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 Independent:

Rafael Benitez forced to face fury of frustrated Chelsea fans
Chelsea 0 Manchester City 0

By SAM WALLACE

They came to boo Rafa Benitez, not to praise him, and when finally Stamford Bridge did roar their disapproval at the club's new manager they may even have surprised themselves with the fervour of it.
It was a quite remarkable response to the arrival of a new man at this or any club, one that had been brewing all afternoon and was delivered just seconds before kick-off when Benitez finally arrived by the side of the pitch. There had been banners and grumblings and talk of a protest but the moment that all the frustration came out was a spontaneous howl of anger.
Up until that moment, Chelsea's on-pitch announcer, Neil Barnett, who normally bounds around like a puppy on a new carpet and cannot wait to introduce the supporters to any new signing, had been muted by his standards. He was waiting for the right moment to introduce Benitez to his new public but, as a lifelong Chelsea supporter, he knew there was no right moment.
To put it bluntly, the booing was more hostile than any planned protest. The spontaneity was what made it such a jolt to the system. What effect it had on the man himself and the team was difficult to gauge but it threw the home crowd into a fit of introspection. Up in his executive box, Roman Abramovich held that usual inscrutable expression of his. Did he care? Had he noticed? Would he care even if he had noticed?
There were occasional bursts from around the ground of the song "F**k off Benitez, you're not welcome here" – as well as a tribute to Roberto Di Matteo on 16 minutes. While the anti-Benitez chants were pretty vicious, nothing quite managed the sting of that original response.
Fortunately for Benitez, if that is the right word in the context, the booing was stilled by Barnett's announcement that Dave Sexton, the former Chelsea manager, had died at the age of 82. A highly respected coach, and a significant figure within the English game, you might say the timing of Sexton's passing did his successor at Chelsea, 38 years down the line, a favour.
It prompted a change of mood to a respectful round of applause from both sets of supporters and, for a time at least, saw off the hostility that was directed at Benitez. It was one of those strangely dark moments that occasionally occur at football matches: the late football manager proving infinitely more popular than the living, breathing incumbent in the job.
At some point in this family squabble, a football match was going to have to be staged and when it did, the slightly stupefying atmosphere of civil war in the stadium made it a hesitant, joyless affair that got little better. That Chelsea came back into the game having looked vulnerable at first was a relief to Benitez but the bigger picture is that this was only their third point from the last five league games.
He cannot change the past at the club, just the future. He was defiant in his post-match press conference, at first claiming that he could not understand the words of chants at football matches and only when it was pointed out to him that it was not words but booing, that he acknowledged he was aware of the mood in the stadium.
When it came to the homemade 'Rafa Out' banners dotted around Stamford Bridge, which were of varying standards of design, the new Chelsea interim coach asked the question: "How many people do you need to write a banner? Maybe one, and two to hold it up." It was a reassuring sign that he has at least not lost his sense of humour.
What does a Benitez Chelsea team look like? He gave Cesar Azpilicueta only the fourth league start of his Chelsea career at right-back, a round peg in a round hole, and pushed Branislav Ivanovic to centre-back. That meant Gary Cahill, suffering from fever, had to settle for the bench. In his absence, Chelsea kept their first clean sheet in the league since the win over Stoke City on 22 September.
The problem was at the other end, where Fernando Torres put in more of a shift than he did at West Bromwich Albion last weekend but still looked lacking in confidence and clunky with his touch. He struck a shot over the bar just after the hour and that was as close as he got. It was the first time Chelsea had failed to score in a home game this season. They had one shot on target.
As for the champions of England, this was a game that was there for the taking in the first half and they missed their opportunity. Roberto Mancini declared himself dissatisfied with the point and bemoaned his team's inability to create chances in the last 20 minutes of the match. The big guns like Yaya Touré and Sergio Aguero did not rise to the occasion, although the defence was reassuringly solid.
The best chance for City, arguably of the whole game, fell to Aguero three minutes before the break when Edin Dzeko headed the ball on to him and the Argentine did not generate enough power in front of goal to beat Petr Cech. It came at the end of a half in which the City side had created enough chances to take the lead.
The second half was more even and included another moment of the absurd when David Luiz appeared to body-check the substitute Mario Balotelli, although it was the latter who found himself being booked by referee Chris Foy for simulation. Luiz and Balotelli are the comedy turns for their respective sides, both commanding affection if not the trust of their clubs' supporters, and their collision was a rare bright spot on a dull afternoon.
As the game drew to a close, the stadium announcer read out the attendance and thanked the crowd "for their support". It is a sign of how closely football adheres to its rituals that no one thought to leave that bit out given the to-do before the game. Benitez himself shot off down the tunnel at full-time, no doubt glad to get it over with. If this is the home crowd being supportive, he would hate to see them on a bad day.

Chelsea: CECH: 6/10, AZPILICUETA 8, IVANOVIC 7, LUIZ 7, COLE 7, OSCAR 8, RAMIRES 7, MATA 6, MIKEL 6, HAZARD 5, TORRES 6
Manchester City: HART 6, KOLAROV 6, NASTASIC 7, KOMPANY 7, ZABALETA 8, MILNER 6, BARRY 6, Y TOURE 5, SILVA 7, AGUERO 5, DZEKO 5

Substitutions: Chelsea Moses (Hazard, 71), Romeu (Mikel, 79). Man City Tevez (Dzeko, 69), Balotelli (Aguero, 86).
Bookings: Man City Zabaleta, Kolarov, Balotelli.
Man of the Match Oscar. Match rating 6/10.

Possession: Chelsea 42%. Man City 58%. Attempts on target: Chelsea 1. Man City 5. Referee A Marriner (W Midlands). Attendance 41,792.


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Guardian:

Rafael Benítez faces Chelsea fans' mutiny at draw with Manchester City
Daniel Taylor at Stamford Bridge

The mutiny was loud and sustained and, for Rafael Benítez, callous in its intentions. He shrugged his shoulders afterwards, insisted it did not trouble him and tried to convince us of his selective hearing. But it had been shocking to witness the vitriol that was waiting for him – and the players he has inherited could do little to shift the mood.
Benítez should probably be grateful that Manchester City were just as flat and uninspiring as his own players, because goodness knows what reaction there would have been if Roberto Mancini's team had put away one of the few scoring chances of a pretty dismal match.
As it was, it was still difficult to remember another time when a new manager has faced such an outpouring of hostility before a ball has even been kicked. "We don't want you here," was the general gist, with the expletives removed. Stamford Bridge was an unhappy place, full of rancour and disharmony, and the Benítez era is going to be an embittered one if this is a taster of things to come.
Perhaps the negative vibes got through to the players, too. Chelsea have rarely looked quite so devoid of imagination or so short of the attacking, entertaining football that their owner, Roman Abramovich, clearly craves.
They did not force Joe Hart, the City goalkeeper, into a difficult save, and Benítez will have a much better idea now about the regression of Fernando Torres. A new manager usually gets a honeymoon period when the supporters do their best to make him feel welcome and the players try that little bit harder to impress. There was little of that here and Mancini could be forgiven for regarding it as a missed opportunity.
His team had the better of the match but lacked penetration and did not do enough to explore whether Chelsea might be vulnerable and, if so, take advantage. Had they displayed a touch more ambition they might have found the opposition were a little raw and would now be reflecting on a victory that would have taken them back to the top of the table. Instead they were guilty of carelessness in the final third of the pitch and a collective lack of adventure. The match, in a nutshell, was a stinker.
Certainly it was rare to see so many talented players lacking their usual touch and subtlety – Eden Hazard, Oscar and Juan Mata most notably for Chelsea and Yaya Touré and Sergio Agüero for City. The outstanding players were generally defenders and, for Benítez, the only real encouragement came from the way his new-look back four restricted high-calibre opponents to so few opportunities. As much as it goes against their current mindset, Chelsea's supporters will have to concede that Benítez's decision to play Branislav Ivanovic alongside David Luiz made good sense. One of Roberto Di Matteo's oversights during Chelsea's recent slump was that he never started the two together.
Chelsea, though, were helped by the fact that the opposition lacked their usual thrust. Mancini began the match with Edin Dzeko partnering Agüero, but it did not work and, on the back of last week's Real Madrid tie, it is easy to understand sometimes why the Bosnian mostly plays as a substitute. Carlos Tevez could not add incisiveness when he was brought on to replace Dzeko, and Mario Balotelli's only contribution of note when he came on was a yellow card for running into David Luiz and then going down holding his face. The referee, Chris Foy, thought it was all an act.
City did, however, have the better chances. Pablo Zabaleta, always willing to break forward from right-back, set up David Silva for an unmarked header he flashed over the crossbar after 21 minutes. Agüero, usually a more clinical finisher in the air, wasted his best chance shortly before the interval. The second half was even less productive but Matija Nastasic could have won it at the death from Silva's corner. The ball went straight into Petr Cech's hands and the chance to replace Manchester United at the top of the league was gone.
Chelsea's performance could probably be summed up by the fact that they only had one real effort on goal – a free-kick from 35 yards that David Luiz directed straight at Hart.
Benítez's only praise for Torres was that he was "trying very hard" but he must be alarmed that the world-beater he managed at Liverpool has deteriorated to this point. The striker's one chance, a left-foot effort just after the hour, was lashed over the crossbar. Vincent Kompany was a difficult opponent for a player so badly out of form.
Torres, in fairness, was not the only one to struggle on a day that will be memorable only for the way Benítez was informed, through a series of mutinous outbursts, about the depth of feeling against his appointment. It was a soundtrack of contempt and it was difficult not to get the sense that this will not be the only time he has to grit his teeth and try to block it all out.

Man of the match Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City)


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Telegraph:

Chelsea 0 Manchester City 0
By Henry Winter

This was the first time that divorce papers were filed on the first date. As Rafael Benítez stepped out of the tunnel,Chelsea fans made venomously clear their total unwillingness to form any sort of relationship with this “interim first-team manager” who had replaced the popular Roberto di Matteo and who had derided those who keep the blue flag flying high during his Liverpool days. This was brutal.
Benítez can take heart from the clean sheet against the champions of England but he was naive to be dismissive about the fans’ new song-sheet.
The songs began early, spilling down from the Matthew Harding Upper and Lower, angry fans launching into, “F--- off Benítez, you’re not wanted here” and, “There’s only one Di Matteo”.
Even the hapless Steve Kean was into his second season before the full wrath of the Blackburn Rovers was unleashed on him.
Manchester City’s travelling choir, loving all the seething dissent, were in mischievous mood, soon serenading Benítez with, “You’re getting sacked in the morning”.
Only 20 minutes into his tenure. Benitez’s subsequent observation that he has never understood what English fans sing was rather unwise given how genuinely he responded to the Kop singing, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
Benítez should have acknowledged that he heard the abuse, respected their passion for the club and was even more determined to win them over by succeeding here. For a clever man, Benítez does not think at times.
It was also imprudent to belittle those fans who had made placards, including one that read: “In Di Matteo we trusted and loved. We will never trust and love Rafa Benítez. Fact.’’
As works of art, these banners are not going to get much wall-space on King’s Road galleries but they reflect the fans’ emotions about their club, their disgust at how they are being treated.
This was not a few expressing disapproval, this was a scene verging on the Coliseum. This was from swathes of season-ticket holders who have been embarrassed by their club’s antics.
Roman Abramovich, wrapped up in a Chelsea windcheater, must have squirmed in his seat as supporters ripped into Benítez.
Yet also fluttering on the Matthew Harding End were large banners declaring “The Roman Empire” and “Welcome to Chelsea FC, first London club to win the Champions League”. Abramovich’s bullion has taken Chelsea fans on the ride of their lives over the past decade. They lambasted Benítez but not the man who appointed him.
Amid all the rage against the manager, Chelsea fans also mourned a beloved former manager, Dave Sexton, who has passed away aged 82. The man who masterminded Chelsea’s 1970 FA Cup and 1971 European Cup-Winners’ Cup triumphs, Sexton embodied all the decency and dignity currently lacking in his old club.
City fans respectfully joined in with their Chelsea counterparts for the minute’s applause in Sexton’s memory before the baiting of Benítez resumed. Yet as Roberto Mancini pointed out afterwards, the Spaniard can win friends here if he wins games here.
Even after only two training sessions, Benitez’s influence could be detected. Chelsea looked tighter defensively, less open than recently.
David Luiz was more disciplined but the most impressive performers along the back line were Ashley Cole, a model of alertness, and Cesar Azpilicueta, a mobile presence at right back.
Chelsea generally looked more compact and organised, although some of their attacking intentions seemed slightly inhibited. Juan Mata was wider and deeper than usual, reducing his ability to trouble the opposition.
Eden Hazard looks to have lost some of his early-season sparkle. Chelsea appeared to be trying to release Fernando Torres earlier. He ran hard, working the channels, chasing the ball but skied his best chance and still looks short of confidence.
Torres was also up against Vincent Kompany, who was on crutches last Wednesday but was on superb form here. He kept Torres at bay through physical means, simply denying him a route towards goal and through reading incoming balls.
Kompany’s assured display was echoed by Pablo Zabaleta, who was terrific at right back, attacking and defending with gusto. James Milner was similarly dynamic, charging all over, hunting down men in blue, hounding Oscar and Torres at one point.
For a game between the champions of England champions of Europe, this was not the greatest advertisement for football. A few moves raised the pulse-rate. A few chances came and went. David Silva headed over.
Oscar took the ball off Yaya Toure, which was no mean feat. Sergio Aguero was briefly to the fore, having a shot blocked by Azpilicueta.
Petr Cech was more involved than Joe Hart. The Chelsea keeper saved Zabaleta’s shot, then Matija Nastasic’s header. Hart comfortably gathered a timid Luiz free-kick. City should then have scored when Edin Dzeko nodded the ball back to Aguero, who directed his header straight at Cech.
Benítez arrived late for the second half, causing momentary merriment about his whereabouts at the club which disposes of managers so swiftly. He tweaked his team, pushing Hazard behind Torres but to little avail. On the game meandered, the excellent Kompany cutting out a Cole cross.
Chelsea’s radar was wonky. Ramires shot over. Luiz headed over. Following a neat interchange between Mata and Hazard, Torres sent a left-footed drive over. It was as dispiriting as the damp weather.
Cole then demonstrated his exceptional positional sense to intercept Dzeko’s cross. Benítez sent on Victor Moses, who delivered one superb cross that Cole thundered goalwards.
Hart tipped the ball over but it was erroneously given as a goal kick by Chris Foy, much to Benitez’s ire. Oriol Romeu arrived to stiffen midfield as Chelsea closed down the game.
There was still time for some controversy. Mario Balotelli sprinted through and was clearly body-checked by Luiz. Foy booked Balotelli for diving which was laughable. The game finished as it began – with rancour on the terraces.


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Mail:

Chelsea 0 Manchester City 0: Poisonous welcome for Benitez as Torres draws blank
By MARTIN SAMUEL

Dave Sexton, a good man, a fine coach and a servant of Chelsea to the last. Just when the mood at Stamford Bridge threatened to turn thoroughly poisonous, it was only the sad news of his passing at the age of 82 that restored calm.
Normally, a new manager, even an interim, would be paraded on the pitch to greet the supporters before the game. No doubt predicting jeers, there was no such ceremony for Rafael Benitez.
His appointment has been greeted with hostility around these parts and, while Benitez stayed in the safety of the bench area, the pre-match announcer cannot have whipped with greater speed through his name.
This was the first match of new manager ‘Rafabenitez’, he garbled, without a pause in which fans could voice their opinion. They did so anyway, boos replacing the traditional fanfare.
'Ladies and gentlemen,’ said the announcer, struggling to be heard. ‘Please, ladies and gentlemen.’ He asked for quiet maybe five times before hurrying out the news of Sexton’s death, with the minute of applause to follow. He sounded desperate.
How long the opprobrium would have lasted had there not been a handy tragedy to restore order, who knows? Even the sombre atmosphere did not stem the chants for deposed manager Roberto Di Matteo or prevent a show of support for him on 16 minutes, his shirt number here.
A dry spell tolerated when local hero — and Champions League winner, never forget — Di Matteo was in charge will now be met with fury under Benitez. The pressure at Chelsea has multiplied overnight with his arrival. Yesterday’s goalless draw with the champions was a fair result, but greeted with disinterest.
Roberto Mancini said the only way Benitez could be loved here would be to ‘win, win, win, win, win’, but that might not be enough, either. The best he can hope for is a grudging respect.
Booing a manager into a job does seem faintly ridiculous. It happened to Gary Megson at Bolton Wanderers, too. Yet the club were bottom of the Premier League when he arrived and finished 16th that season and 13th the year after. The supporters never took to him and he left during his third campaign amid another relegation battle, but he did a better job than expected; Benitez might, too.
His problem is that the very nature of his appointment — interim manager — marks him out as a stop-gap, a temp. The fans have no imperative to learn to love him and nor do the team. A player who does not enjoy Benitez’s methods can simply wait him out and hope he has a better relationship with his successor.
A clean sheet, the first in the league since September 22, was the best of it for Benitez against a Manchester City side that tried Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko, 
Carlos Tevez and even Mario Balotelli for six minutes (during which time he picked up another preposterous yellow card from referee Chris Foy for simulation after running into David Luiz).
The disappointment was that Chelsea had just one shot on goal in a home game. It is the first time they have failed to score here since May 2, against Newcastle United. The time before was March 24. Chelsea do not draw blanks here very often.
If Benitez has been hired to work magic on Fernando Torres, it was more like pulling teeth than producing a rabbit from a hat. Liverpool failed to score in his last two games there, too.
Torres hurried, scurried, but was too often beaten off the ball by City’s back line, with Vincent Kompany outstanding. Torres had a couple of bursts but was quickly reined in, and one shot with his unfavoured left foot that flew over from close range. He should have done better. You might have heard that before.
For City, this was two points lost. Chelsea are a very different side to the one that lost to Manchester United with Mark Clattenburg’s aid on October 28. Chelsea looked strong that day. Yesterday, they were damaged goods.
The fluid players  expensively assembled over two summers — Oscar, Eden Hazard, Juan Mata — now appear unsure of their roles. Mata was played very wide to better supply Torres (left), but only shone in the second half when he appeared to drift off message. Hazard was substituted early, a shadow of his early-season self.
His replacement, Victor Moses, set up Chelsea’s best chance, a fierce shot from  Ashley Cole that Joe Hart tipped over, although he got no credit from Foy, who awarded a goal kick. On the plus side, Benitez seems to have instilled greater discipline in Luiz but it would be hard to instil less. Luiz recovered from an early mistake — Cole rescued him by blocking a shot from Pablo Zabaleta — to come on to a decent game.
City dominated the first half and created good chances for David Silva (header, over), Zabaleta (one-two with Dzeko, shot saved) and Aguero (poor header, straight at Petr Cech) before half-time, after which Chelsea showed greater initiative.
Only late did City come again, a Dzeko cross intercepted by Cole by the line, one from Tevez that appeared to surprise Cech as he tipped round. In the last minute, Matija Nastasic rose to meet a corner from Silva, Cech doing well to keep out his header.
Benitez shrugged off his reception by claiming he did not understand some of the chants. He would have to be a fool, though — and he is not — to fail to get the gist. Wednesday brings Fulham to Stamford Bridge and, if Chelsea cannot win, not even the late, gentle Sexton will be able to shield him from the full force of public opinion.


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Times:

Chelsea 0 Manchester City 0: Rafael Benítez ignores hostile reception to make his point
Oliver Kay

For Rafael Benítez, the afternoon ended better than it began. A clean sheet and a point from his first match in charge of Chelsea was quite an improvement on the moments before kick-off, when the Stamford Bridge crowd seethed with the hostility that he must overcome if he is to succeed where so many others have, well, succeeded but not endured.
Between times came 90 minutes of laborious football that can have done little to stir the soul of Roman Abramovich — or of those Chelsea supporters who are either unmoved or agitated by the arrival of the former Liverpool manager — but at least, in difficult circumstances and a testing environment, Benítez’s new team toiled long enough and diligently enough to frustrate the Barclays Premier League champions.
It was, to be blunt, not much of a game. Chelsea mustered a solitary shot on target and, while Manchester City managed five and looked the more purposeful team, there would not be much for a highlights reel.
Perspiration was everywhere, but inspiration took a day off, with the combined talents of Juan Mata, Oscar, Eden Hazard, David Silva, Sergio Agüero and Edin Dzeko eclipsed by the more prosaic qualities of Branislav Ivanovic, César Azpilicueta, Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany and others.
Fernando Torres struggled too, but that goes without saying these days. The forward, such a devastating force under Benítez in their days together at Liverpool, had Chelsea’s best effort yesterday, a rasping first-time shot that flew over the crossbar from Hazard’s flick, but, while this was far from his worst performance of recent times, it was a reminder that it will not simply be a case of a familiar manager flicking a switch that others have been unable to find.
The relief for Benítez is that Chelsea survived. Goodness knows how the crowd would have reacted had the rot of recent weeks continued on his watch.
Affection, reverence and gratitude for Roberto Di Matteo will endure — quite rightly too — but there is a danger that, in lauding the Italian as a martyr and denigrating his replacement, Chelsea’s supporters create an environment in which it is impossible for the club to move forward under the Spaniard. The reality is that last week’s comings and goings are just another part of the unedifying soap opera that runs in parallel to Chelsea’s glorious life under Abramovich.
The trophy-winning habit could continue with the Club World Cup in Tokyo next month, but Chelsea’s immediate focus is local rather than global, with derby matches at home to Fulham on Wednesday and away to West Ham United on Saturday. If by the weekend they have picked up their first Premier League wins since October 20, the hostility towards Benítez might begin to subside, however slightly. If not, the protest songs are only likely to increase and the atmosphere deteriorate.
Either way, Chelsea, who led the Premier League table as recently as the beginning of this month, have ceased to look like title challengers. Since a 4-2 win away to Tottenham Hotspur on October 20 they have taken only three points from five league games and staggered to the brink of elimination from the Champions League.
As such, City might look back at yesterday as two points dropped. You would not often say that of a match at Stamford Bridge, where they suffered their first Premier League defeat of last season in December, but there was a feeling, at least beforehand, that Chelsea were there for the taking.
The creative threat of Mata, Oscar and Hazard simply did not materialise, but where City were frustrated was that their attacking players were similarly kept in check by a Chelsea team responding to Benítez’s call to tighten up defensively.
Chances? They were scarce. All the defenders on view should take some credit, not least David Luiz, who, as if responding to instruction, was more disciplined; on the one occasion he charged out of the Chelsea back four in the first half, there was eye contact exchanged with John Obi Mikel, who filled in. It could catch on.
City’s best moments came in the first 35 minutes, with Silva drifting into pockets of space and when Zabata and Aleksandar Kolarov were attacking from full back. Zabaleta was denied by Ashley Cole’s excellent tackle in the fourth minute and later picked out Silva for a header that missed the target. Late in the first half the Argentina defender traded passes with Dzeko and moved into the penalty area, but his shot was saved by the alert Petr Cech.
Chelsea had barely ventured forward, but as half-time approached they started to show a willingness to look for their attacking players. In Benítez’s Liverpool days, he would have looked for Torres to stretch the opposition, chasing the ball into channels and slaloming through the defence. For the 2012 version, it was as much as he could do to keep running in the hope of winning a free kick.
The one time Joe Hart, the City goalkeeper, was tested was from a free kick by David Luiz that bounced into his arms five minutes before the interval. Two minutes later, Kolarov sent a cross into the penalty area and Dzeko picked out Agüero, but the forward’s header was saved by Cech. Even so there it seemed like the game might be opening up.
But it did not. City showed nothing like the same enterprise in the second half, when Yaya Touré again seemed to be afflicted by the fatigue or whatever else it is that has constrained him this season. The only real opening of the second period came when Mata and Hazard combined to set up Torres, who at least took his shot confidently, even if it missed the target.
A goalless outcome looked inevitable in the final half-hour and neither manager seemed too displeased by that. By then, the Chelsea supporters seemed to have forgotten to barrack Benítez, which is probably just as well. He has enough to contend with at Stamford Bridge without that.
Referee: J Moss.
Attendance: 41,792.


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Mirror:

Unwelcome: Benitez gets hot reception ahead of tepid draw
By Martin Lipton


If this is the last chance for Fernando Torres, it did not start well.
Better, admittedly, than it started for Rafa Benitez.
Then again, it had to be, although 90 minutes of footballing Mogadon under the Spaniard’s direction at least drew the crowd’s sting – ­probably because they were asleep.
But for Torres, there will be no more leeway from the Chelsea fans who, until the last few weeks, saw backing the £50million failure as a sign of their devotion to the cause.
Torres may have been a flop, but he was THEIR flop.
He may have scored only 18 goals in what is now 87 competitive appearances for the club, but he did it for THEM. Yet with Benitez’s arrival in the Chelsea dug-out, accompanied by the most merciless instant verdict since the Christians entered the Colosseum, Torres is now HIS problem, not theirs.
The fans believe Roberto Di Matteo was sacked because Roman ­Abramovich thinks Benitez will be the one to free the old Torres from the Doppelganger, can recreate the version that scored 72 in 105 ­appearances for him at Anfield.
Some of them now, incredible as it may seem, want him to be proven wrong.
Ninety minutes against the ­champions – a City side who lacked the courage of even Roberto ­Mancini’s frequently meagre ­convictions – after three training sessions is not sufficient to judge anybody, even Torres.
But one snap-shot over the bar and a couple of frustrated runs – he never, really, looked to have the legs or determination to outrun Vincent Kompany.
Of course, yesterday was not about Torres. Not yet. The “welcome” Benitez received before kick-off ensured that.
It will be though, and soon. And for him to change the opinions of those supporters now looking for an excuse to castigate the new regime will take a great deal more than he offered in his latest limp display.
Not that there was too much to get excited about on the pitch from either side, although Benitez will, understandably, seek to use Chelsea’s first clean sheet in 11 games as a building block.
Playing Branislav Ivanovic ­alongside David Luiz was a positive, even if the Brazilian’s wrestling matches with Kompany and ­elbows-out block on Mario Balotelli in stoppage time showed how much work is still required.
Chelsea had more discipline, shape and resolve than in Turin last Tuesday.
But two shots on target – an unlikely 35-yard free-kick from Luiz and a speculative strike by Ashley Cole – is not the fluid, vibrant football Abramovich expects and Benitez knows he has to deliver, soon.
It is now three points out of 15. United, over the same period, have only dropped three. The winter wobble is still oscillating and Chelsea are now fourth.
To be fair to Benitez, the first demand was to stop the free-fall, one accomplished to a degree. In addition, it takes two to tango and City did not have their dance shoes on either, Mancini’s men, hampered by a poor performance by Yaya Toure.
They did have the best of the chances, but rarely looked like converting them.
David Silva directed a free header over the bar, Pablo Zabaleta forced Petr Cech to save with his legs, Sergio Aguero headed straight at the keeper from eight yards.
The second half was similar. Although Ramires whistled over from 30 yards and Torres hit too high from closer-range after a rare bit of link-up play between Juan Mata and Eden Hazard, City had more threat.
A threat they were unable to ­translate into something more ­meaningful, leaving United back on top of the pile.
Counter-attacking chances were squandered by sloppy final passes, Cech grabbed hold of a Toure strike at the second attempt and then kicked away James Milbner’s cross-shot.
It was all deeply unsatisfactory, Abramovich’s glum face as he took in the pre-match treatment of Benitez unlikely to have altered too markedly by the close.
Had Di Matteo served it up, he might have been fearing the worst. Benitez will get a little longer.
For many, even some of the most ardent in SW6, judgement on Torres has already been made. No longer “one of us”. No way back.


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Sun:

Chelsea 0 Manchester City 0

THE pressure is properly on Fernando Torres now.
For Torres is a Rafa Benitez man and there are not too many of them around Stamford Bridge.
The £50million signing from Liverpool has always had the benefit of the doubt before.
Chelsea fans defended him in the face of fierce criticism believing that one day he would come good.
And when Didier Drogba was a Blue, Torres’ poor form never mattered too much anyway.
But with Drogba wrapped up in the stands, watching his old club as the rain hammered down, his drip of a replacement went through another tortuous afternoon.
Torres was just as bad as he was under Carlo Ancelotti, Andre Villas-Boas and Roberto Di Matteo.
He will not get away with many more sub-standard displays before the supporters really let him have it because of his association with the hated Benitez who was loudly booed before the start.
Rafa was the bloke who brought Torres to Liverpool and the manager the misfit striker has always believed in most.
Torres is on record as saying Rafa made him into the goalscoring machine he became at Anfield.
But those magical powers he supposedly possesses to resurrect Torres failed against City.
Benitez tried to help him out by getting the ball forward more quickly with a hoof or two from the back — but it made little difference. Torres was too easily brushed off the ball whenever he went one-on-one with a defender.
And he blazed his best chance over the top from 16 yards.
In the whole game, Chelsea only had two shots on target — and neither of them came from Torres.
It is hard to feel sorry for the bloke — he just does not look that interested, whether it is his mate Benitez in the dugout, or anyone else.
On the plus side for the new boss, and he could do with one or two, this was the Blues’ first clean sheet in 11 games.
Defensively they were much tighter and you could not fault the way they battled to keep the ball out of their own goal. But City missed a big chance here to return to the top of the Premier League table with all the bile echoing round The Bridge.
No wonder manager Roberto Mancini admitted afterwards he was “not satisfied” with a point.
He was, though, giving quiet thanks that he was priced out of signing Torres from Liverpool a couple of years back.
This was a day when Chelsea were there for the taking.
You got the feeling the home crowd would not have been over-fussy if they had lost.
It would have re-enforced their point that Benitez was not wanted.
Owner Roman Abramovich may not care what the fans think, but even he must have wondered about the wisdom of his latest managerial choice given the surreal atmosphere.
There were not too many highlights over the 90 minutes. The millions watching round the world must have been shaking their heads that this was a clash between the European champions and the English champions.
But they did see a performance by Ashley Cole which questioned why Chelsea are not fighting harder to keep him.
Cole is the No 1 full-back in the country and made a brilliant covering tackle on City’s Pablo Zabaleta which set the tone for his afternoon.
As songs rang out for axed boss Di Matteo, the cameras panned to a stern Benitez — and then Abramovich.
They would have felt even more uncomfortable had City’s David Silva managed to direct a header at goal instead of over the top.
Zabaleta also had a shot saved by Chelsea keeper Petr Cech and Sergio Aguero missed a great chance when presented with a free header which he directed straight at Cech.
It summed up Torres’ day that, when he did manage to break away from the City defence and get a run going, he was hauled back for handling the ball on the halfway line.
Chelsea were holding firm and a long-range effort from Yaya Toure was claimed again by Cech
Then came the moment where it opened up for Torres as Juan Mata played it in for Eden Hazard and the Belgian laid it back.
Torres had time to take aim and struck it firmly but the ball flew over the bar. Substitute Carlos Tevez wasted an opening for City, slicing the ball high into the stands from a tight angle, and James Milner fired at Cech’s legs.
Then a Cole shot was flipped over by keeper Joe Hart, even though referee Chris Foy awarded a goal-kick.
Madcap Italian striker Mario Balotelli had been waiting four minutes in the rain to come on and must have wished he had not bothered.
For a couple of minutes into added time he went down the middle and was blatantly blocked off by Brazilian defender David Luiz.
Incredibly, Balotelli was booked, apparently for unsporting behaviour.
Poor Mario, there are some who will always see him as the bad guy.
Benitez must know how he feels.

DREAM TEAM RATINGS

STAR MAN — BRANISLAV IVANOVIC (Chelsea)

CHELSEA: Cech 6, Azpilicueta 6, Ivanovic 8, Luiz 6, Cole 7, Ramires 6, Mikel 5 (Romeu 5), Oscar 5, Mata 6, Hazard 5 (Moses 5), Torres 4. Subs not used: Turnbull, Ferreira, Marin, Cahill, Bertrand.

MAN CITY: Hart 6, Zabaleta 7, Nastasic 6, Kompany 6, Kolarov 7, Silva 6, Y Toure 5, Barry 6, Dzeko 7 (Tevez 5), Aguero 4 (Balotelli 5), Milner 6. Subs not used: Pantilimon, Maicon, Nasri, Javi Garcia, K Toure. Booked: Zabaleta, Kolarov, Balotelli.

REF: C Foy 6  

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Express:

CHELSEA 0 - MANCHESTER CITY 0: FERNANDO TORRES THE KEY FOR RAFA BENITEZ
Tony Banks

Rafa is the man who knows Fernando best, the man who he rates as the best coach he has ever worked for, the only man who can get inside the striker’s head.
It probably isn’t easy to get there, to be fair. Three other Chelsea managers have tried and failed and seen their dismissal notices drop on to the doormat as a result.
In Benitez’s first match in charge since being appointed as Chelsea’s ninth manager in nine years, Torres was marginally livelier, worked harder than he has done in recent games, but as ever, he fluffed the best chance he had. He remains a work in progress for Benitez.
But there was no question Chelsea’s new interim manager made an impact in one way at a sodden Stamford Bridge. And we are not talking about the hail of booing from all around the ground that greeted him when he walked out of the tunnel.
As a former Liverpool manager who was less than complimentary about Chelsea, he had been promised a fierce welcome from fans who are going to take a while to accept him. And it was surely as brutal a greeting as any manager has ever had in British football, only cut short because of the minute’s applause for former FA Cup-winning manager Dave Sexton, who has died aged 82.
But Chelsea sat much, much deeper than under Di Matteo
No, it was more in the grinding out of this goalless draw that steadied the ship after a dreadful week by even Chelsea’s standards.
Their first clean sheet for 10 games, a gutsy, gritty performance where the best players on show were the defenders, Ashley Cole in particular, but also Branislav Ivanovic and Cesar Azpilicueta.
Welcome to the world of Benitez. Organisation, discipline, tactical plans which are excellent at stopping other teams playing. You know – that exciting flowing football Roman Abramovich had ordered his team to play this season, the style that they apparently did not show enough of last season, even though they won the Champions League under the hapless Roberto Di Matteo.
We’ll put that on hold for a while.
Di Matteo went at 4am last Wednesday because his team had lost their way in the league and are on the brink of going out of the Champions League. Benitez is here to put the train back on the tracks, and it may not be pretty.
That is not to say there were radical changes yesterday to the template which Di Matteo set out for this team at the start of the season. Torres was restored, and an unwell Gary Cahill was left out as David Luiz partnered Ivanovic in the centre of defence.
But Chelsea sat much, much deeper than under Di Matteo. Those skilful forwards this time chased back and harried, the second balls were mostly won. What developed was a war of attrition.
Top-of-the-table City still had the better chances and should have won. David Silva nodded over when he should have scored early on, and Petr Cech saved well from Pablo Zabaleta.
The downside of all the organisation and diligent defending was Chelsea managed just two shots on target all game, the first when Luiz’s low free-kick was saved by Joe Hart. Those sceptical fans are going to want more than that, Rafa.
Silva missed an even better chance when he headed straight at Cech from six yards. But Chelsea did improve. Juan Mata fed Torres 10 yards out and the crowd held its breath...but he fired over. Luiz nodded over and saw another effort deflected wide, and then Cole cracked in a drive that Hart tipped superbly over. But these were mainly breakaways, with City for long periods camped around the Chelsea penalty area, frustrated time and again by a tackle, and quite often a poor final pass.
Right on the whistle, substitute Mario Balotelli raced through, ran straight into Luiz, and was booked for diving. Immovable objects, you see. Rafa loves them.
It was the first time Chelsea have not scored at Stamford Bridge since May 2. Maybe it will change against Fulham on Wednesday, maybe Rafa will have got inside Fernando’s head. Maybe. But what is certain is that Chelsea will be solid. Fasten your seatbelts.

CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Cech 7; Azpilicueta 7, Ivanovic 7, Luiz 7, Cole 8; Ramires 6, Mikel 6 (Romeu 79); Mata 6, Oscar 7, Hazard 6 (Moses 71, 6); Torres 6.

MAN CITY (4-3-3): Hart 7; Zabaleta 8, Kompany 7, Nastasic 6, Kolarov 7; Toure 7, Barry 6, Milner 7; Silva 7, Dzeko 6 (Tevez 69, 6), Aguero 6 (Balotelli 86) 6. Booked: Zabaleta, Balotelli, Kolarov.
Referee: C Foy (Merseyside).


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

Star:

CHELSEA 0 - MANCHESTER CITY 0:
By David Woods

CHELSEA fans make feelings known as Spanish gaffer kicks off with bore draw
IF IT was rough for Rafa Benitez, it wasn’t much better for the rest of us.
This was such a dull game, this reporter is tempted to boo his boss for making him watch it.
Roman Abramovich wanted sexy football – but someone must have put bromide in Chelsea’s tea.
Long balls down the middle for Fernando Torres to fail to hold up surely won’t have brought a glint to the Russian tycoon’s eye.
London’s answer to Barcelona it certainly was not.
Champions City, who remain unbeaten, were not much better during a game which never caught fire.
Their failure to beat an off-colour Chelsea allowed Manchester United to retain the leadership of the Premier League which they snatched on Saturday.
Benitez’s Chelsea – and that just does not sound right – stay fourth behind the mighty West Brom.
The only positive for the west Londoners was they did not concede a goal for the first time in 11 matches.
When he wakes up this morning City boss Roberto Mancini will surely rue not being more adventurous, after waiting until the 86th minute to throw on Mario Balotelli.
Following the sacking of Roberto Di Matteo on Wednesday and the appointment of the much-disliked Benitez the following day, a shell-shocked Chelsea looked there for the taking.
Benitez was booed from the start and there went plenty of chants and slogans attacking him, although Abramovich escaped criticism again.
The fans were not just mourning the death of former boss Dave Sexton, but also the departure of their beloved Di Matteo.
In the 16th minute they gave the Champions League-winning manager a standing ovation in honour of the No.16 shirt he wore as a player with the club.
Poor Benitez was treated by supporters with the same sort of contempt Basil Fawlty reserved for Manuel in Fawlty Towers.
And one thing looks certain – Benitez will never be the Special One at Stamford Bridge no matter how many games the Blues win.
So what happened on the pitch? Well nothing much particularly from Torres, who has now gone nine games without a goal for Chelsea.
Benitez knows he has a huge task on his hands trying to resuscitate the striker who thrived under him at Liverpool.
Getting his players to boot balls down the middle to Torres, who floundered on the rock that is Vincent Kompany, did nothing for a striker who Chelsea legend Ray Wilkins said was already “shot of confidence” in his analysis on Sky.
The first bad sign was when a great ball from Juan Mata into the box saw Torres flick it straight to Joe Hart in the 14th minute, as he tried to pick out Oscar. It sparked groans all round.
Chelsea keeper Petr Cech blocked a shot from Pablo Zabaleta with his shins in the 37th minute and Sergio Aguero could not believe how poorly he headed the ball five minutes later, after Edin Dzeko nodded it perfectly into his path. His effort went straight into Cech’s hands.
The second half started in near silence, allowing you to hear the shouts of the players.
Matija Nastasic almost put Chelsea ahead with an own goal, but just avoided slicing into his net as he hacked away a driven cross from the excellent Ashley Cole.
At the other end Yaya Toure forced Cech into a save, with a shot the keeper gathered at the second attempt.
Torres had his head in his hands in the 60th minute after he was presented with a superb opportunity to shoot with his favoured left foot inside the box. His connection was clean but the ball rose just over the bar.
Cole did well to control and clear a dangerous David Silva cross, which cleared Cech at his near post, leaving the keeper exposed. Aguero looked ready to pounce, but the England star kept his head.
James Milner had a shot-cum-cross blocked by Cech’s legs in the 81st minute and Cole then forced Hart into his only proper save with a fierce 25-yard shot.
The England man tipped the drive over, although ref Chris Foy inexplicably gave a goal-kick.
There was a final embarrassment for Torres as Kompany, for the umpteenth time, out-muscled him as he tried to run at goal, leaving the £50m player on the deck.
At the final whistle there was little from the fans – maybe they were too bored to boo!