The Times
Chelsea win seven goal thriller
Chelsea 4 Bolton 3
Brian Glanville at Stamford Bridge
CRUISING, or so it seemed, to a facile 4-0 victory against anunadventurous Bolton Wanderers team, Chelsea suddenly and astonishinglycollapsed in the last 20 minutes. Bolton got back three of the goals anddominated, even ridiculed a Chelsea defence whose keeper, Petr Cech, washopelessly and helplessly at sea and all but gained an equaliser.However, right at the end of stoppage time, when the visiting keeper,Jussi Jaaskelainen, was beaten to the ball by Nicolas Anelka, GretarSteinsson raced back to scramble the ball off the line.To what extent Chelsea were ultimately tired after their famous victory atLiverpool, and to what extent — in a presumed excess of confidence — theytook their foot off the accelerator, we can only surmise.The embarrassing fact is that despite dominating the game for so long, andrattling in three second-half goals, Chelsea were, bewilderingly, on theropes.For Bolton, who pushed centre-back Gary Cahill up front in the hecticclosing stages, the transformation almost defied logic.They had begun with their usual five men across the middle, hadoccasionally broken with a mild threat, but once, after 40 minutes,Michael Ballack had exchanged passes with Salomon Kalou and effortlesslyscored from the return, Bolton’s goose already seemed to be cooked.In the last moments of the first half, though, both Johan Elmander andKevin Davies were only just wide with shots past the left post.The immediate future of Cech, who, in those last frantic 20 minutes seemedto be going through some kind of nervous crisis, must be in some doubt,what with Liverpool arriving at Stamford Bridge for the European Cupreturn on Tuesday and Chelsea facing Arsenal at Wembley in the FA Cup
semi-final on Saturday.Chelsea’s Dutch manager, Guus Hiddink, hailed as a hero last week afterAnfield, said diplomatically: “I think everyone, including the goalkeeper,did not perform well. I like not to talk about one specific player. At theend, the goalkeeper is nearest to the goal.“We suddenly got very sloppy,” admitted Hiddink. “Not winning duelsanymore. And I’m not just talking about defence.”When the second half began, Chelsea’s mastery seemed complete. Bolton’smanager, Gary Megson, admitted: “The first 20 minutes I thought we lookedquite secure and then for 25 minutes we lost it. But we still lost thegame 4-3.”The second Chelsea goal came three minutes into the second half. FrankLampard, in impressive form, took a free kick from the right after a decoyrun by Florent Malouda. Didier Drogba neatly and incisively turned theball home.For the third goal, on the hour, Ballack found Lampard and when, from theleft, he tried to guide the ball into the goalmouth, Steinsson handled.Lampard confidently drove home the penalty.Three minutes later Drogba scored again. Branislav Ivanovic, the hero ofAnfield, got his head to an inswinging corner from the right by Maloudaand Drogba neatly provided the final touch.Whether man-for-man marking is superior to the zonal game, as was stressedby so many critics after the Anfield affair, must remain a moot point.Broadly speaking, Bolton coped with Ivanovic where Liverpool couldn’t.At 4-0 the game seemed over. Not a bit of it. After 70 minutes Boltonsubstitute Andy O’Brien made it 4-1 when he was arguably offside. Cech haddived and missed the ball after failing to cut it out, a lapse thatobliged Ballack to clear off the line from Davies’ shot.The goal seemed somewhat unimportant. Four minutes later, the musicradically changed when Davies headed across from the left, Cech missed the
ball once more and the 20-year-old substitute, Chris Basham, exploited theopen goal. Megson felt Basham, with “that drive”, was the man who changedthe game.In the 78th minute, when Davies flicked the ball on, Matt Taylor drove inhis team’s third goal and all of a sudden the game was up for grabs.Chelsea survived but it was an embarrassingly close-run thing.Star man: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)Referee: P WaltonAttendance: 41,096CHELSEA: Cech 4, Ivanovic 6, Carvalho 6, Terry 6, A Cole 6, Ballack 7,Mikel 6, Lampard 8 (Deco 65min), Kalou 6, Drogba 7 (Anelka 65min), Malouda7BOLTON: Jaaskelainen 7, Steinsson 6, Cahill 7, Shittu 6 (A O’Brien h-t,6), Samuel 6, Muamba 6, McCann 6 (Cohen 83min), Gardner 7, K Davies 7,Elmander 6 (Basham 66min), Taylor 6
semi-final on Saturday.Chelsea’s Dutch manager, Guus Hiddink, hailed as a hero last week afterAnfield, said diplomatically: “I think everyone, including the goalkeeper,did not perform well. I like not to talk about one specific player. At theend, the goalkeeper is nearest to the goal.“We suddenly got very sloppy,” admitted Hiddink. “Not winning duelsanymore. And I’m not just talking about defence.”When the second half began, Chelsea’s mastery seemed complete. Bolton’smanager, Gary Megson, admitted: “The first 20 minutes I thought we lookedquite secure and then for 25 minutes we lost it. But we still lost thegame 4-3.”The second Chelsea goal came three minutes into the second half. FrankLampard, in impressive form, took a free kick from the right after a decoyrun by Florent Malouda. Didier Drogba neatly and incisively turned theball home.For the third goal, on the hour, Ballack found Lampard and when, from theleft, he tried to guide the ball into the goalmouth, Steinsson handled.Lampard confidently drove home the penalty.Three minutes later Drogba scored again. Branislav Ivanovic, the hero ofAnfield, got his head to an inswinging corner from the right by Maloudaand Drogba neatly provided the final touch.Whether man-for-man marking is superior to the zonal game, as was stressedby so many critics after the Anfield affair, must remain a moot point.Broadly speaking, Bolton coped with Ivanovic where Liverpool couldn’t.At 4-0 the game seemed over. Not a bit of it. After 70 minutes Boltonsubstitute Andy O’Brien made it 4-1 when he was arguably offside. Cech haddived and missed the ball after failing to cut it out, a lapse thatobliged Ballack to clear off the line from Davies’ shot.The goal seemed somewhat unimportant. Four minutes later, the musicradically changed when Davies headed across from the left, Cech missed the
ball once more and the 20-year-old substitute, Chris Basham, exploited theopen goal. Megson felt Basham, with “that drive”, was the man who changedthe game.In the 78th minute, when Davies flicked the ball on, Matt Taylor drove inhis team’s third goal and all of a sudden the game was up for grabs.Chelsea survived but it was an embarrassingly close-run thing.Star man: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)Referee: P WaltonAttendance: 41,096CHELSEA: Cech 4, Ivanovic 6, Carvalho 6, Terry 6, A Cole 6, Ballack 7,Mikel 6, Lampard 8 (Deco 65min), Kalou 6, Drogba 7 (Anelka 65min), Malouda7BOLTON: Jaaskelainen 7, Steinsson 6, Cahill 7, Shittu 6 (A O’Brien h-t,6), Samuel 6, Muamba 6, McCann 6 (Cohen 83min), Gardner 7, K Davies 7,Elmander 6 (Basham 66min), Taylor 6
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The Independent
Lampard lifts the Blues as Chelsea survive fright
Chelsea 4 Bolton Wanderers 3
By Jim Foulerton at Stamford Bridge
Sunday, 12 April 2009
Anything Liverpool can do, Chelsea can match - or better. At least thatwas how it looked when Guus Hiddink's team led by four goals with aone-sided match seemingly about to draw to its natural conclusion. Bolton,though, didn't see things that way and gave Chelsea the fright of theirlives, scoring three times inside nine remarkable second-half minutes.Chelsea, somehow, held on to claim the points and remain in the titlechase but they will be worried by their uncharacteristically poordefending under pressure, as Bolton went close to pulling off the comebackof the season. Petr Cech's display, in particular, was cause for concern.Liverpool, beaten handsomely by Chelsea in their midweek Champions Leagueclash yet 4-0 winners against Blackburn in yesterday's early kick-off, maysense they are still in the quarter-final tie when they arrive on Tuesday.
"To concede three goals in nine minutes is impossible for a team near thetop of the table," said a disbelieving Hiddink. Asked if it would giveLiverpool heart, the Chelsea manager added: "It is normal that playersreact to a situation like this and we must not let it happen again.Everyone, including the goalkeeper, did not perform well. I suppose it wasa typical English game." Liverpool, at least, are unlikely to pump highballs into the Chelsea area as frequently as Bolton did.Bolton's record at Stamford Bridge commands respect, even if their styledoesn't always, with three draws and a victory in their previous fivevisits and they started brightly. Matthew Taylor tried his luck with along-range free-kick, forcing Cech to palm the ball away, and Wandererstook the game to Chelsea.Their cause was helped by a lacklustre opening from their hosts, notablywhen Didier Drogba, ever the drama queen, held his head in his hands whenhe was beaten to a Frank Lampard pass by keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen,failing to notice as the keeper spilled the ball.Soon, though, Chelsea were into their stride. Lampard's dipping free-kickbrought a difficult save from Jaaskelainen, Ashley Cole had a decentpenalty shout turned down when he was tripped by Gretar Steinsson andMichael Ballack's curving shot narrowly cleared Jaaskelainen's bar.The goal Chelsea had been threatening duly arrived five minutes before theinterval. Dan Shittu's headed clearance fell for Ballack and the Germanplayed in Salomon Kalou on the right before advancing to convert thewinger's cross.Johan Elmander and Kevin Davies missed chances to equalise and Drogbadoubled Chelsea's advantage three minutes after the restart, side-footingLampard's free-kick home after Jlloyd Samuel had felled Kalou on theright.Steinsson, not so lucky this time, handled a Lampard flick to concede a
penalty for Chelsea's third after an hour, driven home emphatically by theEngland midfielder for his 18th goal this season. When Drogba tapped theball in from Florent Malouda's corner to make it 4-0, a rout was on thecards. Hiddink clearly thought so, taking off Lampard and Drogba.Bolton, however, changed the script, resorting to their tried and trustedlong-ball game. Ballack cleared one effort off the line in a goalmouthscramble after 70 minutes but soon Ricardo Gardner headed it back into thearea, Cech let go of it and substitute Andy O'Brien converted a simplechance. Three minutes later another of Gary Megson's replacements, theinfluential Chris Basham, bundled the ball in after Cech, unbelievably,left Davies' header as it came back across his goal. Taylor shreddedChelsea nerves when he got in between Terry and Cole to head in the third.The drama was unrelenting and Steinsson cleared Nicolas Anelka's effortoff the line before Gary Cahill's shot was deflected inches wide at theother end. The whistle sounded - and Chelsea could breathe again."We had the whole gamut of emotions," said Bolton boss Megson, who cited20-year-old midfielder Basher as the key behind their revival. "To comehere and score three is fantastic but conceding four goals the way we didwas far from it."The TelegraphChelsea almost throw it away against BoltonBy the end of an extraordinary afternoon in which they had scored fourtimes so effortlessly, Chelsea were reduced to wasting time and Petr Cechwas the recipient of ironic cheers when he managed to catch a high ball.By Trevor Haylett at Stamford BridgeTo the astonishment of all, the home team conceded three goals in nineminutes – a repeat on Tuesday and Liverpool will discover a ChampionsLeague reprieve.When Didier Drogba prodded home Chelsea’s fourth just past the hour it was
anybody’s guess what the final tally would become. Bolton were deflatedwhile Chelsea were still riding the wave of Anfield success. What no onecould have predicted was that the centre-forward’s close range prod wouldbecome the day’s decisive strike.Henry followed letter of lawBolton looked as bemused as everyone else tosuddenly find a lifeline dangling in front of them. They so nearly seizedit with both hands, Gary Cahill beating all with a shot following a cornerin added time bar Branislav Ivanovic who desperately cleared off the line.Cech was beaten on that occasion and he looked none too clever as Bolton’sdirect approach and aerial strength began paying dividends, Kevin Daviestwice winning headers for Chris Basham and Matthew Taylor to turn in. Themarathon pursuit of Manchester United and Liverpool looked to have run itscourse but Ivanovic and the referee’s whistle came to Chelsea’s rescue.“We were sloppy and too relaxed,” said managrer Guus Hiddink. “We concededthree goals in nine minutes which is impossible for a team near the top ofthe table.” Then with an eye on Liverpool’s visit he warned: “It hashappened once, it must not happen twice.”Michael Essien, whose role in placing Steven Gerrard in handcuffs atAnfield was a major factor in Chelsea’s first-leg victory, was rested butRicardo Carvalho, who will be needed for the Champions League return withJohn Terry out through suspension, made yet another return from injury.Along with the rest of Hiddink’s defence, Carvalho strolled through thefirst hour. With just one lone striker, Bolton were not equipped to pegChelsea back before the jitters set in. With their opponents sharp intheir passing and movement, the encounter had a grim inevitability as faras Gary Megson’s team were concerned. Frank Lampard shot low and adeflection took the sting out of the attempt, then he forced Jussi
Jaaskelainen to shovel aside a free-kick.When Michael Ballack let fly the ball only just cleared the crossbar. Bynow there were ten Bolton bodies concentrating on defence and when Ballackwas next involved it finally produced the breakthrough, the German feedingSalomon Kalou’s run and then in place to sweep home the return pass.Bolton rallied before the break and Johan Elmander and Davies both had agood sight of goal. Then at the start of the second half they concededagain as Drogba crashed home a free-kick which Lampard had rolled square.By the 64th minute it was 4-0 as Lampard converted a penalty after GretarSteinsson had handled before Drogba grabbed his second. All over bar theshouting? Far from it as Bolton, scoring first through Andrew O’Brien’sscrambled effort, sensed a fallibility in Chelsea’s rearguard. Not for along time have the Stamford Bridge patrons been so relieved to hear thefinal whistle.
"To concede three goals in nine minutes is impossible for a team near thetop of the table," said a disbelieving Hiddink. Asked if it would giveLiverpool heart, the Chelsea manager added: "It is normal that playersreact to a situation like this and we must not let it happen again.Everyone, including the goalkeeper, did not perform well. I suppose it wasa typical English game." Liverpool, at least, are unlikely to pump highballs into the Chelsea area as frequently as Bolton did.Bolton's record at Stamford Bridge commands respect, even if their styledoesn't always, with three draws and a victory in their previous fivevisits and they started brightly. Matthew Taylor tried his luck with along-range free-kick, forcing Cech to palm the ball away, and Wandererstook the game to Chelsea.Their cause was helped by a lacklustre opening from their hosts, notablywhen Didier Drogba, ever the drama queen, held his head in his hands whenhe was beaten to a Frank Lampard pass by keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen,failing to notice as the keeper spilled the ball.Soon, though, Chelsea were into their stride. Lampard's dipping free-kickbrought a difficult save from Jaaskelainen, Ashley Cole had a decentpenalty shout turned down when he was tripped by Gretar Steinsson andMichael Ballack's curving shot narrowly cleared Jaaskelainen's bar.The goal Chelsea had been threatening duly arrived five minutes before theinterval. Dan Shittu's headed clearance fell for Ballack and the Germanplayed in Salomon Kalou on the right before advancing to convert thewinger's cross.Johan Elmander and Kevin Davies missed chances to equalise and Drogbadoubled Chelsea's advantage three minutes after the restart, side-footingLampard's free-kick home after Jlloyd Samuel had felled Kalou on theright.Steinsson, not so lucky this time, handled a Lampard flick to concede a
penalty for Chelsea's third after an hour, driven home emphatically by theEngland midfielder for his 18th goal this season. When Drogba tapped theball in from Florent Malouda's corner to make it 4-0, a rout was on thecards. Hiddink clearly thought so, taking off Lampard and Drogba.Bolton, however, changed the script, resorting to their tried and trustedlong-ball game. Ballack cleared one effort off the line in a goalmouthscramble after 70 minutes but soon Ricardo Gardner headed it back into thearea, Cech let go of it and substitute Andy O'Brien converted a simplechance. Three minutes later another of Gary Megson's replacements, theinfluential Chris Basham, bundled the ball in after Cech, unbelievably,left Davies' header as it came back across his goal. Taylor shreddedChelsea nerves when he got in between Terry and Cole to head in the third.The drama was unrelenting and Steinsson cleared Nicolas Anelka's effortoff the line before Gary Cahill's shot was deflected inches wide at theother end. The whistle sounded - and Chelsea could breathe again."We had the whole gamut of emotions," said Bolton boss Megson, who cited20-year-old midfielder Basher as the key behind their revival. "To comehere and score three is fantastic but conceding four goals the way we didwas far from it."The TelegraphChelsea almost throw it away against BoltonBy the end of an extraordinary afternoon in which they had scored fourtimes so effortlessly, Chelsea were reduced to wasting time and Petr Cechwas the recipient of ironic cheers when he managed to catch a high ball.By Trevor Haylett at Stamford BridgeTo the astonishment of all, the home team conceded three goals in nineminutes – a repeat on Tuesday and Liverpool will discover a ChampionsLeague reprieve.When Didier Drogba prodded home Chelsea’s fourth just past the hour it was
anybody’s guess what the final tally would become. Bolton were deflatedwhile Chelsea were still riding the wave of Anfield success. What no onecould have predicted was that the centre-forward’s close range prod wouldbecome the day’s decisive strike.Henry followed letter of lawBolton looked as bemused as everyone else tosuddenly find a lifeline dangling in front of them. They so nearly seizedit with both hands, Gary Cahill beating all with a shot following a cornerin added time bar Branislav Ivanovic who desperately cleared off the line.Cech was beaten on that occasion and he looked none too clever as Bolton’sdirect approach and aerial strength began paying dividends, Kevin Daviestwice winning headers for Chris Basham and Matthew Taylor to turn in. Themarathon pursuit of Manchester United and Liverpool looked to have run itscourse but Ivanovic and the referee’s whistle came to Chelsea’s rescue.“We were sloppy and too relaxed,” said managrer Guus Hiddink. “We concededthree goals in nine minutes which is impossible for a team near the top ofthe table.” Then with an eye on Liverpool’s visit he warned: “It hashappened once, it must not happen twice.”Michael Essien, whose role in placing Steven Gerrard in handcuffs atAnfield was a major factor in Chelsea’s first-leg victory, was rested butRicardo Carvalho, who will be needed for the Champions League return withJohn Terry out through suspension, made yet another return from injury.Along with the rest of Hiddink’s defence, Carvalho strolled through thefirst hour. With just one lone striker, Bolton were not equipped to pegChelsea back before the jitters set in. With their opponents sharp intheir passing and movement, the encounter had a grim inevitability as faras Gary Megson’s team were concerned. Frank Lampard shot low and adeflection took the sting out of the attempt, then he forced Jussi
Jaaskelainen to shovel aside a free-kick.When Michael Ballack let fly the ball only just cleared the crossbar. Bynow there were ten Bolton bodies concentrating on defence and when Ballackwas next involved it finally produced the breakthrough, the German feedingSalomon Kalou’s run and then in place to sweep home the return pass.Bolton rallied before the break and Johan Elmander and Davies both had agood sight of goal. Then at the start of the second half they concededagain as Drogba crashed home a free-kick which Lampard had rolled square.By the 64th minute it was 4-0 as Lampard converted a penalty after GretarSteinsson had handled before Drogba grabbed his second. All over bar theshouting? Far from it as Bolton, scoring first through Andrew O’Brien’sscrambled effort, sensed a fallibility in Chelsea’s rearguard. Not for along time have the Stamford Bridge patrons been so relieved to hear thefinal whistle.
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The Observer
Drogba's double is just enough to hold off plucky Bolton
Chelsea 4 Ballack 40, Drogba 48, Lampard (pen) 60, Drogba 63
Bolton Wanderers 3 O'Brien, A 70, Basham 74, Taylor 78
Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge
Saturday 11 April 2009
Chelsea's title challenge flashed before their eyes in the closing stages.What should have been a breeze against opponents who had apparently wiltedaround the hour mark ended with the hosts desperately hacking loose ballsfrom their own goalline as Bolton threatened the unlikeliest of comebacks.Chelsea's pursuit of Manchester United has been maintained, though onlyjust.This was a game to defy belief, and to leave Guus Hiddink squirming on thehome bench. The Dutchman had been lauded for his tactical switches inmidweek in shackling and deflating Liverpool in the Champions League,though he must have feared his reputation lurching into ridicule as his
side unravelled in the latter stages of this game. Didier Drogba and FrankLampard had been plucked from the fray with their side comfortable and 4-0up, with an eye on Tuesday's second leg. Bolton's riposte, with threegoals in eight minutes, was as unexpected as it was stunning.Uncharacteristic vulnerability flared in the hosts' backline, indecisionsuddenly gripping Petr Cech while panic spread through to John Terry, whoappeared to be labouring with a back injury sustained during the firstperiod, and Ricardo Carvalho. The substitute Chris Basham's wide-eyedenergy and Kevin Davies's muscular presence spread alarm after AndyO'Brien had prodded in the first, albeit from an offside position. Thesense of disbelief merely spread as Basham stabbed in his first Wanderersgoal from Davies's nod-back and, four minutes later, Matt Taylor ghostedin between Ashley Cole and Terry to drift a header over a stranded Cech.Chelsea may have relaxed having established their ascendancy, but theyhave not looked this susceptible since Hiddink's arrival. Had GaryCahill's close-range attempt not flicked off the clutter in the six-yardbox to dribble marginally wide off the far post deep into stoppage timethen the home side's title challenge, as distant as it is, may have gonefor good. As it is, Liverpool will still take heart from such frailty. "Ispoke to the boys after the game and said we cannot afford to do thattwice," Hiddink admitted. "We must not let that happen."We were comfortable, then, all of a sudden, we got very sloppy, toorelaxed. We didn't win many duels defensively and conceded three in eightminutes. Normally, that is impossible if you are a team near the top ofthe table. It was a sequence of errors. I'll look at what I did, as well,but the substitutions were not in key defensive positions. It was morethat we were too relaxed."
Anxiety had gripped before the end. This was all the more remarkablebecause it was so ridiculous. Chelsea may have started stodgily, lackingthe rested Michael Essien's effervescence, but they had still conjured thelead before the interval courtesy of Michael Ballack's excellentinterchange with Salomon Kalou and battered near-post shot. That was theGerman's first Premier League goal of the campaign and set the tone forthe wave of attacks immediately after the interval in which Boltonappeared to have been blown away.Drogba's rasping finish from Lampard's slide-rule free-kick, rippingbeyond Jussi Jaaskelainen from the edge of the six-yard box, should havemade the game safe with the England midfielder then inducing a handballfrom Gretar Steinsson to prompt a penalty.If the concession was harsh – Lampard dispatched the spot-kick with glee –then it should be noted that the Iceland defender had been guilty oftripping Ashley Cole in the first half only to escape sanction.Regardless, Drogba's second as a Florent Malouda corner spread more mayhemsuggested this would end as a rout.At that stage, the idea that the French winger would end up desperatelyattempting to retain possession in the corner to preserve victory appearedoutlandish. "We'll probably get more credit for getting beaten 4-3 herethan we did for beating Middlesbrough 4-1 last week," Gary Megson said."But what we did at the end will give us great heart." It may offerLiverpool some encouragement, too, ahead of Tuesday's collision.
side unravelled in the latter stages of this game. Didier Drogba and FrankLampard had been plucked from the fray with their side comfortable and 4-0up, with an eye on Tuesday's second leg. Bolton's riposte, with threegoals in eight minutes, was as unexpected as it was stunning.Uncharacteristic vulnerability flared in the hosts' backline, indecisionsuddenly gripping Petr Cech while panic spread through to John Terry, whoappeared to be labouring with a back injury sustained during the firstperiod, and Ricardo Carvalho. The substitute Chris Basham's wide-eyedenergy and Kevin Davies's muscular presence spread alarm after AndyO'Brien had prodded in the first, albeit from an offside position. Thesense of disbelief merely spread as Basham stabbed in his first Wanderersgoal from Davies's nod-back and, four minutes later, Matt Taylor ghostedin between Ashley Cole and Terry to drift a header over a stranded Cech.Chelsea may have relaxed having established their ascendancy, but theyhave not looked this susceptible since Hiddink's arrival. Had GaryCahill's close-range attempt not flicked off the clutter in the six-yardbox to dribble marginally wide off the far post deep into stoppage timethen the home side's title challenge, as distant as it is, may have gonefor good. As it is, Liverpool will still take heart from such frailty. "Ispoke to the boys after the game and said we cannot afford to do thattwice," Hiddink admitted. "We must not let that happen."We were comfortable, then, all of a sudden, we got very sloppy, toorelaxed. We didn't win many duels defensively and conceded three in eightminutes. Normally, that is impossible if you are a team near the top ofthe table. It was a sequence of errors. I'll look at what I did, as well,but the substitutions were not in key defensive positions. It was morethat we were too relaxed."
Anxiety had gripped before the end. This was all the more remarkablebecause it was so ridiculous. Chelsea may have started stodgily, lackingthe rested Michael Essien's effervescence, but they had still conjured thelead before the interval courtesy of Michael Ballack's excellentinterchange with Salomon Kalou and battered near-post shot. That was theGerman's first Premier League goal of the campaign and set the tone forthe wave of attacks immediately after the interval in which Boltonappeared to have been blown away.Drogba's rasping finish from Lampard's slide-rule free-kick, rippingbeyond Jussi Jaaskelainen from the edge of the six-yard box, should havemade the game safe with the England midfielder then inducing a handballfrom Gretar Steinsson to prompt a penalty.If the concession was harsh – Lampard dispatched the spot-kick with glee –then it should be noted that the Iceland defender had been guilty oftripping Ashley Cole in the first half only to escape sanction.Regardless, Drogba's second as a Florent Malouda corner spread more mayhemsuggested this would end as a rout.At that stage, the idea that the French winger would end up desperatelyattempting to retain possession in the corner to preserve victory appearedoutlandish. "We'll probably get more credit for getting beaten 4-3 herethan we did for beating Middlesbrough 4-1 last week," Gary Megson said."But what we did at the end will give us great heart." It may offerLiverpool some encouragement, too, ahead of Tuesday's collision.
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Mail on Sunday
Chelsea 4 Bolton 3: Blues are hot to Trot - until late scare
PATRICK COLLINS on 11th April 2009
In the dying seconds of a chaotic afternoon, Branislav Ivanovic nudgedGary Cahill's shot off his own line and Chelsea's points were breathlesslypreserved. Stamford Bridge reacted with muted applause and heartfelt
relief. Nobody was fooled.For Chelsea had been strolling home, four goals to the good, when theirdefence was almost indecently exposed. Bolton, who had scarcely taken aforward step in 70 minutes, somehow discovered three goals in aneight-minute spell.As manager Guus Hiddink remarked: 'Against a team at the top, that isimpossible. It should not happen'.Hiddink seemed genuinely affronted by his team's performance, perhaps thefirst time he has felt so indignant since taking over.He talked of Chelsea becoming 'sloppy', of 'relaxing' after their Europeanheroics, when Ivanovic scored twice in their victory at Liverpool.Hiddink refused to blame individuals for the Bolton goals, but left littledoubt that his goalkeeper, Petr Cech, will not enjoy a tranquil Easterweekend.'Chaotic' was the least of it.Until those goals started to pour in, the Chelsea fans had treated theentire exercise as a kind of extended lap of honour after those improbableexploits at Anfield.They had sung tastelessly patronising little ditties about Liverpudlians:'Sign on, sign on . . . you'll ne-ver get a job.'They had thumped their chests in advance of Tuesday's return leg in theChampions League: '**** your history, we're going to Rome'.In short, they had behaved as fans of the so-called Big Four clubs tend todo when things fall into place.Then, quite suddenly, they weren't singing any more. The three Boltongoals had revealed unsuspected flaws in Chelsea's defence.The substitutes, Andy O'Brien and Chris Basham, as well as Matt Taylor,had enthusiastically exploited those flaws and Chelsea must now try torepair their damaged confidence.It was wholly unexpected given Bolton's approach. No matter that they hadscored four against Middlesbrough last weekend, they set themselves to
choke midfield, leaving Johan Elmander to toil unaided at the front.In truth, Chelsea's overwhelming possession did not yield many earlychances, but the longer it went, the more men Bolton pulled behind theball.John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho watched with mild and distant interestfrom central defence, every clearance was instantly returned and theopening goal became more inevitable by the moment.Surprisingly, it was delayed until the 40th minute, when Danny Shittu'sclearing header was collected by Michael Ballack and played wide toSalomon Kalou.Ballack ran into the box for the return and put away the chance swiftlyand tidily. With O'Brien on for Shittu in the second half, the roof seemedto fall in on Bolton.On 48 minutes, Jlloyd Samuel brought down Kalou on the right. DidierDrogba shaped to take the free-kick but continued his run into the box,whereupon Lampard pushed the ball low into the heart of the area andDrogba took the scoring touch.On the hour, Gretar Steinsson jabbed an arm at Lampard's short cross andLampard himself swept in the penalty.Three minutes later, Florent Malouda's corner found the head of Ivanovic,who knocked it on for Drogba to take the decisive touch.Four goals up, Hiddink removed Drogba and Lampard and sent on Deco andNicolas Anelka.Gary Megson made an apparently token substitution of Basham for Elmander.And strange things started to happen.On 70 minutes, a spasm of Bolton pressure saw nervous defending allowO'Brien a scrambled goal.Five minutes later, Steinsson fled down the right, his chip was knockedback by Kevin Davies and Basham took the chance with an unopposed lunge.Cech was nowhere, likewise his central defenders.They had little to do and were doing it unconvincingly. Another fourminutes and the plot thickened.
Jussi Jaaskelainen's freekick was launched from deep. Davies touched it onand Taylor ran into ludicrously unmarked space for the scoring header.The ball had not touched the floor since leaving the keeper's boot and itwas 4-3! In the frenzy of the final minutes, Chelsea had chances to killthe game.But so did Bolton, most notably in the final minute of added time. 'We'llprobably get more credit for losing 4-3 at Chelsea than we did last weekfor winning 4-1 against Boro,' reflected Megson.For their part, the Chelsea fans were saying little. Their mood was quietand fearful.On Tuesday evening, we shall learn if their apprehension was justified.CHELSEA (4-3-2-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole; Ballack,Mikel, Lampard (Deco 66min); Kalou, Malouda; Drogba (Anelka 66). Subs (notused): Hilario, Quaresma, Alex, Belletti, Mancienne.BOLTON (4-5-1): Jaaskelainen; Steinsson, Cahill, Shittu (A O'Brien 46),Samuel; Davies, Muamba, McCann, Gardner, Taylor; Elmander (Basham 66).Subs (not used): Habsi, Hunt, Smolarek, Puygrenier, Cohen.Referee: P Walton (Northamptonshire)
relief. Nobody was fooled.For Chelsea had been strolling home, four goals to the good, when theirdefence was almost indecently exposed. Bolton, who had scarcely taken aforward step in 70 minutes, somehow discovered three goals in aneight-minute spell.As manager Guus Hiddink remarked: 'Against a team at the top, that isimpossible. It should not happen'.Hiddink seemed genuinely affronted by his team's performance, perhaps thefirst time he has felt so indignant since taking over.He talked of Chelsea becoming 'sloppy', of 'relaxing' after their Europeanheroics, when Ivanovic scored twice in their victory at Liverpool.Hiddink refused to blame individuals for the Bolton goals, but left littledoubt that his goalkeeper, Petr Cech, will not enjoy a tranquil Easterweekend.'Chaotic' was the least of it.Until those goals started to pour in, the Chelsea fans had treated theentire exercise as a kind of extended lap of honour after those improbableexploits at Anfield.They had sung tastelessly patronising little ditties about Liverpudlians:'Sign on, sign on . . . you'll ne-ver get a job.'They had thumped their chests in advance of Tuesday's return leg in theChampions League: '**** your history, we're going to Rome'.In short, they had behaved as fans of the so-called Big Four clubs tend todo when things fall into place.Then, quite suddenly, they weren't singing any more. The three Boltongoals had revealed unsuspected flaws in Chelsea's defence.The substitutes, Andy O'Brien and Chris Basham, as well as Matt Taylor,had enthusiastically exploited those flaws and Chelsea must now try torepair their damaged confidence.It was wholly unexpected given Bolton's approach. No matter that they hadscored four against Middlesbrough last weekend, they set themselves to
choke midfield, leaving Johan Elmander to toil unaided at the front.In truth, Chelsea's overwhelming possession did not yield many earlychances, but the longer it went, the more men Bolton pulled behind theball.John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho watched with mild and distant interestfrom central defence, every clearance was instantly returned and theopening goal became more inevitable by the moment.Surprisingly, it was delayed until the 40th minute, when Danny Shittu'sclearing header was collected by Michael Ballack and played wide toSalomon Kalou.Ballack ran into the box for the return and put away the chance swiftlyand tidily. With O'Brien on for Shittu in the second half, the roof seemedto fall in on Bolton.On 48 minutes, Jlloyd Samuel brought down Kalou on the right. DidierDrogba shaped to take the free-kick but continued his run into the box,whereupon Lampard pushed the ball low into the heart of the area andDrogba took the scoring touch.On the hour, Gretar Steinsson jabbed an arm at Lampard's short cross andLampard himself swept in the penalty.Three minutes later, Florent Malouda's corner found the head of Ivanovic,who knocked it on for Drogba to take the decisive touch.Four goals up, Hiddink removed Drogba and Lampard and sent on Deco andNicolas Anelka.Gary Megson made an apparently token substitution of Basham for Elmander.And strange things started to happen.On 70 minutes, a spasm of Bolton pressure saw nervous defending allowO'Brien a scrambled goal.Five minutes later, Steinsson fled down the right, his chip was knockedback by Kevin Davies and Basham took the chance with an unopposed lunge.Cech was nowhere, likewise his central defenders.They had little to do and were doing it unconvincingly. Another fourminutes and the plot thickened.
Jussi Jaaskelainen's freekick was launched from deep. Davies touched it onand Taylor ran into ludicrously unmarked space for the scoring header.The ball had not touched the floor since leaving the keeper's boot and itwas 4-3! In the frenzy of the final minutes, Chelsea had chances to killthe game.But so did Bolton, most notably in the final minute of added time. 'We'llprobably get more credit for losing 4-3 at Chelsea than we did last weekfor winning 4-1 against Boro,' reflected Megson.For their part, the Chelsea fans were saying little. Their mood was quietand fearful.On Tuesday evening, we shall learn if their apprehension was justified.CHELSEA (4-3-2-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole; Ballack,Mikel, Lampard (Deco 66min); Kalou, Malouda; Drogba (Anelka 66). Subs (notused): Hilario, Quaresma, Alex, Belletti, Mancienne.BOLTON (4-5-1): Jaaskelainen; Steinsson, Cahill, Shittu (A O'Brien 46),Samuel; Davies, Muamba, McCann, Gardner, Taylor; Elmander (Basham 66).Subs (not used): Habsi, Hunt, Smolarek, Puygrenier, Cohen.Referee: P Walton (Northamptonshire)
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Sunday Express
BOLTON GIVE CHELSEA'S EURO HEROS A FRIGHT
Sunday April 12,2009
By Colin Mafham
LIVERPOOL will take heart from this scoreline. No doubt about it, it willgive them a glimmer of hope that Chelsea – and John Terry in particular –are not as invincible as they thought they were.OK, Hiddink’s Euro favourites may have taken some defensive eyes off theball when they were four up.But just when Chelsea looked to be coasting, brave Bolton produced thesort of stirring response Rafa Benitez’s team will need to emulate – andmore – if they are to stay in the Champions League on Tuesday.At the end they had Chelsea on the ropes and kicking the ball anywhere to
survive. In that position you could rightly expect Liverpool to go onebetter.And talking about Liverpool, Branislav Ivanovic’s two crucial goals therelast week earned him a hero’s reception from the Chelsea faithful.But when Petr Cech had to go full stretch to turn a Matthew Taylor belterround the post after less than a minute you started to wonder if Boltonhad read the script.They had, of course. With Kevin Davies wide right in midfield to startwith and Johan Elmander up front on his own, Gary Megson clearly expected– and prepared for – an afternoon of attrition.Mind you, Chelsea clearly find it comfier against the likes of Liverpoolbecause they took 25 minutes to get past all the bodies Bolton put intheir way.And even then Jussi Jaaskelainen was more than up to the task of turningFrank Lampard’s fierce free-kick round the post.After 40 minutes of relative mediocrity Michael Ballack and Salomon Kalouproduced a one/two of sublime simplicity that split Bolton wide open andended with the German bagging his first Premier League goal of the season.Considering Liverpool had already put four past Blackburn and ManchesterUnited were on their way to a win at Sunderland, Chelsea expectedlystepped up the pace after the interval and it took them just three minutesto double their lead.Jloyd Samuel’s trip on Kalou was duly punished with a free-kick that theever dependable Frank Lampard hit hard and low into the box. Didier Drogbadid the rest.Chelsea were in the driving seat and it really did seem to be game overwhen Gretar Steinsson’s arm got in the way of a Lampard pass and themidfielder completed the job. It’s amazing what a goal or two can bringand Ivanovic repeated his set-piece heroics soon after with a header froma corner that Drogba had little difficulty helping on its way.
But Bolton are nothing if not battlers and when Andy O’Brien restored someself-respect for them with a consolation goal on 69 minutes it signalled agritty fightback.And when Chris Basham cashed in on some sloppy Chelsea defending to pokehome a second, home hearts really did start to miss a beat.Many of them probably stopped altogether when Taylor headed home a Boltonthird after some more uncharacteristically dodgy defending by Terry. Butthe Blues held on.CHELSEA 4Cech 5; Ivanovic 7, Carvalho 6, Terry 5, A Cole 6; Mikel 6, Ballack 7,Kalou 7, Lampard 8 (Deco (66th) 5, Malouda 6; Drogba 7 (Anelka (66th) 5GOALS: Ballack 40, Drogba 48,63, Lampard pen 60BOLTON WANDERERS 3Jaaskelainen 7; Steinsson 6, Cahill 7, Shittu 6 (O’Brien (45th) 7), Samuel6; Davies 8, Muamba 6, McCann 6 (Cohen (83rd), Gardner 6, Taylor 7;Elmander 5 (Basham (66th) 7)GOALS: O’Brien 70, Basham 74, Taylor 78MAN OF MATCH: Frank LampardReferee: P Walton
survive. In that position you could rightly expect Liverpool to go onebetter.And talking about Liverpool, Branislav Ivanovic’s two crucial goals therelast week earned him a hero’s reception from the Chelsea faithful.But when Petr Cech had to go full stretch to turn a Matthew Taylor belterround the post after less than a minute you started to wonder if Boltonhad read the script.They had, of course. With Kevin Davies wide right in midfield to startwith and Johan Elmander up front on his own, Gary Megson clearly expected– and prepared for – an afternoon of attrition.Mind you, Chelsea clearly find it comfier against the likes of Liverpoolbecause they took 25 minutes to get past all the bodies Bolton put intheir way.And even then Jussi Jaaskelainen was more than up to the task of turningFrank Lampard’s fierce free-kick round the post.After 40 minutes of relative mediocrity Michael Ballack and Salomon Kalouproduced a one/two of sublime simplicity that split Bolton wide open andended with the German bagging his first Premier League goal of the season.Considering Liverpool had already put four past Blackburn and ManchesterUnited were on their way to a win at Sunderland, Chelsea expectedlystepped up the pace after the interval and it took them just three minutesto double their lead.Jloyd Samuel’s trip on Kalou was duly punished with a free-kick that theever dependable Frank Lampard hit hard and low into the box. Didier Drogbadid the rest.Chelsea were in the driving seat and it really did seem to be game overwhen Gretar Steinsson’s arm got in the way of a Lampard pass and themidfielder completed the job. It’s amazing what a goal or two can bringand Ivanovic repeated his set-piece heroics soon after with a header froma corner that Drogba had little difficulty helping on its way.
But Bolton are nothing if not battlers and when Andy O’Brien restored someself-respect for them with a consolation goal on 69 minutes it signalled agritty fightback.And when Chris Basham cashed in on some sloppy Chelsea defending to pokehome a second, home hearts really did start to miss a beat.Many of them probably stopped altogether when Taylor headed home a Boltonthird after some more uncharacteristically dodgy defending by Terry. Butthe Blues held on.CHELSEA 4Cech 5; Ivanovic 7, Carvalho 6, Terry 5, A Cole 6; Mikel 6, Ballack 7,Kalou 7, Lampard 8 (Deco (66th) 5, Malouda 6; Drogba 7 (Anelka (66th) 5GOALS: Ballack 40, Drogba 48,63, Lampard pen 60BOLTON WANDERERS 3Jaaskelainen 7; Steinsson 6, Cahill 7, Shittu 6 (O’Brien (45th) 7), Samuel6; Davies 8, Muamba 6, McCann 6 (Cohen (83rd), Gardner 6, Taylor 7;Elmander 5 (Basham (66th) 7)GOALS: O’Brien 70, Basham 74, Taylor 78MAN OF MATCH: Frank LampardReferee: P Walton
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Sunday Mirror
Chelsea 4-3 Bolton: Blues survive late Trotters fightback
By Paul Smith
Chelsea nearly committed football suicide in their own back yard as Boltoncame close to staging one of the most remarkable comebacks in PremierLeague history.The Blues were cruising to victory, leading 4-0 with 19 minutes to go whenGary Megson's men begun their astonishing fightback.The title-chasers were ripped apart as they conceded three goals in justeight minutes. And if Branislav Ivanovic hadn't cleared Gary Cahill's shotoff the line deep into injury time, it could have proved one of the mostembarrassing results in the club's history.Liverpool, who will look to overturn a 3-1 deficit in the Champions Leagueat Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, will certainly take heart from theresult.
Shell-shocked Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink gave a damning verdict of histeam's performance and warned his players that he expects a responseagainst Liverpool."We were far too relaxed and got very sloppy." said Hiddink. "The way weconceded those three goals is impossible for a team fighting near the topof the Premier League. There were errors all over the pitch."Bolton boss Megson said: "We'll take great heart from this.We willprobably get more credit for losing 4-3 than beating Middlesbrough 4-1last weekend. I don't think many teams have come to Stamford Bridge andbossed a game, scored three goals and still ended up losing."Bolton threatened in the opening 20 minutes as Chelsea's defending lookedunusually suspect.Matthew Taylor and Kevin Davies almost caught Petr Cech napping, but thehome side finally came to life.Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba went close before refereePeter Walton scandalously denied Chelsea a penalty after Gretar Steinssontook Ashley Cole out.The deadlock was broken five minutes before the break. Ballack started andfinished the slick move as he played the ball to Salomon Kalou and racedinto the area to fire home the subsequent cross.Three minutes after the break Drogba converted a low free-kick from Lampard.The life appeared to drain out of Bolton and Walton punished them harshlyby awarding a penalty when when Lampard's cross struck Steinsson's hand.The England midfielder made no mistake from spot.But if Megson was incensed by the penalty decision, he erupted with ragethree minutes later when his defence was ball-watching as Drogba firedhome a fourth.Yet, Bolton suddenly decided to make a real game of it.Sub Andy O'Brien capitalised on a calamitous mistake by Cech to fire home
and four minutes later Chris Basham pulled another back shortly aftercoming off the bench.There was more to come when Jussi Jaaskelainen punted a speculative ballupfield, Davies nodded it on and Taylor nipped between John Terry andRicardo Carvalho to head in.Then Ivanovic, Chelsea's twogoal hero at Liverpool, was in the right placeto prevent Cahill capping Bolton's comeback.Man of the match: Kevin Davies
Shell-shocked Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink gave a damning verdict of histeam's performance and warned his players that he expects a responseagainst Liverpool."We were far too relaxed and got very sloppy." said Hiddink. "The way weconceded those three goals is impossible for a team fighting near the topof the Premier League. There were errors all over the pitch."Bolton boss Megson said: "We'll take great heart from this.We willprobably get more credit for losing 4-3 than beating Middlesbrough 4-1last weekend. I don't think many teams have come to Stamford Bridge andbossed a game, scored three goals and still ended up losing."Bolton threatened in the opening 20 minutes as Chelsea's defending lookedunusually suspect.Matthew Taylor and Kevin Davies almost caught Petr Cech napping, but thehome side finally came to life.Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba went close before refereePeter Walton scandalously denied Chelsea a penalty after Gretar Steinssontook Ashley Cole out.The deadlock was broken five minutes before the break. Ballack started andfinished the slick move as he played the ball to Salomon Kalou and racedinto the area to fire home the subsequent cross.Three minutes after the break Drogba converted a low free-kick from Lampard.The life appeared to drain out of Bolton and Walton punished them harshlyby awarding a penalty when when Lampard's cross struck Steinsson's hand.The England midfielder made no mistake from spot.But if Megson was incensed by the penalty decision, he erupted with ragethree minutes later when his defence was ball-watching as Drogba firedhome a fourth.Yet, Bolton suddenly decided to make a real game of it.Sub Andy O'Brien capitalised on a calamitous mistake by Cech to fire home
and four minutes later Chris Basham pulled another back shortly aftercoming off the bench.There was more to come when Jussi Jaaskelainen punted a speculative ballupfield, Davies nodded it on and Taylor nipped between John Terry andRicardo Carvalho to head in.Then Ivanovic, Chelsea's twogoal hero at Liverpool, was in the right placeto prevent Cahill capping Bolton's comeback.Man of the match: Kevin Davies
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News of the World
CHELSEA 4, BOLTON 3>
From ROB BEASLEY at Stamford Bridge, 11/04/2009
IF BOLTON can score three in eight minutes at Stamford Bridge, what canLiverpool do in 90 minutes?That is the nightmare question that will haunt Guus Hiddink and hisChelsea side after this astonishing second-half collapse.The Blues and Reds square up here at the Bridge on Tuesday night - withChelsea feeling the job is as good as done after their thrilling 3-1 winat Anfield.But Hiddink and Co thought exactly the same as they led 4-0 against GaryMegson's Bolton battlers. The over-confident Dutchman hauled off scorersDidier Drogba and Frank Lampard to rest them for Tuesday's big ChampionsLeague quarter-final return.But unfortunately, it was not just Drogba and Lampard who put their feetup and took a break - the whole Chelsea side switched off in alarmingfashion.They arrogantly believed that their four-goal cushion had seen off the menfrom The Reebok. Wrong. Very wrong, dangerously wrong. And make nomistake, if they repeat the folly against Liverpool they will be made topay for their complacency.For if Chelsea are this sloppy and keeper Petr Cech so flappy, theLiverpudlians could yet have the last laugh. Kop boss Rafa Benitezcertainly does not need a team talk to inspire his men. All he should dois play an eight-minute DVD showcasing the Bolton goals, turn to Fernando
Torres and Co to and ask: "If Andy O'Brien, Chris Basham and MatthewTaylor can do this to Chelsea, what can you boys achieve?"Then, he can unleash them against Cech and Chelsea. The Czech was oncehailed as the world's best goalkeeper, not anymore.These days he is struggling to remain the best at Chelsea - and thiserratic display will not help his cause or the confidence of histeam-mates.Cech was to blame for the onset of this remarkable self-destruction,blundering badly as Bolton subs O'Brien and Basham struck in the 70th and74th minutes. Then skipper John Terry was caught napping as the livelyTaylor nipped in behind him to make it 4-3.That set the nerves a-jangling around the Bridge with the unthinkable, theimpossible suddenly appearing probable.With Chelsea desperately trying to survive, Cech was beaten again ininjury time - but Bolton were denied an astonishing last-gasp equaliserwhen Chelsea's Anfield hero Branislav Ivanovic cleared off the line toprotect the Blues now slender advantage.There was a huge cheer followed by a collective sigh of relief as thefinal whistle blew to ensure Chelsea did emerge winners.The three points keep alive their slim Premier League title hopes - butthe woeful performance in the final half hour will fill all Chelsea fanswith trepidation ahead of the rematch with arch-rivals Liverpool.Michael Ballack's first Premier League goal of the season put theLondoners in front in the 40th minute after a clever one-two with theever-willing Salamon Kalou.Then minutes after the break, Drogba prodded home the Blues' second afterLampard had clipped over a clever, low free-kick.Lampard then converted a 60th minute penalty to make it 3-0, notching his17th goal of the season after Gretar Rafn Steinsson had handled theEngland midfielder's cross.
It was party time by now - and the celebratory mood was heightened justthree minutes later when Drogba notched his second, pouncing on anIvanovic header to make it 4-0.No one would have been surprised if there were still three more goals tocome - but everyone expected them to have been for the totally dominanthome side. The turnaround in fortunes was amazing.Now the Blues have just three days to shake off the disastrous negativepsychological effects of conceding three goals in such awfulcircumstances.Hiddink will hope the embarrassment factor will ensure a positive reactionfrom his side to extinguish any idea of similar complacency ahead ofLiverpool's visit.But Benitez will be praying the hat-trick of howlers will undermine Cechand Chelsea's confidence.The tie certainly has a different complexion after Liverpool's returnyesterday to their free scoring - while Chelsea in stark contrast wereshipping three goals at home for the first time this season.And a team that can come back from 3-0 down at half-time in a ChampionsLeague final will surely believe they can overturn a 3-1 deficit in 90minutes in a quarter-final. So Hiddink and Chelsea better wake up - andwatch out.Star on SundayBOLT FROM THE BLUE12th April 2009 By Colin MafhamCHELSEA..4 BOLTON..3RAFA BENITEZ and Liverpool will take great heart from this scoreline.It will give them a glimmer of hope that Guus Hiddink’s Chelsea – and JohnTerry in particular – are not as invincible as they thought they were.OK, the Dutchman’s Euro favourites may have taken some defensive eyes offthe ball when they were four up.But, just when Chelsea looked to be coasting, brave Bolton produced thesort of stirring response Benitez’s team must at least emulate if they are
to stay in the Champions League on Tuesday.Gary Megson’s men had Chelsea reeling on the ropes and kicking the ballanywhere to survive – and in the same position Liverpool might just go onebetter.Hiddink admitted Bolton gave his shell-shocked team a wake-up call.He said: “All of a sudden we got very sloppy and conceded three goals innine minutes – we must not let this happen twice.“We cannot afford to play like that again – especially against Liverpool –and the players know it.“Everyone, including our goalkeeper, did not perform and hopefully it isimpossible to happen again.“It isn’t really necessary to stress that to the players.“They know they can’t play like that again.”Branislav Ivanovic’s two crucial goals at Anfield last Wednesday nightearned him a hero’s reception all afternoon.But, when Petr Cech had to go full-stretch to turn a Matthew Taylor belterround the post after less than a minute, you started to wonder if Boltonhad read the script.After 40 minutes of mediocrity, Michael Ballack and Salomon Kalou produceda simply sublime one-two that split Bolton wide open and ended with theGerman bagging his first Premier League goal of the season.Considering Liverpool had already put four past Blackburn and ManchesterUnited were on their way to a win at Sunderland, Chelsea knew they had tostep up the pace after the break and they took just three minutes todouble their lead.Jlloyd Samuel tripped Kalou and Frank Lampard hit the free-kick hard andlow into the penalty area. Didier Drogba did the rest.And, when the news filtered through that Kenwyne Jones had equalised forSunderland, optimism returned to Stamford Bridge with a capital O.Chelsea were in the driving seat and it seemed to be game over when GretarSteinsson’s arm got in the way of a Lampard pass and referee Peter Walton
pointed to the spot.The England midfielder completed the job he started, out-foxing JussiJaaskelainen.It’s amazing what a goal or two can do for confidence and Ivanovic againcaused havoc with a header from Florent Malouda’s corner that Drogbahelped in for his second and Chelsea’s fourth.That was his final contribution as he was replaced by Nicolas Anelka andDeco came on for Lampard to keep the pair fresh for the expected removalof Liverpool from the Champions League.But Bolton are nothing if not battlers and, when Andy O’Brien restoredsome pride with a scrambled goal in the 70th minute, it signalled a grittyfightback that put the wind right up Chelsea.And when another sub, Chris Basham, cashed in on some sloppy defending topoke home a second, Chelsea hearts really did start to miss a beat.And many of them probably stopped altogether when Taylor headed Bolton’sthird after more unusually dodgy defending from Terry. It was game back onand all credit to Bolton for that – they gave Chelsea one heck of afright.Delighted Megson said: “We will probably get more credit for gettingbeaten 4-3 than we did winning 4-1 last week.“We’re the only team to come here and score three goals and it has givenme tremendous satisfaction.”Despite Kevin Davies’s battling, physical display which unsettled Englandskipper Terry throughout, Megson hailed Basham, 20, adding: “Chris hasnever been to Stamford Bridge before let alone played here but histenacity and enthusiasm gave us that extra 10 per cent.“Putting him on gave us that desire and brought a lot more out of theother more experienced professionals and the goal he got was welldeserved.”CHELSEA: Cech 5; Ivanovic 7, Carvalho 6, Terry 5, A Cole 6; Mikel 6,Ballack 7, Kalou 7, Lampard 8 (Deco (66th 5) Malouda 6; Drogba 7 (Anelka
(66th) 5)BOLTON: Jaaskelainen 7; Steinsson 6, Cahill 7, Shittu 6 (O’Brien (46th)7), Samuel 6; Davies 8, Muamba 6, McCann 6 (Cohen (83rd), Gardner 6,Taylor 7; Elmander 5 (Basham (66th) 7StarMan: Frank LampardRef: P Walton
Torres and Co to and ask: "If Andy O'Brien, Chris Basham and MatthewTaylor can do this to Chelsea, what can you boys achieve?"Then, he can unleash them against Cech and Chelsea. The Czech was oncehailed as the world's best goalkeeper, not anymore.These days he is struggling to remain the best at Chelsea - and thiserratic display will not help his cause or the confidence of histeam-mates.Cech was to blame for the onset of this remarkable self-destruction,blundering badly as Bolton subs O'Brien and Basham struck in the 70th and74th minutes. Then skipper John Terry was caught napping as the livelyTaylor nipped in behind him to make it 4-3.That set the nerves a-jangling around the Bridge with the unthinkable, theimpossible suddenly appearing probable.With Chelsea desperately trying to survive, Cech was beaten again ininjury time - but Bolton were denied an astonishing last-gasp equaliserwhen Chelsea's Anfield hero Branislav Ivanovic cleared off the line toprotect the Blues now slender advantage.There was a huge cheer followed by a collective sigh of relief as thefinal whistle blew to ensure Chelsea did emerge winners.The three points keep alive their slim Premier League title hopes - butthe woeful performance in the final half hour will fill all Chelsea fanswith trepidation ahead of the rematch with arch-rivals Liverpool.Michael Ballack's first Premier League goal of the season put theLondoners in front in the 40th minute after a clever one-two with theever-willing Salamon Kalou.Then minutes after the break, Drogba prodded home the Blues' second afterLampard had clipped over a clever, low free-kick.Lampard then converted a 60th minute penalty to make it 3-0, notching his17th goal of the season after Gretar Rafn Steinsson had handled theEngland midfielder's cross.
It was party time by now - and the celebratory mood was heightened justthree minutes later when Drogba notched his second, pouncing on anIvanovic header to make it 4-0.No one would have been surprised if there were still three more goals tocome - but everyone expected them to have been for the totally dominanthome side. The turnaround in fortunes was amazing.Now the Blues have just three days to shake off the disastrous negativepsychological effects of conceding three goals in such awfulcircumstances.Hiddink will hope the embarrassment factor will ensure a positive reactionfrom his side to extinguish any idea of similar complacency ahead ofLiverpool's visit.But Benitez will be praying the hat-trick of howlers will undermine Cechand Chelsea's confidence.The tie certainly has a different complexion after Liverpool's returnyesterday to their free scoring - while Chelsea in stark contrast wereshipping three goals at home for the first time this season.And a team that can come back from 3-0 down at half-time in a ChampionsLeague final will surely believe they can overturn a 3-1 deficit in 90minutes in a quarter-final. So Hiddink and Chelsea better wake up - andwatch out.Star on SundayBOLT FROM THE BLUE12th April 2009 By Colin MafhamCHELSEA..4 BOLTON..3RAFA BENITEZ and Liverpool will take great heart from this scoreline.It will give them a glimmer of hope that Guus Hiddink’s Chelsea – and JohnTerry in particular – are not as invincible as they thought they were.OK, the Dutchman’s Euro favourites may have taken some defensive eyes offthe ball when they were four up.But, just when Chelsea looked to be coasting, brave Bolton produced thesort of stirring response Benitez’s team must at least emulate if they are
to stay in the Champions League on Tuesday.Gary Megson’s men had Chelsea reeling on the ropes and kicking the ballanywhere to survive – and in the same position Liverpool might just go onebetter.Hiddink admitted Bolton gave his shell-shocked team a wake-up call.He said: “All of a sudden we got very sloppy and conceded three goals innine minutes – we must not let this happen twice.“We cannot afford to play like that again – especially against Liverpool –and the players know it.“Everyone, including our goalkeeper, did not perform and hopefully it isimpossible to happen again.“It isn’t really necessary to stress that to the players.“They know they can’t play like that again.”Branislav Ivanovic’s two crucial goals at Anfield last Wednesday nightearned him a hero’s reception all afternoon.But, when Petr Cech had to go full-stretch to turn a Matthew Taylor belterround the post after less than a minute, you started to wonder if Boltonhad read the script.After 40 minutes of mediocrity, Michael Ballack and Salomon Kalou produceda simply sublime one-two that split Bolton wide open and ended with theGerman bagging his first Premier League goal of the season.Considering Liverpool had already put four past Blackburn and ManchesterUnited were on their way to a win at Sunderland, Chelsea knew they had tostep up the pace after the break and they took just three minutes todouble their lead.Jlloyd Samuel tripped Kalou and Frank Lampard hit the free-kick hard andlow into the penalty area. Didier Drogba did the rest.And, when the news filtered through that Kenwyne Jones had equalised forSunderland, optimism returned to Stamford Bridge with a capital O.Chelsea were in the driving seat and it seemed to be game over when GretarSteinsson’s arm got in the way of a Lampard pass and referee Peter Walton
pointed to the spot.The England midfielder completed the job he started, out-foxing JussiJaaskelainen.It’s amazing what a goal or two can do for confidence and Ivanovic againcaused havoc with a header from Florent Malouda’s corner that Drogbahelped in for his second and Chelsea’s fourth.That was his final contribution as he was replaced by Nicolas Anelka andDeco came on for Lampard to keep the pair fresh for the expected removalof Liverpool from the Champions League.But Bolton are nothing if not battlers and, when Andy O’Brien restoredsome pride with a scrambled goal in the 70th minute, it signalled a grittyfightback that put the wind right up Chelsea.And when another sub, Chris Basham, cashed in on some sloppy defending topoke home a second, Chelsea hearts really did start to miss a beat.And many of them probably stopped altogether when Taylor headed Bolton’sthird after more unusually dodgy defending from Terry. It was game back onand all credit to Bolton for that – they gave Chelsea one heck of afright.Delighted Megson said: “We will probably get more credit for gettingbeaten 4-3 than we did winning 4-1 last week.“We’re the only team to come here and score three goals and it has givenme tremendous satisfaction.”Despite Kevin Davies’s battling, physical display which unsettled Englandskipper Terry throughout, Megson hailed Basham, 20, adding: “Chris hasnever been to Stamford Bridge before let alone played here but histenacity and enthusiasm gave us that extra 10 per cent.“Putting him on gave us that desire and brought a lot more out of theother more experienced professionals and the goal he got was welldeserved.”CHELSEA: Cech 5; Ivanovic 7, Carvalho 6, Terry 5, A Cole 6; Mikel 6,Ballack 7, Kalou 7, Lampard 8 (Deco (66th 5) Malouda 6; Drogba 7 (Anelka
(66th) 5)BOLTON: Jaaskelainen 7; Steinsson 6, Cahill 7, Shittu 6 (O’Brien (46th)7), Samuel 6; Davies 8, Muamba 6, McCann 6 (Cohen (83rd), Gardner 6,Taylor 7; Elmander 5 (Basham (66th) 7StarMan: Frank LampardRef: P Walton
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