Sunday, August 26, 2012

newcastle 2-0




Independent:

Hazard shapes up to starring role
Chelsea 2 Newcastle United 0:

Belgian hits the spot in another inspired performance as Chelsea continue to set early-season pace

Glenn Moore

Chelsea have not lost a Premier League match in August since 2006, 21 matches ago, and have won 12 of the last 13. As it was tipping down most of the game yesterday it would be stretching a point to suggest Chelsea play at their best with the sun on their backs but they clearly start the season superbly regardless of who the manager is.

But while their supporters will be careful not to read too much into their perfect opening to this embryonic season, the ease with which they brushed aside Newcastle yesterday suggested they will take some shifting from their position atop the Premier League table.
New signing Eden Hazard is already shaping up to be the star of the season and he scored his first goal in English football, then supplied a sixth assist, for Fernando Torres, as Chelsea made it three wins from three. "He hasn't surprised us," said Roberto Di Matteo. "We had watched him a lot last season. It's a different league, so you're not quite sure how he'll adapt to the Premier League, but he seems to have found his feet very quickly. He's a wonderful player for us."
The admiring Newcastle manager Alan Pardew agreed. " He's a difficult player because he travels with the ball and buys time," he said. "He's got a kind of nonchalance about him that marks him out as a great player. He made the right decision every time he got it today. That's what marks him out as a great player, you can tell. He made a difference to Chelsea today, from last season."
With Frank Lampard and Ramires used only from the bench, John Terry injured (a stiff neck – an odd ailment given it seems to be made of brass), and Oscar not required, the European Champions can travel to Monaco to play Atletico Madrid in Friday's Uefa Super Cup confident of mounting a sustained challenge on the domestic front. That is hardly surprising given Roman Abramovich is back in spending mode. Before kick-off Chelsea unveiled Victor Moses, their £9m recruit from Wigan. The arrival of Moses and Marseille full-back Cesar Azpilicueta takes to £80m Chelsea's summer spending.
Newcastle have fewer funds but in an indication of the club's growing squad strength Pardew changed nine of the starting XI that drew 1-1 with Atromitos of Athens in the Europa League on Thursday. Papiss Cissé, who scored twice here in the spring to create Chelsea's only home defeat of 2012, and Vurnon Anita, the Dutch midfielder signed this summer, were the exceptions. Perhaps tiredness told for Anita, who comes with a good reputation having attended the Ajax finishing school since he was nine, was the culprit for Chelsea's opening goal. The 23-year-old carelessly stuck a leg out after Torres dribbled past Davide Santon after 21 minutes. Pardew thought Torres "made a big meal" of the challenge and maybe he did but it was still a penalty.
With Lampard benched, Hazard tucked away the kick to give Chelsea a lead they just about deserved having controlled possession and kept Tim Krul busy with efforts from Hazard and Ryan Bertrand. While Chelsea moved forward as a unit, supporting each other well off the ball, Newcastle's front two were isolated. Hatem Ben Arfa showed plenty of skill but found himself marked by not one, but two England left-backs with Bertrand playing in front of Ashley Cole.
Cissé and Demba Ba are, however, a dangerous pair even when feeding off scraps and Cissé tested Petr Cech's concentration with a snap-shot towards the end of the half. Then, as injury-time ticked away, Chelsea struck again with a sublime goal. Torres received a pass from Juan Mata, fed Hazard then ran on to the Belgian's back-heeled pass before driving the ball past Krul with the outside of his boot.
"When we lost Didier we lost a big powerhouse up front," said Cole, "someone we'd knock it up to, but we've signed a few smaller players. We have to get the ball down and play, and the second goal showed what we can do".
It was a highly satisfying response for Torres to being booked for diving. The striker had turned Fabricio Coloccini in midfield then tumbled over the defender's trailing leg. There was contact but, to Torres' fury, Phil Dowd judged he had run into Coloccini deliberately.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Cole; Mikel, Meireles (Lampard, 87); Mata (Ramires, 67), Hazard, Bertrand; Torres.

Newcastle United (4-4-2): Krul; Simpson R Taylor, 64) S Taylor, Coloccini, Santon (Marveaux, 75); Ben Arfa, Anita, Cabaye (Perch, 77), Guttierez; Ba, Cissé.

Referee: Phil Dowd
Man of the match: Hazard (Chelsea)
Match rating: 7/10


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Observer:

Eden Hazard scores first goal for Chelsea in their win over Newcastle

Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea have used the Premier League's opening week to deliver their own statement of intent. A lavish summer transfer outlay had hinted at regeneration, the constant reminders of Munich in May a recognition of what this club have already achieved, but it is the perfect start played out to a swashbuckling style that has turned heads. The first few skirmishes suggest the team boasts the class to unseat the Manchester clubs.
A third successive win maintained the European champions' pristine opening, with this their most impressive performance to date, given that it was achieved against a Newcastle team whose own pedigree is now well established after last season's exploits. Alan Pardew's side had dazzled themselves when visiting south-west London back in the spring, the pair of goals conjured up by Papiss Cissé that night still seared on the memory. Yet the pizzazz this time around was all Chelsea's. Their collective is a blur of attacking intent at present but the whole setup feels revived by the tricks and flicks summoned by Eden Hazard and Juan Mata, and by the form such creativity is coaxing from Fernando Torres.
This was another reminder that the Spaniard can still return to the prolific form of his early days at Liverpool and blot out his first 18 months of toil with this club.
Pardew, in defeat, conceded of Torres that this had been "one of his better games", the rival manager's praise more emotive for the manner in which the striker dispatched the second goal. "A classic," he offered, reflecting on Hazard's subtle back-heel and the instinctive, fizzed finish with the outside of Torres's right boot that flew beyond a scrabbling Tim Krul. There had been no time to think, no split second to fret, and the 28-year-old had his best Chelsea goal to date to celebrate.
There will be others like this while the London club thrive on swiftly constructed, one-touch interchanges and fluid movement. Opponents will devise ways to choke the approach, though Hazard, Mata and Torres will take some stopping. Mata, last season's player of the year, has slipped seamlessly back into last season's early form, his performances sometimes eclipsed by Hazard hogging the limelight.
Yet this team's more potent threat is invariably born of that pairing's combination play. Hazard is merely applying the gloss.
"He travels with the ball and bides time, and has that kind of nonchalance about him that marks him out as a great player," said Pardew. "He made the right decision every time he got it today, and he's made a difference to Chelsea from last season. He's given them a little bit extra."
It felt exceptional that the 21-year-old actually had no involvement in the winning of the first-half penalty from which he opened his account for the club, Torres bursting beyond Davide Santon and inducing a panicked swing from Vurnon Anita, on his Premier League debut, over which the forward duly tumbled. This was not the moment to judge Newcastle's £6.7m signing from Ajax.
The Belgian gleefully dispatched the spot-kick in the absence of the rested Frank Lampard, but his contribution will be measured in more than goals this term. In his past 21 league games for Lille and Chelsea he has taken his personal tally to 14 goals scored, 14 assists provided and seven penalties won.
Roberto Di Matteo is growing tired of thinking up new plaudits with which to appraise Hazard's displays. The manager does not seem comfortable with superlatives. "He hasn't surprised us," he said. "We watched him a lot last season and it's a different league, so you're not quite sure how he'll adapt to the Premier League, but he seems to have found his feet very quickly. He's a wonderful player for us."
Few recruited from abroad have started in this division with such assurance, and it does not feel as if he is peaking too early.
Di Matteo, in truth, was probably as heartened here by Chelsea's solidity in the absence of the injured John Terry as his side's attacking verve, the defensive frailties that had reared in pre-season and again against Reading in midweek eradicated against a Newcastle team who appeared jaded at times by Europa League endeavours just 48 hours earlier. Only two of the Newcastle side had featured against Atromitos in Greece, but it took time for them to summon a threat. Yet Cissé was peripheral, and Demba Ba was denied smartly by Petr Cech near the end.
That was as close as the visitors came, their opportunities chiselled out amid the huff and puff. Chelsea will not have that problem. The home side had paraded Victor Moses, returned to London where he was first developed in the Crystal Palace academy, before kick-off following his £9m move from Wigan. Torres may be the only senior striker on the books, but the attacking reserves this team have built up, albeit at vast expense, are staggering. On that basis alone, it feels inconceivable that Chelsea will finish 25 points from the pinnacle again this term. Instead, and even at this early stage, they feel restored as contenders.


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Telegraph:

Chelsea 2 Newcastle United 0

By Jason Burt, Stamford Bridge

Chelsea reached paradise when they won the Champions League last season; now they have found this other Eden. Eden Hazard, the £35 million play-maker has already turned the Premier League into his play-ground.

Still just 21, he’s no apprentice but a fully-fledged sorcerer – and one conjuring up a form of magic that is getting the best out of the one Chelsea player to cost more than him: £45 million Fernando Torres, at last, is playing well and playing confidently.

Torres scored, also, a goal of rare quality as Chelsea swept aside Newcastle United to resume the summit of the Premier League with a three-point advantage earned from having played an extra fixture. The pretence of manager Roberto Di Matteo that they should not be regarded as title contenders has been rightly exposed although while Chelsea will create chances they will also concede them.

Newcastle are no slouches and lesser teams would have crumbled but this Chelsea play at double-time with Hazard scoring his first goal for the club, a penalty, to add to the six assists he has already registered. And that’s a lot of fantasy football points for a fantasy footballer. This sceptered isle has a glittering addition; the parlour game of famous Belgians has another name.

Not so long ago Chelsea without either John Terry or Frank Lampard would have sent a shudder of apprehension through the club’s supporters but a big splash of spending, a cool £80 million this summer, and an evolving line-up meant it registered only a ripple. However while Terry was injured – a neck problem – Lampard was removed to the bench and rested. Not a scenario that he has reacted to well previously but the clock is ticking and the calendar of games comes quick and fast when you are European champions.

The two latest signings – César Azpilicueta and Victor Moses – were not secured in time to be involved but it was still interesting to see Ryan Bertrand, with an England squad to be selected next week, back in the team while Newcastle had the problem of arriving less than 48 hours, and with a 1,500 round-trip, after a Europa League tie in the taxing heat of Athens.

The seasonal adjustment was even more extreme as this encounter was placed in doubt by dark skies and an almighty pre-match downpour that then gave away to broad sunshine before the clouds returned.

The fixture itself felt equally unpredictable. Newcastle had won here last season – Chelsea’s last home defeat – through two stunning goals from Papiss Cissé and built on the campaign’s impressive body of work with a solid summer of consolidation and a fine win at home to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.

There was another storm for Newcastle to weather. It came with Chelsea’s whirlwind start with Hazard the lightning quick conductor as he opened up space and created a host of half-chances.

Not that the visitors were intimidated with Hatem Ben Arfa their own trickster although Demba Ba did well to reach his flighted pass only to volley over.

Torres intervened. Firstly he teed up Bertrand, on the edge of the penalty area, who rushed his shot under Fabricio Coloccini’s lunging challenge and then, more decisively, he drove in the box himself and drew a foolish challenge from Vurnon Anita who caught him with his outstretched leg – although, undoubtedly, the striker made the most of it with his fall. The penalty was dispatched with customary cool by Hazard. A third match for Chelsea, a third penalty earned and converted.

Chelsea’s blood was up, the tempo raised and Ashley Cole stood up a cross for Branislav Ivanovic to draw a sharp save, with a header, from Tim Krul before a frighteningly quick counter-attack by Hazard led to Coloccini hacking out Juan Mata’s cross and then Hazard, soon after, blazing a shot over.

But Chelsea were not to be denied. Soon after Petr Cech had held Cissé’s snap-shot, Torres, who had grown increasingly frustrated, claiming he was being persistently fouled by Coloccini although he earned a booking for a dive, combined superbly with Hazard. The midfielder, wonderfully, back-heeled for the onrushing Torres to strike a superb first-time shot with the outside of his right-boot to beat Krul. It was, quite possibly, the best goal he has scored since signing for Chelsea. It was cruel blow – and a blow to Krul – right on the stroke of half-time.

It was no stroll for Chelsea. Newcastle proved a test with Ben Arfa dragging a shot wide as manager Alan Pardew demanded a response. Ba almost found one with the ball breaking to him and an angled shot bundled away by Cech while Cissé, wastefully, headed over a free-kick.

But Newcastle’s admirable intent left them in danger of falling further behind, prey to Chelsea’s pace and Hazard’s trickery on the break while fatigue was becoming a factor leading to Pardew running through his substitutions and two of those Sylvain Marveaux and Ryan Taylor combined to create for Ba who mis-kicked then got another chance – only to shoot weakly at Cech. He should have scored.

By now, Chelsea had stepped off. But the contest was over.


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Mail:

Chelsea 2 Newcastle 0: Hazard and Torres make it three on the bounce for the Blues

By Ian Stafford

Another masterclass from the impressive Eden Hazard and another win for Chelsea, who sit top of the Premier League on Sunday morning having won all three of their opening fixtures. But what may disturb the Londoners’ main title rivals more is the fact that Fernando Torres is scoring goals again.
The £50million purchase from Liverpool two seasons ago has endured a public goal drought since, although he ended last season with 11 in all competitions. But last night he produced a sensational strike to make it three goals in four games, after also scoring in the Community Shield defeat by Manchester City.

If his goal on Wednesday against Reading was clearly from an offside position, there was nothing fortuitous about his effort on Saturday, scored with the outside of his right boot from the edge of the penalty box, after a clever back-pass from Hazard, that sent the ball spiralling into the top corner of the net.

It was a creation of the old and the new, with Hazard, who is already suggesting that he may be the best signing of the summer, the incisive provider for Torres.
And with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich happy to spend £80m to launch an assault on the title to add to their Champions League and  FA Cup triumphs in May, Chelsea appear to be a serious proposition.
And so the team that won ugly previously is turning it on - a necessity with the departure of the physical Didier Drogba in the summer and the arrival of smaller, technical players such as Hazard.

‘Didier was a big powerhouse, but now we’ve got to get the ball down more and play,’ said Ashley Cole. ‘Fernando found it hard to get enough games under his belt last season but he has returned from the European Championship confident and we’re all benefiting from it.

‘And Eden deserves a lot of credit. In three games he has won us two penalties, had two assists and scored a goal. I’m proud he’s in our team.’
Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo said: ‘Fernando was important to us last season, even if he didn’t score the goals he wanted to. But it’s good to see him scoring now and his goal tonight was fantastic.
‘We’re trying to change our style a bit this season and adapt to our new players like Eden. We knew all about his qualities, having watched him last season and seeing him in training, but you never quite know how quickly a player from a different league will adapt to the Premier League. Eden has found his feet very quickly. He’s a wonderful player for us.’
His counterpart at Newcastle, Alan Pardew, is another member of the Hazard fan club. ‘He has made a difference to Chelsea that’s for sure,’ said Pardew. ‘He has a nonchalance about him that marks him out to be a great player. As for Torres, his goal tonight was classy. It’s good news for Chelsea.

It is only three games into the new season but Torres seems hellbent on ensuring that his wish - to be top after 10 games if his team are serious about regaining a title they last won in 2010 - comes true. His club appear to be in tune with him.
It was Newcastle who inflicted a rare defeat on Chelsea last May, with Papiss Cisse scoring one of the goals of the season. The Toon also started well last week with a win over Tottenham, even if Pardew’s push on a linesman is likely to result in a touchline ban.

They also managed a draw against Atromitos in Athens in the Europa League, less than 48 hours before running out at Stamford Bridge, a disadvantage Pardew was quick to point out. ‘It has proven beyond doubt that players cannot play to the same level twice in less than three days,’ he said.

At first there was little to choose between the teams but, in the 21st minute, Hazard scored the first of what will be many for his new club, drilling home a penalty into the corner of the net after Torres was felled by the outstretched leg of Vurnon Anita.
Frank Lampard would probably have been the man to have taken the spot-kick, but he was on the bench, being saved for Friday’s European Super Cup against Atletico Madrid in Monaco. Instead, he sat and watched Chelsea’s £32m signing from Lille hand the Londoners the lead.

Behind Lampard, who was given just a few minutes run-out at the end of the game, sat club captain John Terry, out with a neck injury.

Torres continued to be in the thick of it, too, thinking he was through on goal only to be felled - seemingly - by Fabricio Coloccini’s challenge. Instead, referee Phil Dowd booked the Spaniard for a dive. The striker may have been furious at the time but he was smiling two minutes into first-half stoppage-time when he saw his fabulous shot fly past the outstretched hand of Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul and into the net.

Hazard’s assist simply added to his remarkable recent stats that read: 14 goals, 14 assists and seven penalties won in his last 21 league games in France and now England.

Newcastle knew they needed a quick reply after the break but, although they increased their efforts, they barely troubled Petr Cech in the Chelsea goal, until Ba’s low shot six minutes from time, as the inevitability of Chelsea’s win became apparent.

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Mirror:

Chelsea 2-0 Newcastle United: Hazard lights up the show again

The Belgian playmaker has now made eight assists and scored one goal in only two appearances for the Blues this season

Matt Law

Eden Hazard must be pretty special. Not only has he started his first Premier League season on fire – he’s also got Fernando Torres looking like a world-class striker again.
Chelsea maintained their 100 per cent start to the season and remained top of the table thanks to another brilliant show from Hazard.
He scored his first Blues goal from the penalty that Torres won and then returned the favour by producing a superb backheel from which the Spaniard scored.
It seems ridiculous to be talking of a £32million player as being a potential bargain, but Chelsea already know it was money well spent on Hazard.
Chelsea owner Roman ­Abramovich wants exciting ­football and a goalscoring Torres. Hazard may well have satisfied both cravings.
You almost had to feel sorry for Newcastle’s summer signing Vurnon Anita, who suffered a nightmare first Premier League start at the hands of Hazard and Torres.
It only took 21 minutes for Anita’s full League debut to turn sour, as he conceded the penalty from which Chelsea took a vital lead.
Torres was tripped by Anita as he advanced into the Newcastle penalty area and referee Phil Dowd pointed straight to the spot.
With Frank Lampard, who scored penalties in the victories over Wigan and Reading, ­watching from the bench, Hazard stepped up to score his first ­Chelsea goal.
It had been Hazard who had won the spot-kicks from which Lampard scored in Chelsea’s first two Premier League games.
Despite being sent from the touchline last week and being charged by the FA for ­shoving assistant referee Peter Kirkup, Newcastle boss Pardew was in the visitors’ dug-out ­yesterday ahead of an expected two-game touchline ban.
But Pardew was not a happy man for much of the game, as Newcastle struggled to find their rhythm or cause Chelsea too many problems.
Newcastle were lucky not to find themselves two goals behind 10 minutes before the half-time break, as Fabricio Coloccini came to the visitors’ rescue. Hazard played the ball to Juan Mata down the left and his cross was just asking to be poked into the net before Coloccini ­appeared from nowhere to clear.
Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul was then grateful to see Hazard’s 20-yard shot fly just a few inches off target.
The Chelsea bench were ­incensed when Torres was booked for diving by Dowd after he appeared to have been caught by the lunging ­Coloccini.
The home fans sang: “You’re too fat to referee”, which even provoked a smile from the ­official.
Papiss Cisse scored two wonder strikes at Stamford Bridge last season and he ­produced Newcastle’s first serious effort on goal in the 44th minute by turning to shoot straight at ­Chelsea keeper Petr Cech.
But things went from bad to worse for Pardew and his team three minutes into stoppage time at the end of the first half and, surprise, surprise, that man ­Hazard was involved again.
This time Hazard produced a sublime backheel for Torres to send a brilliantly struck shot into the net. You get the feeling these two are going to enjoy playing together.
Chelsea’s new £9m signing ­Victor Moses had been paraded on the Stamford Bridge pitch ahead of kick-off and he must have been watching from the stands wondering how he will get into manager Roberto Di Matteo’s side.
Torres almost grabbed a second goal for himself from a Mata cross but, this time, the striker could not quite scramble his close-range effort over the line.
Newcastle clearly missed the midfield bite of Cheick Tiote, who was out with a calf injury. But Chelsea bossed possession far too easily.
David Luiz, in for the injured John Terry, and Raul Meireles both fired free-kicks high over the crossbar from promising ­positions, while Ryan Bertrand had a long-range shot tipped wide by Krul.
Demba Ba almost pulled back a late consolation for Newcastle, but Hazard and Torres had ­already done their damage by then.


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Sun:

Chelsea 2 Newcastle 0

By MARK IRWIN

BEATING Barcelona in their own backyard and winning the Champions League is one thing — but getting Fernando Torres to play like a £50million striker? Now that really is a miracle.
Yet Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo has achieved the seemingly impossible by reviving the fortunes of a player who looked a dead loss less than six months ago.
When Torres threw his toys out of the pram in Munich while his team-mates celebrated with the European Cup, it seemed he had burned his Stamford bridges once and for all.
Yet Di Matteo has not just forgiven the stroppy senor for his outburst, he has gone out of his way to make him his main man.
And Britain’s most expensive footballer is finally starting to respond to his manager’s show of faith with the sort of performances expected from him when he first arrived in that record-breaking move from Liverpool 19 months ago.

Since Didier Drogba’s departure for the Far East, Torres’ form for the Blues has been little short of a revelation.
Goals against Manchester City in the Community Shield and again in the 4-2 midweek win over Reading were proof the Spaniard was starting to relish the responsibility which is being heaped onto his shoulders.
But those strikes were just the prelude to arguably his most impressive display in Chelsea’s No 9 shirt.
With the help of the wonderful Eden Hazard, Torres took Newcastle apart to keep his team firmly on top of the table.
He scored the second, won the penalty for the opener and made life a misery for Fabricio Coloccini in the Toon captain’s first appearance of the season.

Now the onus is firmly on the £180,000-a-week striker to maintain this level of performance on a regular basis.

For the first 20 minutes, Torres was more provider than finisher as he selflessly teed up John Obi Mikel and then Ryan Bertrand.
But then he glided effortlessly past Davide Santon to provoke a rash challenge from Vurnon Anita just inside the area.
There was no doubt Torres made the most of Anita’s naive lunge but, just as indisputable, was the fact the Dutchman made enough contact for ref Phil Dowd to point straight to the spot.
With Frank Lampard surprisingly starting on the bench, it was left to Hazard to take over the penalty-taker’s duty.
The £32million Belgian international had already won spot-kicks in Chelsea’s previous wins against Wigan and Reading.
And he was lethal from 12 yards, drilling his 22nd-minute shot powerfully wide of Tim Krul and into the bottom corner.
Torres was convinced there should have been further disciplinary action against Newcastle’s creaking defence when he pushed the ball past Coloccini and was taken out by the Argentine’s trailing leg to deny him a clear run on goal.
Yet Dowd waved played on and then, to add insult to injury, booked Torres for diving.
It was the kind of decision that would have sent Torres deep into his shell during his long barren spell last season.

But this time he came back with the perfect response with a sublime goal in first-half injury time to effectively end this match as a competition.
And once again it was his burgeoning relationship with Hazard which opened up the visitors’ defence. Torres’ short pass to Hazard was instantly returned into his path by a sublime backheel from the recent arrival from Lille.
And with Coloccini scared to stick a foot in for fear of conceding another penalty, Torres struck with the outside of his right boot to send the ball curling into the top corner.
It was a moment to remember for the delirious Blues supporters, who have always stuck by their man even when previous managers Carlo Ancelotti and Andre Villas-Boas appeared to have given up on him.
Their loyalty was further rewarded by an outrageous backheeled cross midway through the second half, which really deserved better than a last-ditch clearance by Steven Taylor.

Newcastle never seriously threatened to repeat their memorable victory at the Bridge in May, which effectively ensured they finished above Chelsea in the league last season.
They had a brief chance to get back on level terms shortly before Torres’ goal when David Luiz was robbed by Danny Simpson trying to dribble the ball out of his own area.
But Papiss Cisse’s shot on the turn was straight down the throat of Chelsea keeper Petr Cech and comfortably saved.
Demba Ba forced a couple more decent saves from Cech after half-time but they were rare moments from a team who were easily beaten.
Having only returned from a Europa League qualifier in Greece on Friday morning, it was hardly surprising that some of Alan Pardew’s players looked so jaded.
So the last thing they needed was to run straight into a revitalised Torres with a point to prove to all of us critics.

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Express:

CHELSEA 2 - NEWCASTLE UNITED 0: IT'S PITCH PERFECT FOR ROBERTO DI MATTEO
By Jim Holden

THREE matches. Three wins. After this perfect start, it’s time for Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo to forget the foolish pretence that his team won’t be genuine title contenders in the Premier League this season.
It’s not just that a thoroughly revitalised Fernando Torres is playing like a world-class striker. It’s not merely the £80million spent on exciting new stars like Eden Hazard.
It’s not even that Chelsea are the reigning champions of Europe, as their supporters were keen to remind the rest of English football.
No, what makes Di Matteo’s team credible challengers to both Manchester clubs is the style of their play and the sheer quality of their attacking football.
At times they played with delightful invention against tough opponents in Newcastle – not least in the second goal by Torres that sealed the victory.
Oh, yes, there’s also the depth of their squad, reinforced again on Friday by the signing of Victor Moses, who was paraded in front of the crowd before kick-off and must have then watched wondering how he could possibly get into the team.
The tone was set from the start. Newcastle barely touched the ball in the first eight minutes as Chelsea asserted swift and complete control of the game, even though it was easy to argue they had three superior midfielders on the substitutes’ bench to those on the field.
Oscar, the brilliant young Brazilian, for example, was watching from the sidelines. Yet converted full-back Ray Bertrand was revelling in his new forward role and tested the keeper with a shot after good work by Torres.
The only question was how long it would take Chelsea to score. The answer was 22 minutes. Torres, inevitably, was the catalyst, darting skilfully into the box and being tripped by Vurnon Anita.
Hazard dispatched the penalty with confidence and class to notch his first goal for the club. It was Chelsea’s third spot-kick in successive games, a consequence of players driving hard into the area and testing opponents.
Leading the line with huge relish was the rejuvenated Torres. Manager Di Matteo’s psychology has been vindicated in declaring the Spaniard to be the main man of the Chelsea attack this season.
Torres won almost every ball in the air, he was ever-willing to run at defenders and his first touch was often sublime. The one blot was a yellow card for what referee Phil Dowd thought was a dive when Torres collided with the boot of Newcastle skipper Fabio Coloccini.
TV replays failed to provide a definitive verdict; foul, or a striker looking for a foul? The booking was probably too strong from the ref.
Whatever the view about that incident, there could be no doubting the exuberant excellence of Chelsea’s second goal in first-half stoppage time. It was the perfect finish to an intelligent passing move.
Torres tipped the ball to Hazard, whose instant backheeled flick allowed the striker a moment’s time and space to steer home a shot with the outside of his right boot.
A fabulous goal was fine reward for Chelsea’s dominance. Newcastle had only one effort on goal in the opening period, a snapshot by Papiss Cisse straight at keeper Petr Cech.
The frustration of manager Alan Pardew was plain on the touchline. Di Matteo was content for the most part to relax in his dugout seat.
Chelsea sat back more after the break, trusting in their defensive strength and their class on the counter-attack.
Demba Ba forced Cech into one save with a shot on the hour, but serious threat from Newcastle was limited. Cech finally had to make a proper save in the 84th minute, diving to his right to keep out another Ba effort.
At the other end, Bertrand had a stinging shot deflected just wide, while Hazard and Torres continued the business of forging what looks likely to be a productive and entertaining partnership.
Chelsea are exciting going forward and stingy in defence. It looks like a title-chasing recipe in any language.


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Thursday, August 23, 2012

reading 4-2






Independent:


Torres saves Chelsea after newcomers put a stop to Euro party

Chelsea 4 Reading 2: Champions League winners recover from being a goal down to take three points

Sam Wallace


When Chelsea's team was read out last night, the announcer prefaced the name of each player who had involved last season with the phrase "European champion", a small indulgence that you can forgive a club just three months after their finest hour. In the modern era, football moves on swiftly from even the most significant triumphs.

In Chelsea's case it took about half an hour, by which time they were losing 2-1 at home to a Reading side promoted from the Championship last season and the first wave of mild panic was passing around Stamford Bridge. Last season the crowd watched them chuck away points at home to Aston Villa and Newcastle United and initially this game had the hallmarks of another cock-up.

They won the game in the end largely thanks to a goal, their third, scored by Fernando Torres when the striker was clearly offside. By the time Branislav Ivanovic scored the fourth in the third minute of injury time, Reading were stretched to breaking point and their goalkeeper, Adam Federici, was sprinting unsuccessfully back to his own goal having come up for a last-ditch corner.

The nature of the third goal was hard on Reading who were excellent in the first half but were forced into an inevitable retreat in the second half under a barrage of pressure from Chelsea who finished the game with an overwhelming 72 per cent of the possession. Their best player was the Belgian Eden Hazard whose three assists last night, including winning a penalty, take him to five for the season.

He was the man who eventually brought Chelsea's pressure to bear on Reading although it was Andy Halliday, the linesman culpable on the Torres goal, who helped the home side through the door. Given the extraordinary pace that the modern game is played at, there are certain marginal decisions that can be forgiven. Torres, however, was comfortably offside.

Chelsea dominated the second half having fallen behind to goals before the break from Pavel Pogrebnyak and Danny Guthrie after Frank Lampard has scored from the penalty spot. The home team edged it in the second half but whether they would have won without the help of the officials is one of the great imponderables.

When they were really forcing the issue, Roberto Di Matteo had a four behind Torres comprising of Juan Mata, Hazard and the substitutes Oscar and Daniel Sturridge who played some exhilarating stuff. It was a different Chelsea to the one of recent years, especially with Lampard back holding the fort while the young bucks pushed on for the winning goals.

In defence, however, it was a different story. There was a clanger from Petr Cech for Reading's second goal and Pogrebnyak gave both Gary Cahill and John Terry big problems. Impressive as they were going forward, Chelsea were suspect in defence and this was without David Luiz who announced his absence through injury on Twitter yesterday morning.

Indeed, Reading should have gone in two goals clear but Alex Pearce failed to get a head to Ian Harte's excellent free-kick one minute before the break. They had first gone behind to Lampard's penalty after Hazard had bamboozled Chris Gunter into tripping him on the right side of the Reading area.

Within seven minutes, Reading equalised through the formidable Pogrebnyak. Running into the box to meet Gareth McCleary's cross from the right he directed his header across Cech and into the far corner. Tracking the striker's run, Cahill barely got a peak of the ball from behind Pogrebnyak's considerable shoulders.

It changed Reading's attitude to can-do and soon after Jobi McAnuff drew John Terry into the kind of foul on the edge of the area the Chelsea captain rarely gives away. The free-kick, struck by Guthrie, should not have caused Cech any problems but he made a complete hash of it and dropped the ball in his own goal.

Chelsea had created chances at the start of the game, Ramires and Torres in particular, but by the end of the first half they were struggling. Torres had a decent opportunity from Hazard's cross from the right but directed his header wide of the left post. With strong performances from the likes of Pearce, Guthrie and McAnuff, Reading looked stable.

When Oscar came on for Ramires with 20 minutes left, Chelsea became more dangerous. Hazard opened up Reading in a passage of play that ended in a cross from Torres and a chance for the Belgium international that was blocked by Kaspers Gorkss. Reading found it harder to keep them out

When Sturridge came on for John Obi Mikel on 67 minutes Chelsea were back in the game. With the England international on the right, they equalised in the 69th minute – a goal gifted to them by a mistake from Federici as bad as the one that Cech had made in the first half.

Fed the ball by Hazard, Cahill's low drive was struck honestly but it did not have any degree of menace about it. Inexplicably, the Reading goalkeeper threw himself over the top of the ball and gave the home team an easy way back into the game.

The tide had turned. Chelsea's third goal, scored by Torres, was beautifully crafted. Mata worked the ball forward with help from Lampard and Hazard before it was switched out left to Ashley Cole. His cross was simple for Torres to tuck away, not least because the striker was well-advanced in an offside position when the ball was played.

Until Ivanovic's goal, for which Hazard carried the ball over half the pitch when Chelsea broke from a Reading corner, the away side were still in the game. It was the Torres goal that had tipped it. That and a Chelsea attack that carries some promise for the new season.


Man of the match Hazard.

Match rating 7/10.

Referee L Mason (Lancs).

Attendance 41,733.




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


Guardian:

Chelsea breach Reading's resistance to move to Premier League summit

Dominic Fifield


Chelsea perch on top of the fledgling Premier League table, restored to the summit for the first time in almost 21 months, yet that is where the prescribed script from this helter-skelter occasion has to be ditched. If the locals might legitimately have anticipated a saunter, instead the emotion that gripped this stadium on the final whistle was one of utter relief. It felt like an achievement to deflate and defeat Reading, newly arrived from the Championship.

In the end victory was secured with a goal stabbed in by Fernando Torres from an offside position, technically his most decisive reward yet in a Chelsea shirt, and a breakaway fourth from a galloping Branislav Ivanovic deep into stoppage time with the visitors' goalkeeper, Adam Federici, still upfield after attacking a corner. There was so much here to leave the Royals heartened but Anton Zingarevich, Reading's owner, still departed cursing his side's ill fortune. Not all Russian billionaires prosper in these parts.

Roman Abramovich, watching from afar, would have warmed to the entertainment on offer, though no one at Chelsea will be hoodwinked into believing they will remain clear of the pack for much longer if the frailties displayed here are not eradicated. This match started and finished amid a mood of celebration but in the interim there had been vulnerability to alarm.

Had Alex Pearce made better contact with Ian Harte's free-kick as half-time approached, the visitors might have retired 3-1 ahead and avoided their late disappointment. They would have merited the lead at that stage. The European champions will thrill at the creative options at their disposal, desperation having demanded they poured a team of attackers at Brian McDermott's side when trying to equalise in the latter stages, but there are other issues to address.

This team, more than ever, feels like a work in progress. Roberto Di Matteo is grappling with an awkward blend of irresistible forward-thinkers and a defensive unit that, shorn of an effective shield, can seem suspect. They have yet to stumble on a balance. Pavel Pogrebnyak, offering the same muscular threat he had summoned with Fulham this year, proved as much by guiding a sumptuous header from Garath McCleary's fizzed centre across and beyond Petr Cech to haul the visitors level from virtually their first attack. Suddenly Reading scented blood.

Cech should have gathered Danny Guthrie's free-kick after John Terry had illegally thwarted Jobi McAnuff's run, only to misjudge the flight of the ball. As the goalkeeper flopped to his left, the shot cannoned from his body and into the net.

Reading had not beaten Chelsea in the league since a Second Division game in 1930, a record that stands even if it was sorely tested. What made their first-half ripostes, and assurance to the interval, so staggering was the reality that they had been scorched by the home side's opening. The lead they enjoyed at the break felt as much a triumph of resilience as any threat on the counter. Quite how they had survived the whirlwind opening was hard to comprehend, the only damage sustained a penalty earned by Eden Hazard's tormenting of Chris Gunter and converted emphatically by Frank Lampard.

The Belgian's touch and burst of pace have made him an immediate crowd-pleaser, his inter-play with Juan Mata breathtaking at times. Hazard warnings will be issued throughout the top flight after his first two competitive appearances for the Blues. In his last 20 league games, for Lille and Chelsea, he has conjured 13 goals, 13 assists and, additionally, now won seven penalties. It was his pass to Ivanovic that provided the fourth at the death though, by then, it was Reading who were playing catch-up.

Just as over-elaboration was threatening to nullify Chelsea's intent, and with their entire array of available attacking personnel on show – from Oscar to Daniel Sturridge – it was Gary Cahill who swerved an equaliser through Federici. Thereafter, the game had taken a controversial twist. Torres, who had not previously scored a winning goal for the club, was beyond the stretching Kaspars Gorkss when he tapped in Ashley Cole's centre nine minutes from time, the assistant referee ignoring the protests while McDermott crumpled in frustration.

"We didn't deserve to lose," he said. "I'm gutted the linesman's got that decision wrong: it has not been a good night for him and now it has not been a good night for me, either. I said to him he'd got it wrong, and he said he'd have a look at it. That's life. People make mistakes."

It will rankle, but Reading can prosper if they replicate this endeavour. Chelsea can, too, though they will know there is room for improvement. The hope must be the balance they strike retains the thrill of this new-found attacking intent.




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


Telegraph:



Fernando Torres offside goal leaves Reading fuming as Chelsea start Premier League with back-to-back wins

By Henry Winter, Football Correspondent, at Stamford Bridge



Another game, another reminder of the intoxicating nature of the Premier League. Another game, another demonstration of Eden Hazard’s glorious creativity. Another day, another linesman and Reading would have got some reward for their prodigious exertions.

This was an exhilarating match, a real end-to-end tear-up between the champions of Europe and the Championship winners.Chelsea were a joy to watch at times going forward, especially when the ball was at the clever feet of Hazard, the Belgian who has played a key role in setting up five of his new team’s six goals this season. If Oscar still resembles an elegant fawn working out how to cross the M1, Hazard is more than up to speed, enjoying the pace and physicality of the English game.

If the imagination was seized by Hazard then due and copious admiration must be recorded for Reading. Some managers come here and park the bus. Brian McDermott came here and ignored the handbrake, sending his players freewheeling into Chelsea’s unconvincing defence.

Pavel Pogrebnyak played the hard-working lone front-runner well, bullying John Terry and Gary Cahill. Danny Guthrie was a fount of good ideas and relentless industry in the hole behind Pogrebnyak. The lively Garath McCleary ran at, and occasionally past, Ashley Cole.

A year ago this week, Reading were losing 2-1 at home to Barnsley in the Championship. Now they were giving the champions of Europe and FA Cup winners a real scare. There is a belief in this well-organised, well-motivated side of McDermott’s, a refusal to be daunted by their august hosts. Their fans set the tone, oozing decibels and defiance.

When the stadium announcer requested the visiting support sit down, they all immediately broke into “stand up if you love Reading”. Those not already standing promptly rose. All of Reading stood up to be counted on Wednesday night.

They were eventually counted out, leaving the Bridge with no points but a sense of injustice. The goal that effectively condemned them to defeat was cloaked in controversy, the assistant referee Andy Halliday failing to flag Fernando Torres offside for Chelsea’s third.

The frustration bit deep because Reading had recovered so strongly from Chelsea’s vibrant start. For a while, Juan Mata was running the show, dropping deep, releasing team-mates with quick, accurate passes.

Chelsea appeared in control. Torres saw a shot blocked. So did Frank Lampard.

It all seemed to be going to the pre-match script, particularly when Chelsea’s pressure brought an 18th-minute lead. Chris Gunter became the latest of the dupes of Hazard, the right-back being caught out by the jinking Belgian, lunging in and gifting Chelsea a penalty. Lampard duly drilled the penalty past Adam Federici.

Reading rallied. After 25 minutes, McCleary eluded Cole and delivered a powerful cross in. Pogrebnyak muscled Cahill out of the way, sending an unstoppable header past Petr Cech. Lightning struck twice. Four minutes later, the threat emanated from the left, from the captain Jobi McAnuff, whose run was stopped illegally by Terry. Ian Harte dummied to take the free-kick with his left foot. Guthrie connected with his right and the ball raced low towards Cech.

It seemed a routine save for a keeper of Cech’s experience and expertise. To the disbelief of the Matthew Harding Stand behind him, Cech failed to control Guthrie’s free-kick and the ball spilled across the line.

Reading fans were now in wonderland, chanting: “We are top of the League.’’ Embarrassed, Chelsea slowly clawed their way back into the game.

Torres had another shot blocked. Terry sent a header over. Mata found Hazard, who dinked in a ball from the right which Torres headed wide, a bad miss.

Chelsea needed inspiration. Roberto Di Matteo sent on Oscar, removing Ramires, and the new boy from Brazil briefly linked promisingly with Hazard during a 65th-minute break culminating in another effort from Hazard. Again, Reading refused to yield.

Di Matteo then removed John Obi Mikel and sent on Daniel Sturridge. Chelsea’s front six now read: Lampard and Oscar, Sturridge, Mata and Hazard with Torres up top. They soon equalised. Hazard, all touch and vision, picked out Cahill in the centre and the defender let fly.

Cahill imparted sufficient venom in the strike but it was still poor goalkeeping by Federici, who allowed it to speed into the net.

McDermott refused to settle for a point. Reading’s manager gambled, sending on more attackers, first Adam Le Fondre and Noel Hunt. But Chelsea hit back.

If Federici’s mistake had cost Reading for the second goal, it was an error by Halliday that allowed Torres’s offside goal to stand. Mata touched the ball left to Cole, who angled it towards the far post. Torres was a yard offside as he turned the ball over the line.

McDermott was enraged, having a go at Halliday when he ventured close to the halfway line. McDermott’s supporters kept singing, chanting his name and extolling the name of their club, but that decision must have left a bitter taste, a feeling that the lesser lights do not enjoy the bigger calls.

Reading went down fighting the odds, even sending Federici up for a late corner. When the ball was cleared, Hazard broke and played the ball across for Branislav Ivanovic to score, finally extinguishing the burning flame of Reading’s ambition.




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


Mail:

Chelsea 4 Reading 2: Torres breaks Royals resistance but visitors rage over offside call

By Matt Barlow

This was supposed to be a serene homecoming for Chelsea, back at Stamford Bridge for the first time as European champions, parading their expensive new recruits.

In the end it was a desperate scramble, featuring some awful goalkeeping mistakes and a late goal from Fernando Torres, which ought to have been ruled offside.

But the effect was the same. Ninety-five days after glory in Munich and the Blues reached the summit of the Barclays Premier League for the first time in 21 months.

And the new boys looked terrific.

Frank Lampard fired Chelsea ahead with an early penalty, won by the irrepressible Eden Hazard, before Pavel Pogrebnyak levelled and Petr Cech threw one into his own goal to put the visitors ahead.

Gary Cahill equalised with the help of another goalkeeping blunder before Torres pounced, nine minutes from time, and Branislav Ivanovic scored on the break in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

If Roberto Di Matteo is under orders to add a flourish to his winning formula and set Russian pulses racing, then he is making stunning progress. No buses were parked on Wednesday night.

From the very first minute, Chelsea careered forward, sometimes with reckless disregard for defensive duties and Hazard continued his explosive start to life in England.

The game was barely under way when the £32million winger burst clear and dragged a shot wide and then won a penalty by tempting Chris Gunter into a challenge he would soon regret.

He dashed outside the full back, then twisted back, looking for an outstretched leg. Gunter supplied it and over Hazard went. Lampard smashed in his second penalty of the season, goal No 189 for Chelsea.

Bobby Tambling’s club record of 202 is firmly in view, particularly if the team play with such adventure and Hazard proves so adept at  winning penalties.

Stamford Bridge settled back and waited for more but Di Matteo’s defence failed its first real test when Pogrebnyak wriggled clear of Cahill to head Garath McCleary’s cross past Cech.

Reading took heart and took control before half-time. John Terry fouled Jobi McAnuff, 25 yards from goal and Cech made a complete hash of the free-kick.

It was taken by Danny Guthrie, an inswinger from the left which bounced a yard in front of the keeper, who, diving to his left, somehow contrived to push the ball into his own net.

That night in Munich could not have seemed more distant. Cech cursed as he climbed to his feet.

Trust the Royals to turn up with plans to spoil the party. No-one was cavorting naked in the pool, Prince Harry style, but Reading made it an uncomfortable night for their hosts.

Brian McDermott’s team are well-balanced and organised, they worked tirelessly and pressed high.

They were confident, too, and Pogrebnyak will score some goals if McCleary’s delivery from the right is going to be this good. Reading’s Russian owner Anton Zingarevich did not attempt to keep the smile from his face as he looked down from the posh seats.

Alex Pearce escaped his marker before half-time and was only inches away from connecting with a vicious inswinging free-kick from Ian Harte.

It was all slightly chaotic and made for a breathless spectacle. Hazard lashed a 25-yarder high and wide and Torres nodded a header wide after climbing high to reach a cross from the right.

Ivanovic tried his luck from distance, early in the second half but this effort sailed into the Matthew Harding Stand.

Reading repelled a flurry of Chelsea attacks in the second half before Di Matteo turned to another new signing, sending on Oscar to replace Ramires, and then a few more before Daniel Sturridge came off the bench.

It was a central defender, however, who came to the rescue, just as McDermott was beginning to think his team had ridden the storm.

Cahill accepted a short pass from Hazard, strode out of defence and tried his luck from 30 yards with a low drive which slithered across the greasy surface.

Adam Federici should have saved it but could only push it into the net. It was his second blatant mistake in as many games, having been responsible for a goal by Michael Kightly against Stoke on Saturday.

From this point, Chelsea had the momentum. Sturridge and Mata went close before a slick move led to a first of the season for Torres, who was clearly a yard offside on the television replays as he tapped Ashley Cole’s low cross into the net. There was no flag.

Reading threw men forward and in the fifth minute of added time Federici trotted forward to attack a corner. Hazard broke with the ball at his feet, sprinted nearly the full length of the pitch and pulled a pass square to Ivanovic, who tucked his second of the season into an open goal.

In his last 20 league games, Hazard has conjured 13 goals, 13 assists and won seven penalties. And, with six points and six goals in two Premier League games, Chelsea are on top.

Here was a Super Cup with a difference: the champions of Europe against the champions of the Football League. And what a super game. Maybe it will catch on.



MATCH FACTS

Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole; Mikel (Sturridge 68), Lampard; Ramires (Oscar 57), Hazard, Mata (Meireles 84); Torres.

Subs not used: Turnbull, Essien, Romeu, Bertrand.

Goals: Lampard (pen) 18, Cahill 70, Torres 81, Ivanovic 90

Reading: Federici; Gunter, Harte, Gorkss, Pearce; Leigertwood, Guthrie, Karacan (Le Fondre 72), McAnuff, McCleary (Robson-Kanu 86); Pogrebnyak (Hunt 77)

Subs not used: McCarthy, Mariappa, Tabb, Cummings.

Goals: Pogrebniak 25, Guthrie 29

Booked: Karacan, Pogrebnyak

Referee: Lee Mason

Attendance: 41,733



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



Mirror:

Chelsea 4-2 Reading: Royals outstripped in Prem's game of Russian roulette

Abramovich's men are almost caught with their pants down by Zingarevich's new boys but win with the help of a non-Russian linesman

Eden Hazard is providing all the answers to Chelsea's £64million question.

Hazard looks to be the best investment on Roman Abramovich's huge summer spending spree as the £32m Belgian forward masterminded a crucial and yet unconvincing victory to put Chelsea top of the table.

All the familiar traits are there.

Chelsea were vulnerable at the back, got lucky on Fernando Torres' crucial third goal and the fans left Stamford Bridge knowing the champions of Europe did not always look in command of their own backyard.

Abramovich spent that £64m on Hazard, Brazilian forward Oscar and German midfielder Marko Marin with the intention of turning his club into a more attractive team.

They certainly provided the entertainment even if some of the thrills and spills came from disastrous mistakes rather than attacking brilliance.

Keeper Petr Cech was guilty of a rare howler, his opposite number Adam Federici will beat himself up over two of the goals he conceded and the home side's defence did little to inspire confidence.

They still look a long way short of the finished article, as Roberto di Matteo admitted afterwards, and whether the Italian can turn them from Champions League winners into champions of their own country is anyone's guess.

It certainly looked as if winning the Premier League would be a harder task on this evidence.

But if one player has stepped forward to provide genuine hope of sustained success then it is Hazard.

Of Chelsea's six goals, Hazard has provided three assists and won the penalties that were turned in to two more.

But this game - brought forward because of their involvement in the European Super Cup final on Friday week - has given them momentum and belief.

Hazard has given them extra drive and his trickery in the 17th minute tempted Reading right-back Chris Gunter into a clumsy challenge to concede an early penalty.

Just as he did at Wigan on Sunday, Frank Lampard provided the finishing touch as he converted from the penalty spot.

It is becoming a familiar one-two and Hazard is already the trusted supply line.

But just when you thought Chelsea would run away with it, back came Reading.

Gareth McCleary's right wing cross found Reading striker Pavel Pogrebnyak and the Russian powered a bullet header past Cech.

Cech could not have been blamed for that one. Chelsea defender Gary Cahill was beaten to the punch by Pogrebnyak.

But Reading's second goal left one of the most reliable keepers in Europe with egg on his face.

Danny Guthrie's 25-yard free-kick should have meat and drink for Cech but he somehow spilled the ball, let it through his hands and it trickled into the far corner.

It put Reading into dreamland.

Reading's billionaire owner Anton Zingarevich was wearing a bigger smile than his Russian countryman Abramovich at that moment.

The visiting fans were celebrating as if they could not quite believe their luck.

Suddenly, the Chelsea fans and their gloating chants on their European homecoming had fallen silent as they became more desperate as the game wore on.

As they ran out of ideas and time, Chelsea were gifted two pieces of luck.

First, Hazard's square pass teed up Cahill and while the Chelsea defender's low shot was fierce, Federici - who had also gaffed to let in Stoke's goal on Saturday - let it go straight through him.

Cahill's 69th minute leveller suddenly gave Chelsea a new impetus.

They also had another slice of good fortune for their third.

Torres was a virtual bystander for Chelsea's march to European glory. But the £50m striker must be thinking his time has finally come.

Torres started the move, found Juan Mata who spread it wide to Ashley Cole and the England left-back's low cross was inch perfect.

Scorer Torres, however, was at least a yard offside but referee Lee Mason and linesman Andy Halliday missed it and the Spaniard tapped in from point-blank range.

You have to admire Reading for chasing an equaliser even in the fifth minute of injury time.

Federici went forward for a corner, left his goal unguarded and Hazard led a break when the ball was cleared and then squared it for Branislav Ivanovic to tap home.

Hazard has already proved to be worth his weight in gold with his assists.

If he starts getting in among the goals too, then he will really will be considered to be a bargain.



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


Sun:



Chelsea 4 Reading 2

POINT TO PROVE ... Fernando Torres rumbled Reading with a late strike

By ANTONY KASTRINAKIS


IT was the night Stamford Bridge turned into the Garden of Eden as Chelsea returned to the top.

In fact if Eden Hazard carries on like this then comparisons with Blues legend Gianfranco Zola may not be enough.

Roman Abramovich paid Lille a whopping £32million for Hazard but yesterday, as Chelsea went top for the first time in 519 days, it looked like his best-ever buy.

On the day Prince Harry was pictured naked in a Las Vegas hotel room, Hazard laid bare the Royals’ defensive frailties and led his side to a resounding victory.

He won the 18th-minute penalty that Frank Lampard converted and even set up Branislav Ivanovic’s 90th-minute strike to round things off nicely.

But Blues boss Roberto Di Matteo has ref Lee Mason and his assistant to thank for allowing Fernando Torres’ key third goal to stand when the Spain striker was clearly a yard offside.

It broke Reading’s hearts and we can do without many more Premier League matches finishing with the hot favourite getting such a blatant decision at the expense of a massive underdog.

Di Matteo has clearly yet to find the right blend despite having some of the best talent in the world at his disposal.

The Italian admitted as much afterwards but also purred about Belgian playmaker Hazard, 21, who was at the centre of attention and at the heart of the action.

Early on he won the ball in midfield and burst into the box to collect Juan Mata’s pass — but fired wide with his left foot.

Then, on seven minutes, Ramires forced a fine save from Royals stopper Adam Federici when, really, he should have squared to Torres who was ready for the tap-in.

And what a shame because the move was sublime with five one-touch passes proving Abramovich’s dream of a champagne Chelsea side is not far off.

“Champions of Europe, we know what we are,” sang the Bridge faithful.

And, after 18 minutes, they got the goal they had been waiting for when Hazard worked his way into the box and sold a dummy to Chris Gunter, who brought him down for a stonewall penalty.

Up stepped Lampard to plant it past Federici.

But, all of a sudden, Reading were level after 25 minutes.

Gareth McCleary crossed for Pavel Pogrebnyak, who nipped ahead of John Terry and powered a precise header past Petr Cech.

Four minutes later, it got even worse for the hosts.

Skipper Terry was lucky to escape a booking for a blatant trip on Jobi McAnuff, who had flown past Ivanovic on the edge of the box.

Danny Guthrie took the resulting free-kick which bounced harmlessly in front of Cech before the Czech stopper diverted it into his own net.

Reading’s very own Russian oligarch Anton Zingarevich and his model wife Katsia were watching from the stands and looked on in disbelief.

And if John Obi Mikel had not tracked back to thwart McAnuff as Ivanovic went missing, it could have been 3-2 to the visitors as punch-drunk Chelsea were trying to regain their composure.

Pogrebnyak won virtually every battle with Terry in the first half and England boss Roy Hodgson, watching from the stands, will have no doubt raised an eyebrow.

Just before the interval Terry bundled Reading’s Russian giant into the ground, Ian Harte swung in the free-kick and Alex Pearce just failed to nod home.

Chelsea struggled but Hazard never faltered. Before half-time he crossed brilliantly for Torres, who headed wide.

Di Matteo gave Oscar his home debut after 56 minutes, taking off the £25million summer signing’s fellow Brazilian Ramires.

Shortly after, Oscar forced a diving save from Federici.

As desperately as they were trying, Chelsea just could not find a breakthrough.

Cue another change, with Daniel Sturridge replacing Mikel.

Within seconds Hazard fed defender Gary Cahill who tried his luck from distance.

His effort swerved but this time it was Federici’s turn to push the ball into his own net.

It was yet another howler for the Reading keeper, four days after he let Michael Kightly’s shot squirm home against Stoke.

Royals boss Brian McDermott gave the keeper his full backing but it was a turning point as, nine minutes from the end, Torres started and ended a move that also involved Mata and Ashley Cole before the No 9 tapped home.

Yes, he was offside by a yard. Yes, the ref and his assistant Andy Halliday missed it — but Chelsea were not complaining.

Royals boss Brian McDermott said: “I’m gutted the linesman got that decision wrong. It was clearly offside which is really disappointing for us.

“It was unfortunate but that’s life. It’s just a shame he made a mistake on such a crucial goal.”

Chelsea still had to survive a late onslaught by brave Reading but they hung on for dear life.

Then, at the death, Torres won the ball and released Hazard with Federici up for a Reading corner.

Hazard bombed forward and with only Gunter to beat, he set up Ivanovic to tap home.

It was Hazard’s fifth assist in two games, including the two penalties he has won. Pure class.


DREAM TEAM RATINGS:

STAR MAN — EDEN HAZARD (Chelsea)

CHELSEA: Cech 4, Ivanovic 5, Cahill 5, Terry 4, Cole 6, Mikel 7 (Sturridge 6), Lampard 7, Ramires 6 (Oscar 6), Eden Hazard 8, Mata 7 (Meireles 5), Torres 6. Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Essien, Romeu, Bertrand.

READING: Federici 6, Gunter 6, Pearce 6, Gorkss 6, Harte 6, Karacan 5 (Le Fondre 5), McAnuff 6, Leigertwood 7, Guthrie 7, McCleary 6 (Robson-Kanu 5), Pogrebnyak 7 (Hunt 5). Subs Not Used: McCarthy, Mariappa, Tabb, Cummings.



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



Express:



CHELSEA 4 - READING 2: HERO FERNANDO TORRES TOES PARTY LINE

Thursday August 23,2012
By Tony Banks


NINETY FIVE days after that famous night in Munich when they lifted the Champions League, the conquering heroes returned.

The party was all set with the banners flying – but as Chelsea celebrated by going top of the league, they knew it had been a very close thing indeed.

Fernando Torres eased their nerves with a goal nine minutes from time from what looked like an offside position. And Branislav Ivanovic added the gloss with an injury-time breakaway as Chelsea came back from 2-1 down against a plucky and unlucky Reading.

But, top of the pile for the first time since November 2010, Chelsea could count their blessings. Ahead through Frank Lampard’s penalty, promoted Reading stunned them with goals from Pavel Pogrebnyak and Danny Guthrie.

A goalkeeping blunder from Adam Federici handed Gary Cahill the equaliser, and then Torres and Ivanovic ensured that the party-goers went home happy. But they will have to do better than this.

The party was all set with the banners flying – but as Chelsea celebrated by going top of the league, they knew it had been a very close thing indeed

Manager Roberto Di Matteo made two changes from the team that won at Wigan on Sunday. Centre-half David Luiz, who had a knee injury, was replaced by Cahill and Ramires returned after illness in place of Ryan Bertrand.

Again though, £25million Brazilian new boy Oscar had to settle for a place on the bench. Chelsea went into the game having won nine out of their past 11 games at Stamford Bridge and having already spent £68m in the summer, with more to come before the transfer window closes.

But look beneath the sheen that Champions League and FA Cup-winning feats gave the end of last season, and it was in the league where Chelsea fell down, a final position of sixth the lowest in the Roman Abramovich era.
   
It was that inconsistency which Di Matteo admitted had to be rectified this year. It was that frailty, too, which gave Brian McDermott’s team – total spend £5m – hope. Too many times last season Chelsea stuttered in games they should have won. The fans who packed Stamford Bridge last night wanted to see if those failings had been ironed out.

It was £32m man Eden Hazard, who so sparkled on his debut on Sunday, who nearly got things off to the perfect start inside two minutes, as he raced clear only to drill a fraction wide. Then Ramires forced a save out of Federici.

Reading won 15 of their last 19 games last season to clinch their return to the top flight. But they seemed to have learned early on that this was a different ball game.

The electric Hazard burst down the left in the 18th minute and a baffled Chris Gunter tripped him in the area. It was the second game running where the Belgian’s trickery had won a penalty. And it was the same result – Lampard rammed the spot-kick home.

McDermott’s team though have an in-built belief and desire. Within seven minutes they stunned the Champions League holders, as Garath McCleary crossed from the right and former Fulham man Pogrebnyak got in front of Cahill to glance home a fine goal.

Four minutes later Jobi McAnuff was felled on the edge of the box, earning John Terry a yellow card. Guthrie’s free-kick was straight at Petr Cech, but somehow, unbelievably, the ball squirmed out of his hands and into the net and Reading were ahead. It should have been three as Alex Pearce missed by an inch.

As Torres nodded wide and then Ivanovic blazed over, there was a puzzled air about Stamford Bridge. Munich seemed a very long time ago.

Reading were pressing high up the pitch, and all Chelsea’s earlier fluency had disappeared. On went Oscar to try to unlock the Reading door as Chelsea cranked up the pressure. Hazard’s trickery and pace offered Chelsea’s best hope of breaking the deadlock. Time and again the Belgian caused panic with his mazy runs. But the end product was not there.

A long-range effort finally did it – and another goalkeeping howler. Cahill let fly fom fully 30 yards, and Federici, who dropped a clanger in Reading’s opening game against Stoke, was again at fault. The Australian somehow allowed the ball to slide through him into the corner.

Now Reading had their backs to the wall. Juan Mata and substitute Daniel Sturridge both missed, but 10 minutes from time they cracked. Ashley Cole popped up on the right and Torres, who looked a mile offside, was clear to slot home his low pass. In the dying minutes Chelsea broke clear and Hazard set up Ivanovic who slotted home.




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


Star:

CHELSEA 4 - READING 2: BLUES TOP IT OFF AFTER BIG FRIGHT NIGHT

The victory against Reading at Stamford Bridge sent Chelsea top of the league for the first time since November 2010

By Paul Brown


ROMAN ABRAMOVICH wanted sexy football but he’ll be getting his knickers in a twist every week at this rate.

Chelsea were slaughtered for parking the bus and winning the Champions League with a series of negative, backs-to-the-wall performances last season.

They will certainly be more exciting this season if this six-goal thriller is anything to go by.

But it took a controversial late goal from Fernando Torres to see off Premier League new-boys Reading, who gave as good as they got all night.

It would have made uncomfortable viewing for Abramovich, whose side scored first through a Frank Lampard penalty but then went 2-1 down.

Goals from Pavel Pogrebnyak and Danny Guthrie had them rocking before Gary Cahill equalised and Torres capped off the comeback.

The Spaniard was playing in his 150th Premier League match, and his decisive strike, which looked offside, was his 73rd goal in that time.

It was a victory which sent Chelsea top of the league for the first time since November 2010.

But you have to wonder if their new brand of attacking football will leave them exposed against better sides than Reading.

Even at the death they were hanging on for dear life against the Royals, who conceded a fourth when Eden Hazard picked out Branislav Ivanovic in stoppage time.

Blues new-boy Hazard made both goals against Wigan on Sunday and he picked up where had left off here.

The £32m man had the first chance when he raced on to Juan Mata’s pass only to fire wide from just inside the box.

Ramires was back after illness and he drew the first save of the match from Adam Federici after a sweeping break.

At this point, Reading could barely get a kick, and must have felt just like the Blues against Barcelona in that one-sided miracle win in the Nou Camp last season.

Their resistance finally cracked in the 17th minute when Hazard twisted and turned inside the box and tempted Chris Gunter into taking his legs away with a rash tackle.

Referee Lee Mason pointed to the spot and Lampard stepped up to smash home the penalty right-footed, low into the bottom corner.

Anyone who thought that was it for Reading was in for a surprise, because eight minutes later they were level.

Garath McCleary played a quick one-two with Jem Karacan to escape the attentions of Ashley Cole and swung a cross into the danger zone.

Pogrebnyak – who was such a revelation with Fulham last ­season – rose above a flat-footed Cahill to meet it, directing a glancing header past Petr Cech into the far corner.

Even better was to come for the visitors, who grabbed the lead when Cech misjudged a routine free kick from Guthrie, fumbling the ball into his own net.

Chelsea were all over the place. Manchester City had been given a similar scare on Sunday by Southampton, who went 2-1 up at Eastlands before losing.

But City equalised within four minutes in that game, whereas Chelsea went in at half time here looking extremely uncomfortable.

Things did not get much better for the home side at the start of the second half either, so on came Oscar in an attempt to add some samba magic. There were anxious moments for watching England boss Roy Hodgson when John Terry landed on his back after an aerial challenge from Alex Pearce.

Terry needed lengthy treatment but was fit enough to return, and it was just as well because Reading continued to look dangerous whenever they came forward.

Chelsea kept trying to thread neat little passes into gaps that just weren’t there, and it wasn’t long before Daniel Sturridge was called into action.

The equaliser came from an unlikely source. Cahill accepted a square ball from Hazard and fired it goalwards, and Federici succeeded only in helping it into the net.

Federici let a soft one in against Stoke at the weekend and he should have done better here too, despite Cahill’s effort from 30 yards being sweetly struck.

But even then you felt this game could go either way – until Torres struck with ten minutes left.

Cole was the provider, but the Spaniard looked offside as he tapped home the full-back’s low cross from point-blank range.

Reading tried valiantly to push for an equaliser but got caught cold on the break when Hazard raced clear and squared the ball for Ivanovic to slide home.

Monday, August 20, 2012

wigan 2-0




Independent:


Chelsea's Hazard proves he will be a genuine danger to all opposition
Wigan Athletic 0 Chelsea 2: £32m signing's vision and guile put Wigan on the road to defeat after just 100 seconds

Ian Herbert

We certainly know now that he will be what his name suggests, to any who are off the pace or off the ball when he takes it up. Eden Hazard will also be a substantial part of the nine-month story which lies ahead, even though the rapid start to Chelsea's Premier League campaign which he provided did not expand into a comprehensive statement of intent to challenge the Manchester duopoly.

He drifts into the game loosely, lazily almost, just as he drifts around the field without an anchor point, and sometimes it seems to matter to him; sometimes not. Players with peripheral vision can often be like that. But for half of this match Chelsea's £32m acquisition was very far beyond the grasp of the defence that Roberto Martinez has assembled for what felt like another terribly long road to survival, when they slipped 2-0 down inside seven minutes.
The game was 10 minutes old when Gary Caldwell clattered into the back of Hazard and though he was booked there seemed to be a consolation, because no one had managSed to touch the 21-year-old until then. The referee, Mike Jones, should have booked James McArthur for a similar offence just after the half-hour but opted instead to ask Caldwell, the captain, to rein the entire team in.
The Wigan manager Martinez spoke later of the edge Hazard brings to Chelsea's counter-attack – "with a bit of space, [he] can be unplayable in one-on-one" – though guile is the more significant aspect the Belgian brings to a midfield which once lacked that quality in all but Frank Lampard. If anything, the problem now is that it is coming from so many quarters that it may be difficult to provide some structure. Though Victor Moses glittered in a way that will make Dave Whelan's £9m price – reduced from £10m – seem attractive to Stamford Bridge, it is difficult to know exactly where he will fit in.
Where Moses is concerned, a rather fascinating sub-plot to the match unfolded in the directors' box – with the Chelsea secretary Dave Barnard and the technical director Michael Emenalo sitting across a narrow walkway from Whelan, who had described their Moses bids to date as unacceptable and observed that "if he comes up with a goal or two on Sunday, who's to say his value won't go up by a couple of million?"
After the Nigerian's shot from the left brought a clawing, one-handed stop from Petr Cech around the half-hour mark, the Chelsea contingent launched into a chorus of "Victor Moses – we'll see you next week". The 21-year-old caused as much trouble to Ashley Cole in the first half as he did when switching flanks to face Branislav Ivanovic in the second.
The way Chelsea began suggested that Roberto di Matteo has the finished product, in any case, and is ready to reduce to pulp his lofty position as the second favourite in the sack race.
Ivan Ramis, the defender Martinez stole in to sign ahead of West Ham from Real Mallorca, was the less celebrated of yesterday's two debutants, though those first seven minutes were a punishing reality check for the latest Spanish acquisition here. The game was barely into its second minute when Hazard, his back to goal in the centre circle, received a ball processed sharply out of defence through the excellent Juan Mata and Lampard, span on it to leave Ramis rooted, and thundered forward into the empty space that passed for a Wigan midfield. His spacial awareness allowed him to locate Ivanovic running into the inside channel to receive his pass and score, 100 seconds into Chelsea's season.
Perhaps Wigan had read too much into last Sunday's Community Shield, in which Hazard's game was notable for a fluffed back-heel that caused him to fall on his face, because his threat still had not dawned on them when his pace took him past Ramis and Maynor Figueroa into the penalty area, where Ramis tripped him. Lampard's penalty was converted low to Ali Al Habsi's left.
Martinez's players have spent too much time chasing almost lost causes in the past two years to concede an afternoon so soon, but what followed genuinely demonstrated that this is a stronger, faster Wigan, more inured now to the Premier League's rigours. Caldwell's roughing-up of Hazard helped but Shaun Maloney was busy and tidy around the area, McArthur confident in distribution and if Martinez had only been in possession of a more dangerous striker than Franco di Santo – formerly of Stamford Bridge – they might have pressed home one of the 13 chances which presented themselves, to Chelsea's six. The Argentinian's control was poor at two significant moments. His heavy first touch wasted a Figueroa pass which bisected the central defence.
Oscar, the £25m signing from Internacional, only needed a few minutes on the field in Hazard's place to latch on to a pass laid into his path by Fernando Torres and slide the ball a yard wide. Torres was unfortunate not to begin what should be the elementary task of surpassing last season's 11-goal tally – taking into the area a ball headed into his path by Ryan Bertrand, he shot only to see Ramis atone for his earlier error by clearing off the line.
Chelsea's new anthem for the season is "Champions of Europe – we know what we are"; others will also cotton on soon enough that an encounter with this side of Di Matteo's brings hazards which were not there last season.



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

Guardian:


Chelsea glimpse good things from Eden Hazard and breeze past Wigan
Dominic Fifield

This contest had drifted just beyond the half-hour when the referee Mike Jones' patience finally snapped. Eden Hazard was face down on the turf, crumpled this time by James McCarthy's frantic tackle, but, rather than book the offender, Jones sought an explanation from the captain, Gary Caldwell, for Wigan's apparent strategy to nullify the Belgian. Judging by the panic that gripped the home players whenever the No17 picked up possession, any perceived plan that might have been hatched felt decidedly flawed.
Hazard illuminated this occasion on his Premier League debut, his play eventually fizzling out in a mixture of over-exuberance and fatigue as the adrenaline faded. But if this was the 21-year-old finding his feet, then Chelsea will be salivating over everything that awaits. At £32m the playmaker has not come cheap, and his price tag demands a smooth transition from Ligue 1 to English top flight, but this was a tantalising glimpse of his qualities.
By the time Caldwell had crashed crudely through his opponent's 5ft 7in frame 11 minutes in, earning a booking for the foul, Hazard had already generated his team's two-goal advantage. Wigan coped better with him as the game progressed but the damage had been done.
Better teams than Roberto Martínez's will be troubled by Chelsea's new-look attack this term once the recruits have settled as this set-up brims with guile and invention as the players spring on the counter. This was only a taster of their potential. In fact, everything Hazard delivered here came with the promise of even better to come. There was skill in his collection, his spin away from Ivan Ramis and his visionary pass between retreating defenders to the galloping Branislav Ivanovic, who gathered and converted the visitors' opener 110 seconds into the game. Ramis, his composure drained already by the ferocity of his first taste of English football, was soon lunging in to trip Hazard as he wriggled into the area, conceding a penalty that was dispatched with glee by Frank Lampard.
Hazard's flashes of creativity were delivered with such time and space as were allowed him by accommodating hosts. Arguably more impressive were the scuttling dribbles from deep thereafter once Wigan had caught their breath as the former Lille midfielder, with his low centre of gravity and the ball glued to his instep, defied the flying challenges of opponents. There were also the instinctive inter-plays with Juan Mata, the pair flitting from centre to right, dizzying their markers at will.
Oscar, the £20m Brazil No10, replaced Hazard with 26 minutes to play and, in his first real involvement, seared away from Ramis to fizz a low shot wide of the far post from an unkind angle. This was all too traumatic for the Spaniard. "I brought another guy on who's not bad himself," said Roberto Di Matteo of Oscar's arrival. Quite where he will cram all this talent into his starting lineup remains to be seen, particularly if interest is maintained in Wigan's Victor Moses.
The player might be unsettled by Chelsea's interest – a deal still remains likely before the end of the month – but had been eager to feature here and provided nuisance value aplenty, reminding Chelsea of his pedigree. The Londoners' sporting director, Michael Emenalo, and chief executive, Ron Gourlay, watched on from the directors' box as the former England under-21 international's bursts down the flank, scorching Ryan Bertrand and Lampard on separate occasions, left Chelsea vulnerable even if Wigan lacked the bite to capitalise. Franco Di Santo's prodded attempt beyond Petr Cech, hoofed from the line by David Luiz, was as close as they came when Moses was not involved. Their own attacking reinforcement, Arouna Koné, will need time but did test Cech from the winger's centre.
Martínez could draw encouragement from his team's response to a dismal opening, their resolve admirable even if recovering from their sloppy start always felt improbable against opponents of this calibre. "It couldn't have been a harder test: 2-0 down to the European champions after six minutes," said the Wigan manager. "We could have felt sorry for ourselves but we showed character and I'm proud of my players for that. We were just caught up in the emotion of starting the league and had seven minutes where our hearts ruled our heads. After that we got back to doing what we do."
Hazard is in the process of proving his own capabilities, as Oscar and the injured Marko Marin will be when offered their own opportunities. This team feels refreshed as an attacking unit and, when they click, they will be feared. In their Belgian alone they clearly have a player capable of enthralling and captivating the Premier League.


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


Telegraph:

Wigan Athletic 0 Chelsea 2
By Chris Bascombe

It has been a long wait, but Roman Abramovich finally has his hands on a prize he has craved for years.

A multi-million pound signing, coveted by every major European club, who genuinely looks value for money.

Given the number of stings he has suffered in the transfer market recently, particularly when Andrei Shevchenko and Fernando Torres are considered, the Chelsea owner must have been watching Eden Hazard’s Premier League debut with a certain degree of trepidation. However, such concerns will have evaporated within 90 seconds at the DW Stadium.

That was how long it took for Hazard, with Wigan Athletic’s debutant centre-half Iván Ramis breathing on his pristine new Chelsea jersey, to turn exquisitely and speed away before sending Branislav Ivanovic clear for Chelsea’s opening goal.
The applause which followed was directed at the set-up as much as the emphatic finish.
 
Five minutes later Hazard faced the same opponent and temporarily made the former Majorca defender look as if he had wandered into the arena fresh from a neighbouring pub game rather than the more classy venues of La Liga.

Hazard was clattered on the edge of the box, Frank Lampard doubled Chelsea’s lead with the resulting penalty and Wigan’s hopes of starting the new season with the same sparkle they had finished the last one in May were already on the slab.

Chelsea fans acclaimed the latest splendid acquisition from the French league, while Wigan resorted to more brutal means in an effort to nullify Hazard’s influence, engaging in a rotation policy in which their players’ tried to kick him out of the game. It worked up to a point as he gingerly exited proceedings after 63 minutes, the Premier League failing to grant the 21-year-old Belgian as gracious a welcome as he had just offered it.

If Hazard redefines Chelsea’s style and becomes the focal point of their next title-winning side, those who witnessed his instant impact will place this league debut on the same pedestal as those of the greatest overseas imports.

By the time he had departed, the best of his work completed in that opening spell, he had shown enough to suggest his class will enhance

English football as much as Stamford Bridge.
It posed the question as to whether Roberto Di Matteo’s side have been underestimated in pre-season. Despite another vast outlay they have been so far under the radar when it comes to title predictions they have resembled a stealth fighter.

Rarely have a club who can boast the title champions of Europe appeared so underrated, the broad presumption that they will finish third to the Manchester domestic scrap damning them with the most faint praise.

Perhaps it is the loss of Didier Drogba. Maybe a defence including the erratic David Luiz simply is not trusted enough over a period of eight months.

It cannot be ignored as, for all their early comfort, they still required a smart Petr Cech save to deny Victor Moses, and Luiz cleared a tame Franco Di Santo shot off the line in first-half stoppage time to protect a dominant position.

The most feasible explanation for the lingering suspicion surrounding their credentials is that it all still feels a bit interim.

Di Matteo is in a far healthier position than his predecessors in that he already knows how long he has left in the job – until Pep Guardiola ends his sabbatical. You get the feeling he must not only assemble a team for the future, but make them instantly successful to ensure someone else does not reap longer-term rewards.

Having achieved it in Europe at his first attempt – and won the FA Cup – it would be foolish to dismiss the possibility that the Italian is a habitual trophy accumulator whose basic understanding of how to organise disparate elements sets him apart from his predecessor.

It was not just Hazard who shone, even though he was the architect of the goals. Juan Mata, in a similar floating role, showed enough craft to suggest his second season will be more consistent than his first.

If so, it will assist Torres, who now has a side constructed to assist him rather than one demanding he reinvent his game. Torres was unfortunate not to celebrate his first goal of the season when Mata sent him scurrying clear on 63 minutes. The Spanish striker was brave and tenacious to nudge the ball beyond Ali Al-Habsi, but Ramis made amends for early indiscretions by clearing off the line.

Wigan recovered well. Roberto Martínez’s side do not tend to find their best form until April, anyway. Had Jordi Gómez’s acrobatic volley on 85 minutes set up a frantic finale, the visitors’ victory may not have carried such an air of comfort. But by the end, it bore the hallmarks of a Chelsea statement of intent.


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

Mail:

Wigan 0 Chelsea 2: It's all too easy for Eden as Blues get off to flyer

By Chris Wheeler

Someone at Chelsea ought to have a word with Eden Hazard this week and tell him that life in English football won’t always be this easy.

Certainly not based on what their £32million summer signing achieved in less than seven minutes at the DW Stadium on Sunday.

After that, Wigan woke up and more than made a game of it. But if you give the champions of Europe a two-goal headstart there is usually only one outcome, and so it proved here.

Hazard set up Branislav Ivanovic for the first goal and won the penalty for Frank Lampard to claim the  second. As first impressions go, it was quite a way to make a Premier League debut.

Wigan’s response was to kick the Belgium star. Frequently. Hazard will not feel like he has had an easy ride when he gets up this morning and inspects the back of his legs.

It will be by no means the last time his opponents resort to such measures because Hazard is certainly a handful.

Playing alongside Juan Mata and tucked in behind Fernando Torres, his speed of movement and thought were simply too much for Wigan at times. He has that low centre of gravity and explosive burst of pace which has been the trademark of so many great players over the years.

At one point midway through the first half, Hazard pushed the ball past James McArthur on the touchline and was round him so quickly he was away before the youngster even had a chance to turn around.

He could have played the whole game but Roberto Di Matteo decided 64 minutes was enough and replaced him with another new signing, Oscar, the £25m Brazilian.

‘I brought in another guy who’s not bad himself,’ said the Chelsea boss afterwards.

However, sensing that Hazard was less than impressed to be leaving the stage, Di Matteo grabbed him as he left the pitch and had an encouraging word in his ear.
Hazard’s water bottle went flying on his way back to the bench but it was a rare moment of clumsiness on his part rather than an act of petulance.

While he could sit back and reflect on an impressive debut, it was at the expense of Wigan debutant Ivan Ramis. There was one minute and 40 seconds on the clock when Mata fed Lampard and he played the ball into Hazard inside the centre circle.

Ramis raced in to intercept, but Hazard turned him with ease and played a raking 40-yard pass that caught Maynor Figueroa out of position and left Ivanovic galloping free on goal.

The Chelsea defender, cleared to play following his red card in the Community Shield, almost stumbled but steadied himself before drilling the ball inside Ali Al-Habsi’s left post.

Ramis had been doubtful with a hamstring strain before the match and looked slightly off the pace again when Chelsea added a second shortly afterwards.

Hazard teased the Wigan defence on the edge of the box and, having resisted Figueroa’s attempts to muscle him off the ball, he was sent tumbling by a clumsy challenge from the big Spanish defender.

It was an easy decision for referee Mike Jones to give — ‘spot on’, according to Roberto Martinez — and Lampard made no mistake.

After waiting all summer for the big kick-off, Wigan were suddenly kicking off for the third time in seven minutes.

‘We were ruled by our hearts not our heads,’ said Martinez. ‘Sometimes you can get away with that and still have a big say in the game. Against a team like Chelsea they will punish you massively.’

The Wigan boss was proud of his players for not capitulating and they certainly did not lack fight. Gary Caldwell was the first name in the referee’s book for a brutal tackle on Hazard, and McCarthy could easily have followed when he hacked down Chelsea’s star man.
But this one was following a familiar script. Chelsea have not been beaten on the opening day since 1998, while only once in their eight Premier League seasons have Wigan kicked off with a victory.

Wigan dominated for long periods without creating too many chances. Victor Moses fired in a fierce effort from a tight angle wide out on the right which brought a smart save from Petr Cech and a witty chant from the Chelsea fans who hope he will complete an £8.5m move to Stamford Bridge before the end of the transfer window. ‘Victor Moses, we’ll see you next week,’ they sang.

Cech had to be on his toes to keep out Franco Di Santo’s effort, although the Wigan striker will rue taking the ball wide after  Figueroa’s pass had been helped into his path by David Luiz’s attempted interception.
 
Substitutes Jordi Gomez and Arouna Kone went close with  spectacular efforts in the last 10 minutes but Chelsea could just as easily have increased their lead — not least when Torres raced clear and nudged the ball past Al-Habsi, only to see Ramis clear off the line.

It was the nearest Torres came to a goal as he began to emerge from Didier Drogba’s shadow with a low-key performance. He will certainly have to do better than this, but that’s for another day.

Chelsea — and Hazard — are up and running.


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


Sun:

Wigan 0 Chelsea 2


By DAVID FACEY

LWHAT a way to introduce yourself to the Premier League!

Eden Hazard’s first touch was a sublime flick and turn in the centre circle that left Wigan defender Ivan Ramis for dead.
It was one of those ‘Wow!’ moments — and there will be plenty more on this evidence.
Chelsea’s £35million new boy followed up that moment of magic with a superb pass into the path of Branislav Ivanovic, who smashed the ball past advancing keeper Ali Al Habsi.
Ramis, bought from Mallorca for a rather more down-to-earth £4m, was clearly still fuming at having been made to look a fool by Hazard when the Belgian jinked his way into the Wigan box after seven minutes.

Hazard was enjoying himself, turning Maynor Figueroa inside out and Ramis dived in and sent the 21-year-old flying.
Frank Lampard duly dispatched the penalty and it was effectively game over — two telling touches from Hazard, two goals, three points and a very decent first return on Chelsea’s massive summer investment.
Undeterred by the penalty, Wigan clearly decided the only way to stop Hazard was to kick him up in the air.
Latics skipper Gary Caldwell was booked for charging through the midfielder from behind.

Caldwell was then called over by ref Mike Jones and told to calm his team-mates down after James McCarthy and James McArthur hacked down Hazard.

That rough treatment may have been one of the reasons Roberto Di Matteo took him off after 67 minutes and replaced him with Oscar — a relative snip in the summer sales at £25m.
Lamps was gushing about his new team-mate as he presented him with the man-of-the-match award.
He said: “Eden was brilliant. What a debut. That spin and the speed he showed to get away from his man was the sort of thing Chelsea fans are crying out for.
“It’s never easy for someone to come into the Premier League at such a young age and make an impact, no matter how good you are but it’s a pleasure to play with him.”

That magnificent opening burst was pretty much the end of Chelsea as an attacking threat.
The visitors seemed content to sit back on their lead and invite Wigan to break them down — tactics that might have backfired if the home side had made the most of the chances that came their way.
Franco Di Santo, in particular, had plenty of opportunities to embarrass his former team-mates but lacked the killer touch.
Before kick-off, Di Santo had been presented with the Wigan Golden Boot by chairman Dave Whelan as their top scorer last season.
The Argy striker hit the net seven times — and it was easy to see why he did not make it to double figures. He planted one header on to the roof of the net, allowed Lampard to block an angled shot and squandered his best opening with a clumsy first touch that took him far too close to Petr Cech.

Substitute Jordi Gomez could have bagged a hat-trick in the closing stages as Wigan threw everything at the Blues.
And he will still be wondering how he headed wide from Emmerson Boyce’s cross. But you always got the feeling Chelsea could have raised their game if Wigan had pulled one back.
Oscar almost made an immediate impact too, bursting through the home defence before firing inches wide of the far post.
And Fernando Torres was close to opening his account when he won the race to claim Ryan Bertrand’s flick and stabbed the ball past Al Habsi.
But Ramis finally got something right as his despairing lunge allowed him to hook the ball clear just before it crossed the goal-line.
Wigan will still have felt they deserved something from the game after managing 13 attempts at goal to Chelsea’s six.
And they could also reflect on the fact Ivanovic was lucky to be playing as his red card in last Sunday’s Community Shield did not bring him a ban.

It was also a mystery how the full-back managed to find himself ahead of Hazard less than two minutes into the game — although Lampard insisted it was no great shock to him.
He added: “It wasn’t too much of a surprise to be honest because Branners has got the legs and pace to get up there.
“But it was the turn and the pass that made the goal and set us up for an excellent win.
“We knew it would be tough here because of the way Wigan finished last season like a train. It was pretty even after that first 10 minutes or so.”

As for Hazard, his English is not as dazzling as his footwork — yet.
But he still managed to admit: “I was very happy with my first game.”

A lot of people, including Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, the man who stumped up the money to lure him from Lille, must have shared that view.

DREAM TEAM RATINGS

STAR MAN — EDEN HAZARD (Chelsea)

WIGAN: Al Habsi 6, Alcaraz 6, Caldwell 6, Ramis 5, Boyce 7, McCarthy 6, McArthur 6 (Watson 5), Figueroa 6, Maloney 7 (Gomez 5), Di Santo 5 (Kone 6), Moses 6. Subs not used: Pollitt, Jones, Crusat, Boselli. Booked: Caldwell, McArthur.

CHELSEA: Cech 7, Ivanovic 6, Luiz 6, Terry 7, Cole 8, Lampard 6, Mikel 6, Hazard 9 (Oscar 6), Mata 6 (Meireles 5), Bertrand 6, Torres 6. Subs not used: Turnbull, Essien, Ferreira, Sturridge, Cahill. Booked: Luiz, Lampard.