fulham 0-0

Independent:

Cech comes to Chelsea's rescue after tepid Torres draws a blank
Fulham 0 Chelsea 0

By Mark Fleming at Craven Cottage

If part of Roman Abramovich's intention in spending £50m on Fernando Torres was for the striker to revitalise Chelsea's flagging defence of their Premier League title, then that part of the plan can now be said to have failed.
Chelsea have gained just one point from a possible six since Abramovich's decision to shatter the British transfer record to buy the Spanish striker, and instead of closing the gap on Manchester United, they have slipped further behind the leaders and currently languish 12 points behind.
Torres endured another blank night in Fulham, following his meagre debut in last week's defeat to former club Liverpool. Chelsea had goalkeeper Petr Cech to thank for not slipping to a second successive defeat, with a brilliant penalty save in stoppage time to deny Clint Dempsey.
Carlo Ancelotti bit the bullet and dropped Didier Drogba from the starting line-up, opting for a three-man forward line with Torres in the centre, and with Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda playing behind him in a Christmas tree formation. Ancelotti also brought in Ramires in midfield and gave a full debut to £25m defender David Luiz.
Chelsea dominated possession in the early stages, but struggled to make anything with it and it was Fulham who enjoyed the better early chances, with former Chelsea winger Damien Duff enjoying the chance to run at Ashley Cole.
Duff's low cross provided the first sniff of a chance for Andy Johnson, but Luiz was across swiftly to snuff out the danger. Duff then produced a surprise shot from distance that almost caught Chelsea goalkeeper Cech unawares.
Chelsea created very little, Frank Lampard and Malouda firing into the crowd at the Hammersmith End. Just before the half-time break Torres then wasted a couple of decent chances. He pounced on Ramires' clearing header, but after holding off Chris Baird he could not evade Aaron Hughes and fired a weak shot at Mark Schwarzer's body.
Then, in first-half stoppage time, he raced onto a raking ball from Luiz but his first touch with his left foot let him down, and Schwarzer smothered the danger, prompting the inevitable chants of "What a waste of money".
Chelsea increased the tempo after the interval but still laboured to create meaningful opportunities to score. Torres had a couple more half-chances, heading Ramires' cross over the bar, and then minutes later curling a shot over the bar.
That ended up being that from Torres, who was withdrawn in the 71st minute, replaced by Drogba. Malouda looked far more threatening when he received the ball. The Frenchman had Schwarzer scurrying across his goal with a thumping shot from distance that Fulham's Australian goalkeeper was relieved to see fly past his post.
Malouda also had a decent claim for a penalty when he was bundled to the ground by Brede Hangeland as the pair challenged for a ball from Ashley Cole but referee Mike Dean was not impressed.
While Torres again disappointed, the Chelsea support were cheered by the performance of Luiz, who was calm and composed in defence while also inventive and adventurous when breaking forward. One overhead cross he pulled off could only have been made in Brazil.
The former Benfica man however blotted his copy book by conceding a penalty for a needless trip on Clint Dempsey in the 93rd minute.
The American struck his spot-kick well but Cech dived to his right to keep the effort out, before a leaping Dempsey hit the rebound high and wide.
Fulham had other chances to continue their home winning streak, which had been extended to five games in all competitions before last night, but could not find a way past Cech.
Dempsey broke free of John Terry but Chelsea's imposing goalkeeper was alert enough to parry his fierce shot to safety.

Fulham (4-4-1-1): Schwarzer; Baird, Hughes, Hangeland, Salcido; Dempsey, Sidwell, Murphy (Gera, 83), Duff; Dembele (Gudjohnsen, 83); Johnson (Davies, 74). Substitutes not used: Stockdale (gk), Kelly, Pantsil, Greening.
Booked Sidwell, Gera

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole; Ramires, Essien, Lampard; Anelka (Kalou 65), Torres (Drogba, 71), Malouda. Substitutes not used Turnbull (gk), Ferreira, McEachran, Sala, Mikel.

Booked Ivanovic
Referee M Dean (Merseyside).
Attendance 25,685 Man of the Match Hughes
Match Rating 7/10

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Guardian:

Chelsea survive late Fulham penalty but still have a night of despair

Fulham 0 Chelsea 0

Chelsea's title defence had already felt fraught; now it merely appears forlorn. The champions limped from this local derby perplexed as to how their monopoly of possession had not yielded any reward but even more baffled that they should be left feeling relief at having claimed even a point. These are uncomfortable times indeed.
Petr Cech's fine penalty save in the final minute of stoppage time at the end, the goalkeeper diving full length to his right to push away Clint Dempsey's attempt, salvaged a draw, though it has not resurrected a championship challenge.
Too much about this team suddenly feels awkward and ungainly, with Fernando Torres's integration into both form and formation still painful to behold. The leaders, Manchester United, are a distant 12 points away. More urgent is the champions' need to reclaim a position in the top four. Carlo Ancelotti insisted he was pleased with his team's performance, if not the result, in the aftermath though the manager's backing was unconvincing. Mid-season is a tricky time to re-jig an approach, and each outing feels experimental at present.
Torres had been included ahead of Didier Drogba here as part of a concerted effort to dominate midfield. That much was achieved, with Chelsea enjoying the ball at will, but there was little bite and shape to their attacking play. The possession counted for little.
Then there was Torres himself. The £50m Spaniard showed only vague flashes of belief and his display was summed up by a heavy touch after collecting David Luiz's wonderful long pass just before the interval, the ball dribbling obligingly to an onrushing Mark Schwarzer. The forward was hauled from the fray some 19 minutes from the end to allow Drogba an opportunity to ruffle tiring if admirably resolute opponents. Torres retreated with a sigh and to a hug, delivered almost apologetically, from the striker who replaced him.
"Every striker wants to score but I don't think Fernando's frustrated," said Ancelotti. "He just needs time to play with us. He played well, using his ability to move, and had some opportunities. His performance was better than against Liverpool." How long Drogba will put up with life as second fiddle remains to be seen, but Torres must be this forward line's focal point.
At present, Ancelotti is still attempting to accommodate this country's record transfer. Privately Torres will be craving a goal to choke the permanent and predictable chorus from opposing supporters. There were four chances here either side of half-time, though his radar remains skew-whiff. None really troubled Schwarzer. The manager's dilemma is compounded by the reality that Drogba has hardly been setting the Premier League alight either this term. Indeed, this club's only in-form forward is currently on loan at Bolton Wanderers. Suddenly, Daniel Sturridge feels sorely missed.
Chelsea created plenty of half-chances, Michael Essien flicking a header wide and Frank Lampard and David Luiz sending efforts high where they might normally have scored. Yet they could have ended with nothing. The game had been drifting, with Chelsea apparently spent of ideas, when Dempsey wriggled into space on the counterattack and drew David Luiz's only notable error on his full debut. The Brazilian's lunge conceded a penalty. "Maybe he was tired," said Ancelotti. The mistake should not deflect entirely from a hugely impressive performance. At least one of the champions' big money signings appears to have settled in with ease.
Dempsey took the spot-kick himself with Danny Murphy having been replaced, only for Cech to muster the game's most significant save. The referee, Mike Dean, chose not to order a retake despite Drogba clearly encroaching. "For the title, a point is too little," said Cech. "It is not over but the others are winning while we have dropped another two points."
Behind the scenes, the focus must be switching to a return to the top four and their ongoing Champions League campaign, which resumes in Copenhagen next week. Torres qualifies for that competition, though not for the FA Cup on Saturday. Ancelotti's attempts to conjure a formula for his forward line go on.


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Mail:

Fulham 0 Chelsea 0: Torres fails to cash in - £50m striker draws another blank for Blues
By Matt Barlow

Jose Mourinho's sense of mischief must have clicked into overdrive as he gazed down from the stands at Craven Cottage and assessed the mystery of how Carlo Ancelotti might best accommodate Fernando Torres.
Having endured something similar with Andriy Shevchenko once upon a time, Mourinho may even feel sympathy for the Chelsea manager, who made the bold decision to axe Didier Drogba to play Torres at centre forward, only for it to backfire.
The Spain star lasted 71 minutes at Fulham, slightly longer than he did on his debut against Liverpool, before departing to cries of 'What a waste of money'.
Drogba came on and looked hungrier than ever but Chelsea drew another blank and were grateful for a penalty save by Petr Cech in added time to stop Clint Dempsey stealing all three points for the hosts.
After two games without a goal, the champions are 12 points behind Barclays Premier League leaders Manchester United with 12 games to play.
More worryingly for Ancelotti, they are two points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham and the momentum they recovered in mid-January seems have vanished amid the disruption caused by the arrival of a £50million striker.
Torres moved intelligently last night but his touch was poor from the start, when he clipped his first meaningful pass into the crowd. He made some nice little contributions but standards are exacting when you cost so much and his mistakes were regular enough to keep the home fans amused.
He did not link the play particularly well and there was no sign of his killer instinct in front of goal. Too tense? Too eager to impress? Whatever the reason it was painful to watch. Torres cannot play in the FA Cup against Everton on Saturday because he is cup-tied and will relish the break.
Sent clear by David Luiz just before half-time, his touch deserted him and allowed Mark Schwarzer to smother the ball.
Another feeble effort was easily saved by the Fulham goalkeeper, although Chelsea thought their record signing was also punished for trying to stay on his feet when he was clipped inside the penalty area by Chris Baird.
He went closer after the half-time break. First, a header from an excellent Ramires cross looped over from eight yards, then a curler with his right foot did not quite bend enough. In between, he dithered when Frank Lampard rolled a quick free-kick his way and was dispossessed.
In an effort to help, Chelsea fans sang his name.
If Torres misfired, he was in good company. Branislav Ivanovic gave the ball away cheaply early on, as did Nicolas Anelka, an error which sparked a rapid Fulham break and a timely intervention from the impressive Luiz to thwart Andy Johnson.
Brazilian Luiz, a £25m deadline signing from Benfica, looks far more comfortable in his new surroundings than Torres. Quick across the ground, capable of reading the game well and stylish on the ball, he appears to have adjusted to the faster tempo of English football.
At least he did until his needless foul on Dempsey, two minutes into added time. Referee Mike Dean pointed to the spot and Dempsey's effort was saved by Cech, diving to his right.
Dempsey hooked the rebound over the bar. Dean had earlier rejected an appeal from the visitors when Florent Malouda was bundled over by Brede Hangeland.
Defeat would have been a cruel twist for Ancelotti, who abandoned his one-game experiment to cram Torres, Anelka and Drogba into the same team and reverted to the formation which has been the template for Chelsea's success over the last seven seasons.
Mourinho, on a break from Real Madrid, was there to enjoy the compliment. The visitors were the better team but rarely threatened Fulham's goal. Cech made the first save of the night, punching away a swerving shot from former Chelsea winger Damien Duff.
The visitors found some rhythm before half-time. Lampard and Malouda went close before the break and the Blues dominated the second half as Fulham sat back. It was a risky strategy but it did deny Torres the chance to capitalise on space behind the back four.
When Ancelotti's first change came after 65 minutes, it was not Drogba going on but Salomon Kalou, and it was not Torres going off, but Anelka.
Drogba came on six minutes later and was somewhere near his best. The last time he was dropped to the bench, at Tottenham in December shortly after his bout of malaria, he came on at half-time, scored the equaliser and missed a last-minute penalty in a 1-1 draw.
The Ivorian produced one dribble down the left and a low cross, which was crying out for a tap-in from a poacher like, erm, Torres. Or Anelka.
But this was not Chelsea's night and it was left to Cech to prevent a second successive loss.

MATCH FACTS

FULHAM (4-4-1-1): Schwarzer 6; Baird 6, Hughes 6, Hangeland 6, Salcido 7; Duff 6, Murphy 6 (Gera 83min), Sidwell 6, Dempsey 7; Dembele 7 (Gudjohnsen 83); A Johnson 6 (Davies 74, 6). Subs not used: Stockdale, Kelly, Pantsil, Greening. Booked: Sidwell, Gera.

CHELSEA (4-3-3): Cech 7; Ivanovic 8, Luiz 6, Terry 6, Cole 6; Ramires 6, Essien 6, Lampard 6; Anelka 5 (Kalou 65, 6), Torres 5 (Drogba 71, 6), Malouda 5. Subs not used: Turnbull, Mikel, Ferreira, McEachran, Sala. Booked: Ivanovic.

Man of the match: Mousa Dembele.
Referee: Mike Dean 6.

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Sun:

Fulham 0 Chelsea 0

By ANDREW DILLON

NEVER MIND, Chelsea. There's still the league - the Europa League.
Another step towards the end of a disappointing season and the Double winners are left in fifth place after stumbling again.
Fernando Torres flopped on the night just about everyone else in the country was scoring for fun.
St Valentine's night came and went yet still the £50million Blues striker failed to perform.
And when new £23m defender David Luiz gave away an injury-time penalty, a massacre looked on the cards.
Petr Cech's save from Clint Dempsey's spot-kick spared humiliation but the result does not look anything other than embarrassing this morning.
It was if they had run out of ideas. What boss Carlo Ancelotti needed was big men to come in and do the business right from the start.
There is no time left for bedding in with Manchester United and Arsenal pulling away from the pack at the top.
Even Didier Drogba, who replaced a dejected-looking Torres with 19 minutes left, failed to mount a threat on the Fulham goal.
Torres is entering his third week as the most expensive signing in Chelsea's history, yet he still looks as if he is struggling to breathe properly down in the Big Smoke.
The Cottagers policed him tightly with the defence swarming all over his every move but in the first half he was his own worst enemy.
What looked like a quiet and ineffective 45 minutes ended on a particularly duff note with a terrible touch wasting a great opportunity for Chelsea to snatch the lead.
Luiz delivered a masterful 60-yard ball and dropped it right on to Torres' big toe, running at full speed into the Fulham area.
However, the Spaniard's attempt at control looked anything but £50m.
And his big moment ended with the ball dribbling safely through for Mark Schwarzer to gather with gleeful ease.
It was the last kick of a deeply frustrating half. All eyes, including Jose Mourinho's in the stand, were on Torres but looking around the Craven Cottage pitch there was no star turn in a disappointing first half.
Frank Lampard did well to carve out space and time to latch on to Branislav Ivanovic's cross but his effort grazed the bar.
Florent Malouda went close, hitting a rising ball which forced Schwarzer into action. But the bald statistics showed the outgoing Premier League champions failed to muster a single shot on target in the first half.
For Fulham, ex-Chelsea winger Damien Duff hit a half-volley to half-threaten the Blues' goal on 24 minutes.
And Mark Hughes' rejuvenated side finally started to sense they could actually go on and win as the game ticked past the hour mark.
Carlos Salcido hit a dipping 25-yarder which Cech did well to hold and, as the tempo increased, Fulham pushed Chelsea further and further back as Torres became less and less significant.
Eventually, Ancelotti was forced to act and took off his new man.
But it was too late by then. Fulham had built up a head of steam.
And they pressed right to the end, the way the Blues used to.
Dempsey teased and tricked his way into the box and brought the foul out of Luiz.
But the American could not add the final magic touch for Fulham by powering his penalty home - Cech pushed away his shot and Dempsey had too much to do with the rebound.
It earned Chelsea a point that is pretty much pointless now.
Fulham have now gone four home games without defeat and without conceding a goal.
Hughes has injected some of his trademark steel into a team which now combines grit with good football.
With injury worries fading, his team have climbed into 12th place when just a few weeks ago relegation was a looming spectre.
The contrast in finances could hardly be bigger with the Blues parading £73m of new talent in just two players. There are also big differences in terms of spirit between the West Londoners.
Fulham are bouncing back from a poor start while Chelsea look beaten up after bursting out of the blocks.


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Star:

FULHAM 0 CHELSEA 0: ROSES ARE RED TORRES IS BLUE

FERNANDO TORRES looked the least likely man on earth to score on St Valentine’s Day last night.

Chelsea’s £50m recruit endured a date from hell as the champions fired blanks to ­remain a huge 12 points behind ­Manchester United in the title race.
Taunted mercilessly by the Fulham fans, everything Torres did went wrong – and it was no surprise when he got the hook with 19 minutes to go.
The Blues are still two points behind ­Tottenham in the race for a Champions League spot, but it would have been even worse if Petr Cech had not saved a ­last-gasp Clint Dempsey penalty.
That was awarded for a clumsy foul on the USA striker by Chelsea’s other ­deadline-day signing, £25m defender ­David Luiz, who was otherwise man of the match on his full debut.
Cech spared his blushes, but it was a ­miserable night for Chelsea all round against their resurgent west London ­rivals, who remain unbeaten at home since the turn of the year.
The question for Chelsea boss Carlo ­Ancelotti last night was whether to stick with the three forwards who failed so ­miserably against Liverpool.
He made the brave decision to ditch that idea, dumping Didier Drogba on the bench and bringing Florent Malouda back into the starting XI.
That handed centre stage to Torres, who endured a dreadful start to life at Stamford Bridge against his old club.
The former Anfield darling didn’t look worth a fraction of his massive transfer fee when he was chased from the field in that humbling 1-0 defeat by the Reds.
But things went no better for him here. Since being picked, Chelsea have failed to score a goal and their hottest ­property is Daniel Sturridge – who has three goals in three games on loan at Bolton!
Torres heard it from Fulham fans ­every time he did something wrong, with chants of, “What a waste of money” and, “Are you Torres in disguise?” ­ringing out around the ground.
There were plenty of them in the first half as Chelsea toiled and toiled, only for things to break down when they tried to hit their big-money buy.
Torres had a real stinker, with Fulham looking the more dangerous side – Damien Duff warming Cech’s hands with a dipper from 25 yards.
England star Frank Lampard then fired a foot over the crossbar at the other end ­after getting an ­instinctive boot to Branislav Ivanovic’s cross.
Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer did well to tip a cross-shot from Ivanovic over the top moments later as Chelsea began to ­exert some pressure.
When Torres finally did get a sniff of goal, after a mix-up at the back for ­Fulham, Aaron Hughes was in quickly to deny him a shooting chance.
The longer it went on, the worse it got. Torres ended up with another half-chance, but rolled a daisy-cutter of such feeble power goalwards it drew laughter from the home crowd.
However, worse was to come when Luiz picked him out with a ­sensational 40-yard pass and Torres spooned it straight into Schwarzer’s arms.
Midfielder Ramires was next to find him with a cross from the right, but the Spain striker could only head it over the bar from eight yards.
By the time he blazed high and wide from a difficult angle after a nice feed from ­Lampard, you were almost begging ­Ancelotti to put him out of his misery.
When the change finally came, it was Anelka who was brought off, and Salomon Kalou who replaced him, much to the amazement of many in the stands.
Chelsea were then denied strong claims for a penalty when Norwegian defender Brede Hangeland ­bundled over Malouda in the box, but the deadlock remained and finally it was time for ­Drogba.
There were ironic cheers as the Ivory Coast star replaced Torres, who couldn’t wait to get off, after 71 minutes, though the misses ­continued as Michael Essien headed wide a Lampard centre.
And Fulham could even have nicked it at the death, with Dempsey twice going close before the drama in stoppage-time saw Cech deny him from the penalty spot.

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Mirror:

Fulham 0 Chelsea 0
By Darren Lewis

There were wives and ­girlfriends all over the country who had a better night than Fernando Torres last night.
The £50million man started his second match in a Chelsea shirt but he looked like another Andriy Shevchenko as – on a night when the Blues badly needed a win – he was all gong and no dinner.
Indeed this night could have been even worse had Clint Dempsey not missed a dramatic last-minute penalty.
These were dropped points with massive ramifications. They ­effectively ended Chelsea’s lingering title hopes and will have handed a massive boost in the race for fourth place to Spurs and Manchester City.
And with Jose Mourinho sitting in the stands at Craven Cottage, having expressed his interest in a Premier League return, this was no night for Ancelotti to be fluffing his lines.
On a night of romance there was some tough love for Didier Drogba, despite scoring three goals in his last four games against Fulham.
The Ivorian was left on the bench by ­Ancelotti who had clearly realised his team just could not ­accommodate all three of his marksmen.
Instead he handed the stage to Torres, who had promised owner Roman Abramovich goals in return for the Russian’s ­deadline-day rescue act to airlift him out of Liverpool.
There was pressure on the Spaniard to deliver in the Premier League, with ­Champions League qualification – let alone ­Chelsea’s title chances – now looking very uncertain. Yes, Fulham’s record against their ­neighbours was poor – the Cottagers have won just one of their last 28 meetings over the past 31 years.
But Mark Hughes’ men had responded to a poor first half of the season by making Craven Cottage a fortress, remaining unbeaten at home in 2011 prior to kick-off and winning their last three League games without conceding.
The feelgood factor has sent the club up the table to 12th while Chelsea have suffered sustained blows to their title bid with seven defeats going into the match.
With one clean sheet in their last nine matches it was little wonder that £21million David Luiz was given his first start. The Brazilian impressed immediately with his confidence and ­composure.
So much so that he was soon directing operations in the Chelsea backline. When he was called upon to do his job, he was alert enough to block Andy Johnson from close range on six minutes.
He was confident enough to bring it into central midfield three minutes later, riding a couple of challenges before feeding a team-mate.
But chances were proving hard to come by for Ancelotti’s all-stars, with Fulham resolute and well organised. Indeed, it would be half an hour before a decent one was fashioned, Frank Lampard scooping over the bar from nine yards.
At the other end, Luiz put a rare foot wrong two minutes later and was caught in ­possession by striker Moussa Dembele. The Belgian, however, panicked under ­pressure to spear his shot wide.
And so it went on. Fuham full-back Carlos Salcido sent an effort into the away stand on his weaker right foot.
Florent Malouda, playing behind the Chelsea front two, smashed a screamer wide of the angle of post and bar.
Then Torres reminded us he was still playing with a trio of missed ­opportunities.
First, five minutes before the break, the Spaniard failed to get a shot off after the ball was given away by Danny Murphy. Then Torres could manage only a weak effort straight at Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer under pressure from Aaron Hughes.
And when Luiz sent a ­sensational ball over the top for Torres to run on to, it looked as though he would ram the taunts of “What a waste of money” from the home fans down their throats.
Instead his touch was poor and the ball trickled into the arms of Schwarzer.
Ancelotti kept faith with his new recruit and his line-up, despite the fact his £78.5million strike-force failed to produce a single, first-half shot on target.
And there was more of the same after the interval. Torres headed over the bar on 47 minutes and was slow to react to a Murphy back pass two minutes later.
And when he did find space two minutes after that, he curled an effort high and wide. There was incredulity when ­Ancelotti’s first substitute, Salomon Kalou, replaced Anelka and not Torres.
Shortly after that, however, common sense prevailed when Drogba finally entered the fray to put Torres out of his misery.
Michael Essien could easily have shown them both how it was done 12 minutes before time when he got a head to Lampard’s cross but, like his team-mates, he just could not hit the target.

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