Sunday Times
Chelsea keep the heat on LiverpoolChelsea 3 Fulham 1
John Aizlewood at Stamford Bridge
How to enable Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba to effectively combine their myriad gifts was a riddle that both Avram Grant and Luiz Felipe Scolari failed to solve and one that contributed to the demise of both. Now, Guus Hiddink might have just cracked it.
Against a doughty, game Fulham, Drogba, theoretically the lone striker, and Anelka, floating menacingly behind him, tore their neighbours apart. The two were intimately involved in all three Chelsea goals, but the instinctive, aesthetically delightful understanding they showed until Drogba was withdrawn to a standing ovation was that of blood brothers, rather than the strangers of the recent past.
“We practised this,” noted Hiddink. “They’re strong, they’re fast and their performance was good to see.”
The newly deadly duo were not the afternoon’s only surprise. “It’s a strong team,” said the PA announcer, with scarcely concealed disbelief, as he prepared to read out Chelsea’s starting XI, which included nine of those who refused to pay homage in Catalonia last Tuesday.
And what did those footballing Rolls-Royces offer us on a day when only an unlikely five-goal victory would enable them to steal Liverpool’s second place, at least until Newcastle United travel to Anfield this lunchtime? Lest we forget, this was a derby between teams just 1.9 miles, and four Premier League places, apart.
Seconds after kick-off we had an inchoate answer. Chelsea swept downfield gracefully. Florent Malouda and Anelka played a magical one-two and Malouda crossed from the left, Drogba laid off and Anelka took advantage of Brede Hangeland’s poor first touch to prod the opener past Mark Schwarzer.
Three minutes later, Fulham were level. The competition was fierce, but nobody seemed more surprised than those in white shirts. With Ashley Cole caught overlapping, Murphy played a magnificent ball into space, which John Terry and Alex seemed unsure who was to take responsibility for.
The Norwegian Erik Nevland sped through and shot across a rather slow-to-drop Petr Cech. Even without the injured Andrew Johnson and Simon Davies, the visitors were level, but only for six heady minutes.
Then, down the right this time, Anelka fed Drogba who crossed low to the back post. John Pantsil obligingly stretched and missed and Malouda sidefooted home.
What now? Not entirely what we thought. These days, Fulham are rarely shaken, but often stirred. Nevland — who would limp off with a dead leg before half-time, crucially disrupting Fulham’s rhythm — and Bobby Zamora went close and only a manly Terry block sent Zoltan Gera’s goalbound drive spinning over Cech’s bar.
But before the break, Chelsea began to look more like themselves and soon Frank Lampard and Michael Essien were foiled by a combination of brave defending and fortuitous ricochets. Hiddink juggled at half-time, changes more, you suspected, to do with swatting Fulham than waiting for Barcelona. The visitors still punched above their weight and soon Branislav Ivanovic was called upon to thwart Diomansy Kamara, who seemed certain to poke home Gera’s cross, but at the other end Pantsil’s expertly timed penalty-area tackle robbed Lampard at the death.
Yet, Chelsea’s third goal was so utterly exquisite, the linkage between Drogba and Anelka so telepathic. Anelka ambled forwards and played the ball into space. Appearing seemingly from nowhere (certainly the backtracking Fulham defence had lost him) Drogba collected, took one touch to steady himself and a second to fire past Schwarzer. This, by any yardstick, was a world-class goal.
This time, Fulham, understood the game was finally beyond them. “A good result,” noted Hiddink, “but there were areas where I was unhappy, where we were sloppy.” Schwarzer reacted brilliantly to tip over a Lampard free kick on the hour and from there the Premier League’s natural order asserted itself.
“We weren’t at our best,” lamented Fulham’s Roy Hodgson, “but Barcelona will bring more on Wednesday than we were able to.”
Star man: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)
Yellow card: Fulham: Murphy
Referee: A Wiley
Attendance: 41,801.
CHELSEA: Cech 6, Alex 5 (Ivanovic 46min, 7) Terry 6, Cole 6, Bosingwa 6, Malouda 7, Mikel 7, Essien 6 (Ballack 46min, 6), Lampard 7, Drogba 9, (Di Santo 84min), Anelka 9.
FULHAM: Schwarzer 7, Pantsil 7, Hughes 6, Hangeland 5, Konchesky 6, Gera 7, Etuhu 6, Murphy 7, Dempsey 5, Zamora 6 (Dacxourt 76min) Nevland 7 (Kamara 35min, 6).
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Telegraph:
Chelsea beat Fulham as fans focus on the what-ifs
An air of indolence pervaded Stamford Bridge on Saturday, even in victory, as Chelsea adapted to the near certainty that Manchester United's lunchtime stroll on Teesside had taken the title beyond their grasp.
By Oliver Brown at Stamford Bridge
"It's so quiet at the Bridge," rose the chant from the Fulham end, a familiar piece of west London goading but accurate on this occasion, for neither three goals in a manic first 10 minutes nor an emphatic final scoreline could rouse the brooding home supporters from their torpor.
They had much on which to brood. The hypotheticals hung heavy in the still summer air: what if Chelsea had not fallen to a goalless draw here against Everton last month, what if they had not shipped two points with the same result at home to Hull in February, the result that triggered the exit of Luiz Felipe Scolari? Maybe then, without such carelessness, the goals for Nicolas Anelka, Florent Malouda and Didier Drogba could have been of more consequence, allowing Chelsea to reduce cut a six-point deficit to United rather than shoring up the same margin over Arsenal.
The stakes were not as high as Chelsea would have wished. But still Hiddink fielded a remarkablly strong line-up, such linchpins as John Terry, Frank Lampard and Michael Essien all present and correct amid the manager's anxieties about holding on to third place in the Premier League. It was an audacious gesture, only four days before a decisive Champions League confrontation with Barcelona, where Hiddink promised to "take more initiative." He admitted to some reservations about this half-paced win over Fulham, saying: "We are happy with the result, but I do not want to shut my eyes to moments when we let them play."
If the atmosphere here, due to the one-sided rivalry, was a touch laid-back, some of the defending was positively horizontal. It needed only 51 seconds for Anelka, executing the deftest one-two with Drogba, to produce a consummate clipped finish for Chelsea's first goal and so lay to rest any lingering murmurs about their negative tactics at the Nou Camp last Tuesday night. True, Chelsea do not and probably will never have the attacking flamboyance of Barcelona, but all three of their strikers had been involved in a silky first-minute move, Malouda supplying the initial ball for Anelka. One for those cantankerous Catalans, clearly.
A pity, then, that Chelsea were too distracted to pay the same attention at the back. The masterclass - a kind way of describing it, admittedly - in bloody-minded resilience that they had given in Barcelona was but a distant memory as they found themselves unpicked by Fulham's less feted forwards. A harmless-looking pass by Danny Murphy was sufficient to split the defence, Erik Nevland, later removed from the field with a dead leg, surging clear on the right to angle a fierce shot across the face of Petr Cech, the goalkeeper showing fresh signs of vulnerability.
The lapse did not cost Chelsea. Their waves of attack were crashing over Fulham with increasing frequency and it was scant surprise when Malouda, enjoying a revival from his abject form earlier this season, lashed in Drogba's low cross to restore a lead they more than merited. As Roy Hodgson, the Fulham manager, put it: "When you're playing against a team as accomplished as Chelsea, you know that you're going to have major problems on the counter-attack." The trouble was that it was only the 10th minute; Chelsea were in danger of exhausting all their energies for when they would really need them, back here on Wednesday evening against Messi and his merry men.
Drogba, naturally, was pivotal to Chelsea's confident play. The Ivorian, rejuvenated under Hiddink like Malouda, is the figure in whom the team's hopes of a decisive goal against Barcelona are invested, and he he displayed some of his most lethal form in this game while hardly slipping out of third gear. Having had a goal ruled out for offside, when television replays proved that it should have counted, he felt he had earned a penalty when Paul Konchesky brought him down inside the area. No sooner had Alan Wiley, dismissed the appeals, than Drogba was forcing another last-gasp intervention when clear on goal, this time from John Pantsil.
The striker's reward had to wait until the second half, when a superb counter-punch by Anelka culminated in Drogba, seizing the perfect cross from the Frenchman, steering his shot beyond the onrushing Mark Schwarzer. Lush, lazy skill; it was a combination with all the languor that defined the afternoon.
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Mail:
Chelsea 3 Fulham 1:
Now for the main event as Blues prove they are ready for Barcelona return
by IAN RIDLEY
It was as if Chelsea had taken all that criticism to heart about being so beastly to Barcelona by defending stoutly in the Nou Camp and refusing to play the expansive game that everyone wanted and expected. Back they came to Stamford Bridge and indulged themselves in an open, entertaining London derby by passing the ball fluently, finishing emphatically and even allowing their opponents room to play. And that was just in a first 10 minutes that yielded three goals. After the industrious and unselfish Nicolas Anelka - yes, industrious and unselfish - had given Chelsea a lead in only 50 seconds, Erik Nevland poached a swift equaliser before Florent Malouda restored the home side's advantage. The win was confirmed in the second half by the hungry Didier Drogba.
With it was sealed qualification for the group stages of next season's Champions League, something that looked dubious when Guus Hiddink took over as manager in February. The Dutchman picked a strong side for that reason, with John Terry making his 400th appearance for the club, Ashley Cole returning after suspension and Drogba and Anelka forming a forceful pairing.
Barcelona will clearly offer stiffer and more inventive opposition on Wednesday in that Champions League semi-final second leg, but Chelsea's leading lights at least got the feel for attacking football and scoring goals again. Hiddink said: 'I'm happy with the result but I don't want to shut my eyes to some moments when we let them play. Playing at home we will take more initiative but if you are not disciplined and concentrated you can give away chances and at the highest European level you will be exposed and punished.'
Not, though, by strangely subdued Fulham, who had come into the game on a good run that had taken them up to seventh and unbeaten in four away games. Andy Johnson may have been missing but his deputy Nevland scored the winner against Stoke last weekend. After the Norwegian had departed with an injury before half-time, Fulham lost their cutting edge. 'We were nowhere near our best either offensively or defensively,' admitted Fulham manager Roy Hodgson. 'We were beaten but not embarrassed.' Before the game Fulham boasted the fourth-best defensive record in the league, Chelsea having the best, but both sides made a nonsense of the statistic in an explosive start to the game which saw the Blues go ahead inside a minute.
John Obi Mikel fed Malouda, who crossed low for Drogba to touch the ball into the path of Anelka. It was a simple task for the Frenchman to tuck the ball past Mark Schwarzer from eight yards. Fulham were level within three minutes, however. Danny Murphy pierced the Chelsea back line, where Alex and Terry had been pulled out of position, and Nevland strode on to shoot across Petr Cech and into the far corner. Chelsea responded swiftly when Malouda steered Drogba's cross home from close range after Anelka had found the Ivorian wide on the right. Having created both goals, Drogba might have scored the third himself when he was sent clear by Frank Lampard and shot past Schwarzer but was ruled offside, a replay revealing him to have been level. He had his goal within eight minutes of the second-half restart, however. Anelka played a delicious through-ball - John Pantsil lagging behind to ensure no offside flag would save his side - and Drogba rounded Schwarzer before tucking the ball home. It was fitting reward for his energy and partnership with Anelka. The movement of both was clever and sharp, a rebuff to those - including Luiz Felipe Scolari - who did not see them as a pairing. 'It was good to see,' said Hiddink, who sounded a warning to Barcelona that he might just play both strikers against the Catalans. 'I hope central defenders will be worried after seeing that, because they are strong and fast.'
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Independent:
Anelka sparkles as Chelsea put on flair show
Chelsea 3 Fulham 1: French striker inspires Hiddink's men to throw off their shackles and send warning to Barcelona
By Mark Fleming at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea, accused of kicking Barcelona off the park in midweek, produced the kind of football that might have impressed even the most devout of Catalan purists. Guus Hiddink's side have been castigated for their stonewall defence in the 0-0 draw in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final in the Nou Camp on Tuesday night. But given licence to spread their wings against neighbours Fulham, Chelsea at times were a joy to witness.
There was even a piece of history for the club – strikers Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka scored in the same game for the first time. Many have said they cannot play together, but they combined brilliantly here to suggest Barcelona will have their hands full if they can repeat the trick in Wednesday's second leg.
Hiddink said: "If you have to play them as a central defender, you are worried because they are both so strong and fast. This certainly gives us options. We had a good result but I don't want to shut my eyes from the moments in the game when we were sloppy and made mistakes."
Fulham were in many respects the ideal sparring partners for Chelsea before Wednesday's clash. Roy Hodgson's side are top of the fair play league and there was hardly a bad tackle all afternoon. This has to be the blandest local derby in football, not exactly the El Classico clash with Real Madrid that faced Barcelona last night.
Hiddink has the utmost respect for Fulham's manager Hodgson, and showed it by selecting a powerful side, including John Terry, who was making his 400th appearance for the club.
Chelsea's leading lights made their presence felt with startling speed. In the first minute of the match they had the Fulham defence in a whirl of confusion with a superb one-touch move. Freed of the shackles worn so doggedly at the Nou Camp in midweek, Anelka, Florent Malouda and Drogba combined instinctively and Anelka applied the finish for his 22nd goal of the season.
But while the attack was free-flowing, Chelsea forgot the basics of defending, and a mistake by Alex after four minutes was punished by Fulham. The excellent Danny Murphy passed to Erik Nevland, who was played onside by Chelsea's dozing Brazilian, and the Norwegian powered a low shot through the fingers of Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech. Sadly for Fulham Nevland soon had to leave the game, after a crunching challenge by Terry. His replacement Diomansy Kamara was virtually anonymous.
The Fulham goal was merely a blip for Chelsea. Their front three, showing the invention and flair missing in midweek, created Chelsea's second after 10 minutes. Drogba passed to Anelka and the Frenchman centred for his countryman Malouda to apply an extravagant finish.
Drogba had a goal ruled out by a narrow offside decision, and Lampard twice went close with shots from distance as Chelsea continued to flex their muscles.
Anelka was irresistible. Left out of the side that started in Barcelona, he seized his opportunity in impressive style. The much-travelled striker created Chelsea's third goal eight minutes after the interval, with a beautifully weighted pass to Drogba, who jinked past Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer to score.
Attendance: 41,801
Referee: Alan Wiley
Man of the match: Anelka
Match rating: 8/10
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Observer:
Drogba seals a derby triumph as Chelsea send out warning to Barça
Chelsea 3 Anelka 1, Malouda 10, Drogba 53 Fulham 1 Nevland 4
Amy Lawrence at Stamford Bridge
Memo to Pep Guardiola: It looks as if Barcelona may not have an anti-football match on their hands after all. Chelsea produced an alluring answer to Camp Nou's holy trinity, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda warming up nicely with a goal each and enough sweet moves to suggest Barça's under-strength defence will have plenty to worry about between now and Wednesday night.
Drogba was at his terrifying best, Anelka had one of his classiest displays for Chelsea and Malouda showed exactly why he was brought to London at great expense two years ago. The three of them looked hungry and sharp. Their combination play and clinical finishing was so stylish even Barça loyalists would be forced to admit it was easy on the eye.
Typically of Guus Hiddink, though, the manager also felt it necessary to point out afterwards that he was unhappy with one or two "sloppy" moments. He is not a man who tolerates an ounce of complacency. His message here was no tinkering, no rotating, no messing.
Sandwiched between the two parts of their semi-final epic, such boldness defied Champions League convention as Hiddink chose a team with finishing second in the Premier League in mind. He picked arguably a stronger starting side than at Camp Nou, with Ashley Cole and Anelka reinstated.
Most intriguingly, this allowed the manager to try out a tactical adjustment and Anelka and Drogba for once relished the opportunity to link into a fearsome front two. "We do it in practice, but it is useful to see how it worked in a real game," Hiddink noted. It worked marvellously. Although he may not start this way against Barça, it is another card he will now feel confident to throw down if need be. "We like to have some options, some flexibility in the team," he added.
A full-strength Chelsea duly scored straight from the kick-off with a mesmerising passing move transported from the Surrey training pitch. Malouda, Anelka and Drogba did the geometry, tippy-tapping down the left until Anelka was in front of Mark Schwarzer. He steered past the goalkeeper with routine simplicity. A mere 50 seconds were on the clock. Fulham's reply was swift, though, as Erik Nevland equalised in the fourth minute. He pounced on a fine Danny Murphy pass, veered away from the last defender Alex, and drilled across the face of Petr Cech's goal and into the far corner before the keeper had steadied himself.
Back flowed Chelsea, the same trio of players ripping through Fulham's defence to leave Malouda with the goal at his mercy. He finished with a classy crack of the left boot. Drogba found the net soon after, only to be dubiously ruled offside. Then he claimed a penalty after being dispossessed by Paul Konchesky. The referee, Alan Wiley, correctly waved play on. The Ivorien did get on the scoresheet shortly after half-time and a peach it was, too. Anelka's curling pass was perfect and Drogba clipped impudently under Schwarzer's dive.
Fulham contributed some stylish football of their own, but once Nevland limped off in the 35th minute with a dead leg they missed a cutting edge, leaving their manager, Roy Hodgson, far from impressed. "The only thing to say positively is that we kept going. We were beaten but maybe not embarrassed."
Hiddink confirmed that while Alex and Michael Essien came off at half-time with niggles he had no injury concerns. Chelsea are raring to go.
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NOTW:
Nicolas Anelka leads the Three Musketeers
From ROB BEASLEY at Craven Cottage (I know), 02/05/2009
THE Three Musketeers put Fulham to the sword with a swashbuckling display - and now they're sharpening their blades for a night of destiny with Barcelona. And, on this form, the Spaniards had better beware.
Barca were quick to blast Chelsea for the way they defended at the Nou Camp in midweek but, here, the Blues showed they can be just as mean in attack, cutting Fulham to pieces.
Leading the charge were Nicolas Anelka, Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda. All three have had tempestuous seasons but, yesterday, the trio were in absolute harmony and Fulham simply could not cope.
Anelka scored the first, was involved in the other two and just edged the man-of-the-match accolade from a revitalised Drogba.
It was probably the Frenchman's best game for Chelsea and it provided a powerful argument for a place in the Champions League starting line-up on Wednesday night.
Alongside the rampant Drogba who was again a constant threat and menace. He actually scored one, had two assists and a "goal" wrongly ruled out for offside.
But Anelka's all-round play, his control, his pace and his intelligence put him out in front on the day.
Which was also tough on the re-awakened Malouda who scored one and had a hand in another.
Anelka needed just 50 seconds to give Chelsea the lead . . . and what a goal.
OK, the Anelka part was easy enough - a simple tap-in from close range. But the build-up was a thing of beauty. Quick, slick and reminiscent of a certain Spanish side from the Nou Camp.
John Obi Mikel started it all, claiming possession 10 yards into his own half and then quickly spreading the ball wide to free Malouda for a raid down the left flank.
In a flash, the French international was playing a neat one-two with compatriot Anelka before picking out Drogba in the middle.
Drogba didn't dwell either, laying it off with a deft touch to the still advancing Anelka who finished nonchalantly to claim his 22nd goal of the season and his 16th in the league.
It was the perfect start especially with Chelsea hoping to keep something in reserve for the challenge of Barcelona. But any idea of coasting through the rest of the game disappeared within three minutes.
Erik Nevland saw to that, sneaking in behind John Terry and Ashley Cole to race on to a fine ball from Danny Murphy.
The Fulham striker finished superbly with a low, driven shot across Petr Cech.
The keeper got a hand to it but it was not enough to keep it out and suddenly Chelsea's neighbours were level. That didn't last long either as the game's explosive start continued.
There were still only 10 minutes on the clock when Guus Hiddink's men reclaimed the advantage.
Anelka was again involved, combining with strike partner Drogba to tee up the vastly-improved Malouda, who sent Schwarzer the wrong way.
Again, Fulham tried to respond. Nevland flashed a volley over, while Bobby Zamora headed wide.
Frank Lampard's slide-rule pass then sent Drogba clear and he beat Schwarzer, only to see his effort ruled out for offside - wrongly as TV replays proved moments later.
On the half-hour, Drogba went down under a challenge from Paul Konchesky and the Stamford Bridge crowd bayed for a penalty.
But, again, referee Alan Wiley gave Fulham a lifeline and probably this time he was right.
Mind you, the Cottagers almost rubbed salt into the wound by counter-attacking instantly and only a last-ditch challenge by a back-to-his-best Terry saved the Blues.
Fulham were still in the game, though, and substitute Diomansy Kamara - on for the injured Nevland - robbed Terry by the touchline and picked out Zoltan Gera on a surge from midfield.
But the England skipper recovered well to deflect the ball over the top and protect Chelsea's lead going into the interval. Hiddink's men came out for the second half in a rush to put the game to bed.
Michael Ballack replaced Michael Essien, Branislav Ivanovic took over from Alex and, within eight minutes, the Blues were 3-1 up.
The Anelka-Drogba partnership flourished again with the former picking out the latter in the penalty box with a sublime pass. The Drog needed one touch to bring the ball under control and one more to despatch it beyond the helpless Schwarzer. That looked enough to seal the points.
Lampard saw a fierce free-kick touched over by Schwarzer, while Drogba hit the side-netting from another Anelka pass.
In between, a poor backpass from Ivanovic rolled straight to Zamora in the Chelsea box and Cech had to be at his best to smother the danger at the forward's feet.
It was another alarming lapse by Chelsea and one that cannot be repeated against Barca.
Gifting Zamora a one-on-one with Cech is one thing. Repeating the folly for a Messi, Henry or Eto'o is another matter altogether.
The Czech international keeper is good, very good. And after a dodgy spell he is nearly back to his brilliant best.
But those Barca boys will be ruthless not toothless, especially after hammering La Liga rivals Real Madrid 6-2 on Saturday night, and Chelsea will be made to pay.
One thing's for sure, it won't be goalless on Wednesday night - but it's certain to be dramatic.
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