The Times
Michael Essien continues impressive comeback to send Chelsea into second place
Chelsea 1 Manchester City 0
Matt Hughes at Stamford Bridge
Manchester City’s owners are discovering the hard way that the most important ingredients in a team are those that money cannot buy. Commitment, teamwork and organisation were all displayed by Chelsea yesterday as they reestablished their foothold in the title race, but for the visiting team such qualities were nowhere to be seen.
Such characteristics should be instilled by a manager, which is why City may give serious thought to replacing Mark Hughes in the summer. Hughes deserves some sympathy for being saddled with players who appear to have little sense of professional pride, but the buck for failing to motivate them stops with him.
One of the most talented groups of players in the club’s history, who were good enough to beat Arsenal 3-0 in November, have become something of an embarrassment. City could go on to win the Uefa Cup and even qualify for next season’s competition via their league position, but such success should not be allowed to disguise a series of dismal away performances that have brought only one league win this season. Hughes featured on the shortlist when Chelsea were looking for a new manager last summer, but he may have to seek employment at a smaller club in the event that he loses his job Oddly, given the frequency with which they wield the axe, Chelsea stand as exemplars of the model managerial switch, as the side have been transformed since Guus Hiddink took over last month.
The Dutchman has given his players a renewed appetite and self-belief to engineer a run of six wins from seven matches and, given their sense of purpose, it is conceivable that they could go unbeaten for the remainder of the season. Manchester United cannot rest easy on their four-point lead yet, with Chelsea determined to pursue them vigorously.
If Michael Ballack can be successfully converted into a holding midfield player, as Hiddink achieved yesterday, with the Germany captain sitting deep to allow Michael Essien and Frank Lampard to rampage forward at will, anything is possible.
Without leaving second gear Chelsea had far too much for City, who deserved to return to the North West having suffered a repeat of the 6-0 hiding they experienced on their previous visit to Stamford Bridge. If anything, Chelsea’s dominance was even more pronounced than on that occasion and with better finishing they could have moved a long way ahead of United’s goal difference, rather than drawing level on plus 33.
Lampard had the ball in the net in the third minute only to be adjudged offside and the sole surprise when Chelsea took the lead 15 minutes later was the identity of the scorer. One of Essien’s many nicknames is “The Train” - he is also known to his teammates as “The Bison” and, less charitably, “Mummy’s Boy” - and as well as powerful locomotive qualities he also shares the railway network’s occasionally erratic sense of timing, arriving to score for a second time in as many matches after being missing because of injury for most of the season.
To mark his first home appearance since August, City gave Essien the freedom of their penalty area, allowing him to swing wildly at Lampard’s free kick, the ball flying off his shin beyond Shay Given.
If Essien’s goal was fortuitous, then the luck deserted Chelsea for the remainder of the afternoon, particularly in the second half as they pushed to add to their tally. Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Juliano Belletti went close, while their dominance was such that even Florent Malouda got in on the act, with the substitute having a shot cleared off the line by Richard Dunne.
City offered nothing in return, to leave Hughes searching for excuses, with the Welshman claiming that the bright spring sunshine had adversely affected his players. That may explain why Robinho and Elano sought sanctuary in the dressing-room when they were removed in the second half. Sheikh Mansour, the City owner, may wish to consider installing a retractable roof at the City of Manchester Stadium just in case, as well as signing some players with character.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): P Cech 5 - J Bosingwa 6, R Carvalho 6, J Terry 6, A Cole 6 - M Ballack 6 - N Anelka 6, F Lampard 7, M Essien 7, Deco 5 - D Drogba 7. Substitutes: J Belletti 6 (for Deco, 41min), F Malouda (for Drogba, 71). Not used: Hilário, J O Mikel, R Quaresma, S Kalou, Alex. Next: Tottenham (a).
Manchester City (4-1-3-2): S Given 6 - M Richards 5, R Dunne 5, N Onuoha 5, W Bridge 5 - P Zabaleta 4 - S Wright-Phillips 5, S Ireland 5, Robinho 4 - F Caicedo 3, Elano 4. Substitutes: C Evans 4 (for Caicedo, 55min), K Etuhu 4 (for Elano, 66), V Bojinov (for Robinho, 81). Not used: J Hart, J Garrido, G Fernandes, G Berti. Next: Sunderland (h).
Referee: M Riley Attendance: 41,810
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Telegraph:
Chelsea leapfrog Liverpool to second spot
Liverpool might have ensured there will be no automatic coronation of Manchester United this season, yet it is Chelsea who are emerging as the most convincing heirs to Sir Alex Ferguson’s Premier League throne. By Jeremy Wilson at Stamford Bidge
Having finished in the top two in each of the past four seasons, they look rejuvenated under Guus Hiddink and their performance in Sunday’s 'Battle of the Billionaires’ against Manchester City suggested a further rediscovery of the resilience and consistency that carried them to five trophies under Jose Mourinho.
A gap of four points and one game to Manchester United may still prove decisive but, unlike Liverpool, Chelsea have an abundance of players with the experience of winning a Premier League title. In Hiddink, they also have a manager with the stature to rival Ferguson and the Dutchman was canny enough yesterday to cast himself as the underdog while deflecting any pressure in the direction of Old Trafford. “It’s clear that after Saturday’s unexpected result that the tension has come back in the league,” said Hiddink. “It gives a blow. It depends on their calmness if it goes on. When you are in the driver’s seat and someone else is coming, you can get a little bit nervous. The door is a little bit open.
Of course [they are vulnerable]. In the Premier League, many teams have the capacity to win there. It’s not a battle between the managers. It’s a battle between the players. Rafael is experienced, Sir Alex is very experienced. Let me, as a schoolboy, chase them.”
The schoolboy, though, may have to do without Deco for the rest of the season after the Portugal midfielder limped off yesterday with a hamstring injury. Hiddink is more confident about Didier Drogba’s ability to quickly recover from a knock to his knee and can draw particular confidence from the return of Michael Essien.
The contrasting performances of Essien, who scored Chelsea’s winning goal after 18 minutes, and Robinho, who was virtually anonymous, certainly supported Hiddink’s pre-match theory that it is not the size of a club’s bank account that counts, but the way they utilise their resources.
Luiz-Felipe Scolari previously declared that a fit Essien would be like having “five new players” and, in the space of just six days, the Ghanaian has gone some way to proving his theory.
Against Juventus, he scored the pivotal goal in Chelsea’s progression to the Champions League quarter-finals and his presence yesterday again inspired fresh midfield urgency.
Sensibly, he was not wasted at right-back or utilised as a holding midfield but instructed to burst forward alongside Frank Lampard.
His goal, though, owed most to quick-thinking and a dash of good fortune. With Lampard lining up a free-kick just inside the Manchester City half, Essien drifted into space on the edge of the penalty area and hooked a first-time volley off his shin beyond Shay Given.
Stephen Ireland was perhaps guilty of some slack marking, though it was not the only time that City were unable to nullify Chelsea’s variety of passing.
Lampard was particularly outstanding and a precise through-ball split the City defence after 36 minutes, with Drogba back-heeling into the path of Michael Ballack, who shot narrowly over.
Chelsea were also denied a convincing penalty claim shortly before half-time when Nedum Onouha appeared to tug at Nicolas Anelka’s shirt and then trip his former team-mate. City could give further thanks for conceding just one goal after Juliano Belletti’s 25-yard shot flew beyond Given but cannoned to safety off the inside of the post.
On the back of just one away league victory this season, there were no real positives from a flat City performance. Robinho’s most memorable contribution involved arguing with Mike Riley over perceived injustices, while Elano headed straight for the tunnel after being substituted. After initially sitting in the dugout, Robinho also reacted to his substitution by heading in the direction of the away dressing-room before the match had finished. “It was difficult to get Robinho into the game,” said Hughes. “But all our attackers struggled. You can’t just expect one player to carry the team. We have other players who have to stand up to the plate.
“All is fine [with Elano]. No problem. With 10 minutes to go, he [Robinho] is getting recovery strategies, fluids down him, so it’s not an issue. The sunshine affected both teams in a negative way. We had to try and put some extra legs and energy on the pitch in the end.”
The boos and chants of “what a waste of money” that accompanied Robinho’s departure, however, suggested that the Chelsea supporters did not share Scolari’s regret over the way Manchester City hijacked his signing. Indeed, after six wins and a draw from seven matches, it is the judgment of Hiddink in which Chelsea can increasingly trust.
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Mail:
Chelsea 1 Manchester City 0:
Blues jump into second as Robinho flops again By NEIL ASHTON Football News Correspondent
What a result for Chelsea. Not just the victory that leaves them four points behind Manchester United, but their failure to sign Robinho last August is the save of the season. It certainly looked that way when Roman Abramovich walked across the pitch at the final whistle, heading into the home dressing room to slap Guus Hiddink on the back after Chelsea's fourth successive victory in the Barclays Premier League. There were no thumb-sucking celebrations at Stamford Bridge from the Brazilians, just a good old-fashioned strop from two of Manchester City's potential match-winners.
Elano was at it first, feigning surprise when he was substituted in the 65th minute and then heading straight down the tunnel towards the dressing room. A dressing down, more like. He was followed shortly afterwards by Robinho, swapping shirts with Salomon Kalou on his way down the steps and no doubt wishing he had held his nerve last August to wait for Chelsea to improve their offer.
'Don't make anything of it,' pleaded City's manager Mark Hughes after they slipped pathetically to their ninth defeat of the season on the road. Hard not to when two of the Premier League's most talented players wandered aimlessly across the pitch until Hughes plucked up the courage to haul them off. 'You can't expect one player to carry a team. We have other players who have to stand up and be counted. It wasn't Robbie's day.'
Even when the sun is shining, as it was at Stamford Bridge, their team-mates could not convince them to come out to play - they were shirking their responsibilities and hiding in the shade. 'The sun affected both teams,' claimed Hughes. 'It certainly didn't shine too kindly on us.' No kidding. Robinho's sole contribution to the game was to repeatedly tell Michael Ballack to '**** off' as Shaun Wright-Phillips scampered away with the ball after he failed to retreat the full 10 yards when the Chelsea midfielder took a first-half free-kick. This team had 10th written all over them when Robinho scored on his debut in a 3-1 defeat at Eastlands last September and yet apparently they are making great strides. Where are they this morning? Tenth. They are eight places and 26 points behind Chelsea, a team with a sniff - and it is no more than that at the moment - of a third Premier League title.
Chelsea were always comfortable. Not convincing by any means, but there is a resilient look about them. They seem ready for a battle in the remaining nine games and will believe they are back in the hunt, ready to overhaul Manchester United in the run-in if Sir Alex Ferguson's team somehow slip up. This morning they will scan the fixture list again - Tottenham, Newcastle, Bolton, Everton, West Ham, Fulham, Arsenal, Blackburn and Sunderland, believing they are capable of winning every one of those games. Hiddink even changed his formation to accommodate Deco, who limped off with a hamstring injury after just 41 minutes of his first start since they lost 3-0 at Manchester United in January, and that bulldozer Michael Essien. They lined up 4-4-2, highly unusual for Chelsea, with Essien on the right until he unexpectedly popped up inside the area to divert Frank Lampard's 17th-minute freekick beyond Shay Given. Essien's game was explosive, giving a barnstorming performance and reminding John Mikel Obi, easily Chelsea's weakest link, how to dictate matches. His goal, his second in less than a week after his equaliser against Juventus last Tuesday, was supposed to be the catalyst to go on and score two, three or four past their second-rate opponents.
Instead they played within themselves, always ready to tap their foot on the gas if City threatened to turn this into a contest.
They never looked likely to. Valeri Bojinov's effort, shortly after he came on as Robinho's replacement, was their only shot, an embarrassing footnote in this embarrassingly one-sided game. 'Sometimes it is difficult when we play away because Robbie is obviously a threat and opponents know that,' added Hughes. 'We couldn't get him in the game, we're an attack-minded team but we didn't have the sharpness we need when we come up against the top-class teams.' Chelsea threatened to be top class, picking holes in City's defence whenever the mood took them. Ballack read Didier Drogba's mind by running on to his delicious back-heel in the first half but clipping his effort wide of the target. Drogba and Frank Lampard then took it in turns to shoot wide and Juliano Belletti, on as a substitute for Deco, rattled Given's post after the break. Hiddink has overseen this impressive transformation, turning Chelsea into a football force again and laying the foundations for the future. His (allegedly) short stay in England will not cost anything like that £34m City paid for Robinho, but at least Chelsea are on to a winner.
MATCH FACTSCHELSEA (4-4-2): Cech 6; Bosingwa 6, Carvalho 7, Terry 7, A Cole 6; Essien 8, Lampard 6, Ballack 6, Deco 5 (Belletti 42min, 6); Anelka 6, Drogba 5 (Malouda 70, 6).MANCHESTER CITY (4-4-1-1): Given 6; Richards 5, Dunne 7, Onuoha 6, Bridge 6; Wright-Phillips 6, Zabaleta 6, Elano 4 (Etuhu 65, 6), Ireland 6; Robinho 4 (Bojinov 81); Caicedo 5 (Evans 53, 5). Booked: Elano, Evans. Man of the match: Michael Essien. Referee: Mike Riley.
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Independent:
Essien gives flicker of hope to Blues' title bid
Chelsea 1 Manchester City 0
By Sam Wallace
Guus Hiddink's way of describing Chelsea's pursuit of Manchester United in the title race was to declare yesterday that Sir Alex Ferguson was in the driver's seat but that he must be "nervous" someone was behind him. To extend the metaphor a little further, let us imagine that in Ferguson's rear-view mirror he can see a portly yet composed Dutchman, astride his beloved Harley-Davidson and accelerating gently.
Hiddink really does have a Harley motorcycle back in Amsterdam but for now it gathers dust while he goes about rejuvenating Chelsea's season. Let no-one get too carried away, Hiddink's team are still four points behind United, whose game in hand means that they are still very much in control of this title race but at least Chelsea have regained some credibility. Michael Essien's goal yesterday gave them hope, albeit slim, that the race is not over.
Undefeated since he took over last month, this was Hiddink's sixth win out of seven in all competitions and suddenly Chelsea have something of that old indomitable attitude about them. He played down the suggestions that his team might overhaul United, comparing himself to a "schoolboy" in relation to Ferguson and Rafael Benitez, but do not be fooled. No-one quite knows how United will respond to Saturday's result but if they stumble again, Chelsea look very well placed to take advantage.
Hiddink's side are in second place now, ahead of Liverpool on goal difference and revving up nicely. "It is clear that after Saturday's unexpected result that the tension has come back in the league," he said. "It's a boost. But if we want to track them, we have to keep on winning. That will create tension to the end of the season, which is good for everyone."
Hiddink was not yet ready to call it on with Ferguson although you can be assured that the Chelsea manager has an ego to compare with the best of them, however humble he is currently playing it. "It's a battle between the players," he said. "They [Benitez and Ferguson] are both very experienced – Rafael is experienced. Sir Alex is very experienced. Let me, as a schoolboy, chase them. At the end, it's about the players.
"I don't know if you can compare the two clubs or how they will react to this. But it gives United a blow. It depends on their calmness if it goes on. But they have experience. I don't know what their reaction will be. Let's hope for everyone [that United struggle]. When you are in the driver's seat and someone else is coming, you can get a little bit nervous."
The impact of Essien, whose goal came in just his second start since his return from injury, is exactly the little bit of good fortune that every new manager needs.
Hiddink may already have proved himself with his initial impact upon this Chelsea team but Essien's return has been his reward. The player they call "The Train" played as if he had never been away, a full 90 minutes of match-winning commitment that embodied the Chelsea of Jose Mourinho.
Essien was everything Mourinho wanted in a footballer, a supreme athlete who scored crucial goals. He was a major factor in Mourinho's second title-winning season and then he scored the goal against Valencia in 2007 that gave Avram Grant his first big win as Chelsea manager.
Yesterday, Essien was the force in Hiddink's side. It says everything about the player who has recovered from the cruciate knee ligament injury sustained in August, playing for Ghana in Tripoli, to make a difference to Chelsea's season.
To take the true value of Essien you only had to see how ambivalent Hiddink was about the strong possibility that Deco will not play again this season.
The Portuguese midfielder came off after 41 minutes complaining of the hamstring problem that has troubled him this season. Would he be playing again? "I have my doubts to be honest," Hiddink said, "but let's see what happens." He did not sound like a manager for whom the world has just caved in. Deco out, Essien in. It seems like a good deal for Chelsea. Whether Deco ever plays again for the club is also debatable, he is strongly connected to the Scolari regime and has not been able to sustain the early promise he showed this season.
In contrast, Essien is just about the most saleable asset Chelsea have. He took his goal brilliantly, volleying in Frank Lampard's clever free-kick to him on the edge of the box after 18 minutes.
After that, Chelsea had a good shout for a penalty when Nedum Onuoha dragged down Nicolas Anelka on 32 minutes but they were hardly stretched. Manchester City were predictably dreadful away from home where they have won just twice in their last 20 games.
The real embarrassment for Mark Hughes was a desperate performance from his moody Brazilians, Elano and Robinho, both of whom were substituted long after they had effectively given up.
It is a mystery why Hughes bothers to pat these players on the back as they leave the field, the assumption being that he is just keeping them happy until the end of the season when, at the very least, Elano can be offloaded. The City manager deserves better than this. It is rare for the Chelsea fans to be able to sing "what a waste of money" at an opposing player without a hint of irony but it was justified in Robinho's case.
Richard Dunne kicked substitute Florent Malouda's shot off the line in the closing stages to keep the difference down to one goal but in reality this was a hammering for City in everything but the scoreline.
Hiddink's greatest regret must be that – Chelsea having played their two games against United before he arrived – he must leave it to others to try to beat the champions. On current form he would fancy his chances against United.
Goal: Essien (18) 1-0.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Terry, Carvalho, A Cole; Ballack; Anelka, Essien, Lampard, Deco (Belletti, 41); Drogba (Malouda, 72). Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Mikel, Quaresma, Kalou, Alex.
Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Given; Richards, Dunne, Onuoha, Bridge; Zabaleta, Ireland; Wright-Phillips, Elano (Etuhu, 68), Robinho (Bojinov, 82); Caicedo (Evans, 55). Substitutes not used: Hart (gk), Garrido, Fernandes, Berti.
Referee: M Riley (West Yorkshire).
Booked: Manchester City: Elano, Evans.
Man of the match: Essien.
Attendance: 41,810.
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Guardian:
Essien provides spark as Chelsea stay in the chase
Chelsea 1 Essien 18 Manchester City 0
Kevin McCarra at Stamford Bridge
It was a luxury to amble into closer contention for the Premier League title. Chelsea will not yet be utterly convinced that they can track down the leaders Manchester United, who are four points clear with a game in hand, but at least they will feel rested after this simple victory. Mark Hughes, the visitors' manager, referred to missing players and a weariness in the wake of a Uefa Cup win over Aalborg on Thursday.
The Danes, however, had hardly tested City and if the club is to achieve a status that corresponds with its wealth they will have to develop a different mentality. Chelsea's lead was narrow in theory, but of oceanic breadth to City. While Michael Essien's goal delivered the win, it was his sheer vigour that counted for more. The Ghanaian had appetite and influence in his first league start since sustaining cruciate ligament damage while with his country in September.
City were despondent long before he tired. With a single away victory in the league, the subdued tone of Hughes' team is not without cause. They are six points clear of the relegation zone. That margin makes it highly unlikely that they will be demoted, but it is galling even to have to contemplate such a possibility. It is appropriate to sympathise for a manager under pressure following the arrival of new owners, but Hughes would have been feeling ill-at-ease no matter who held the shares.
Though even-tempered afterwards, it must have infuriated the Welshman that City had a single attempt on target, from the substitute Valeri Bojinov, that hardly troubled Petr Cech. Essien's effort was never likely to be overhauled. It was taken with his shin, but the true untidiness lay in the visitors' defending after 18 minutes. Frank Lampard had no trouble finding Essien with a free-kick struck from the middle of the pitch. The midfielder connected first-time and the ball flew past the left hand of Shay Given.
That contact contained its element of luck, but there was nothing haphazard about Essien's influence overall. If he has been absent for much of the campaign, that at least makes him a footballer whose dynamism will also make a deep impression on wearying rivals. City had certainly lost sight of him when he headed off-target from a Lampard delivery in the 39th minute.
Earlier Lampard had been at the heart of an exquisite move that Ballack started and then sought to finish. Stepping onto the backheel by Drogba the German fired wide. There was an abundance of opportunities and Chelsea will be reproached for spurning them. City did at least persist and Richard Dunne, for instance, kicked clear an effort by the substitute Florent Malouda with three minutes remaining.
Damage limitation cannot satisfy a club of such means. The crowd jeered the eventual substitution of the ineffectual Robinho. Had Chelsea succeeded in signing him before City stepped in he would have been idolised here. On this occasion, the Brazilian was far advanced on the left but that was largely a ploy to check the trademark surges of the Chelsea full-back Jose Bosingwa. Of Robinho's dozen goals for City, just two have come in away games and he has not scored at all since December 28.
The statistics, of course, must reflect the help he is given and there was little impact at Stamford Bridge from, for example, Stephen Ireland, who had been enjoying an excellent campaign. Chelsea could afford to be unflustered even when they might, for instance, have railed against the referee Mike Riley when Nicolas Anelka was denied a penalty after appearing to be fouled by Nedum Onuoha in the 32nd minute.
If Guus Hiddink broods at all it will be over the pernicious hamstring injury that curtailed Deco's afternoon. The manager suggested afterwards that the Portuguese international might even have come to the end of his involvement for this season. Chelsea's means are not extensive in certain areas and it suits them that the main priority must lie in the Champions League, a tournament in which just five further games have to be negotiated by the eventual winners.
The caretaker Hiddink continues to be unbeaten with the club. This latest success could have been resounding even though Chelsea did not have to push themselves to the limits. It did not, for instance, feel like a turning point had been reached when the substitute Juliano Belletti hit the post with a long-range effort after 62 minutes. Any uncertainty lay in the eventual margin of City's loss.
Hughes impresses with the calmness shown in a trying campaign, yet he does need to galvanise his squad. Chelsea, for their part, might enjoy living in what is relative seclusion following the hullabaloo of the Mourinho era. The league may well be out of reach but the side is now going about its work with quiet effectiveness.
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Sun:
Chelsea 1 Man City 0
MICHAEL ESSIEN'S stunner helped Chelsea keep up the pressure on Man Utd
By IAN McGARRY
GUUS HIDDINK has got everything right since he joined Chelsea.
Attitude, decisions, results.
Yesterday was no exception as his team won their fourth consecutive league match to close the gap at the top to four points.
Michael Essien is nicknamed The Train by team-mates for the unstoppable way he plays the game.
If events of the past six days are anything to go by, however, maybe they should rename him the Goal Machine.
His strike made the difference against Manchester City yesterday just as it did when he struck against Juventus last Tuesday.
This was only his third league start of the season and his first in six months.
On this form, though, it is not hard to see why the Blues struggled so much when he was out with damaged cruciate ligaments.
The Ghana international takes the game to opponents, moving the ball from one part of the pitch to another in the blink of an eye.
That frees up Frank Lampard to take up positions further forward and receive a pass rather than make it.
Consequently, a team which has too often gone off the rails recently is suddenly running like a dream.
The same cannot be said of their opponents yesterday.
Manchester City were desperate against Chelsea.
Desperate at the back, desperate in midfield and totally devoid of any desperation to win.
And while Chelsea chase Manchester United, the day when the Red Devils’ neighbours are considered proper rivals remains a distant dream.
Hiddink actually called that one too. Last Friday he said he thought it was ‘unlikely’ that City could win the Premier League in the foreseeable future. In reality, their performance at Stamford Bridge suggested they would struggle to win a pub league.
The clash of football’s richest clubs turned out to be a contest between the haves and have nots.
Forget City’s trillions versus Chelsea’s billions.
It was something much less expensive but more valuable which separated the two teams at Stamford Bridge — heart.
The score said it was 1-0 to Chelsea but if you calculated the score based on effort and desire it would have been much, much more.
Even Hiddink said: “We really weren’t under any threat from City for the whole game.”
As a player, Mark Hughes was the epitome of ambition and hunger.
At United and Chelsea, he was always up for a fight and the last to give up.
Sparky by name, explosive by nature — that was the best way to sum up Hughes the player.
Which makes it all the more puzzling why he sits placidly on the sidelines while his team does even less on the pitch. Even worse, when he hooked two of the worst offenders — Elano and Robinho — he applauded them off the pitch.
For what? Their amazing contribution, tireless work-rate and commitment to the team?
Or was he just humouring them because, having tried criticising them before, he realises it only makes them moan and play worse.
In that sense, you have to have some sympathy for Hughes.
He knows it is a matter of weeks before he loses his job, so why go to war with his players.
Well, one reason would be to improve his job prospects after City, assuming his payoff will not be so great to allow him to retire. Hiddink, on the other hand, looks more and more likely to walk out of Chelsea in the summer a hero.
This game was a microcosm of how he has turned around the team’s fortunes since replacing Phil Scolari.
Chelsea continue to defend as if their lives depend on it and attack like there’s no tomorrow.
They should have been three up by half-time in this contest but for some poor finishing and a worse decision by ref Mike Riley.
Michael Ballack should have scored from Didier Drogba’s brilliant backheel, while Nicolas Anelka was hauled back and hacked down by Nedum Onuoha. It should have been a penalty but amazingly, it was not given. It did not matter.
After 18 minutes, Lampard played a fiendish pass from a free-kick which Essien simply lobbed over Shay Given.
A move rehearsed on the training ground last week, neither midfielder could quite believe they had been allowed the space to make it work.
City players, however, seem allergic to work. Pablo Zabaleta was supposed to mark Essien, while Stephen Ireland just looked on.
Despite losing Drogba and Deco to injury — the Ivorian should not be out for long, but the prognosis is not so optimistic on the Portuguese international — Chelsea look to be in rude health.
On the other hand, City’s condition continues to decline — and even money cannot cure it.
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