TimesDecember 6, 2008
Nicolas Anelka fires ChelseaBolton 0 Chelsea 2
Pete Oliver at Reebok stadium
DIDIER DROGBA is likely to return for Chelsea when they look to secure their passage from the Champions League group stages on Tuesday night and chief executive Peter Kenyon says he will not be sold in the January transfer window. But with Nicolas Anelka continuing his prolific scoring to lead Chelsea to an eighth successive away league win this season, who is the main man of Stamford Bridge?
Injuries have badly disrupted Drogba’s season, not to mention the suspension incurred for throwing a coin into the crowd during the Carling Cup defeat by Burnley that sidelined him here, but the fact remains he is yet to score a Premier League goal this season.
In his absence Anelka has carried Chelsea’s attack and when it comes to commitment to the cause it is the Frenchman, hardly renowned for such a quality during his nomadic career, who appears to have the edge. While Drogba has been linked with a reunion with Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan, Anelka has got his head down and blossomed.
Drogba at his best may have helped Chelsea avoid potentially costly home defeats by Liverpool and Arsenal and his return will obviously give Luiz Felipe Scolari welcome options but when the Brazilian badly needed a result yesterday after three games without a win and the first murmurings of discontent, Anelka was the one who delivered, to keep Chelsea within a point of leaders Liverpool.
“The spirit in the camp is different class,” said first-team coach Ray Wilkins. “You don’t perform like that if there is dissent in the camp. Where that came from, I don’t know. At this stage of the season we are in a fantastic position and we will get back on track at home.”
Anelka scored 23 goals for Bolton in an 18-month stint at the Reebok stadium before moving to Chelsea in January. When he found the net on his return it was for the ninth time in seven league games, taking his Premier League career tally to 99. The ton would probably have come up in the second half but for an incorrect offside flag but the 29-year-old is still the top flight’s leading scorer, with 15 in all competitions. “If I was a Bolton fan I wouldn’t take it personally because the form he’s in, he would have scored against anybody,” Wilkins said.
Anelka’s pace and ease of movement add a wonderful fluency to Chelsea’s attack, which, augmented by the forward runs of Deco, Frank Lampard and Salomon Kalou, again threw off the shackles away from home and was too much for Bolton to deal with.
Bolton’s plan was to starve the Blues of time and space. Unfortunately for them it didn’t work until the game had gone. “We really needed to be more intense in the first half. Only a few were playing with the tempo we wanted,” said Bolton manager Gary Megson.
Had Kevin Davies scored with a close-range header from Gavin McCann’s early corner Bolton might have harboured hopes of building on a run of four wins in five games but his effort went too high. Within 90 seconds Anelka had swooped to dive and head in a Jose Bosingwa cross after stealing a yard from marker Andy O’Brien.
“I wasn’t surprised, given the opportunity he had. Any centre-forward in the Premier League would have scored that. I was a bit disappointed in the manner it came about,” said Megson.
After five successive wins on this ground Chelsea were never likely to lose after that. A second goal from Deco after 21 minutes, acrobatically volleyed in, guaranteed it. Despite some concerted Bolton pressure in the second half, Chelsea should have added to their lead on the break through Deco, Lampard and Bosingwa.
BOLTON WANDERERS: Jaaskelainen 6, Steinsson 6, Cahill 6, A O’Brien 5, Samuel 5 (Smolarek 80min), Davies 5, Muamba 6 (Gardner h-t, 5), McCann 6, Nolan 6, Taylor 5, Elmander 5
CHELSEA: Cech 5, Bosingwa 7 (Ivanovic 90min), Alex 6, Terry 8, A Cole 7, Mikel 6, Kalou 6 (Ferreira 83min), Lampard 7, Ballack 6, Deco 7, Anelka 8
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Telegraph:
Deco and Nicolas Anelka keep up Chelsea's winning run on the roadBolton Wanderers (0) 0 Chelsea (2) 2 By Derick Allsop
When your game is supposedly faltering and you are confronted by the Premier League's in form team, you could be excused a sense of trepidation. Chelsea, palpably, had no such concerns.
They restored the old order with an economy of endeavour and purpose that suggested the defeat by Arsenal inflicted near flesh wounds.
Chelsea were doubtless content to be back on the road. This was their 11th consecutive league win away from home, a record in the top division, and appropriately attained on the ground where they secured their first title of the Abramovich regime.
The making of this season's champions will, of course, demand sterner examination. Bolton had failed to score against Chelsea here in six years and must have feared the die was cast again when Kevin Davies squandered an early opportunity.
Instead the familiar conviction of Nicolas Anelka came back to torment Bolton and set the match on its irresistible course. The centre forward sold to Chelsea for £15 million 11 months ago registered his 15th goal of the campaign and his former club, having racked up four wins in five matches, was suddenly deflated.
Bolton's cause was all but lost by the 21st minute, when Deco acrobatically despatched Chelsea's second.
The Brazilian-born Portugal international ought to have given his side a third, early in the second half, but in the main Chelsea appeared satisfied with what they had and although Bolton mustered the occasional menace, an air of inevitability descended on the Reebok.
Even on a day when Petr Cech appeared ill at ease, he still managed to snuff out the last prospect of a Bolton revival with an excellent stop from Gary Cahill.
Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Chelsea manager, deputed his assistant, Ray Wilkins, to field questions about alleged dissention in the camp.
"The spirit in the camp is different class," Wilkins maintained. "You don't perform like that if there's dissent in the camp. It hurts these lads when they lose. Where that story comes from I don't know.
"It was a fantastic performance. It was always going to be tough coming here, but you have to respect the way people play and match them. Our lads were up for a scrap and they showed that. Once we do that our football comes through."
Wilkins was equally adamant the club's apparent vulnerability at home was no cause for alarm. "Teams come and block up the midfield and put 10 men behind the ball. Overall we're delighted where we are, we're in a fantastic position. We'll get back on track at home."
Bolton should have ended that long search for a home goal against Chelsea when Gavin McCann's corner kick invited the fabled aerial attack of Davies. To the disbelief of everyone in the stadium, he headed over.
Barely two minutes later Chelsea led and this time the predictable materialised. Anelka, back in the environment where he resuscitated his Premier League career, met Jose Bosingwa's cross with a lunging header and the ball went in off the inside of the near post.
Salomon Kalou wisely ignored Anelka, drifting into an offside position, as Chelsea hunted a second. Jussi Jaaskelainen blocked Kalou's low shot but Michael Ballack headed the ball back into the area and Deco executed the perfect bicycle kick to beat the Bolton goalkeeper.
Bolton recovered sufficient composure to mount a more concerted threat in the second half yet rarely tested the reflexes of Cech. Deco skipped clear, only to miscue embarrassingly with his attempted chip and Frank Lampard shot straight at Jaaskelainen.
Bolton's plight committed them to an open match and they might have been rewarded when Johan Elmander made an excellent connection with his volley. Alas for the Swede, the ball cannoned away off John Terry.
Davies, persistently muscling his way into Chelsea's area, clicked on for Cahill to head goalwards and Cech responded splendidly. He was also alert enough to defy McCann from the rebound.
Gary Megson, the Bolton manager, acknowledged his team were always swimming against the tide after those two early goals.
He said: "I was bitterly disappointed with our defending for the first goal. Any centre forward in the Premier League would have scored that, not just Nic. We needed to be more intense but too few players gave us what we needed in the first-half.
"In the second-half we were better but by then we were two down."
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Mail:
Bolton 0 Chelsea 2: Anelka returns to haunt WanderersBy Daniel King
Another strange week for Chelsea ended in another convincing away victory, thanks to returning anti-hero Nicolas Anelka and Deco.
If a measure of a team's quality is its ability to recover from setbacks, then Luiz Felipe Scolari's Chelsea are a resilient lot.
Six days after another numbing home defeat and performance, it was business as usual away from Stamford Bridge.
Anelka, whose ineffectiveness in the three home games against the other members of the Big Four has not gone unnoticed, scored early on to ease any hangover from the Arsenal disappointment and Deco added a spectacular second.
Bolton, for all their endeavour and penalty claims in the second half, never really looked like recovering. For those who believe that all is not well at Chelsea, this match had all the makings of something symbolic.
On the ground where they won their first title for 50 years under another Portuguese-speaking coach, would Scolari's team falter and hand the title initiative back to Liverpool? No.
Because, on their travels, Scolari's team are a different animal from the side struggling at home recently and who, according to the boss, need reinforcements if they are to maintain a challenge on domestic and European fronts.
So the only landmarks reached yesterday were two more footnotes in the record books. This 11th successive away victory broke the top-flight standard set by Tottenham as long ago as 1960-1 and a fifth consecutive away clean sheet also earned Chelsea a share of the Premier League best.
Statistics can be damned lies, of course, but a run of eight away wins, 21 goals for and only one against is undeniably impressive. Scolari's theory is that teams are under more of an obligation to attack Chelsea at home, but are more content to sit deep at Stamford Bridge.
Romanian side Cluj will probably be no exception on Tuesday in a match which could yet force Chelsea out of the Champions League before the knockout stage and put Scolari under immense pressure less than four months into his first season.
It took Anelka less than nine minutes to settle the early Chelsea nerves yesterday.
The Frenchman and Jose Bosingwa have been Chelsea's players of the season so far and they combined for the crucial opening goal.
With the left foot which beat Scott Carson a few weeks earlier at West Bromwich, Bosingwa curled in a beautiful cross from the right which Anelka headed in via the far post from the edge of the six-yard box.
It was Anelka's 15th goal of the season and his 13th in the league, a tally which has been anything but unlucky for Chelsea in the frequent absence of Didier Drogba.
Moments earlier, Kevin Davies had headed over from Gavin McCann's corner to give Bolton fans a glimpse of an upset, but thereafter it was only a strangely erratic performance from Petr Cech which gave the away team any cause for concern.
A poor clearance gave Kevin Nolan a chance from 20 yards, but Chelsea were soon further ahead.
Salomon Kalou should have scored after a flowing break, but when Jussi Jaaskelainen saved, Michael Ballack headed sideways to Deco, who scored with a fabulous overhead volley.
Almost immediately, Anelka was on the end of another swift move but side-footed wide after Jaaskelainen's poor palmed clearance.
As Chelsea threatened to score from virtually every attack, the Bolton keeper had to cut out Bosingwa's cross after a sumptuous pass from Deco. Cech continued to offer Bolton hope and was almost robbed by Johan Elmander when two previous poor kicks made him think twice about clearing first time.
But the nearest the home team came to scoring was a Davies effort which Terry blocked. The second half was more of a contest, and more entertaining as a result.
Bolton threatened first, claiming a penalty when Alex seemed to push Davies, but Deco should have killed the game but shot embarrassingly wide when through on goal.
Frank Lampard shot straight at Jaaskelainen and then Bolton were appealing for another penalty, this time because they felt John Terry had blocked Elmander's fierce volley with his hands.
Cech finally did something constructive, keeping out Gary Cahill's diving header and recovering in time to gather McCann's weak follow-up.
After that flurry of excitement, the game petered out into what was essentially another routine Chelsea victory. Scolari will hope for something equally straightforward against Cluj.
BOLTON (4-5-1): Jaaskelainen; Steinsson, A O'Brien, Cahill, Samuel (Smolarek 80min); Davies, Muamba (Gardner 46), Nolan, McCann, Taylor; Elmander. Subs (not used): Al Habsi, Shittu, Riga, Basham, Obadeyi. Booked: Davies, A O'Brien.
CHELSEA (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa (Ivanovic 89), Alex, Terry, A Cole; Mikel; Kalou (Ferreira 83), Ballack, Lampard, Deco; Anelka. Subs (not used): Cudicini, Sinclair, Mineiro, Stoch, Woods. Booked: Ballack.
Referee: H Webb (S Yorkshire).
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Independent:
Deco crowns Chelsea kings of the road
Bolton Wanderers 0 Chelsea 2: Bolton proves a happy hunting ground once again for Blues who beat top-flight record for successive away victories
By Steve Tongue at the Reebok Stadium
If this venue has occasionally been a graveyard for Arsenal over recent years, Chelsea have always looked forward to the ride up the M61 and enjoyed the trip home all the more. Yesterday, they took all three points with them for the sixth successive season, without having conceded a single goal in that time. It was an 11th successive away victory, beating Bill Nicholson's Tottenham double team of 1960-1, and the only disappointment after a comfortable win was reaching the dressing-room to discover that Liverpool had also won, maintaining their one-point lead at the top of the table.
Stumbling at home recently against Newcastle and Arsenal had caused Chelsea to slip behind, but on their travels they have been unbeatable for almost a year. John Terry kept Bolton comfortably at bay with a typically solid display, the midfield dominated possession and there were goals in the first quarter of the game from Nicolas Anelka, against the club he left in January, and Deco with a superb volley. Anelka may have achieved little or nothing for Chelsea before the end of last season but he is a new man now with 15 goals to prove it.
"Our lads were well up for a scrap and once we combated that our football will come through," said their assistant manager Ray Wilkins. "At home, opponents have worked out a plan against us. But it was a fantastic performance." Now for Cluj in a decisive Champions' League game on Tuesday, when they must make home advantage count.
For Bolton it was back to cold reality after four wins in five November matches had propelled them from 19th place to ninth and should earn Gary Megson the Manager of the Month award. A shame it had to be Chelsea next, against whom they had not scored anywhere in seven encounters. There were only two real chances to do so all afternoon, the first arriving after only eight minutes play; but when Kevin Davies placed a free header over the bar from Gavin McCann's corner they paid a heavy price. Within two minutes Chelsea's Jose Bosingwa, an impressive presence at right-back all season, turned inside for a left-footed cross to the far post that caught Andy O'Brien watching the ballinstead of Anelka. The striker lunged forward to head in off a post.
If the visitors had needed settling down against a team in confident mood, that moment allowed it and much of the passing from then on was excellent. There was even the bonus of a second goal in the 21st minute. A fine, flowing move ran from Deco on the left to Michael Ballack in the centre, then Salomon Kalou, whose shot was beaten out by Jussi Jaaskelainen. Fatally, Bolton appeared to relax and Ballack headed the rebound down to Deco, who performed an exquisite mid-air volley to score his first goal since August and erase memories of a particularly disappointing performance against Arsenal.
Now Chelsea could keep things tighter and break out at speed, which they did to good effect. Anelka might even had added a third goal, shooting wide after Frank Lampard's free-kick was punched out to him. By the interval Petr Cech had not been required to make a save, although he once invited trouble by trying to dribble past Johan Elmander, who almost dispossessed him.
Elmander, running in to form now that he is fully fit, has been demonstrating his potential for the first time since signing from Toulouse, and had scored three times in the excellent victories at Middlesbrough and Sunderland. Instead of having Davies up alongside him, however, he was effectively on his own while Davies hugged the touchline. The intention was presumably to prevent Ashley Cole foraging forward, which worked to an extent but it was an essentially negative strategy.
Megson waited until half-timebefore changing anything, moving Davies into the middle and replacing his most defensive midfielder Fabrice Muamba with Ricardo Gardner.
With the backing of a supportive home crowd, Bolton pressed hard but should have been punished more than once on the counterattack. First two home defenders collided, allowing Kalou to send Deco clear for a chip that he played carelessly wide. Then Lampard burst into the penalty area, as is his wont, but could find no power as he met Anelka's pass. Two appeals for handball against the excellent Terry – the second might have been given – were all Bolton had to show for their pressure until the 72nd minute, when Davies nudged on a long throw and Gary Cahill's header at close range required Cech to produce his first and only save. "Against the top four you can stifle the life out of the game or try to play at a higher tempo," Megson said, "but in the first half we only had a few doing that."
Attendance: 22,023
Referee: Howard Webb
Man of the match: Terry
Match rating: 6/10
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The Observer
Sublime art of Deco keeps Chelsea winning awayBolton Wanderers 0 Chelsea 2 Anelka 9, Deco 21
Duncan Castles at the Reebok Stadium Luiz Felipe Scolari welcomes dialogue with his players, but there has been too much explaining to do of late.
It starts with explaining that his team have to play quick-passing, short-ball football because they have neither the power of Didier Drogba nor the longed-for trickery of Robinho in attack; that the squad are beset with so many chronic injuries that fitness training is better tempered; that there is no one in the youth team worthy of promotion and no cash from the owner to acquire new recruits.
Scolari was not up for talking yesterday, sending Ray Wilkins to straight-bat queries about dressing-room dissent. 'None whatsoever,' said the assistant manager. 'If you're looking at an angle then that team today might have fallen apart. The spirit in the camp is different class. You can't perform like that if there is dissension about.
'The training that they do is absolutely first class. They love it, they enjoy it and you can see today they don't need anything more intense. Their workrate is first class and they've been well up for every game they've played. No, unfortunately in football sometimes you get beat. Over the last couple of years that's been quite a rare occurrence and it hurts deeply when the lads are beaten. But there is certainly no dissension in the camp.'
What cannot be questioned, what requires no explanation is Chelsea's Premier League away form. Yesterday brought a record 11th consecutive top-flight victory; Scolari's eighth of a season in which his team have scored 21 goals on their League travels and conceded one.
When opponents are forced on to them by the expectations of the home support, Nicolas Anelka has room to run into as his team-mates trade passes and launch the counterattack. Goals flow freely, generally early, and the game is dead before energy levels ever become an issue.
Here Bolton were killed off before the floodlights were needed. Deco strung a ball across the penalty area, José Bosingwa gathered it with time to pick out Anelka. Unmarked but played onside by Andy O'Brien, the Frenchman headed in off an upright. 'I think any centre-forward in the Premiership would have scored that,' bemoaned Gary Megson.
His team responded with a clutch of corners and long shots without truly straining Petr Cech. Chelsea simply extended their lead. More precise passing around the home area teed up Salomon Kalou for a strike Jussi Jaaskelainen did well to parry. Unfortunately for the goalkeeper, his save rebounded to Michael Ballack, who headed square for Deco's clinical overhead.
Tongue-lashed by Megson, Bolton brought more conviction to the second half yet created little of note until John Terry followed his own header off the line with an upper-arm block of a Johan Elmander drive. 'Bigger teams get the decisions,' Megson said. 'I don't think that kind of decision would ever go our way today.'
If the defender's arm was close enough to his body to escape a penalty, Chelsea should have been four to the good by that point, Deco and Lampard both spurning one-on-ones with Jaaskelainen.
The game meandered on, Cech foiled Gary Cahill and Gavin McCann with an immaculate double save, full-time came, and Scolari headed for the bus. 'Sometimes he gets extremely tired,' Wilkins explained. 'He's just having a day off.' Fortunately, his problems did the same.
THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT
Aaron Haley, WorldwideWanderers.co.uk There's no disgrace in losing a game like that. They came out strong and went two goals up, and they were two goals that we really couldn't do much about. They have great quality in the final third and that showed. We weren't awful by any means. It was a fair result – unfortunately it was a good, even game that we lost. Deco showed what a special player he is with the overhead kick for a goal – they showed what a class side they are as a whole. In fact, they could have had more goals, but we didn't fall apart like maybe we would have previously. I'm really happy with the way we played. Elmander is putting himself about and has confidence after scoring a few goals, so he seems to be fitting into the side really well.
The fan's player ratings Jaaskelainen 6; Steinsson 8, Cahill 7, A O'Brien 7, Samuel 7 (Smolarek n/a); Davies 7, McCann 7; Nolan 7, Muamba 7 (Gardner 7), Taylor 7; Elmander 8
John Baines, Observer reader It wasn't our best performance – it looked a bit more like Chelsea of old than the new – but it was a good result away from home and the kind of match that's valuable to take the points from. With Bolton you expect a good physical game and I think we handled that well. We've still got that resolve when it comes to it, with Terry marshalling the defence and Cech played really well today. We'd been looking impotent recently, with difficulty breaking down the best defences. There's been some murmuring that we were lacking a bit on the wings. It helps to have an extra bit of inspiration – Deco seems to provide that and he played really well today and, of course, had that goal. He was my man of the match.
The fan's player ratings Cech 7; Bosingwa 7 (Ivanovic n/a), Terry 7, Alex 7, A Cole 6; Mikel 6; Kalou 5 (Ferreira 5), Lampard 6, Ballack 6, Deco 8; Anelka 7
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NOTW:
Deco ensures it's done and dusted By ROB BEASLEY, 06/12/2008
CHELSEA fans marked the record-breaking occasion with a chorus of Christmas favourite Jingle Bells.
And no wonder they gleefully sang: “Oh what fun it is to see Chelsea win away.”
For this was an 11th successive win on the road, the best ever in the top flight.
And with five clean sheets in a row to boot!
So while their long, proud unbeaten home record may have been shattered by league leaders Liverpool last month, their away days are still plain sailing.
Truth is, this match was done and dusted the moment Deco’s 21st-minute strike made it 2-0 for the Londoners.
After that, Bolton huffed and puffed, kicked and snarled, bullied and battled — but never seriously looked like saving the day.
Yet, for all of that, it could have been different. For Kevin Davies had the perfect opportunity to exert extra pressure on the Blues after their recent fragility — last weekend’s home defeat to Arsenal coming quickly after their lame Champions League draw in Bordeaux.
A seventh-minute Gavin McCann corner picked him out superbly, slap bang in front of goal and all Davies had to do was deliver a trademark header into the back of the net.
Incredibly, he failed to even hit the target — wastefully directing his effort over the bar and allowing Chelsea off the hook.
Two minutes later Chelsea made Davies and his Trotters’ team-mates pay the price for that profligacy.
Jose Bosingwa swept in a cross from the right, Bolton’s defending was all awry and former Reebok hero Nicolas Anelka ghosted in at the far post to steer a header in off the near post.
Bolton desperately appealed for offside but in vain, as the Frenchman had timed his break perfectly to notch his 15th goal of the season — and now it was the home side who were under examination.
Could they respond?
Petr Cech’s eccentric goalkeeping certainly gave them hope.
The Czech miskicked one attempted clearance into touch and another straight at Kevin Nolan, who failed to capitalise on his surprise opportunity for a quickfire equaliser.
And Bolton were certainly ruffling Chelsea’s feathers with their no-nonsense approach and keenness for the challenge.
Bosingwa, Salomon Kalou and Michael Ballack were all on the receiving end, although the home fans derided their reactions as merely those of a bunch of “Southern softies”.
But the softies increased their lead after ripping the home side apart with a classy attack.
Twice Ballack provided the assist — first for Kalou, who blazed straight at Jussi Jaaskelainen.
However, the Germany captain rescued the situation, taking charge of the rebound to tee up Deco, who did not miss.
And Anelka almost made it three just moments later.
Frank Lampard’s free-kick was helped on by skipper John Terry and fell to Anelka, who was again lurking beyond the far post.
This time, though, the in-form forward could only stab his first-time shot wide.
Bolton boss Gary Megson had clearly geed his side up for the second half and they gave Chelsea a much sterner test after the break.
The Blues survived a strong penalty appeal within six minutes of the restart when Alex looked to have eased Johan Elmander out of the way. Unfortunately for Megson’s men, referee Howard Webb’s whistle stayed silent.
Chelsea were looking decidedly uncomfortable, especially the nervy Cech, whose error-strewn display saw him completely miss a routine cross, leaving the alert Ballack to clear up the mess. But then the Blues should have wrapped up the three points with a third goal. Kalou’s quick-thinking saw him send Deco clear. Yet although there was no one near him as he sped toward goal, he never looked confident.
And three terrible touches later he was firing at least 10 yards wide.
Bolton battled back but they had another penalty appeal ignored by Webb.
The ball hit Terry’s arm yet the ref decided it was ball to hand. It was a close call.
No wonder Megson moaned: “The big teams get the decisions. I never felt that kind of decision was ever going to go our way.
“So it was no surprise it wasn’t given, it would have been more of a surprise if it actually was.”
And when Cech then saved well from Gary Cahill’s point-blank header it only confirmed that it was not going to be Bolton’s day.
So Chelsea completed yet another victory on their travels to top the great Tottenham Double-winning side of 1960-61 and go into the record books.
Assistant-boss Ray Wilkins said: “It is a tremendous record by anybody’s standards, our away performances have been first class.”
But he spent more time trying to explain away growing talk of discontent in the ranks.
He added: “There’s no problem whatsoever, it is not part of our club. If those reports were true then the team would have fallen apart — but the spirit is first class.
“You can’t come to a place like Bolton and perform as we did if there’s dissent.”
Methinks he does protest too much.
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Nicolas Anelka fires ChelseaBolton 0 Chelsea 2
Pete Oliver at Reebok stadium
DIDIER DROGBA is likely to return for Chelsea when they look to secure their passage from the Champions League group stages on Tuesday night and chief executive Peter Kenyon says he will not be sold in the January transfer window. But with Nicolas Anelka continuing his prolific scoring to lead Chelsea to an eighth successive away league win this season, who is the main man of Stamford Bridge?
Injuries have badly disrupted Drogba’s season, not to mention the suspension incurred for throwing a coin into the crowd during the Carling Cup defeat by Burnley that sidelined him here, but the fact remains he is yet to score a Premier League goal this season.
In his absence Anelka has carried Chelsea’s attack and when it comes to commitment to the cause it is the Frenchman, hardly renowned for such a quality during his nomadic career, who appears to have the edge. While Drogba has been linked with a reunion with Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan, Anelka has got his head down and blossomed.
Drogba at his best may have helped Chelsea avoid potentially costly home defeats by Liverpool and Arsenal and his return will obviously give Luiz Felipe Scolari welcome options but when the Brazilian badly needed a result yesterday after three games without a win and the first murmurings of discontent, Anelka was the one who delivered, to keep Chelsea within a point of leaders Liverpool.
“The spirit in the camp is different class,” said first-team coach Ray Wilkins. “You don’t perform like that if there is dissent in the camp. Where that came from, I don’t know. At this stage of the season we are in a fantastic position and we will get back on track at home.”
Anelka scored 23 goals for Bolton in an 18-month stint at the Reebok stadium before moving to Chelsea in January. When he found the net on his return it was for the ninth time in seven league games, taking his Premier League career tally to 99. The ton would probably have come up in the second half but for an incorrect offside flag but the 29-year-old is still the top flight’s leading scorer, with 15 in all competitions. “If I was a Bolton fan I wouldn’t take it personally because the form he’s in, he would have scored against anybody,” Wilkins said.
Anelka’s pace and ease of movement add a wonderful fluency to Chelsea’s attack, which, augmented by the forward runs of Deco, Frank Lampard and Salomon Kalou, again threw off the shackles away from home and was too much for Bolton to deal with.
Bolton’s plan was to starve the Blues of time and space. Unfortunately for them it didn’t work until the game had gone. “We really needed to be more intense in the first half. Only a few were playing with the tempo we wanted,” said Bolton manager Gary Megson.
Had Kevin Davies scored with a close-range header from Gavin McCann’s early corner Bolton might have harboured hopes of building on a run of four wins in five games but his effort went too high. Within 90 seconds Anelka had swooped to dive and head in a Jose Bosingwa cross after stealing a yard from marker Andy O’Brien.
“I wasn’t surprised, given the opportunity he had. Any centre-forward in the Premier League would have scored that. I was a bit disappointed in the manner it came about,” said Megson.
After five successive wins on this ground Chelsea were never likely to lose after that. A second goal from Deco after 21 minutes, acrobatically volleyed in, guaranteed it. Despite some concerted Bolton pressure in the second half, Chelsea should have added to their lead on the break through Deco, Lampard and Bosingwa.
BOLTON WANDERERS: Jaaskelainen 6, Steinsson 6, Cahill 6, A O’Brien 5, Samuel 5 (Smolarek 80min), Davies 5, Muamba 6 (Gardner h-t, 5), McCann 6, Nolan 6, Taylor 5, Elmander 5
CHELSEA: Cech 5, Bosingwa 7 (Ivanovic 90min), Alex 6, Terry 8, A Cole 7, Mikel 6, Kalou 6 (Ferreira 83min), Lampard 7, Ballack 6, Deco 7, Anelka 8
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Telegraph:
Deco and Nicolas Anelka keep up Chelsea's winning run on the roadBolton Wanderers (0) 0 Chelsea (2) 2 By Derick Allsop
When your game is supposedly faltering and you are confronted by the Premier League's in form team, you could be excused a sense of trepidation. Chelsea, palpably, had no such concerns.
They restored the old order with an economy of endeavour and purpose that suggested the defeat by Arsenal inflicted near flesh wounds.
Chelsea were doubtless content to be back on the road. This was their 11th consecutive league win away from home, a record in the top division, and appropriately attained on the ground where they secured their first title of the Abramovich regime.
The making of this season's champions will, of course, demand sterner examination. Bolton had failed to score against Chelsea here in six years and must have feared the die was cast again when Kevin Davies squandered an early opportunity.
Instead the familiar conviction of Nicolas Anelka came back to torment Bolton and set the match on its irresistible course. The centre forward sold to Chelsea for £15 million 11 months ago registered his 15th goal of the campaign and his former club, having racked up four wins in five matches, was suddenly deflated.
Bolton's cause was all but lost by the 21st minute, when Deco acrobatically despatched Chelsea's second.
The Brazilian-born Portugal international ought to have given his side a third, early in the second half, but in the main Chelsea appeared satisfied with what they had and although Bolton mustered the occasional menace, an air of inevitability descended on the Reebok.
Even on a day when Petr Cech appeared ill at ease, he still managed to snuff out the last prospect of a Bolton revival with an excellent stop from Gary Cahill.
Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Chelsea manager, deputed his assistant, Ray Wilkins, to field questions about alleged dissention in the camp.
"The spirit in the camp is different class," Wilkins maintained. "You don't perform like that if there's dissent in the camp. It hurts these lads when they lose. Where that story comes from I don't know.
"It was a fantastic performance. It was always going to be tough coming here, but you have to respect the way people play and match them. Our lads were up for a scrap and they showed that. Once we do that our football comes through."
Wilkins was equally adamant the club's apparent vulnerability at home was no cause for alarm. "Teams come and block up the midfield and put 10 men behind the ball. Overall we're delighted where we are, we're in a fantastic position. We'll get back on track at home."
Bolton should have ended that long search for a home goal against Chelsea when Gavin McCann's corner kick invited the fabled aerial attack of Davies. To the disbelief of everyone in the stadium, he headed over.
Barely two minutes later Chelsea led and this time the predictable materialised. Anelka, back in the environment where he resuscitated his Premier League career, met Jose Bosingwa's cross with a lunging header and the ball went in off the inside of the near post.
Salomon Kalou wisely ignored Anelka, drifting into an offside position, as Chelsea hunted a second. Jussi Jaaskelainen blocked Kalou's low shot but Michael Ballack headed the ball back into the area and Deco executed the perfect bicycle kick to beat the Bolton goalkeeper.
Bolton recovered sufficient composure to mount a more concerted threat in the second half yet rarely tested the reflexes of Cech. Deco skipped clear, only to miscue embarrassingly with his attempted chip and Frank Lampard shot straight at Jaaskelainen.
Bolton's plight committed them to an open match and they might have been rewarded when Johan Elmander made an excellent connection with his volley. Alas for the Swede, the ball cannoned away off John Terry.
Davies, persistently muscling his way into Chelsea's area, clicked on for Cahill to head goalwards and Cech responded splendidly. He was also alert enough to defy McCann from the rebound.
Gary Megson, the Bolton manager, acknowledged his team were always swimming against the tide after those two early goals.
He said: "I was bitterly disappointed with our defending for the first goal. Any centre forward in the Premier League would have scored that, not just Nic. We needed to be more intense but too few players gave us what we needed in the first-half.
"In the second-half we were better but by then we were two down."
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Mail:
Bolton 0 Chelsea 2: Anelka returns to haunt WanderersBy Daniel King
Another strange week for Chelsea ended in another convincing away victory, thanks to returning anti-hero Nicolas Anelka and Deco.
If a measure of a team's quality is its ability to recover from setbacks, then Luiz Felipe Scolari's Chelsea are a resilient lot.
Six days after another numbing home defeat and performance, it was business as usual away from Stamford Bridge.
Anelka, whose ineffectiveness in the three home games against the other members of the Big Four has not gone unnoticed, scored early on to ease any hangover from the Arsenal disappointment and Deco added a spectacular second.
Bolton, for all their endeavour and penalty claims in the second half, never really looked like recovering. For those who believe that all is not well at Chelsea, this match had all the makings of something symbolic.
On the ground where they won their first title for 50 years under another Portuguese-speaking coach, would Scolari's team falter and hand the title initiative back to Liverpool? No.
Because, on their travels, Scolari's team are a different animal from the side struggling at home recently and who, according to the boss, need reinforcements if they are to maintain a challenge on domestic and European fronts.
So the only landmarks reached yesterday were two more footnotes in the record books. This 11th successive away victory broke the top-flight standard set by Tottenham as long ago as 1960-1 and a fifth consecutive away clean sheet also earned Chelsea a share of the Premier League best.
Statistics can be damned lies, of course, but a run of eight away wins, 21 goals for and only one against is undeniably impressive. Scolari's theory is that teams are under more of an obligation to attack Chelsea at home, but are more content to sit deep at Stamford Bridge.
Romanian side Cluj will probably be no exception on Tuesday in a match which could yet force Chelsea out of the Champions League before the knockout stage and put Scolari under immense pressure less than four months into his first season.
It took Anelka less than nine minutes to settle the early Chelsea nerves yesterday.
The Frenchman and Jose Bosingwa have been Chelsea's players of the season so far and they combined for the crucial opening goal.
With the left foot which beat Scott Carson a few weeks earlier at West Bromwich, Bosingwa curled in a beautiful cross from the right which Anelka headed in via the far post from the edge of the six-yard box.
It was Anelka's 15th goal of the season and his 13th in the league, a tally which has been anything but unlucky for Chelsea in the frequent absence of Didier Drogba.
Moments earlier, Kevin Davies had headed over from Gavin McCann's corner to give Bolton fans a glimpse of an upset, but thereafter it was only a strangely erratic performance from Petr Cech which gave the away team any cause for concern.
A poor clearance gave Kevin Nolan a chance from 20 yards, but Chelsea were soon further ahead.
Salomon Kalou should have scored after a flowing break, but when Jussi Jaaskelainen saved, Michael Ballack headed sideways to Deco, who scored with a fabulous overhead volley.
Almost immediately, Anelka was on the end of another swift move but side-footed wide after Jaaskelainen's poor palmed clearance.
As Chelsea threatened to score from virtually every attack, the Bolton keeper had to cut out Bosingwa's cross after a sumptuous pass from Deco. Cech continued to offer Bolton hope and was almost robbed by Johan Elmander when two previous poor kicks made him think twice about clearing first time.
But the nearest the home team came to scoring was a Davies effort which Terry blocked. The second half was more of a contest, and more entertaining as a result.
Bolton threatened first, claiming a penalty when Alex seemed to push Davies, but Deco should have killed the game but shot embarrassingly wide when through on goal.
Frank Lampard shot straight at Jaaskelainen and then Bolton were appealing for another penalty, this time because they felt John Terry had blocked Elmander's fierce volley with his hands.
Cech finally did something constructive, keeping out Gary Cahill's diving header and recovering in time to gather McCann's weak follow-up.
After that flurry of excitement, the game petered out into what was essentially another routine Chelsea victory. Scolari will hope for something equally straightforward against Cluj.
BOLTON (4-5-1): Jaaskelainen; Steinsson, A O'Brien, Cahill, Samuel (Smolarek 80min); Davies, Muamba (Gardner 46), Nolan, McCann, Taylor; Elmander. Subs (not used): Al Habsi, Shittu, Riga, Basham, Obadeyi. Booked: Davies, A O'Brien.
CHELSEA (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa (Ivanovic 89), Alex, Terry, A Cole; Mikel; Kalou (Ferreira 83), Ballack, Lampard, Deco; Anelka. Subs (not used): Cudicini, Sinclair, Mineiro, Stoch, Woods. Booked: Ballack.
Referee: H Webb (S Yorkshire).
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Independent:
Deco crowns Chelsea kings of the road
Bolton Wanderers 0 Chelsea 2: Bolton proves a happy hunting ground once again for Blues who beat top-flight record for successive away victories
By Steve Tongue at the Reebok Stadium
If this venue has occasionally been a graveyard for Arsenal over recent years, Chelsea have always looked forward to the ride up the M61 and enjoyed the trip home all the more. Yesterday, they took all three points with them for the sixth successive season, without having conceded a single goal in that time. It was an 11th successive away victory, beating Bill Nicholson's Tottenham double team of 1960-1, and the only disappointment after a comfortable win was reaching the dressing-room to discover that Liverpool had also won, maintaining their one-point lead at the top of the table.
Stumbling at home recently against Newcastle and Arsenal had caused Chelsea to slip behind, but on their travels they have been unbeatable for almost a year. John Terry kept Bolton comfortably at bay with a typically solid display, the midfield dominated possession and there were goals in the first quarter of the game from Nicolas Anelka, against the club he left in January, and Deco with a superb volley. Anelka may have achieved little or nothing for Chelsea before the end of last season but he is a new man now with 15 goals to prove it.
"Our lads were well up for a scrap and once we combated that our football will come through," said their assistant manager Ray Wilkins. "At home, opponents have worked out a plan against us. But it was a fantastic performance." Now for Cluj in a decisive Champions' League game on Tuesday, when they must make home advantage count.
For Bolton it was back to cold reality after four wins in five November matches had propelled them from 19th place to ninth and should earn Gary Megson the Manager of the Month award. A shame it had to be Chelsea next, against whom they had not scored anywhere in seven encounters. There were only two real chances to do so all afternoon, the first arriving after only eight minutes play; but when Kevin Davies placed a free header over the bar from Gavin McCann's corner they paid a heavy price. Within two minutes Chelsea's Jose Bosingwa, an impressive presence at right-back all season, turned inside for a left-footed cross to the far post that caught Andy O'Brien watching the ballinstead of Anelka. The striker lunged forward to head in off a post.
If the visitors had needed settling down against a team in confident mood, that moment allowed it and much of the passing from then on was excellent. There was even the bonus of a second goal in the 21st minute. A fine, flowing move ran from Deco on the left to Michael Ballack in the centre, then Salomon Kalou, whose shot was beaten out by Jussi Jaaskelainen. Fatally, Bolton appeared to relax and Ballack headed the rebound down to Deco, who performed an exquisite mid-air volley to score his first goal since August and erase memories of a particularly disappointing performance against Arsenal.
Now Chelsea could keep things tighter and break out at speed, which they did to good effect. Anelka might even had added a third goal, shooting wide after Frank Lampard's free-kick was punched out to him. By the interval Petr Cech had not been required to make a save, although he once invited trouble by trying to dribble past Johan Elmander, who almost dispossessed him.
Elmander, running in to form now that he is fully fit, has been demonstrating his potential for the first time since signing from Toulouse, and had scored three times in the excellent victories at Middlesbrough and Sunderland. Instead of having Davies up alongside him, however, he was effectively on his own while Davies hugged the touchline. The intention was presumably to prevent Ashley Cole foraging forward, which worked to an extent but it was an essentially negative strategy.
Megson waited until half-timebefore changing anything, moving Davies into the middle and replacing his most defensive midfielder Fabrice Muamba with Ricardo Gardner.
With the backing of a supportive home crowd, Bolton pressed hard but should have been punished more than once on the counterattack. First two home defenders collided, allowing Kalou to send Deco clear for a chip that he played carelessly wide. Then Lampard burst into the penalty area, as is his wont, but could find no power as he met Anelka's pass. Two appeals for handball against the excellent Terry – the second might have been given – were all Bolton had to show for their pressure until the 72nd minute, when Davies nudged on a long throw and Gary Cahill's header at close range required Cech to produce his first and only save. "Against the top four you can stifle the life out of the game or try to play at a higher tempo," Megson said, "but in the first half we only had a few doing that."
Attendance: 22,023
Referee: Howard Webb
Man of the match: Terry
Match rating: 6/10
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The Observer
Sublime art of Deco keeps Chelsea winning awayBolton Wanderers 0 Chelsea 2 Anelka 9, Deco 21
Duncan Castles at the Reebok Stadium Luiz Felipe Scolari welcomes dialogue with his players, but there has been too much explaining to do of late.
It starts with explaining that his team have to play quick-passing, short-ball football because they have neither the power of Didier Drogba nor the longed-for trickery of Robinho in attack; that the squad are beset with so many chronic injuries that fitness training is better tempered; that there is no one in the youth team worthy of promotion and no cash from the owner to acquire new recruits.
Scolari was not up for talking yesterday, sending Ray Wilkins to straight-bat queries about dressing-room dissent. 'None whatsoever,' said the assistant manager. 'If you're looking at an angle then that team today might have fallen apart. The spirit in the camp is different class. You can't perform like that if there is dissension about.
'The training that they do is absolutely first class. They love it, they enjoy it and you can see today they don't need anything more intense. Their workrate is first class and they've been well up for every game they've played. No, unfortunately in football sometimes you get beat. Over the last couple of years that's been quite a rare occurrence and it hurts deeply when the lads are beaten. But there is certainly no dissension in the camp.'
What cannot be questioned, what requires no explanation is Chelsea's Premier League away form. Yesterday brought a record 11th consecutive top-flight victory; Scolari's eighth of a season in which his team have scored 21 goals on their League travels and conceded one.
When opponents are forced on to them by the expectations of the home support, Nicolas Anelka has room to run into as his team-mates trade passes and launch the counterattack. Goals flow freely, generally early, and the game is dead before energy levels ever become an issue.
Here Bolton were killed off before the floodlights were needed. Deco strung a ball across the penalty area, José Bosingwa gathered it with time to pick out Anelka. Unmarked but played onside by Andy O'Brien, the Frenchman headed in off an upright. 'I think any centre-forward in the Premiership would have scored that,' bemoaned Gary Megson.
His team responded with a clutch of corners and long shots without truly straining Petr Cech. Chelsea simply extended their lead. More precise passing around the home area teed up Salomon Kalou for a strike Jussi Jaaskelainen did well to parry. Unfortunately for the goalkeeper, his save rebounded to Michael Ballack, who headed square for Deco's clinical overhead.
Tongue-lashed by Megson, Bolton brought more conviction to the second half yet created little of note until John Terry followed his own header off the line with an upper-arm block of a Johan Elmander drive. 'Bigger teams get the decisions,' Megson said. 'I don't think that kind of decision would ever go our way today.'
If the defender's arm was close enough to his body to escape a penalty, Chelsea should have been four to the good by that point, Deco and Lampard both spurning one-on-ones with Jaaskelainen.
The game meandered on, Cech foiled Gary Cahill and Gavin McCann with an immaculate double save, full-time came, and Scolari headed for the bus. 'Sometimes he gets extremely tired,' Wilkins explained. 'He's just having a day off.' Fortunately, his problems did the same.
THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT
Aaron Haley, WorldwideWanderers.co.uk There's no disgrace in losing a game like that. They came out strong and went two goals up, and they were two goals that we really couldn't do much about. They have great quality in the final third and that showed. We weren't awful by any means. It was a fair result – unfortunately it was a good, even game that we lost. Deco showed what a special player he is with the overhead kick for a goal – they showed what a class side they are as a whole. In fact, they could have had more goals, but we didn't fall apart like maybe we would have previously. I'm really happy with the way we played. Elmander is putting himself about and has confidence after scoring a few goals, so he seems to be fitting into the side really well.
The fan's player ratings Jaaskelainen 6; Steinsson 8, Cahill 7, A O'Brien 7, Samuel 7 (Smolarek n/a); Davies 7, McCann 7; Nolan 7, Muamba 7 (Gardner 7), Taylor 7; Elmander 8
John Baines, Observer reader It wasn't our best performance – it looked a bit more like Chelsea of old than the new – but it was a good result away from home and the kind of match that's valuable to take the points from. With Bolton you expect a good physical game and I think we handled that well. We've still got that resolve when it comes to it, with Terry marshalling the defence and Cech played really well today. We'd been looking impotent recently, with difficulty breaking down the best defences. There's been some murmuring that we were lacking a bit on the wings. It helps to have an extra bit of inspiration – Deco seems to provide that and he played really well today and, of course, had that goal. He was my man of the match.
The fan's player ratings Cech 7; Bosingwa 7 (Ivanovic n/a), Terry 7, Alex 7, A Cole 6; Mikel 6; Kalou 5 (Ferreira 5), Lampard 6, Ballack 6, Deco 8; Anelka 7
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NOTW:
Deco ensures it's done and dusted By ROB BEASLEY, 06/12/2008
CHELSEA fans marked the record-breaking occasion with a chorus of Christmas favourite Jingle Bells.
And no wonder they gleefully sang: “Oh what fun it is to see Chelsea win away.”
For this was an 11th successive win on the road, the best ever in the top flight.
And with five clean sheets in a row to boot!
So while their long, proud unbeaten home record may have been shattered by league leaders Liverpool last month, their away days are still plain sailing.
Truth is, this match was done and dusted the moment Deco’s 21st-minute strike made it 2-0 for the Londoners.
After that, Bolton huffed and puffed, kicked and snarled, bullied and battled — but never seriously looked like saving the day.
Yet, for all of that, it could have been different. For Kevin Davies had the perfect opportunity to exert extra pressure on the Blues after their recent fragility — last weekend’s home defeat to Arsenal coming quickly after their lame Champions League draw in Bordeaux.
A seventh-minute Gavin McCann corner picked him out superbly, slap bang in front of goal and all Davies had to do was deliver a trademark header into the back of the net.
Incredibly, he failed to even hit the target — wastefully directing his effort over the bar and allowing Chelsea off the hook.
Two minutes later Chelsea made Davies and his Trotters’ team-mates pay the price for that profligacy.
Jose Bosingwa swept in a cross from the right, Bolton’s defending was all awry and former Reebok hero Nicolas Anelka ghosted in at the far post to steer a header in off the near post.
Bolton desperately appealed for offside but in vain, as the Frenchman had timed his break perfectly to notch his 15th goal of the season — and now it was the home side who were under examination.
Could they respond?
Petr Cech’s eccentric goalkeeping certainly gave them hope.
The Czech miskicked one attempted clearance into touch and another straight at Kevin Nolan, who failed to capitalise on his surprise opportunity for a quickfire equaliser.
And Bolton were certainly ruffling Chelsea’s feathers with their no-nonsense approach and keenness for the challenge.
Bosingwa, Salomon Kalou and Michael Ballack were all on the receiving end, although the home fans derided their reactions as merely those of a bunch of “Southern softies”.
But the softies increased their lead after ripping the home side apart with a classy attack.
Twice Ballack provided the assist — first for Kalou, who blazed straight at Jussi Jaaskelainen.
However, the Germany captain rescued the situation, taking charge of the rebound to tee up Deco, who did not miss.
And Anelka almost made it three just moments later.
Frank Lampard’s free-kick was helped on by skipper John Terry and fell to Anelka, who was again lurking beyond the far post.
This time, though, the in-form forward could only stab his first-time shot wide.
Bolton boss Gary Megson had clearly geed his side up for the second half and they gave Chelsea a much sterner test after the break.
The Blues survived a strong penalty appeal within six minutes of the restart when Alex looked to have eased Johan Elmander out of the way. Unfortunately for Megson’s men, referee Howard Webb’s whistle stayed silent.
Chelsea were looking decidedly uncomfortable, especially the nervy Cech, whose error-strewn display saw him completely miss a routine cross, leaving the alert Ballack to clear up the mess. But then the Blues should have wrapped up the three points with a third goal. Kalou’s quick-thinking saw him send Deco clear. Yet although there was no one near him as he sped toward goal, he never looked confident.
And three terrible touches later he was firing at least 10 yards wide.
Bolton battled back but they had another penalty appeal ignored by Webb.
The ball hit Terry’s arm yet the ref decided it was ball to hand. It was a close call.
No wonder Megson moaned: “The big teams get the decisions. I never felt that kind of decision was ever going to go our way.
“So it was no surprise it wasn’t given, it would have been more of a surprise if it actually was.”
And when Cech then saved well from Gary Cahill’s point-blank header it only confirmed that it was not going to be Bolton’s day.
So Chelsea completed yet another victory on their travels to top the great Tottenham Double-winning side of 1960-61 and go into the record books.
Assistant-boss Ray Wilkins said: “It is a tremendous record by anybody’s standards, our away performances have been first class.”
But he spent more time trying to explain away growing talk of discontent in the ranks.
He added: “There’s no problem whatsoever, it is not part of our club. If those reports were true then the team would have fallen apart — but the spirit is first class.
“You can’t come to a place like Bolton and perform as we did if there’s dissent.”
Methinks he does protest too much.
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