Sunday Times
Nicolas Anelka lifts Chelsea spiritsWatford 1 Chelsea 3
Joe Lovejoy at Vicarage Road
HE HAD only one match in charge but Ray Wilkins showed the tactical appreciation that Luiz Felipe Scolari was deemed to have lacked to turn around this FA Cup tie and instal Chelsea safely in the quarter-finals. Watford were leading through Tamas Priskin and a bad week was turning worse for their Premier League opponents until Wilkins switched to a 4-4-2 formation and Nicolas Anelka rattled in a hat-trick in the space of 15 second-half minutes.
Scolari, sacked last Monday, said Chelsea lacked the playing resources for the Plan B used here. Top tactical marks then to Wilkins, then, for moving Anelka from the right into the middle, alongside Didier Drogba, where the Frenchman’s technical skills and finishing expertise proved devastating against Championship defenders.
Chelsea were much the better side and deserved their win, but for a long time they made hard work of it. Guus Hiddink, the new coach, watched, stone-faced, flanked by Roman Abramovich and Peter Kenyon. What will the Dutchman have made of it all?
Before yesterday he knew the worst. The briefing he sought from his predecessor will have told him that the squad is not as “special” as some would have us believe. He will have heard that Petr Cech had dropped well below the form that once made him the world’s best goalkeeper, that John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho were missing more games than they once did — both were absent again here — that John Obi Mikel had been found wanting as Claude Makelele’s replacement and that Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou were not up to the standard required. There was no Arjen Robben to unlock defences with a pacy dribble and the most potent weapon, Drogba, was sulking instead of scoring these days.
Enough bad news? Not quite. The club’s newly published accounts revealed that they lost another £65m in the financial year. There will be no money for new players at the end of the season if Hiddink does stay on beyond the summer.
Welcome to the Roman empire. It is his unenviable, if well-remunerated, task to halt its fall. Wilkins was left in charge yesterday, a decision that prompted cynics to suggest that Chelsea couldn’t risk having their knight in shining armour embarrassed by Watford’s Brendan Rodgers, who was reserve team coach at Stamford Bridge until November.
Hiddink starts officially tomorrow and his first match is the Premier League tussle for third place at Aston Villa on Saturday. Given the respective form of the two teams, it promises to be a baptism of fire. It will certainly be a lot tougher than this.
Watford were without Jack Cork, their England under-21 midfielder, who is on loan from Chelsea and unable to play against his parent club. Michael Mancienne, the young centre-half who got into the England squad before he had played first-team football for Chelsea, was finally given his debut last night, but at right-back, with Branislav Ivanovic preferred as Alex’s partner in central defence. Mancienne had a curate’s egg of a match, giving the ball away too easily at times, but showing good pace in recovery. Whether Hiddink will risk his inexperience against Villa, and Ashley Young, remains to be seen.
Rodgers’ team hover precariously above the Championship’s bottom three. They are a pretty ordinary bunch, as that position would suggest and, given the quality of the opposition, Chelsea were again disappointing, their passing telegraphed, their attacking play for a long time too predictable.
They started in promising fashion, Drogba bringing a save from Scott Loach with a rasping 25-yarder and Alex threatening with a header from Lampard’s corner, but then became laboured. Kalou misdirected a header to waste an inviting chance set up by Lampard.
The best chance of an undistinguished first half saw Anelka exchange passes with Drogba before firing in a shot from the right that bounced off the far post, with Loach stranded.
After the interval, Drogba demanded a flying save from Loach and Lampard was only a foot or so away with a shot from distance. Chelsea again had the initiative, but needed to make better use of their overwhelming territorial advantage. Fairly typical of their work was Drogba’s failure from close range after another cross from Lampard.
They ought to have had the goal they needed after 61 minutes, when Anelka nodded the ball down to Drogba, whose shot was goalbound until it hit Ashley Cole. The rebound fell for Ballack, who shot over from three yards out. Hiddink looked on, horrified. Abramovich, at whose behest Chelsea are paying the German £130,000 a week, laughed.
Anelka shot wide, Ballack was similarly inaccurate with his head. Watford were hanging on when substitute Priskin accelerated away from Ballack and beat Cech, who was unable to keep out a shot that hit him on the head before looping up and under the bar.
Chelsea were in danger of humiliation but turned deficit into profit in the space of seven minutes. Wilkins took off Mikel and went 4-4-2. Eureka! Equality was restored when Lampard’s corner from the left was flicked goalwards by Ivanovic for Anelka to score with an overhead kick from three yards. Then Ballack delivered a long crossfield ball to Drogba, who controlled it on his chest before backheeling to Cole, on the overlap. The England full-back’s clever, dinked pass was met Anelka, ghosting in front of his marker to make it 2-1 with a deliberately placed downward header. He completed his hat-trick with a neat turn and shot from 16 yards. Hiddink left without a word but there is one name, at least, on his first teamsheet.
WATFORD: Loach 8, Hoyte 6, Mariappa 7, DeMerit 6, Doyley 6, Smith 6, Jenkins 6, L Williamson 6 (Cowie 67min), McAnuff 7, Rasiak 6 (Priskin 66min), Hoskins 6 (O’Toole 76min)
CHELSEA: Cech 6, Mancienne 6, Alex 6, Ivanovic 6, A Cole 6, Lampard 7, Ballack 6 (Belletti 83min), Mikel 5 (Stoch 73min), Kalou 5, Anelka 8, Drogba 6
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Telegraph:
Nicolas Anelka to the rescue as Chelsea labour to victoryWatford (0) 1 Chelsea (0) 3 By Duncan White at Vicarage Road
It was impossible to watch this game without imagining how it must look through the gold-rimmed spectacles of Guus Hiddink. The Dutchman, perched in the stands, remained inscrutable behind the glint of those glasses, but he cannot have failed to pass harsh judgement on his new charges.
It’s going to be a tough week at Chelsea’ Cobham training ground and Hiddink must draw deep on his well of football wisdom if he is to turn this Chelsea side into a team capable of securing silverware. Nicolas Anelka scored twice within a minute to save Chelsea an embarrassing elimination in front of their new coach.
Having gone one down with just over 20 minutes left it was looking grim for Chelsea before the Frenchman scored with an acrobatic overhead kick to equalise, and then squeezed a glancing downward header in at the near post to secure progress into the next round.
Ray Wilkins was in charge of picking the team and decided to try and find the width that Chelsea have so desperately lacked all season by switching to a 4-3-3. That meant Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou playing as wingers with Didier Drogba as the spearhead.
Luiz Felipe Scolari had largely refused to play Anelka and Drogba together, claiming incompatibility. On this evidence the Brazilian was in the right – although the French striker did hit the post in the first half when Drogba played him in.
That was one of the few highlights in an uninspired first half from Chelsea. Frank Lampard did have Scott Loach, the Watford goalkeeper, in a fluster with a swerving free kick and Kalou inexplicably headed the ball away from his waiting team-mates when the home offside trap failed. To be fair to Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack, their attempts to play crisp passing football were undermined by a pitch worthy of an Antiguan outfield.
Brendan Rogers, the Watford coach who was part of the Chelsea coaching staff last season, was evidently targeting setpieces, seeking to exploit the visitors’ vulnerability to the cross. Both Adrian Mariappa and Grzegorz Rasiak forced Petr Cech to save from firm far post headers, while Jobi McAnuff came close to winning a penalty, luring Alex into a foul on the very edge pf the area.
Pleasingly, Wilkins had decided to give a debut to Michael Mancienne at right back. The 21-year-old has been with the club since the age of nine and got into Fabio Capello’s England squad before even making an appearance for his club so it was about time he got his chance. His dynamic, penetrative runs from deep cannot but have impressed Hiddink, especially when one of those bursts was punctuated by a crisply struck left-footer that went just over the bar. The jaded Bosingwa might well fear for his place.
Drogba, while not quite the brutal bully he used to be, was certainly sharper than of late. Early in the second half he rolled his man and shot left-footed and powerfully across the goal, Loach saving well. It was the kind of undefendable effort he thrived on two years ago. The embarrassing air kick, from Lamaprd’s cross moments, later, was a reminder of his more recent form, though.
Ballack, another of the supposed architects of Scolari’s sacking (Cech was the other who apparently briefed Roman Abramovich about the Brazilian’s failings), had a dreadful afternoon, culminating in the miss of the game. When Drogba’s snapshot was saved, the German hooked the rebound way over the empty goal.
It was the same old story for Chelsea – huge amounts of possession but an inability to kill off mediocre opposition. Watford worked tremendously hard and kept their shape in the face of wave on wave of attacks but their attacking contribution was negligible until Priskin’s remarkable intervention.
The Hungarian had only been on the field a few minutes when Lloyd Doyley sent him scampering down the left channel. Cech came hurtling out and Priskin bravely took on the chip, his clever effort clipping the advancing goalkeeper and looping into the net.
The delirium of the Watford fans did not last. Anelka’s cobra-quick finishing undid all the home side’s valiant defensive work in two rapid strikes. His third, in added time, from Kalou’s pass, put further gloss on the result.
Anelka’s goalmouth expertise could not deflect the wider problems of his team though. Hiddink will go into start work tomorrow knowing this is no sinecure.
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Mirror:
Rudderless Chelsea still too good for Watford Watford 1 - 3 Chelsea
Nicolas Anelka put Chelsea into the last eight of the FA Cup with a superb hat-trick after struggling Watford had given them a massive fright.
The Coca-Cola Championship side stung the Blues in the 69th minute when substitute Tamas Priskin raced clear to put them ahead.
But with Chelsea's domestic season on the brink of collapse, Anelka hooked home the equaliser in the 75th minute and nodded them in front two minutes later.
Petr Cech then denied Jobi McAnuff an equaliser in stoppage time and Watford's hopes were finished off seconds later when Anelka claimed his 20th of the season.
Assistant boss Ray Wilkins had challenged his side to prove their spirit was still intact following last Monday's sacking of Luiz Felipe Scolari.
The club's new interim coach Guus Hiddink takes charge on Monday and he watched from a seat in the main stand at Vicarage Road as Chelsea were made to fight all the way by the home side.
The Blues began tentatively but in the seventh minute Didier Drogba brought a fine save from Scott Loach with a 30-yard half-volley that looked destined for the top corner.
Chelsea goalkeeper Cech was largely untroubled until the 11th minute when he was forced to collect a header from Adrian Mariappa.
Chelsea's Ashley Cole was booked for a foul on Tommy Smith in the 18th minute but Watford could not punish the Premier League side from the resultant free-kick.
Moments later Grzegorz Rasiak held back John Obi Mikel but Frank Lampard's 20-yard free-kick was kept out by Watford's defensive wall.
The Coca-Cola Championship side were matching Chelsea in every department and when Michael Mancienne hopefully despatched a cross into the Watford penalty area, Loach was quick to see the danger and deal with it.
Loach then pulled off another super save from Lampard's free-kick after Drogba had been fouled 25-yards from goal.
Drogba was beginning to find space and time among the Watford rearguard and in the 28th minute he tested Loach again with a low 20-yard drive.
In the 33rd minute Alex brought down McAnuff on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area but Watford wasted the resultant free-kick when McAnuff's effort was blocked by Mikel.
Chelsea almost broke the deadlock in the 35th minute when Drogba set up Anelka.
The France striker's shot eluded the outstretched hands of Loach in the Watford goal but the ball bounced off the outside of his right-hand post.
It was a real let-off for the home side who had previously restricted Chelsea to long-range efforts.
Smith gave Chelsea's defence some anxious moments when he weaved his way into the penalty area but the Watford striker was eventually crowded out.
Chelsea had the lion's share of possession but apart from Anelka's shot against the post, the home side had managed to hold them at bay quite comfortably.
In the 43rd minute, Watford almost went ahead when a cross from McAnuff was met at the far post by Rasiak.
But the Watford striker was thwarted by a fine save from Cech who managed to keep the ball out at the second attempt.
Watford immediately set about Chelsea from the restart and Will Hoskins brought Cech into action with an angled drive which the goalkeeper held comfortably.
Loach denied Drogba again in the 49th minute with a fine save at his near post. Branislav Ivanovic had put the Ivorian clear and his left-foot shot was heading for the net until Loach intervened with a one-handed stop.
Moments later, Lampard was a foot wide with a trademark 25-yard drive.
The Championship strugglers were now having to defend in numbers as Chelsea increased the tempo.
In the 55th minute, Drogba just failed to get on the end of a delightfully chipped cross from Lampard.
Mancienne, who had enjoyed a fine debut for Chelsea at right-back, decided to try his luck in the 60th minute but his 20-yard effort was just too high to trouble Loach.
In the 62nd minute, Chelsea wasted another chance to go in front. Anelka nodded a long cross from Salomon Kalou back to Drogba but his shot was blocked by Ashley Cole.
However, the ball fell into the path of Germany international Michael Ballack who somehow contrived to send the ball high over the crossbar from point-blank range.
But Watford stunned Chelsea when substitute Tamas Priskin, on for Rasiak in the 65th minute, put them in front four minutes later. The striker ran clear of the visitors' defence to lift the ball over the advancing Cech.
But Anelka then sealed an amazing Chelsea comeback with a hat-trick. He levelled the scores in the 75th minute by hooking the ball home from close range.
Two minutes the France international headed home a cross from Cole and then, after Cech had saved superbly from McAnuff in stoppage time, he drove Kalou's pass beyond Loach for his 20th of the season
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Mail:
Watford 1 Chelsea 3: Anelka treble steals it as Hornets are denied famous victoryBy Rob Draper
Roman Abramovich sat in the stands with his pet manager Guus Hiddink on one side and girlfriend Daria Zhukova on the other and looked to be happy in love again.Why, he even laughed when Michael Ballack missed from three yards out, grinned when Didier Drogba struck a shot and cheered when Nicolas Anelka rescued his side from ignominy with a 15-minute, match-saving hat-trick.In short, it was a thumbs-up from The Emperor this week as Chelsea progressed to the FA Cup quarterfinals, eventually running out comfortable winners against an impressively workmanlike Watford side.
But alongside the Chelsea owner, Hiddink, a man with a lifetime's experience in football, struggled to raise a smile. Called in from Moscow like International Rescue to salvage the season after Luiz Felipe Scolari was judged to have failed, the Dutchman sat grim-faced as he absorbed all before him.Perhaps he knows better than his paymaster the size of the task ahead and probably he is aware that changing the manager every six months is no way to run a football club.Doubtless, these are thoughts he will keep to himself for the moment as, for now, The Emperor is happy and another bright, new era is under way; the third in 18 months. This one may even last beyond the summer.Yesterday, Hiddink confined himself to a brief visit to the dressing room before and after the game to wish his new players well and then congratulate them. Tomorrow, he will begin planning for season defining games against Aston Villa and Juventus.At least he will do so with a victory on which to build, for a poor season looked to have taken a turn for the worse when Watford substitute Tamas Priskin sprinted past a flat Chelsea defensive line on 69 minutes and lifted the ball over Petr Cech and into the net.
Lloyd Doyley provided the decisive pass and Praskin looked suspiciously offside, but that would have been a footnote had Watford managed to hang on to their lead and further dismantle the expensively assembled Chelsea machine.Another year, another £66million subsidy from the owner and still Chelsea look like they are going backwards.
Perhaps Hiddink will regain the momentum, but they possess a fragility about them at present, and the invincible aura of Jose Mourinho is long gone, even if it did require some minor heroics from 20-year-old Scott Loach in goal to keep Watford in the game.'People say it's been a difficult season, but we're through to the next round of the FA Cup, we're in the hunt in the league and and still in the Champions League,' said coach Ray Wilkins. 'And we haven't seen our best yet. I think we'll get better.'
The manager for the day had left his mark on the side. Jose Bosingwa was 'rested' and Michael Mancienne was given a start, as was Drogba, who curiously seems to have thrown off the fatigue which bedevilled him when Luiz Felipe Scolari was at the helm.'I had no doubts about him,' said Wilkins, who went on to laud Drogba as a great influence in the dressing room. 'I had a little one-to-one with Didier in the week,' he said.'He's had a difficult season and been in and out, but I felt he was the type of guy who will do better from the start than coming off the bench and it was nice to see the big man back.'
Brendan Rogers, the Watford manager, was mildly upset that in the six minutes in which his side held the lead he had been unable to bring on substitute John-Joe O'Toole because the earpiece of referee Mike Dean was not working.But the former Chelsea man acknowledged that with players of the quality of Anelka on the pitch it probably would have made little difference. The Frenchman scored his 18th, 19th and 20th goals of the season in a 15-minute spell which underlined the quality gap between the sides.The pick was the first, on 75 minutes, an overhead kick which he managed to collect from a loose header with his back to goal and a crowd of players around him. Few could have executed such skill.
His second, two minutes later, was a more routine header from an Ashley Cole cross and the third, in injury-time, came after good work from Salomon Kalou allowed him to guide the ball into the net from just inside the area.It was an emphatic display and Anelka has been a rare bright spark in a dark season for Chelsea. Alongside Drogba and playing as a front two for the final 15 minutes, Anelka may well have resolved the endless debate over whether the two strikers can be paired together.
Watford persevered despite having allowed their lead to slip. Indeed, with 90 minutes up and the score still at 2-1, Jobi McAnuff was clean through on goal.Cech was off his line smartly this time and managed to save when, really, the Watford winger should have equalised. It was to be Watford's last stand.Seconds later, Anelka added the third and the natural order had been restored.
WATFORD (4-4-2): Loach; Hoyte, DeMerit, Mariappa, Doyley; Smith, Williamson (Cowie 67min), Jenkins, McAnuff; Rasiak (Priskin 66), Hoskins (O'Toole 76).Subs: Lee, Sadler, Harley, Parkes. Booked: O'Toole.CHELSEA (4-3-3): Cech; Mancienne, Alex, Ivanovic, A Cole; Lampard, Mikel (Stoch 73), Ballack (Belletti 83); Anelka, Drogba, Kalou.Subs: Hilario, Di Santo, Quaresma, Ferreira, Deco.Booked: A Cole.Referee: M Dean (Wirral).
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Indy:
Anelka papers over cracks in front of Hiddink
Watford 1 Chelsea 3: French forward's hat-trick strikes positive note but Dutchman has work cut out to turn around Chelsea
By Steve Tongue at Vicarage Road
A Watford side in danger of relegation to League One gave Chelsea's temporary manager Guus Hiddink plenty to ponder before a hat-trick in 15 minutes from Nicolas Anelka guided his team into the FA Cup quarter final for a fourth successive season. Watching from the directors' box alongside his patron Roman Abramovich, Hiddink saw the home side take an unlikely lead with only 21 minutes to play before the Frenchman's dramatic intervention.
Three clinical strikes, taking Anelka's total to 20 this season, were in contrast to many of their previously profligate efforts. The turnaround also came after little Miroslav Stoch was brought on with Chelsea one-nil down, changing the formation to the 4-4-2 that Luiz Felipe Scolari believed was impractical because their wide players lack of defensive nous.
Before that Anelka and Didier Drogba had alternated between their best position in the centre and a berth wide on the right that suits neither. There is still much for Hiddink to sort out and he will presumably believe that the FA Cup offers a more realistic prospect of a trophy than either the Premier League or European Cup. Hiddink visited Chelsea's dressing room before and after the game but Ray Wilkins picked the team, as well as making the crucial tactical change when Watford scored.
"I thought we were outstanding against a world-class squad," said Brendan Rodgers, who has made a good impression since leaving his position as Chelsea's reserve-team manager to succeed Aidy Boothroyd at Watford. "I'm very proud of the club tonight. With 20 minutes left, I thought, 'Here we go', but I should have known better because I've worked with these guys." So it proved.
Losing to a struggling Championship side (Barnsley) in the FA Cup last season effectively cost Avram Grant his job, even though he was allowed to carry on all the way to the Champions' League final. Scolari was not allowed either opportunity and his goose might have been cooked even earlier had Petr Cech not brought off a stunning save to prevent Chelsea falling two goals behind in the third-round replay at Southend.
The London side survived that day and Cech was back from injury here to take his place behind an unfamiliar back four. Michael Mancienne was at right-back – where he was caught out for the goal – with Branislav Ivanovic partnering Alex in the centre because of John Terry's suspension. Frank Lampard was outstanding in front of a father who as a Watford consultant was in the rare position of wanting his son to lose. Further forward, it took Drogba and Anelka 35 minutes to link up effectively but when they did, Anelka struck a post.
Before that Watford's goalkeeper Scott Loach twice had to fist away fierce drives by Drogba and Lampard, and Alex headed a corner just over the bar. Rodgers might have been forgiven for packing his midfield to combat the players he knows so well but to his credit he went with two forwards, pushing Will Hoskins up alongside Grzegorz Rasiak. Watford were pleased to reach the interval on level terms, having competed well but found it difficult to put the makeshift visiting defence under pressure. Their best moments until the goal were headers by Adrian Mariappa and then Rasiak.
For 25 minutes in the second half Chelsea camped in opposition territory, so that it was all the more of a shock when Watford scored. Drogba, latching on to Ivanovic's long pass, drew a fine one-handed save from Loach, and then Lampard flashed a shot just past the post. In the nextattack Ashley Cole of all people blocked a shot by Drogba, the ball rebounding to the ineffective Michael Ballack, who from six yards hit it too high.
In the 69th minute, however, Vicarage Road was given reason to dream. It was just about their team's first serious attack since the interval when the Hungarian striker Tamas Priskin, only just on as a substitute, raced on to a pass down the left from Lloyd Doyley and dinked it over Cech.
The dream lasted only six minutes. From Chelsea's 15th corner, the substitute Stoch flicked on and Anelka produced an equalising overhead kick and within 90 seconds he headed in a cross from Cole, who had been set up by Drogba. Still Watford were not done and Jobi McAnuff would have brought the score level again but for Cech's save at close-range. It was added time before Anelka completed hishat-trick from Salomon Kalou's pass.
Attendance: 16,851
Referee: Mike Dean
Man of the match: Anelka
Match rating: 7/10
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Observer:
Anelka keeps Chelsea fighting in the FA Cup after sinking WatfordWatford 1 Priskin 69 Chelsea 3 Anelka 75, Anelka 77, Anelka 90
Paul Wilson at Vicarage Road There was no St Valentine's Day massacre, either of Watford's Cup hopes or in Chelsea's attempts to reinvent themselves under the gaze of a new boss, though there was a Sapphic proposal of marriage at half-time. To Linda from Jackie: "You make me complete." Exactly what a manager sent from Russia with love is supposed to do for the Blues.
A second-half hat-trick from Nicolas Anelka helped Chelsea progress easily enough in the end, as they ought to have done against opponents from the bottom three of the Championship, though it took the Premier League side over an hour to make their class tell. Guus Hiddink will have observed that Anelka and Didier Drogba can play together after all and he will also have formed a fair impression of what has been going wrong with Chelsea. It took an opening goal from the home side to force any urgency into Chelsea and while Frank Lampard was his usual industrious self Michael Ballack and Salomon Kalou once again had a game to forget.
"I don't think you've seen the best of us yet," Ray Wilkins said, rather missing the point of the week's upheavals. "People keep saying we've had a difficult season, but we are now in the FA Cup quarter-finals and still in the hunt for the league and the Champions League. All we need is a bit more luck in front of goal."
A promising Cup tie when it came out of the hat, this game had already been overshadowed by all the managerial machinations of the preceding week, and that was before José Mourinho announced today in Milan his intention one day to be manager of Chelsea again. That would be popular with supporters, most of whom are of the opinion he should never have been removed in the first place, though whether he gets the chance possibly depends on what sort of job Hiddink does in the next four months.
The Dutchman watched the proceedings from the stands in the company of Roman Abramovich, Peter Kenyon and Bruce Buck, the club chairman Рsome sort of three-line whip obviously having been applied for the welcoming committee. While Wilkins enjoyed a relatively low profile in the dugout, he did claim sole responsibility to rest the "tired" Jos̩ Bosingwa in favour of Michael Mancienne.
The most noticeable difference in Chelsea on the pitch was that Drogba looked far more interested than of late. Played on his own at the point of the attack with Anelka and Kalou just behind, Drogba brought a save from Scott Loach as early as the eighth minute. Kalou should have done better than that when Lampard's free-kick found him for a free header in front of goal six minutes later, yet inexplicably he opted to knock the ball down to a non-existent colleague rather than give Loach anything to worry about. As Watford had little to offer in attack and were not making much progress down the flanks, it was inexplicable when Ashley Cole picked up a needless booking midway through the first half for kicking Tommy Smith up in the air.
Lampard livened up matters just before the half-hour with a powerfully struck free-kick that Loach had to leap to punch away. But while Chelsea were applying most of the pressure there was a marked lack of excitement or end product. Watford's best hope of scoring for most of the first half, apart from a Smith dribble into the box that promised much yet came to nothing, was when Alex tripped Jobi McAnuff on the edge of the area. It was clearly outside the area, but it still amounted to Watford's best attacking position and McAnuff wasted it with a feeble free-kick.
Happily there was a flurry of excitement at either end just before the interval. Drogba and Anelka combined effectively for once, only for the Frenchman to see his shot rebound off an upright, then McAnuff, who at least remained Watford's liveliest attacker, looped a diagonal ball to the far post, where Grzegorz Rasiak tested Petr Cech with a header.
Chelsea stepped up their efforts in the second half. Drogba brought a sharp save from Loach, while Lampard found only the side netting with a 25-yard drive that most people thought had gone in. When Drogba next received the ball, he was unlucky enough to see his shot blocked by Cole, which gives a good indication of how many men the visitors were getting forward. The rebound fell to Ballack, who managed to scoop over the bar from two or three yards. It was knockabout stuff for a while, with Chelsea doing everything except force the ball over the line. At one point, even Abramovich was laughing, though beside him Hiddink maintained a straight face.
It must have turned even straighter when Tamas Priskin came on with 23 minutes remaining and scored with his first touch. Even though there was a suggestion of offside, it was far from convincing defending by a Chelsea side caught hopelessly on the break. Alex was out of position to deal with Lloyd Doyley's ball forward from half-way and while Priskin gleefully ran on to it in the absence of any flag, Ballack did not even offer the pretence of a chase. Priskin ended up with only Cech to beat and although the goalkeeper got a hand to the shot he could not keep it out of the net.
It turned out to be exactly what Chelsea needed to wake them up. They were level inside five minutes, when Branislav Ivanovic got his head to a Lampard corner and Anelka hooked the ball in despite having his back to goal, and in the lead just seconds later when Drogba and Cole combined to give Anelka his second. After the huffing and puffing that had gone before, the striker made scoring look ridiculously easy, his downward header bouncing before going past Loach. If Anelka's third in stoppage time made the whole afternoon look like a breeze, it was never quite that. Just seconds earlier Cech had made an outstanding save to deny McAnuff an equaliser.
"We had a chance for 2-2, but they showed a wee bit of quality at the end," the Watford manager Brendan Rodgers said. "I'm still proud of the technical discipline we showed against world-class players, though. We showed we can play with our brain. Football's not all about heart – that's one of the things I learned at Chelsea." (He was Chelsea reserve coach from 2006-08.)
Chelsea were not flattered when Anelka made it three from Kalou's run into the box, just relieved. Wilkins completely blew his air of studied indifference on the touchline to punch the air in delight – and he will not even be manager this time next week. "Guus was delighted," Wilkins was able to confirm. "He came into the dressing room afterwards and he knows he's got a wonderful group of players to work with."
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NOTW:
WATFORD 1, CHELSEA 3 It's love at first sight thanks to Nicolas Anelka
From ANDY DUNN/ROB BEASLEY
ON Valentine’s Day Nicolas Anelka at least guaranteed there was some love at first sight for Guus Hiddink. Whether it will turn into a fully-blown affair is anybody’s guess.
At times, Hiddink looked like he was on a date from Hell. But as he strolled purposefully around the perimeter of this homely stadium after the match — Roman Abramovich and a posse of flunkies trailing in his wake — he had the cut of a man who means business. Business made easier by Anelka.
Relationships are normally fleeting for Nicolas. Nine clubs in the career of a 29-year-old are testament to that.
Hiddink would earn his eye-watering amount of corn if he keeps Anelka happy and in this form. And he will go the way of Big Phil Scolari if he doesn’t use the Frenchman in a conventional central striking role.
With Salomon Kalou employed as a left-sided attacking midfielder, Anelka often found himself isolated on the right flank. Coaches too clever for their own good — that’s what formations like this are all about.
You might have thought Ray Wilkins would know better. He was the temporary boss and his one-night stand looked to be heading for a million regrets when substitute Tamas Priskin put Watford ahead.
But to be fair to Wilkins, wide-eyed bemusement turned into tactical genius when he sent on Miroslav Stoch and moved Anelka into a more central role.
Even he might not have guessed it would turn into a 15-minute hat-trick. But credit to Wilkins should be tempered by the fact that he started with a holding midfielder, Jon Obi Mikel, against a mediocre Watford side in the first place.
Boasts
At least he has handed on the FA Cup baton to Hiddink, who will have plenty of raw material to work on when he rolls his sleeves up at the Cobham training complex today. And no one boasts more raw material than Didier Drogba.
He went through the full repertoire yesterday — a fizzing 25-yard shot that stretched impressive Watford keeper Scott Loach to the limit, a Beckham-esque Hollywood pass to Kalou and a bullying header — all inside the opening half-hour.
And, of course, a good old whinge — at Kalou, after he misguided a free header from formality territory.
Oh, nearly forgot — there was also the obligatory dive as he almost screwed himself into the ground when Jobi McAnuff brushed his sleeve.
Thankfully, in the interests of justice, Loach just about managed to keep out Frank Lampard’s dipping free-kick. But Drogba also looked more comfortable in a regulation attacking pairing and Hiddink will surely keep this pair in harness for as long as they remain fit in body and mind. And on recent evidence, the latter could be more prone to injury.
Michael Ballack certainly needs to get his head right. One passage in the second half was particularly illustrative of the task facing Hiddink’s man-management skills.
Sloppy
First he was sloppy, then he was slovenly. In a farcical few seconds, Ashley Cole contrived to block a goal-bound shot from Drogba and the loose ball was an embossed goal invitation. Ballack turned it down, instead sending it into the rafters.
The reaction in the posh seats was intriguing. Abramovich laughed heartily, Hiddink stared coldly ahead.
And coldly became icily when Priskin made the most of Ballack’s abject refusal to track back and raced on to a Lloyd Doyley pass.
Petr Cech was quickly and bravely out but his helmet only helped guide Priskin’s dink into the net. Ballack was the culpable figure until Anelka dug his German friend out of very dark hole.
Anelka’s natural predatory instincts saw him turn a Branislav Ivanovic back-header into an equaliser courtesy of an overhead kick and then steal between two static defenders to head in Cole’s cross.
It was enough to have Blues owner Roman chuckling again but still Hiddink wore a grim look.
At least the stone features cracked into something resembling a smile when Kalou’s injury-time pass found Anelka in the box and his turn and shot was Premier League class against Championship mediocrity.
There was plenty of chat of the score being unflattering to Brendan Rodgers’ Hornets. But, quite honestly, it wasn’t. Loach had to be outstanding to keep out Drogba on three occasions and Lampard on two while, going forward, they offered precious little.
McAnuff was their most inventive player and actually had a chance to level the scores before Chelsea’s third but Cech denied him.
And the fact that a Blues defence — albeit a very makeshift one — allowed a sluggish Watford to break through on a handful of occasions will seriously worry new boss Hiddink.
John Terry will be back from suspension but there remains a new, hitherto uncertainty in the Blues’ rearguard. Cech is still not back to his authoritative best.
But the spring in his step on that walk around the cinder track and his grinning entrance into the post-match dressing room reflected a man who knows that there is still plenty of talent at Stamford Bridge.
That talent has become lazy, sulky, moody. The sort of words that you used to associate with Anelka.
Not any more. And if he can become diligent, determined and dedicated, then there’s no reason why Hiddink cannot get a few more to convert to the cause.
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