blasted the ball directly at Cech, striking him in the face before sending the rebound soaring high and wide.
At other times, there were opportunities for Pascal Chimbonda, Dimitar Berbatov twice, Woodgate and Steed Malbranque. Cech was called into action on three occasions while, at the other end, Robinson, who is plainly still vulnerable after a traumatic season, was scarcely troubled. Had Chelsea demonstrated more purpose, it could have been interesting because, despite good reaction saves, there was frailty in the performance of the England man. There is a trend to pick at every goal Robinson concedes, yet questions deserve to be asked about the way Chelsea took the lead.
Zokora fouled Drogba roughly 20 yards out, but the sight of goal he was given from the free kick was laughable. Keane tucked in on the end of the wall as the kick was being taken, leaving Robinson’s left side exposed, and the goalkeeper had positioned himself behind his wall, which seemed bizarre. The result was a huge unguarded target and Drogba could as good as side-foot the ball into the net, with power, and did. There followed a dismal passage of play in which Chelsea were content to bore their way to victory and Tottenham appeared incapable of stopping them, until Wayne Bridge, the defender, handed them a lifeline.
Bridge, whose previous start at Wembley was a dismal performance in the European Championship qualifying group defeat by Croatia, did not so much stop the ball with his hands in the 68th minute as juggle it in a tussle with Tom Huddlestone and the resulting penalty was feathered to Cech’s right by Berbatov, a fine display of bravado that gave Tottenham deserved equality. Still, Chelsea did not awake from slumber and when Woodgate won the game in the 93rd minute, the pleasure was not so much in seeing one of the elite cartel vanquished, but of justice being done.
Jermaine Jenas slung a deep free kick into the penalty area, Woodgate lost his marker, Belletti, and got to the ball before the advancing Cech. His header struck the goalkeeper, but it rebounded, hit Woodgate and dropped into the Chelsea net. By the time Chelsea became alert to the crisis, it was too late. Joe Cole was introduced in the 98th minute and made a difference, but Chelsea’s frantic urgency was in stark contrast to the somnambulant performance that had gone before.
At the end, John Terry and Drogba had to be pulled away from Mark Halsey, the referee, claiming that he had blown the final whistle with Chelsea on the attack through Kalou. The point was moot. Chelsea had two hours to do that and chose not to; anyway, Kalou’s shot hit a post.
No worthier was Chimbonda, the Tottenham defender, who went down the tunnel in a huff having been substituted in the 60th minute for Huddlestone. He returned for the celebrations after the final whistle, as if team spirit can be switched on and off like a tap, an incongruous William Gallas figure on a day of celebration.
Referee M Halsey
Attendance 87,660
Petr Cech 6
Having come for free kick that led to second goal, should have made sure he took the ball.
Juliano Belletti 5
Uncertain and slipshod, easily beaten three times early on. Offered nothing going forward.
Ricardo Carvalho 5
Hesitation and uncertainty led to some confusion with his partner at centre back.
John Terry 6
Strong and resolute but showed signs of rustiness after an extended period out.
Wayne Bridge 6
Allowed Lennon little space but handled to give away the equalising penalty.
Frank Lampard 5
Largely quiet. On his only opportunity to drive forward from midfield, blazed over.
Michael Essien 6
Superb pass late on to Drogba. Was his usual bossy, imposing self in midfield.
John Obi Mikel 5
Powerful but not very mobile, influential or adventurous. Booked for a block on Jenas.
Shaun Wright-Phillips 5
One low cross apart, was as anonymous and uninventive as his teammates.
Didier Drogba 6
Rarely escaped the shackles of Woodgate, though scored from direct free kick.
Nicolas Anelka 5
Looked anonymous and lost on left wing. Subdued even when he moved to centre.
Substitutes S Kalou (for Wright-Phillips, 72min), M Ballack (for Essien, 88), J Cole (for Obi Mikel, 99).
Not used: C Cudicini, Alex.
Booked: Mikel, Carvalho, Cech.
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Chelsea 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2 : Woodgate flies high as Spurs' new regime dares to conquer
By Sam WallaceMonday, 25 February 2008
The wonder of Juande. It has taken Tottenham's new manager just four months to end his club's nine-year wait for a trophy but for Spurs yesterday at Wembley it was about a whole lot more than just winning the Carling Cup.
This was the proof that Spurs, and their inspired manager Juande Ramos, can do more than just mix it with the big beasts of the Premier League. They can conquer them too.
The Football League's cheap fizzy lager trophy served up another champagne English cup final yesterday, in every one of the tense 120 minutes, that was decided by Jonathan Woodgate's winner in the first half of extra time. But it meant so much more to Spurs, because this was not the Arsenal kids or a half-interested Manchester United they beat, it was the full might of Chelsea. Ramos was tactically perfect and his players delivered in style.
For his Chelsea counterpart, Avram Grant, this was the defeat that not even his relative success in the Premier League will erase quickly. Tactically, he was slower to react than Ramos, even once Didier Drogba had given Chelsea a first-half lead, although this was no ordinary Chelsea performance. Frank Lampard was outstanding, John Terry too. Chelsea had the players to win but their formation was fundamentally ill conceived. Stuck out on the left wing, Nicolas Anelka was anonymous.
Grant deferred to Steve Clarke for the team talk after full-time and scratched his head while Terry did the same 15 minutes later – this was not the Israeli's finest hour. For Ramos, however, it was business as usual – this was the former Seville manager's sixth knockout trophy in the space of 21 months. Six minutes before Dimitar Berbatov's penalty brought Spurs back into the game, their manager made the switch that changed his team and, ultimately, the course of the game.
Audere est Facere as they say at White Hart Lane – or, to your average bloke on the Tottenham High Road, "To dare is to do". Yesterday Ramos took the old club motto literally. With a two-man attack of Robbie Keane and Berbatov it was the Spurs' manager's triumph of belief that his team could take the game to Chelsea. As the club's owner, Roman Abramovich, will have learnt yesterday, £578m buys a lot, but it does not necessarily include the courage to make difficult decisions in critical moments.
Never in recent memory has the Carling Cup made a group of supporters so absurdly happy as it did Tottenham's yesterday. This, they had to hope, was the start of something new and exciting even if their team, at times, took them to the brink of all that they could bear. His knee may be giving way beneath him but Ledley King, back for the first time since the Arsenal semi-final second leg, was commanding. Woodgate too. And Jermaine Jenas looked as much like an international midfielder as Lampard or Michael Essien.
But this final will be remembered for the change Ramos made after the hour that turned the game. His team were a goal down to Chelsea and it had reached the stage when the ruthless blue machine looked liable to squeeze the life from Spurs and close out the match in that remorseless style of theirs. Ramos summoned Tom Huddlestone from the bench, moved Steed Malbranque to left-back and switched Aaron Lennon to the left where he at last came alive.
The man to depart was Pascal Chimbonda, who proved himself again to be a charmless character by stalking straight down the tunnel. No prizes for guessing who was at the centre of the celebrations come the end of the game.
The substitution gave Tottenham fresh impetus, Lennon took the right side of Chelsea's defence by storm and Huddlestone won them a penalty. Grant froze. By the time he did the smart thing – got Joe Cole on and switched to 4-4-2 – his team were a goal behind and losing the battle.
The opening 30 minutes were cagey, but Spurs looked the more ambitious. Chimbonda's header struck the bar before Drogba's goal six minutes before half-time set them the sternest of challenges. The man at fault when Drogba stroked home a free-kick from 25 yards? Paul Robinson once again. The reinstated Tottenham goalkeeper made some heroic saves in the closing stages but again the lingering fear was that when it comes to the basic principles of goalkeeping he makes basic mistakes.
With Fabio Capello in the stands, Robinson was positioned directly behind the defensive wall with no sight of the kick Drogba struck with his instep to curl the ball into the bottom left-hand corner of Spurs' goal. It felt like the softest of goals to give away and the powerhouses in the centre of Chelsea's midfield were beginning to tell on Jenas and Didier Zokora until Ramos made his crucial changes just after the hour. Then Spurs were unleashed.
Moments before Spurs' equaliser, a saving challenge by King on Anelka after Lampard played him in kept the game alive. Then, from the left, Lennon hit a cross toward the far side of the area where Huddlestone and Wayne Bridge contested the ball at chest height. Trapped between the two players the ball ricocheted off both but, critically, struck Bridge on the arm. The referee, Mark Halsey, relied on the judgement of the linesman Martin Yerby, who called it correctly.
Berbatov put the penalty away without blinking. Nine minutes left and Tottenham broke clean through on Chelsea's goal – a shame for their fans it was Zokora in possession. His first shot was saved by Petr Cech, he struck the rebound wide and it seemed that with that chance Spurs' opportunity to win had been squandered.
Instead their moment came four minutes into extra time. Jenas struck a free-kick from the left and Woodgate arrived before Cech to head the ball – it cannoned off the Chelsea goalkeeper, back off the defender's head and in. Spurs held on and when the dust settled it was not Grant who was emulating Jose Mourinho's first trophy victory in 2005. It was Ramos.
Goals: Drogba (39) 1-0; Berbatov pen (70) 1-1; Woodgate (94) 1-2
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Belletti, Carvalho, Terry, Bridge; Mikel (J Cole, 99); Wright-Phillips (Kalou, 72), Essien (Ballack, 88), Lampard, Anelka; Drogba. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Alex.
Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-2): Robinson; Hutton, Woodgate, King, Chimbonda (Huddlestone, 62); Lennon, Jenas, Zokora, Malbranque (Tanio, 75); Keane (Kaboul, 103), Berbatov. Substitutes not used: Cerny (gk), Bent.
Referee: M Halsey (Lancashire).
Booked: Chelsea: Mikel, Carvalho Tottenham: Zokora, Tainio, Lennon, Jenas.
Attendance: 87,660.
Ramos reigns in cup competitions
Juande Ramos has added to his run of success in cup competitions. Since joining Seville in 2005, he has picked up a remarkable haul of silverware – winning the Uefa Cup twice, the Copa del Rey, the European Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup, and now the Carling Cup with Tottenham.
Man of the match
Jermaine Jenas just edges out Ledley King because the midfielder held his own despite the extra man in the Chelsea midfield. Just got stronger and stronger and kept his side ticking over.
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Grant's silence is deafening as Ramos outwits 'Puzzled One'By Jason Burt at WembleyMonday, 25 February 2008
A figure in the background until earlier this season, Avram Grant was once again a marginal presence yesterday. It was not just that the Chelsea manager was outwitted, out-thought and eventually beaten by his more seasoned and undeniably astute opponent, Juande Ramos, it is just that he simply did not cut it on the sidelines.
Images from this Cup final will include the sight of Paul Robinson rooted to the spot as Didier Drogba gave Spurs the lead. Then there was the panic in Wayne Bridge's eyes as he handled to concede the equalising penalty and the determination in Jonathan Woodgate's as he attacked the ball to head the winner.
But there was also the vision of Grant, during the brief break before the vital final 15 minutes of extratime, with his team losing, scratching his head, walking behind John Terry as the captain suspiciously appeared to be giving the last team-talk. It wasn't just then. Before extra-time started Grant had also appeared silent, and a little bemused, as his assistant, Steve Clarke, geed up the players in their huddle.
Too much can be read into such moments but it didn't appear to be the case yesterday. By the side of the pitch Grant stood, almost motionless, hunched, while Ramos issued detailed, precise instructions. He's not Jose Mourinho – and in many ways that's a compliment – but he is certainly not the Special One either. The Silent One? Exactly.
Fortune should favour the brave rather than just those backed with an outrageous fortune and, for Spurs, it did. Their victory was founded on a willingness of their coach to make changes, and of his players to quickly adapt – Chelsea's defeat was rooted in the failure of theirs to do so.
A contest in which the Cup holders' power and strength appeared, for a while, undeniable was lost.
It will be an indictment of Grant who, still, and despite the formidable statistical record he has accumulated during his so far brief improbable time in charge of Chelsea, has not won any of the big games that he has overseen. Defeats to Manchester United and Arsenal in the Premier League, and a draw at home to Liverpool, were results in which Grant could find mitigation. There was none yesterday. Mourinho's reign found this competition to be the springboard. Grant lined up on the edge of the board – and slipped off.
In bringing back Terry and Frank Lampard, Grant did what every Chelsea fan will have regarded as the sane thing. He didn't intend to do so earlier in the week but there are, once again, matters afoot at Stamford Bridge. Pressure has been exerted from some quarters, whether from the players or above, and the manager's plans were altered.
Prior to kick-off, rumour had circulated around the stadium just as vigorously as the waving of the club flags that had been lain on seats for that purpose. Not that either captain or vice-captain were at fault. Indeed they were, probably, Chelsea's best performers but there was just that feeling that the balance of the team had been tipped and Michael Ballack, in particular, cut a disgruntled, disenchanted presence as did Joe Cole. The exclusion of the latter, in particular, was an indictment while the deployment of Nicolas Anelka, down one flank and then the other, was unfathomable. Chelsea were turgid.
It is far too early to read the rites on Grant's regime but this is Chelsea. Murmurings have already started that this may be the single season that he is in charge, having calmed the hysteria around Mourinho, before he is asked to return to the job he used to do – in the shadows.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tottenham's triumph of tactics leaves bruised Chelsea seeing stars
Kevin McCarraMonday February 25, 2008The Guardian
Some victories are worth more than the trophy itself. Tottenham Hotspur went against the standard operating procedure of English football by coming from behind to beat the supposedly implacable Chelsea. The losers have much left to play for in the Champions League, FA Cup and, just conceivably, the Premier League but no one in their camp felt last night that the Carling Cup was a cheap trinket dangling meaninglessly from the fixture list.
This game, with its half-hour of extra-time, lasted so long that it took on an obsessive power for both teams. The winner in the 94th minute, from Jonathan Woodgate, came through a mistake by the Chelsea goalkeeper, Petr Cech, but the result itself was no accident and Tottenham earned their first trophy in nine years. They had spells, particularly in pursuit of the equaliser, which embodied a brightness and excitement beyond the reach of these deposed holders.In knockout football, Juande Ramos generally ensures that it is the opposition who wind up seeing stars. The Tottenham manager understands how to stifle a game but here he showed how he can let talent breathe. Chelsea, who had Avram Grant in charge for a first final with them, did not cope with the critical passage, at the start of the second half.
Aaron Lennon, switched to the left, then preyed on Juliano Belletti, a full-back yearning to be a winger. Once Jermaine Jenas had hustled Michael Essien into losing possession, Lennon crossed deep and Wayne Bridge, harassed by the substitute Tom Huddlestone, handled the ball. The assistant referee signalled for the offence and, despite Chelsea claims that the contact had been accidental, a penalty was awarded by Mark Halsey. Dimitar Berbatov slotted it away with haughty indifference to mere goalkeepers at spot-kicks.
Tottenham did not swan off with the trophy and there were grinding spells, but Ramos got many decisions right here. The introduction of Huddlestone for Pascal Chimbonda was one aspect of a facility with substitutions. Once the match is over, tactical acumen often looks like little more than an exercise in common sense, but these alterations have to be contemplated under a pressure that can warp a lesser person's judgment.
By the close Ramos had made Tottenham as iron-clad as he could. Mindful of the fitness concerns over the captain Ledley King, who was appearing for the first time in a month, he had sent on Younes Kaboul as an additional centre-half. The practicality, ironically, was redolent of the modern Chelsea and in some ways the victors stole their opponents' clothes. Tottenham were the ones who persevered to get themselves in front and then declined to be overhauled.
The winner, it must be agreed, was absurd. Four minutes into extra-time, Jenas sent in a free-kick from the left which brushed past his team-mate Woodgate, only for Cech to punch the ball against the defender's face, from where it bounced into the net.
The Chelsea goalkeeper has suffered more accidents of late than he did formerly, but it was also he who had promised for a while to frustrate Tottenham. When Robbie Keane, for instance, sent Didier Zokora clear in the 81st minute, the Czech international closed on him so that the finish cannoned off his head, with the midfielder then smashing the rebound wide.
There had been questions about whether the temperament of the Tottenham squad as a whole could remain intact over the course of a final with redoubtable adversaries. Warning signs were, quite erroneously, detected. Ramos's side, for instance, squandered openings at the very start. Keane and King might each have scored in the first minute and, not long afterwards, Chimbonda headed a Lennon corner-kick against the bar.
There were further opportunities, which made it all the more ominous when Chelsea took the lead in unsurprising manner after 37 minutes. Zokora bumped clumsily into Didier Drogba to concede a free-kick. The much-doubted goalkeeper Paul Robinson then organised a defensive wall before, in effect, leaving himself immured by standing unsighted directly behind it. Drogba was then assisted by Keane changing his position as the Ivorian ran up and the shot flew home comfortably.
In the late panic Robinson, after 113 minutes, pulled off a particularly good save from Salomon Kalou with his boot, but reservations are not cancelled out so simply and there must be a high probability that a new goalkeeper will arrive at White Hart Lane in the summer.
Ramos has already completed important work in the transfer window and Woodgate, purchased from Middlesbrough, was unsurpassed at Wembley. In open play the centre-back nullified Drogba and all other threats with his low-key authority. All the same, Chelsea will look for the deeper causes of the defeat.
If anyone still accepted that the club had parted company with Jose Mourinho to bring in an era of dashing football they must be seeing the error of their ways. Pragmatism was still the dominant philosophy at Wembley, but it no longer delivered the correct result. One weekend newspaper report claimed that Chelsea had edited an article about Grant in the match programme to remove references to Mourinho. Why would they cut out mention of the greatest manager in the club's history? Because, presumably, he is the greatest manager in the club's history and therefore puts Grant under strain.
The Israeli had a horrid day. His tactics, with Nicolas Anelka stuck on the left for much of the final, blunted Chelsea. Although Grant has chances left in more prestigious competitions, the return of his squad to almost full strength intensifies the scrutiny. Comparative obscurity served him better and when Chelsea did begin to be studied intensely the club had a horrible goalless draw at home to Liverpool which checked a revival in the Premier League.
Grant now has to start all over again to vindicate his appointment. Don't tell him the Carling Cup is an irrelevance.
Player ratings
Chelsea
Petr Cech 6 Sound handling when called upon. May have acted more decisively when free-kick came over for Woodgate's goal
Juliano Belletti 5 Could do nothing right in the early running, from loose passing to watching white shirts skip past him
Ricardo Carvalho 6 Read the game well but lost his way as Tottenham rallied in the second half. Rolled too easily by Berbatov
John Terry 6 When Chelsea were on top, he called the tune but he was exposed as Tottenham fought their way back
Wayne Bridge 6 Put forward case for extended run in the team but blotted his copybook with needless handball for the penalty
Mikel John Obi 6 Did not stray too far from his back four and struggled to impose himself. Shrunk as Spurs gained control
Michael Essien 6 Ceaseless running and energy levels, helped to stifle Tottenham in key areas but did little of any creative note
Frank Lampard 7 Spread the play well and rarely wasted possession. Moved well without the ball. One of his side's better players
Shaun Wright Phillips 6 Showed flickers of his threat with deliveries from the right. Tireless but did not get in behind Tottenham
Didier Drogba 7 It remains bizarre to see a man of his physique writhing on the floor but he showed his class with curling free-kick
Nicolas Anelka 5 Did not touch the ball for first 15 minutes. Was uncomfortable in his role out wide. Largely frustrated
Ratings: David Hytner---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Woodgate caps brilliant Spurs fightback in Carling Cup FinalChelsea 1 Tottenham 2 (After Extra Time)
By MATT LAWTON
If Jonathan Woodgate moaned about the cost of houses in the south last week, he is unlikely to have too many complaints about London's most expensive property. Woodgate made Wembley his home yesterday, scoring the goal that not only secured a much deserved victory for Tottenham but proved there is method in the apparent madness of Juande Ramos.
It pays not to eat ketchup and mayonnaise, Tottenham's players must now appreciate, and not just in the pounds they shed but in the currency of trophies.
Thanks to Ramos and the strict diet he has imposed on his squad, those who have lost weight made Chelsea look like lightweights in this final. They out-thought, out-fought and out-ran their much-fancied opponents, restricting them to so few chances that it was only in extra-time that they forced Paul Robinson to make a save from open play.
How much did they say Roman Abramovich had spent on Chelsea? Perhaps it was not the best week to be revealing such figures.
Their performance yesterday would suggest you do not get much for £578million these days (don't tell Woodgate but that is £200m less than the cost of the stadium he now adores), just as it demonstrated that it is better to spend £5m a year on a Jose Mourinho than the £3m salary they now pay Avram Grant.
If Grant deserves credit for the way he stabilised Chelsea in the wake of Mourinho's sudden departure in September, his deficiencies were horribly exposed on this occasion.
His team selection revealed a degree of weakness, his substitutions betrayed an alarming lack of tactical nous and his failure even to engage with his players during the brief interval between normal and extra-time was just embarrassing. It was Steve Clarke who delivered the rousing team talk. Not 'the manager'.
It was coach Henk Ten Cate who sprinted on to the pitch the moment this encounter ended and positioned himself between referee Martin Halsey and an incensed Didier Drogba.
The Chelsea striker was less than impressed with the official's decision to blow the final whistle when his team were on the offensive, having failed to realise that it was only because Tottenham's defenders were starting to celebrate that Salomon Kalou suddenly found himself with only Robinson to beat. As Halsey, and indeed Ten Cate, no doubt pointed out, Kalou missed anyway, driving his shot against the post.
Drogba would have been better off channelling his aggression in the direction of Grant. He, after all, is the player who has objected most to the departure of Mourinho and here was all the ammunition he needed.
Was Grant simply afraid to leave out John Terry and Frank Lampard when the latter, quite clearly, was not fit enough to make the runs that have long been his trademark? Did he not realise that the deployment of Nicolas Anelka to the left of Drogba, with Shaun Wright-Phillips to the right, just was not working?
Joe Cole should have been in this side and the fact that he had to wait until the 99th minute before he was allowed to leave the bench is one of the many charges that will be levelled against Grant. Mourinho, who won all three of the domestic finals he contested as Chelsea manager, would have made such a change after 30 minutes. Not midway through the first half of extra-time.
It was not the way to beat Ramos when five trophies in two years at Sevilla suggested he is something of a master when it comes to cup competitions. When he has instilled so much belief in these players, inspiring them to follow that 5-1 demolition of Arsenal in the semifinal with a victory that meant so much to players like Ledley King and Robbie Keane — not to mention supporters so often left disillusioned by a club who flirt with success but too often fall short.
From the very start yesterday, Tottenham possessed the ambition Chelsea so obviously lacked. They passed with more fluency, attacked with more urgency and dominated possession. In a first half that ended with a 1-0 advantage for Chelsea, Spurs enjoyed 60 per cent of the ball.
Tottenham had the chances that Chelsea simply could not create, but when the otherwise excellent Didier Zokora needlessly chopped down Drogba in the 39th minute, the Ivory Coast striker made him pay. It was a sweetly struck freekick, even if Robinson did make himself look a little foolish by moving the wrong way.
Ramos did not rush into making a response, eventually sending on Tom Huddlestone as a replacement for Pascal Chimbonda, who not only chose to walk rather than run off the pitch but then disappeared straight down the tunnel. Not for the first time, he has revealed himself to be as self-indulgent as he is petulant. Not someone, presumably, Ramos will tolerate for too long.
In his absence, Tottenham continued to battle and eventually earned the breakthrough their industry deserved when Aaron Lennon made a darting run down the left in the 70th minute and crossed a ball that fell to Huddlestone. He was met by Wayne Bridge who, with arms like a Harry Enfield Scouser, contrived to handle the ball not once but twice. Penalty to Tottenham and, thanks to Dimitar Berbatov, game back on.
Their fitness, and indeed their hunger, suggested extra-time would suit Tottenham more than it would Chelsea and so it proved when a tired Drogba failed to track Woodgate as he rose to meet a Jermaine Jenas free-kick.
It was Petr Cech who had to make the challenge, and Cech who punched the ball against Woodgate and then looked on as the ball bounced back behind him and across his line.
That goal's value to Woodgate and his Tottenham team-mates? Priceless.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
morning papers olympiakos away
Grant gamble pays off as dour Chelsea gain upper hand
David Hytner at the Karaiskaki StadiumWednesday February 20, 2008The Guardian
Roman Abramovich has the scene mapped out - May 21, Moscow. Chelsea's Russian owner has his invited friends and peers looking down from behind executive glass on to the Champions League final. His team are there, his chest swells with pride. The dream remains alive, after a tense stalemate in the Greek capital gave Chelsea the upper hand in this last-16 meeting. The eye-opening selection gamble of the manager, Avram Grant, in leaving out John Terry, the captain, and Frank Lampard did not return in any haunting manner and he could be pleased with the application that his charges showed, as the business end of the season got under way.
Chelsea's best players were defenders - Ricardo Carvalho was ably supported by Alex and although they created nothing more meaningful further forward than a clutch of half-chances and failed to quicken the pulses, the scoreline was one which they would have taken. Olympiakos shaded the first half and showed themselves to be an attractive team yet Chelsea will fancy their chances in the return in two weeks' time. "This was a game that we played less well than previous games," said Grant, who made 11 changes to the team he fielded in the FA Cup against Huddersfield Town on Saturday. "We only created a couple of chances so it's a little disappointing. The performance could have been better but the result was good."
Grant's decision to rest, rotate or, in old-fashioned parlance, drop Terry and Lampard dominated the build-up to the occasion. The coach had stressed that with virtually all of his squad available, he had no first-choice XI; the modern game was one for squad strength. His selection had been made with one eye on Sunday's Carling Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur.
It was also a show of faith in Alex and Claude Makelele, the backbone of the team in recent weeks, players in rich veins of form, yet it remained difficult to ignore the notion that Grant was taking a calculated risk. Would he have omitted Terry and Lampard against frontline opposition from Italy or Spain?
"In football, I never gamble and we put a strong team out," said Grant. "Anything I do is questioned, I'm OK with this. They are not easy decisions but it is my job."
Flares lit the scene at kick-off and the smoke from them dissipated slowly as a cagey tone was set from the outset. Chelsea were determined to take the sting out of proceedings but the fervour in these parts cannot easily be diluted. The Olympiakos diehards had arrived some hours beforehand and they bounced and swayed to create a boisterous atmosphere, the like of which modern English stadiums can only dream of. Welcome to Hellas. The men in red and white before them mirrored their commitment; the passing and movement was assured. Chelsea faced a test of their nerve and ingenuity.
The tie was absorbing, not for the action inside either goalmouth, of which there was little, but for the tactical battle. Space was at a premium and hearts raced each time it was chiselled out. The chance of the match fell to Olympiakos when Ieroklis Stoltidis flicked on a 31st-minute corner from the captain, Predrag Djordjevic. Vassilis Torosidis, unmarked inside the six-yard box, stretched every sinew but could not make decisive contact.
The hosts pressed on to the front foot, showcasing their slick teamwork with one move on the half-hour, that started with an audacious chipped clearance by Antonios Nikopolidis, the goalkeeper, and finished at the other end, a dozen passes later, with Luciano Galletti's cross being charged down for a corner.
Chelsea mustered but one snapshot in the first half, from Florent Malouda, and it was their defence that felt the greater pressure. In Terry's absence, though, Carvalho was outstanding. Time and again, he made decisive interventions and, as is so often the case in the big matches, he engendered confidence in those around him.
There was a perception in Athens that Chelsea felt themselves to be consummately superior. They had stood accused earlier in the day of using unacceptable means to lure the 15-year-old Reggina defender Vincenzo Camilleri to London. Reggina intend to complain to the authorities. There was little swagger, though, about Chelsea last night; it was an evening for reputations to be gilded by graft.
Four Chelsea players were booked, though not Michael Essien, who stood one away from a suspension. "The referee was a little bit hard with us," said Grant. "It was not a violent, aggressive game so the players who got cards were not so happy with this."
Didier Drogba was restored to the starting line-up but he cut an isolated and often frustrated figure. It was not until Grant introduced Salomon Kalou and Nicolas Anelka to provide fresh width that Chelsea enjoyed the territorial advantage and had the former controlled a precision centre from the latter in injury time, Chelsea could even have stolen the advantage. It certainly would have flattered them. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Olympiakos 0 Chelsea 0: Rejigged Chelsea stutter to stalemateBy Jason Burtat Karaiskakis StadiumWednesday, 20 February 2008
After the white-out, a white-hot atmosphere – but a match devoid of real drama except for the intriguing omission of John Terry and Frank Lampard from the starting line-up. Maybe a drab affair is the way Chelsea will have liked it after the confusion of getting here. The goalless draw gives them a clear advantage for the return leg as they attempt to reach the last eight of the European Cup and their ultimate destination: Moscow in May and the final.
They had arrived in Athens in a fierce snowstorm which prevented many of their fans from making it to the game and, although the snows melted, the football stayed frozen. Some of those supporters had taken up offers from airlines which had cancelled flights to head somewhere else. It proved a wise choice. There were flares in the stands but not much flair on the pitch.
There may be more storms brewing. The biggest moment came pre-match when Avram Grant confirmed the omission of his captain and vice-captain. With the business end of the season just beginning it was some executive decision from the Chelsea manager. They will not be happy about not playing and, now, the selection for Sunday's League Cup final becomes all the more fascinating. If either does not play then, it could signal a seismic shift at the club.
Certainly, Grant's predecessor, Jose Mourinho, would not have countenanced such a thing for his two "untouchables". When they were fit, they played. Admittedly, only Terry's remarkable powers of recovery, after breaking three bones in his foot, got him this far so soon while Lampard has played twice since overcoming a thigh injury.
Not that the manager wanted to discuss it afterwards. "I prefer to talk about the players who did play," he said before adding: "The result was OK. We didn't create a lot of chances which was disappointing but it's not easy to play here and it's not easy to play against them. We are a team who always likes to win so we are not 100 per cent happy and this was a game in which we played less well than in the others."
It was only when Lampard and Nicolas Anelka – another left out, although less surprisingly – came on towards the end that Chelsea pushed. Even then it was a third substitute, Salomon Kalou, who had the opportunity but allowed the ball to run away from him after he stole in behind the defence.
Neither were Chelsea happy with the Austrian referee, Konrad Plautz, who, Grant said, "was hard with us", dishing out four yellow cards.
Not that Olympiakos cared. The red and whites have been Greek champions for 10 of the past 11 seasons but have not made much of an impression in this competition for some years. Qualification to face Chelsea, however, was impressively earned and was not going to be easily surrendered, although when Leroklis Stoltidis was given an early sight of goal he elected to pass instead of shoot and the opportunity was gone.
The home crowd's passionate support for their team was relentless. It was some sight and sound when, from a corner, Stoltidis headed across goal, and Vassilis Torosidis somehow failed to nod home.
Chelsea lacked cohesion. Generally, they were pre-occupied with striking the ball long to Didier Drogba, who appeared lethargic. Olympiakos, meanwhile, engineered chances through their playmaker and captain Predrag Djordjevic and Chelsea were indebted to the defensive resilience of Ricardo Carvalho – and the wastefulness of Luciano Galletti. The Argentine failed to reach a cross, when offered the chance of a header, and then volleyed another deep cross, fizzing the ball over, when he had time.
Olympiakos were cuter when Galletti teed up Djordjevic but Petr Cech blocked his shot. The introduction of Anelka did not bring a change of formation. Instead he occupied the left. He ran in for one side-foot shot but it was weak, just like a cross from Kalou, with team-mates queuing, moments later. And just like the rest of the match. The main action was going on off the pitch.
Olympiakos (4-3-2-1): Nikopolidis; Zewlakow, Julio Cesar, Antzas, Pantos; Ledesma, Torosidis, Stoltidis; Galletti (Leonardo, 83), Djordjevic (Bellushi, 76); Kovacevic (Nunez, 87). Substitutes not used: Sifakis (gk), Patsatzoglou, Leonardo, Mitroglou, Sisic.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Belletti, Alex, Carvalho, A Cole; Essien, Makelele, Ballack (Lampard, 86); J Cole (Anelka, 75), Drogba, Malouda (Kalou, 75). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Mikel, Wright-Phillips, Terry.
Referee: K Plautz (Austria).
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Grant gamble reaps rewards as Chelsea earn valuable drawOlympiacos 0 Chelsea 0
By MATT BARLOW
The first leg of Avram Grant's route map to Moscow was negotiated successfully if unspectacularly by Chelsea despite the manager's decision to drop Frank Lampard and John Terry from the team.
The snow was gone but Lampard and Terry wrapped themselves up for a chilly Athens night and looked on from the bench as their team-mates survived a spirited effort from Olympiacos.
Their chance may come at Wembley in the Carling Cup final on Sunday by which time the success of Grant's rotation policy will be clearer to see.
There is little doubt that this is the trophy Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich wants to win more than any other this season with the final to be staged in Moscow in May.
UEFA unfurled their Moscow 08 insignia as the Champions League knockout stages started last night and Grant had spoken on the eve of the game about the need for the club to appear in the showpiece to confirm their status among Europe's elite.
He also explained how, with all his players fit, his team selection would take into account forthcoming fixtures and not just the game in question, a policy which has done nothing to h e l p R a f a Benitez at Liverpool recently but understandable for a club chasing a possible four trophies.
This was his reasoning behind the decision to make 11 changes to the team who eased past League One Huddersfield in the FA Cup fifth round last Saturday.
As expected, this meant that Terry and Lampard started among the substitutes in the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in a statement of intent from Grant.
The pair may be just back from injuries but they have been the immovable English pillars at the heart of Chelsea's success in the last four years — the safest of all Jose Mourinho's famed Untouchables — but Grant proved, when his squad is full, they are very droppable indeed.
Terry and Lampard passed a loose ball back and forth on the edge of the pitch as the chosen 11 warmed up as a group before the game. Then the England pair stayed out to launch shots at an empty goal when their team-mates returned to the dressing room ahead of kick-off.
They both love to play game after game. They have carried injuries through games for the club. Lampard once started 164 consecutive Barclays Premier League games. But they may have to adjust to a new regime.
Grant kept the faith in those players who survived unbeaten through difficult weeks when the squad was stretched to its limits, notably Michael Ballack, who played some of his most effective football since moving to Stamford Bridge in Lampard's absence, and Alex.
Olympiacos, Greek league leaders and champions for 10 of the last 11 years, are in the knockout rounds for the first time in nine years and determined to prove they belong there. Urged forward by their noisy supporters, they pressed Chelsea back in the early stages, proving their ability to pass the ball and attack in numbers.
Experienced centre forward Darko Kovacevic, once of Sheffield Wednesday, played the lone role up front, holding up the ball and winning free-kicks but the Greeks also showed signs of brittleness in defence. It was a formula which made for an exciting first 45 minutes.
Michael Essien flashed a 20-yarder wide from the edge of the box and Florent Malouda pounced on a mistake by Julio Cesar, who failed to deal cleanly with a cross from Didier Drogba, but could not beat goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis.
Malouda started impressively, drifting in from the left flank to combine with Drogba, playing his first Chelsea game since December 1. But the Greeks ought to have stolen the lead from a corner, forced after a wonderful sweeping move which started with a neat passing sequence inside their own penalty area. They advanced smoothly down the left before skipper Claude Makelele knocked the ball out as he scampered back to help his defence.
Luciano Galletti's outswinger was flicked on at the near post to Vassilis Torosidis, who rose with purpose only to slide a glancing header wide of the far post from six yards.
Chelsea had to dig in and be patient but, at the heart of their defence, Ricardo Carvalho and Alex, who was booked for a clumsy foul, stood firm as the home team finished the first half on top.
Grant's team kept better possession after the break, with greater control and a quicker tempo to their passing and it was enough to stifle the game as a spectacle. Whistles greeted the long spells of Chelsea possession.
The goalless first half meant it was more than eight hours of Champions League football since Chelsea last conceded a goal. That was in Valencia, early in Grant's reign.
Petr Cech was not forced into a save in the first half here but made his first save of the night, diving low to his right to smother Predrag Djordevic's low effort from the edge of the box, 10 minutes into the second half.
Galletti then wasted a great opportunity when he sliced a volley wide at the back post when he had time to control the deep cross from Iero Stoltidis.
Substitute Salomon Kalou could have won it for Chelsea right at the death when put clear with only the keeper to beat, but he failed to keep the ball down and so Grant had to settle for an uneventful draw. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Chelsea hold initiative over OlympiakosBy John Ley in Athens
Olympiakos (0) 0 Chelsea (0) 0
Avram Grant, the Chelsea manager, will have to wait to discover, both in the Carling Cup at Wembley on Sunday and at Stamford Bridge a fortnight today, whether his gamble to rest key players here last night was a prudent one. But, having kept their fifth successive clean sheet in Europe and with an unbeaten home record in the Champions League going back two years, they will face Olympiakos in London in confident mood.
As anticipated, Grant rested John Terry, Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka ahead of the Carling Cup final, meaning that he changed the whole team from the one that beat Huddersfield 3-1 in the FA Cup last Saturday. The 11 changes allowed the likes of Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, Joe Cole and Michael Ballack to return, along with Didier Drogba, who was making his first start since undergoing knee surgery in early December.
The watching Roman Abramovich has not made a secret of his demand for success in the Champions League and, by leaving such an array of talent on the side, he was placing huge faith in those who carried Chelsea's trophy aspirations forward during periods of injuries.
Claude Makelele wore the captain's armband as Chelsea went into the game boasting the best defensive record in the competition. They had conceded only two goals, while they began having gone seven hours and 21 minutes since they last conceded a goal in the event.
The atmosphere that greeted the teams in the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium was electric, the arena an array of red and white, with flares lighting up the wintery evening.
As smoke drifted across the pitch, making visibility difficult, Chelsea, in their highly visible luminous yellow shirts, attacked and within 29 seconds Michael Essien forced the first attempt, his shot drifting wide of the right post.
Olympiakos responded when Predrag Djordjevic fed Ieroklis Stoltidis, but he treated the ball with caution and Ricardo Carvalho cleared the threat.
Soon afterwards the Greeks broke forward and Anastasios Pantos saw a shot deflected wide off a team-mate, but it was all one way, with Florent Malouda testing Antonios Nikopolidis, the Olympiakos goalkeeper, with a searching 16th-minute shot.
A tight but entertaining game developed with Chelsea initially having the edge but Olympiakos finishing the first half the stronger. And when Drogba lost possession by the Olympiakos by-line, the Greeks broke delicately and carefully, before forcing a corner, from which Stoltidis set-up Vassilis Torosidis and he almost opened the scoring.
Alex, the replacement for Terry, was booked for a 35th-minute foul on Cristian Ledesma but the Brazilian redeemed himself by cutting out a dangerous cross from Djordjevic.
The goalless first half saw Chelsea extend their record in Europe to more than eight hours without conceding and they began the second period with Ballack forcing a corner, from which Malouda sent a drive over the target.
Olympiakos, though, remained a threat through their sensible, neat passing game, and when Stoltidis crossed in the 51st minute, Luciano Galletti had a chance but failed to make contact.
Chelsea boasted the best disciplinary record in the competition before the game with only three previous cautions but Juliano Belletti was the second yellow shirt to see a yellow card, and from the resultant free-kick, Djordjevic claimed Olympiakos's first shot on target, in the 57th minute, with Cech gathering easily in front of his right post.
Whether it was a sign of frustration or one of encouragement, the flares were re-ignited midway through the second half. Chelsea began to enjoy greater possession, but they received a third card when Makelele was punished for dissent.
And, in the 65th minute, Stoltidis's high cross set up Galletti and his volley flew only narrowly over Cech's goal.
The introduction of Anelka saw the Frenchman partner Drogba for the first time, and the substitute, who prompted a strong finish by the visitors, squandered the chance of a goal with 10 minutes remaining, his weak shot rolling wide of the left post.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The TimesFebruary 20, 2008
Chelsea look out of shape as Avram Grant’s bold statement falls on deaf earsOlympiacos 0 Chelsea 0
Matt Hughes in Athens
After hiring an image consultant to make him look more suave, Avram Grant has taken to wearing a black trench coat that gives him the appearance of an old-fashioned American mobster such as Al Capone and, after this lucky escape, he may finally realise why José Mourinho regarded some players as untouchable.
The Chelsea first-team coach got away with his gamble of resting John Terry and Frank Lampard, with his side securing a result that leaves them in a good position to reach the quarterfinals, but it could easily have been different. Olympiacos dominated possession, played some enterprising football orchestrated by Predrag Djordjevic and, with more composed finishing, might have won.
After this dour display, Trinny and Susannah may have to return to Stamford Bridge to work on Chelsea’s footballing aesthetic. Grant was employed to echo Ruud Gullit by introducing sexy football, but this performance was about as attractive as one of his ill-fitting tracksuits.
Chelsea were as poor as they have been all season, lacking shape, width and attacking threat. Didier Drogba looked isolated and unfit up front and Ashley Cole could have been forgiven for giving up as he was repeatedly ignored when he overlapped down the left, with only the hard-working Michael Ballack of their attacking players emerging with any credit as Michael Essien also laboured. The private thoughts of Terry and Lampard as they sat on the substitutes’ bench would have been worth far more than the proverbial penny.
Grant defended his decision to leave them out in picking a side that showed 11 changes from the weekend, but offered no guarantee that the captain and vice-captain will return for Sunday’s Carling Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur.
“In football, I never gamble and we put a strong team out,” he said. “We played with a strong team and also a strong bench, and we will do it again and again in the future.”
Grant shares a common managerial trait of looking at matches through rose-tinted glasses, but at least he had the good sense to concede that this was the worst performance of his reign. Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, will not be losing faith in his good friend just yet, but, as he contemplates the prospect of a dream final in Moscow in May, a worrying trend is emerging. After winning nine successive matches, Chelsea have drawn three of their past four matches, with Huddersfield Town the only side to be beaten in that time.
“This is the game we play less well than in previous games, but the result is OK,” Grant said. “We didn’t create a lot of chances, maybe just a couple, so it’s a little bit disappointing.”
The one redeeming feature was that Chelsea have gone almost nine hours without conceding a goal in this competition and they defended well enough to leave Petr Cech largely unoccupied. The Czech Republic goalkeeper made only one save of note, low to his right from Djordjevic just before the hour, but he was sufficiently worried to charge out of his penalty area to reprimand Essien for giving the ball away after Luciano Galletti had volleyed wide from Ieroklis Stoltidis’s cross shortly afterwards.
Not many teams can compete with Chelsea physically, but Olympiacos are built for a battle and, in a stadium named after the hero of Greece’s War of Independence, Georgios Karaiskakis, took the fight to the visiting side. Darko Kovacevic cut an imposing figure up front, but it was the movement of his fellow Serb, Djordjevic, that was most menacing and could have given them an early lead.
Djordjevic released Galletti with a wonderful through-ball in the eighth minute, but his shot was blocked, while Anastasios Pantos later cut in from the left and shot just wide. Djordjevic’s 30th-minute corner from the right was headed across goal by Stoltidis, but Vassilis Torosidis missed making contact by inches at the back post with Cech beaten.
Grant resisted the temptation to make changes at half-time, reasoning that his players could not play any worse. However, without impressive performances from Alex and Ricardo Carvalho at the back, he might have been proved wrong.
Still, Grant remained unmoved until the 75th minute, when Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou replaced Florent Malouda and Joe Cole on the flanks. Anelka did bring some improvement, going close with a snap shot at the far post before creating a chance for a last-minute winner that was missed by Kalou. It was enough to suggest that Chelsea should eventually prevail, although a goalless draw away from home remains a dangerous scoreline. If Olympiacos grab an early goal at Stamford Bridge in a fortnight, Grant will have more than his coat to worry about.
Olympiacos (4-3-2-1): A Nikopolidis — M Zewlakow, P Antzas, Julio César, A Pantos — V Torosidis, C Ledesma, I Stoltidis — L Galletti (sub: Leonardo, 83min), P Djordjevic (sub: F Belluschi, 76) — D Kovacevic (sub: L Nuñez, 87). Substitutes not used: M Sifakis, C Patsatzoglou, K Mitroglou, M Sisic. Booked: Belluschi.
Chelsea (4-3-3): P Cech — J Belletti, Alex, R Carvalho, A Cole — C Makelele, M Essien, M Ballack (sub: F Lampard, 86) — J Cole (sub: S Kalou, 75), D Drogba, F Malouda (sub: N Anelka, 75). Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, J O Mikel, S Wright-Phillips, J Terry. Booked: Makelele, Alex, Belletti, A Cole.
Referee: K Plautz (Austria).
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Sun:
AVRAM GRANT admitted this bore draw in Athens was Chelsea’s worst display since he took over.
The Blues boss saw his players grind out a 0-0 draw with Olympiakos after leaving Frank Lampard and John Terry on the bench.
But Grant was unrepentant about resting the England players and declared he will make similar decisions in the weeks to come.
Grant, who replaced Jose Mourinho in September, said: “The result is OK. We always want to win but a draw away is not a bad result.
“We didn’t create a lot of chances, maybe just a couple, so it’s a bit disappointing.This is the game we play less well than in previous games.”
Terry spent the whole match on the bench while Lamps was brought on with four minutes to go.
With the Carling Cup final against Spurs on Sunday, Grant insisted he will keep his team selection a secret.
He added: “I was very happy with the selection in this match.I never gamble. We put a strong team out.
“In the next two months you will always ask me about the players who are not playing. Anything I do is questioned. I’m OK with this. We played with a strong team and we will do it again and again in the future.”
Grant may have been happy with his team selection but Chelsea almost came acropolis in Athens.
It needed a rock-solid performance in defence and a lot of luck to ensure they did not crumble among the ruins of this ancient city.
This draw makes them favourites to reach the quarter-finals after the second leg against the Greeks at Stamford Bridge in a fortnight.
But to win the Champions League they will need much more than a robust back four and the occasional shot at goal.
Grant said he will not rest until Chelsea have won Europe’s premier pot.
He will lose a lot of sleep over a performance as poor as this.Despite having Didier Drogba back in the team and a full squad to choose from, Chelsea looked short of ideas and low on inspiration.
Dropping your captain and his deputy is a brave call but it now must be viewed in the context of a poor performance.
It was the first time in four years Lamps and Terry have not started a Champions League match when fit.
Claude Makelele filled in as skipper and while he did well in his job there was real lack of leadership on the pitch throughout.
The Greek fans who filled the Karaiskakis Stadium made a hell of a racket as they constantly jumped up and down.
And they almost raised the roof after eight minutes when Olympiakos split open the visitors’ defence.
Serbian Predrag Djordjevic, who ran midfield, steered the ball into the path of Ieroklis Stoltidis who got between Ricardo Carvalho and Alex.
His first touch should have been better though and he gave the ball back to the Chelsea defence when he might have shot. Ashley Cole came to Chelsea’s rescue on 28 minutes as Olympiakos hit the visitors on the break.
From the resulting corner, captain Djordjevic found Stoltidis whose header flew across Petr Cech’s goal.
The chances were no more than Olympiakos deserved. Physically able to match Chelsea’s muscle, they also have good technique on the ball.
While Chelsea too often hoofed long, the Greeks created triangles Isosceles would have been proud of.
After the break, Juliano Belletti was booked for chopping down Stoltidis.
From the resulting free- kick Djordjevic drove the ball into Cech’s near post but the keeper smothered it.
Cech’s team-mates tried to do the same by holding possession. During a remarkable 90 seconds or so, they passed to each other while the 28,000 crowd booed so loudly it hurt your ears.
Lampard, Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou did eventually come on and Chelsea looked more dangerous but it was too little, too late.
With 90 minutes left at home, Chelsea have the benefit of another crack at this contest to win it.
They will have to be much more inventive and clinical if they are to retain the Carling Cup, which will be played to the death on Sunday. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mirror:
Olympiacos 0-0 Chelsea: Avram Grant gets away with resting star playersMartin Lipton Chief Football Writer20/02/2008
(What's this?)Avram Grant got away with it last night but the Chelsea boss will know that he has to start showing a whole lot more if he wants to meet Roman Abramovich's Chelsea expectations.
By leaving out John Terry, Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka, Grant demonstrated beyond any doubt that Sunday's Carling Cup Final was more important for the Israeli than this first leg ordeal by Greek fire.
The Blues did little to suggest they can fulfil Grant's belief that he will take them all the way to Moscow in May.
But to be fair to Grant, they never really looked like losing, as they showed organisation and focus at the back.
Yet there was none of the swagger and invention that Grant himself has promised Abramovich and three draws in their last four games is not the sort of form that wins the titles the Russian demands.
It was only in the last few minutes, as Olympiacos ran out of legs and ideas, and Grant sent on Anelka and Lampard from the bench, that Chelsea began to look dangerous. And had fellow replacement Salomon Kalou controlled Anelka's brilliant ball in from the flanks in front of goal two minutes into stoppage time, then Grant would have given himself a massive pat on the back.
Kalou's touch, however, summed up Chelsea's evening - full of endeavour and energy but lacking real quality.
Thankfully, it did not matter too much and with Olympiacos having lost on all seven of their previous visits to England, Chelsea will anticipate making it eight in a fortnight. Yet Grant's side cannot afford to be too complacent and the Israeli will do well to remind his men that they could have ended the evening in a truly perilous position. Luckily for Chelsea, even though their midfield never fired and Didier Drogba looked like a man who had not started for the Blues since December 1, Ricardo Carvalho was peerless at the back.
Two early interceptions were further proof of his class as skipper Predrag Djordjevic orchestrated the home side.
A thrilling break by the Greeks ended with Ashley Cole conceding a corner before Djordjevic's inswinger was met by Ieroklis Stoltidis. The flick took the whole Chelsea defence out of the game and any contact at all from Vassilis Torosidis inside the six yard box would surely have resulted in a goal.
For all their possession, though, Olympiacos did not threaten enough, though Djordjevic's low shot saw Petr Cech save at his right-hand post. With four Chelsea players - Alex, Juliano Belletti, Claude Makelele and Ashley Cole - earning bookings from finickety referee Konrad Plautz, the mood might have darkened if a volley from Argentine Luciano Galletti on the hour had been on target.
Grant had the foresight to send for the cavalry, with £15million substitute Anelka showing signs of an instant understanding with Drogba.
That vision might have changed the complexion of the game, only for Kalou's miss to ensure the tie is still right in the balance.
Grant knows he must get far more from his players at Wembley on Sunday, and for the rest of the season too. He remains, like his team, unconvincing.
Olympiacos: Nikopolidis, Zewlakow, Julio Cesar, Antzas, Pantos, Ledesma, Galletti (Leonardo 82), Torosidis, Djordjevic (Belluschi 75), Stoltidis, Kovacevic (Nunez 86).
Chelsea: Cech 7, Belletti 6, Carvalho 8, Alex 7, A Cole 6, Essien 5, Makelele 6, Ballack 6 (Lampard 86), Malouda 5 (Kalou 74), Drogba 5, J Cole 6 (Anelka 74).
45% POSSESSION 55%
2 SHOTS ON TARGET 3
2 SHOTS OFF TARGET 7
4 OFFSIDES 4
5 CORNERS 2
16 FOULS 17
1 YELLOW CARDS 4
0 RED CARDS 0
ATTENDANCE: 29,500
Man Of The Match: Carvalho
David Hytner at the Karaiskaki StadiumWednesday February 20, 2008The Guardian
Roman Abramovich has the scene mapped out - May 21, Moscow. Chelsea's Russian owner has his invited friends and peers looking down from behind executive glass on to the Champions League final. His team are there, his chest swells with pride. The dream remains alive, after a tense stalemate in the Greek capital gave Chelsea the upper hand in this last-16 meeting. The eye-opening selection gamble of the manager, Avram Grant, in leaving out John Terry, the captain, and Frank Lampard did not return in any haunting manner and he could be pleased with the application that his charges showed, as the business end of the season got under way.
Chelsea's best players were defenders - Ricardo Carvalho was ably supported by Alex and although they created nothing more meaningful further forward than a clutch of half-chances and failed to quicken the pulses, the scoreline was one which they would have taken. Olympiakos shaded the first half and showed themselves to be an attractive team yet Chelsea will fancy their chances in the return in two weeks' time. "This was a game that we played less well than previous games," said Grant, who made 11 changes to the team he fielded in the FA Cup against Huddersfield Town on Saturday. "We only created a couple of chances so it's a little disappointing. The performance could have been better but the result was good."
Grant's decision to rest, rotate or, in old-fashioned parlance, drop Terry and Lampard dominated the build-up to the occasion. The coach had stressed that with virtually all of his squad available, he had no first-choice XI; the modern game was one for squad strength. His selection had been made with one eye on Sunday's Carling Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur.
It was also a show of faith in Alex and Claude Makelele, the backbone of the team in recent weeks, players in rich veins of form, yet it remained difficult to ignore the notion that Grant was taking a calculated risk. Would he have omitted Terry and Lampard against frontline opposition from Italy or Spain?
"In football, I never gamble and we put a strong team out," said Grant. "Anything I do is questioned, I'm OK with this. They are not easy decisions but it is my job."
Flares lit the scene at kick-off and the smoke from them dissipated slowly as a cagey tone was set from the outset. Chelsea were determined to take the sting out of proceedings but the fervour in these parts cannot easily be diluted. The Olympiakos diehards had arrived some hours beforehand and they bounced and swayed to create a boisterous atmosphere, the like of which modern English stadiums can only dream of. Welcome to Hellas. The men in red and white before them mirrored their commitment; the passing and movement was assured. Chelsea faced a test of their nerve and ingenuity.
The tie was absorbing, not for the action inside either goalmouth, of which there was little, but for the tactical battle. Space was at a premium and hearts raced each time it was chiselled out. The chance of the match fell to Olympiakos when Ieroklis Stoltidis flicked on a 31st-minute corner from the captain, Predrag Djordjevic. Vassilis Torosidis, unmarked inside the six-yard box, stretched every sinew but could not make decisive contact.
The hosts pressed on to the front foot, showcasing their slick teamwork with one move on the half-hour, that started with an audacious chipped clearance by Antonios Nikopolidis, the goalkeeper, and finished at the other end, a dozen passes later, with Luciano Galletti's cross being charged down for a corner.
Chelsea mustered but one snapshot in the first half, from Florent Malouda, and it was their defence that felt the greater pressure. In Terry's absence, though, Carvalho was outstanding. Time and again, he made decisive interventions and, as is so often the case in the big matches, he engendered confidence in those around him.
There was a perception in Athens that Chelsea felt themselves to be consummately superior. They had stood accused earlier in the day of using unacceptable means to lure the 15-year-old Reggina defender Vincenzo Camilleri to London. Reggina intend to complain to the authorities. There was little swagger, though, about Chelsea last night; it was an evening for reputations to be gilded by graft.
Four Chelsea players were booked, though not Michael Essien, who stood one away from a suspension. "The referee was a little bit hard with us," said Grant. "It was not a violent, aggressive game so the players who got cards were not so happy with this."
Didier Drogba was restored to the starting line-up but he cut an isolated and often frustrated figure. It was not until Grant introduced Salomon Kalou and Nicolas Anelka to provide fresh width that Chelsea enjoyed the territorial advantage and had the former controlled a precision centre from the latter in injury time, Chelsea could even have stolen the advantage. It certainly would have flattered them. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Olympiakos 0 Chelsea 0: Rejigged Chelsea stutter to stalemateBy Jason Burtat Karaiskakis StadiumWednesday, 20 February 2008
After the white-out, a white-hot atmosphere – but a match devoid of real drama except for the intriguing omission of John Terry and Frank Lampard from the starting line-up. Maybe a drab affair is the way Chelsea will have liked it after the confusion of getting here. The goalless draw gives them a clear advantage for the return leg as they attempt to reach the last eight of the European Cup and their ultimate destination: Moscow in May and the final.
They had arrived in Athens in a fierce snowstorm which prevented many of their fans from making it to the game and, although the snows melted, the football stayed frozen. Some of those supporters had taken up offers from airlines which had cancelled flights to head somewhere else. It proved a wise choice. There were flares in the stands but not much flair on the pitch.
There may be more storms brewing. The biggest moment came pre-match when Avram Grant confirmed the omission of his captain and vice-captain. With the business end of the season just beginning it was some executive decision from the Chelsea manager. They will not be happy about not playing and, now, the selection for Sunday's League Cup final becomes all the more fascinating. If either does not play then, it could signal a seismic shift at the club.
Certainly, Grant's predecessor, Jose Mourinho, would not have countenanced such a thing for his two "untouchables". When they were fit, they played. Admittedly, only Terry's remarkable powers of recovery, after breaking three bones in his foot, got him this far so soon while Lampard has played twice since overcoming a thigh injury.
Not that the manager wanted to discuss it afterwards. "I prefer to talk about the players who did play," he said before adding: "The result was OK. We didn't create a lot of chances which was disappointing but it's not easy to play here and it's not easy to play against them. We are a team who always likes to win so we are not 100 per cent happy and this was a game in which we played less well than in the others."
It was only when Lampard and Nicolas Anelka – another left out, although less surprisingly – came on towards the end that Chelsea pushed. Even then it was a third substitute, Salomon Kalou, who had the opportunity but allowed the ball to run away from him after he stole in behind the defence.
Neither were Chelsea happy with the Austrian referee, Konrad Plautz, who, Grant said, "was hard with us", dishing out four yellow cards.
Not that Olympiakos cared. The red and whites have been Greek champions for 10 of the past 11 seasons but have not made much of an impression in this competition for some years. Qualification to face Chelsea, however, was impressively earned and was not going to be easily surrendered, although when Leroklis Stoltidis was given an early sight of goal he elected to pass instead of shoot and the opportunity was gone.
The home crowd's passionate support for their team was relentless. It was some sight and sound when, from a corner, Stoltidis headed across goal, and Vassilis Torosidis somehow failed to nod home.
Chelsea lacked cohesion. Generally, they were pre-occupied with striking the ball long to Didier Drogba, who appeared lethargic. Olympiakos, meanwhile, engineered chances through their playmaker and captain Predrag Djordjevic and Chelsea were indebted to the defensive resilience of Ricardo Carvalho – and the wastefulness of Luciano Galletti. The Argentine failed to reach a cross, when offered the chance of a header, and then volleyed another deep cross, fizzing the ball over, when he had time.
Olympiakos were cuter when Galletti teed up Djordjevic but Petr Cech blocked his shot. The introduction of Anelka did not bring a change of formation. Instead he occupied the left. He ran in for one side-foot shot but it was weak, just like a cross from Kalou, with team-mates queuing, moments later. And just like the rest of the match. The main action was going on off the pitch.
Olympiakos (4-3-2-1): Nikopolidis; Zewlakow, Julio Cesar, Antzas, Pantos; Ledesma, Torosidis, Stoltidis; Galletti (Leonardo, 83), Djordjevic (Bellushi, 76); Kovacevic (Nunez, 87). Substitutes not used: Sifakis (gk), Patsatzoglou, Leonardo, Mitroglou, Sisic.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Belletti, Alex, Carvalho, A Cole; Essien, Makelele, Ballack (Lampard, 86); J Cole (Anelka, 75), Drogba, Malouda (Kalou, 75). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Mikel, Wright-Phillips, Terry.
Referee: K Plautz (Austria).
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Grant gamble reaps rewards as Chelsea earn valuable drawOlympiacos 0 Chelsea 0
By MATT BARLOW
The first leg of Avram Grant's route map to Moscow was negotiated successfully if unspectacularly by Chelsea despite the manager's decision to drop Frank Lampard and John Terry from the team.
The snow was gone but Lampard and Terry wrapped themselves up for a chilly Athens night and looked on from the bench as their team-mates survived a spirited effort from Olympiacos.
Their chance may come at Wembley in the Carling Cup final on Sunday by which time the success of Grant's rotation policy will be clearer to see.
There is little doubt that this is the trophy Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich wants to win more than any other this season with the final to be staged in Moscow in May.
UEFA unfurled their Moscow 08 insignia as the Champions League knockout stages started last night and Grant had spoken on the eve of the game about the need for the club to appear in the showpiece to confirm their status among Europe's elite.
He also explained how, with all his players fit, his team selection would take into account forthcoming fixtures and not just the game in question, a policy which has done nothing to h e l p R a f a Benitez at Liverpool recently but understandable for a club chasing a possible four trophies.
This was his reasoning behind the decision to make 11 changes to the team who eased past League One Huddersfield in the FA Cup fifth round last Saturday.
As expected, this meant that Terry and Lampard started among the substitutes in the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in a statement of intent from Grant.
The pair may be just back from injuries but they have been the immovable English pillars at the heart of Chelsea's success in the last four years — the safest of all Jose Mourinho's famed Untouchables — but Grant proved, when his squad is full, they are very droppable indeed.
Terry and Lampard passed a loose ball back and forth on the edge of the pitch as the chosen 11 warmed up as a group before the game. Then the England pair stayed out to launch shots at an empty goal when their team-mates returned to the dressing room ahead of kick-off.
They both love to play game after game. They have carried injuries through games for the club. Lampard once started 164 consecutive Barclays Premier League games. But they may have to adjust to a new regime.
Grant kept the faith in those players who survived unbeaten through difficult weeks when the squad was stretched to its limits, notably Michael Ballack, who played some of his most effective football since moving to Stamford Bridge in Lampard's absence, and Alex.
Olympiacos, Greek league leaders and champions for 10 of the last 11 years, are in the knockout rounds for the first time in nine years and determined to prove they belong there. Urged forward by their noisy supporters, they pressed Chelsea back in the early stages, proving their ability to pass the ball and attack in numbers.
Experienced centre forward Darko Kovacevic, once of Sheffield Wednesday, played the lone role up front, holding up the ball and winning free-kicks but the Greeks also showed signs of brittleness in defence. It was a formula which made for an exciting first 45 minutes.
Michael Essien flashed a 20-yarder wide from the edge of the box and Florent Malouda pounced on a mistake by Julio Cesar, who failed to deal cleanly with a cross from Didier Drogba, but could not beat goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis.
Malouda started impressively, drifting in from the left flank to combine with Drogba, playing his first Chelsea game since December 1. But the Greeks ought to have stolen the lead from a corner, forced after a wonderful sweeping move which started with a neat passing sequence inside their own penalty area. They advanced smoothly down the left before skipper Claude Makelele knocked the ball out as he scampered back to help his defence.
Luciano Galletti's outswinger was flicked on at the near post to Vassilis Torosidis, who rose with purpose only to slide a glancing header wide of the far post from six yards.
Chelsea had to dig in and be patient but, at the heart of their defence, Ricardo Carvalho and Alex, who was booked for a clumsy foul, stood firm as the home team finished the first half on top.
Grant's team kept better possession after the break, with greater control and a quicker tempo to their passing and it was enough to stifle the game as a spectacle. Whistles greeted the long spells of Chelsea possession.
The goalless first half meant it was more than eight hours of Champions League football since Chelsea last conceded a goal. That was in Valencia, early in Grant's reign.
Petr Cech was not forced into a save in the first half here but made his first save of the night, diving low to his right to smother Predrag Djordevic's low effort from the edge of the box, 10 minutes into the second half.
Galletti then wasted a great opportunity when he sliced a volley wide at the back post when he had time to control the deep cross from Iero Stoltidis.
Substitute Salomon Kalou could have won it for Chelsea right at the death when put clear with only the keeper to beat, but he failed to keep the ball down and so Grant had to settle for an uneventful draw. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Chelsea hold initiative over OlympiakosBy John Ley in Athens
Olympiakos (0) 0 Chelsea (0) 0
Avram Grant, the Chelsea manager, will have to wait to discover, both in the Carling Cup at Wembley on Sunday and at Stamford Bridge a fortnight today, whether his gamble to rest key players here last night was a prudent one. But, having kept their fifth successive clean sheet in Europe and with an unbeaten home record in the Champions League going back two years, they will face Olympiakos in London in confident mood.
As anticipated, Grant rested John Terry, Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka ahead of the Carling Cup final, meaning that he changed the whole team from the one that beat Huddersfield 3-1 in the FA Cup last Saturday. The 11 changes allowed the likes of Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, Joe Cole and Michael Ballack to return, along with Didier Drogba, who was making his first start since undergoing knee surgery in early December.
The watching Roman Abramovich has not made a secret of his demand for success in the Champions League and, by leaving such an array of talent on the side, he was placing huge faith in those who carried Chelsea's trophy aspirations forward during periods of injuries.
Claude Makelele wore the captain's armband as Chelsea went into the game boasting the best defensive record in the competition. They had conceded only two goals, while they began having gone seven hours and 21 minutes since they last conceded a goal in the event.
The atmosphere that greeted the teams in the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium was electric, the arena an array of red and white, with flares lighting up the wintery evening.
As smoke drifted across the pitch, making visibility difficult, Chelsea, in their highly visible luminous yellow shirts, attacked and within 29 seconds Michael Essien forced the first attempt, his shot drifting wide of the right post.
Olympiakos responded when Predrag Djordjevic fed Ieroklis Stoltidis, but he treated the ball with caution and Ricardo Carvalho cleared the threat.
Soon afterwards the Greeks broke forward and Anastasios Pantos saw a shot deflected wide off a team-mate, but it was all one way, with Florent Malouda testing Antonios Nikopolidis, the Olympiakos goalkeeper, with a searching 16th-minute shot.
A tight but entertaining game developed with Chelsea initially having the edge but Olympiakos finishing the first half the stronger. And when Drogba lost possession by the Olympiakos by-line, the Greeks broke delicately and carefully, before forcing a corner, from which Stoltidis set-up Vassilis Torosidis and he almost opened the scoring.
Alex, the replacement for Terry, was booked for a 35th-minute foul on Cristian Ledesma but the Brazilian redeemed himself by cutting out a dangerous cross from Djordjevic.
The goalless first half saw Chelsea extend their record in Europe to more than eight hours without conceding and they began the second period with Ballack forcing a corner, from which Malouda sent a drive over the target.
Olympiakos, though, remained a threat through their sensible, neat passing game, and when Stoltidis crossed in the 51st minute, Luciano Galletti had a chance but failed to make contact.
Chelsea boasted the best disciplinary record in the competition before the game with only three previous cautions but Juliano Belletti was the second yellow shirt to see a yellow card, and from the resultant free-kick, Djordjevic claimed Olympiakos's first shot on target, in the 57th minute, with Cech gathering easily in front of his right post.
Whether it was a sign of frustration or one of encouragement, the flares were re-ignited midway through the second half. Chelsea began to enjoy greater possession, but they received a third card when Makelele was punished for dissent.
And, in the 65th minute, Stoltidis's high cross set up Galletti and his volley flew only narrowly over Cech's goal.
The introduction of Anelka saw the Frenchman partner Drogba for the first time, and the substitute, who prompted a strong finish by the visitors, squandered the chance of a goal with 10 minutes remaining, his weak shot rolling wide of the left post.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The TimesFebruary 20, 2008
Chelsea look out of shape as Avram Grant’s bold statement falls on deaf earsOlympiacos 0 Chelsea 0
Matt Hughes in Athens
After hiring an image consultant to make him look more suave, Avram Grant has taken to wearing a black trench coat that gives him the appearance of an old-fashioned American mobster such as Al Capone and, after this lucky escape, he may finally realise why José Mourinho regarded some players as untouchable.
The Chelsea first-team coach got away with his gamble of resting John Terry and Frank Lampard, with his side securing a result that leaves them in a good position to reach the quarterfinals, but it could easily have been different. Olympiacos dominated possession, played some enterprising football orchestrated by Predrag Djordjevic and, with more composed finishing, might have won.
After this dour display, Trinny and Susannah may have to return to Stamford Bridge to work on Chelsea’s footballing aesthetic. Grant was employed to echo Ruud Gullit by introducing sexy football, but this performance was about as attractive as one of his ill-fitting tracksuits.
Chelsea were as poor as they have been all season, lacking shape, width and attacking threat. Didier Drogba looked isolated and unfit up front and Ashley Cole could have been forgiven for giving up as he was repeatedly ignored when he overlapped down the left, with only the hard-working Michael Ballack of their attacking players emerging with any credit as Michael Essien also laboured. The private thoughts of Terry and Lampard as they sat on the substitutes’ bench would have been worth far more than the proverbial penny.
Grant defended his decision to leave them out in picking a side that showed 11 changes from the weekend, but offered no guarantee that the captain and vice-captain will return for Sunday’s Carling Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur.
“In football, I never gamble and we put a strong team out,” he said. “We played with a strong team and also a strong bench, and we will do it again and again in the future.”
Grant shares a common managerial trait of looking at matches through rose-tinted glasses, but at least he had the good sense to concede that this was the worst performance of his reign. Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, will not be losing faith in his good friend just yet, but, as he contemplates the prospect of a dream final in Moscow in May, a worrying trend is emerging. After winning nine successive matches, Chelsea have drawn three of their past four matches, with Huddersfield Town the only side to be beaten in that time.
“This is the game we play less well than in previous games, but the result is OK,” Grant said. “We didn’t create a lot of chances, maybe just a couple, so it’s a little bit disappointing.”
The one redeeming feature was that Chelsea have gone almost nine hours without conceding a goal in this competition and they defended well enough to leave Petr Cech largely unoccupied. The Czech Republic goalkeeper made only one save of note, low to his right from Djordjevic just before the hour, but he was sufficiently worried to charge out of his penalty area to reprimand Essien for giving the ball away after Luciano Galletti had volleyed wide from Ieroklis Stoltidis’s cross shortly afterwards.
Not many teams can compete with Chelsea physically, but Olympiacos are built for a battle and, in a stadium named after the hero of Greece’s War of Independence, Georgios Karaiskakis, took the fight to the visiting side. Darko Kovacevic cut an imposing figure up front, but it was the movement of his fellow Serb, Djordjevic, that was most menacing and could have given them an early lead.
Djordjevic released Galletti with a wonderful through-ball in the eighth minute, but his shot was blocked, while Anastasios Pantos later cut in from the left and shot just wide. Djordjevic’s 30th-minute corner from the right was headed across goal by Stoltidis, but Vassilis Torosidis missed making contact by inches at the back post with Cech beaten.
Grant resisted the temptation to make changes at half-time, reasoning that his players could not play any worse. However, without impressive performances from Alex and Ricardo Carvalho at the back, he might have been proved wrong.
Still, Grant remained unmoved until the 75th minute, when Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou replaced Florent Malouda and Joe Cole on the flanks. Anelka did bring some improvement, going close with a snap shot at the far post before creating a chance for a last-minute winner that was missed by Kalou. It was enough to suggest that Chelsea should eventually prevail, although a goalless draw away from home remains a dangerous scoreline. If Olympiacos grab an early goal at Stamford Bridge in a fortnight, Grant will have more than his coat to worry about.
Olympiacos (4-3-2-1): A Nikopolidis — M Zewlakow, P Antzas, Julio César, A Pantos — V Torosidis, C Ledesma, I Stoltidis — L Galletti (sub: Leonardo, 83min), P Djordjevic (sub: F Belluschi, 76) — D Kovacevic (sub: L Nuñez, 87). Substitutes not used: M Sifakis, C Patsatzoglou, K Mitroglou, M Sisic. Booked: Belluschi.
Chelsea (4-3-3): P Cech — J Belletti, Alex, R Carvalho, A Cole — C Makelele, M Essien, M Ballack (sub: F Lampard, 86) — J Cole (sub: S Kalou, 75), D Drogba, F Malouda (sub: N Anelka, 75). Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, J O Mikel, S Wright-Phillips, J Terry. Booked: Makelele, Alex, Belletti, A Cole.
Referee: K Plautz (Austria).
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Sun:
AVRAM GRANT admitted this bore draw in Athens was Chelsea’s worst display since he took over.
The Blues boss saw his players grind out a 0-0 draw with Olympiakos after leaving Frank Lampard and John Terry on the bench.
But Grant was unrepentant about resting the England players and declared he will make similar decisions in the weeks to come.
Grant, who replaced Jose Mourinho in September, said: “The result is OK. We always want to win but a draw away is not a bad result.
“We didn’t create a lot of chances, maybe just a couple, so it’s a bit disappointing.This is the game we play less well than in previous games.”
Terry spent the whole match on the bench while Lamps was brought on with four minutes to go.
With the Carling Cup final against Spurs on Sunday, Grant insisted he will keep his team selection a secret.
He added: “I was very happy with the selection in this match.I never gamble. We put a strong team out.
“In the next two months you will always ask me about the players who are not playing. Anything I do is questioned. I’m OK with this. We played with a strong team and we will do it again and again in the future.”
Grant may have been happy with his team selection but Chelsea almost came acropolis in Athens.
It needed a rock-solid performance in defence and a lot of luck to ensure they did not crumble among the ruins of this ancient city.
This draw makes them favourites to reach the quarter-finals after the second leg against the Greeks at Stamford Bridge in a fortnight.
But to win the Champions League they will need much more than a robust back four and the occasional shot at goal.
Grant said he will not rest until Chelsea have won Europe’s premier pot.
He will lose a lot of sleep over a performance as poor as this.Despite having Didier Drogba back in the team and a full squad to choose from, Chelsea looked short of ideas and low on inspiration.
Dropping your captain and his deputy is a brave call but it now must be viewed in the context of a poor performance.
It was the first time in four years Lamps and Terry have not started a Champions League match when fit.
Claude Makelele filled in as skipper and while he did well in his job there was real lack of leadership on the pitch throughout.
The Greek fans who filled the Karaiskakis Stadium made a hell of a racket as they constantly jumped up and down.
And they almost raised the roof after eight minutes when Olympiakos split open the visitors’ defence.
Serbian Predrag Djordjevic, who ran midfield, steered the ball into the path of Ieroklis Stoltidis who got between Ricardo Carvalho and Alex.
His first touch should have been better though and he gave the ball back to the Chelsea defence when he might have shot. Ashley Cole came to Chelsea’s rescue on 28 minutes as Olympiakos hit the visitors on the break.
From the resulting corner, captain Djordjevic found Stoltidis whose header flew across Petr Cech’s goal.
The chances were no more than Olympiakos deserved. Physically able to match Chelsea’s muscle, they also have good technique on the ball.
While Chelsea too often hoofed long, the Greeks created triangles Isosceles would have been proud of.
After the break, Juliano Belletti was booked for chopping down Stoltidis.
From the resulting free- kick Djordjevic drove the ball into Cech’s near post but the keeper smothered it.
Cech’s team-mates tried to do the same by holding possession. During a remarkable 90 seconds or so, they passed to each other while the 28,000 crowd booed so loudly it hurt your ears.
Lampard, Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou did eventually come on and Chelsea looked more dangerous but it was too little, too late.
With 90 minutes left at home, Chelsea have the benefit of another crack at this contest to win it.
They will have to be much more inventive and clinical if they are to retain the Carling Cup, which will be played to the death on Sunday. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mirror:
Olympiacos 0-0 Chelsea: Avram Grant gets away with resting star playersMartin Lipton Chief Football Writer20/02/2008
(What's this?)Avram Grant got away with it last night but the Chelsea boss will know that he has to start showing a whole lot more if he wants to meet Roman Abramovich's Chelsea expectations.
By leaving out John Terry, Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka, Grant demonstrated beyond any doubt that Sunday's Carling Cup Final was more important for the Israeli than this first leg ordeal by Greek fire.
The Blues did little to suggest they can fulfil Grant's belief that he will take them all the way to Moscow in May.
But to be fair to Grant, they never really looked like losing, as they showed organisation and focus at the back.
Yet there was none of the swagger and invention that Grant himself has promised Abramovich and three draws in their last four games is not the sort of form that wins the titles the Russian demands.
It was only in the last few minutes, as Olympiacos ran out of legs and ideas, and Grant sent on Anelka and Lampard from the bench, that Chelsea began to look dangerous. And had fellow replacement Salomon Kalou controlled Anelka's brilliant ball in from the flanks in front of goal two minutes into stoppage time, then Grant would have given himself a massive pat on the back.
Kalou's touch, however, summed up Chelsea's evening - full of endeavour and energy but lacking real quality.
Thankfully, it did not matter too much and with Olympiacos having lost on all seven of their previous visits to England, Chelsea will anticipate making it eight in a fortnight. Yet Grant's side cannot afford to be too complacent and the Israeli will do well to remind his men that they could have ended the evening in a truly perilous position. Luckily for Chelsea, even though their midfield never fired and Didier Drogba looked like a man who had not started for the Blues since December 1, Ricardo Carvalho was peerless at the back.
Two early interceptions were further proof of his class as skipper Predrag Djordjevic orchestrated the home side.
A thrilling break by the Greeks ended with Ashley Cole conceding a corner before Djordjevic's inswinger was met by Ieroklis Stoltidis. The flick took the whole Chelsea defence out of the game and any contact at all from Vassilis Torosidis inside the six yard box would surely have resulted in a goal.
For all their possession, though, Olympiacos did not threaten enough, though Djordjevic's low shot saw Petr Cech save at his right-hand post. With four Chelsea players - Alex, Juliano Belletti, Claude Makelele and Ashley Cole - earning bookings from finickety referee Konrad Plautz, the mood might have darkened if a volley from Argentine Luciano Galletti on the hour had been on target.
Grant had the foresight to send for the cavalry, with £15million substitute Anelka showing signs of an instant understanding with Drogba.
That vision might have changed the complexion of the game, only for Kalou's miss to ensure the tie is still right in the balance.
Grant knows he must get far more from his players at Wembley on Sunday, and for the rest of the season too. He remains, like his team, unconvincing.
Olympiacos: Nikopolidis, Zewlakow, Julio Cesar, Antzas, Pantos, Ledesma, Galletti (Leonardo 82), Torosidis, Djordjevic (Belluschi 75), Stoltidis, Kovacevic (Nunez 86).
Chelsea: Cech 7, Belletti 6, Carvalho 8, Alex 7, A Cole 6, Essien 5, Makelele 6, Ballack 6 (Lampard 86), Malouda 5 (Kalou 74), Drogba 5, J Cole 6 (Anelka 74).
45% POSSESSION 55%
2 SHOTS ON TARGET 3
2 SHOTS OFF TARGET 7
4 OFFSIDES 4
5 CORNERS 2
16 FOULS 17
1 YELLOW CARDS 4
0 RED CARDS 0
ATTENDANCE: 29,500
Man Of The Match: Carvalho
Sunday, February 17, 2008
sunday papers hudds fa cup
The Sunday TimesFebruary 17, 2008
Frank Lampard’s double strike bursts Huddersfield bubbleChelsea 3 Huddersfield 1Brian Glanville at Stamford Bridge
THERE was, almost on half-time, one coruscating moment of hope for Huddersfield. So very much the underdog, a goal behind from the 18th minute, largely and predictably outplayed by their hosts, they suddenly and sensationally equalised. And a very good goal indeed it was.
From Luke Beckett, the Huddersfield striker, the ball went on to Chris Brandon, then out to the right flank, where James Berrett had moved. His excellent high cross reached Michael Collins on the left of goal and he swept the ball instantly and dramatically into the net.
If it seemed too good to last, there were still moments in the second half, as Huddersfield’s manager, Andy Ritchie emphasised when, “we were a bit dangerous; so we annoyed them!”
They annoyed Chelsea sufficiently for the Londoners to score a couple more goals, and twice to have goals given offside with Matthew Glennon, the brave and defiant Huddersfield goalkeeper, blocking the shot but unable to hold the ball.
Chelsea rested a number of first-choice players, although Jon Obi Mikel and the impressive Salomon Kalou were back from participating in the African Cup of Nations. So was Ghana’s Michael Essien, but we did not see him until 80 minutes had been played. We did not see the formidable Didier Drogba at all, Avram Grant, the Chelsea manager, telling us that he had a slight problem with his knee but none of any other kind, suggesting he would be back for the Champions League tie against Olympiakos on Tuesday.
Especially welcome for Chelsea was the unexpectedly early return and the dominant form of John Terry, whom Grant kept on the field for the whole game, but had initially planned to keep him on for just 70 minutes. Claudio Pizarro, the Peru international, was given the lone frontman role, and he contributed in the second half with an inspired dribble, coming in from the left to shoot.
Glennon duly blocked that one, but the ebullient young Scott Sinclair was given offside when he put the ball in the net, as had Kalou previously been when following up an attempt from Terry, also blocked by Glennon. But the Chelsea captain, in the first half, had actually been obliged to clear off his own line on 38 minutes from the Huddersfield defender, Nathan Clarke.
Ritchie was full of praise for Frank Lampard, goalscorer yesterday as well as substantial cre-ator: “Lampard is top notch,” said Ritchie. “His drive and his vision. He’s so quick with the ball at his feet. He moves the ball around. And that’s what produces the holes in your defence. He’s always a threat and he’s going to score goals.”
For his part, Grant intimated that he expected Lampard to sign a new contract for Chelsea.
Chelsea might well have gone ahead as early as the sixth minute. Kalou, on the left, went easily past the 36-year-old Frank Sinclair, once a Chelsea defender himself, and crossed for the other Sinclair to beat Glennon. But Robbie Williams came to the rescue on the line.
So it was another dozen minutes before Lampard, instantly exploiting a right-wing pass from the irrepressible Sinclair, put Chelsea ahead. The game was moving to the interval and a Chelsea lead that might have been greater then suddenly Huddersfield scored.
In the second half, it took 15 minutes for Chelsea to eventually restore their lead. Kalou flicked the ball skilfully from the right to Lampard, who duly drove home his second goal. The third came when Kalou himself raced through the Huddersfield defence and beat Glennon for the third time.
Yet though the game was now beyond them, Huddersfield bravely refused to lie down and die, indeed, we were in stoppage time when Williams fired a left-footed free kick not at all far wide of the right-hand Chelsea post.
Haven’t we met before?
Huddersfield full-back Frank Sinclair was at Chelsea for eight years and was an FA Cup winner as the Blues beat Middlesbrough 2–0 in the 1997 final. The following season, he scored in their 2-0 League Cup final win – again over Boro -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Lionheart Lampard hits the ton against proud HuddersfieldChelsea 3 Huddersfield 1
By MALCOLM FOLLEY Frank Lampard and John Terry, the Englishmen at the heart of Chelsea, ensured the romance of the FA Cup was restricted to a one act play at Stamford Bridge yesterday. Huddersfield manager Andy Ritchie had the luxury of delivering his half-time talk with his team level.
Tell the 6,000 fans who travelled from Yorkshire to London that the potential of the Cup to weave dreams and spells is an anachronism in a modern world.
With the last kick of the first half, Michael Collins had illustrated control, poise and an assassin's eye to shoot Huddersfield on terms.
Those fans, embedded in The Shed end, became in an instant a loud, boisterous choir. Their team may be living in the wrong end of League One — indeed they began yesterday as the lowest-ranked team in the competition — but that had not deterred them from making the journey in a fleet of coaches, by train or by car. It was a day to travel in hope, if not expectation.
And for 15 minutes, those fans were rewarded with Huddersfield holding Chelsea, the club with a substitutes' bench yesterday that cost more than £90million to recruit.
Collins' goal, taken in his stride as he expertly brought James Berrett's pass out of the air, was a moment of some sobriety for Chelsea. Manager Avram Grant — winner of just one domestic cup with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel 14 years ago — had selected a shadow team with an eye on the week ahead.
Perhaps he was beyond criticism. After all, Chelsea play Olympiacos in the Champions League in Athens on Tuesday, then defend the Carling Cup against Tottenham in the all- London Wembley showpiece on Sunday.
Having spent weeks dealing with injuries to men like Terry and Lampard, and having to compensate for the absence of other critical players at the African Cup of Nations, such as Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou, Grant is now spoiled by an abundance of riches.
His reaction was to include reserve keeper Carlo Cudicini, Steve Sidwell, Tal Ben Haim, Scott Sinclair and Claudio Pizarro.
In truth, Grant might have shuffled his resources any number of ways and still found a com-bination with enough skill, experience and firepower to have condemned Huddersfield to an uncomfortable afternoon. Yet, in the end, Grant was grateful for the presence of Lampard and Terry, men assured of a starting place when Grant has to turn his attention to creating the very best blend of Chelsea from the personnel at his disposal.
Lampard had returned to the team just six days ago and Terry, against imposing odds, made his comeback after two months out with a broken foot. Their contribution was immense and meaningful. The game was 19 minutes old when Sinclair drove the ball across the Huddersfield penalty area. As he has done countless times before, Lampard arrived late to strike a sweet firsttime shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Six years and nine months after Claudio Ranieri paid £11million to take him across London from West Ham, Lampard had claimed his 100th goal for the Blues. In his box for the first time since Christmas, Chelsea's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich broke into a grin in celebration.
Perhaps, like his team, he assumed the job had been done because, frankly, there was not a huge amount of urgency about Chelsea's football.
Terry was required to clear from Chelsea's goal line in the 38th minute after Nathan Clarke whipped in a shot following a Huddersfield corner.
Chelsea could not claim they had not been warned and Collins, outstanding throughout, seized Huddersfield's equaliser with a clarity of thought. His shot beat Cudicini at the near post, allowing Ritchie went to deliver his half-time talk with an amount of optimism.
But Lampard was to offer the Cup holders the moment of inspiration they needed on the hour. He cut through Huddersfield with a determined run and when his shot was blocked by goalkeeper Matthew Glennon, the England midfielder squeezed the rebound in off the inside of a post. Danger had passed.
Lampard's measured pass in the 69th minute invited Kalou to place the tie out of Huddersfield's reach. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lampard joins the 100 club to break Huddersfield's hearts
Will Buckley at Stamford BridgeSunday February 17, 2008The Observer
After all the shenanigans of the global Premier League - the gift that no one wanted - it was a relief to return to the old-fashioned simplicities of the Cup. It all ended as expected, but a Huddersfield equaliser on the brink of half time ensured it remained a contest longer than expected and gave their magnificent fans some reward on their grand day out. 'We got fantastic backing from them,' said manager Andy Ritchie.
Chelsea's season, meanwhile, is just about to become interesting. They are favourites to win both the domestic cups and they have a sporting chance in their two main targets. 'It has happened because we did a fantastic job in December and January,' said Avram Grant.The Huddersfield fans packed what used to be the Shed and easily outsang their rivals. They had already had plenty of fun prior to the kick-off as Tube nonsense meant they enjoyed their first taste of frottage. 'It's never this packed in Huddersfield,' said one with glee. 'Are you sure they don't charge us extra?' replied his friend.
Chelsea fielded their second team. Indeed, if you take the view that Alex is better than Terry, and Ballack is better than Lampard, then everyone selected was technically a reserve. Their bench, however, was for the ages. Henrique Hilario, Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho, Andriy Shevchenko, Nicolas Anelka. Replace Hilario with Petr Cech and it would be unimprovable and, at a cost of a £100million or so, the most expensive ever assembled. How long before the first heist movie in which the so-called bad guys kidnap substitute footballers? Ocean's 18 anyone?
The first chance was beautifully crafted by Salomon Kalou, jinking in from the left and setting up Scott Sinclair, whose sharp shot was kicked off the line by Robbie Williams. Huddersfield forced a corner. 'Where were you when you were shit,' sang their fans and the returning Frank Sinclair appeared to nod his assent. A trademark Frank Lampard free-kick went straight into the wall and Steve Sidwell - who gave him the No 9 shirt? - skied the ball over. Minutes later Lampard scored his 100th goal for the club, Scott Sinclair's cross from the right enabling him to sweep the ball into the net. It is a figure that Ballack is unlikely to match.
Huddersfield tried manfully and Nathan Clarke was unfortunate to have a volley from a corner cleared away. Then Michael Collins snuck in behind Paulo Ferreira on the left and with the last kick of the half calmly placed his shot past Carlo Cudicini. Against all the odds we had a match on our hands. An emboldened Michael Collins nearly found a way through the middle. Chelsea looked uncharacteristically vulnerable as the fear of embarrassment crept in.
'Chelsea give us a song,' Huddersfield supporters sang from The Shed. The natural order of things was in danger of being upset. John Terry's shot was half-saved by Matthew Glennon and Kalou pounced on the rebound, but he was offside. Could it be one of those games?
Well, no. Lampard stormed through the centre of the Huddersfield defence, drew a sprawling save from Glennon and then toe-poked the rebound in. The third goal was sublime, Mikel finding Lampard with a switch pass and the England player swiftly feeding Kalou, who broke quickly down the left and finished with aplomb.
Ten minutes from time Lampard left the pitch to be replaced by Michael Essien and with Schevchenko already on we were given an indication of how they might line up with Didier Drogba and Nicholas Anelka. That is to say, Essien and Mikel in front of a back four, two wide men, and the two strikers. A formidable formation.
Man of the match - Frank LampardThe England man scored his 100th and 101st goals for the club and made his team's third on the day. It is still uncertain with whom he plays best, but as Chelsea progress on four fronts there will be plenty of opportunities to resolve that.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 3 Huddersfield Town 1: Lampard turns on the style to settle Chelsea's frayed nerves
England midfielder finds his stride as Terriers bite back before faltering Ronald Atkin at Stamford Bridge
Sunday, 17 February 2008
Though they duly headed back north empty-handed, Huddersfield, players and supporters alike, had the traditional grand day out in London beloved of FA Cup minnows and for a gloriously unbelievable quarter of an hour at the start of the second half, were actually holding the world's richest team 1-1. Then reality, in the shape of the sublime Frank Lampard, set in and Chelsea are through to the quarter-finals, their dream of a four-trophy season still afloat.
Lampard's form, in his second game back after missing 10 matches with a thigh injury, was alone worth the train fare from Yorkshire. He scored the first goal, then the second, and set up the pass for the third.
Not content, he dominated the midfield as well as surging forward time after time to supplement the indifferent efforts of Claudio Pizarro, before trotting off 10 minutes from time to a standing ovation.
Chelsea, with a visit to Greece in the Champions' League on Tuesday and the Carling Cup final next Sunday, opted to rest a host of big names and offered a bench place for others.
Towards the end, in the space of a few minutes, the manager, Avram Grant, brought on Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Essien and Nicolas Anelka – £70 million worth of talent. Such was the nature of Huddersfield's task. They tackled it bravely and lost good-naturedly to a club 56 places above their lowly position in League One.
Their equaliser, out of the blue on the stroke of half-time, was greeted with a mix of delight and disbelief by the supporters who filled one end of Stamford Bridge, while radio men in the media zone were hysterical. Perhaps fortunately for Chelsea, the whistle blew for the interval soon afterwards and they were able to retreat, regroup and reassure themselves that they were capable of better stuff than they had managed in the first half.
With grizzled veterans such as Frank Sinclair, captain for the day on his return to a stadium where he played for seven seasons, and Robert Page deputed to deny this "lesser" Chelsea, it was always going to be a big ask.
Scott Sinclair grabbed his chance to show his stuff down the right, while Salomon Kalou, back from African Nations Cup duty with the Ivory Coast, kept Sinclair on the hop and Lampard just kept on driving forward, ably backed by John Obi Mikel and that rarity among the starters, Steve Sidwell.
Huddersfield's manager, Andy Ritchie felt, rightly, his team were "a little in awe" of the opposition in the opening half. "Some of our tackles could have been stronger," he said. Accordingly, Chelsea were invited to pour forward but could manage only one goal.
It came in the 18th minute, after a spell in which Sinclair's shot curled past Matthew Glennon but was cleared off the line by Robbie Williams.
Sinclair's next foray ended with a square pass along the edge of the penalty box. Lampard strode on to it, picked his spot and sidefooted his 10th of the season and his 100th for the club. Glennon soon pulled off a sprawling stop to deny Lampard a second before the visiting fans, who had been lustily cheering the winning of throw-ins and corners, were given a goal.
John Terry, out since before Christmas with a foot problem, had already cleared Nathan Clarke's hooked shot away from the line when it beat Carlo Cudicini as Huddersfield began to discover form and self-belief.
Even so, it came as a surprise to most of the 41,000 crowd when James Berrett's lofted pass was collected by Michael Collins, closing in from the left, and driven between Cudicini and his near post. "The goal gave us a real lift at half-time and for the first 15 minutes afterwards we looked very dangerous," said Ritchie. "But we must have annoyed them."
The annoyance manifested itself in Lampard's second strike of the afternoon. Mikel and Kalou were the architects, the first sending a fine ball forward, the second turning it into the stride of the advancing Lampard. Glennon managed to block the shot but Lampard was on a run, in every sense, in this Cup tie and he forced the ball home at the second opportunity.
Kalou and Sinclair had efforts disallowed for offside before Kalou wrapped up the win in the 70th minute. Lampard aimed a glorious ball from the centre circle which sent him charging in to cut inside the tiring Sinclair before scoring off Glennon's body.
Lampard, said the opposition's manager in admiration, "was top notch, super". So he was.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Telegraph:
Frank Lampard helps beat Huddersfield TownBy Jonathan Wilson at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (1) 3 Huddersfield Town (1) 1
There was a quarter-hour spell just after half-time when Chelsea were under pressure, but the truth is this was a routine victory.
Huddersfield will feel they came out of the game with credit - and there was, at times, a pleasing zip and intelligence to their football - but they must also know that they were comfortably outclassed.
Chelsea had dominated when, seven minutes before half-time, Phil Jevons hooked over his shoulder as Chelsea struggled to clear a corner and John Terry - who suffered no ill effects on his return after a foot injury - cleared off the line.
That chance came as something of a surprise, and it was even more of a shock when, in first-half injury time, Michael Collins stole in behind Paulo Ferreira, gathered James Berrett's diagonal ball and clipped a neat finish past Carlo Cudicini with the outside of his right foot.
"The goal gave us a real lift," Huddersfield manager Andy Ritchie said. "In the first 15 minutes of the second half we were very dangerous, but we annoyed them and they managed to take the game on."
That was largely down to Frank Lampard who, having put Chelsea ahead with his 100th goal for the club, added a goal and an assist to ensure their progress.
"He's a player who doesn't only know how to score goals," Chelsea manager Avram Grant said. "He makes assists and he does defensive work."
Grant insisted that, despite recent suggestions that Lampard could be on his way out of the club, he was confident a new deal would be negotiated in the summer. "I want him in the club, and I think he will stay at Chelsea," Grant said. "I don't see any other idea."
Lampard's contract expires in summer 2009 and, under Article 17 of Fifa's transfer regulations, he would be entitled to buy out the final two years of the deal - albeit at a cost of roughly £8 million. He has his critics, and it is far from clear that he and Michael Ballack can play together in the same midfield, but his value to Chelsea was obvious yesterday.
In his programme notes, Grant had spoken of the FA Cup as "a competition with fantastic history and importance to the supporters", the implication being that it matters little to anyone else. But then, when one side so clearly have half an eye on Tuesday's Champions League fixture against Olympiakos, perhaps that is simply expressing the truth. To call this a second-string Chelsea would be unfair - if only because there is no such thing any more at the Big Four clubs - but it is safe to assume that Scott Sinclair will not be starting in Athens.
The 18-year-old winger, who was such a significant part of Plymouth's Cup run last season, impressed with his pace and liveliness. But for a superb, lunging clearance from Robbie Williams, he would have given Chelsea the lead after six minutes, as he seized on Solomon Kalou's low cross and shaped a finish beyond Huddersfield goalkeeper Matthew Glennon. It was then, from his 18th-minute cross, that Lampard swept in the opener.
Lampard then laid on the third for Kalou with 20 minutes remaining. The Ivorian had an excellent African Cup of Nations and, as though to make the point, celebrated by running to Michael Essien as he warmed up on the touchline and performing the kangaroo dance with which Ghana had marked each of their goals during the tournament. Essien was asked, in an excruciating television link up, to enact the dance for the Ghanaian president, John Kuffour; his reaction to Kalou's mimicry, predictably, was an embarrassed grin.
On a largely flat afternoon, there was at least some bounce.
Man of the mathFrank Lampard (Chelsea) • Back from injury and scoring again. Plus an assist source.
Telegraph View: Jonathan Wilson at Stamford BridgeBest Moment: Just after the quarter hour, Frank Sinclair casually stepped inside Frank Lampard. For a second, it seemed he was, once again, the smooth sultan of Stamford Bridge. Within a minute Scott Sinclair crossed for Lampard to put Chelsea ahead and it became apparent that he was neither the best Frank nor the best Sinclair on the pitch. Worst moment: Poor Claudio Pizarro. He scrambled through five challenges in the Huddersfield box 18 minutes into the second half only for Matthew Glennon to make an excellent save from his falling shot.
Match details
Chelsea: Cudicini, Ferreira, Ben-Haim, Terry, Bridge, Sidwell (Shevchenko 75), Obi, Lampard (Essien 81), Kalou, Pizarro (Anelka 85), Sinclair. Subs not used: Hilario, Carvalho. Goals: Lampard 18, 60, Kalou 70. Huddersfield: Glennon, Sinclair, Clarke, Page, Williams, Collins, Brandon, Holdsworth, Berrett (Schofield 85), Beckett (Booth 80), Jevons (Kamara 73). Subs not used: Eastwood, Mirfin. Goals: Collins 45. Att: 41,324 Ref: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear).
Frank Lampard’s double strike bursts Huddersfield bubbleChelsea 3 Huddersfield 1Brian Glanville at Stamford Bridge
THERE was, almost on half-time, one coruscating moment of hope for Huddersfield. So very much the underdog, a goal behind from the 18th minute, largely and predictably outplayed by their hosts, they suddenly and sensationally equalised. And a very good goal indeed it was.
From Luke Beckett, the Huddersfield striker, the ball went on to Chris Brandon, then out to the right flank, where James Berrett had moved. His excellent high cross reached Michael Collins on the left of goal and he swept the ball instantly and dramatically into the net.
If it seemed too good to last, there were still moments in the second half, as Huddersfield’s manager, Andy Ritchie emphasised when, “we were a bit dangerous; so we annoyed them!”
They annoyed Chelsea sufficiently for the Londoners to score a couple more goals, and twice to have goals given offside with Matthew Glennon, the brave and defiant Huddersfield goalkeeper, blocking the shot but unable to hold the ball.
Chelsea rested a number of first-choice players, although Jon Obi Mikel and the impressive Salomon Kalou were back from participating in the African Cup of Nations. So was Ghana’s Michael Essien, but we did not see him until 80 minutes had been played. We did not see the formidable Didier Drogba at all, Avram Grant, the Chelsea manager, telling us that he had a slight problem with his knee but none of any other kind, suggesting he would be back for the Champions League tie against Olympiakos on Tuesday.
Especially welcome for Chelsea was the unexpectedly early return and the dominant form of John Terry, whom Grant kept on the field for the whole game, but had initially planned to keep him on for just 70 minutes. Claudio Pizarro, the Peru international, was given the lone frontman role, and he contributed in the second half with an inspired dribble, coming in from the left to shoot.
Glennon duly blocked that one, but the ebullient young Scott Sinclair was given offside when he put the ball in the net, as had Kalou previously been when following up an attempt from Terry, also blocked by Glennon. But the Chelsea captain, in the first half, had actually been obliged to clear off his own line on 38 minutes from the Huddersfield defender, Nathan Clarke.
Ritchie was full of praise for Frank Lampard, goalscorer yesterday as well as substantial cre-ator: “Lampard is top notch,” said Ritchie. “His drive and his vision. He’s so quick with the ball at his feet. He moves the ball around. And that’s what produces the holes in your defence. He’s always a threat and he’s going to score goals.”
For his part, Grant intimated that he expected Lampard to sign a new contract for Chelsea.
Chelsea might well have gone ahead as early as the sixth minute. Kalou, on the left, went easily past the 36-year-old Frank Sinclair, once a Chelsea defender himself, and crossed for the other Sinclair to beat Glennon. But Robbie Williams came to the rescue on the line.
So it was another dozen minutes before Lampard, instantly exploiting a right-wing pass from the irrepressible Sinclair, put Chelsea ahead. The game was moving to the interval and a Chelsea lead that might have been greater then suddenly Huddersfield scored.
In the second half, it took 15 minutes for Chelsea to eventually restore their lead. Kalou flicked the ball skilfully from the right to Lampard, who duly drove home his second goal. The third came when Kalou himself raced through the Huddersfield defence and beat Glennon for the third time.
Yet though the game was now beyond them, Huddersfield bravely refused to lie down and die, indeed, we were in stoppage time when Williams fired a left-footed free kick not at all far wide of the right-hand Chelsea post.
Haven’t we met before?
Huddersfield full-back Frank Sinclair was at Chelsea for eight years and was an FA Cup winner as the Blues beat Middlesbrough 2–0 in the 1997 final. The following season, he scored in their 2-0 League Cup final win – again over Boro -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Lionheart Lampard hits the ton against proud HuddersfieldChelsea 3 Huddersfield 1
By MALCOLM FOLLEY Frank Lampard and John Terry, the Englishmen at the heart of Chelsea, ensured the romance of the FA Cup was restricted to a one act play at Stamford Bridge yesterday. Huddersfield manager Andy Ritchie had the luxury of delivering his half-time talk with his team level.
Tell the 6,000 fans who travelled from Yorkshire to London that the potential of the Cup to weave dreams and spells is an anachronism in a modern world.
With the last kick of the first half, Michael Collins had illustrated control, poise and an assassin's eye to shoot Huddersfield on terms.
Those fans, embedded in The Shed end, became in an instant a loud, boisterous choir. Their team may be living in the wrong end of League One — indeed they began yesterday as the lowest-ranked team in the competition — but that had not deterred them from making the journey in a fleet of coaches, by train or by car. It was a day to travel in hope, if not expectation.
And for 15 minutes, those fans were rewarded with Huddersfield holding Chelsea, the club with a substitutes' bench yesterday that cost more than £90million to recruit.
Collins' goal, taken in his stride as he expertly brought James Berrett's pass out of the air, was a moment of some sobriety for Chelsea. Manager Avram Grant — winner of just one domestic cup with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel 14 years ago — had selected a shadow team with an eye on the week ahead.
Perhaps he was beyond criticism. After all, Chelsea play Olympiacos in the Champions League in Athens on Tuesday, then defend the Carling Cup against Tottenham in the all- London Wembley showpiece on Sunday.
Having spent weeks dealing with injuries to men like Terry and Lampard, and having to compensate for the absence of other critical players at the African Cup of Nations, such as Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou, Grant is now spoiled by an abundance of riches.
His reaction was to include reserve keeper Carlo Cudicini, Steve Sidwell, Tal Ben Haim, Scott Sinclair and Claudio Pizarro.
In truth, Grant might have shuffled his resources any number of ways and still found a com-bination with enough skill, experience and firepower to have condemned Huddersfield to an uncomfortable afternoon. Yet, in the end, Grant was grateful for the presence of Lampard and Terry, men assured of a starting place when Grant has to turn his attention to creating the very best blend of Chelsea from the personnel at his disposal.
Lampard had returned to the team just six days ago and Terry, against imposing odds, made his comeback after two months out with a broken foot. Their contribution was immense and meaningful. The game was 19 minutes old when Sinclair drove the ball across the Huddersfield penalty area. As he has done countless times before, Lampard arrived late to strike a sweet firsttime shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Six years and nine months after Claudio Ranieri paid £11million to take him across London from West Ham, Lampard had claimed his 100th goal for the Blues. In his box for the first time since Christmas, Chelsea's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich broke into a grin in celebration.
Perhaps, like his team, he assumed the job had been done because, frankly, there was not a huge amount of urgency about Chelsea's football.
Terry was required to clear from Chelsea's goal line in the 38th minute after Nathan Clarke whipped in a shot following a Huddersfield corner.
Chelsea could not claim they had not been warned and Collins, outstanding throughout, seized Huddersfield's equaliser with a clarity of thought. His shot beat Cudicini at the near post, allowing Ritchie went to deliver his half-time talk with an amount of optimism.
But Lampard was to offer the Cup holders the moment of inspiration they needed on the hour. He cut through Huddersfield with a determined run and when his shot was blocked by goalkeeper Matthew Glennon, the England midfielder squeezed the rebound in off the inside of a post. Danger had passed.
Lampard's measured pass in the 69th minute invited Kalou to place the tie out of Huddersfield's reach. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lampard joins the 100 club to break Huddersfield's hearts
Will Buckley at Stamford BridgeSunday February 17, 2008The Observer
After all the shenanigans of the global Premier League - the gift that no one wanted - it was a relief to return to the old-fashioned simplicities of the Cup. It all ended as expected, but a Huddersfield equaliser on the brink of half time ensured it remained a contest longer than expected and gave their magnificent fans some reward on their grand day out. 'We got fantastic backing from them,' said manager Andy Ritchie.
Chelsea's season, meanwhile, is just about to become interesting. They are favourites to win both the domestic cups and they have a sporting chance in their two main targets. 'It has happened because we did a fantastic job in December and January,' said Avram Grant.The Huddersfield fans packed what used to be the Shed and easily outsang their rivals. They had already had plenty of fun prior to the kick-off as Tube nonsense meant they enjoyed their first taste of frottage. 'It's never this packed in Huddersfield,' said one with glee. 'Are you sure they don't charge us extra?' replied his friend.
Chelsea fielded their second team. Indeed, if you take the view that Alex is better than Terry, and Ballack is better than Lampard, then everyone selected was technically a reserve. Their bench, however, was for the ages. Henrique Hilario, Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho, Andriy Shevchenko, Nicolas Anelka. Replace Hilario with Petr Cech and it would be unimprovable and, at a cost of a £100million or so, the most expensive ever assembled. How long before the first heist movie in which the so-called bad guys kidnap substitute footballers? Ocean's 18 anyone?
The first chance was beautifully crafted by Salomon Kalou, jinking in from the left and setting up Scott Sinclair, whose sharp shot was kicked off the line by Robbie Williams. Huddersfield forced a corner. 'Where were you when you were shit,' sang their fans and the returning Frank Sinclair appeared to nod his assent. A trademark Frank Lampard free-kick went straight into the wall and Steve Sidwell - who gave him the No 9 shirt? - skied the ball over. Minutes later Lampard scored his 100th goal for the club, Scott Sinclair's cross from the right enabling him to sweep the ball into the net. It is a figure that Ballack is unlikely to match.
Huddersfield tried manfully and Nathan Clarke was unfortunate to have a volley from a corner cleared away. Then Michael Collins snuck in behind Paulo Ferreira on the left and with the last kick of the half calmly placed his shot past Carlo Cudicini. Against all the odds we had a match on our hands. An emboldened Michael Collins nearly found a way through the middle. Chelsea looked uncharacteristically vulnerable as the fear of embarrassment crept in.
'Chelsea give us a song,' Huddersfield supporters sang from The Shed. The natural order of things was in danger of being upset. John Terry's shot was half-saved by Matthew Glennon and Kalou pounced on the rebound, but he was offside. Could it be one of those games?
Well, no. Lampard stormed through the centre of the Huddersfield defence, drew a sprawling save from Glennon and then toe-poked the rebound in. The third goal was sublime, Mikel finding Lampard with a switch pass and the England player swiftly feeding Kalou, who broke quickly down the left and finished with aplomb.
Ten minutes from time Lampard left the pitch to be replaced by Michael Essien and with Schevchenko already on we were given an indication of how they might line up with Didier Drogba and Nicholas Anelka. That is to say, Essien and Mikel in front of a back four, two wide men, and the two strikers. A formidable formation.
Man of the match - Frank LampardThe England man scored his 100th and 101st goals for the club and made his team's third on the day. It is still uncertain with whom he plays best, but as Chelsea progress on four fronts there will be plenty of opportunities to resolve that.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 3 Huddersfield Town 1: Lampard turns on the style to settle Chelsea's frayed nerves
England midfielder finds his stride as Terriers bite back before faltering Ronald Atkin at Stamford Bridge
Sunday, 17 February 2008
Though they duly headed back north empty-handed, Huddersfield, players and supporters alike, had the traditional grand day out in London beloved of FA Cup minnows and for a gloriously unbelievable quarter of an hour at the start of the second half, were actually holding the world's richest team 1-1. Then reality, in the shape of the sublime Frank Lampard, set in and Chelsea are through to the quarter-finals, their dream of a four-trophy season still afloat.
Lampard's form, in his second game back after missing 10 matches with a thigh injury, was alone worth the train fare from Yorkshire. He scored the first goal, then the second, and set up the pass for the third.
Not content, he dominated the midfield as well as surging forward time after time to supplement the indifferent efforts of Claudio Pizarro, before trotting off 10 minutes from time to a standing ovation.
Chelsea, with a visit to Greece in the Champions' League on Tuesday and the Carling Cup final next Sunday, opted to rest a host of big names and offered a bench place for others.
Towards the end, in the space of a few minutes, the manager, Avram Grant, brought on Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Essien and Nicolas Anelka – £70 million worth of talent. Such was the nature of Huddersfield's task. They tackled it bravely and lost good-naturedly to a club 56 places above their lowly position in League One.
Their equaliser, out of the blue on the stroke of half-time, was greeted with a mix of delight and disbelief by the supporters who filled one end of Stamford Bridge, while radio men in the media zone were hysterical. Perhaps fortunately for Chelsea, the whistle blew for the interval soon afterwards and they were able to retreat, regroup and reassure themselves that they were capable of better stuff than they had managed in the first half.
With grizzled veterans such as Frank Sinclair, captain for the day on his return to a stadium where he played for seven seasons, and Robert Page deputed to deny this "lesser" Chelsea, it was always going to be a big ask.
Scott Sinclair grabbed his chance to show his stuff down the right, while Salomon Kalou, back from African Nations Cup duty with the Ivory Coast, kept Sinclair on the hop and Lampard just kept on driving forward, ably backed by John Obi Mikel and that rarity among the starters, Steve Sidwell.
Huddersfield's manager, Andy Ritchie felt, rightly, his team were "a little in awe" of the opposition in the opening half. "Some of our tackles could have been stronger," he said. Accordingly, Chelsea were invited to pour forward but could manage only one goal.
It came in the 18th minute, after a spell in which Sinclair's shot curled past Matthew Glennon but was cleared off the line by Robbie Williams.
Sinclair's next foray ended with a square pass along the edge of the penalty box. Lampard strode on to it, picked his spot and sidefooted his 10th of the season and his 100th for the club. Glennon soon pulled off a sprawling stop to deny Lampard a second before the visiting fans, who had been lustily cheering the winning of throw-ins and corners, were given a goal.
John Terry, out since before Christmas with a foot problem, had already cleared Nathan Clarke's hooked shot away from the line when it beat Carlo Cudicini as Huddersfield began to discover form and self-belief.
Even so, it came as a surprise to most of the 41,000 crowd when James Berrett's lofted pass was collected by Michael Collins, closing in from the left, and driven between Cudicini and his near post. "The goal gave us a real lift at half-time and for the first 15 minutes afterwards we looked very dangerous," said Ritchie. "But we must have annoyed them."
The annoyance manifested itself in Lampard's second strike of the afternoon. Mikel and Kalou were the architects, the first sending a fine ball forward, the second turning it into the stride of the advancing Lampard. Glennon managed to block the shot but Lampard was on a run, in every sense, in this Cup tie and he forced the ball home at the second opportunity.
Kalou and Sinclair had efforts disallowed for offside before Kalou wrapped up the win in the 70th minute. Lampard aimed a glorious ball from the centre circle which sent him charging in to cut inside the tiring Sinclair before scoring off Glennon's body.
Lampard, said the opposition's manager in admiration, "was top notch, super". So he was.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Telegraph:
Frank Lampard helps beat Huddersfield TownBy Jonathan Wilson at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (1) 3 Huddersfield Town (1) 1
There was a quarter-hour spell just after half-time when Chelsea were under pressure, but the truth is this was a routine victory.
Huddersfield will feel they came out of the game with credit - and there was, at times, a pleasing zip and intelligence to their football - but they must also know that they were comfortably outclassed.
Chelsea had dominated when, seven minutes before half-time, Phil Jevons hooked over his shoulder as Chelsea struggled to clear a corner and John Terry - who suffered no ill effects on his return after a foot injury - cleared off the line.
That chance came as something of a surprise, and it was even more of a shock when, in first-half injury time, Michael Collins stole in behind Paulo Ferreira, gathered James Berrett's diagonal ball and clipped a neat finish past Carlo Cudicini with the outside of his right foot.
"The goal gave us a real lift," Huddersfield manager Andy Ritchie said. "In the first 15 minutes of the second half we were very dangerous, but we annoyed them and they managed to take the game on."
That was largely down to Frank Lampard who, having put Chelsea ahead with his 100th goal for the club, added a goal and an assist to ensure their progress.
"He's a player who doesn't only know how to score goals," Chelsea manager Avram Grant said. "He makes assists and he does defensive work."
Grant insisted that, despite recent suggestions that Lampard could be on his way out of the club, he was confident a new deal would be negotiated in the summer. "I want him in the club, and I think he will stay at Chelsea," Grant said. "I don't see any other idea."
Lampard's contract expires in summer 2009 and, under Article 17 of Fifa's transfer regulations, he would be entitled to buy out the final two years of the deal - albeit at a cost of roughly £8 million. He has his critics, and it is far from clear that he and Michael Ballack can play together in the same midfield, but his value to Chelsea was obvious yesterday.
In his programme notes, Grant had spoken of the FA Cup as "a competition with fantastic history and importance to the supporters", the implication being that it matters little to anyone else. But then, when one side so clearly have half an eye on Tuesday's Champions League fixture against Olympiakos, perhaps that is simply expressing the truth. To call this a second-string Chelsea would be unfair - if only because there is no such thing any more at the Big Four clubs - but it is safe to assume that Scott Sinclair will not be starting in Athens.
The 18-year-old winger, who was such a significant part of Plymouth's Cup run last season, impressed with his pace and liveliness. But for a superb, lunging clearance from Robbie Williams, he would have given Chelsea the lead after six minutes, as he seized on Solomon Kalou's low cross and shaped a finish beyond Huddersfield goalkeeper Matthew Glennon. It was then, from his 18th-minute cross, that Lampard swept in the opener.
Lampard then laid on the third for Kalou with 20 minutes remaining. The Ivorian had an excellent African Cup of Nations and, as though to make the point, celebrated by running to Michael Essien as he warmed up on the touchline and performing the kangaroo dance with which Ghana had marked each of their goals during the tournament. Essien was asked, in an excruciating television link up, to enact the dance for the Ghanaian president, John Kuffour; his reaction to Kalou's mimicry, predictably, was an embarrassed grin.
On a largely flat afternoon, there was at least some bounce.
Man of the mathFrank Lampard (Chelsea) • Back from injury and scoring again. Plus an assist source.
Telegraph View: Jonathan Wilson at Stamford BridgeBest Moment: Just after the quarter hour, Frank Sinclair casually stepped inside Frank Lampard. For a second, it seemed he was, once again, the smooth sultan of Stamford Bridge. Within a minute Scott Sinclair crossed for Lampard to put Chelsea ahead and it became apparent that he was neither the best Frank nor the best Sinclair on the pitch. Worst moment: Poor Claudio Pizarro. He scrambled through five challenges in the Huddersfield box 18 minutes into the second half only for Matthew Glennon to make an excellent save from his falling shot.
Match details
Chelsea: Cudicini, Ferreira, Ben-Haim, Terry, Bridge, Sidwell (Shevchenko 75), Obi, Lampard (Essien 81), Kalou, Pizarro (Anelka 85), Sinclair. Subs not used: Hilario, Carvalho. Goals: Lampard 18, 60, Kalou 70. Huddersfield: Glennon, Sinclair, Clarke, Page, Williams, Collins, Brandon, Holdsworth, Berrett (Schofield 85), Beckett (Booth 80), Jevons (Kamara 73). Subs not used: Eastwood, Mirfin. Goals: Collins 45. Att: 41,324 Ref: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear).
Monday, February 11, 2008
morning papers liverpool home
Draw that suits no one a cause for owners' disquiet
Kevin McCarra at Stamford BridgeMonday February 11, 2008The Guardian
This forgettable match will still lodge in Chelsea minds. It was the opener in a trio of home fixtures against their fellow members of the established elite. The Stamford Bridge club had an opportunity to get to within three points of the Premier League leaders, Arsenal, who meet Blackburn Rovers tonight, but on this showing they do not deserve to be admitted into the presence of Arsène Wenger's sleek side.This, in turn, reopens the debate about Avram Grant, who has overseen a commendable set of results since he took over from Jose Mourinho in late September. Doubters who sneered that he had not been put properly to the test can now pump up their level of disdain.
Grant himself argued that it is tough to play against Liverpool, who are so drilled in obduracy. In saying so the manager was being deliberately obtuse. As Grant well understands, it is intractable displays such as the one given by the visitors that are the measure of his Chelsea line-up. If they can barely hint at a goal, let alone find one, then they are not contenders to regain the title. The match was 90 minutes of dull ache.In the circumstances it was a thrill when Liverpool's John Arne Riise headed a cross from the substitute Florent Malouda into the arms of his goalkeeper Jose Reina after 88 minutes. Otherwise daring barely featured in this impasse. Rafael Benítez's team, as visitors, are largely pardoned the monotony. This side may now have notched only one victory in its past seven matches but it is not stubborn efforts such as this that see them an unsatisfactory fifth in the table.
Immense goodwill is needed to talk kindly of anything that happened at Stamford Bridge but Liverpool did have clearer chances, particularly when the game was in its formative phase. Peter Crouch could have done better with a couple of headers then and wasted an opening he had helped to set up. In the 18th minute he nodded a Riise cross down to Ryan Babel, took the return ball and then missed the target.
In a better game the episode would have been buried beneath a heap of other incidents. Here it was at a risk of looming over the flattest of landscapes. Afterwards onlookers all seemed to be speaking about the hideous thought of a match such as this ever being let loose in foreign parts, under the proposed scheme that will stage one set of Premier League fixtures overseas each season.
This ignores one merit that will delight those who believe English football to be grossly over-rated. After taking one look at this wearisome affair the locals might fall in love with their domestic football all over again. Neither Grant nor even Benítez could have found much to raise his spirits.
It must be maddening to Chelsea that they have faltered just as the line-up is at last inching back towards full-strength, with Didier Drogba, the most prominent of the African Cup of Nations departees, due to return imminently. Frank Lampard, with a thigh injury healed, had his first outing since Boxing Day, although his lack of match fitness was glaring.
Chelsea might have savoured an uncommon home win over Liverpool in the Premier League if the referee, Mike Riley, had set them on course with the award of a penalty when Javier Mascherano brought down Joe Cole after 25 minutes. The official presumably classed it as an innocent collision but such incidents are usually declared a foul anywhere else on the field and Riley might well have pointed to the spot.
Even so, no one on the books at Stamford Bridge should feel wronged. In odd moments there was a feeling that Chelsea might even be beaten at home in the Premier League for the first time since February 2004. Persistence was the principal virtue of Grant's side and, after 82 minutes, the substitute Mikel John Obi fed Ashley Cole, whose cutback was steered wide on the volley by Michael Ballack.
Within moments, though, Jermaine Pennant, who had taken over from Babel, was nodding a Dirk Kuyt cross just wide of the post. While Liverpool, in most circumstances, could have taken pride in this outcome, their bid to ensure they feature in next season's Champions League means that they could do with the type of spectacular result that they could not quite grasp against Chelsea on this occasion.
The Anfield backroom staff must have been rolling their eyes at Manchester City's earlier win at Old Trafford, which emphasised how fierce the struggle is for the berths below Arsenal and Manchester United.
Benítez must take what comfort he can from the obduracy shown by Mascherano, apart from the misjudgment that could have ended in a penalty, and Martin Skrtel, the Slovakian newcomer who was dogged at the heart of the back four.
Unfortunately for Benítez, it is not his gifts in finding defenders and organising line-ups that are at issue.
There can be no reproach either over the sharing of the points here. The contest was unattractive and ugly but it is Liverpool's league position and even
Chelsea's that will cause disquiet among these clubs' owners.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 0 Liverpool 0: Chelsea's global advert falls flat By Glenn MooreMonday, 11 February 2008
"Roll up, roll up, come and see the amazing English Premier League: the greatest illusion on earth".
That will not be the hook if and when the Premier League goes global but it ought to be. Persuading the world that a match like this is the must-see entertainment of the 21st century is the best piece of salesmanship since Lake Havasu City bought the wrong London Bridge. However, the marketing men must wish this match had been played behind closed doors rather than broadcast around the world. Any prospective host tuning in yesterday afternoon will have had second thoughts.
This was not, with respect, Derby v Fulham, it was half of the "big four" in action with much at stake for both. The result was a dire 90 minutes which suggested the withering criticism of English footballers' technique and passing by Franco Baldini, Fabio Capello's right-hand man, could be considerably extended. Compared to this mind-numbing exhibition of wayward passes, sloppy control, aimless dribbling and poor shooting, England's midweek performance was a masterclass.
"It was not an entertaining game, that is for sure," admitted Avram Grant, Chelsea's manager. "We tried to play football. We had three forward players, two midfielders who know how to score goals, and two full-backs who like to attack."
The intriguing aspect was those two midfielders. This was the first time Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack had played together this season and the balance did not look right. To accommodate them Shaun Wright-Phillips, who has been a revelation since being moved inside, was shunted back on to the wing where, starved of service, he was anonymous and ultimately withdrawn. With Joe Cole impressing only sporadically, and Nicolas Anelka having an off-day, Chelsea wasted the opportunity to take advantage of Manchester United's home defeat earlier in the day.
Already on a good run of form, and with players coming back to fitness and from the African Nations Cup, a sixth straight home win would have moved them within three points of leaders Arsenal. Instead, Chelsea had only the consolation of knowing their unbeaten home league run will have exceeded four years by the time they play Derby at Stamford Bridge next month.
Liverpool's travelling support will have savoured United's derby defeat but their players, all too well aware of the chasm in points that separate them from the league summit, were more concerned at being pushed into seventh place by Manchester City. Suddenly the prospect loomed of missing out even on the Uefa Cup.
"I think we have got to be realistic, we are too far behind Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea," admitted Jamie Carragher. "We are battling with Everton, Aston Villa and Manchester City until the end of the season for that fourth spot."
An away point was thus welcomed, especially as it had to be earned without Fernando Torres, injured on international duty in midweek. Rafael Benitez thus had to pair the increasingly hapless Dirk Kuyt with Peter Crouch, the boyhood Chelsea fan last seen in these parts receiving a red card after attempting to scythe John Obi Mikel in half.
Whilst that pairing was forced upon him the odd decision to play Steven Gerrard on the right wing, with Leiva Lucas in central midfield, was all his. Gerrard did occasionally trade places with Kuyt, in fact, he played all over the park as usual, but it nevertheless looked an odd use of resources given the presence of three wide players on the bench.
Whatever the personnel these two teams tend to cancel one another out and this match was no exception. As Carragher said: "Normally we come here to stop them playing but don't do much in attack ourselves, but with Peter [Crouch] up front we had a few chances."
Liverpool were marginally the more fluent in the opening hour with the only chances falling to Crouch. In the 18th-minute he headed down a deep cross from John Arne Riise to Ryan Babel, but volleyed the return pass wide. He also headed a Gerrard cross into the arms of Petr Cech.
Chelsea failed to create a single chance but could have had a 25th-minute penalty when a rare flowing move culminated in Javier Mascherano checking Joe Cole inside the box. Mike Riley, well placed, waved play on. "It was 100 per cent a penalty," grumbled Grant.
The second period remained equally soporific until Mascherano – who only returned on Friday from playing in Los Angeles for Argentina against Guatemala – tired. Chelsea then upped the tempo and Pepe Reina, having saved Joe Cole's cross-shot, was relieved to see Michael Ballack chip Ashley Cole's cross wide. In the final minute Liverpool could have stolen victory but Kuyt was too hesitant to profit from Gerrard's pass.
Justice was thus served for neither side deserved three points.
Chelsea (4-1-2-3): Cech; Belletti, Alex, Carvalho, A Cole; Makelele; Lampard (Mikel, 71), Ballack; Wright-Phillips (Malouda, 63), Anelka, J Cole (Pizarro, 85). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Ben Haim.
Liverpool (4-4-2): Reina; Finnan, Skrtel, Carragher, Riise; Gerrard, Mascherano, Lucas, Babel (Pennant, 71); Kuyt, Crouch. Substitutes not used: Itandje (gk), Kewell, Benayoun, San Jose.
Referee: M Riley (Leeds)
Booked: Chelsea Belletti, Carvalho, Alex. Liverpool Babel, Riise.
Attendance: 41,788
Man of the match: Mascherano---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Grant's Chelsea are exposed by big guns once again as Liverpool force a drawChelsea 0 Liverpool 0
By NEIL ASHTON According to the statistics Chelsea have been churning out in recent weeks, Avram Grant has been matching Jose Mourinho stride for stride.
Grant may not be trumpeting back-to-back Premier League titles yet, but 27 victories in 32 matches are comparable to the Special One's record when he arrived in 2004.
Brushing aside Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Birmingham is one thing
Beating Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool is another.
It will not have escaped Grant's attention that his Chelsea side have failed to beat one of the established order in the Barclays Premier League since his shock appointment last September.
That has to hurt.
Beaten at Old Trafford in his first game in charge after Mourinho had smuggled his infamous tactical dossiers out of Stamford Bridge, Chelsea lost narrowly at Arsenal in December and have now been held at home by Liverpool.
In fact, they could have lost yesterday for the first time in 76 matches. Easily.
It is remarkable to think that Liverpool are clinging to the coat-tails of their Merseyside rivals Everton and an Aston Villa side in the midst of a renaissance under Martin O'Neill.
They should have won because Peter Crouch could have had four goals in a first half that was dominated, in terms of possession and chances, by Rafa Benitez's team. Jamie Carragher, the game's outstanding performer, kept it characteristically tight at the back and Liverpool threatened to pick off the points.
Crouch sent Steve Finnan's cross wide of the target, he skewed a left-foot effort on the turn wide and he headed tamely into Petr Cech's hands after Steven Gerrard's pass had eluded defenders.
Chelsea claimed a penalty when Javier Mascherano, who laboured in the centre of Liverpool's midfield alongside Gerrard, clashed with Joe Cole midway through a largely forgettable first half.
No penalty in the eyes of referee Mike Riley, but Grant saw it differently.
Tower of strength: Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka rises above Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel but his efforts were in vain
He said: "When I saw it the first time I thought it was a penalty and when I saw it on television it was 100 per cent, but it's only a penalty if the referee gives it. He's a good referee and sometimes these things happen."
Revenge, of sorts, was administered when Riley fell embarrassingly to the ground after colliding with Mascherano — but that was the best moment of an entirely forgettable second half.
Chelsea needed a spark. Shaun Wright-Phillips, Joe Cole and Michael Ballack have been providing it in recent weeks but they ran out of steam.
Even Frank Lampard, who had been missing with a thigh strain since December, failed to offer his customary threat in front of goal.
The Chelsea midfielder, who scored his 99th goal for the club in the 2-0 Carling Cup win over Liverpool last year, failed to register a single shot.
That has to be some kind of record for him.
He appeared perplexed when Grant replaced him 20 minutes from time but Lampard's contribution over the remaining 12 games of the season will be crucial.
Grant's side stumbled against Portsmouth last weekend and they failed to gain ground on Arsenal after this disappointing display.
By 9.45pm tonight, they could be eight points behind Arsene Wenger's side.
"I'm not happy with the way we played but we still have a chance of winning the title," claimed Grant.
"Liverpool are not an easy side to play against and it was a tactical game. It was not entertaining but we played with three forward, two attacking midfielders and two full backs who like to get forward."
Quite why they failed to force a save out of Pepe Reina will remain a mystery to those who watched this game fizzle out.
The heavy artillery return to the Chelsea squad this week when Didier Drogba, Michael Essien and Salomon Kalou come back from the Africa Cup of Nations.
But Benitez's future as Liverpool manager is still uncertain.
The league title, last lifted for Liverpool by Alan Hansen in 1990, is long gone and Inter Milan are looming large in the Champions League.
Fernando Torres, who missed this match after being injured on international duty, will be back by then but they will need more than 'El Nino' to blow the Italians away.
"It doesn't matter what competition we play in — we have two important competitions and we want to make progress in both," said Benitez.
"We want to finish in the top four and that means every game is important. We created a lot of chances against Chelsea, but we have to remember that they are also a good side. We were trying to win, we were trying to press, but we needed to go forward. Three points would have been better. We need to think about the next game and we have a game in hand. If we win it, we will go above Everton."
That is a sizeable task for a team with just one Premier League win in their last seven matches. They are losing ground on the sides at the top of the table and even Grant felt confident enough to rule them out of the running.
"They are 16 points behind Arsenal — I think it is too much for them to finish top," said Grant.
Top? They will be fortunate to finish in fourth position. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Liverpool take point from ChelseaBy John Ley at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (0) 0 Liverpool (0) 0
On an afternoon of missed opportunities for both sides, Liverpool can at least take solace from their first point away from home against any other of the Big Four under Rafael Benitez. The Spaniard also reaffirmed his ability to frustrate Chelsea's ambitions as this draw prevented Avram Grant's team from moving to within three points of the Premier League lead.
This was the 18th meeting between these teams in just 3½ years and the history of a fixture that is turning into an epic of Ben Hur proportions is one of Benitez piercing Chelsea aspirations. In 2005, Liverpool beat Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final, knocked that out of the last four of the FA Cup a year later and last season they did it again in Europe.This latest result - the fourth goalless draw between these teams in that period - may not resonate as loudly as those cup exploits but Chelsea will consider this a missed chance, given the surprise at Old Trafford earlier in the day. A victory would have put serious pressure on Arsenal and, particularly, United.
Perhaps it was the frustration of squandered points but rarely have Grant and Benitez looked so animated. Grant, who carries the air of an undertaker, became sparky towards the end as he saw his side struggle to threaten Pepe Reina's goal. Referee Mike Riley even found it necessary to urge the Israeli to calm down. By then Benitez had worn a path with his touchline pacing and momentarily exploded, offering his glasses to the fourth official when Joe Cole appeared to handle.
Grant was still fuming from a first-half incident in which Cole fell under a challenge by Javier Mascherano, who was outstanding. Riley got it right; if anything the Argentine was guilty of nothing more than impeding the winger but a penalty would have been harsh on Liverpool, who remain fifth, three points off the Champions League place which has now become their true goal.
Grant said: "I thought in the game it was a penalty, then I looked on the television it was a 100 per cent penalty, but the only penalty I know is when the referee gives it. He is a good referee and he made a mistake - it happens."
Liverpool could have edged closer to Everton had Peter Crouch not squandered a succession of opportunities. How Benitez must have rued the absence of Fernando Torres, missing with a hamstring injury following international duty. Crouch found good positions but on at least two occasions the England striker had the chance to score and ruin Chelsea's unbeaten Premier League home record which now stands at 76 games and will pass the fourth anniversary, on Feb 21, when they next entertain at Stamford Bridge, against Derby next month.
Such a record needs applauding, as does a return of 21 points from 27 games. That some Chelsea supporters chose to jeer their team at the whistle is baffling. With Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou and John Terry to return, the future for Chelsea is bright and both Arsenal and United cannot afford to rest on their laurels. Had Chelsea won rather than drawn both this game and the trip to Fratton Park a week earlier, Chelsea would now be just one point off Arsenal and one better than United.
Afterwards, Grant claimed that Terry is likely to miss the Carling Cup final in a fortnight by claiming he will be out for three weeks, apparently at odds with his club captain, who had insisted that he was seven to 10 days away.
However, the return of another stalwart, Frank Lampard, after a 10-game absence, did not have the impact one would have expected and he made way for John Obi Mikel after 70 minutes.
Liverpool should have been ahead in the 18th minute when Crouch drew a good chance off target. Within two minutes Gerrard crossed from the right by-line and Crouch sent another header straight into Petr Cech's grateful arms.
Crouch sent another chance over before the break, but in a poor second half both sides laboured. The end provoked brought jeers; if the fans were complaining about the game as a spectacle, rather than the dropped points, they could have been forgiven. And the good people of Beijing and Dubai will hope that the 'international round' of the Premier League does not offer this pairing in the future.
Man of the matchAshley Cole (Chelsea) 8
91 per cent pass completionSeven tackles, six of them successfulCreated two chances for Chelsea---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The TimesFebruary 11, 2008
Avram Grant’s men stumble when it mattersChelsea 0 Liverpool 0
Matt Hughes at Stamford Bridge
What better way to puncture the Barclays Premier League’s overweening self-regard and plans for global domination than another turgid encounter between Chelsea and Liverpool? Their eighteenth meeting in 3½years took what was already an attritional rivalry to new depths, the most entertaining moment of an utterly forgettable afternoon coming when Mike Riley, the referee, was upended by a loose pass from Javier Mascherano in the second half. No one in their right mind would so much as cross the road to watch a rerun of this particular fixture.
The boos that sounded around the stadium after the final whistle provided an eloquent expression of the views of the home team’s fans, who are worried that their side are faltering when it matters most.
After winning five straight league matches, Chelsea have taken only two points from their past two, while Manchester United have also been dropping points. Chelsea will be in the unfamiliar position of being eight points behind the leaders if Arsenal beat Blackburn Rovers this evening. Such a result would leave Liverpool 19 points off the pace, although a more relevant figure for Rafael Benítez is the three-point gap to fourth-placed Everton, which is the summit of their ambition even if they will still have a game in hand.
Of greater concern to Chelsea is their continued failure to beat their big four rivals under Avram Grant, who has seen only one point from three matches against Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool. The Israeli was partially justified in attributing a strangely lacklustre performance to fatigue among a squad diminished by injuries and the African Cup of Nations, although as his options increased yesterday with Frank Lampard’s recovery from a thigh strain and John Obi Mikel’s return from Ghana duty, it will also raise fresh doubts over his leadership.
Managerial reputations are earned by performances under pressure in big matches. A surprising Champions League win away over Valencia has been Grant’s only real result of note and even that achievement has been diminished by the Spanish team’s implosion this season.
Grant was on safer ground when asserting that his team should have had a penalty when Joe Cole went down under the challenge of Mascherano midway through the first half — Riley waved play on despite being well placed — but they did little else to deserve a victory. José Manuel Reina did not have a save to make, the Spain goalkeeper’s only nervous moment coming when John Arne Riise chose to direct a diving header towards him as he dealt with Florent Malouda’s cross towards the end.
Chelsea mustered only one attempt on goal during the match, Michael Ballack’s volley floating narrowly wide of the far post from Ashley Cole’s cross ten minutes from the end. Liverpool were marginally more impressive and could at least celebrate the small milestone of securing a first league point against one of the big four away from home under Benítez, although their performance revealed more about their limitations.
A more accomplished team would have taken advantage of Chelsea’s off day to inflict their first home defeat for four years, but the visiting side created too little to have any complaints about the result.
Benítez clings to conservatism like a crutch, which could prove to be his undoing. The Liverpool manager’s team selections are regarded with bemusement by many observers, including several of his players, but at least the Spaniard is prepared to admit when he has erred.
With Liverpool devoid of width — largely because they had three wingers on the bench — Benítez made a change in the thirteenth minute, Dirk Kuyt and Gerrard swapping positions so that the captain was deployed behind Peter Crouch at the head of an attacking midfield three supported by Lucas Leiva and Mascherano.
Gerrard is far more comfortable centrally and helped the visiting team to take control of a dour midfield battle without producing enough quality to win the match.
Liverpool were helped no end by a strangely subdued performance by Chelsea, with Ballack anonymous, Lampard lacking match fitness on his first start for six weeks and Shaun Wright-Phillips reverting to his bad old ways after being moved to the right. Other than their manager’s repeated tinkering, Liverpool did little out of the ordinary, but if Fernando Torres had not been absent with a torn hamstring they might have won.
Crouch missed three chances in the first half that the Spain striker would surely have dispatched, shooting wide with his left foot, heading straight at Petr Cech from close range and flashing another header well wide. The first opportunity was the best and sprang from one of the match’s few moments of quality, with Crouch flicking Riise’s long pass on to Ryan Babel, who gave it back to him, but the England striker failed to produce an accurate finish. And that was that.
Crouch tried to claim afterwards that they were half-chances, but they were as good as it got and would have been taken by a striker of true international class. If Richard Scudamore, the Premier League chief executive, succeeds in making £100 million for the clubs from matches such as this, his next job should be selling snow to Eskimos.
Chelsea
4-3-3
P Cech 5
J Belletti Y 5
Alex Y 5
R Carvalho Y 5
A Cole 5
M Ballack 5
C Makelele 6
F Lampard 5
S Wright-Phillips 4
N Anelka 5
J Cole 5
Substitutes: F Malouda 5 (for Wright-Phillips, 64min), J Obi Mikel (for Lampard, 71), C Pizarro (for J Cole, 86) Not used: C Cudicini, T Ben Haim. Next: West Ham (a).
Liverpool
4-4-2
J M Reina 5
S Finnan 5
J Carragher 6
M Skrtel 4
J A Riise Y 5
S Gerrard 6
Lucas Leiva 5
J Mascherano 6
R Babel Y 5
P Crouch 5
D Kuyt 5
Substitutes J Pennant (for Babel, 72min) Not used: C Itandje, H Kewell, Y Benayoun, M San José Dominguez. Next: Middlesbrough (h).
Referee M Riley
Attendance 41,788 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin McCarra at Stamford BridgeMonday February 11, 2008The Guardian
This forgettable match will still lodge in Chelsea minds. It was the opener in a trio of home fixtures against their fellow members of the established elite. The Stamford Bridge club had an opportunity to get to within three points of the Premier League leaders, Arsenal, who meet Blackburn Rovers tonight, but on this showing they do not deserve to be admitted into the presence of Arsène Wenger's sleek side.This, in turn, reopens the debate about Avram Grant, who has overseen a commendable set of results since he took over from Jose Mourinho in late September. Doubters who sneered that he had not been put properly to the test can now pump up their level of disdain.
Grant himself argued that it is tough to play against Liverpool, who are so drilled in obduracy. In saying so the manager was being deliberately obtuse. As Grant well understands, it is intractable displays such as the one given by the visitors that are the measure of his Chelsea line-up. If they can barely hint at a goal, let alone find one, then they are not contenders to regain the title. The match was 90 minutes of dull ache.In the circumstances it was a thrill when Liverpool's John Arne Riise headed a cross from the substitute Florent Malouda into the arms of his goalkeeper Jose Reina after 88 minutes. Otherwise daring barely featured in this impasse. Rafael Benítez's team, as visitors, are largely pardoned the monotony. This side may now have notched only one victory in its past seven matches but it is not stubborn efforts such as this that see them an unsatisfactory fifth in the table.
Immense goodwill is needed to talk kindly of anything that happened at Stamford Bridge but Liverpool did have clearer chances, particularly when the game was in its formative phase. Peter Crouch could have done better with a couple of headers then and wasted an opening he had helped to set up. In the 18th minute he nodded a Riise cross down to Ryan Babel, took the return ball and then missed the target.
In a better game the episode would have been buried beneath a heap of other incidents. Here it was at a risk of looming over the flattest of landscapes. Afterwards onlookers all seemed to be speaking about the hideous thought of a match such as this ever being let loose in foreign parts, under the proposed scheme that will stage one set of Premier League fixtures overseas each season.
This ignores one merit that will delight those who believe English football to be grossly over-rated. After taking one look at this wearisome affair the locals might fall in love with their domestic football all over again. Neither Grant nor even Benítez could have found much to raise his spirits.
It must be maddening to Chelsea that they have faltered just as the line-up is at last inching back towards full-strength, with Didier Drogba, the most prominent of the African Cup of Nations departees, due to return imminently. Frank Lampard, with a thigh injury healed, had his first outing since Boxing Day, although his lack of match fitness was glaring.
Chelsea might have savoured an uncommon home win over Liverpool in the Premier League if the referee, Mike Riley, had set them on course with the award of a penalty when Javier Mascherano brought down Joe Cole after 25 minutes. The official presumably classed it as an innocent collision but such incidents are usually declared a foul anywhere else on the field and Riley might well have pointed to the spot.
Even so, no one on the books at Stamford Bridge should feel wronged. In odd moments there was a feeling that Chelsea might even be beaten at home in the Premier League for the first time since February 2004. Persistence was the principal virtue of Grant's side and, after 82 minutes, the substitute Mikel John Obi fed Ashley Cole, whose cutback was steered wide on the volley by Michael Ballack.
Within moments, though, Jermaine Pennant, who had taken over from Babel, was nodding a Dirk Kuyt cross just wide of the post. While Liverpool, in most circumstances, could have taken pride in this outcome, their bid to ensure they feature in next season's Champions League means that they could do with the type of spectacular result that they could not quite grasp against Chelsea on this occasion.
The Anfield backroom staff must have been rolling their eyes at Manchester City's earlier win at Old Trafford, which emphasised how fierce the struggle is for the berths below Arsenal and Manchester United.
Benítez must take what comfort he can from the obduracy shown by Mascherano, apart from the misjudgment that could have ended in a penalty, and Martin Skrtel, the Slovakian newcomer who was dogged at the heart of the back four.
Unfortunately for Benítez, it is not his gifts in finding defenders and organising line-ups that are at issue.
There can be no reproach either over the sharing of the points here. The contest was unattractive and ugly but it is Liverpool's league position and even
Chelsea's that will cause disquiet among these clubs' owners.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 0 Liverpool 0: Chelsea's global advert falls flat By Glenn MooreMonday, 11 February 2008
"Roll up, roll up, come and see the amazing English Premier League: the greatest illusion on earth".
That will not be the hook if and when the Premier League goes global but it ought to be. Persuading the world that a match like this is the must-see entertainment of the 21st century is the best piece of salesmanship since Lake Havasu City bought the wrong London Bridge. However, the marketing men must wish this match had been played behind closed doors rather than broadcast around the world. Any prospective host tuning in yesterday afternoon will have had second thoughts.
This was not, with respect, Derby v Fulham, it was half of the "big four" in action with much at stake for both. The result was a dire 90 minutes which suggested the withering criticism of English footballers' technique and passing by Franco Baldini, Fabio Capello's right-hand man, could be considerably extended. Compared to this mind-numbing exhibition of wayward passes, sloppy control, aimless dribbling and poor shooting, England's midweek performance was a masterclass.
"It was not an entertaining game, that is for sure," admitted Avram Grant, Chelsea's manager. "We tried to play football. We had three forward players, two midfielders who know how to score goals, and two full-backs who like to attack."
The intriguing aspect was those two midfielders. This was the first time Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack had played together this season and the balance did not look right. To accommodate them Shaun Wright-Phillips, who has been a revelation since being moved inside, was shunted back on to the wing where, starved of service, he was anonymous and ultimately withdrawn. With Joe Cole impressing only sporadically, and Nicolas Anelka having an off-day, Chelsea wasted the opportunity to take advantage of Manchester United's home defeat earlier in the day.
Already on a good run of form, and with players coming back to fitness and from the African Nations Cup, a sixth straight home win would have moved them within three points of leaders Arsenal. Instead, Chelsea had only the consolation of knowing their unbeaten home league run will have exceeded four years by the time they play Derby at Stamford Bridge next month.
Liverpool's travelling support will have savoured United's derby defeat but their players, all too well aware of the chasm in points that separate them from the league summit, were more concerned at being pushed into seventh place by Manchester City. Suddenly the prospect loomed of missing out even on the Uefa Cup.
"I think we have got to be realistic, we are too far behind Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea," admitted Jamie Carragher. "We are battling with Everton, Aston Villa and Manchester City until the end of the season for that fourth spot."
An away point was thus welcomed, especially as it had to be earned without Fernando Torres, injured on international duty in midweek. Rafael Benitez thus had to pair the increasingly hapless Dirk Kuyt with Peter Crouch, the boyhood Chelsea fan last seen in these parts receiving a red card after attempting to scythe John Obi Mikel in half.
Whilst that pairing was forced upon him the odd decision to play Steven Gerrard on the right wing, with Leiva Lucas in central midfield, was all his. Gerrard did occasionally trade places with Kuyt, in fact, he played all over the park as usual, but it nevertheless looked an odd use of resources given the presence of three wide players on the bench.
Whatever the personnel these two teams tend to cancel one another out and this match was no exception. As Carragher said: "Normally we come here to stop them playing but don't do much in attack ourselves, but with Peter [Crouch] up front we had a few chances."
Liverpool were marginally the more fluent in the opening hour with the only chances falling to Crouch. In the 18th-minute he headed down a deep cross from John Arne Riise to Ryan Babel, but volleyed the return pass wide. He also headed a Gerrard cross into the arms of Petr Cech.
Chelsea failed to create a single chance but could have had a 25th-minute penalty when a rare flowing move culminated in Javier Mascherano checking Joe Cole inside the box. Mike Riley, well placed, waved play on. "It was 100 per cent a penalty," grumbled Grant.
The second period remained equally soporific until Mascherano – who only returned on Friday from playing in Los Angeles for Argentina against Guatemala – tired. Chelsea then upped the tempo and Pepe Reina, having saved Joe Cole's cross-shot, was relieved to see Michael Ballack chip Ashley Cole's cross wide. In the final minute Liverpool could have stolen victory but Kuyt was too hesitant to profit from Gerrard's pass.
Justice was thus served for neither side deserved three points.
Chelsea (4-1-2-3): Cech; Belletti, Alex, Carvalho, A Cole; Makelele; Lampard (Mikel, 71), Ballack; Wright-Phillips (Malouda, 63), Anelka, J Cole (Pizarro, 85). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Ben Haim.
Liverpool (4-4-2): Reina; Finnan, Skrtel, Carragher, Riise; Gerrard, Mascherano, Lucas, Babel (Pennant, 71); Kuyt, Crouch. Substitutes not used: Itandje (gk), Kewell, Benayoun, San Jose.
Referee: M Riley (Leeds)
Booked: Chelsea Belletti, Carvalho, Alex. Liverpool Babel, Riise.
Attendance: 41,788
Man of the match: Mascherano---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Grant's Chelsea are exposed by big guns once again as Liverpool force a drawChelsea 0 Liverpool 0
By NEIL ASHTON According to the statistics Chelsea have been churning out in recent weeks, Avram Grant has been matching Jose Mourinho stride for stride.
Grant may not be trumpeting back-to-back Premier League titles yet, but 27 victories in 32 matches are comparable to the Special One's record when he arrived in 2004.
Brushing aside Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Birmingham is one thing
Beating Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool is another.
It will not have escaped Grant's attention that his Chelsea side have failed to beat one of the established order in the Barclays Premier League since his shock appointment last September.
That has to hurt.
Beaten at Old Trafford in his first game in charge after Mourinho had smuggled his infamous tactical dossiers out of Stamford Bridge, Chelsea lost narrowly at Arsenal in December and have now been held at home by Liverpool.
In fact, they could have lost yesterday for the first time in 76 matches. Easily.
It is remarkable to think that Liverpool are clinging to the coat-tails of their Merseyside rivals Everton and an Aston Villa side in the midst of a renaissance under Martin O'Neill.
They should have won because Peter Crouch could have had four goals in a first half that was dominated, in terms of possession and chances, by Rafa Benitez's team. Jamie Carragher, the game's outstanding performer, kept it characteristically tight at the back and Liverpool threatened to pick off the points.
Crouch sent Steve Finnan's cross wide of the target, he skewed a left-foot effort on the turn wide and he headed tamely into Petr Cech's hands after Steven Gerrard's pass had eluded defenders.
Chelsea claimed a penalty when Javier Mascherano, who laboured in the centre of Liverpool's midfield alongside Gerrard, clashed with Joe Cole midway through a largely forgettable first half.
No penalty in the eyes of referee Mike Riley, but Grant saw it differently.
Tower of strength: Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka rises above Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel but his efforts were in vain
He said: "When I saw it the first time I thought it was a penalty and when I saw it on television it was 100 per cent, but it's only a penalty if the referee gives it. He's a good referee and sometimes these things happen."
Revenge, of sorts, was administered when Riley fell embarrassingly to the ground after colliding with Mascherano — but that was the best moment of an entirely forgettable second half.
Chelsea needed a spark. Shaun Wright-Phillips, Joe Cole and Michael Ballack have been providing it in recent weeks but they ran out of steam.
Even Frank Lampard, who had been missing with a thigh strain since December, failed to offer his customary threat in front of goal.
The Chelsea midfielder, who scored his 99th goal for the club in the 2-0 Carling Cup win over Liverpool last year, failed to register a single shot.
That has to be some kind of record for him.
He appeared perplexed when Grant replaced him 20 minutes from time but Lampard's contribution over the remaining 12 games of the season will be crucial.
Grant's side stumbled against Portsmouth last weekend and they failed to gain ground on Arsenal after this disappointing display.
By 9.45pm tonight, they could be eight points behind Arsene Wenger's side.
"I'm not happy with the way we played but we still have a chance of winning the title," claimed Grant.
"Liverpool are not an easy side to play against and it was a tactical game. It was not entertaining but we played with three forward, two attacking midfielders and two full backs who like to get forward."
Quite why they failed to force a save out of Pepe Reina will remain a mystery to those who watched this game fizzle out.
The heavy artillery return to the Chelsea squad this week when Didier Drogba, Michael Essien and Salomon Kalou come back from the Africa Cup of Nations.
But Benitez's future as Liverpool manager is still uncertain.
The league title, last lifted for Liverpool by Alan Hansen in 1990, is long gone and Inter Milan are looming large in the Champions League.
Fernando Torres, who missed this match after being injured on international duty, will be back by then but they will need more than 'El Nino' to blow the Italians away.
"It doesn't matter what competition we play in — we have two important competitions and we want to make progress in both," said Benitez.
"We want to finish in the top four and that means every game is important. We created a lot of chances against Chelsea, but we have to remember that they are also a good side. We were trying to win, we were trying to press, but we needed to go forward. Three points would have been better. We need to think about the next game and we have a game in hand. If we win it, we will go above Everton."
That is a sizeable task for a team with just one Premier League win in their last seven matches. They are losing ground on the sides at the top of the table and even Grant felt confident enough to rule them out of the running.
"They are 16 points behind Arsenal — I think it is too much for them to finish top," said Grant.
Top? They will be fortunate to finish in fourth position. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Liverpool take point from ChelseaBy John Ley at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (0) 0 Liverpool (0) 0
On an afternoon of missed opportunities for both sides, Liverpool can at least take solace from their first point away from home against any other of the Big Four under Rafael Benitez. The Spaniard also reaffirmed his ability to frustrate Chelsea's ambitions as this draw prevented Avram Grant's team from moving to within three points of the Premier League lead.
This was the 18th meeting between these teams in just 3½ years and the history of a fixture that is turning into an epic of Ben Hur proportions is one of Benitez piercing Chelsea aspirations. In 2005, Liverpool beat Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final, knocked that out of the last four of the FA Cup a year later and last season they did it again in Europe.This latest result - the fourth goalless draw between these teams in that period - may not resonate as loudly as those cup exploits but Chelsea will consider this a missed chance, given the surprise at Old Trafford earlier in the day. A victory would have put serious pressure on Arsenal and, particularly, United.
Perhaps it was the frustration of squandered points but rarely have Grant and Benitez looked so animated. Grant, who carries the air of an undertaker, became sparky towards the end as he saw his side struggle to threaten Pepe Reina's goal. Referee Mike Riley even found it necessary to urge the Israeli to calm down. By then Benitez had worn a path with his touchline pacing and momentarily exploded, offering his glasses to the fourth official when Joe Cole appeared to handle.
Grant was still fuming from a first-half incident in which Cole fell under a challenge by Javier Mascherano, who was outstanding. Riley got it right; if anything the Argentine was guilty of nothing more than impeding the winger but a penalty would have been harsh on Liverpool, who remain fifth, three points off the Champions League place which has now become their true goal.
Grant said: "I thought in the game it was a penalty, then I looked on the television it was a 100 per cent penalty, but the only penalty I know is when the referee gives it. He is a good referee and he made a mistake - it happens."
Liverpool could have edged closer to Everton had Peter Crouch not squandered a succession of opportunities. How Benitez must have rued the absence of Fernando Torres, missing with a hamstring injury following international duty. Crouch found good positions but on at least two occasions the England striker had the chance to score and ruin Chelsea's unbeaten Premier League home record which now stands at 76 games and will pass the fourth anniversary, on Feb 21, when they next entertain at Stamford Bridge, against Derby next month.
Such a record needs applauding, as does a return of 21 points from 27 games. That some Chelsea supporters chose to jeer their team at the whistle is baffling. With Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou and John Terry to return, the future for Chelsea is bright and both Arsenal and United cannot afford to rest on their laurels. Had Chelsea won rather than drawn both this game and the trip to Fratton Park a week earlier, Chelsea would now be just one point off Arsenal and one better than United.
Afterwards, Grant claimed that Terry is likely to miss the Carling Cup final in a fortnight by claiming he will be out for three weeks, apparently at odds with his club captain, who had insisted that he was seven to 10 days away.
However, the return of another stalwart, Frank Lampard, after a 10-game absence, did not have the impact one would have expected and he made way for John Obi Mikel after 70 minutes.
Liverpool should have been ahead in the 18th minute when Crouch drew a good chance off target. Within two minutes Gerrard crossed from the right by-line and Crouch sent another header straight into Petr Cech's grateful arms.
Crouch sent another chance over before the break, but in a poor second half both sides laboured. The end provoked brought jeers; if the fans were complaining about the game as a spectacle, rather than the dropped points, they could have been forgiven. And the good people of Beijing and Dubai will hope that the 'international round' of the Premier League does not offer this pairing in the future.
Man of the matchAshley Cole (Chelsea) 8
91 per cent pass completionSeven tackles, six of them successfulCreated two chances for Chelsea---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The TimesFebruary 11, 2008
Avram Grant’s men stumble when it mattersChelsea 0 Liverpool 0
Matt Hughes at Stamford Bridge
What better way to puncture the Barclays Premier League’s overweening self-regard and plans for global domination than another turgid encounter between Chelsea and Liverpool? Their eighteenth meeting in 3½years took what was already an attritional rivalry to new depths, the most entertaining moment of an utterly forgettable afternoon coming when Mike Riley, the referee, was upended by a loose pass from Javier Mascherano in the second half. No one in their right mind would so much as cross the road to watch a rerun of this particular fixture.
The boos that sounded around the stadium after the final whistle provided an eloquent expression of the views of the home team’s fans, who are worried that their side are faltering when it matters most.
After winning five straight league matches, Chelsea have taken only two points from their past two, while Manchester United have also been dropping points. Chelsea will be in the unfamiliar position of being eight points behind the leaders if Arsenal beat Blackburn Rovers this evening. Such a result would leave Liverpool 19 points off the pace, although a more relevant figure for Rafael Benítez is the three-point gap to fourth-placed Everton, which is the summit of their ambition even if they will still have a game in hand.
Of greater concern to Chelsea is their continued failure to beat their big four rivals under Avram Grant, who has seen only one point from three matches against Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool. The Israeli was partially justified in attributing a strangely lacklustre performance to fatigue among a squad diminished by injuries and the African Cup of Nations, although as his options increased yesterday with Frank Lampard’s recovery from a thigh strain and John Obi Mikel’s return from Ghana duty, it will also raise fresh doubts over his leadership.
Managerial reputations are earned by performances under pressure in big matches. A surprising Champions League win away over Valencia has been Grant’s only real result of note and even that achievement has been diminished by the Spanish team’s implosion this season.
Grant was on safer ground when asserting that his team should have had a penalty when Joe Cole went down under the challenge of Mascherano midway through the first half — Riley waved play on despite being well placed — but they did little else to deserve a victory. José Manuel Reina did not have a save to make, the Spain goalkeeper’s only nervous moment coming when John Arne Riise chose to direct a diving header towards him as he dealt with Florent Malouda’s cross towards the end.
Chelsea mustered only one attempt on goal during the match, Michael Ballack’s volley floating narrowly wide of the far post from Ashley Cole’s cross ten minutes from the end. Liverpool were marginally more impressive and could at least celebrate the small milestone of securing a first league point against one of the big four away from home under Benítez, although their performance revealed more about their limitations.
A more accomplished team would have taken advantage of Chelsea’s off day to inflict their first home defeat for four years, but the visiting side created too little to have any complaints about the result.
Benítez clings to conservatism like a crutch, which could prove to be his undoing. The Liverpool manager’s team selections are regarded with bemusement by many observers, including several of his players, but at least the Spaniard is prepared to admit when he has erred.
With Liverpool devoid of width — largely because they had three wingers on the bench — Benítez made a change in the thirteenth minute, Dirk Kuyt and Gerrard swapping positions so that the captain was deployed behind Peter Crouch at the head of an attacking midfield three supported by Lucas Leiva and Mascherano.
Gerrard is far more comfortable centrally and helped the visiting team to take control of a dour midfield battle without producing enough quality to win the match.
Liverpool were helped no end by a strangely subdued performance by Chelsea, with Ballack anonymous, Lampard lacking match fitness on his first start for six weeks and Shaun Wright-Phillips reverting to his bad old ways after being moved to the right. Other than their manager’s repeated tinkering, Liverpool did little out of the ordinary, but if Fernando Torres had not been absent with a torn hamstring they might have won.
Crouch missed three chances in the first half that the Spain striker would surely have dispatched, shooting wide with his left foot, heading straight at Petr Cech from close range and flashing another header well wide. The first opportunity was the best and sprang from one of the match’s few moments of quality, with Crouch flicking Riise’s long pass on to Ryan Babel, who gave it back to him, but the England striker failed to produce an accurate finish. And that was that.
Crouch tried to claim afterwards that they were half-chances, but they were as good as it got and would have been taken by a striker of true international class. If Richard Scudamore, the Premier League chief executive, succeeds in making £100 million for the clubs from matches such as this, his next job should be selling snow to Eskimos.
Chelsea
4-3-3
P Cech 5
J Belletti Y 5
Alex Y 5
R Carvalho Y 5
A Cole 5
M Ballack 5
C Makelele 6
F Lampard 5
S Wright-Phillips 4
N Anelka 5
J Cole 5
Substitutes: F Malouda 5 (for Wright-Phillips, 64min), J Obi Mikel (for Lampard, 71), C Pizarro (for J Cole, 86) Not used: C Cudicini, T Ben Haim. Next: West Ham (a).
Liverpool
4-4-2
J M Reina 5
S Finnan 5
J Carragher 6
M Skrtel 4
J A Riise Y 5
S Gerrard 6
Lucas Leiva 5
J Mascherano 6
R Babel Y 5
P Crouch 5
D Kuyt 5
Substitutes J Pennant (for Babel, 72min) Not used: C Itandje, H Kewell, Y Benayoun, M San José Dominguez. Next: Middlesbrough (h).
Referee M Riley
Attendance 41,788 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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