bolton 3-0

Independent:

Lampard's landmark return restores pride
Chelsea 3 Bolton Wanderers 0:

Captain inspires Chelsea to victory with senior servants recalled to line-up
STEVE TONGUE STAMFORD BRIDGE

A laboured win over a team in the bottom three is not exactly cause for an open-top parade but in their present predicament Chelsea and Andre Villas-Boas will take anything going. Mindful perhaps that Luiz Felipe Scolari was sacked after a goalless draw at home to Hull three years ago this month, the suffering manager combined delight and relief at a first victory in six games.
It put his team three points ahead of Arsenal and seven behind third-placed Tottenham before the north London pair meet today. Clearly, only two of the capital's three principal clubs can make the Champions' League places, but Chelsea still have both of the others to play.
In front of Roman Abramovich, who had demanded to know the thinking behind team selection for the 3-1 defeat by Napoli in midweek, Villas-Boas restored Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Michael Essien, and was rewarded by Lampard in particular. Whatever his motivation – bloody-mindedness or simply professional pride – Lampard took hold of the captain's armband and then the game, making one goal before scoring his 150th in League football.
When Bolton, who have never recovered from a dreadful finish to last season, concede the first goal, they lose. That did not mean that Chelsea could relax after David Luiz seized the lead soon after half-time, but they could once Didier Drogba headed in Lampard's corner. By the end the home crowd, who had been initially supportive, then had their senses dulled in a soporific first half, were quite perky again.
So was their manager, who said: "The pressure has been on the team to get a result and the most important thing for us is to build from this day onwards. It's an important day because it can be the start to get our form right." He insisted that bringing back the senior players so soon after conveying his thoughts on the matter to the owner was "a coincidence" and dismissed the other conspiracy theory that he would soon be taking over from a former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri atInternazionale by saying: "There isn't a vacancy there and neither am I looking for a job. I'm looking forward to next year's project here."
Bolton must now get through a visit to Manchester City on Saturday, then pick up points against three other teams in the bottom five, Queens Park Rangers, Blackburn and Wolves. Their manager, Owen Coyle, was understandably annoyed with the manner of conceding the goals, all of which illustrated the sort of poor defending that has undermined the team for much of the season. "Knowing they'd be a bit down in confidence, we worked hard, but goals change games," Coyle said.
The visitors' defence was rent asunder twice in the opening few minutes, only for Daniel Sturridge to shoot straight at the goalkeeper, Adam Bogdan, and Lampard to be forced wide and earn only a corner. For the rest of the first half, however, Bolton did much better – or Chelsea did worse – and chances were strictly limited. The crucial period was therefore the first quarter of an hour after the interval. In the 48th minute, Bolton surrendered possession to David Luiz, who fed Drogba and was well placed to receive the rebound from his cross, curling a drive just inside the far post.
Coyle's anger at the second goal was directed at the marking that allowed Drogba a free header from Lampard's corner to nod in his 100th goal for the club. In between times, David Luiz sent a header against a post and Drogba's shot clipped the crossbar. There was no way back for Bolton, who had nothing to offer other than an occasional speedy run by the Arsenal loanee Ryo Miyaichi and they conceded again when Lampard was allowed to steal in unmarked to the far post and volley in Juan Mata's cross with the side of his foot.
When Drogba limped off, FernandoTorres must surely have thought his time had come to exploit such a generous defence and claim a first goal in 23 appearances for club and country (Spain have just dropped him for the first time). Not everything is yet rosy in the Chelsea garden, however. His only shot flew high over the bar and at the final whistle he was straight down the tunnel without a glance at the crowd, body language indicating a total lack of confidence. Lampard, meanwhile, milked the applause from all four sides of the ground in a personal lap of honour. He deserved it.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Cole; Ramires (Mikel, 88), Essien, Lampard; Sturridge (Kalou, 80), Drogba (Torres, 76), Mata.

Bolton (4-4-1-1): Bogdan; Steinsson, Wheater, Ream, Ricketts; Tuncay (Eagles, 75), Muamba, Reo-Coker, Miyaichi; Pratley; Ngog (Sordell, 65).

Referee Michael Oliver.
Man of the match Lampard (Chelsea).
Match rating 6/10.

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Observer:

Frank Lampard returns to seal Chelsea's victory over Bolton
Amy Lawrence at Stamford Bridge

Cometh the hour, cometh the men. Could there be a more authentic flashback to the good old days than the sight of Frank Lampard delivering a teasing corner, and Didier Drogba dominating the scene to thump in a goal? After all the shenanigans, all the discontent, all the mediocrity, suddenly all was well in the world of Chelsea.There are times for talking about the project, for speculating about where certain players fit into the scheme of things for the future, but this was not one of them. This was a time for Chelsea to do whatever was necessary to dig out a result. Coincidentally or not, that required some strong old heads. Whether or not André Villas-Boas had some bridges to mend after a torrid week, he picked a team with an entirely different flavour to the controversial selection in the Champions League.Admittedly, they came up against a rather different calibre of opponent (Bolton were not just significantly worse than Napoli, they were not even an improvement on Championship side Birmingham) but a Chelsea bolstered by old-school nous recovered some confidence, some goals, and that all important winning feeling.Villas-Boas faced inevitable queries about whether a certain Russian oligarch might have applied some pressure about the team selection. "I got the call just this morning to play them," he said, tongue firmly in cheek. Once the sniggers had subsided, he batted back any insinuations and explained that the tinkering was partly tactical and nothing more than "normal squad rotation".Whichever way he sells it, the team sheet was considerably less incendiary than in Naples. Back came Lampard (captain), 33, Ashley Cole, 31, and Michael Essien, 29, into the starting lineup, backing up Drogba, 33. They meant business.Lampard – vociferously cheered by the Shed and greeted with a standing ovation as he went to take an early corner – was the most symbolic presence and the most influential. He was at the heart of the most creative work right from the start.Intriguingly, though, Villas-Boas refused to agree that the veteran midfielder had done enough to guarantee his position in future games. "It's not the way it works," he said. "Frank had a fantastic game but there is competition. There are six players competing for three places, and when we play with a No10 there are even less – six players for two places. Whenever we make decisions it is for the benefit of the team. Some players will be disappointed."It took a while for Chelsea to shake off their malaise, as Bolton kept them at bay in a stodgy first half. It took a flamboyant defender to find the decisive touch which radically altered the mood. David Luiz's penchant for ambling around the pitch draws criticism from defensive purists but Chelsea were delighted with it two minutes into the second half as he gambolled into the left side of the penalty area and, when the ball came back to him, steered a curling shot beautifully into the far corner.Down on the Chelsea bench, the coaching staff leapt giddily about. All except for Villas-Boas, who did not let his guard drop. His face did not crack. Up in the executive boxes, Roman Abramovich shuffled in his seat and broke into a smile. David Luiz and Drogba both struck the woodwork and, stepping up the pressure, Chelsea soon enough found their range and Bolton caved in. It was all reassuringly familiar for the faithful as Drogba turned in Lampard's corner with a thumping header to give Chelsea a cushion. Then came the gloss in the 79th minute as Lampard topped it all off by coolly sidefooting in Juan Mata's wonderful cross.Bolton had little to comfort them on the road home. About the best Owen Coyle's side managed was an effort lifted over the bar by Ryo Miyaichi – their brightest spark – and a low drive dragged wide by Nigel Reo-Coker."The most disappointing thing is the goals we gave up," Coyle said. "I felt we could achieve a point and where we are a point is vital."Chelsea's three moved them back into the top four. Villas-Boas hopes that this can be a springboard to happier days: "Our run is not impressive so the team really wanted to go back to winning ways. The most important thing is to build from this, solve the FA Cup and Champions League ties and improve our position in the league."The most important thing about this weekend is Arsenal v Tottenham and in which way we benefit from it. Either we come closer to Tottenham or we go fifth again and have a drama all the week."He smiled sardonically. After the week that he has had, any kind of smile is a big bonus.

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 3 Bolton Wanderers 0
By Duncan White, Stamford Bridge

Frank Lampard came back into the Chelseateam as captain, made the second and scored the third and then promptly revealed that his relationship with Andre Villas-Boas “has not been ideal” and that there have been “certain issues” between them.
This result, after a run of five winless games, should have been a tentative step back in the right direction for the under-pressure Chelsea manager but with Lampard, left out of the team in the Champions League defeat to Napoli last week, going public about his problems with him, Villas-Boas will once again find himself the subject of scrutiny.
“I think, from the outside, you can probably see that it’s not been ideal but the important thing is not to focus on individual relationships too much,” said Lampard, who is thought to have given the interview because he wanted to be “honest” with fans over the situation between himself and the manager, rather than out of any desire to escalate tension between the pair.
“It can only be negative and people do like to play on negatives. There have been certain issues. Certain players, we don’t like not to play. But it’s never a case of players throwing their toys out of the pram to the detriment of the club.”
Villas-Boas recalled the three players he had left out of that defeat in Naples and Chelsea made short work of Bolton, victory taking them back into fourth.
Ashley Cole and Michael Essien, two of the supposed dissidents, performed ably enough, but it was the performance of Lampard that proved decisive.
Having been asked to explain his Champions League selection decisions to Roman Abramovich – via technical director Michael Emenalo – it might have looked suspect that all three were recalled. Villas-Boas laughed off suggestions that he had been put under pressure to do so. “I got the call just this morning to play all three of them,” he said, grinning.
The recalls were, he explained with more measure, just part of “normal squad rotation” and a shift in formation, back to a 4-3-3.
At the time he felt he could afford the levity – this was a confidence-boosting result, especially as Abramovich was watching from the stands. The impassive Russian even managed a smile of his own when David Luiz opened the scoring.
Yet Lampard’s candour will have taken the edge off Villas-Boas’s celebrations. How the two reconcile themselves could define whether he remains as manager – he certainly made it clear, in response to a question about whether he would succeed Claudio Ranieri at Inter Milan, that he wants to stay.
“There is not a job vacancy at Inter Milan and nor am I looking for a job,” he said. “I have great involvement in the future of Chelsea and I am looking forward – a lot – to the initiation of next year’s project. There is a strong belief in the club that we can build something extremely good.”
Lampard gave one of his best performances of the season. Didier Drogba headed in his corner for the second goal, and the midfielder scored the third himself, volleying in Juan Mata’s far-post cross. Villas-Boas was full of praise.
“Frank is an unbelievable attacking midfielder with great timing of arrival in the box,” he said. “His performance was not great just because he got the third goal, it was great because he helped the team in the way he kept possession and helped with the defending.
“That is what we want from him. Everybody competes for a place and when he plays like this he is nearer to team selection.”
The goal was Lampard’s 150th in the league and it also meant he has now scored 10 goals or more in nine consecutive seasons, a Premier League record. If Villas-Boas feels his powers have diminished, the affection for him in the stands has not – as the game drew to a close, his name was sung around the ground. Little wonder he was the last Chelsea player to leave the field.
Another to shine was Luiz, who scored the opening goal. He had begun the Chelsea attack himself, pouncing on Nigel Reo-Coker’s slack pass. The Brazilian drove toward the Bolton box and passed the ball out to Drogba on the left and the while the striker’s cross was not cleanly struck, it presented a problem to David Wheater who could not clear. Luiz collected, checked inside the Bolton defender and curled his shot into the net.
Despite the poverty of Chelsea’s recent defensive record, the visitors struggled to put the home side under any kind of pressure. They desperately missed their clever central midfielder Mark Davies, out injured, and were dependent on Ryo Miyachi, as quick as he is skilful, to create rare opportunities. The Japanese forward, on loan from Arsenal, created the best chance just before half-time, hitting a first-time shot just over. Otherwise Bolton offered little other than hard graft.
So while the scoreline was convincing Chelsea will need to face more dangerous opposition before they can be confident of having turned the corner.
“The most important thing for us is to build from this day onwards, resolve the FA Cup tie [against Birmingham], resolve the Champions League tie and improve our position in the league,” Villas-Boas said.
“It is an important day because it can be a new start but in order for it to be the start of something we need to get our form back. That has to come against West Brom, Stoke, Birmingham and Napoli.”
On this evidence, Villas-Boas cannot afford to do without Lampard for those games.

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Mail:

Chelsea 3 Bolton 0:
That'll do! Relief for AVB as Luiz, Drogba and Lampard secure win
By ROB DRAPER

So, until the next poor result, Andre Villas- Boas fights on.
Whether by Roman rule or by a pragmatic sense of self-survival, the beleaguered Chelsea manager turned to old school Chelsea yesterday and was duly rewarded.
Where, on Tuesday night in Naples, he pointedly discarded Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Michael Essien and relied on players who might be described as his men then succumbed to an embarrassing defeat, here he fielded what most would consider his strongest XI available and saw them eventually record a comfortable win.
Chelsea returned to fourth place. An FA Cup replay looms. And, who knows, they may yet overturn the 3-1 deficit inflicted by Napoli in the Champions League. And Villas-Boas may even be in charge for all of those games.
After victories, at least, the Chelsea manager is good at appearing the calmest man in a storm.
Did he feel he needed to win yesterday to save his job? 'Not at all.'
Was it important to be back in the top four? 'It was not a big scandal for me, but it was a big scandal for everyone else, because we dropped to fifth with the same points and a goal less (than Arsenal on goal difference).'
And was it important to win in front of Roman Abramovich? 'Today he was here, it was important for the team to win, [but] I think mostly for the fans. I think the pressure has been on the team to get results recently.
'Our run is, of course, not impressive [for] the last couple of games, and the team really wanted to go back to winning ways. We need to get this form right and be competent against West Bromwich, Birmingham, Stoke and Napoli.'
Those games will doubtless define his future, though he is already planning.
'At the moment I have great involvement in the future of Chelsea and I am looking forward a lot to the preparation and the initiation of next year's project. There is a strong belief within the club that we can build something extremely good.'
But this was in some ways a compromised victory. Though he insisted that the U-turn on selection was merely a matter of tactics, it felt like a victory for the old guard: that if Villas-Boas is to survive, it will be by relying on the tried and tested.
At times, the old boys' reunion seemed like a happy re-run of the good old days: Lampard's corner allowing Didier Drogba to head in and score, Essien patrolling midfield, Cole incisive down the wings and Lampard ghosting into the box with a well-timed run to score.
Yet Stamford Bridge was curiously flat. Goals were met with muted roars, the final whistle greeted with relief.
Given that the manager's future hung on the outcome, there was little tension or urgency. Only Lampard's presence and excellent display truly lifted the crowd.
Chelsea, after a flat first half, simply moved slowly through the gears to overwhelm a thoroughly obliging Bolton side who, Ryo Miyaichi aside, rarely threatened even Chelsea's fragile back four.
Owen Coyle was right to insist that his team had in some ways neutralised Chelsea in the first half.
But he was equally correct to point out his team's poor defensive display in allowing the opening two goals.
The Bolton manager conceded that here was an opportunity missed 'knowing they were down on their confidence after the run of results they have come off'.
Chelsea had started brightly with Daniel Sturridge forcing a smart save from Adam Bogdan and then feeding Lampard, who had made one of his characteristic runs from midfield, only to be ushered into a wide area, all in the first eight minutes.
Thereafter, only a long-range Sturridge effort and a wayward Cole strike were proffered and when Drogba and Branislav Ivanovic collided on 42 minutes, both attempting to reach the same ball to shoot on goal, there seemed a danger that the farce would descend into something darker.
But David Luiz's goal on 49 minutes settled nerves, the ever adventurous Brazilian centre-half breaking up Bolton's possession and starting a move which ended with David Wheater clearing poorly to Luiz, who stepped inside and lifted his strike into the top corner.
A minute later, Nigel Reo-Coker had Bolton's best chance, driving wide from just outside the box, and though Tuncay also went close on 58 minutes, shambolic marking, in which Drogba was allowed a free close-range header from a Lampard corner on 61 minutes effectively ended the contest with the second goal.
Bogdan then saved well from Essien's drive on 63 minutes before, fittingly, Lampard capped his performance with an archetypal goal. Juan Mata swung in a hanging cross for Lampard, making a perfectly timed run, to meet with a volley into the ground for the third.
'At least today the fans can go home smiling,' said Villas-Boas. As could he: for now, at least.

=================

Mirror:

Chelsea 3-0 Bolton
By Paul Smith

A vintage display from Frank Lampard temporarily lifted the pressure on under-fire boss Andre Villas-Boas in front of observant and twitchy owner Roman Abramovich.
Early reports had already suggested that an ­indifferent result could bring AVB’s reign to a swift end after a disappointing result against Napoli in the Champions League.
Although the first half, dominated by Chelsea, passed by without a goal, three second-half strikes ensured Abramovich’s mood lifted and AVB lived to fight ­another day.
“The pressure has been on the team to get results. Our run recently has not been impressive,” said Villas-Boas.
“It is now down to us to build on this result. It’s an important day as we got the result to help us build ­confidence going into more important games.”
Bolton manager Owen Coyle rued a poor second-half performance from his team. He said: “I don’t think the first goal killed us because we were threatening for the five minutes afterwards. But the second was crucial. We gifted them the first goal and when we started to open up we conceded a goal from a corner when markers failed to pick up Drogba.
“It’s fair to say having conceded three goals in the second half and given our position, I wasn’t happy.”
As the vultures began to circle around Stamford Bridge, Villas-Boas came out fighting amid accusations of an escalating dressing room revolt.
Three key players at the centre of the allegations of disharmony – Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Michael Essien, who were axed from the starting line-up against Napoli in the midweek defeat – were ­immediately restored.
Chelsea, winless in five league and cup games, are in the midst of a serious crisis, leaving Villas-Boas fighting for his future at the Bridge just eight months into a three-year contract.
Yet their opponents came into the game with a dire record against the Blues.
You would have to go back nine years for the last time they celebrated victory.
Even with worrying question marks over Chelsea’s form you suspected they would have too much for a side fighting for their lives at the wrong end of the Premier League table.
One-way traffic predictably ensued with Chelsea camped out in their opponents’ half. Yet for all their possession, Chelsea rarely troubled a dogged Bolton defence.
Despite a succession of corners and a raft of ­dangerous crosses, Chelsea were becoming increasingly frustrated at their inability to break Bolton down and threaten Adam Bogdan’s goal.
In fact the closest Chelsea came was towards the close of the half when Lampard’s through ball almost sent Didier Drogba away only for team-mate Branislav Ivanovic to block his way to goal.
It could have got a lot worse for Chelsea when a rare assault on goal by Bolton eventually led to Ryo Miyachi firing over from close range.
But three minutes after the break Chelsea’s pressure finally told when David Luiz fired home from the edge of the area.
And with Bolton having lost 17 of the last 18 games when they conceded the first goal, the odds were heavily stacked against them.
The lead should have been short-lived but Nigel Reo-Coker shot wide with the goal at his mercy.
Luiz almost grabbed a second for Chelsea in the 54th minute but was denied by an acrobatic goalline clearance by Miyachi.
And as the pressure intensified Drogba’s shot skimmed off the crossbar.
But Drogba made no mistake in the 61st minute, clinically heading home Lampard’s corner.
And Lampard rounded off a man-of-the-match performance, scoring Chelsea’s third to net his 150th league goal and become the first Chelsea player to score more than ten league goals in ten consecutive seasons.

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Sun:

Chelsea 3 Bolton 0

By ROB BEASLEY

ROMAN ABRAMOVICH could not have picked a better team.
Hang on a minute — maybe he did pick the team!
For all the old favourites were back in the Chelsea pack.
Frank Lampard was even captain and Ashley Cole and Michael Essien were restored to the side.
All just days after the dissenting trio were dumped to the bench in Naples by desperate Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas.
Maybe it was just a one-game ban for their back-chatting, then.
Maybe AVB realised his mistake after the 3-1 humbling in Italy.
Or maybe someone had a word. Abramovich was in town after all.
AVB denied it, of course, joking afterwards: "Yeah, I got a call this morning to play the three of them."
It was not much of a joke — the Chelsea Press officer having to quickly intervene to explain it was meant to be funny!
That is how jumpy the suits are at the Bridge right now.
And the Russian oligarch was certainly showing a keen interest as his stuttering side took on bottom-but-one Bolton.
The billionaire sat up in his private box and spent the first half biting his nails, fidgeting nervously in his seat and looking serious.
Inevitably there were those intimating that poor AVB would get the chop if the Blues continued to flounder after the break.
Understandable when you consider Chelsea have won just one league game here since they beat leaders Manchester City way back on Monday, December 12.
Sunderland were the only side to succumb in the intervening two and a half months.
So no wonder Chelsea were nervous at first, despite such lowly opposition.
After all, only last week they were booed off by disgruntled fans when they were held here in the FA Cup by Championship outfit Birmingham City.
But what a difference a week makes.
This time Chelsea were cheered off, although probably as much in relief as joyous celebration.
Because Chelsea expect, and are expected, to beat Bolton. However, AVB and his men will take any break going right now and it will certainly have been a welcome change for the beleaguered Blues boss after such a torrid time.
And it was a deserved win after a vastly-improved display, especially in the second half.
Chelsea bossed the first half but without ever seriously threatening to break the deadlock.
That all changed after the break.
David Luiz has his critics as a defender but there are few better sights than the Brazilian running goalwards with the ball at his feet.
And within two minutes of the restart he was cutting in from the left, riding three tackles and planting a terrific shot into the back of the Bolton net. The whole mood of the stadium changed, the whole mood of the team changed.
Confidence flooded back and Chelsea started to re-awaken after their winter hibernation.
Minutes later Didier Drogba almost made it two when he was teed up by the impressive Juan Mata but his shot clipped the bar.
It was only a temporary reprieve for Owen Coyle's strugglers, though and a short wait for the Drog.
A 61st-minute Lampard corner was perfect for the Ivory Coast captain and Drogba applied the perfect finish, a thumping header in front of the Matthew Harding stand.
Four minutes later another Lampard corner set up Essien but this time Adam Bogdan beat out the threat to keep the score down.
But again it was not for long — and man-of-the-match Lampard raised the roof at the Bridge with Chelsea's third.
Mata was the provider with a wonderful ball to pick out his late-arriving skipper at the far post.
And Lamps did what he does best — volleying the ball home. That is 182 goals now so no wonder the Chelsea fans kept singing 'Super Frankie Lampard' over and over.
It was a salute to their long- serving hero who has done so much to bring glory to SW6.
And possibly a chiding to Villas-Boas for treating him so badly.
There is clearly life in the old dog yet, as proved by his tally of 12 goals so far this season. And it is all the more impressive when you consider his stop-start campaign.
He is Chelsea's top scorer with more goals than Drogba and Torres put together. They cost the best part of £75million remember so that makes Lampard priceless.
Hopefully AVB will finally wake up to the fact.
This was the old-style Chelsea doing what they always did best, steam-rolling teams with their power and passion.
It is what has been missing all too often this season.
But here was a flashback of what made the Blues great.
Drogba leading the line, Lampard and Essien in the engine room.
There were glimpses of the future too. Playmaker Mata showed glimpses of his star quality while Daniel Sturridge always looked to attack, always dared to be different.
And Luiz has a buccaneering spirit, allied to silky skills that make him special going forward.
If only he could defend as well.
But that is where Ashley Cole and Gary Cahill come in.
Both were prepared to cover for their wandering companion, alongside the ever-running Ramires and the ever-willing Essien.
Much more of this and Chelsea could be back in business and AVB just might survive.

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Cole, Ramires (Mikel 88), Essien, Lampard, Sturridge (Kalou 80), Drogba (Torres 76), Mata Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Malouda, Meireles, Bertrand
Goals: Luiz 48, Drogba 61, Lampard 79

Bolton: Bogdan, Steinsson, Wheater, Ream, Ricketts, Reo-Coker, Muamba, Sanli (Eagles 75), Pratley, Miyaichi, Ngog (Sordell 65) Subs Not Used: Jaaskelainen, Robinson, Knight, Klasnic, Boyata
Booked: Pratley.

Att: 40,999
Ref: Michael Oliver (Northumberland).

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Express:

CHELSEA 3 - BOLTON WANDERERS 0: GENIUS OF FRANK LAMPARD WORKS HIS MAGIC AGAIN

By Colin Mafham

IT just goes to show what can happen when you turn the Lamps back on again.Andre Villas-Boas did it yesterday after appearing to ditch Frank Lampard following a brainstorming summit that wasn’t to his liking.And the Chelsea fans’ favourite bounced back with a match-saving performance that proved once and for all that there is no substitute for experience.Whether Roman Abramovich now accepts that also applies to Chelsea managers only time will tell.One thing’s for sure, though. There’s still plenty of Premier League life left in Lampard – even if question marks still loom large over the manager who doubted his footballing longevity.The under fire AVB turned to ‘old’ Lamps again yesterday, along with Ashley Cole and Michael Essien, in what looked like a desperate quest for a cure for ills that threaten to bring both him and Chelsea down.In the end it worked wonders – of sorts.
Daniel Sturridge, the young man the rookie manager insists is a winger, was once again Chelsea’s only real first half goal threat. Bolton, quite frankly, didn’t have one.You could see why Wanderers are where they are. Chelsea on the other hand continued to confound – right up until the 47th minute.Step forward David Luiz with a piece of individual magic that won’t necessarily silence critics of his defensive qualities, but just went to show what he brings to the table.The Brazilian, not for the first time, forgot all about defending with a surging run that caught Bolton napping before he picked up a loose ball and finished off with a strike that the men in front of him had patently failed to do.
And he could so easily have had another soon afterwards with a header that Ryo Miyaichi scrambled off the line.In the end Didier Drogba got that within 15 minutes of the restart to take the pressure of a Chelsea team that up until then had continued to look a shadow of their former selves.Drogba’s header from Lampard’s corner beat Adam Bogdan all ends up. But as far as the Chelsea faithful seemed concerned it just went to prove how wrong AVB had been in leaving Lamps out in the first place.If TV footage of Abramovich immediately afterwards is anything to go by, the Russian’s expression suggested he agreed with them.And there really was no argument when the inspired Lampard calmly slotted home Chelsea’s third.His goal was taken with all the aplomb of a striker after Juan Mata set him up with the chance.
A resounding chorus of “Super, super Lamps” said it all really. AVB didn’t disagree, but still held back from guaranteeing him a first team place against West Brom next week.The Chelsea boss said: “Lamps had a fantastic performance today, but there are six players competing for that position and I make decisions for the benefit of the team. Lamps had his chance today and competed very well.“The pressure has been on us to get back to winning ways and this gives us a start.”Bolton’s Owen Coyle had no such luck, but took time to offer support to the beleaguered Villas-Boas.“AVB is a friend of mine and I know what he is trying to do and I think he will come through it, he said.He could not, however, give the same guarantees for himself.

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Star:

CHELSEA 3 - BOLTON 0: FRANK LAMPARD WAY TOO HOT FOR TROTTERS
By Tony Stenson

FRANK Lampard took the heat off the man who left him out in the cold.
Chelsea’s stand-in skipper went back to the future yesterday to rescue boss Andre Villas-Boas from the gallows.
He led the ‘Chelsea Three’ and inspired their first win in six games.
Outspoken rebels Lampard, Ashley Cole and Michael Essien returned after being dropped for speaking their minds when they told the Portuguese why the club had suffered such a dramatic slump in form.
Blues hero Lamps celebrated a masterly display as his third goal was enjoyed with equal delight by his TV personality fiancee Christine Bleakley and his dad Frank snr.
He was committed from his first tackle and never stopped running – an inspiration to all youngsters.
And the Chelsea feelgood factor was so strong that there were even loud cheers for non-scoring striker Fernando Torres when he came on late in the second half to replace the limping Didier Drogba.
Victory gave Villas-Boas some breathing space heading into a period of matches which could shape their season – as injured skipper John Terry admitted in his programme notes.
Goals from David Luiz, Drogba and Lamps lifted a weight off AVB’s shoulders but he still has much to prove.
Owner Roman Abramovich was one of many who watched and breathed a sigh of relief but he knows this victory over Owen Coyle’s struggling Trotters only papered over cracks and there are still more questions than answers at the Bridge.
AVB’s men looked hungry but were often let down but the quality of the final pass.
What Villas-Boas really needs is a player with the ability to find a killer ball at the key moment.
Lampard and Juan Mata have enough ammunition but there is little variety down the wings.
Daniel Sturridge often runs head-down at goal and needs to be told to open his eyes.
Lampard was dashing in midfield as he led the way with distinction while Cole was ferocious in the tackle and Essien was always solid in the centre of the park.
Terry accepted in his brutally honest comments that Chelsea were not playing well but he promised that “the tide will turn”.
A wonderful fourth-minute break by Sturridge after Lampard had won the ball with a fearless tackle ended in disappointment after a shot straight at keeper Adam Bogdan.
Sturridge then had Bogdan diving full-length to his right to turn away a 28th-minute rasper after Ramires had stormed through midfield.
Luiz opened the scoring with a 48th-minute snapshot after a powerful run split open the Bolton defence.
The defender could have had another but for a goal-line clearance by Ryo Miyaichi which saw the ball rocket against a post.
Chelsea then clicked through the gears and Drogba added a second from Lampard’s 61st-minute corner and then Lampard himself netted from Mata’s 79th-minute cross.
Chelsea left the field to cheers as opposed to recent jeers which must have been music to AVB’s ears.
In recent weeks he has dreaded his trips to the post-match interview room to be grilled by the media.
Last night it must have felt like walking down a red carpet in Tinseltown with confetti being thrown.
Villas-Boas, grinning like a Cheshire Cat, said: “This was so important.
“It was not about players returning but because of the formation I wanted. I have not spoken to our owner or anyone else.
“This is not about me but the team and the fans who have gone through a lot of worry.
“I thought Frank was excellent.”
He denied claims he was in the frame to replace Claudio Ranieri as Inter Milan boss, adding: “There’s no vacancy there and I want to stay and finish the job here.”
Coyle said: “We had seen Chelsea’s recent results and we felt we could achieve something here.
“We were disappointed we fell away after their first goal and to go down to a second from a headed corner hurt.”

napoli 1-3

Independent:
Lavezzi's brilliance beguiles ChelseaNapoli 3 Chelsea 1
SAM WALLACE STADIO SAN PAOLO

As Andre Villas-Boas will know, for all managers, there is a very fine line between tactical genius and a reckless failure and last night was one of those occasions when he will have known from the moment he submitted his team-sheet to the Uefa official that it could go either way.
Leaving Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Michael Essien out of the team in a game that could well define Chelsea's season will be regarded by some as the equivalent of handing in an 11-line suicide note. But it can also be seen as the moment that he asserted his authority over the old regime of Chelsea and told them that, however great the need, he will not simply slip back into the old ways as he tries to forge a new future.
Even if this proves to the decision that causes owner Roman Abramovich finally to run out of patience, at least Villas-Boas can console himself that he stuck to his own principles, whatever the cost. His team have left themselves with a mountainous task to overturn a two-goal deficit against this Napoli team in the return leg on 14 March and their manager has not made life any easier for himself.
Afterwards, Villas-Boas as good as admitted that Lampard and Cole both challenged him over his selection decision at the team hotel yesterday. There is a rift here with the Chelsea old guard that seems beyond repair and that is even before you factor in the operation that John Terry undergoes today. Without him the defence looks vulnerable like never before, something that even Villas-Boas was not about to disagree with.
See Naples and die, they say. It is supposed to be read as an invitation to witness the glories of the old port city at least once in a lifetime but when you have witnessed Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani shred a visiting defence it takes on a whole new meaning.
As patchy as Napoli were in defence they have an attack that could do damage to any side in the Champions League and against Chelsea, who have now gone five games without a victory, they were always likely to cause problems. Gary Cahill made just his third appearance for Chelsea and David Luiz once again played with the casual nature of a man who has just stepped off the beach.
Chelsea have now taken the lead in all four of their Champions League away games this season and failed to win any of them. Their defence was in pieces last night even with Cole on the pitch from the 12th minute when Jose Bosingwa pulled up with a hamstring injury and had to come off.
Instead of Lampard and Essien, Villas-Boas picked Raul Meireles and Ramires. His thinking, he later explained, was that he could use two defensive midfielders to screen his back four but he accepted that, having lost, he was on a hiding to nothing. "Whatever explanation I give you, in the end it would be a fantastic explanation if we'd won the game," he said. "Any explanation is now useless given the result of the game, so there's no point."
It was, given the stage of the competition and what was at stake, a game that was remarkably open from the very start and there were times when Chelsea were clinging on from an early stage. They needed Petr Cech to rescue them on a couple of occasions early in the first half.
Within 10 minutes, Cech had made the first of two big saves of the half when he blocked Cavani's shot. His second good stop was from Christian Maggio, played in by the excellent Lavezzi. Chelsea were fortunate that for all their defensive mistakes, the Italians were just as uncertain at times at the back.
One such occasion gave Chelsea their goal. Didier Drogba won possession and found Daniel Sturridge on the right. His relatively harmless cross was sliced by Paolo Cannavaro and, when it dropped, it fell straight to Juan Mata, who was able to beat goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis from relatively close range.
Napoli's goals came late in the half but they were a signal of the kind of havoc this team can wreak when given space around the area. The first began with Cavani, who beat Meireles, and fed a short ball to Lavezzi. Cahill was simply not close enough to him and he shaped his shot away from Cech and into the far corner.
Before the second Napoli goal, Ramires wasted a great chance for Chelsea's second. Then Cannavaro surged forward with the ball in the 44th minute and from out on the right side Gökhan Inler hit a cross to the back post. Chelsea's defence had permitted Cavani to run through it and he met the ball at the back post just ahead of Branislav Ivanovic with what appeared to be his shoulder to beat Cech.
There was more possession for Chelsea in the opening stages of the second half and had Salvatore Aronica not got a foot in on Drogba when he slipped behind the Napoli defence just before the hour then they might have sneaked another goal. The problem for Villas-Boas was that every time Napoli got the ball forward they looked as if they might score.
That was largely because of the devastating attacking unit of Lavezzi, Cavani and Marek Hamsik but also the utter lack of confidence in the Chelsea defence. Luiz was found badly wanting for the third goal. From Hugo Campagnaro's clearance he allowed Cavani to get past him and cut the ball back to Lavezzi who swept it in from close range.
Villas-Boas sent on Lampard and Essien and while Chelsea had some moments they never created the intensive pressure that was a hallmark of the club's recent best teams. Cole kicked Maggio's shot off the line late on in the game after Lampard had given the ball away.
The tie is not yet over, Villas-Boas proclaimed after the game and, in an ideal world, he would believe that. But Chelsea have such fundamental problems to solve by the time Napoli come to Stamford Bridge that sounded last night like a hope more than a promise.
Man of the match Lavezzi.
Match rating 7/10.
Referee C V Carballo (Spain).


======================

Guardian:

Swashbuckling Napoli expose Chelsea's lack of maturity
Daniel Taylor at the Stadio San Paolo

These are the moments when André Villas-Boas, for all his outward confidence, could be forgiven for wondering how much longer a man with Roman Abramovich's lack of tolerance is prepared to stand by him when the evidence of Chelsea's deterioration is so overwhelming.His team were not as dishevelled as Arsenal had been against Milan at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza last week but at times they were not far off. They began badly, took the lead with a lucky goal, then demonstrated the poor defending and decision-making that have so undermined them in the Villas-Boas era. It was desperate stuff and on the balance of play they can count themselves fortunate the damage inflicted by Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani was not even worse.A 2-0 win on 14 March would be enough for Chelsea to qualify but Napoli's brilliant forwards, aided and abetted by Marek Hamsik, demonstrated a penetrative edge that should encourage them to think they can score at Stamford Bridge. Once again Chelsea's defence were all over the place.They played with a staggering lack of organisation and, unless there is a dramatic improvement, they will almost certainly be eliminated. If that happens, English football will not have a side in the quarter-finals for the first time since 1996. Only three teams have overcome a two-goal first-leg deficit in the Champions League.Villas-Boas insisted he had not picked the wrong team and talked of his confidence they would be better next time. "We have to focus on re-organising the defence," he said. Yet it is beginning to sound like a looped tape. A team at this level cannot defend this generously and expect to get away with it. David Luiz is simply too error-prone. Gary Cahill found his first Champions League night a torrid experience. Raul Meireles was booked, substituted and will be ineligible for the return leg. It needed a brilliant goal-line clearance from Ashley Cole to prevent Christian Maggio from making the ordeal even more harrowing. When Napoli tot up their chances they are entitled to feel they could have built an unassailable lead.Walter Mazzarri's players always seemed that little bit quicker to the ball. Chelsea defensive line was rarely straight. Most of all they lacked the knowhow of a top European side. A better team would surely have made more of the good fortune when Paolo Cannavaro went to intercept Daniel Sturridge's low cross and managed only to slice the ball into Mata's path for the Spaniard to score the first goal. Instead Chelsea capitulated.Mata's cool finish was the one moment of the night when this chaotic, throbbing stadium was thrust into silence. Yet Chelsea did not have the wit to keep the ball. These were moments, undoubtedly, when they badly missed John Terry's experience. What Chelsea really needed was some leadership but Frank Lampard started on the bench and Cole was also a substitute, despite declaring himself fit. Between them these three players have made more than 1,300 appearances for the club.The warning signs had been in place even before Cannavaro's mistake.Lavezzi, Cavani and Hamsik were elusive opponents, a constant menace in the way they interchanged positions and played the ball quickly and penetratively. Petr Cech had already made three splendid saves before Lavezzi advanced into a shooting position, with Meireles not closing him down, and tried his luck from 25 yards. His shot had enough pace and curl to beat Cech and from that point the game was turned upside down. The volume increased again and, with the final attack of the half, Cannavaro crossed from the right into a penalty area heavily populated with Napoli players. Cavani had managed to get in front of Branislav Ivanovic at the far post and the decisive touch came off his shoulder.Chelsea will reflect on the moment, at 1-0, when David Luiz sent an unchallenged header over the crossbar from Mata's corner but they would be wrong to think the final score was an inaccurate reflection of the play. Cavani missed a decent chance to extend the lead early in the second half, quickly followed by Lavezzi wasting an even better opportunity.The sixth-placed side in Serie A were playing with great purpose but the galling thing for Chelsea was that they contributed so heavily to their own downfall. What should have been a routine clearance from David Luiz after 65 minutes came back off Cavani and, when Cech raced out to try to clear the danger, the goalkeeper was caught in no-man's-land. Cavani squared his pass for Lavezzi to fire into an exposed net and afterwards nobody really took Villas-Boas too seriously when he tried to argue his team had concocted the same number of scoring chances.

=============================

Telegraph:
Napoli 3 Chelsea 1
By Henry Winter, Football Correspondent, in Naples

Andre Villas-Boas’ beloved project went perilously close to going up completely in smoke on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius on Tuesday night. His faith in midfielders like Raul Meireles proved calamitous, leaving an ordinary defence exposed to the counter-attacking verve of Napoli’s Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani.
Villas-Boas’ idea that Meireles offered more defensive security than Frank Lampard in a 4-2-3-1 system would have carried some legitimacy if the Portuguese had actually impressed in recent games. He had not.
By the time Meireles was withdrawn and the stable-door finally closed, the Italian stallion in the elegant light-blue livery had long bolted, almost to the starting gates of the quarter-finals. Meireles’ caution for fouling the terrific Gokhan Inler precludes his involvement in the second leg, a potential blessing for Chelsea.
Lampard and Michael Essien arrived with 20 minutes remaining but the damage was done, the fire was burning out of control, the flames licking at Villas-Boas’ credibility. He really took a gamble on Tuesday night, fielding a starting XI that seemed another riposte to the English old guard. Ashley Cole came on when Jose Bosingwa, an unlikely left-back anyway, pulled his left hamstring after 12 minutes.
This was a chastening evening for Villas-Boas, Chelsea and for those who espouse the primacy of the Premier League. Judging by Arsenal’s humiliation at AC Milan and Chelsea’s skewering here, rumours of Serie A’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Napoli showed a speed of purpose, an exuberance in possession and precision of finish lacking in Chelsea’s movements.
It is not over, of course. Chelsea will still believe that they can recover on March 14 at Stamford Bridge but they must beware going gung-ho with Lavezzi and Cavani lurking. Lavezzi never stopped running, never stopped seeking to accelerate into the generous gaps in Chelsea’s defence.
Cavani was magnificent, leading the line adroitly, dropping off, creating, and also scoring. Such was the Uruguayan’s excellence that plaudits flowed from his peers. “Cavani is the type of player I’d pay to go and see game comes easy to him, natural,’’ Rio Ferdinand tweeted. “He will cost someone a lot of money soon.’’ The third member of Napoli’s attacking triumvirate, Marek Hamsik, also impressed at times. As well as such talent, history is also against Chelsea. The annals of the Champions League reveal that only three teams have ever overturned a two-goal deficit.
The odds are against Villas-Boas’s side, especially with a back-line painfully missing the leadership and organisational skills of John Terry, who undergoes an exploratory operation on his knee today and is expected to be out for up to six weeks. Branislav Ivanovic, usually reliable, struggled. Gary Cahill never looked international class. David Luiz continues to resemble a midfielder on nervy work experience in defence. If only they had demonstrated the defiance of their fans, who kept the blue flag flying high and just about visible through the plumes from the flares of the local tifosi. This was another crazy night at Stadio San Paolo.
Napoli’s famed attacking trident was soon spotted, its cutting edge glinting menacingly in the floodlights. Lavezzi was first to show, darting down the left, showing the type of precision that was eventually to put Chelsea’s defence to the sword.
Cavani was soon racing in behind Cahill and denied by a fine save from Petr Cech. Hamsik then targeted Bosingwa, whose hamstring gave up.
Cole duly arrived. Better late than never. In front of Cole, Florent Malouda briefly rolled back the years, embarking on a run deep into enemy territory before Paolo Cannavaro cleared. Napoli’s defence was never convincing and Daniel Sturridge and Juan Mata managed to insinuate their way into space at times.
Mata was playing in the hole behind Didier Drogba with Ramires and Meireles anchoring. Chelsea dared to dream after 27 minutes.
Sturridge, found by Drogba on the right, had sent in a fairly meek cross which hit a bobble, deceiving Paolo Cannavaro, who skied his clearance. Mata pounced, controlling the ball and guiding it firmly past Morgan De Sanctis.
Napoli were stunned, Chelsea jubilant. Yet not all of Villas-Boas’ players celebrated with Mata. His defenders, particularly Luiz and Cahill, seized the opportunity to host a quick summit conference in how to deal with Napoli’s attackers.
Chelsea were impressing for now, attacking hungrily. Drogba, showing good awareness of Sturridge’s run, somehow coaxed the ball out of a cul-de-sac and released the England international. Sturridge sped downfield, unfortunately eschewing Mata gliding towards the far post.
Sturridge hurtled into the box but Napoli blocked off his route to goal.
Chelsea still had a corner, still had an opportunity to exploit Napoli’s slightly shaky defence. Mata swept the ball in, De Sanctis flapped, Luiz lost Cannavaro but the Brazilian headed over. Huge chance. Huge miss. Huge moment in this tie.
From possibly 2-0 up, Chelsea were soon 1-1. Not for the last time, Chelsea were too slow to react decisively to unfolding danger. When Lavezzi collected possession 20 yards out, Meireles was embarrassed by the Argentine’s twitch of hips and sleight of foot. Suddenly the goal opened up and Lavezzi fired past Cech.
Still Chelsea gave their fans hope. Ramires went on one of those buccaneering runs of his but shot wildly over. A 1-1 half-time scoreline would still have been acceptable for the visitors but Chelsea’s concentration dissolved on the cusp of the interval. Deep into the three minutes of injury time, Chelsea’s defensive frailties were again brutally exposed.
Napoli simply accelerated through the gears, running over Chelsea. Hamsik stroked the ball back to Inler, who lifted the ball across towards the far post and there was Cavani, stealing in ahead of the sluggish Ivanovic, playing the poacher with his shoulder.
Chelsea actually started the second half the stronger, pushing Napoli deep, before Lavezzi capitalised on hapless defending by Luiz and another shot arrowed past Cech. Napoli should have made it 4-1 but Christian Maggio’s shot was cleared off the line by Cole. Drogba and Lampard almost threw Chelsea a late life-line but the project looked beyond saving.


======================

Mail:

Napoli 3 Chelsea 1: Villas-Boas gets it wrong and Cavani doubles his misery
By MATT LAWTON

When this breathless European encounter ended, the Napoli supporters might have been addressing Andre Villas-Boas with the anthem they sing to mark victory at the Stadio San Paolo.
Il Soldato Innamorato tells the tragic story of a soldier writing his last letter home and there was a sense here that Chelsea’s manager may have done something rather similar within the context of his career.
The team sheet he submitted read to some like a professional suicide note and while that might sound a touch melodramatic the first 11 names that appeared below ‘Chelsea FC’ could yet amount to a Portuguese P45.
As a Champions League tie this is far from over. Napoli have a commanding lead but not an insurmountable one given the fact that Juan Mata scored a precious away goal before the combined excellence of Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani produced a three-goal response for the stylish Italians.
The question now, however, is whether Villas-Boas will be around to see its conclusion three weeks from now. Amid the chaos that enveloped Chelsea, both before and during this utterly absorbing contest, it felt like his time might be up.
There was the abject nature of Chelsea’s defending and the absence of a plan designed to stop Napoli doing to them what they did to Manchester City. As Petr Cech said, if the intention was to prevent them hitting Chelsea on the counter they failed fairly miserably.
But the problems for Villas-Boas extended beyond the perimeter of the football pitch and into the heart of the dressing room, an apparent split in the ranks seeing a young manager and some of his more senior players divided.
The day started badly with the news that John Terry would not be restoring some much-needed organisation and solidity to Chelsea’s fragile defence, his knee problem demanding that he goes for surgery today. Without Terry the team suffered, David Luiz and Gary Cahill proving themselves one of the more inept central defensive pairings we have seen in this competition.
But life for Villas-Boas is understood to have become even more uncomfortable when he decided to omit Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole from the starting line-up as well. Particularly when Lampard, it is said, responded to the news by communicating his disappointment directly to his manager.
Now, Villas-Boas is entitled to do as much if he feels those players are no longer with him and some would call it a courageous stance.
But when it means you start with Jose Bosingwa at left back and a central midfield partnership of Ramires and Raul Meireles you need those players to prove you made the right call.
Even Villas-Boas must have suspected he could be writing his own resignation letter when he submitted the team sheet. But he no doubt felt that if he was going to go down fighting, he would at least do so with players he felt were on his side.
In the end, they just weren’t up to the job inside this pulsating concrete bowl. Branislav Ivanovic was every bit as awful as Cahill and Luiz and although Bosingwa went off injured after only a few minutes, an unfit Cole also struggled.
Would Lampard have done any better than Meireles and Ramires? I’m not so sure when a once great player, at 33, is not quite the force he was. But Michael Essien would have been useful given the need for extra security in front of the back four, as would John Mikel Obi, and the decision to leave them on the bench felt like the bigger mistake. It was too ambitious a team he sent out against Napoli. Too clever by half.
From the moment this last-16 clash began Chelsea looked vulnerable, Cech making fine saves to deny first Cavani and then Christian Maggio.
The cavalier approach of a side that is more Spanish than Italian in its style does give Chelsea hope. They leave themselves vulnerable to the counter-attack and last night the marvellous Mata made them pay with his 27th-minute opener.
When Paolo Cannavaro failed to clear a Daniel Sturridge cross, inadvertently diverting the ball into the path of Mata, the visitors were suddenly ahead thanks to the simplest of side-footed finishes from the Spaniard.
Luiz went close to doubling Chelsea’s lead when he met a Mata corner with a header that flew over the crossbar. It was one of a number of examples of Chelsea’s profligacy.
But within 11 minutes of Mata’s goal Lavezzi had levelled, the Argentine gliding past Meireles all too easily before unleashing a shot that squeezed between Cech and his left-hand post. That Meireles then got himself booked, and so ruled himself out of the second leg, would not have endeared him to his manager either.
But matters would only get worse for Chelsea, with another example of truly abject defending costing them again just before the break.
Assistance required: Didier Drogba has some help from Chelsea's medical team on a night which went from bad to worse for the Blues
Cavani’s was a dreadful goal to concede, from the failure to close down Gokhan Inler before he crossed to the total loss of concentration Ivanovic was guilty of in allowing Cavani to shoulder the ball home at the far post.
At 2-1, Villas-Boas might have argued his side were still in this tie. But when that Chelsea defence contrived to concede a second goal from Lavezzi in the 64th minute, the crisis deepened considerably.
Luiz was an embarrassment, first failing to respond to the threat posed by Hugo Campagnaro’s ball forward and then allowing Cavani to speed past him as a consequence. Cech reacted by rushing off his line but was quickly left stranded by a delivery from Cavani that Lavezzi converted with ease.
Had it not been for a goal-line clearance from Cole, Maggio would have scored a fourth for Napoli.
But that will offer little comfort to Villas-Boas. He simply waits now on the whim of Abramovich.


=================

Mirror:
Napoli 3-1 Chelsea: Lavezzi and Cavani give Villas-Boas the Blues
By Martin Lipton

A mess. A shapeless, hapless, hopeless mess.
Still alive, maybe - both manager and his team, although the Russian jury will be out on Andre Villas-Boas.
But only just, only because of a goalline clearance by one of the men Villas-Boas opted to leave out in what was either an act of defiance or, indeed, the "managerial suicide" it was described as by Jamie Redknapp.
And on a night that bore many of the hallmarks of Claudio Ranieri's job-losing nightmare in Monaco, it was hard to believe Chelsea will dig themselves out of it at Stamford Bridge on March 14, climb over a mountain that looms as large as nearby Vesuvius.
To do so will take one of the great European escape acts. In 21 seasons of the Champions League, only three teams have turned round a two-goal deficit, only one - ironically Barcelona against Chelsea in 2000 - after losing 3-1.
Pulling it off, against a Napoli side that was tearing huge holes in Chelsea's supposed rearguard for most of a tempestuous, tortured evening that left Villas-Boas and his players on the rack, will require qualities these Blues do not appear to have.
Faith in the manager. Belief in his system. Trust in themselves.
All of which were lacking last night, even when Chelsea were gifted the sort of goal you should never have the chance to score in the last 16 of the Champions League, Juan Mata capitalising on the horrendous error by home skipper Paolo Cannavaro.
Yes, Chelsea did have their chances, none more so than when David Luiz rose in front of home keeper Morgan Di Sanctis to meet Mata's corner, only to head over the bar with the goal unguarded.
But with the travelling fans dumbstruck by Villas-Boas' decision to omit both Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard - scorer of 21 Champions League goals, remember - from a side that had lost skipper John Terry for two months when he woke in agony from his knee yesterday morning, the chaos was all-consuming.
Switching from his normal system to playing a midfield two may have given Mata freedom but that pair, Ramires and the utterly dreadful Raul Meireles, were completely over-run.
And with Edinson Cavani, Marek Hamsik, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Christian Maggio granted the liberty to expose all of Chelsea's frailties at will - Gary Cahill's Champions League debut was dreadful - there was an inevitability over what followed that Luiz miss.
To be fair to Petr Cech, he alone kept his side in the game in the early stages, making saves to foil Lavezzi, Cavani and Maggio - the last in behind early arrival Cole - before Mata struck, picking his spot when Cannavaro made a total mess of Daniel Sturridge's optimistic ball in.
Had Luiz then converted it might have been different but within two minutes the Brazilian was among the Chelsea players who stood off after Cavani found his strike-partner Lavezzi, for the Argentine to side-step Meireles and bend beyond Cech.
Once again, for the fourth time in four away games in Europe, Chelsea had failed to hold onto a lead and before the break they were caught out by another basic error.
This time Gokhan Inler was allowed to float the ball in behind Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic, unable to do anything as Cavani stole in to fill the space and nod home.
Chelsea were, unquestionably, better at the start of the second period, Florent Malouda, Mata, Didier Drogba and Cahill all having opportunities.
But in a game in which defending was an optional extra, the other end remained more of an open door than a solid wall.
Lavezzi, set up by Cavani, squandered one sitter but when Luiz allowed the Uruguayan to walk through his alleged challenge and tee up the Argentine again, he made no mistake.
On came both Lampard and Michael Essien - in itself, surely, an admission of the price of pride - but while Chelsea pressed, they remained a shambles at the back.
Had Cole not denied Maggio after Hamsik had teased the ball through to him 10 yards out, it would surely have been all over.
And while Drogba then might have changed things again from Cole's stoppage time cross it is hard to believe it is much more than a temporary stay of execution.
Chelsea are a in meltdown, with a manager who has lost control and a team that is close to mutiny. It has gone beyond a crisis.

=====================

Sun:
Napoli 3 Chelsea 1
By SHAUN CUSTIS

VESUVIUS, which overlooks Naples, seems an easier mountain to climb than the one facing Chelsea now.
Yes, the Blues have an away goal, and a 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge in the second leg on March 14 would put them through to the Champions League quarter-finals.
But Napoli are in command and, such is their attacking prowess, they are perfectly capable of scoring in London.
And with key members of the Chelsea squad in such open revolt against boss Andre Villas-Boas, it is difficult to see them summoning up the team spirit required to turn this tie around.
Villas-Boas gambled by leaving out experienced campaigners Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Michael Essien for daring to criticise his tactics.
But they are big-game players he could not afford to be without — and his desire to teach them a lesson backfired. Frankly, his team selection looked like a death wish.
While the young boss claims to have the total support of owner Roman Abramovich, who backs his three-year project, the look on the face of chairman Bruce Buck at the final whistle suggested others in the hierarchy do not have the same faith.
Chelsea are imploding before our very eyes. Villas-Boas is causing mayhem and many of the players are not with him. When the going gets tough, they are not prepared to go the extra mile for the manager.
In all their four away games in Europe this season, Chelsea have gone ahead and failed to win.
Some of their defending in the lively Stadio San Paolo last night was plain comical.
New-boy Gary Cahill had a nightmare and his partnership with the erratic David Luiz is not a match made in heaven.
But because skipper John Terry needs a knee op which could keep him out for two months, we may not have seen the last of this dodgy double act.
For all the problems behind the scenes, Chelsea had the advantage on 27 minutes thanks to Juan Mata.
Cole was already on for Jose Bosingwa — who had pulled a hamstring playing in an unfamiliar left-back role — and appeared perfectly fit for battle as he pushed his team forward.
One of the surviving veterans — and captain for the night — Didier Drogba fed Daniel Sturridge.
When the ball came in, Paolo Cannavaro sliced his attempted clearance, which dropped to Mata, who coolly converted
Mata was involved in all that was good about Chelsea and, from his corner, Luiz headed narrowly over the bar.
But Ezequiel Lavezzi was just as influential for the home side and he linked up with Edinson Cavani to devastating effect.
When Argentinian Lavezzi latched on to Cavani's lay-off, he curled a glorious 20-yarder into the bottom corner for the 38th-minute equaliser which got 60,000 fans jumping.
Ramires should have restored Chelsea's lead immediately after working his way free into the area, only to blaze horribly over the top.
A booking for Raul Meireles for handball followed, meaning he was out of the second leg.
Then, in first-half stoppage time, Napoli went in front as Gokhan Inler's clip to the back post was bundled in by Cavani from close range with Branislav Ivanovic rooted to the spot.
There was a suspicion of handball about it because the ball appeared to hit Cavani on the shoulder but the goal stood.
It was a serious body blow to AVB's men.
The Italians should have had a third on 54 minutes. Lavezzi was released by Cavani but dragged his left-foot shot wide.
However, more awful defending proved costly on 65 minutes as Luiz lost out to Cavani, who squared for Lavezzi to finish.
AVB threw on reinforcements Lampard and Essien. But it took a great clearance by Cole to stop Maggio scoring No 4 for Napoli.
Drogba had a chance to make it 3-2 from Cole's cross and Lampard forced Morgan De Sanctis into a save. Had either scored, it would have given Chelsea a proper chance of progress — but it would have covered up a lot of cracks, too.

DREAM TEAM RATINGS
STAR MAN - EZEQUIEL LAVEZZI

CHELSEA: Cech 6, Ivanovic 5, Bosingwa 5 (Cole 6), Cahill 5, Luiz 5, Ramires 6, Meireles 6 (Essien 5), Malouda 6 (Lampard 6), Sturridge 6, Drogba 6, Mata 7. Subs not used: Turnbull, Torres, Mikel, Kalou. Booked: Meireles, Cahill.

NAPOLI: De Sanctis 6, Campagnaro 6, Cannavaro 6, Aronica 6, Maggio 6, Inler 7, Gargano 7, Zuniga 7, Hamsik 6 (Pandev 82, 6), Lavezzi 8 (Dzemaili 74, 6), Cavani 8. Subs not used: Rosati, Grava, Dossena, Fernandez, Britos. Booked: Cavani.
REF: C Velasco Carballo 7.

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Star:
NAPOLI 3 CHELSEA 1: ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS' DICING WITH DANGER
By Brian Woolnough

HE rolled the dice and gambled big time on his Chelsea career.
Brave, stubborn or just plain stupid?Andre Villas-Boasput himself on trial in the biggest match of his life.
Already without the crocked John Terry, he decided to take on Napoli without many of his other experienced internationals.
By half-time he had been taken on a roller-coaster ride of emotions.
Juan Mata put Chelsea ahead but then goals from Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani piled the pressure back on the young Chelsea manager and Lavezzi’s second goal in the 65th minute turned the screw
It was a huge call to leave out Frank Lampard. The England international is not the player he was but is a big-match performer.
Ashley Cole was fit, although Villas- Boas decided not to risk him. It was gambles all the way.
The timing of Cavani’s goal, in first-half injury-time, was a huge blow for Chelsea.
It sent the Italians in on fire. Chelsea knew they couldn’t concede again but they did. Everything about this Champions League last-16 first leg had drama written all over it.
Here was a match when anything could happen, such was the inconsistency of Chelsea’s defending.
The selection gamble by Villas-Boas almost backfired on him quickly when Edinson was lost in the area and should
have scored, goalkeeper Petr Cech saving with his feet.
Walter Gargano was a bundle of trouble against Chelsea, popping up everywhere. Cech saved Chelsea again by diverting away Christian Maggio’s cross-shot.
There was something frantic about Chelsea’s defending and they looked vulnerable whenever the pressure mounted.
Villas-Boas keeps repeating that he knows what he’s doing with the backing of owner Roman Abramovich and his team was another example of him being his own man.
Lampard, clearly, is one of the players he intends to move on at the end of the season – if Villas-Boas is still at Stamford Bridge!
From the first minute last night he was a bundle of nerves in his technical area, kicking and living every ball. This was a man under pressure. He was never still.
He needed a break and got one in the 26th minute with Mata’s goal. You could feel the relief escape from him.
It was gifted to Mata by a terrible attempted clearance from Paolo Cannavaro. After Didier Drogba and Daniel Sturridge combined, Cannavaro’s miskick allowed Mata to run in unmarked and drive in an away goal.
The only senior player Villas-Boas recalled was Drogba, who returned as captain for the hapless Fernando Torres.
Such is the decline of the £50m Spanish striker that no one expects him to start any more.
Some bench, though, with Torres, Lampard, Cole and Michael Essien all waiting in the wings. Cole was on after 11 minutes when Jose Bosingwa pulled a hamstring.
Humiliation would have meant the end of Villas-Boas’ Chelsea career and how he needed the team to respond. This time he needed player power from the younger ones.
They backed him with determination and courage and there was no questioning the spirit of the side. David Luiz almost made it 2-0 with a header that went just over.
Then, just as Chelsea looked to be taking some kind of control, Napoli equalised. The dangerous Lavezzi created space for himself and drove a low shot past Cech.
Villas-Boas denied that this was a night to define anything, his future or Chelsea’s existence in the Champions League. “I will not be sacked,” he said.
That statement came back to haunt him when Cavani arrived at the far post to make it 2-1.
Was it handball? The ball certainly looked to go in off his shoulder. Chelsea didn’t protest and the goal stood.
Ramires should have equalised, blazing over from 15 yards. Sturridge was a constant danger and Mata almost squirted in a second.
This imposing San Paolo stadium creates a fantastic atmosphere that takes no prisoners. The Chelsea players were bombarded with firecrackers and abuse when they left their hotel and the ground was half-full three hours before kick-off.
By the time it started the atmosphere was electric. The match lived up to the build-up, crackling along, taking Villas-Boas with it.
The second half was so vital to him. Chelsea knew they had to hang on. To European football and the manager’s job.
Lavezzi should have punished Chelsea 10 minutes into the second half but when clean through, he shot hopelessly wide.
But he was clinical when he raced behind the Chelsea defence and rolled the ball across the edge of the area for Lavezzi to make it 3-1.
It would have been 4-1 but for Cole clearing Maggio’s late effort off the line.


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Express:

NAPOLI 3 CHELSEA 1: ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS TOLD TO BRING IN THE OLD GUARD OR ELSE
By Tony Banks

ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS does not make things easier for himself. He is a manager who stubbornly, perhaps foolishly, sticks to what he believes in. It is a trait that could cost him his job.
Chelsea boss Villas-Boas looked a lonely man as he walked slowly back to the tunnel from the dugout at the end of another chastening night.
He is running out of friends – and time.
Thanks to Juan Mata’s early goal, and even more important, Ashley Cole’s heroic clearance off the line eight minutes from the end of last night’s last-16 first-leg, this tie is still just about alive.
Had Edinson Cavani’s shot not been hacked away by England full-back Cole, then all hope would have been lost. And Villas-Boas might well have been out of a job by this morning.
The irony is that Cole was one of the players that Villas-Boas left on the sidelines last night, along with Frank Lampard – punishment, apparently, for their part in the criticism of the manager in their training-ground row of 10 days ago. Cole only got on the pitch because Jose Bosingwa pulled up injured early in the first half.
Stubbornness – or making a statement that he is in charge and that insubordination will not be tolerated? He admitted that he had “conversations” with the pair.
Whatever, it was a move which in the white heat of the San Paolo stadium exploded in his face. It will need one of the great European comebacks for Chelsea to turn this around – and for Villas-Boas to save his job.
Only three teams previously have managed the feat. It is a slim hope, but a 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge would put his team through – so he should keep his job for another three weeks.
The truth, though, which will not have escaped owner Roman Abramovich, is that this was yet another shambolic performance, which left Chelsea with just four victories from their past 14 games.
Villas-Boas insists he has the backing of the owner, and that this is a project both intend to see through. But Abramovich is already examining options and among those on the list to be called in to save the season are Rafa Benitez, Athletic Bilbao’s Marcelo Bielsa, or Valencia’s Unai Emery.
It is not simply the problems on the pitch that are so worrying Abramovich. It is those off it as well. For instance, why did Villas-Boas take John Terry to Italy for a game he was clearly always struggling to be fit for, now that he needs knee surgery?
Then he left out most of the old guard for a crucial game. He may yet get away with it but this is brinkmanship of the highest order. The warning signs had been there from early on last night as three times Petr Cech saved his side with excellent stops.
But then, out of the blue, apparent salvation as Didier Drogba fed Daniel Sturridge. His cross should have been dealt with by Paolo Cannavaro, but a horrible mis-kick left the ball at the feet of Juan Mata, who slotted home.
All Chelsea had to do then in a city dominated by Vesuvius was prevent an eruption. But they could not. Seven minutes before half-time Lavezzi was allowed too much time to turn on the edge of the area by Raul Meireles, and curled his right-foot shot home.
What followed was worse. This time Cavani reacted faster than anyone else to Gokhan Inler’s cross, and turned the ball home with his shoulder.
The midfield failed to protect their back four. But Napoli also looked vulnerable at times, and Salvatore Aronica had to hack the ball off the line from Cannavaro’s mis-kick.
But time and again Lavezzi and Cavani caught Chelsea on the break, Gary Cahill and David Luiz not coming to terms with the two South Americans.
Lavezzi strode through the middle – only to shoot wide. It was a major escape. The respite, though, did not last.
Hugo Campagnaro played the ball down the line, the ever error-prone Luiz tried to clear but lost out disastrously to Cavani and he laid the ball square for Lavezzi to shoot into an unguarded net.
It was chaotic stuff. Unlike Arsenal, Chelsea are not yet out. There is still hope.
But Villas-Boas, providing Abramovich has not already run out of patience by March 14 and the second leg, cannot afford any more foolishness.
The old guard might be rebellious; they may not be the future. But he needs them now.

NAPOLI: (3-4-2-1): De Sanctis; Campagnaro, Cannavaro, Aronica; Maggio, Inler, Garnago, Zuniga; Hamsik (Pandev 82), Lavezzi (Dzemaili 74); Cavani. Booked: Cavani. Goals: Lavezzi 38, 65, Cavani 45.

CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Bosingwa (Cole 12); Ramires, Meireles (Essien 70); Sturridge, Mata, Malouda (Lampard 70); Drogba. Booked: Meireles, Cahill. Goal: Mata 27.
Referee: CV Carballo (Spain).

birmingham 1-1

Independent:

Doyle's heroics leave Villas-Boas in limbo
Chelsea 1 Birmingham City 1: Outlook for the Chelsea manager is no brighter as crucial penalty save stops Premier League side in their tracks and earns an under-strength Birmingham a replay from a game notable for another Torres failure

STEVE TONGUE STAMFORD BRIDGE

That fine old anthem "Keep right on to the end of the road" rang round Stamford Bridge as Birmingham City celebrated a deserved draw. Schadenfreude being such an integral part of football these days, it was intermingled with chants from the visiting support directed at Andre Villas-Boas of "You're getting sacked in the morning."
That would be an odd time for even Chelsea's owners to make a change, just before a critical Champions' League tie away to the accomplished Napoli, but it is clear that much more of this and the end of the road will arrive much sooner for a bright young manager than he would have expected.
There are some things no manager can control. Had Colin Doyle, Birmingham's second-choice goalkeeper, not made a superb diving save from Juan Mata's penalty immediately after David Murphy put the Championship side in front, then, as Villas-Boas claimed, the eventual outcome would almost certainly have been different.
It was significant that Mata, not Fernando Torres, was on penalty duty and the confidence of the £50m striker can only have been further shredded by being removed at half-time after yet another inconsequential performance. He has now gone 20 games since a goal, way back in October, when it briefly looked as if things might be turning his way.
With John Terry and Ashley Cole injured – both are doubtful for the Napoli game – Villas-Boas also kept Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba in reserve, hoping the younger "new Chelsea" replacements would have enough about them to see off a team sixth in the League below. Not so. Birmingham, unbeaten in 14 games under the impressive Chris Hughton, threatened at set pieces, defended with discipline and were well worth the replay that will have St Andrew's shaking in just over a fortnight's time.
The "Bosman Blues" as they have been called after a new squad was put together on free transfers after relegation last May, were even missing their two main strikers, Marlon King and the lanky Nikola Zigic, as well as losing their captain Stephen Carr after only a dozen minutes.
They played five in midfield with a striker by the name of Rooney – Adam – working hard up front and the 17 year-old Nathan Redmond showing flashes of his precocious talent down the left. At the back Curtis Davies and the former Spanish international Pablo Ibanez stood firm until one crucial moment just after the hour when they lost Daniel Sturridge, who headed the equaliser.
Ibanez was once a team-mate of Torres at Atletico Madrid and must have been aware of how wretched is the former golden boy's form. Torres had failed miserably to seize his opportunity while Drogba was away at the African Cup of Nations. He had one good moment here, heading down a long clearance for Sturridge to volley just past the angle. Again the service was poor from an insufficiently creative midfield of Ramires, John Obi Mikel and Raul Meireles, and Chelsea only improved once Sturridge was given his wish to play more centrally, with Mata moving off the flank to play behind him and Drogba, who replaced Torres at half-time.
"An excellent performance in the second half, compared to the first," Villas-Boas said, which was one way of looking at it. "The aggressiveness, desire and ambition were there but Birmingham matched us for that and their goal gave them further motivation. You can never be satisfied when you draw at home to a Championship team and it was not good enough." To the inevitable questions about Torres he replied: "Fernando is a super talent. Eventually things will get better for him and as he gets back to his goals he'll have more confidence."
The problem, of course, is that Chelsea cannot afford to indulge their absurdly expensive striker any longer when there are games to win, or to save. So Drogba came on to encourage a more direct approach, having first been seen delivering his own pep talk to team-mates in the tunnel.
Nothing much happened for 20 minutes, except that Carr, Birmingham's experienced right-back, was forced off with a recurrence of recent knee trouble. Then Redmond won a corner on the left which several different Chelsea defenders failed to clear, allowing the left-back Murphy at the far post to drive a shot past Petr Cech. The home side immediately put together their first coherent move, which was ended when Wade Elliott tripped Ramires. Mata's penalty was by no means badly placed, but Doyle modestly admitted to "guessing right" and sprawling down to push the ball against a post.
Before the interval, he turned David Luiz's fine free-kick over the bar and held Mata's header. He was let down by his defence, however, in the 61st minute after Mata swept a pass to Branislav Ivanovic, whose perfect cross was neatly headed in by an unmarked Sturridge. "I'm even more delighted with the performance than the result," said Hughton. "At 1-1 you'd think the emphasis could swing with them. I'd still see Chelsea as favourites but I hope we can give them as good a game as we did today."

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Bertrand; Ramires, Mikel (Kalou, 57), Meireles; Sturridge, Torres (Drogba, h-t), Mata (Lampard, 83).
Birmingham (4-2-3-1): Doyle; Carr (Spector, 12) , Davies, Ibanez, Murphy; Fahey, Gomis; Elliott (Burke, 83), Mutch, Redmond; Rooney (Jervis, 71).
Referee Martin Atkinson.
Man of the match Ibanez (Birmingham).
Match rating 6/10.

AVB watch
His tactics With a Champions' League tie at Napoli on Tuesday, Andre Villas-Boas kept half a dozen of his most experienced players as substitutes, before having to send three of them on to save the game. Even before half-time he switched from the original 4-3-3 to a 4-3-1-2, which worked better, with Daniel Sturridge moving into the middle as a second striker.
His demeanour The manager was as busy as ever on the touchline, where he spent most of the game, cajoling and directing. He responded to Juan Mata's penalty miss with a series of encouraging handclaps but had to endure booing from his own supporters when taking off the Spaniard to send on Frank Lampard.
His verdict In summary, better in the second half than in the first, but not a good enough result or performance. Confidence, he admits, is lacking and will only return to the team as a whole, as with Fernando Torres, when results improve. "It will be a difficult game at St Andrew's, where Birmingham are undefeated in the League."
His prospects The Napoli tie, he insists, will be decided over two legs, by which time there will have been three winnable League games and the Birmingham replay. Confident about his future? "It's not up to me to decide that."


===========================

Observer:

Sturridge saves Chelsea and André Villas-Boas against Birmingham
Jamie Jackson at Stamford Bridge

Not yet mortally wounded, André Villas-Boas limps on with his disjointed and disgruntled band of Chelsea players to Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday night.That test in a last-16, first-leg Champions League encounter follows this dire FA Cup showing against Birmingham. The chants of "You're getting sacked in the morning" from the wags in the travelling crowd found a barbed echo from the Chelsea fans, who informed their beleaguered manager he should depart now for the good of their team, and then booed when Juan Mata, who had had a penalty saved, was the player Frank Lampard replaced late on.Villas-Boas, to his credit, did not shy away from questions about the performance and applauded a fine display from Chris Hughton's team. "No, it was not good enough, for sure it wasn't," the Chelsea manager said. "But we take the game to St Andrew's [for the replay] – a difficult game and Birmingham are undefeated in the league there – and I am sure that there we'll put on a more decent challenge."[In] the first half there were a lot of opportunities for us, and [it was] better in the second half, but not enough to win the game. So it is never satisfying when you draw at home to a Championship team."With Chelsea's perpetual warrior John Terry injured (he is doubtful for Napoli, along with Ashley Cole) they lacked a spikiness that only Villas-Boas displayed when after the match he was asked about a television report that Didier Drogba had given his troops an ad hoc half-time team talk in the tunnel.The response of the Portuguese, who had removed the now perennially disappointing Fernando Torres at the break, came laced in sarcasm. "Yeah, right, fantastic, of course," he said. "Because he has to do team talks, it's up to him. It's ridiculous. Which channel is it?"When informed it was ESPN, he said: "It makes no sense. It's a pity because I just gave an interview to ESPN and I'm sure I wouldn't have done it if I knew that was the case."After to the 2-0 loss at Everton, Villas-Boas had spoken on the need to find a positive response. Asked why it had not happened, he said: "There was a level of anxiety that we suffered first which didn't help. But the team commitment and the response was there straight after we suffered the setback. In the end, if the penalty goes in it's a 1-1 a little bit earlier [than the second-half equaliser] and gives you more time to find a winner. But with the game 1-0 it took us too much time to score the leveller."Before the two first-half minutes that had threatened to consign Villas-Boas to an embarrassing footnote in this club's history even before the trip to Italy, there was a sign of how Chelsea would go behind. This involved David Luiz, the calamity of a central defender the manager continues to favour. Jordon Mutch's corner was floated in from the left and when the Brazilian fashioned a header it did not go safe but hit David Murphy, before bouncing out for the goal-kick.Fortune now turned against the man with the fuzzy hair and his colleagues. From a further Mutch corner from the left, David Luiz this time missed the first header, along with Raul Meireles, and the ball was allowed to bounce twice in the area – sacrilege even in park football. Curtis Davies then missed an overhead kick, Branislav Ivanovic became the second Chelsea man to suffer a clearance failure, and Murphy, from close range, smashed home.As the Bridge sucked in a collective breath Villas-Boas stood transfixed on the touchline. Then, he tried to get the attention of Mata, who had moved to the centre-spot for the restart. But as the City fans celebrated, the Portuguese's two-fingered whistle at the Spaniard was lost in the uproar.When Ramires won a penalty moments later after Wade Elliot had needlessly brought him down, near-instant redemption beckoned. But although Mata's effort was struck well Colin Doyle palmed the ball on to his right post. Chelsea walked off to jeers at half-time and Villas-Boas was required to act. On came Drogba and off came Chelsea's £50m striker Torres."It was a decision that we had to make," Villas-Boas said. "We were going much more direct, based on the running of the game we wanted to up the tempo [so] Didier could act as a target man. I'm sure he [Torres] didn't take it lightly but its a decision for the team."Hughton, operating on an extremely threadbare shoestring at a financially stricken Birmingham, and his players deserve all the praise they will get for being faster, stronger and sharper throughout. The visitors' manager said: "I'm delighted not so much with the result but the performance. I thought that we came here with a shape, I thought we were very disciplined with how we played. But you've also got to have your periods of the game where you've got to keep hold of the ball and pose a threat yourself."I thought over the 90 minutes we were able to do that. You have to say that was our best performance of the season, coming here at a Premier League outfit with the quality they've got."After the break Chelsea did improve. Daniel Sturridge's header from an Ivanovic cross was this game's classiest moment. But for Villas-Boas, booed at half-time and at the end, concern continues to pile up.


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Telegraph:

Chelsea 1 Birmingham City 1
By Duncan White, at Stamford Bridge

When a manager is subject to the kind of pressure Andre Villas-Boas is under, every detail of behaviour is scrutinised for omens and portents.
Whether it is the body language of his players, his reaction to questions from the press or his deportment on the touchline, it is all forensically examined. Ultimately, though, these are just symptoms: it is results that are the illness. And this was not a healthy one.
Villas-Boas, certainly in public, remains convinced he has Roman Abramovich’s backing. Not that he needs it but if he wanted an object lesson in the impatience of men who own football clubs he only needed to look across the technical area at Chris Hughton, a man sacked by Newcastle last season for seemingly having done nothing wrong.
After this underwhelming result, Villas-Boas is under intense pressure to pull out a job-saving result in Naples on Tuesday night.
Even that might not be enough for a manager who has a worse record than Luiz Felipe Scolari. He must hope that Abramovich stays true to the reasons he hired him (for £13?million remember) in the first place – the long-term reform of this squad.
In the short-term, what Villas-Boas would have wanted was his team to start with conviction, to demonstrate their loyalty to him by throwing themselves into this game. He had left most of the old guard on the bench – six of the seven substitutes were from the Jose Mourinho era — and was expecting a performance from the players who are more minded to support him.
Instead Chelsea were flat. Too often they tried to force it by playing out from the back and both Gary Cahill and David Luiz were caught in possession.
They had few options in front of them. Fernando Torres was anaemic in the central striking role while Danny Strurridge and Juan Mata flickered inconsistently in and out of the game.
Chelsea’s lack of conviction was only highlighted by the way Birmingham City were working hard and passing the ball around with crisp confidence.
They were missing several players, lost their captain Stephen Carr to injury here after 12 minutes and have had to work through an exhausting season, including the Europa League remember, with a modest squad. With the owner, Carson Yeung, facing a court hearing in Hong Kong, this has hardly been the most conducive environment to success. Yet Hughton is delivering it.
With 20 minutes gone his side took the lead.
Jordan Mutch’s corner dipped into the near post where Adam Rooney flicked the ball on. Chelsea’s defence were frozen as the ball bounced across the six-yard box without being cleared. At the far post, Birmingham’s left-back David Murphy smashed the ball past Petr Cech.
Chelsea nearly snatched an immediate response. Wade Elliott rather rashly hacked down Ramires in the area for a clear penalty. Mata’s effort to pass the ball into the bottom corner from the spot was anticipated by Colin Doyle, who pushed it on to the post and to safety.
From then on, Birmingham stood resolute, their defence founded on the excellent partnership of Curtis Davies and Pablo Ibanez.
The boos sounded at the half-time whistle. Something had to change. Villas-Boas decided to replace Torres with Didier Drogba and the Ivorian, freshly returned from the Africa Cup of Nations, talked animatedly to his team-mates in the tunnel. That this qualified as a team-talk was witheringly dismissed as “ridiculous” by the Chelsea manager.
Players seemed to be doing what pleased them. John Terry apparently went off to complain to referee Martin Atkinson about Birmingham’s supposed time-wasting while Torres did not emerge to join his colleagues on the bench, choosing rather to sulk in the dressing room.
The Chelsea comeback was slow in arriving. Nathan Redmond, City’s promising 17-year-old winger, volleyed Mutch’s corner over on 56 minutes but, with the introduction of Salomon Kalou and a shift in formation to a 4-2-3-1 a minute later, Chelsea began to dominate.
Just after the hour they equalised. Branislav Ivanovic found space on the right and had the time to pick out Sturridge with his cross. It was one of the few times that the visiting defence had switched off and the Chelsea striker had the luxury of jumping unchallenged to glance his header into the net.
Villas-Boas summoned Frank Lampard with seven minutes left to try to snatch the winner, but he hardly seemed thrilled with the way he was being used and the crowd were even less pleased with the choice of Mata as the man to go off.
As it transpired, the best chance for a late winner fell to Birmingham, when Jake Jervis slipped through Redmond, who could not make a clean connection with the goal at his mercy. Had that shot flown into the back of the net, the boos that greeted the final whistle would have been sounded deeper and longer.


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Mirror:
Chelsea 1-1 Birmingham
By Paul Smith

The storm clouds continued to gather over Stamford Bridge as Chelsea were forced to come from behind to grab a replay against Birmingham City.
Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas and his team felt the full fury of the home fans who booed off their lacklustre team at the end of another poor game.
And the under-fire Chelsea boss faced fresh controversy when TV station ESPN claimed that Didier Drogba delivered a team-talk in the tunnel at half-time and that Fernando Torres, who made way for the Ivory Coast striker, refused to leave the dressing room for the second half.
A furious Villas-Boas said: “It is ridiculous for the TV station to say Didier was doing a team-talk in the tunnel. I did an interview with them and if I had known they were saying this, I would have refused.” On Torres, he added: “We had to go much more direct in the second half so we brought on Drogba. Torres didn’t take it lightly but he didn’t storm off.”
But significantly, amid all the debate, AVB admitted Chelsea didn’t deserve to win.
He said: “We were not good enough but we take the game to a replay at St Andrew’s.
“In the first half, we created plenty of opportunities but didn’t take them. We were much better after the break but Birmingham matched our desire and aggression.”
Birmingham boss Chris Hughton couldn’t praise his Championship players enough.
“I was delighted with the performance,” he said. “We were very disciplined bearing in mind we had our two first choice strikers out and lost our captain Stephen Carr early in the first half.
“That was as good a performance as I have seen from my side and they deserve all the praise they receive. I’m very proud of the lads and I hope they can keep this momentum going for the rest of the campaign.
“There were times when we had to stick in there but you knew you would face that against a quality side like Chelsea.
“At times, towards the end, Chelsea were playing with four players up front and to hold them off was not easy.”
After just five minutes, Villas-Boas left his seat and observed play from the touchline, a sign that Birmingham were taking the game to Chelsea.
And when Birmingham punished some calamitous defending in the 20th minute to take the lead through David Murphy you suspected this could be another nail in the coffin of Chelsea’s young boss.
Yet, barely a minute after the goal, Chelsea were awarded a penalty when Wade Elliot almost committed GBH on Raul Meireles.
But a stunning save from Colin Doyle, who dived to his right and tipped Juan Mata’s spotkick on to the post, cut short the Chelsea celebrations. There was no room for optimism either as Chelsea rarely threatened, although two shots did go narrowly wide of Doyle’s goal from David Luiz and Daniel Sturridge.
Torres, who started the game, faced further ­humiliation by being withdrawn at the break and replaced by Drogba.
And it says something about his rapid decline when he’s hauled off against a Championship side after ­failing to have one shot on goal.
Chelsea finally drew level in the 62nd minute when ­Branislav Ivanovic sent an inviting right-wing cross into the box and Sturridge rose unchallenged to head home. Relentless home pressure followed as Birmingham defended deep to contain waves of Chelsea attacks.
The only respite came when Jordon Mutch brought a save out of Peter Cech from a 25-yard free-kick.
Eight minutes from time, and in a last-ditch bid to ­secure victory, Villas-Boas threw on Frank Lampard, but even his introduction came with widespread disapproval as he chose the popular Juan Mata to be withdrawn.


=======================

Sun:
Chelsea 1 Birmingham 1

DANIEL STURRIDGE forced a replay against Championship outfit Birmingham but it was another miserable afternoon for Andre Villas-Boas and his side.
The young England striker rose to head home Branislav Ivanovic's cross just after the hour to ensure his side avoided a shock FA Cup fifth-round defeat.
Birmingham took a surprise lead after more calamitous Chelsea defending gifted City full-back David Murphy an opening goal inside 20 minutes.
Juan Mata could have immediately equalised from the spot but was denied by a fine Colin Doyle save.
And although Chelsea improved in the second-half, they never looked liked building on Sturridge's equaliser and were promptly booed by the Stamford Bridge crowd at the final whistle.
The Blues now travel to Napoli for the first-leg of the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday night.
And AVB will be all too aware that defeat in Italy could spell a premature end to his time as Chelsea boss.
Michael Essien and Frank Lampard were both left out for the hosts, while Fernando Torres was given another chance in the starting line-up.
But it was a dreadful first-half display from Torres and his team-mates, as the shambolic defending that cost them at Everton last week came back to haunt them as early as the 20th minute.
Nathan Redmond's corner should not have posed any problems but David Luiz and Raul Meireles allowed the ball to skid through the six-yard box and, after Curtis Davies had a swipe and missed, Murphy was on hand to drill home at the far post.
It should have just been a momentary blip for Villas-Boas' men as they immediately won a penalty at the other end when Wade Elliott tripped Ramires.
But Mata's spot-kick was brilliantly saved on to the post by Birmingham stopper Doyle as the underdogs held on to their lead.
The Premier League side looked the more threatening but Doyle was on hand to save Luiz's well struck free-kick and Sturridge's 25-yard volley flew just over.
A chorus of boos rang round Stamford Bridge as the half-time whistle blew with the away fans happily taunting AVB with chants of "you're getting sacked in the morning".
The Portuguese boss knew he had to make a change and it was the misfiring Torres who was swiftly hauled off for Didier Drogba — back this week from the African Nations Cup.
Even that change did not have the desired effect and just before the hour defensive anchor Mikel was replaced by Salomon Kalou.
This time the substitution paid off as within minutes the home fans finally had something to cheer.
Ivanovic whipped in a pinpoint cross from the right flank which Sturridge met with a bullet header into the bottom corner past a helpless Doyle.
Chelsea went in search of a winner with a Meireles deflected effort hitting the turf and looping just over the bar.
Birmingham were not out of it and Jordan Mutch forced Cech into a save with a low 40-yard free-kick.
Lampard was eventually brought on for Mata with just six minutes to go but a second goal for the hosts never looked forthcoming.
And it was actually City who could have snatched it late on, only for Redman to hit his shot tamely at Cech.

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Bertrand, Ramires, Mikel (Kalou 57), Meireles, Sturridge, Torres (Drogba 46), Mata (Lampard 83). Subs not used: Hilario, Essien, Malouda,Bosingwa. Booked: Cahill,Luiz. Goals: Sturridge 62.

Birmingham: Doyle,Carr (Spector 12),Davies,Ibanez,Murphy, Redmond,Fahey,Mutch,Elliott (Burke 83),Gomis,Rooney (Jervis 71). Subs Not Used: Butland,Caldwell,Asante,Reilly. Booked: Mutch. Goals:Murphy 20.
Att: 36,870


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Express:

CHELSEA 1 - BIRMINGHAM 1: AVB TWO GAMES FROM THE CHOP AFTER LUCKY ESCAPE
By Colin Mafham

CHELSEA were last night left with just 180 minutes to save their season – and their manager’s job.
The first 90 minutes will come at Napoli on Tuesday night when they carry the hopes of their country in a Champions League battle that could decide the fate of Andre Villas-Boas.
The second will come at Birmingham’s St Andrew’s in a last 16 replay they were probably a tad fortunate to get after what, for them, was a dismal draw yesterday.
Brave Birmingham, without five regulars and a recognised striker, played their socks off. Chelsea didn’t – or couldn’t. Nor could they complain at the boos they left the pitch to.
Either way it is nothing like the dream owner Roman Abramovich started with when he appointed rookie AVB seven months ago. He is not a man known for his patience.
Chelsea are a mere shadow of the team Villas-Boas inherited from Carlo Ancelotti.
And there couldn’t have been a clearer indication of their woes right now than what happened in two desperate minutes in the first half.
You’ll need to ask Messrs Cahill, Meireles and Ivanovic what they thought they were doing with Jordan Mutch’s corner in the 20th minute.
Whatever it was it didn’t work and defender David Murphy was given an embarrassing amount of time and space to fire Birmingham in front.
You might also suggest that the wheels really are in danger of coming off at Stamford Bridge when, just a minute later, Colin Doyle brilliantly turned Juan Mata’s spot-kick against the post and away after Wade Elliott brought Ramires down.
And City’s stand-in goalkeeper repeated the heroics from a David Luiz free-kick soon afterwards.
Birmingham fans didn’t waste any sympathy on Villas-Boas with cruel chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning”.
His misery continued as Daniel Sturridge drifted into the middle against orders and Fernando Torres went from bad to worse in a Chelsea side that stuttered through the first half like a car firing on two cylinders.
It was no surprise when the sad Spaniard was replaced by Didier Drogba for the second period.
But Chelsea were so dreadful that AVB could have justifiably substituted at least half-dozen others.
What followed in the 62nd minute can only be described as a bittersweet pill for the young boss.
He presumably noticed Sturridge wasn’t exactly doing as he was told but he couldn’t complain either when the striker he prefers to play on the wing popped up in the middle again to head home a classic equaliser from Branislav Ivanovic’s cross.
Even though Birmingham then rode their luck, there is definitely something missing for Chelsea.
Too many long balls, too little close control – and, perhaps, too long without John Terry and Frank Lampard. And, of course, a £50million flop whose confidence is clearly lower than a snake’s belly right now.
Lampard eventually came on – with just 10 minutes left – but the boos that greeted AVB’s decision to take Mata off to accommodate him only fuelled fears over the Portuguese’s future.
If Nathan Redmond hadn’t missed a sitter right at the death it could have been sealed there and then.
Delighted Birmingham boss Chris Hughton said: “We have had some really good highs this season but this is probably the best. I am really proud of what the lads have done and I hope we can keep the momentum going.


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Mail:

Chelsea 1 Birmingham 1: Sturridge saves AVB's blushes after another woeful show
By MARK RYAN

If he cannot beat depleted Birmingham, then what chance does Andre Villas-Boas have against brilliant Napoli in Italy on Tuesday?
The under-fire Chelsea manager was asked the question on Saturday night, yet remained defiant about his troubled side’s hopes of pulling off what would now be seen as a major Champions League shock.
‘Because it’s football, sometimes it can happen like that,’ said the Portuguese, rather optimistically.
It is 30 years since the Rolling Stones took the Stadio San Paolo in Naples by storm, sending 80,000 fans into raptures with a song called Start Me Up, after maintaining an electric pace for three hours.
Chelsea are due to enter the same cauldron on Tuesday for the most important match of their season. They need to perform for only half the time Mick Jagger and Co did all those years ago. But just who is going to start Chelsea up remains to be seen.
Villas-Boas may not be capable, and his team’s performance on Saturday was almost enough to make a grown man cry if you were a home supporter.
Saturday, however, saw a wonderful display from the other Blues, a team full of players who look up to their manager rather than down on him, a real team from front to back. Birmingham were missing five normal starters, either by choice or through injury, but it did not seem to matter.
No wonder Chris Hughton’s battlers were able to hold their own and more, despite losing their captain Stephen Carr to a niggling knee problem inside 13 minutes.
When Jordon Mutch swung in a corner just seven minutes later, his straightforward delivery exposed Chelsea’s defensive frailty vividly.
‘Birmingham have done well from set-pieces this season and we knew that,’ said Villas-Boas. ‘But we left a man free at the far post.’ What the Chelsea boss neglected to mention was that three of his players - Raul Meireles, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic - were quite useless as they allowed the ball to drift across the face of goal.
David Murphy could hardly believe his luck as he had time to set himself and smack his half-volley past Petr Cech for his fourth goal of the season.
Chelsea responded swiftly and Ramires was tripped in the area by Wade Elliott. Birmingham goalkeeper Colin Doyle said later that he could tell from Juan Mata’s run-up which way he was going to hit the spot-kick. Even so, Doyle’s save was spectacular, as he tipped the ball on to the post and away to safety.
‘We weren’t good enough today, for sure,’ said Villas-Boas, ‘though we were better in the second half.’
With the ineffectual Fernando Torres substituted at half-time and Didier Drogba providing some much-needed inspiration, Chelsea came out fighting after the break.
Mata swung a superb pass to Ivanovic, who made up for his earlier error by finding Daniel Sturridge with his cross. The restless striker’s header was perfection and the favourites were back in the game.
But they failed to press home what should have been a clear superiority and it was Birmingham who had the opportunity to progress first time.
Nathan Redmond was through on goal in the dying seconds but tried to place his finish with his instep. The end product lacked power and Chelsea lived to fight another day.
‘Nathan had the best chance of the game, but we will hope to give them another tough game,’ said Hughton. ‘As for Andre, he is in a transitional phase but you don’t get that job without being an exceptional manager.’
Exceptional or not, the Chelsea boss cannot afford to limp along like a lame duck while subversive elements continue to undermine him. He has to axe those who do not support him, surround himself with those who do and educate the newlook line-up on precisely what his long and short-term targets are.
To do nothing would leave his superiors with no option but to sack him and hope the team respect the replacement more. But it must be doubtful whether even owner Roman Abramovich would wish to sack Villas-Boas just a few days before the game in Naples.
Whatever happens, something has to change quickly, otherwise not even the consolation of Champions League qualification will be a realistic season-saver.
Soon after the Stones played that gig in Napoli, they hit the charts with a live version of their Sixties classic Time Is On My Side. In the case of Villas-Boas, it clearly is not.

THIS IS NO WAY TO WORK OUT SQUAT'S WRONG

AVB went into overdrive with his demented squatting routine as the pressure told on the touchlines. The Chelsea boss looked a tortured soul when he was standing but struck a bizarre figure when crouched down on his haunches in front of the dug-out. He did so no fewer than 27 times and the habit is becoming the talk of football. Used by the Portuguese almost once every three minutes, he often adopted this position to issue instructions.Wearing an inconspicuous black Mackintosh and with crowd noise to contend with, it is odd for AVB to try to grab his players’ attention by making his body shape as small as possible.