The Times
Salomon Kalou gets stumbling Chelsea back on trackChelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0Alyson Rudd at Stamford Bridge
Although some of the chances spurned by Chelsea were laughable, others pitiful and several plain unlucky, Luiz Felipe Scolari would have been more interested in his first clean sheet in seven games last night and that it leaves his side well prepared psychologically for the visit to Anfield on Sunday. Two second-half goals from Salomon Kalou condemned Middlesbrough to yet more misery at the foot of the Barclays Premier League but livened up the title race — particularly in the light of Liverpool’s draw away to Wigan Athletic.
The songs at Stamford Bridge came only when the big screen flashed the news that Wigan had equalised. Suddenly, the balance of power between Chelsea and Liverpool had shifted, suddenly the talk is not of how vulnerable Scolari’s defence has become but of how his team have snatched second place from the Merseyside club. Suddenly, the game at Anfield feels as if it may be a defining match of the season — if not, as Manchester United may care to point out, the most critical.
But the game, curiously, did not end with the Chelsea manager smiling and full of bonhomie. He opted not to shake Gareth Southgate’s hand at the final whistle after an incident involving Mohamed Shawky. Having been shown a yellow card for an early foul on Florent Malouda, the Middlesbrough midfield player was penalised for a handball, but not booked. Scolari jumped to his feet and appeared to wave an imaginary card, which incensed Malcolm Crosby, Southgate’s assistant manager.
“It’s a pretty emotional game,” Ray Wilkins, the Chelsea assistant first-team coach, said. “Passions run high on their bench and they ran high on ours. It’s a nothing situation. If the referee had felt he [Scolari] needed to be sent to the stands, he would have done so and he didn’t do so.”
Nobody much cares when a team in the bottom three struggles at set-pieces, but Middlesbrough finally succumbed to two corner kicks and have not won in the league in 11 matches. All the while that Chelsea have been lampooned for being a soft touch at set-pieces, they have at least shown they know how to score from free kicks and corners of their own; last night was no exception.
Southgate, the Middlesbrough manager, labelled it “unforgivable” that his team should have conceded goals from two corners as they “didn’t really get carved open” otherwise. But such was the bombardment of corners and free kicks that there was a sense of inevitability that they would succumb.
Yet despite the home side’s early dominance, a free kick from distance by Gary O’Neil still drew an audible intake of breath as Petr Cech punched rather than claimed the ball. It will take some time yet before Chelsea are totally rid of the tag of a team who struggle at set-pieces.
Chelsea seemed to panic on the few occasions that Middlesbrough forged a counter-attack and conceded more free kicks than was necessary. Malouda spent much of the first half on his knees bemoaning trips and tugs on his shirt, so the overall impression was one of a side who ought to have more self-belief than they exhibited.
That Malouda failed to reappear for the second half did not come as a shock and Didier Drogba, his replacement, marked his arrival with a scuffed shot. In the 55th minute, Chelsea spurned their best chance of the game so far, when Kalou nodded over from close range a header from Alex.
Three minutes later, Kalou made amends with a volley that beat Turnbull after yet another corner from Lampard had been only partially cleared by David Wheater under pressure from Drogba. Immediately, Southgate prepared for a double substitution that gave his team a more attacking look. Between them, Afonso Alves and Tuncay Sanli instantly injected a sprightliness that had been lacking before.
The prize for the least-accomplished moment in front of goal went in the end, ironically, to Kalou. Once Turnbull had spilt a free kick by Lampard, the Ivory Coast forward had time and space to pick his spot, but instead barely connected and sent the ball comically in the opposite direction.
Yet Kalou was in the mood to atone and, in the 81st minute, headed home another corner from Lampard after Turnbull rushed to claim the ball and failed. Kalou’s handcuff-style goal celebration with Drogba, his compatriot, remained enigmatic. Conjecture that he was displaying support for an Ivorian journalist recently released from jail was denied by the player, who said he was trying to find his own style. Whether Chelsea have found theirs of old will be determined only on Sunday.
Chelsea (4-1-2-2-1): P Cech — J Bosingwa, J Terry, Alex, A Cole — J O Mikel — M Ballack, F Lampard — S Kalou (sub: Deco, 82min), F Malouda (sub: D Drogba, 46) — N Anelka (sub: M Stoch, 89). Substitutes not used: Hilário, B Ivanovic, P Ferreira, M Mancienne.
Middlesbrough (4-5-1): R Turnbull — A McMahon, C Riggott, D Wheater, E Pogatetz — A Johnson, G O’Neil, M Bates, M Shawky (sub: Tuncay Sanli, 64), S Downing — M King (sub: Afonso Alves, 64). Substitutes not used: B Jones, J Hoyte, M Emnes, R Huth, J Arca. Booked: Shawky, Riggott.
Referee: L Probert.
----------------------------------------------------
Telegraph:
Salomon Kalou brace sends Chelsea into secondChelsea (0) 2 Middlesbrough (0) 0 By John Ley at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea set up an enthralling trip to Anfield, on Sunday, when on a nervous, rain-soaked night at Stamford Bridge, Salomon Kalou scored twice to take his side back into second place, thanks in part to Liverpool’s failure to beat Wigan.
News that Wigan had scored against Liverpool drew the biggest cheer on a night when hesitation and nervousness made way for confidence and belief that Chelsea still have a say in the destination of the Premier League pennant. The teams are now level on points, with Chelsea boasting a better goal difference.
Chelsea went into the game having beaten Middlesbrough in their previous four meetings, scoring 11 goals and conceding none. Indeed, when the teams met at the Riverside, in October, Chelsea left with a 5-0 rout.
Middlesbrough arrived with the lowest goals scored in the division, with just 18, and had not won in 10 League outings, since beating Aston Villa in early November. They had failed to win in 20 previous visits, and 34 years of trying.
Gareth Southgate gave a debut to Marlon King, on loan from Wigan after leaving Hull, while captain John Terry returned for Chelsea after missing the previous two games with a back injury.
With the London rain pouring, Chelsea took the early initiative, their speed on the ball causing Middlesbrough problems from the outset. Frank Lampard’s early free-kick was blocked by a wall of red shirts before Salomon Kalou burst through a possee of defenders before running the ball into touch.
Middlesbrough’s Mohamed Shawky was cautioned for upending Florent Malouda as the visitors, without a clean sheet in seven Premier League games, found themselves under constant pressure.
Chelsea came close to an opening goal with only 13 minutes played and it featured both full-backs, with Jose Bosingwa’s lofted cross, from the right, finding Ashley Cole, but the left-back succeeded only in finding the side netting.
Soon afterwards, Middlesbrough goalkeeper Ross Turnbull could only deflect a Michael Ballack shot with his chest, but he coped better with a rakish attempt from Lampard.
But after the initial impressive start, Chelsea reverted to type witnessed in too many home games this season. Chelsea’s form at Stamford Bridge has been so disappointing at times that there was a generally muted atmosphere about the place.
The dismal weather may have contributed, but there was little Samba flair on show as one-time World Cup winner Luiz Felipe Scolari watched on, unimpressed with his team’s failure to break down an ordinary side, who had placed a massed wall of red shirts behind the ball whenever Chelsea pushed forward..
In their previous Premier League outing here, Chelsea struggled to beat Stoke, winning only thanks to two late goals. And the signs, as the game progressed, were hardly more encouraging.
The game deteriorated in the rain, with Chelsea limited to long range attempts – Lampard wasted another free-kick before half-time – and Middlesbrough, with King their lone striker, rarely breaking into the Chelsea half.
The most entertaining aspect of the first half, sadly, was a touchline altercation between Scolari and Middlesbrough coach Malcolm Crosby. Fourth official Steve Bennett intervened, but had his work cut out calming the Brazilian down.
The half time whistle provoked a chorus of booing and Scolari headed straight for Crosby, before bodies got between the pair. His frustrations, seemingly over referee Lee Probert’s failure to award a handball and Crosby’s response, only served to highlight Chelsea’s frustrations.
With the players in the dressing room, the on-pitch announcer revealed that Liverpool – Chelsea’s opponents at the weekend -- were winning 1-0 at Wigan, adding: “We need you to get behind the team.”
Scolari responded by introducing Drogba, for Malouda, for the second half and, within 52 seconds, he had a chance, but screwed his shot wide when he should have done better.
Drogba took Nicolas Anelka’s place as the lone striker with the Frenchman dropping into more of a wide midfield role on the right.
And in the 55th minute Chelsea wasted their best chance so far. Lampard’s corner was headed on by Michael Ballack and directed goal-bound by Alex. But in attempting to finish it off, Kalou directed the ball over, and Chelsea remained frustrated. Alex went close again soon afterwards, his free-kick deflected off target for a corner.
And Chelsea’s increased pressure paid off in the 58th. Another Lampard corner, high and teasing, was met by the head of the troublesome Alex and when Davis Wheater’s clearance fell only to Kalou, he responded with a marvellous right-foot volley for his seventh goal of the season.
Having taken the lead, Chelsea had chances to add to their tally, the best when Anelka broke clear on the right before crossing for Lampard who, uncharacteristically, sliced wide. And before the end, Turnbull parried a Lampard free-kick but Kalou, with Anelka unmarked in front of an open goal, slipped and miss-kicked in embarrassing fashion.
But Kalou ended the night in positive fashion, scoring his and Chelsea’s second goal, with a simple header, from a Lampard corner, with nine minutes remaining.
---------------------------------------------------
Mail:
Chelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0:
Salomon's brace settles Chelsea's nerves
by NEIL ASHTON
Mauled at Manchester United a little over two weeks ago, Chelsea are somehow back in the hunt for the Barclays Premier League title. That is the beauty of English football.
To think that Luiz Felipe Scolari’s team were majestically swatted aside at Old Trafford, punished with embarrassing ease, and this morning they sit just two points behind United. Incredible.
They are even ahead of Liverpool, their opponents at Anfield on Sunday, and threatening to play their part in the most thrilling chase since Steve McQueen raced through San Francisco in Bullitt.
They were booed by their own supporters at the break. The Stamford Bridge faithful were frustrated with their favourites’ failure to break down a Middlesbrough team without a victory in their previous 10 League games.
But, by the final whistle, the fans were celebrating Salomon Kalou’s two strikes as if they had secured the title itself. Such fickleness is a Premier League phenomenon, certainly not confined to the 40,000 supporters at Stamford Bridge.
Kalou’s clever goals powered Chelsea into second place and Sunday’s clash against third-placed Liverpool will be a battle royal now, with memories stirred of the classic Champions League encounters under Jose Mourinho and Avram Grant.
There is also the chance for Chelsea to settle a score from earlier in the season, the 1-0 defeat against Liverpool that ended the thought this team was invincible on home soil.
They looked anything but unbeatable last night, struggling to break down Gareth Southgate’s unambitious Middlesbrough team and yet still picking up three points.
Boro are in big trouble. They are in the bottom three and the alarm bells are ringing at the Riverside. Their game plan last night was based around building a brick wall in front of Ross Turnbull’s goal.
Southgate said: ‘We lost to two set pieces and that is what disappoints me so much. We knew we would get carved open a couple of times, but that is unforgiveable.
‘We’re not where we’d like to be in the table, but we’ve had a tough run and I don’t think anyone in the country expected us to get anything at Chelsea. We have players who can get us out of the situation we have put ourselves in.’
Boro are desperate for points after 11 games without a win, scrapping with the alley cats running wild at the foot of the table. To do it, they will need Gary O’Neil to shelve his move back to the south coast until the summer so that he can continue to graft in midfield.
The same can be said of Stewart Downing, as talented a player to represent this club since Gary Pallister emerged as one of the country’s finest central defenders under Bruce Rioch in the mid-Eighties. They still have some tough cookies in the team, hustlers like Mohamed Shawky, who was booked for a cynical foul on Florent Malouda as Chelsea set the tone for a one-sided first half.
It turned into a melodramatic training-ground exercise — defence against attack — as Chelsea prodded and probed, applying pressure against a team who made no apology for the way they played.
Boro had to buckle, they simply had to. Frank Lampard’s free-kick hit the wall, another dipped menacingly over Turnbull’s bar and Ballack’s effort from the edge of the area took the keeper by surprise.
Scolari was rattled, continuing his touchline feud with Boro’s assistant manager Malcolm Crosby at the break when he waved an imaginary red card at Shawky following an innocuous handball.
Southgate said: ‘Scolari seemed upset about something and he wanted to get one of my players booked. He seemed to have a real problem with it and didn’t want to shake my hands at the final whistle, but that is up to him.’
Chelsea’s manager ducked the issue, sending out his assistant Ray Wilkins to put his foot straight in his mouth. ‘I’m all for the RESPECT campaign, but opposition supporters call Frank Lampard a ‘Fat *******’ wherever he goes, even when he is with England.’
At least Chelsea’s manager regained his composure, replacing fall-guy Malouda with Didier Drogba at half-time, and suddenly Chelsea had some menace about them, a threat in front of goal that paid off when Kalou scored the first goal after 58 minutes.
David Wheater failed to clear Lampard’s corner and Kalou, unmarked inside the area, volleyed his effort sweetly beyond Turnbull. That made up for an earlier effort, inexplicably headed over Turnbull’s crossbar from close range, but he added a second goal when he met Lampard’s corner in the 81st minute, steering his header into an unguarded net.
He may be in trouble with the FA after his celebrations, a scandalous handcuff salute in honour of Assale Tiemoko Antoine, an Ivory Coast political rebel who was released from prison last week.
After this result, he is not the only one who just got out of jail.
---------------------------------------------------
Indy:
Kalou strikes as Chelsea hold nerve
Chelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0
By Sam Wallace
As Luiz Felipe Scolari jabbed his finger in the direction of the Middlesbrough bench and had to be restrained by the fourth official, it looked at one point as if, to paraphrase a famous chant, Big Phil was cracking up. But after the pressure came Salomon Kalou's goals which gave Chelsea victory last night and now a remarkable moment awaits Scolari.
Beat Liverpool on Sunday and Chelsea will put three points between them and Rafael Benitez's side. Already they are ahead of Liverpool in second place by virtue of their vastly superior goal difference and if they win at Anfield then suddenly the complexion of the title race will look very different. In fact it will look like Chelsea are the serious contenders to catch Manchester United.
Not that this was a marquee performance from Chelsea who were bailed out by Kalou's two second-half goals when there was precious little imagination from elsewhere. Didier Drogba made a difference this time, however, coming on at half-time to shake up the Middlesbrough defence. It was his second substitute's appearance since his two exclusions from the Chelsea squad and at last he looks like he might have something to offer.
It takes some imagination to break down a side like Middlesbrough, who come to defend and precious little else, and in the first half it was the kind of imagination that Chelsea badly lacked. Florent Malouda sparkled in the early stages of the game, Kalou went on a jinking run that ultimately led nowhere and so Chelsea settled into an uncomfortable mediocrity.
Gareth Southgate's side came to Stamford Bridge having lost their previous four away games so who could blame them for being cautious, but it was about as interesting as watching the rain fall. The most memorable moment of the first half came about three minutes before the break when Scolari became involved in a spat with Southgate's assistant Malcolm Crosby.
Soon after that it was Scolari and Southgate who were rowing over what seemed like a few trivial fouls but it demonstrated just how tense the Chelsea manager was. He carried on the argument as he went down the tunnel at half-time. It had started over a foul by Mohamed Shawky, part of a five-man midfield which Chelsea were struggling to break down.
Ashley Cole missed a back-post header from Jose Bosingwa's cross from the right and Chelsea could conjure little more. On came Drogba at half-time in place of Malouda, who had looked ever more uninterested after taking a kick early on in the game. It required a change from Anelka who was shunted to the right side of midfield to preserve Chelsea's 4-1-4-1 formation. Drogba's first act was to handle the ball as he challenged David Wheater, an act that went unpunished. He bore down on goal and hit a terrible shot that told you everything about his lack of sharpness.
The low point for Chelsea came a few minutes later when Michael Ballack's lazy pass was intercepted by Emanuel Pogatetz and he got down the wing to cross for Matthew Bates. Ashley Cole intervened. Three minutes later Chelsea scored, Alex headed down a corner, Wheater half-cleared and Kalou slammed in the ball.
Kalou's second was a wretched error from Ross Turnbull who allowed a corner to drift over his head and the Chelsea winger was there to nod it in. The winger's cross-wrist gesture was in support of the Ivory Coast activist Antoine Assal Tiemoko. By then Southgate had thrown on Alfonso Alves and Tuncay Sanli. His team remain in the bottom three and, given their lack of ambition last night, they can hardly complain.
Goals: Kalou (58) 1-0; Kalou (81) 2-0.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, A Cole; Mikel; Kalou (Deco, 82), Ballack, Lampard, Malouda (Drogba, h-t); Anelka (Stoch, 89). Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Ivanovic, Ferreira, Mancienne.
Middlesbrough (4-5-1): Turnbull; McMahon, Riggott, Wheater, Pogatetz; A Johnson, Bates, O'Neil, Shawky (Tuncay, 64), Downing; King (Alves, 64). Substitutes not used: Jones (gk), Taylor, Emnes, Huth, Arca.
Referee: L Probert (Wiltshire).
Booked: Middlesbrough Shawky, Riggott.
Man of the match: Kalou.
Attendance: 40,280.
----------------------------------------------------
Observer:
Scolari loses his cool but calm Kalou guides Chelsea through the grind
Chelsea 2 Kalou 58, Kalou 81 Middlesbrough 0
Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge
The grind goes on. Chelsea's latest league victory chiselled from stubborn opponents has hoisted Luiz Felipe Scolari's above Liverpool and into second, though this occasion's most raucous cheer was reserved for Wigan's equaliser at a distant JJB stadium rather than anything conjured by the hosts. It was a measure of the excruciating frustration on show that an agitated Scolari ended up accused of attempting to have the visiting midfielder Mohamed Shawky sent off. Dignity rather drained as the pressure mounted.
In many ways this was as unconvincing a success as that achieved against Stoke City in Chelsea's previous league game. It merely lacked the staggering late drama of that turnaround. Middlesbrough, a side now without a league win in 11 matches stretching back to early November, had contained and confounded for almost an hour with frustration welling in the stands and Scolari, apoplectic on the touchline, reduced to squabbling with the visitors' assistant manager, Malcolm Crosby, when Shawky escaped a second yellow card for a deliberate handball. The fourth official, Steve Bennett, stepped in, though it took a brace from Salomon Kalou truly to lance the tension.
The Ivorian's goals not only changed the complexion of this game, but also shifted the sense of momentum among those clubs clambering after Manchester United at the summit. Chelsea travel to Merseyside on Sunday above their hosts in the table. The focus and pressure will be squarely on Rafael Benítez and not Scolari, the onus entirely on Liverpool to prise the Londoners apart and rekindle their own challenge. Chelsea will enjoy a gameplan based upon the counter-attack, for once, after weeks spent squeezing reward from massed defence. It should be a very different encounter from this one.
For so long, Boro had scented reward. Theirs was an admirably rugged and committed display, the frenzy of tackles mustered by a back four and a midfield quintet disrupting Chelsea's rhythm and fuelling a sense of desperation. The first wailed discord echoed around the stands just after the half-hour as yet another laboured home attack ran aground on ranks of red. This was all too familiar, the lack of invention driving the locals to despair and Scolari to dispute with Crosby as tempers boiled over in the dug-outs after Shawky's unpunished second misdemeanour.
The finger-wagging was comical, though tempers remained frayed to the end. "There were words between my assistant and Phil Scolari," Gareth Southgate said. "He seemed to want to get one of my players booked. He didn't shake hands at the end. That was a strange reaction, but that's his prerogative."
Scolari sent his assistant, Ray Wilkins, to conduct the post-match interviews, though the incident had rather passed the latter by. "If the referee had felt Luiz needed to be sent to the stands, he would have done that, but he didn't," said the No2 when it was pointed out that players are supposed to be sanctioned for waving imaginary cards at officials, so why not managers? "The referee obviously feels quite comfortable with the situation, and Steve Bennett was on the side and he obviously felt that same."
The incident said more for the exasperation which ate away at the hosts until just before the hour-mark. The home side had conjured little other than Ashley Cole's header into the side-netting before Didier Drogba's introduction at the interval. The Ivorian duly served to unsettle, challenging David Wheater in the air after Alex had nodded down Frank Lampard's corner, with the loose ball dispatched emphatically by Kalou. Boro were prone thereafter, their gameplan wrecked, and might have shipped another before an unmarked Kalou benefited from Ross Turnbull's misjudgment to nod in Lampard's corner. Both goals were celebrated by the striker with his wrists crossed, though Kalou later denied that constituted a show of support for the political activist Assalé Tiémoko Antoine, recently released from prison back in the Ivory Coast.
As it was, the visitors departed deflated and the wrong side of the relegation cut-off. Chelsea, for their part, remain a side lacking pizzazz and creation but retain that dogged desire to prevail. Confidence is pepped ahead of Sunday's trip to Merseyside.
----------------------------------------------------
Sun:
Chelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0
By IAN McGARRY at Stamford Bridge
MAYBE, just maybe, Chelsea are showing their mean streak when it matters.
Victory over a woeful Middlesbrough side stuck in the bottom three is barely anything to crow about.
But on a night when nothing but three points was good enough, Big Phil Scolari’s side delivered a win.
Ivory Coast ace Salomon Kalou scored both goals — his seventh and eighth strikes of the season — in a one-sided contest.
But forget the performance, feel the result.
Chelsea moved above Liverpool to second in the Premier League, reminding champions Manchester United they will not have it all their own way.
Given their poor home form — they have dropped 14 points at Stamford Bridge — this was as big a win as any this season.
It keeps them in touching distance of Alex Ferguson’s side and eased them ahead of Rafa Benitez’s Reds before the Blues go to Anfield on Sunday.
While Liverpool have dropped from the top like a stone, Chelsea appear to be rising to the challenge.
Under par and under performing, they somehow managed to dig out a win against a team who came to London to practise defending.
In fact, at times it was just like watching Jose Mourinho’s side.
They kept their shape, held their nerve and when the moment came to inflict punishment they did not disappoint.
Predictable
Well, you would have been hard pressed to convince the home support of that at half-time.
After an opening period when chances were more scarce than good news on the money markets, value was hard to find.
For Middlesbrough, having lost six and drawn four of their last 10 Premier League matches coming into the match, it was predictable they would look to shut up shop at the back.
Gareth Southgate’s men showed very little attacking ambition from the outset by leaving Marlon King on his own in attack.
In fact, the pattern was underlined in the opening exchanges when the Chelsea full-backs were even in the hunt for goals within 15 minutes. Jose Bosingwa provided the cross to the back post which found Ashley Cole.
But his header was very much a defender’s effort as he put it into the side-netting and not between the posts.
The England man buried his head in his hands in frustration and chief Scolari did the same on the sidelines.
Florent Malouda was someone who saw a lot of the ball but failed to do anything very creative with it.
As the rain came down in torrents in West London, the Chelsea boss stood screaming instructions at his players.
His attention turned to Boro assistant boss Malcolm Crosby who complained Scolari had tried to get Mohamed Shawky booked.
Big Phil responded by gesturing to Crosby in the traditional way — as in “do you want some?”
He followed that challenge up by waiting for Crosby in the tunnel at the break only to be thwarted by a steward who eased him toward the dressing room.
As the home fans booed, the manager took stock and decided on a change.
His reaction was to try to give his team more bite in the second period by replacing Malouda with Didier Drogba.
The striker ran free within a minute of the restart but his attempt on goal was closer to the corner flag than the goalposts.
Impact
Six minutes later, Alex came much closer with a header from Frank Lampard’s corner only to see Kalou get in the way and head it over the bar.
This season has seen the African used more as an impact player than in the starting line-up.
And though Scolari was cursing his header on that occasion, it was just two minutes until he broke the deadlock.
The circumstances were almost identical. Lampard crossed an outswinging corner which was met by Alex.
This time the defender’s header was cleared by David Wheater but only as far as Kalou who blasted home a volley from 10 yards.
After the jeering at the interval, the home supporters were barely in the mood to cheer and so even the goal was greeted with muted applause.
For the players, however, the lead was significant for just one thing — and that was the fact they were back in the hunt for the title picture.
Kalou should have made the game safe with a second goal after 72 minutes.
Lampard tried his luck from distance with a free-kick which keeper Ross Turnbull spooned out to the Chelsea striker complete with a gift tag.
But, with a comedy swing of his right boot, Kalou kicked fresh air while the ball deflected off his left peg and out for a goal-kick. Embarrassing? You bet, though the mishap did not undermine the rest of the night.
After 81 minutes, he headed home unchallenged from Lampard’s corner.
For the second time, Kalou celebrated with a handcuff gesture backed up by Drogba who were apparently expressing support for the Ivory Coast political activist, Assale Tiemoko Antoine.
Antoine was released from prison last week but it was Chelsea who got out of jail last night.
----------------------------------------------------
Salomon Kalou gets stumbling Chelsea back on trackChelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0Alyson Rudd at Stamford Bridge
Although some of the chances spurned by Chelsea were laughable, others pitiful and several plain unlucky, Luiz Felipe Scolari would have been more interested in his first clean sheet in seven games last night and that it leaves his side well prepared psychologically for the visit to Anfield on Sunday. Two second-half goals from Salomon Kalou condemned Middlesbrough to yet more misery at the foot of the Barclays Premier League but livened up the title race — particularly in the light of Liverpool’s draw away to Wigan Athletic.
The songs at Stamford Bridge came only when the big screen flashed the news that Wigan had equalised. Suddenly, the balance of power between Chelsea and Liverpool had shifted, suddenly the talk is not of how vulnerable Scolari’s defence has become but of how his team have snatched second place from the Merseyside club. Suddenly, the game at Anfield feels as if it may be a defining match of the season — if not, as Manchester United may care to point out, the most critical.
But the game, curiously, did not end with the Chelsea manager smiling and full of bonhomie. He opted not to shake Gareth Southgate’s hand at the final whistle after an incident involving Mohamed Shawky. Having been shown a yellow card for an early foul on Florent Malouda, the Middlesbrough midfield player was penalised for a handball, but not booked. Scolari jumped to his feet and appeared to wave an imaginary card, which incensed Malcolm Crosby, Southgate’s assistant manager.
“It’s a pretty emotional game,” Ray Wilkins, the Chelsea assistant first-team coach, said. “Passions run high on their bench and they ran high on ours. It’s a nothing situation. If the referee had felt he [Scolari] needed to be sent to the stands, he would have done so and he didn’t do so.”
Nobody much cares when a team in the bottom three struggles at set-pieces, but Middlesbrough finally succumbed to two corner kicks and have not won in the league in 11 matches. All the while that Chelsea have been lampooned for being a soft touch at set-pieces, they have at least shown they know how to score from free kicks and corners of their own; last night was no exception.
Southgate, the Middlesbrough manager, labelled it “unforgivable” that his team should have conceded goals from two corners as they “didn’t really get carved open” otherwise. But such was the bombardment of corners and free kicks that there was a sense of inevitability that they would succumb.
Yet despite the home side’s early dominance, a free kick from distance by Gary O’Neil still drew an audible intake of breath as Petr Cech punched rather than claimed the ball. It will take some time yet before Chelsea are totally rid of the tag of a team who struggle at set-pieces.
Chelsea seemed to panic on the few occasions that Middlesbrough forged a counter-attack and conceded more free kicks than was necessary. Malouda spent much of the first half on his knees bemoaning trips and tugs on his shirt, so the overall impression was one of a side who ought to have more self-belief than they exhibited.
That Malouda failed to reappear for the second half did not come as a shock and Didier Drogba, his replacement, marked his arrival with a scuffed shot. In the 55th minute, Chelsea spurned their best chance of the game so far, when Kalou nodded over from close range a header from Alex.
Three minutes later, Kalou made amends with a volley that beat Turnbull after yet another corner from Lampard had been only partially cleared by David Wheater under pressure from Drogba. Immediately, Southgate prepared for a double substitution that gave his team a more attacking look. Between them, Afonso Alves and Tuncay Sanli instantly injected a sprightliness that had been lacking before.
The prize for the least-accomplished moment in front of goal went in the end, ironically, to Kalou. Once Turnbull had spilt a free kick by Lampard, the Ivory Coast forward had time and space to pick his spot, but instead barely connected and sent the ball comically in the opposite direction.
Yet Kalou was in the mood to atone and, in the 81st minute, headed home another corner from Lampard after Turnbull rushed to claim the ball and failed. Kalou’s handcuff-style goal celebration with Drogba, his compatriot, remained enigmatic. Conjecture that he was displaying support for an Ivorian journalist recently released from jail was denied by the player, who said he was trying to find his own style. Whether Chelsea have found theirs of old will be determined only on Sunday.
Chelsea (4-1-2-2-1): P Cech — J Bosingwa, J Terry, Alex, A Cole — J O Mikel — M Ballack, F Lampard — S Kalou (sub: Deco, 82min), F Malouda (sub: D Drogba, 46) — N Anelka (sub: M Stoch, 89). Substitutes not used: Hilário, B Ivanovic, P Ferreira, M Mancienne.
Middlesbrough (4-5-1): R Turnbull — A McMahon, C Riggott, D Wheater, E Pogatetz — A Johnson, G O’Neil, M Bates, M Shawky (sub: Tuncay Sanli, 64), S Downing — M King (sub: Afonso Alves, 64). Substitutes not used: B Jones, J Hoyte, M Emnes, R Huth, J Arca. Booked: Shawky, Riggott.
Referee: L Probert.
----------------------------------------------------
Telegraph:
Salomon Kalou brace sends Chelsea into secondChelsea (0) 2 Middlesbrough (0) 0 By John Ley at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea set up an enthralling trip to Anfield, on Sunday, when on a nervous, rain-soaked night at Stamford Bridge, Salomon Kalou scored twice to take his side back into second place, thanks in part to Liverpool’s failure to beat Wigan.
News that Wigan had scored against Liverpool drew the biggest cheer on a night when hesitation and nervousness made way for confidence and belief that Chelsea still have a say in the destination of the Premier League pennant. The teams are now level on points, with Chelsea boasting a better goal difference.
Chelsea went into the game having beaten Middlesbrough in their previous four meetings, scoring 11 goals and conceding none. Indeed, when the teams met at the Riverside, in October, Chelsea left with a 5-0 rout.
Middlesbrough arrived with the lowest goals scored in the division, with just 18, and had not won in 10 League outings, since beating Aston Villa in early November. They had failed to win in 20 previous visits, and 34 years of trying.
Gareth Southgate gave a debut to Marlon King, on loan from Wigan after leaving Hull, while captain John Terry returned for Chelsea after missing the previous two games with a back injury.
With the London rain pouring, Chelsea took the early initiative, their speed on the ball causing Middlesbrough problems from the outset. Frank Lampard’s early free-kick was blocked by a wall of red shirts before Salomon Kalou burst through a possee of defenders before running the ball into touch.
Middlesbrough’s Mohamed Shawky was cautioned for upending Florent Malouda as the visitors, without a clean sheet in seven Premier League games, found themselves under constant pressure.
Chelsea came close to an opening goal with only 13 minutes played and it featured both full-backs, with Jose Bosingwa’s lofted cross, from the right, finding Ashley Cole, but the left-back succeeded only in finding the side netting.
Soon afterwards, Middlesbrough goalkeeper Ross Turnbull could only deflect a Michael Ballack shot with his chest, but he coped better with a rakish attempt from Lampard.
But after the initial impressive start, Chelsea reverted to type witnessed in too many home games this season. Chelsea’s form at Stamford Bridge has been so disappointing at times that there was a generally muted atmosphere about the place.
The dismal weather may have contributed, but there was little Samba flair on show as one-time World Cup winner Luiz Felipe Scolari watched on, unimpressed with his team’s failure to break down an ordinary side, who had placed a massed wall of red shirts behind the ball whenever Chelsea pushed forward..
In their previous Premier League outing here, Chelsea struggled to beat Stoke, winning only thanks to two late goals. And the signs, as the game progressed, were hardly more encouraging.
The game deteriorated in the rain, with Chelsea limited to long range attempts – Lampard wasted another free-kick before half-time – and Middlesbrough, with King their lone striker, rarely breaking into the Chelsea half.
The most entertaining aspect of the first half, sadly, was a touchline altercation between Scolari and Middlesbrough coach Malcolm Crosby. Fourth official Steve Bennett intervened, but had his work cut out calming the Brazilian down.
The half time whistle provoked a chorus of booing and Scolari headed straight for Crosby, before bodies got between the pair. His frustrations, seemingly over referee Lee Probert’s failure to award a handball and Crosby’s response, only served to highlight Chelsea’s frustrations.
With the players in the dressing room, the on-pitch announcer revealed that Liverpool – Chelsea’s opponents at the weekend -- were winning 1-0 at Wigan, adding: “We need you to get behind the team.”
Scolari responded by introducing Drogba, for Malouda, for the second half and, within 52 seconds, he had a chance, but screwed his shot wide when he should have done better.
Drogba took Nicolas Anelka’s place as the lone striker with the Frenchman dropping into more of a wide midfield role on the right.
And in the 55th minute Chelsea wasted their best chance so far. Lampard’s corner was headed on by Michael Ballack and directed goal-bound by Alex. But in attempting to finish it off, Kalou directed the ball over, and Chelsea remained frustrated. Alex went close again soon afterwards, his free-kick deflected off target for a corner.
And Chelsea’s increased pressure paid off in the 58th. Another Lampard corner, high and teasing, was met by the head of the troublesome Alex and when Davis Wheater’s clearance fell only to Kalou, he responded with a marvellous right-foot volley for his seventh goal of the season.
Having taken the lead, Chelsea had chances to add to their tally, the best when Anelka broke clear on the right before crossing for Lampard who, uncharacteristically, sliced wide. And before the end, Turnbull parried a Lampard free-kick but Kalou, with Anelka unmarked in front of an open goal, slipped and miss-kicked in embarrassing fashion.
But Kalou ended the night in positive fashion, scoring his and Chelsea’s second goal, with a simple header, from a Lampard corner, with nine minutes remaining.
---------------------------------------------------
Mail:
Chelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0:
Salomon's brace settles Chelsea's nerves
by NEIL ASHTON
Mauled at Manchester United a little over two weeks ago, Chelsea are somehow back in the hunt for the Barclays Premier League title. That is the beauty of English football.
To think that Luiz Felipe Scolari’s team were majestically swatted aside at Old Trafford, punished with embarrassing ease, and this morning they sit just two points behind United. Incredible.
They are even ahead of Liverpool, their opponents at Anfield on Sunday, and threatening to play their part in the most thrilling chase since Steve McQueen raced through San Francisco in Bullitt.
They were booed by their own supporters at the break. The Stamford Bridge faithful were frustrated with their favourites’ failure to break down a Middlesbrough team without a victory in their previous 10 League games.
But, by the final whistle, the fans were celebrating Salomon Kalou’s two strikes as if they had secured the title itself. Such fickleness is a Premier League phenomenon, certainly not confined to the 40,000 supporters at Stamford Bridge.
Kalou’s clever goals powered Chelsea into second place and Sunday’s clash against third-placed Liverpool will be a battle royal now, with memories stirred of the classic Champions League encounters under Jose Mourinho and Avram Grant.
There is also the chance for Chelsea to settle a score from earlier in the season, the 1-0 defeat against Liverpool that ended the thought this team was invincible on home soil.
They looked anything but unbeatable last night, struggling to break down Gareth Southgate’s unambitious Middlesbrough team and yet still picking up three points.
Boro are in big trouble. They are in the bottom three and the alarm bells are ringing at the Riverside. Their game plan last night was based around building a brick wall in front of Ross Turnbull’s goal.
Southgate said: ‘We lost to two set pieces and that is what disappoints me so much. We knew we would get carved open a couple of times, but that is unforgiveable.
‘We’re not where we’d like to be in the table, but we’ve had a tough run and I don’t think anyone in the country expected us to get anything at Chelsea. We have players who can get us out of the situation we have put ourselves in.’
Boro are desperate for points after 11 games without a win, scrapping with the alley cats running wild at the foot of the table. To do it, they will need Gary O’Neil to shelve his move back to the south coast until the summer so that he can continue to graft in midfield.
The same can be said of Stewart Downing, as talented a player to represent this club since Gary Pallister emerged as one of the country’s finest central defenders under Bruce Rioch in the mid-Eighties. They still have some tough cookies in the team, hustlers like Mohamed Shawky, who was booked for a cynical foul on Florent Malouda as Chelsea set the tone for a one-sided first half.
It turned into a melodramatic training-ground exercise — defence against attack — as Chelsea prodded and probed, applying pressure against a team who made no apology for the way they played.
Boro had to buckle, they simply had to. Frank Lampard’s free-kick hit the wall, another dipped menacingly over Turnbull’s bar and Ballack’s effort from the edge of the area took the keeper by surprise.
Scolari was rattled, continuing his touchline feud with Boro’s assistant manager Malcolm Crosby at the break when he waved an imaginary red card at Shawky following an innocuous handball.
Southgate said: ‘Scolari seemed upset about something and he wanted to get one of my players booked. He seemed to have a real problem with it and didn’t want to shake my hands at the final whistle, but that is up to him.’
Chelsea’s manager ducked the issue, sending out his assistant Ray Wilkins to put his foot straight in his mouth. ‘I’m all for the RESPECT campaign, but opposition supporters call Frank Lampard a ‘Fat *******’ wherever he goes, even when he is with England.’
At least Chelsea’s manager regained his composure, replacing fall-guy Malouda with Didier Drogba at half-time, and suddenly Chelsea had some menace about them, a threat in front of goal that paid off when Kalou scored the first goal after 58 minutes.
David Wheater failed to clear Lampard’s corner and Kalou, unmarked inside the area, volleyed his effort sweetly beyond Turnbull. That made up for an earlier effort, inexplicably headed over Turnbull’s crossbar from close range, but he added a second goal when he met Lampard’s corner in the 81st minute, steering his header into an unguarded net.
He may be in trouble with the FA after his celebrations, a scandalous handcuff salute in honour of Assale Tiemoko Antoine, an Ivory Coast political rebel who was released from prison last week.
After this result, he is not the only one who just got out of jail.
---------------------------------------------------
Indy:
Kalou strikes as Chelsea hold nerve
Chelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0
By Sam Wallace
As Luiz Felipe Scolari jabbed his finger in the direction of the Middlesbrough bench and had to be restrained by the fourth official, it looked at one point as if, to paraphrase a famous chant, Big Phil was cracking up. But after the pressure came Salomon Kalou's goals which gave Chelsea victory last night and now a remarkable moment awaits Scolari.
Beat Liverpool on Sunday and Chelsea will put three points between them and Rafael Benitez's side. Already they are ahead of Liverpool in second place by virtue of their vastly superior goal difference and if they win at Anfield then suddenly the complexion of the title race will look very different. In fact it will look like Chelsea are the serious contenders to catch Manchester United.
Not that this was a marquee performance from Chelsea who were bailed out by Kalou's two second-half goals when there was precious little imagination from elsewhere. Didier Drogba made a difference this time, however, coming on at half-time to shake up the Middlesbrough defence. It was his second substitute's appearance since his two exclusions from the Chelsea squad and at last he looks like he might have something to offer.
It takes some imagination to break down a side like Middlesbrough, who come to defend and precious little else, and in the first half it was the kind of imagination that Chelsea badly lacked. Florent Malouda sparkled in the early stages of the game, Kalou went on a jinking run that ultimately led nowhere and so Chelsea settled into an uncomfortable mediocrity.
Gareth Southgate's side came to Stamford Bridge having lost their previous four away games so who could blame them for being cautious, but it was about as interesting as watching the rain fall. The most memorable moment of the first half came about three minutes before the break when Scolari became involved in a spat with Southgate's assistant Malcolm Crosby.
Soon after that it was Scolari and Southgate who were rowing over what seemed like a few trivial fouls but it demonstrated just how tense the Chelsea manager was. He carried on the argument as he went down the tunnel at half-time. It had started over a foul by Mohamed Shawky, part of a five-man midfield which Chelsea were struggling to break down.
Ashley Cole missed a back-post header from Jose Bosingwa's cross from the right and Chelsea could conjure little more. On came Drogba at half-time in place of Malouda, who had looked ever more uninterested after taking a kick early on in the game. It required a change from Anelka who was shunted to the right side of midfield to preserve Chelsea's 4-1-4-1 formation. Drogba's first act was to handle the ball as he challenged David Wheater, an act that went unpunished. He bore down on goal and hit a terrible shot that told you everything about his lack of sharpness.
The low point for Chelsea came a few minutes later when Michael Ballack's lazy pass was intercepted by Emanuel Pogatetz and he got down the wing to cross for Matthew Bates. Ashley Cole intervened. Three minutes later Chelsea scored, Alex headed down a corner, Wheater half-cleared and Kalou slammed in the ball.
Kalou's second was a wretched error from Ross Turnbull who allowed a corner to drift over his head and the Chelsea winger was there to nod it in. The winger's cross-wrist gesture was in support of the Ivory Coast activist Antoine Assal Tiemoko. By then Southgate had thrown on Alfonso Alves and Tuncay Sanli. His team remain in the bottom three and, given their lack of ambition last night, they can hardly complain.
Goals: Kalou (58) 1-0; Kalou (81) 2-0.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, A Cole; Mikel; Kalou (Deco, 82), Ballack, Lampard, Malouda (Drogba, h-t); Anelka (Stoch, 89). Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Ivanovic, Ferreira, Mancienne.
Middlesbrough (4-5-1): Turnbull; McMahon, Riggott, Wheater, Pogatetz; A Johnson, Bates, O'Neil, Shawky (Tuncay, 64), Downing; King (Alves, 64). Substitutes not used: Jones (gk), Taylor, Emnes, Huth, Arca.
Referee: L Probert (Wiltshire).
Booked: Middlesbrough Shawky, Riggott.
Man of the match: Kalou.
Attendance: 40,280.
----------------------------------------------------
Observer:
Scolari loses his cool but calm Kalou guides Chelsea through the grind
Chelsea 2 Kalou 58, Kalou 81 Middlesbrough 0
Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge
The grind goes on. Chelsea's latest league victory chiselled from stubborn opponents has hoisted Luiz Felipe Scolari's above Liverpool and into second, though this occasion's most raucous cheer was reserved for Wigan's equaliser at a distant JJB stadium rather than anything conjured by the hosts. It was a measure of the excruciating frustration on show that an agitated Scolari ended up accused of attempting to have the visiting midfielder Mohamed Shawky sent off. Dignity rather drained as the pressure mounted.
In many ways this was as unconvincing a success as that achieved against Stoke City in Chelsea's previous league game. It merely lacked the staggering late drama of that turnaround. Middlesbrough, a side now without a league win in 11 matches stretching back to early November, had contained and confounded for almost an hour with frustration welling in the stands and Scolari, apoplectic on the touchline, reduced to squabbling with the visitors' assistant manager, Malcolm Crosby, when Shawky escaped a second yellow card for a deliberate handball. The fourth official, Steve Bennett, stepped in, though it took a brace from Salomon Kalou truly to lance the tension.
The Ivorian's goals not only changed the complexion of this game, but also shifted the sense of momentum among those clubs clambering after Manchester United at the summit. Chelsea travel to Merseyside on Sunday above their hosts in the table. The focus and pressure will be squarely on Rafael Benítez and not Scolari, the onus entirely on Liverpool to prise the Londoners apart and rekindle their own challenge. Chelsea will enjoy a gameplan based upon the counter-attack, for once, after weeks spent squeezing reward from massed defence. It should be a very different encounter from this one.
For so long, Boro had scented reward. Theirs was an admirably rugged and committed display, the frenzy of tackles mustered by a back four and a midfield quintet disrupting Chelsea's rhythm and fuelling a sense of desperation. The first wailed discord echoed around the stands just after the half-hour as yet another laboured home attack ran aground on ranks of red. This was all too familiar, the lack of invention driving the locals to despair and Scolari to dispute with Crosby as tempers boiled over in the dug-outs after Shawky's unpunished second misdemeanour.
The finger-wagging was comical, though tempers remained frayed to the end. "There were words between my assistant and Phil Scolari," Gareth Southgate said. "He seemed to want to get one of my players booked. He didn't shake hands at the end. That was a strange reaction, but that's his prerogative."
Scolari sent his assistant, Ray Wilkins, to conduct the post-match interviews, though the incident had rather passed the latter by. "If the referee had felt Luiz needed to be sent to the stands, he would have done that, but he didn't," said the No2 when it was pointed out that players are supposed to be sanctioned for waving imaginary cards at officials, so why not managers? "The referee obviously feels quite comfortable with the situation, and Steve Bennett was on the side and he obviously felt that same."
The incident said more for the exasperation which ate away at the hosts until just before the hour-mark. The home side had conjured little other than Ashley Cole's header into the side-netting before Didier Drogba's introduction at the interval. The Ivorian duly served to unsettle, challenging David Wheater in the air after Alex had nodded down Frank Lampard's corner, with the loose ball dispatched emphatically by Kalou. Boro were prone thereafter, their gameplan wrecked, and might have shipped another before an unmarked Kalou benefited from Ross Turnbull's misjudgment to nod in Lampard's corner. Both goals were celebrated by the striker with his wrists crossed, though Kalou later denied that constituted a show of support for the political activist Assalé Tiémoko Antoine, recently released from prison back in the Ivory Coast.
As it was, the visitors departed deflated and the wrong side of the relegation cut-off. Chelsea, for their part, remain a side lacking pizzazz and creation but retain that dogged desire to prevail. Confidence is pepped ahead of Sunday's trip to Merseyside.
----------------------------------------------------
Sun:
Chelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0
By IAN McGARRY at Stamford Bridge
MAYBE, just maybe, Chelsea are showing their mean streak when it matters.
Victory over a woeful Middlesbrough side stuck in the bottom three is barely anything to crow about.
But on a night when nothing but three points was good enough, Big Phil Scolari’s side delivered a win.
Ivory Coast ace Salomon Kalou scored both goals — his seventh and eighth strikes of the season — in a one-sided contest.
But forget the performance, feel the result.
Chelsea moved above Liverpool to second in the Premier League, reminding champions Manchester United they will not have it all their own way.
Given their poor home form — they have dropped 14 points at Stamford Bridge — this was as big a win as any this season.
It keeps them in touching distance of Alex Ferguson’s side and eased them ahead of Rafa Benitez’s Reds before the Blues go to Anfield on Sunday.
While Liverpool have dropped from the top like a stone, Chelsea appear to be rising to the challenge.
Under par and under performing, they somehow managed to dig out a win against a team who came to London to practise defending.
In fact, at times it was just like watching Jose Mourinho’s side.
They kept their shape, held their nerve and when the moment came to inflict punishment they did not disappoint.
Predictable
Well, you would have been hard pressed to convince the home support of that at half-time.
After an opening period when chances were more scarce than good news on the money markets, value was hard to find.
For Middlesbrough, having lost six and drawn four of their last 10 Premier League matches coming into the match, it was predictable they would look to shut up shop at the back.
Gareth Southgate’s men showed very little attacking ambition from the outset by leaving Marlon King on his own in attack.
In fact, the pattern was underlined in the opening exchanges when the Chelsea full-backs were even in the hunt for goals within 15 minutes. Jose Bosingwa provided the cross to the back post which found Ashley Cole.
But his header was very much a defender’s effort as he put it into the side-netting and not between the posts.
The England man buried his head in his hands in frustration and chief Scolari did the same on the sidelines.
Florent Malouda was someone who saw a lot of the ball but failed to do anything very creative with it.
As the rain came down in torrents in West London, the Chelsea boss stood screaming instructions at his players.
His attention turned to Boro assistant boss Malcolm Crosby who complained Scolari had tried to get Mohamed Shawky booked.
Big Phil responded by gesturing to Crosby in the traditional way — as in “do you want some?”
He followed that challenge up by waiting for Crosby in the tunnel at the break only to be thwarted by a steward who eased him toward the dressing room.
As the home fans booed, the manager took stock and decided on a change.
His reaction was to try to give his team more bite in the second period by replacing Malouda with Didier Drogba.
The striker ran free within a minute of the restart but his attempt on goal was closer to the corner flag than the goalposts.
Impact
Six minutes later, Alex came much closer with a header from Frank Lampard’s corner only to see Kalou get in the way and head it over the bar.
This season has seen the African used more as an impact player than in the starting line-up.
And though Scolari was cursing his header on that occasion, it was just two minutes until he broke the deadlock.
The circumstances were almost identical. Lampard crossed an outswinging corner which was met by Alex.
This time the defender’s header was cleared by David Wheater but only as far as Kalou who blasted home a volley from 10 yards.
After the jeering at the interval, the home supporters were barely in the mood to cheer and so even the goal was greeted with muted applause.
For the players, however, the lead was significant for just one thing — and that was the fact they were back in the hunt for the title picture.
Kalou should have made the game safe with a second goal after 72 minutes.
Lampard tried his luck from distance with a free-kick which keeper Ross Turnbull spooned out to the Chelsea striker complete with a gift tag.
But, with a comedy swing of his right boot, Kalou kicked fresh air while the ball deflected off his left peg and out for a goal-kick. Embarrassing? You bet, though the mishap did not undermine the rest of the night.
After 81 minutes, he headed home unchallenged from Lampard’s corner.
For the second time, Kalou celebrated with a handcuff gesture backed up by Drogba who were apparently expressing support for the Ivory Coast political activist, Assale Tiemoko Antoine.
Antoine was released from prison last week but it was Chelsea who got out of jail last night.
----------------------------------------------------
