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Bosingwa's magic - Sugar Ray can only look on as Chelsea's Portuguese star KO's Stoke By Mark FlemingStoke 0 Chelsea 2
After Muhammad Ali inspired the American Ryder Cup team to a famous victory, Stoke wheeled out Sugar Ray Leonard in the hope of some stardust from the former world champion being sprinkled on their honest toilers.By awarding Leonard, in town for a speaking engagement, the No 7 shirt once worn with such distinction by Stanley Matthew, the home fans began the match in high spirits as they were given something to cheer lustily.Memories were stirred and hopes were raised but the subsequent 90 minutes of action followed a sadly predictable pattern. Chelsea were too good and Stoke could not make up for a gulf in class by throwing their bodies on the line and fighting to the end.So no surprises there. But, at least, the occasion confirmed the arrival of yet an other highly-priced Chelsea star, who could be destined to have an impact on the title race.Step forward Jose Bosingwa, a 26- year-old Portuguese international, who arrived at Stamford Bridge with a reputation as an exciting, attacking full-back, and has already shown why the club forked out £16.2 million to acquire his services.But, if Chelsea diehards are already aware of the gem on their hands, only yesterday did Bosingwa show the rest of the country just how good he is.According to Scolari, the Stoke defenders were unaware of the former Porto defender's quality as he stole unnoticed into the penalty area to control Frank Lampard's pass on his chest before volleying sumptuously past Thomas Sorensen.'They left Bosingwa free because they didn't think he was going to be a threat,' said Scolari, with the hint of a smirk, 'and he took his goal beautifully.'The breakthrough, after 36 minutes, came at a time when Chelsea were beginning to become frustrated The neat patterns they drew across the Britannia Stadium pitch had, until then, lacked an end product through the willingness of the Potters to regard no cause as lost.Denied the services of their longthrow specialist and principal weapon, Rory Delap, who damaged a hamstring at the end of training on Friday, Stoke offered hardly a danger in attack, even though the burly figure of Mamady Sidibe threw himself about and won a few headers. Battle: Stoke's Dave Kitson challenges BosingwaBut, when Florent Malouda's fierce drive cannoned off Sorensen's arm and then the underside of the crossbar to leave Chelsea hanging to their single-goal advantage, the prospect of a late Stoke rally kept the fans interested.But just when the locals were revving up for some giant-killing drama, Leon Cort's blunder allowed the confident Londoners to play out the final 15 minutes free of worry.Again Bosingwa was involved, delivering a curling cross that the Stoke central defender tried to control but merely played the ball into the path of Nicolas Anelka.The Frenchman, on as a substitute, had early blazed a clear opportunity over the bar but made no mistake this time, drilling a low shot under Steve Simonsen's body. Lampard, whose elegant control of the midfield had been a feature, failed to accept the goal his performance deserved when he drove a 10-yard shot into the ground after Didier Drogba, in his first full appearance, had set him up.Stoke might have had a late penalty when Ashley Cole caught Ricardo Fuller in the area but referee Martin Atkinson decided that the Jamaican's elaborate fall was not worthy of spot-kick, even though TV replays confirmed that there was contact.The afternoon was a tale of the expected. Chelsea are a strong, skilful side who have added to their quality with the signing of Bosingwa and certainly could regain the title, particularly if they can overcome potentially awkward matches with such efficiency - which, perhaps significantly, Liverpool could not achieve at Anfield last week. As for Stoke, they certainly work their socks off and make life tough for the opposition. But will that be enough?'The second goal killed us,' said manager Tony Pulis. 'We're disappointed because we defended solidly and were still in the game at that point.'But I take nothing away from Chelsea, who are a fantastic team. When they break it's like defending against the Red Arrows - or maybe the Blue Arrows. We've had a tough start but we must make sure we don't get down in the dumps.' Their future will be decided against lesser opposition than Chelsea.
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TimesSeptember 27, 2008
Chelsea choke fiery StokeStoke 0 Chelsea 2
John Aizlewood at Britannia stadium
SERENDIPITY works in many different ways. Having spent the week grappling with just how their team of all talents might combat Stoke City’s blunderbuss weapon of choice, Rory Delap’s long throws, Chelsea arrived at their first league fixture in the Potteries since 1988 to find Delap had been waylaid by a hamstring injury sustained at the very end of Friday’s training.
As it was, so dominant were Chelsea that Stoke had to wait 72 minutes to earn a throw-in in what would have been Delap territory. Then, predictably, Danny Higginbotham’s long but comparatively short effort was meat and drink to Alex and John Terry, the unyielding homunculuses of Chelsea’s rearguard.
Even so, Chelsea had to contend with a Stoke buoyed by last week’s heroic point at Anfield, the Premiers League’s most cacophonous crowd (including the unlikely figure of Sugar Ray Leonard, who tried the red and white stripes for size before kick off) and the growing belief that Tony Pulis’s band of artisans might embarrass the naysayers and actually warrant their place at the top table.
Chelsea’s week of heading practice might have been in vain, but they had done other homework. From first to last, they out-Stoked Stoke, eschewing width on the Premier League’s narrowest, most long-throw-friendly pitch and, seeing if the clothes of the underdog fitted, they harassed and harried their hosts.
Frank Lampard, John Obi Mikel and Michael Ballack, midfield terriers who were not too proud to graft, snapped at the heels of Stoke’s startled midfield, while Chelsea’s defence refused to cede territory.
When they rolled forwards, Chelsea’s labourers reminded us that they are, in truth, artisans and only Thomas Sorensen’s left boot foiled Didier Drogba in the 14th minute after Lampard’s majestic through ball had unpicked Stoke’s defensive locks.
“A difficult game,” admitted Chelsea manager Luis Felipe Scolari. “First I want to win and second play beautiful football, but it’s impossible to play beautiful football when the other team is just waiting for you to make a mistake.” For all Leon Cort and Abdoulaye Faye’s trojan defending, the home side struggled to cross the halfway line and, as Chelsea shots rained in, the bursting of Stoke’s dam was inevitable.
When the opener came, it was sublime. Irony of ironies, it began with a long throw, albeit a giant hurl from goalkeeper Petr Cech. Jose Boswinga linked with Salomon Kalou and kept on running into the penalty area where he collected another glorious Lampard ball on his chest, before belting home his first Premier League goal with the insouciance of a born executioner.
“Their defence made a mistake,” noted Scolari. “They didn’t expect Boswinga to be in that position.”
After the break, Chelsea continued where they left off. Soon, Sorensen was stretching out a hopeful hand to tip Florent Malouda’s piledriver onto the underside of the bar. Ricardo Fuller — confined to the bench by a virus — had replaced Dave Kitson but Stoke’s problem still lay with their inability to serve their strikers in the face of Chelsea’s whiplash sortees forwards and ferocious midfield toil.
Yet, football’s immutable laws dictated that somewhere along the line, a chance would fall to Stoke. Said chance fell in the 61st minute. Liam Lawrence floated in a corner.
Cort leapt above the pack to make a firm headed connection, only to look back in anguish as Mikel strained every last neck sinew to nod off the line.
They would not come closer, but such was Stoke’s indomitable spirit that they began to threaten, albeit gingerly, and without being in severe peril, Cech twice had to move swiftly to foil Fuller. Chelsea’s response was to crush such impertinence at once.
Boswinga whizzed down the right with coltish enthusiasm. His low cross cannoned off Cort, a doughty presence all afternoon but who had had slipped at precisely the wrong moment and fell kindly for the typically mercurial Nicolas Anelka, who showed no mercy. There would be no glorious reprieve for Stoke and Chelsea cruised home with neither fuss nor ado.
Indeed, there might have been further Chelsea goals for Ballack and Lampard, but a combination of Sorensen’s exemplary positioning and marginally wayward finishing kept the score decent.
“Defending against Chelsea is like defending against the Red Arrows,” sighed Pulis. “They suck you in and then they drag you all over the shop. We could have pushed on more in the first half, but I’m pleased at how we competed in the
second. The important thing now is that we don’t get down in the dumps.”
For Chelsea, who will face the Romanians of Cluj in the Champions League on Wednesday without the injured Joe Cole, Ricardo Carvalho and Deco, further indication that there is iron aplenty in their soul. For Stoke, no disgrace, but a sobering warning that a giant heart is sometimes not enough
STOKE: Sorensen 7, Griffin 5, Cort 6, Abdoulaye Faye 7, Higginbotham 5, Lawrence 5 (Tonge 65min), Olofinjana 6, Diao 7, Cresswell 5, Kitson 5 (Fuller 52min, 6), Sidibe 6 (Amdy Faye 81)
CHELSEA: Cech 6, Bosingwa 7, Terry 6, Alex 6, Cole 6, Ballack 7 (Ferreira 89min), Obi Mikel 7, Lampard 7, Kalou 6 (Anelka 46min, 6), Malouda 6, Drogba 6 (Belletti 73min)
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Telegraph:
Chelsea thankful for sleek Jose Bosingwa Stoke City (0) 0 Chelsea (1) 2 By Patrick Barclay
Chelsea can cope with just about anything the Premier League can throw at them. Or not, as the case may be. Here, though Stoke lacked the hurling prowess of Rory Delap, it was a proper contest for a 24-minute period between the advent of Ricardo Fuller, the newcomers’ most exciting feature even when he is suffering from the after-effects of a virus, and the aspiring champions’ second goal, scored by the substitute Nicolas Anelka.
That was enough to stave off boredom pangs. Stoke, having taken a point at Liverpool last weekend, could not quite claim another in front of the whole of their admirable support. But they knew promotion would entail a struggle and, having met Aston Villa (whom they beat) as well as Champions League finalists from each of the past two seasons, need not be too daunted by the long remainder of their survival test.
“They are difficult to play against,’’ said Luiz Felipe Scolari of Tony Pulis’s physical but fair team. “If I can play beautiful football,’’ the Chelsea manager added, “I will. But it’s not easy against a team who want to play only off your mistakes.’’ Chelsea made few enough of those, delighting Scolari. Pulis, by contrast, rued the error by Leon Cort that helped Anelka to end a contest that had been swung the visitors’ way by an excellent goal from the Portugal right-back, Jose Bosingwa.
Pre-season, while Scolari was welcoming to Stamford Bridge the sleek Bosingwa, with whom he had spent the earlier part of the summer at Euro 2008, Pulis contented himself with the more prosaic Andy Griffin at right-back. This is the stark reality of the Premier League and yet the wonders of modern coaching (and Pulis works hard at his job) can close the gap. “I’m pleased,’’ said Pulis. “We’ve played two top teams and done very, very well.’’ As long as morale remains buoyant, that should continue.
Scolari had been respectful to his opponents in the build-up and no wonder; when it comes to taking full advantage of the rules, as Pulis does in narrowing the pitch here in order to optimise aspects of his team’s style including the long throws of Delap, the Brazilian makes the Welshman seem a purist. Maybe Scolari has reformed since leaving Brazil, but there he would go to the lengths of ordering ball-boys to delay returning balls to the pitch, or to throw on two, if he wanted the opposition’s rhythm to be disrupted.
Coming from the relatively cold and muddy southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, moreover, Scolari understands rudimentary football and may even have been looking forward to the challenge presented by Delap’s throws until it was disclosed that the midfielder would be missing with a hamstring problem. Just as frustratingly for Pulis, Fuller had to sit on the bench for 52 minutes. But there was Mamady Sidibe, whose deft turn prompted John Terry to wrestle him to the ground: a privilege the FA appear to believe should come with the England captaincy. At any rate Martin Atkinson, no doubt having noted the rescinding of Terry’s red card at Manchester City, settled for a lecture when yellow was required. And the football in that opening half? The first sustained passage of sweet skill was discerned in the 36th minute – and gave Chelsea the lead. Bosingwa began this move by surging down the flank and finding Salomon Kalou. On the ball went to Frank Lampard and, again, Bosingwa, who had continued his run and, taming Lampard’s chip with his chest, cleverly used its bounce in driving past Thomas Sorensen from a narrow angle.
The atmosphere created by the Stoke fans was hardly affected by the setback and, after Abdoulaye Faye had blundered and Sorensen been obliged to divert Florent Malouda’s shot against the crossbar, Pulis cheered them by sending on Fuller. Soon Faye, from a corner, would have equalised but for John Obi Mikel’s appearance near the goal-line. Another mistake was, however, to kill Stoke off, Cort inelegantly stooping to Bosingwa’s routine cross and Anelka putting a low shot beyond Sorensen. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indy:
Stoke City 0 Chelsea 2: Stoke's brave efforts derailed by Bosingwa's touches of class
By Steve Tongue at the Britannia Stadium Sunday, 28 September 2008
Another lesson in reality for a Premier League newcomer. Against a team missing Deco and Joe Cole, Stoke City kept out Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack, only to find a £16 million right-back scoring one goal and making another. Jose Bosingwa, much the best of the many expensive players Chelsea have signed in that position, was on the mark for the first time since joining from Porto and after a brave rally by Tony Pulis's side he created a goal for Nicolas Anelka, a £15m substitute.
Lampard and Ballack were excellent in midfield, an area Stoke tend to bypass in moving from back to front with maximum speed. Although parking several buses in the Anfield goalmouth earned a 0-0 draw last week, in driving forward at home they were always vulnerable to Chelsea's more sophisticated breaks.
Even Luiz Felipe Scolari had not seen a weapon like Rory Delap's huge throw-ins, but the Republic of Ireland international was declared unfit. Deprived of that threat, Stoke brought in the big striker Mamady Sidibe as a target for their clearances and set-pieces, with his partner, Dave Kitson, looking largely in vain for the second ball and knock-downs. Chelsea supporters disdainfully bawling "hoof!" at every long ball must have gone home with sore throats.
"A difficult game," Scolari said. "It's sometimes impossible to play beautiful football. The other team sometimes don't try to play. First win the game. Then if it's possible, play beautiful football."
Stoke hoped to capitalise on corners instead of throws, the irony being that as soon as they won one, after 35 minutes, they found Chelsea breaking upfield to score. The corner was nodded back across goal to Sidibe, who could manage no power in his header at the far post. Petr Cech cleared and Bosingwa went down the right, feeding Salomon Kalou, who passed inside to Lampard. A chip to Bosingwa and the full-back chested down and scored with a shot across the goalkeeper that Andy Griffin, racing back, could not quite keep out.
Stoke had been pinned back for the first quarter of an hour. Early on, Ballack had a 25-yard shot pushed over the bar by Thomas Sorensen and from the resulting corner the goalkeeper plunged to save Ballack's header at John Terry's feet. Ballack's free-kick then flew off the wall for a corner, and when the midfielder Seyi Olofinjana lost the ball, Lampard put Drogba clear and Sorensen had to save with his foot.
Stoke left the pitch at half-time to appreciative applause, returning to find Chelsea bringing on Anelka for the injured Kalou and almost scoring again. Abdoulaye Faye presented possession to Florent Malouda , Sorensen having to divert the swerving shot on to the bar with his forearm.
Scolari, who has made a virtue of sticking to the same personnel and formation as much as possible, kept to the same 4-3-3 for a while with Anelka out on the right, from where he wasted one good chance by shooting high and wide. So strongly did Stoke push, nevertheless, that with 20 minutes to play it was felt necessary to introduce Juliano Belletti as an extra midfield player. Pulis, meanwhile, sent on another beefy striker, Ricardo Fuller, and came desperately close to equalising. Leon Cort met Liam Lawrence's corner with a firm header that had the beating of Cech, but John Obi Mikel cleared off the line.
One error, however, and they were done for. Bosingwa swung in a low cross from the right and Cort merely cushioned it straight to Anelka, who put the seal on a sixth successive away win. "It's like defending against the red arrows – or the blue arrows," Pulis said. "But I'm very pleased that we've played two top teams and competed very well."
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Bosingwa draws Stoke sting Stoke City 0 Chelsea 2 Bosingwa 36, Anelka 76
Duncan Castles at the Britannia Stadium Jose Bosingwa is congratulated by Salamon Kalou after scoring his first Chelsea goal. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Who would have thought the Premier League's first Brazilian boss would relish an encounter like this? Long-ball, body-bruising Stoke City the weekend before a Champions League away trip should be a recipe for calamity, yet Luiz Felipe Scolari saw it as a joyful challenge to his old Gaucho scrapper's spirit.
As he had been in his days as a brutal stopper on the rough pitches of Rio Grande do Sul, Scolari had his squad steeled for the battle. As he'd guided his Brazil and Portugal teams through tournaments, he ensured Chelsea's skills were not forgotten in the physicality.
A goal in either half returned them - at least temporarily - to the summit of the Premier League where they should not be far from when Scolari's first English season comes to its conclusion.
'Sometimes it's impossible to play beautiful football,' he said. 'We need to construct first, win the game. Sometimes we try to play and the other team tries only to play with your mistakes. It's not easy but today my team played with a good position on the pitch and for me that's beautiful.I know my team, they play as I want. For me they play fantastic football because I am coach and I don't see it the same as fans.'
There had been civility in Stoke's teamsheet. Rory Delap, and the 'incredible' long throws that Scolari spent three days preparing a solution for, was absent after a hamstring strain. A raucous home support was less welcoming, roaring lusty delight as Stoke barrelled into Chelsea from kick-off.
Deco, Ricardo Carvalho and Michael Essien short of their own best eleven, Chelsea's intention was to set the tone with as positive an opening as possible. Frank Lampard's craftily chipped pass to Didier Drogba came close to delivering one, only for Thomas Sorensen to parry the forward's finish.
Chelsea's opening goal was a thing of beauty, started and emphatically completed by José Bosingwa. Taking possession 10 yards inside Stoke's half, the Portugal right back laid the ball off to Salomon Kalou then sprinted into the box to reclaim it from Lampard. Finally, came a vicious shot, propelled abreast of goalkeeper and off Andy Griffin's chest.
Though John Terry resorted to the rugby-tackle defending that landed him in trouble at Manchester City, Chelsea's area did not come under threat until the second half. By then Chelsea's lead might have doubled as Lampard's shot deflected a foot wide and Sorensen strong-armed a raking Florent Malouda drive on to the crossbar.
Malouda signalled a Chelsea lapse in petulantly standing over a Stoke free-kick at the cost of a shove in the chest from Griffin and a mutual yellow card. Some loose passing allowed the home team sufficient dead balls to frighten, particularly when Leon Cort drew John Obi Mikel into a goalline clearance.
Chelsea, however, had a salve for touchline concerns. Bosingwa attacked Stoke's left flank before crossing toward the penalty spot. Though Cort read the centre, he could not control it, leaving Nicolas Anelka with a chance even the profligate Frenchman could not miss. 'That killed it for us,' said Tony Pulis. 'But we've played well in some difficult games. We must not get down in the dumps.'
THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT
Nick Dunn, StokeCity.rivals.net forum
This match came straight after the Liverpool game and we weren't expecting points from either, so we were already ahead. It's always hard to concede an own goal, which it was in my view, early on. But we made Chelsea work for the victory. Delap being out injured cut off one of our avenues of attack, which wasn't helpful. We were spirited, but it's always a concern when one of their players costs more than our entire squad! In the second half we were way more spirited and had a few decent chances. We conceded a second, but our players didn't let their heads go down and we avoided any 5-0 or so scoreline.
The fan's player ratings Sorensen 8; Griffin 7, Cort 6, Ab Faye 8, Higginbotham 8; Lawrence 7, Tonge 7, Diao 7, Olofinjana 6, Cresswell 6; Sidibe 7, Kitson 6 Fuller 8
Trizia Fiorellino, Chair, Chelsea Supporters Group
Stoke harried us really well. We lacked creativity without Joe Cole and Deco, so struggled to get the ball to Drogba, who had go out to get it himself. Still, it was the kind of workmanlike performance that teams need to put on every now and again, and we did very well considering our absentees. Scolari changed it around in the second half - Anelka came on and we started holding the ball up better. Stoke went after us with a bit more bite and they should've had a goal. However, class showed in the end. When we scored we were far more comfortable than them and we looked for more diverse ways of getting the ball into the box.
The fan's player ratings Cech 8; Bosingwa 9, Alex 8, Terry 8, A Cole 8; Mikel 8; Ballack 7 Lampard 7; Kalou 7 (Anelka ht 6), Drogba 7 (Belletti 8), Malouda 7
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NOTW:
STOKE CITY 0, CHELSEA 2 Big Phil Scolari delighted with gritty win
From ROB BEASLEY at The Britannia Stadium, 27/09/2008
BRILLIANT Brazilian football it wasn’t but Phil Scolari still applauded his stars after they showed they can win ugly, too. Stoke may not be pretty to watch — but they are pretty damn difficult to beat.
Ask Liverpool and Aston Villa.
So the Chelsea boss was thrilled with his side’s disciplined display, raving at how his men kept their cool, their patience and their shape.
No-nonsense Stoke certainly made the millionaires from the capital battle every inch of the way.
Click here to see what real Stoke and Chelsea fans think of this game - and to have your say
But credit to the Londoners — first they coped with it, then they countered it and, finally, they conquered it.
And on the final whistle Scolari gave a contented nod of approval at a job well done.
Big Phil said: “The first aim was to win the game, the second was to play beautiful. Sometimes it is impossible to play beautiful football — and today it was difficult.
“But it was still beautiful for me to see my team out on the pitch.
“I see fantastic football because I am the coach.
“When we lose the ball I look to see who is covering on the left side, the right and the middle. Today my players were in the right positions.
“Sometimes we didn’t pass the right ball, sometimes we chose the wrong time to shoot, but we did not make a real mistake.
“We knew if we made a mistake they would be on to us.”
Stoke were full of effort and endeavour but Chelsea’s superior class told in the end.
Man of the match Jose Bosingwa fired them in front after 36 minutes after a classic Blues attack.
Praise The right-back rampaged forward before laying off a pass to Didier Drogba.
He knocked it wide to Frank Lampard on the touchline while Bosingwa continued his charge into the box. England star picked out his run perfectly and Bosingwa took full advantage, aiming a terrific shot beyond Thomas Sorensen and in off luckless Andy Griffiths on the line.
The Portugal international has been a revelation since his £16million summer move from Porto.
And Scolari was full of praise.
Big Phil said: “He may have been unknown in England before but now everyone in the world knows he is a very good player.
“He goes forward 200 times in a game but also keeps his position very well. He’s very good for us.”
So good for Chelsea that he followed up netting the opener by creating the second.
Credit It was his ball in that caught out Stoke centre-back Leon Cort.
Cort lost his feet trying to clear and only succeeded in presenting the ball to sub Nicolas Anelka, who fired home a first-time shot with Cort on the turf and powerless to react. Job done. Match won.
And won well because the scoreline could have been another four- or five-nil.
Keeper Sorensen deserves credit, too. He tipped over an early long- range effort from Michael Ballack, saved bravely at the feet of Drogba, and had no chance of stopping Bosingwa’s strike.
Anelka blazed over the bar on 65 minutes and although his goal made amends, there was no such luck for the badly out-of-sorts Ballack. After a match littered with misplaced passes he then lashed a close-range effort wide. He almost atoned when he set up Lamps in the dying seconds but, for once, Lamps’ finishing was found wanting.
Tough From barely eight yards out he could only tamely prod the ball straight at Sorensen.
Stoke have come through the toughest of baptisms. They’ve faced Villa, Liverpool, Everton and Chelsea and have never been over-run.
Relief is in sight. Next up, crisis- club Portsmouth and then Spurs.
Tony Pullis can’t wait.
He confessed: “It’s been a really tough start but we must not get down in the dumps.
“We got a point at Anfield and today faced a top, top team and gave them a real game.
“I was thinking ‘We might get back into this’ but then Corty lost his footing and the ball’s in the net.
“But we have to take the positives from it and go again.”
Bosingwa's magic - Sugar Ray can only look on as Chelsea's Portuguese star KO's Stoke By Mark FlemingStoke 0 Chelsea 2
After Muhammad Ali inspired the American Ryder Cup team to a famous victory, Stoke wheeled out Sugar Ray Leonard in the hope of some stardust from the former world champion being sprinkled on their honest toilers.By awarding Leonard, in town for a speaking engagement, the No 7 shirt once worn with such distinction by Stanley Matthew, the home fans began the match in high spirits as they were given something to cheer lustily.Memories were stirred and hopes were raised but the subsequent 90 minutes of action followed a sadly predictable pattern. Chelsea were too good and Stoke could not make up for a gulf in class by throwing their bodies on the line and fighting to the end.So no surprises there. But, at least, the occasion confirmed the arrival of yet an other highly-priced Chelsea star, who could be destined to have an impact on the title race.Step forward Jose Bosingwa, a 26- year-old Portuguese international, who arrived at Stamford Bridge with a reputation as an exciting, attacking full-back, and has already shown why the club forked out £16.2 million to acquire his services.But, if Chelsea diehards are already aware of the gem on their hands, only yesterday did Bosingwa show the rest of the country just how good he is.According to Scolari, the Stoke defenders were unaware of the former Porto defender's quality as he stole unnoticed into the penalty area to control Frank Lampard's pass on his chest before volleying sumptuously past Thomas Sorensen.'They left Bosingwa free because they didn't think he was going to be a threat,' said Scolari, with the hint of a smirk, 'and he took his goal beautifully.'The breakthrough, after 36 minutes, came at a time when Chelsea were beginning to become frustrated The neat patterns they drew across the Britannia Stadium pitch had, until then, lacked an end product through the willingness of the Potters to regard no cause as lost.Denied the services of their longthrow specialist and principal weapon, Rory Delap, who damaged a hamstring at the end of training on Friday, Stoke offered hardly a danger in attack, even though the burly figure of Mamady Sidibe threw himself about and won a few headers. Battle: Stoke's Dave Kitson challenges BosingwaBut, when Florent Malouda's fierce drive cannoned off Sorensen's arm and then the underside of the crossbar to leave Chelsea hanging to their single-goal advantage, the prospect of a late Stoke rally kept the fans interested.But just when the locals were revving up for some giant-killing drama, Leon Cort's blunder allowed the confident Londoners to play out the final 15 minutes free of worry.Again Bosingwa was involved, delivering a curling cross that the Stoke central defender tried to control but merely played the ball into the path of Nicolas Anelka.The Frenchman, on as a substitute, had early blazed a clear opportunity over the bar but made no mistake this time, drilling a low shot under Steve Simonsen's body. Lampard, whose elegant control of the midfield had been a feature, failed to accept the goal his performance deserved when he drove a 10-yard shot into the ground after Didier Drogba, in his first full appearance, had set him up.Stoke might have had a late penalty when Ashley Cole caught Ricardo Fuller in the area but referee Martin Atkinson decided that the Jamaican's elaborate fall was not worthy of spot-kick, even though TV replays confirmed that there was contact.The afternoon was a tale of the expected. Chelsea are a strong, skilful side who have added to their quality with the signing of Bosingwa and certainly could regain the title, particularly if they can overcome potentially awkward matches with such efficiency - which, perhaps significantly, Liverpool could not achieve at Anfield last week. As for Stoke, they certainly work their socks off and make life tough for the opposition. But will that be enough?'The second goal killed us,' said manager Tony Pulis. 'We're disappointed because we defended solidly and were still in the game at that point.'But I take nothing away from Chelsea, who are a fantastic team. When they break it's like defending against the Red Arrows - or maybe the Blue Arrows. We've had a tough start but we must make sure we don't get down in the dumps.' Their future will be decided against lesser opposition than Chelsea.
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TimesSeptember 27, 2008
Chelsea choke fiery StokeStoke 0 Chelsea 2
John Aizlewood at Britannia stadium
SERENDIPITY works in many different ways. Having spent the week grappling with just how their team of all talents might combat Stoke City’s blunderbuss weapon of choice, Rory Delap’s long throws, Chelsea arrived at their first league fixture in the Potteries since 1988 to find Delap had been waylaid by a hamstring injury sustained at the very end of Friday’s training.
As it was, so dominant were Chelsea that Stoke had to wait 72 minutes to earn a throw-in in what would have been Delap territory. Then, predictably, Danny Higginbotham’s long but comparatively short effort was meat and drink to Alex and John Terry, the unyielding homunculuses of Chelsea’s rearguard.
Even so, Chelsea had to contend with a Stoke buoyed by last week’s heroic point at Anfield, the Premiers League’s most cacophonous crowd (including the unlikely figure of Sugar Ray Leonard, who tried the red and white stripes for size before kick off) and the growing belief that Tony Pulis’s band of artisans might embarrass the naysayers and actually warrant their place at the top table.
Chelsea’s week of heading practice might have been in vain, but they had done other homework. From first to last, they out-Stoked Stoke, eschewing width on the Premier League’s narrowest, most long-throw-friendly pitch and, seeing if the clothes of the underdog fitted, they harassed and harried their hosts.
Frank Lampard, John Obi Mikel and Michael Ballack, midfield terriers who were not too proud to graft, snapped at the heels of Stoke’s startled midfield, while Chelsea’s defence refused to cede territory.
When they rolled forwards, Chelsea’s labourers reminded us that they are, in truth, artisans and only Thomas Sorensen’s left boot foiled Didier Drogba in the 14th minute after Lampard’s majestic through ball had unpicked Stoke’s defensive locks.
“A difficult game,” admitted Chelsea manager Luis Felipe Scolari. “First I want to win and second play beautiful football, but it’s impossible to play beautiful football when the other team is just waiting for you to make a mistake.” For all Leon Cort and Abdoulaye Faye’s trojan defending, the home side struggled to cross the halfway line and, as Chelsea shots rained in, the bursting of Stoke’s dam was inevitable.
When the opener came, it was sublime. Irony of ironies, it began with a long throw, albeit a giant hurl from goalkeeper Petr Cech. Jose Boswinga linked with Salomon Kalou and kept on running into the penalty area where he collected another glorious Lampard ball on his chest, before belting home his first Premier League goal with the insouciance of a born executioner.
“Their defence made a mistake,” noted Scolari. “They didn’t expect Boswinga to be in that position.”
After the break, Chelsea continued where they left off. Soon, Sorensen was stretching out a hopeful hand to tip Florent Malouda’s piledriver onto the underside of the bar. Ricardo Fuller — confined to the bench by a virus — had replaced Dave Kitson but Stoke’s problem still lay with their inability to serve their strikers in the face of Chelsea’s whiplash sortees forwards and ferocious midfield toil.
Yet, football’s immutable laws dictated that somewhere along the line, a chance would fall to Stoke. Said chance fell in the 61st minute. Liam Lawrence floated in a corner.
Cort leapt above the pack to make a firm headed connection, only to look back in anguish as Mikel strained every last neck sinew to nod off the line.
They would not come closer, but such was Stoke’s indomitable spirit that they began to threaten, albeit gingerly, and without being in severe peril, Cech twice had to move swiftly to foil Fuller. Chelsea’s response was to crush such impertinence at once.
Boswinga whizzed down the right with coltish enthusiasm. His low cross cannoned off Cort, a doughty presence all afternoon but who had had slipped at precisely the wrong moment and fell kindly for the typically mercurial Nicolas Anelka, who showed no mercy. There would be no glorious reprieve for Stoke and Chelsea cruised home with neither fuss nor ado.
Indeed, there might have been further Chelsea goals for Ballack and Lampard, but a combination of Sorensen’s exemplary positioning and marginally wayward finishing kept the score decent.
“Defending against Chelsea is like defending against the Red Arrows,” sighed Pulis. “They suck you in and then they drag you all over the shop. We could have pushed on more in the first half, but I’m pleased at how we competed in the
second. The important thing now is that we don’t get down in the dumps.”
For Chelsea, who will face the Romanians of Cluj in the Champions League on Wednesday without the injured Joe Cole, Ricardo Carvalho and Deco, further indication that there is iron aplenty in their soul. For Stoke, no disgrace, but a sobering warning that a giant heart is sometimes not enough
STOKE: Sorensen 7, Griffin 5, Cort 6, Abdoulaye Faye 7, Higginbotham 5, Lawrence 5 (Tonge 65min), Olofinjana 6, Diao 7, Cresswell 5, Kitson 5 (Fuller 52min, 6), Sidibe 6 (Amdy Faye 81)
CHELSEA: Cech 6, Bosingwa 7, Terry 6, Alex 6, Cole 6, Ballack 7 (Ferreira 89min), Obi Mikel 7, Lampard 7, Kalou 6 (Anelka 46min, 6), Malouda 6, Drogba 6 (Belletti 73min)
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Telegraph:
Chelsea thankful for sleek Jose Bosingwa Stoke City (0) 0 Chelsea (1) 2 By Patrick Barclay
Chelsea can cope with just about anything the Premier League can throw at them. Or not, as the case may be. Here, though Stoke lacked the hurling prowess of Rory Delap, it was a proper contest for a 24-minute period between the advent of Ricardo Fuller, the newcomers’ most exciting feature even when he is suffering from the after-effects of a virus, and the aspiring champions’ second goal, scored by the substitute Nicolas Anelka.
That was enough to stave off boredom pangs. Stoke, having taken a point at Liverpool last weekend, could not quite claim another in front of the whole of their admirable support. But they knew promotion would entail a struggle and, having met Aston Villa (whom they beat) as well as Champions League finalists from each of the past two seasons, need not be too daunted by the long remainder of their survival test.
“They are difficult to play against,’’ said Luiz Felipe Scolari of Tony Pulis’s physical but fair team. “If I can play beautiful football,’’ the Chelsea manager added, “I will. But it’s not easy against a team who want to play only off your mistakes.’’ Chelsea made few enough of those, delighting Scolari. Pulis, by contrast, rued the error by Leon Cort that helped Anelka to end a contest that had been swung the visitors’ way by an excellent goal from the Portugal right-back, Jose Bosingwa.
Pre-season, while Scolari was welcoming to Stamford Bridge the sleek Bosingwa, with whom he had spent the earlier part of the summer at Euro 2008, Pulis contented himself with the more prosaic Andy Griffin at right-back. This is the stark reality of the Premier League and yet the wonders of modern coaching (and Pulis works hard at his job) can close the gap. “I’m pleased,’’ said Pulis. “We’ve played two top teams and done very, very well.’’ As long as morale remains buoyant, that should continue.
Scolari had been respectful to his opponents in the build-up and no wonder; when it comes to taking full advantage of the rules, as Pulis does in narrowing the pitch here in order to optimise aspects of his team’s style including the long throws of Delap, the Brazilian makes the Welshman seem a purist. Maybe Scolari has reformed since leaving Brazil, but there he would go to the lengths of ordering ball-boys to delay returning balls to the pitch, or to throw on two, if he wanted the opposition’s rhythm to be disrupted.
Coming from the relatively cold and muddy southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, moreover, Scolari understands rudimentary football and may even have been looking forward to the challenge presented by Delap’s throws until it was disclosed that the midfielder would be missing with a hamstring problem. Just as frustratingly for Pulis, Fuller had to sit on the bench for 52 minutes. But there was Mamady Sidibe, whose deft turn prompted John Terry to wrestle him to the ground: a privilege the FA appear to believe should come with the England captaincy. At any rate Martin Atkinson, no doubt having noted the rescinding of Terry’s red card at Manchester City, settled for a lecture when yellow was required. And the football in that opening half? The first sustained passage of sweet skill was discerned in the 36th minute – and gave Chelsea the lead. Bosingwa began this move by surging down the flank and finding Salomon Kalou. On the ball went to Frank Lampard and, again, Bosingwa, who had continued his run and, taming Lampard’s chip with his chest, cleverly used its bounce in driving past Thomas Sorensen from a narrow angle.
The atmosphere created by the Stoke fans was hardly affected by the setback and, after Abdoulaye Faye had blundered and Sorensen been obliged to divert Florent Malouda’s shot against the crossbar, Pulis cheered them by sending on Fuller. Soon Faye, from a corner, would have equalised but for John Obi Mikel’s appearance near the goal-line. Another mistake was, however, to kill Stoke off, Cort inelegantly stooping to Bosingwa’s routine cross and Anelka putting a low shot beyond Sorensen. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indy:
Stoke City 0 Chelsea 2: Stoke's brave efforts derailed by Bosingwa's touches of class
By Steve Tongue at the Britannia Stadium Sunday, 28 September 2008
Another lesson in reality for a Premier League newcomer. Against a team missing Deco and Joe Cole, Stoke City kept out Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack, only to find a £16 million right-back scoring one goal and making another. Jose Bosingwa, much the best of the many expensive players Chelsea have signed in that position, was on the mark for the first time since joining from Porto and after a brave rally by Tony Pulis's side he created a goal for Nicolas Anelka, a £15m substitute.
Lampard and Ballack were excellent in midfield, an area Stoke tend to bypass in moving from back to front with maximum speed. Although parking several buses in the Anfield goalmouth earned a 0-0 draw last week, in driving forward at home they were always vulnerable to Chelsea's more sophisticated breaks.
Even Luiz Felipe Scolari had not seen a weapon like Rory Delap's huge throw-ins, but the Republic of Ireland international was declared unfit. Deprived of that threat, Stoke brought in the big striker Mamady Sidibe as a target for their clearances and set-pieces, with his partner, Dave Kitson, looking largely in vain for the second ball and knock-downs. Chelsea supporters disdainfully bawling "hoof!" at every long ball must have gone home with sore throats.
"A difficult game," Scolari said. "It's sometimes impossible to play beautiful football. The other team sometimes don't try to play. First win the game. Then if it's possible, play beautiful football."
Stoke hoped to capitalise on corners instead of throws, the irony being that as soon as they won one, after 35 minutes, they found Chelsea breaking upfield to score. The corner was nodded back across goal to Sidibe, who could manage no power in his header at the far post. Petr Cech cleared and Bosingwa went down the right, feeding Salomon Kalou, who passed inside to Lampard. A chip to Bosingwa and the full-back chested down and scored with a shot across the goalkeeper that Andy Griffin, racing back, could not quite keep out.
Stoke had been pinned back for the first quarter of an hour. Early on, Ballack had a 25-yard shot pushed over the bar by Thomas Sorensen and from the resulting corner the goalkeeper plunged to save Ballack's header at John Terry's feet. Ballack's free-kick then flew off the wall for a corner, and when the midfielder Seyi Olofinjana lost the ball, Lampard put Drogba clear and Sorensen had to save with his foot.
Stoke left the pitch at half-time to appreciative applause, returning to find Chelsea bringing on Anelka for the injured Kalou and almost scoring again. Abdoulaye Faye presented possession to Florent Malouda , Sorensen having to divert the swerving shot on to the bar with his forearm.
Scolari, who has made a virtue of sticking to the same personnel and formation as much as possible, kept to the same 4-3-3 for a while with Anelka out on the right, from where he wasted one good chance by shooting high and wide. So strongly did Stoke push, nevertheless, that with 20 minutes to play it was felt necessary to introduce Juliano Belletti as an extra midfield player. Pulis, meanwhile, sent on another beefy striker, Ricardo Fuller, and came desperately close to equalising. Leon Cort met Liam Lawrence's corner with a firm header that had the beating of Cech, but John Obi Mikel cleared off the line.
One error, however, and they were done for. Bosingwa swung in a low cross from the right and Cort merely cushioned it straight to Anelka, who put the seal on a sixth successive away win. "It's like defending against the red arrows – or the blue arrows," Pulis said. "But I'm very pleased that we've played two top teams and competed very well."
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Bosingwa draws Stoke sting Stoke City 0 Chelsea 2 Bosingwa 36, Anelka 76
Duncan Castles at the Britannia Stadium Jose Bosingwa is congratulated by Salamon Kalou after scoring his first Chelsea goal. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Who would have thought the Premier League's first Brazilian boss would relish an encounter like this? Long-ball, body-bruising Stoke City the weekend before a Champions League away trip should be a recipe for calamity, yet Luiz Felipe Scolari saw it as a joyful challenge to his old Gaucho scrapper's spirit.
As he had been in his days as a brutal stopper on the rough pitches of Rio Grande do Sul, Scolari had his squad steeled for the battle. As he'd guided his Brazil and Portugal teams through tournaments, he ensured Chelsea's skills were not forgotten in the physicality.
A goal in either half returned them - at least temporarily - to the summit of the Premier League where they should not be far from when Scolari's first English season comes to its conclusion.
'Sometimes it's impossible to play beautiful football,' he said. 'We need to construct first, win the game. Sometimes we try to play and the other team tries only to play with your mistakes. It's not easy but today my team played with a good position on the pitch and for me that's beautiful.I know my team, they play as I want. For me they play fantastic football because I am coach and I don't see it the same as fans.'
There had been civility in Stoke's teamsheet. Rory Delap, and the 'incredible' long throws that Scolari spent three days preparing a solution for, was absent after a hamstring strain. A raucous home support was less welcoming, roaring lusty delight as Stoke barrelled into Chelsea from kick-off.
Deco, Ricardo Carvalho and Michael Essien short of their own best eleven, Chelsea's intention was to set the tone with as positive an opening as possible. Frank Lampard's craftily chipped pass to Didier Drogba came close to delivering one, only for Thomas Sorensen to parry the forward's finish.
Chelsea's opening goal was a thing of beauty, started and emphatically completed by José Bosingwa. Taking possession 10 yards inside Stoke's half, the Portugal right back laid the ball off to Salomon Kalou then sprinted into the box to reclaim it from Lampard. Finally, came a vicious shot, propelled abreast of goalkeeper and off Andy Griffin's chest.
Though John Terry resorted to the rugby-tackle defending that landed him in trouble at Manchester City, Chelsea's area did not come under threat until the second half. By then Chelsea's lead might have doubled as Lampard's shot deflected a foot wide and Sorensen strong-armed a raking Florent Malouda drive on to the crossbar.
Malouda signalled a Chelsea lapse in petulantly standing over a Stoke free-kick at the cost of a shove in the chest from Griffin and a mutual yellow card. Some loose passing allowed the home team sufficient dead balls to frighten, particularly when Leon Cort drew John Obi Mikel into a goalline clearance.
Chelsea, however, had a salve for touchline concerns. Bosingwa attacked Stoke's left flank before crossing toward the penalty spot. Though Cort read the centre, he could not control it, leaving Nicolas Anelka with a chance even the profligate Frenchman could not miss. 'That killed it for us,' said Tony Pulis. 'But we've played well in some difficult games. We must not get down in the dumps.'
THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT
Nick Dunn, StokeCity.rivals.net forum
This match came straight after the Liverpool game and we weren't expecting points from either, so we were already ahead. It's always hard to concede an own goal, which it was in my view, early on. But we made Chelsea work for the victory. Delap being out injured cut off one of our avenues of attack, which wasn't helpful. We were spirited, but it's always a concern when one of their players costs more than our entire squad! In the second half we were way more spirited and had a few decent chances. We conceded a second, but our players didn't let their heads go down and we avoided any 5-0 or so scoreline.
The fan's player ratings Sorensen 8; Griffin 7, Cort 6, Ab Faye 8, Higginbotham 8; Lawrence 7, Tonge 7, Diao 7, Olofinjana 6, Cresswell 6; Sidibe 7, Kitson 6 Fuller 8
Trizia Fiorellino, Chair, Chelsea Supporters Group
Stoke harried us really well. We lacked creativity without Joe Cole and Deco, so struggled to get the ball to Drogba, who had go out to get it himself. Still, it was the kind of workmanlike performance that teams need to put on every now and again, and we did very well considering our absentees. Scolari changed it around in the second half - Anelka came on and we started holding the ball up better. Stoke went after us with a bit more bite and they should've had a goal. However, class showed in the end. When we scored we were far more comfortable than them and we looked for more diverse ways of getting the ball into the box.
The fan's player ratings Cech 8; Bosingwa 9, Alex 8, Terry 8, A Cole 8; Mikel 8; Ballack 7 Lampard 7; Kalou 7 (Anelka ht 6), Drogba 7 (Belletti 8), Malouda 7
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NOTW:
STOKE CITY 0, CHELSEA 2 Big Phil Scolari delighted with gritty win
From ROB BEASLEY at The Britannia Stadium, 27/09/2008
BRILLIANT Brazilian football it wasn’t but Phil Scolari still applauded his stars after they showed they can win ugly, too. Stoke may not be pretty to watch — but they are pretty damn difficult to beat.
Ask Liverpool and Aston Villa.
So the Chelsea boss was thrilled with his side’s disciplined display, raving at how his men kept their cool, their patience and their shape.
No-nonsense Stoke certainly made the millionaires from the capital battle every inch of the way.
Click here to see what real Stoke and Chelsea fans think of this game - and to have your say
But credit to the Londoners — first they coped with it, then they countered it and, finally, they conquered it.
And on the final whistle Scolari gave a contented nod of approval at a job well done.
Big Phil said: “The first aim was to win the game, the second was to play beautiful. Sometimes it is impossible to play beautiful football — and today it was difficult.
“But it was still beautiful for me to see my team out on the pitch.
“I see fantastic football because I am the coach.
“When we lose the ball I look to see who is covering on the left side, the right and the middle. Today my players were in the right positions.
“Sometimes we didn’t pass the right ball, sometimes we chose the wrong time to shoot, but we did not make a real mistake.
“We knew if we made a mistake they would be on to us.”
Stoke were full of effort and endeavour but Chelsea’s superior class told in the end.
Man of the match Jose Bosingwa fired them in front after 36 minutes after a classic Blues attack.
Praise The right-back rampaged forward before laying off a pass to Didier Drogba.
He knocked it wide to Frank Lampard on the touchline while Bosingwa continued his charge into the box. England star picked out his run perfectly and Bosingwa took full advantage, aiming a terrific shot beyond Thomas Sorensen and in off luckless Andy Griffiths on the line.
The Portugal international has been a revelation since his £16million summer move from Porto.
And Scolari was full of praise.
Big Phil said: “He may have been unknown in England before but now everyone in the world knows he is a very good player.
“He goes forward 200 times in a game but also keeps his position very well. He’s very good for us.”
So good for Chelsea that he followed up netting the opener by creating the second.
Credit It was his ball in that caught out Stoke centre-back Leon Cort.
Cort lost his feet trying to clear and only succeeded in presenting the ball to sub Nicolas Anelka, who fired home a first-time shot with Cort on the turf and powerless to react. Job done. Match won.
And won well because the scoreline could have been another four- or five-nil.
Keeper Sorensen deserves credit, too. He tipped over an early long- range effort from Michael Ballack, saved bravely at the feet of Drogba, and had no chance of stopping Bosingwa’s strike.
Anelka blazed over the bar on 65 minutes and although his goal made amends, there was no such luck for the badly out-of-sorts Ballack. After a match littered with misplaced passes he then lashed a close-range effort wide. He almost atoned when he set up Lamps in the dying seconds but, for once, Lamps’ finishing was found wanting.
Tough From barely eight yards out he could only tamely prod the ball straight at Sorensen.
Stoke have come through the toughest of baptisms. They’ve faced Villa, Liverpool, Everton and Chelsea and have never been over-run.
Relief is in sight. Next up, crisis- club Portsmouth and then Spurs.
Tony Pullis can’t wait.
He confessed: “It’s been a really tough start but we must not get down in the dumps.
“We got a point at Anfield and today faced a top, top team and gave them a real game.
“I was thinking ‘We might get back into this’ but then Corty lost his footing and the ball’s in the net.
“But we have to take the positives from it and go again.”
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