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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.
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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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------