Thursday, January 30, 2014

West Ham 0-0




Independent:

Chelsea 0 West Ham United 0
Blues slip up in title race after being held by stubborn Hammers
Jack Pitt-Brooke  

Jose Mourinho had been saying for a while that Chelsea lack the experience to win the Premier League title. It had always sounded like expectation-management, a simple trick from the old master of mind-games, but tonight he appeared to have a point.
 
Faced with a West Ham United team playing what Mourinho described as “19th century football”, Chelsea dominated the game but failed to unpick the massed claret ranks and could only draw 0-0, ending a run of seven straight wins.
Manchester City spent their evening scoring five goals at White Hart Lane and going top of the Premier League. Chelsea travel to the Etihad Stadium on Monday evening and Mourinho admitted, as he has done before, that his team are far from favourites. “For how many months have I said the same thing? One team is an end product. The other is a team trying to build. For me it's not a surprise. We go there on Monday. Are they favourites? Yes. Are they favourites to score again, four, five or six? Yes.” This time, it felt like fair analysis.
Mourinho said that he was proud of his players but ultimately they failed to do what is demanded of title-contenders - to score past a team focussed solely on stopping them. Mourinho joked afterwards that he wanted a “Black and Decker to destroy their wall” and his team did seem to lack something on a frustrating night at Stamford Bridge.
It was only late in the second half, having changed to 4-2-4, that Chelsea really started to threaten West Ham. Demba Ba, on as a sub, hit the post from close range. Samuel Eto'o had a goal disallowed when he assumed that Adrian had taken a free-kick and knocked the ball into the net, only for Neil Swarbrick to rule that the ball was not live. With almost the last kick of the game, Frank Lampard shot from his favourite position, on the edge of the box, but straight at Adrian's legs. West Ham had taken what they came for.
If this was the first time for a while that Chelsea did not look like champions, it was also a rare sight of a West Ham team who did not look destined for relegation. They showed all the discipline, strength and focus that we expect from a Sam Allardyce side and he was understandably delighted with the evening's work.
“A fantastically resilient performance,” beamed Allardyce afterwards. “It was all about frustrating a team with world-class players and not to come here and lie down. Tactically we got it right, stopping Hazard and Oscar and Willian and Eto'o scoring goals, and also stopping them scoring from set-plays. We nullified them, limited them to a few chances, even when we went down to 10 men when we had tired legs and minds.”
West Ham striker Andy Carroll looks on at Stamford Bridge West Ham striker Andy Carroll looks on at Stamford Bridge 
It was clear from the start that West Ham were moulding this game as they wanted it. It took more than hour to open up, there was little space on offer and few chances at either end. In bitter cold and under a haze of rain, it was not exactly a crowd-pleaser.
West Ham had Mark Noble, Kevin Nolan and Matt Taylor lined up in front of the back four, there was a solid wall for Chelsea to break through and in the first half they could not do it. were largely limited to speculative shots from the edge of the area. The best of these, from Oscar, was tipped onto the bar from Adrian, but the rest - from Willian, Samuel Eto'o, Ramires, and Jon Obi Mikel - flew safely high or wide of the target.
West Ham had a sporadic threat from set-pieces, with Andy Carroll, in his first league start for eight months, putting himself about gainfully. But all the action was at the other end.
Chelsea did improve in the second half, making some chances with some brisker passing, but they could not score and the tension was thickening. Chelsea fans were well aware that Manchester City were winning at White Hart Lane, sending them top. There was loud outrage when Joey O'Brien cut down Willian late, Mourinho encroaching onto the pitch and Neil Swarbrick only booking O'Brien having played advantage.
With Chelsea throwing bodies forward, West Ham could break and Carroll, tired after an hour of play, scuffed his shot from Stewart Downing's chipped cross. He was soon replaced by Carlton Cole while Mourinho, who needed the win more, threw on Nemanja Matic and Frank Lampard.
If the game felt perfectly set up for Lampard to decide, West Ham did not agree. Tomkins and Collins both threw themselves in front of his shots, as Allardyce's tired side ran and ran to stifle the blue shirts in their box. Chelsea tried to summon a special finish, the sort of desperate win that defines title races. This time, they could not do it.

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Guardian:
Chelsea huff and puff but are unable to break through against West Ham

Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge

Somewhere lost amid the din at the final whistle, as the home fans gnashed their teeth in livid frustration and the visitors bellowed their celebratory taunts into the night sky, it was easy to forget that José Mourinho had been proved right. The Chelsea manager had insisted on the eve of this derby that his own team were not yet ready to reclaim the Premier League title. In failing to puncture a side ensconced in the bottom three, that assessment seemed prophetic.
The Portuguese appeared to gain little satisfaction in his judgment effectively being confirmed, as this whole occasion proved utterly exasperating for the majority present. Mourinho fidgeted through the first period and seemed to spend almost the entire second half berating the fourth official once frustration had overcome him, so enraged was he by the "19th-century football" West Ham were apparently playing. If his mood was darkened by perceived time-wasting and stalling tactics, it was actually the visitors' efficient smothering of everything flung at them that drove Chelsea to distraction.
Chelsea struck the crossbar early on as Oscar curled a shot goalwards and Adrián tipped on to the woodwork, and rattled the post in stoppage time at the end when Demba Ba should probably have converted.
Even Frank Lampard, the kind of player who waltzes on to stages such as this to bring the house down, was denied at the end as he skipped on to Eden Hazard's cross and side-footed goalwards only for Adrián to conjure yet another fine save.
The official statistics had Chelsea down for 39 shots, albeit only nine on target, and 72% of the ball. West Ham apparently had only one attempt all night, a fine downward header from James Tomkins, though they had actually looked threatening on the counter-attack when released from the shackles. Quite how Mourinho would have reacted had Andy Carroll converted rather than air-kicked in front of goal on the hour is anybody's guess.

The visitors' resistance was impressive, particularly given that they had shipped 28 goals in their previous nine games and ended with 10 men after Joey O'Brien dislocated a shoulder.
"Tottenham was our best result, winning there for [the first time in] about 15 years, but this one probably equals it because of the position we're in and the problems we've had to overcome," said Sam Allardyce.
"A fantastically resilient performance. It was all about frustrating a team with world-class players and not to come here and lie down. Tactically we got it right, stopping Hazard, Oscar and Willian. We nullified them, limited them to a few chances, even when we went down to 10 men when we had tired legs and minds."
The point lifted West Ham up to 18th, still below the cut-off but within sight of safety. For Chelsea the frustration was palpable. Mourinho's side travel to the new leaders, Manchester City, on Monday aware that, if they lose at the Etihad, they will be six points off the top. This was a reminder that, against blanket defence, they can still struggle to break down opponents and Mourinho's decision to offer up talk of retrograde tactics smacked of a manager seeking to distract.
It was tempting to wonder how Juan Mata, who has found space in congested occasions in the past, might have fared as Chelsea's relentless battering failed to break West Ham down.
But Mata, of course, has gone and the pace of the pass was not quick enough at times to generate the clearer-cut opportunities Chelsea craved. Mourinho had sprung on to the turf when O'Brien –whose shoulder was popped back into its socket post-match – clattered through the back of Willian, taking away his standing leg. By then he had tired of the delaying tactics as West Ham clung to what they had, with men behind the ball and the space cramped. Mourinho was asked what other tactics he might have employed to squeeze out a winner.
"The only thing I could use was a Black and Decker [drill] to destroy the wall…" came the riposte. That summed it up.
His gripe would move on to the amount of time added on at the end and a lack of consistency by officials. "The referees aren't consistent and it's the same with the red cards," he said.
"Compare O'Brien's tackle with [Nemanja]Vidic here earlier this month... but I don't want to complain about the referee. Not when we've had a result I didn't want. We go to Manchester City on Monday and are they favourites? Yes.
"Are they favourites to score again four, five or six goals? Yes. But it will start 0-0 and we go there to compete." Presumably that will not mean blanket defence. After this that tactic is off the menu.

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 0 West Ham United 0
By  Matt Law, at Stamford Bridge

Jose Mourinho produced a lesson in the art of deflection by claiming West Ham United played “19th century football” to hold Chelsea to a goalless draw.
Forget the fact that this was a Chelsea team that badly needed the introduction of a Juan Mata, not a Nemanja Matic. Forget the fact West Ham had conceded 28 goals in their last nine games before arriving at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, instead chose to accuse West Ham of resorting to old-fashioned “basic” football and using every trick in the book to get a point.
This is the same Mourinho who did not play a single striker at Old Trafford earlier this season. No wonder West Ham manager Sam Allardyce laughed off the criticism, declaring he “couldn’t give a s---e”.
Chelsea managed 39 shots, in comparison to West Ham’s one, but could not hit the target. Oscar saw a shot tipped on to the crossbar and substitute Demba Ba struck the post in the dying seconds. Mata, Manchester United’s record £37 million signing, may afford himself a wry smile this morning, as his old club missed the chance to go second.
Mourinho said: “West Ham need points, to come here and not play and do it the way they did, is it acceptable? Maybe yes. Maybe yes. I cannot be too critical because if I was in this position, I don’t know if I would do the same. This is football from the 19th century. This is not the Premier League. This is not the best league in the world.”
Asked what 19th-century football is, Mourinho said: “Pretending injuries. Cheating, I don’t know if that’s the right word. The goalkeeper taking time not after minute 70, but in the first minute. 10 defenders in the box, defenders not putting a foot outside the box. Very basic. But I’m nobody to criticise. They are happy. They get a point. I hope the point means something for them at the end of the season, and my players did everything to try and win the game. The only thing I could use was a Black and Decker to destroy the wall.”
Mourinho revealed that Allardyce had laughed when he personally told the West Ham manager what he thought of his side’s tactics. Allardyce laughed even harder when Mourinho’s comments were put to him in the post-match press conference.
Allardyce said: “He can’t take it can he? He can’t take it because we’ve out-tacticted, out-witted him. He just can’t cope. He can tell me all he wants. I don’t give a s---e, to be honest. I love to see Chelsea players moaning at the referee, trying to intimidate him, Jose jumping up and down in his technical area. It’s great to see.”
Mourinho was particularly furious with the fact that only four minutes of time was added on, as West Ham defender Joey O’Brien was forced off with a dislocated shoulder. He thought O’Brien should have already been sent off before then for a late challenge on Willian.
West Ham had made all three of their substitutions when O’Brien was forced off. Up against 10 men, Chelsea almost nicked it as Ba struck the foot of the post and another substitute Frank Lampard saw a goal-bound effort brilliantly saved by Adrian.
Other than that flurry, Oscar had a 20-yard shot tipped on to the top of the bar by Adrian and the West Ham keeper also produced a brilliant stop with his feet from a John Terry header.
“I was telling the fourth official that the message the referees were given, with four minutes’ extra time, was not right,” Mourinho said. “When one team comes here to do what West Ham did and the referees have the chance to show they are not happy with the game too, and they give four minutes – with five changes in the second half? That was the wrong message.
“The extra-time is a situation where the referees are not uniform. Sometimes they have seven minutes and you ask why. Sometimes two and you ask why. They’re not consistent. It’s the same with the red cards.”
Although it was a backs-to-the-wall performance, West Ham had their moments. James Tomkins forced Petr Cech to save a header, while Andy Carroll appealed twice for a penalty and completely missed his kick from a Stewart Downing chipped cross.
O’Brien will be out for at least a month after dislocating his shoulder, but it is hoped that Mohamed Diame will recover quickly from falling over the advertising boards and hurting his knee.
“Tottenham was the best result, 3-0, having not won there for about 15 years,” Allardyce said. “This one probably equals it because of the position we’re in and the problems we’ve had to overcome, and the stick we’ve had regarding our position in the league. It was all about frustrating a team with world-class players and not to come here and lie down. Tactically we got it right.”

Chelsea v West Ham: blunt display exposes Jose Mourinho’s need for a striker
Chelsea have possessed that ominous Jose Mourinho sheen of late – burnished and ready – but they were dulled on Wednesday night


Chelsea v West Ham: blunt display exposes Jose Mourinho’s need for a striker
By Jason Burt, Stamford Bridge

Maybe it was the rain; maybe it was the fact that West Ham United were close to full strength and organised. But this was a struggle for Chelsea despite their dominance and superiority. They lacked an edge; a point to their attack.
Mourinho has coyly talked down his team’s Premier League title hopes, constantly attempting to push that pressure back on to Manchester City. But make no mistake: he is not this close to the top of the table without thinking he can win it.
Next season, wait until next season, has been Mourinho’s refrain with the unspoken inference that for all his squad’s attacking power, it is mainly focused behind the striker.
How Chelsea cry out for a world-class forward to complement that world-class triumvirate. Samuel Eto’o has started but, despite his recent hat-trick against Manchester United, he is beyond his peak and simply a one-season stopgap. Fernando Torres will never regain his powers and Demba Ba is a notch or two below what is required. Between them the trio have 19 goals – eight each for Eto’o and Ba – but that is an insufficient return given the opportunities created.
Last night Chelsea claimed 70 per cent of possession at times. It was not until stoppage-time in the first half that Eto’o dispatched a shot, which was smartly saved by Adrian.
Why have Chelsea not bought a striker? Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah have arrived in this transfer window. As Juan Mata departed, they balanced the books, added power and pace and reduced the age of the squad while redressing areas Mourinho felt needed altering. But he did not buy striker.
The simple answer is that there is not one available. Chelsea have the will and the money but realise how difficult it is to try to lever Diego Costa out of Atlético Madrid right now or persuade Porto to part with Jackson Martínez (although there are suggestions Mourinho might not be convinced about the Colombian).
Something has to happen and will happen this summer but can Chelsea wait until then? It seems they will have to even though Mourinho’s exposed his frustration in December following the 3-2 away defeat against Stoke City. How, ran the subtext of his reasoning, can I win the league with these strikers?
If only he had one of the trio at City – Edin Dzeko, Alvaro Negredo or Sergio Agüero, who Chelsea had a deal to sign from Atlético before changing their minds. How they must regret that one and how they also regret not signing Dzeko having inquired about him. Then there is Falcao, Edinson Cavani, Gonzalo Higuaín... the list goes on.
Quite why Chelsea have pursued a policy of buying the best attacking midfielders and neglecting the man needed to fire the bullets is curious. Maybe they simply hoped that Torres would come good – he has improved – or that Wayne Rooney would join them from Manchester United.
Chelsea were dominant against West Ham and created chance after chance – Adrian kicked a John Terry header kicked off the line, Oscar struck the bar – but Eto’o was a fraction off the pace. Oscar and Willian fizzed crosses into the six-yard only for him to react late.
Mourinho’s frustration grew. Every decision was challenged – he was on the pitch at one stage after a bad tackle on Willian but Chelsea continued to labour, shooting ever more hurriedly from distance, lacking that edge that would make them even stronger title contenders.

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Mail:
Chelsea 0-0 West Ham:

What's the Mata at the Bridge? Mourinho rages as Blues fall behind in title race after stuttering stalemate against battling Hammers
By Matt Barlow

Football in the 19th century conjures images of bearded men in flannels and hats and carrying pipes but Jose Mourinho attempted to redefine it at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
According to the new lexicon of the Special One, it now represents time-wasting, feigning injury and failing to take your goal-kicks quickly on purpose, rather than simply because you have to refill your pipe with tobacco.
Still, his point was made. His Chelsea team tried to score - they had 39 shots at Adrian's goal - and tried to entertain while West Ham did everything in their power to add a precious point to their relegation fight.
At least Mourinho had the grace to admit he may have done the same if he was fighting for survival at the bottom of the Barclays Premier League.
Sam Allardyce emerged happier from this derby. He found it hard to keep the smile from his face, despite more injuries to extend his long casualty list.
Mo Diame hurt his knee tumbling into the crowd, Kevin Nolan came off with a sore back and West Ham finished with 10 men after Joey O'Brien was pushed over by Gary Cahill and dislocated a shoulder when all the substitutes had been used.
Still Chelsea could not find a way to overcome these ancient tactics, parking the omnibus perhaps, and their title ambitions took a blow as they prepare for Monday's date with Barclays Premier League leaders Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Allardyce laughed off Mourinho's jibes. 'Ho ho, we "out-tacticked", we out-witted him,' chuckled the West Ham boss. He had every right to be proud of the way his players carried out orders, with 10 focused on repelling Chelsea and Andy Carroll isolated up front.
James Collins, who came off at half-time with his shirt in tatters, organised his back four, who were in turn well protected by an industrious midfield five.
They may have been on the receiving end of 37 shots but many of these were ambitious efforts from long range and when the home team did pierce the defensive shield they found goalkeeper Adrian in splendid form.
Oscar hit the bar early on with a delicious curling shot. At the time it seemed hard to believe it was as close as Chelsea would come. Demba Ba, off the bench for the last 10 minutes, also stabbed a shot into the foot of a post in a breathless closing spell.
Frank Lampard endured abuse from the visiting fans as he warmed up on the touchline and came on with purpose but for once the script was not written with him in mind.
Eden Hazard found him in front of goal with the game in the seventh minute of stoppage time but Adrian blocked his low drive with a boot.
Chelsea simmered with frustration. On the touchline, Mourinho lost his cool, flapping and leaping around and buzzing in the ear of the fourth official. On the pitch, Ramires was booked for bouncing the ball angrily into the turf when a decision went against him.
Mourinho was incandescent when the board went up to show only four minutes of added time, although the game actually went on for nearly four more because of O'Brien's injury.
The Chelsea boss had earlier exploded when O'Brien cut down Willian in front of him and seemed set to invade the pitch. Anxiety lapped around Stamford Bridge, reinforced by goal flashes from White Hart Lane where Manchester City were again rampant.
As they took more chances in search of a goal, Chelsea offered West Ham the odd glimpse of glory.
Carroll, starting in the Premier League for the first time this season, had a wonderful chance on the hour to inflict Mourinho's first home defeat in the competition.
Stewart Downing burrowed down the left and Petr Cech could only flick the cross away with his fingertips. It fell to Carroll, on his left foot, on the half-volley, but the England striker made a hash of it. He barely made contact and the ball spun harmlessly away.
James Tomkins thought he had scored in the opening minutes of the game, heading a free-kick down towards the corner but Cech sprang to his right and saved. It would be another clean sheet for Chelsea, their seventh in nine games, but that did not ease the pain.
According to the stats the Tomkins header proved to be West Ham's only effort at goal. Mostly, they had nine behind the ball, crowding the creative spaces and smothering Chelsea's playmakers, who took turns to try their luck from distance with increasing desperation.
Ramires faded a sweet strike narrowly wide before the break and John Terry found the target with a firm header from corner taken by Willian, but Adrian kept it out with his feet.
If anything, West Ham's defending was even more heroic in the second half. Tomkins blocked from Ramires, O'Brien denied Ba in similar lunging style and three players hurled their bodies in front of a shot from Lampard.
They even survived a bizarre incident involving Samuel Eto'o. After making a save, Adrian placed the ball, turned his back and rubbed his head. Eto'o rushed in, smashed the ball into the net and confusion ensued.
Had a free-kick been given? Or had Eto'o caught another keeper napping? Referee Neil Swarbrick ruled in favour of the goalkeeper and his omnibus.

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Mirror:

Chelsea 0-0 West Ham
The Blues drop points as Man City go top of the table
 
By John Cross

Chelsea couldn't break West Ham down, but it wasn't for lack of trying - with 39 shots to West Ham's one

Jose Mourinho blew his top as West Ham produced the fight of their lives to put a major dent in Chelsea's title challenge.
Mourinho's touchline histrionics were more entertaining than the goalless stalemate as the Chelsea manager fumed at time wasting, fouls and a wasted opportunity.
West Ham's brave rearguard action frustrated Chelsea as their heroic display suggested they are ready to dig in for under-pressure boss Sam Allardyce.
Hammers keeper Adrian made a string of brilliant saves while Chelsea could not find a way through and they dropped two precious points in the title race.
Chelsea came out for the second half with even more threat as they pinned West Ham back.
Oscar, Hazard and Ramires all went close as West Ham put a desperate and heroic rearguard action to frustrate Chelsea.
Mourinho began to lose his patience as the minutes ticked by and he completely lost his cool when Joey O'Brien launched an X-rated tackle from behind on Willian.
Mourinho actually ran onto the pitch while the game was still going on to vent his fury at referee Neil Swarbrick who allowed play to continue before eventually booking O'Brien.
But it only highlighted Chelsea's annoyance as they struggled to find a way through while West Ham actually had their own moments.
Stewart Downing's left wing cross found Carroll unmarked in the box but the West Ham striker missed his kick and with it a glorious chance.
Chelsea threw on Frank Lampard and the former Hammer was denied by a fabulous and brave block by Taylor. It was typical of Chelsea's frustrations.
But even when West Ham's O'Brien went off injured in the dying moments to leave Allardyce with 10 men, Chelsea could not produce a last gasp winner, despite their 39 shots during the match.

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Express:

Chelsea 0 - West Ham 0: Hammers steal a point as Jose Mourinho fumes

JOSE MOURINHO accused West Ham of cheating and playing “19th century football” as his team were held to a frustrating goalless draw at Stamford Bridge.
By: Tony Banks

Chelsea saw a seven-game winning run come to a grinding halt, and Mourinho raged: “This was not Premier League football. This was not the best league in the world.
“This was football from the nineteenth century. They had more goalkeepers than defenders. They gave everything. So my respect to their spirit and to their effort. My team tried everything.
“What do I mean by 19th century? Pretending injuries. Cheating - I don’t know if that’s the right word. The goalkeeper taking so much time not after the 70th minute, but in the first minute.
“Ten defenders in the box, and defenders not putting a foot outside the box. Very basic.
“But I’m nobody to criticise. They are happy. They get a point.
“I told Sam that - and he was laughing. He achieved his objective. Not to come here and play good football, or win, or feel part of the quality of the Premier League.
Mourinho added: “The officials did not add on enough time. I was telling the fourth official that the message given, with four minutes’ extra time, was not right. With five changes in the second half? Even with that it is two and a half minutes. That was wrong.”
But Allardyce was utterly unrepentant, saying: “I don’t give a s****, to be honest. He can’t take it because we have outthought him tactically, out witted him.
“He can’t take it. He can tell me all he wants. I love it when I see Chelsea players moaning at the referee, trying to intimidate him. I love it when Jose is jumping up and down in his technical area. It is great to see.
“This was a fantastic point for us. We got it right. We had to stop their players doing what they do and we did. We showed great resilience, topped off by our goalkeeper’s great save at the end.”

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Star:

Chelsea 0 - West Ham 0: Mourinho's Mata of concern
JOSE MOURINHO has been in generous mood lately – but gifting Manchester City the title advantage was not part of the plan.

By Adrian Kajumba

Mourinho gave Manchester United Juan Mata last week, handed out ­champagne to the press to celebrate his 51st birthday, lavished praise on Eden Hazard and has enjoyed playfully dishing out a bit of stick to his old rival Arsene Wenger over their fixture lists.
Few people expected Mourinho’s ­handouts to continue when third-bottom West Ham arrived at title-chasing ­Chelsea last night.
But West Ham produced a brilliant ­rearguard action to ruin Mourinho’s mood.
Chelsea dropped two precious points and blew the chance to go second ahead of their crucial trip to City next Monday – after the Hammers somehow kept them at bay.
There were no goals – but it wasn’t for the want of trying as the Blues threw ­absolutely everything at the Hammers.
But there was no way through the claret and blue wall protecting the visitors’ goal as the smile was wiped off Mourinho’s face.
And it was a night when the decision to offload Mata to United didn’t look quite so wise. Chelsea couldn’t find the net – despite racking up 39 shots on goal to West Ham’s one.
A clever little Spanish playmaker ­capable of unlocking the tightest of ­defences could have come in handy last night. Mourinho probably wouldn’t admit it even if it was a thought that crossed his mind.
What can’t be denied is he would have been cursing another Spaniard, ­goalkeeper Adrian, who led West Ham’s resistance with a string of ­brilliant saves.
The Hammers had two of the brighter moments early on when Andy Carroll’s penalty shout was turned down before James Tomkins’ header was pushed clear by Petr Cech.
Adrian tipped an Oscar curler on to the bar but Chelsea were struggling to click into gear – and didn’t do so until a flurry of chances in the closing minutes of the half.
Adrian denied Chelsea again when he kicked clear John Terry’s header before producing an even better stop to frustrate Samuel Eto’o.
Chelsea kept their foot on the gas after the break but the tension only rose when they failed to convert one of three teasing crosses that fizzed across Adrian’s goal.
Then Mourinho erupted when Joey O’Brien flew into Willian from behind. The Hammers full-back escaped with a yellow card when it could easily have been a red.
And Carroll blew a great chance to pile more agony on the frustrated Blues boss when he missed his kick after being found at the back post by Stewart Downing.
Mourinho tried to change it to force a winner, bringing on Frank Lampard, ­Nemanja Matic and then Demba Ba while going to three at the back.
Lampard would have been a good bet to break the deadlock after bagging five goals in his last five games against his old club.
But two pieces of brilliant defending summed up West Ham’s heroic defensive effort.
Three Hammers flung themselves full- length to deny Lampard as he looked ­certain to do what he has done for ­Chelsea so many times – find the net from the edge of the box.
Then, when the midfielder twisted to make a yard of space in the box soon ­after, James Collins flew in from nowhere to deny him with a last-ditch block.
Ba turned a cross against the post and Eto’o had a cheeky goal ruled out before one last chance fell to Lampard deep into injury time.
But this was not his night – as Adrian produced yet another great stop to earn West Ham a precious point in their bid for survival.

Stoke 1-0




Independent:

Chelsea 1 Stoke City 0
Oscar's stunning free-kick fires the Blues into fifth round FA Cup clash with Manchester City
 
Jose Mourinho says all of the pressure will be on City at the Etihad
Sam Wallace 

It was all going so well for Jose Mourinho on his 51st birthday today until the moment that Troy Townsend, father of Andros, fished out ball No 12 in the draw for the FA Cup fifth round and Chelsea were off to Manchester City on 15 February.

Mourinho’s current conspiracy obsession is the Premier League fixture list and what he considers to be the better deal that Arsenal get in terms of rest days between their big matches. Goodness knows what he would have made of the draw had Arsene Wenger’s team landed one of the League One survivors in the competition but they are up against Liverpool, on the weekend before they play Bayern Munich.
As it turned out, Mourinho brushed aside the inconvenience of having to play City twice in two weeks, starting with the Premier League fixture a week on Tuesday and tried to turn it into a psychological advantage for his own team. The pressure, he said, would all be on City who would naturally be favourites to win at the Etihad and were coming to terms with the kind of expectation that he, Mourinho, has long had to live with.
 “We are ready to go there [to the Etihad] and enjoy it,” Mourinho said. “We are going to go there with a good attitude, and nothing to lose. They have everything to lose. They are the team that was made to win. They have to feel now the same thing I was feeling here in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007. [A case of] ‘We are the best team by far. We have to win. If we don't, it's because we did something wrong’. They must feel the same. We have nothing to lose.
“Our priority for the season is to improve. The best way to improve is with [accomplishing] difficult things. Play against the best teams, twice in two weeks, in their stadium, the stadium where they win every game and smash every team. Score four or five goals every game even against the big teams like Arsenal and Tottenham and United. It's a good thing for us. We are playing very well in my opinion. We played a very good game.”
It was a game ultimately decided by a beauty of a free-kick from Oscar, the perfect hit from the Brazilian’s right boot with exactly the requisite amount of pace, dip and draw to take it past a goalkeeper as good as Asmir Begovic. The ball was struck from outside the area in the right channel and it landed in the area of the side-netting just inside the Stoke goalkeeper’s right post.
That is what the best players can give to a team, and it did Mourinho no harm that the goal was scored by the player around whom he has made his biggest decision since returning to the club. Oscar has seen off Juan Mata and now he and Eden Hazard, the outstanding player in this FA Cup tie, must shoulder the burden of Chelsea’s attacking threat until at least the summer when a new striker can be recruited.
Hazard carried Chelsea’s threat down the left wing, with Geoff Cameron heading inexorably for a booking from the moment he chopped down the Belgian for the first time. Oscar hit the post before half-time with a right-footed shot and Andre Schurrle did the same in the second half. Nemanja Matic made his debut in midfield with the brief of trying to make life difficult for Peter Crouch.
It should have been a victory by a greater margin for Chelsea, especially given the miss by Samuel Eto’o in the 77th minute when he conspired to back heel the ball away from the goal. Ramires, on as a substitute, is not a natural six-yard area finisher and he managed to put the loose ball wide. Begovic saved a David Luiz free-kick brilliantly towards the end.
Marko Arnautovic fends off Chelsea's Nemanja Matic Marko Arnautovic fends off Chelsea's Nemanja Matic  As a result Chelsea were still protecting a one-goal lead in the closing stages of the game, although Stoke scarcely threatened them. Stephen Ireland put their best chance into the side-netting of Mark Schwarzer’s goal on 40 minutes when the ball was deflected into his path. Crouch barely had a cross which he could attack all afternoon.
Mark Hughes said after the game that he expected Peter Odemwingie to join this week with Kenwyne Jones going in the opposite direction, to Cardiff City. “You hold your hands up when the player produces the quality Oscar did for the goal,” Hughes said. “At 1-0 down it's a difficult game for us because they break on the counter-attack.
 “We stuck at it to the end, but you have to get a bit of luck at places like Stamford Bridge. Things have to go for you, and maybe we didn't force the issue enough to change things in our direction. I'm reasonably pleased. You're never happy to go out of a cup competition, but we have a huge game on Wednesday night [away to Sunderland].”
The reality was that Stoke never fully convinced that they were completely committed to winning this FA Cup tie and that they got exactly what they deserved. Ryan Shawcross was arguably their best player, his commitment exemplified by the way he blocked a shot from Willian in a very tender place in the closing stages.
Mourinho said that he was off to celebrate his birthday with dinner with his family – “at which I can be happy rather than have to pretend that I am happy”. This was the club’s seventh win in a row and with West Ham at home on Wednesday there is every chance it will be eight by the time they face City in the league on Monday. That match is shaping up to be one of the season’s great games.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Schwarzer 6; Ivanovic 6, Cahill 6, Luiz 6, Cole 6; Lampard 6, Matic 6; Schurrle 5 (Ramires 5, 70), Oscar 7 (Willian, 81), Hazard 7; Eto’o 6 (Ba, 85).
Substitutes not used: Cech (gk), Mikel, Terry, Azpilicueta.

Stoke City (4-2-3-1): Begovic 7; Cameron 4, Shawcross 6, Wilson 6, Pieters 5 (Muniesa, 85); Palacios (Assaidi, 72) 6, Nzonzi 6; Arnautovic 5 (Adam, 83), Ireland 6, Walters 6; Crouch 6.
Substitutes not used: Sorensen (gk), Whelan, Adam, Guidetti, Shotton.

Referee: C Foy
Man of the match: Hazard

Rating: 5
Booked: Stoke Cameron, Wilson, Pieters
Attendance: 40,845

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

Guardian:
Chelsea's Oscar beats struggling Stoke City with sublime free-kick
Chelsea 1 Stoke 0
Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge

Strolls such as this offer timely reminders that, for all the upheaval of recent weeks, Chelsea will still ease into the second half of the campaign in rude health. Very few teams can boast comparable strength in depth, even after the sale of a World Cup winner for £37.1m. Manchester City will presumably test that theory in the fifth round more concertedly than Stoke City did in the fourth.
If the scoreline suggested this was a squeeze, it was actually a breeze. José Mourinho, celebrating his 51st birthday, could bemoan familiar profligacy as having denied his team proper reward for their dominance, and this side's failure to convert the plethora of chances they invariably create could yet undermine a pursuit for silverware that is maintained on three fronts.
But that was just the perfectionist in him exposed. Stoke, for all their success in avoiding the concession of a cricket score, never threatened to take advantage of the slenderness of their deficit.
Progress, courtesy of Oscar's sumptuous free-kick, ensured there was to be no mass gnashing of teeth at Juan Mata's sale to Manchester United. The departed midfielder was the elephant in the room here, the Spaniard the subject of one small banner held up by supporters in the west stand thanking him for two and a half years of fine service but, if truth be told, he was not overly missed. Perhaps it was not the contest by which to judge his departure but, without him, and with Michael Essien to join Milan and Kevin de Bruyne now at Wolfsburg, the hosts merely rejoiced in the excellence of the creative talents that remain. Or, even, in confirmation of Mohamed Salah's £11m arrival from Basel and the leggy purpose of Nemanja Matic in central midfield.
This was the £20.75m Serb's first start in two spells at this club and his physical presence and ability to stride forward with purpose stamped authority on the occasion. He is already unrecognisable from the wiry youth who had mustered three substitute appearances in 2009-10.
"He was very comfortable, offering big stability," said Mourinho. "I have no statistics but he stole a lot of balls and his passing was always quality. His left foot is soft. The ball comes always sweetly and the decision is always an easy, simple decision. The team flies when somebody makes it so simple."
He was progressive in his passing, too, to suggest he will offer another dimension. Once Mourinho has tweaked his forward ranks in the summer, with funding bolstered by Mata's sale, his lineup could indeed be the "phenomenal" selection he had confidently predicted a few weeks ago. The evolution is being played out in the public glare this term.
Stoke, once Peter Crouch had nodded wide five minutes in, failed miserably to check it. Even in the last 10 minutes, when their resistance – personified by the excellence of Ryan Shawcross and Asmir Begovic – had earned them a chance to pour forwards in search of parity, they mustered little of note.
They can concentrate now on securing top-flight survival, with Cardiff's Peter Odemwingie to join on Monday as Kenwyne Jones heads in the opposite direction.
The Nigerian will inject much needed pace into their front-line. Mark Hughes admitted they had not "forced the issue enough" though, in truth, they were too preoccupied trying to keep the home side at bay. Hazard is irrepressible these days, his burst of pace across the turf and quality in touch and vision illuminating his side's approach on a weekly basis. The Belgian might have conjured rewards for Frank Lampard and Oscar, while quite how neither Samuel Eto'o nor the substitute Ramires could score from inside the six-yard box after another fizzed centre defied belief. Oscar and André Schürrle crunched shots across the woodwork and, when David Luiz thrashed a free-kick goalwards late on, Begovic summoned a fine reflex save that took the breath away.
Another Brazilian had already beaten him from a dead-ball by then. Stoke had disputed Erik Pieters' foul on Eto'o just before the half-hour mark but they were helpless once Oscar dispatched a free-kick which curled viciously towards the post Begovic was guarding but still well beyond his despairing dive. It was the inside of the side-netting that bulged.
"It's a bit of a contradiction because we played so well but only won with a free-kick," said Mourinho. "Usually you win by scoring amazing goals in free play, and we had some fantastic play and very good collective movement out there. But the free-kick makes us happy because he trains for that. It's good to see a player who dedicates minutes every day after training on a specific thing score a beautiful goal like that." This was a seventh consecutive win in all competitions. The Etihad stadium awaits in the fifth round.

Man of the match Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

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

Telegraph:

Chelsea 1 Stoke City 0
By  Paul Hayward, at Stamford Bridge

For Jose Mourinho to justify selling Juan Mata to Manchester United he needs Oscar to pick up Oscars.
The Chelsea manager’s promise to build his side around his 22-year-old Brazilian was vindicated by a sweet free-kick and a performance of constant locomotion from his side’s leading man as Mourinho earned a fifth-round tie at Manchester City.
No sooner had Chelsea signed Mohamed Salah from FC Basle and dispatched Stoke City than Mourinho was heaping psychological pressure on City, who, he keeps insisting, have a duty to win everything by virtue of their vast talent pool and spending.
Even without this predictable jousting, a fifth-round tie worthy of a final will again test Mourinho’s decision to offload Chelsea’s player of the year for the last two seasons to a major rival.
Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Júnior looks ready for the task. His winning free-kick on Mourinho’s 51st birthday curled right to left and found the top corner of Asmir Begovic’s net as if obeying a computer’s calculation.
It cost £19.35 million to buy Oscar from Internacional: some £18 million less than the fee received for Mata. While United’s new acquisition darted through gaps and stroked unplayable passes onto the toes of team-mates, Oscar is more of a glider who turns up all over the pitch (including defensive positions).
Mourinho’s gamble met the approval of Chelsea’s fans, however sad they were to see Mata go. They trust his judgment. They see Chelsea settling into a mighty rhythm.
They watch Oscar, Eden Hazard and Willian supply the creativity. They are optimistic about Nemanja Matic’s return, in a deep midfield role. Salah is on his way. Mourinho has sold them the idea that Mata was ultimately surplus to requirements and no one is inclined to argue.
“Oscar is going to be my No 10 and I’m going to build my team around that decision,” Mourinho said before the Mata sale, and in this 1-0 victory Oscar set out to repay him. Stoke City’s tackling was robust in the early stages but Oscar’s goal stemmed from a non-foul on the edge of the penalty box.
When Erik Pieters poked his toe through the legs of Samuel Eto’o he unbalanced him without committing much of an offence. But Oscar, who also hit a post with a right-foot drive, seized his chance, clipping the ball in a perfect arc beyond Begovic.
Stoke’s attacking play was glacial. While Peter Crouch grappled with David Luiz, the ball was continually lost on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area.
Mourinho’s men accepted the invitation to practise counter-attacking.
Without Ryan Shawcross at the back Stoke might have conceded several more.
His reward was to take one in the unmentionables late on from a wicked Willian drive. Frank Lampard, hunting his 250th goal in club football, also fired over with his left foot. Eto’o and Andre Schurrle should both have scored. Yet Mourinho could feel sure throughout that Stoke were stuck in his Stamford Bridge vice.
Against Stoke’s 4-1-4-1, Mourinho started with John Terry, Cesar Azpilicueta, Petr Cech and Ramires on the bench. There was a rare start for Ashley Cole at left-back and Mark Schwarzer in goal.
Matic, repatriated from Benfica, was assured and strong alongside Lampard in front of the back four. This signing – or re-signing – brings more ballast to one of Mourinho’s favourite areas.
“Very comfortable, very comfortable. Big stability, also with Lampard on his side. Very comfortable on the pitch,” Mourinho said of Matic.
“I have no statistics, but he stole a lot of balls and his pass was always quality, and big stability and using his physical presence to make it difficult for Peter [Crouch]. Matic is comfortable anywhere. He’s good at defensive actions against this kind of team, but he’s very comfortable with the ball. His left foot is soft. The ball comes always sweetly, and the decision is always an easy, simple decision. The team flies when somebody makes it so simple. It was good.”
He was less impressed with Stoke’s meaty tacking of Hazard, though it was never malicious.
“I don’t want to cry. It’s not my nature, or Chelsea’s nature,” Mourinho claimed. “Hazard is small but is a very strong boy and resists a lot. He doesn’t like to dive or be on the floor. Opponents are coming very strong on him.
“Today, Mr [Chris] Foy, the referee, was just a little bit late to give the yellow card to [Geoff] Cameron, but he gave the card [for a foul on Hazard]. After that, the situation was different. You could feel at the beginning of the game it was go 'on’ him [Mourinho hit his palm with a fist].”
Now fully in his stride as the king of Stamford Bridge, Mourinho portrayed the Mata sale as a collegiate decision, free from the kind of owner-manager rancour that ended his first spell in west London.
He said: “I didn’t sell. We did. The club did. I was trying to explain the other day: at this club you don’t have individual decisions. The only person who can do an individual decision is the boss, Mr Abramovich, but he doesn’t. He respects the people who work, and we share opinions.
“I’m a football man, purely. We have people in the scouting and economical areas. Nobody in this club sold Mata for football reasons. For those reasons, we’d keep him. We sold because, economically, it was very good.
“The player was not happy with this situation, and that we have to respect.
“I’m sorry I didn’t make him happy. I build a team around Oscar in that position and, on the sides, the other people are doing very well. Juan is not comfortable on the sides. He did quite well and tried very hard on the right-side, but it’s not his natural habitat.”
A quiet family birthday dinner capped off the day. Mata out, Matic and Salah in. Seven wins in a row in all competitions. But two trips to Manchester City loom, within a fortnight in February, in League and Cup. Do believe the hype.

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

Mail:
Chelsea 1 Stoke City 0: Oscar shows Brazilian class with stunning free-kick to send Blues into FA Cup fifth round

By Neil Ashton

In the end the banner count stood at one. It was a simple message — ‘thank you Juan Mata’ — held forlornly by a heartbroken young Chelsea fan before kick-off.
That was it, just about the only recognition this Champions League winner got at Stamford Bridge  following his £37.1million move to Manchester United.
This game moves so fast: the king is dead, long live the king.
In Mata’s place, for much of the season as it happens, Oscar stood out from a crowd of mediocrity by scoring a beautiful goal with a first-half free-kick from five yards outside the area.
As a result Chelsea are on their way to Manchester City in the FA Cup fifth round next month. It is a beast of a tie.
They travel to the Etihad because the boy from Brazil is putting them away for fun, and from any angle. Oscar has scored nine for Chelsea this season and he is revelling in his role behind the main striker. It is intoxicating.
Oscar’s willingness to run, to check back and, in one instance, loop the ball over the 6ft 7in frame of Peter Crouch to help out his defence, is the reason Mata is no longer here. The Brazilian is so easy on the eye too with effortless dribbles and an ability to arrive unnoticed in the most unexpected areas of the field.
With Oscar in such spell-binding form it made sense to sell his  deputy when the Glazers dug into the vaults of cash last week.
Chelsea’s player of the year for the past two seasons has been flogged to United, says Jose Mourinho, for ‘economic’ reasons.
What he meant to say, in old money, is that United have paid way over the odds for him.
‘He’s a world champion, a European champion and it was difficult for him,’ admitted Mourinho.
‘We couldn’t stop him going to Manchester United, even though it’s a direct rival. The player was not happy and we have to respect that.I’m sorry I didn’t make him happy.’
Ah, the heart bleeds.
This is the new Chelsea, then, counting the pennies and adding value by stringing together these routine victories.
That said Stoke played a major part in Chelsea’s victory. They were dreadful. They have not scored in six games at Chelsea and there is every chance they will go another six, or maybe even 60.
Even their fans, propped up in the corner of the Shed End, looked as though they would have been far happier back home in Burslem in front of the fire with a cup of cocoa.
There was a hint of the old Stoke about them, with niggling and unnecessary ambushes on Eden Hazard. ‘Mr (Chris) Foy (the referee) was a little bit late to give the yellow card to Geoff Cameron,’ added Mourinho. ‘Hazard is not a boy to go down and dive.’
Stoke were never going to win here, not once Oscar clipped his breathtaking free-kick beyond the sprawling arms of Asmir Begovic.
It seems a pity that he was not rewarded with another when he was clean through four minutes before the break, but this time he hit the base of a post. After the break, his nifty footwork created an angle but he hit the side netting.Stoke got off lightly.
Another effort was straight at Begovic. One was enough, though. Oscar deserved his ovation when he was replaced nine minutes from time, resting up ahead of Wednesday’s clash with West Ham in the Barclays Premier League.
With David Luiz stirring memories of Johnny Metgod by winding up for a ferocious free-kick from long range, there was only one way this fourth-round tie was headed. Begovic saved well but his team were already beaten.
Stoke never got going, suffocated in midfield by the presence of Nemanja Matic. That, along with their limited ambition, meant they didn’t stand a chance. Matic was in for his full debut after returning from Benfica and he slotted neatly alongside Frank Lampard in  Chelsea’s engine room. Mourinho can explore his options.
Matic was dependable, putting a toe in to steal the ball off the feet of Wilson Palacios or the woeful Stephen Ireland when required.
Possession regained, he prodded the ball into the feet of Hazard, Andre Schurrle or Oscar to do their stuff. Job done.
They are into the fifth round and the air will be thick with anticipation when they travel to City (again) on the weekend of February 15-16.It’s a massive game and if the country doesn’t catch Cup fever with a tie as monstrous as this then we may as well call it a day.
Chelsea have won four FA Cups in the Roman Abramovich era and Mourinho was the manager for the first of them in 2007.
They are on the trophy hunt again and yet Mourinho — reminded that it was his 51st birthday — was relaxed after Chelsea’s seventh  successive victory.
‘I will have dinner with my wife, daughter and son and a couple of friends,’ he added. ‘It is better to have dinner when I am happy.’

Chelsea: Schwarzer 6, Ivanovic 6, Cahill 7, Luiz 6, Cole 6, Lampard 6, Matic 7, Hazard 7, Oscar 7 (Willian 82), Schurrle 5 (Ramires 70), Eto'o 5 (Ba 85)
Substitutes not used: Cech, Mikel, Terry, Azpilicueta
Manager: Jose Mourinho 7
Scorer: Oscar 27
Stoke City: Begovic 7, Cameron 6, Shawcross 7, Pieter 6 (Muniesa 85), Wilson 6, Palacios 5 (Assaidi 72), Nzonzi 6, Walters 5, Ireland 5, Arnautovic 6 (Adam 83), Crouch 7
Substitutes not used: Whelan, Guidetti, Sorensen, Shotton
Manager: Mark Hughes 5
Booked: Cameron, Wilson, Pieters
Referee: Chris Foy (Merseyside)
Attendance: 40,845

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

Mirror:
Chelsea 1-0 Stoke: Oscar free-kick the difference as Blues progress to FA Cup fifth round
 
By Martin Lipton

The Brazilian's delightful first-half goal settled an attritional affair at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon
Oscar put the icing on Jose Mourinho’s birthday cake with the screamer that earned the Blues an FA Cup clash of the giants.
The Brazilian’s all-round contribution was the key reason Mourinho decided he could afford to let Juan Mata leave for Manchester United.
And on an afternoon ­electrified by Eden Hazard’s glittering skills, it was Oscar’s first-half free-kick that set up the titanic fifth-round trip to Manchester City next month.
Up and over the Stoke wall from the right side of the box, arcing beyond Asmir Begovic with the late movement that sent the ball an inch or so inside the keeper’s far post.
Utterly unstoppable, too, taking the Brazilian’s tally for the season to nine, behind only Hazard in the Londoners’ goal charts this term.
No wonder the Chelsea boss, who joked that turning 51 was nothing to celebrate, set off for a birthday dinner with a smile on his face.
“The free-kick makes us happy because he trains for that,” said Mourinho. “It’s good to see a player dedicate some minutes every day after training on a specific thing to score a beautiful goal like that.
“It’s a bit of a contradiction because we played so well but won with a free-kick.
“Usually you win by scoring amazing goals in free play, and we had some fantastic play and fantastic individual actions. We played very well.”
The Portuguese was right, and it should have been more. Stoke offered precious little except rugged physical resistance, ­seemingly targeting Hazard for special treatment from the outset.
Even so, the Potters struggled to stop him, as Chelsea again ­demonstrated their growing sense of verve, Mourinho’s options increasing with confirmation of the signing of £11million ­Egyptian Mohamed Salah.
With Hazard at times ­unplayable, Nemanja Matic bringing a new physical ­dimension, perceptive passing and tactical discipline in central midfield, Chelsea were, as Mark Hughes conceded, a class apart.
The Stoke boss complained, with little justification, that Erik Pieters had not fouled Samuel Eto’o to bring the free-kick, yet only once, when Stephen Ireland flashed into the side-netting, did they really threaten Mark Schwarzer in the Blues’ goal.
Otherwise, it was one-way traffic.
Hazard’s first slalom run ended with Eto’o a whisker wide, while Ryan ­Shawcross was on constant fire-fighting duties, a series of vital interventions keeping his side in the game.
Even so, the woodwork rescued Stoke either side of the break, with Oscar thudding against the foot of the post and Andre Schurrle crashing onto the bar.
There were other chances, Frank Lampard a fraction away from the finishing touch when Hazard skipped down the right, Eto’o conspiring to prod wide from four yards after the Belgian danced down the left, Begovic saving superbly from both Lampard and David Luiz.
All the time, Matic, on his second Blues debut following his £21m return from Benfica, was giving impetus and drive.
“Matic did well, very well,” said Mourinho. “He was very ­comfortable on the pitch, stole a lot of balls and his passing was always quality.”
Chelsea are flying now, that’s for sure. Mourinho revealed: “I will have dinner with my wife, daughter and son, and a couple of friends.
“You want me to celebrate being 51 years old? Come on! But the best thing is to be with my family, and they’re happy - and now I can have a dinner where I don’t have to pretend I am happy.”

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

Express:

Oscar puts icing on the cake with winner to lift birthday boy Jose Mourinho
LIKE many men, Jose Mourinho was none too keen on celebrating the unwelcome anniversary of his 51st birthday last night, as he went out to dinner with his family. But at least Oscar gave him the early present of a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
By: Tony Banks

It was the Brazilian, whose superb first-half curling free-kick provided the winning goal on a grey and rainy Sunday afternoon at Stamford Bridge.
It should have been more, which made for a nervy end to this grinding 90 minutes for the glory of the cup. And the reward? An away tie at Manchester City. That was a late birthday surprise that Mourinho probably did not want – but the Special One still insisted he was relishing that particular task.
He said: “How will I celebrate my birthday? I have dinner with my wife, daughter and son and a couple of friends. People want me to celebrate being 51 years old? Come on. How do you celebrate that?
“The best thing is to be with my family and they’re happy. One thing though was to have a dinner where I didn’t have to pretend I was happy. It’s better that I am actually happy.”
Chelsea registered their seventh win in a row and the wonder was that they did not win by more goals, against a Stoke side whose sole aim appeared to be to not lose by too big a margin.
Mourinho made five changes from the side which beat Manchester United last Sunday and gave new £21million midfielder Nemanja Matic his debut on his return to the club.
The Serb had a fine game and already it looks as though the Chelsea manager’s January transfer business might have been plenty shrewd enough, with the club yesterday confirming the signing of midfielder Mohamed Salah form Basle on a five-and-a-half-year contract.
The man from Benfica was steady and incisive in his passing and he also provided the pace that Chelsea have occasionally lacked in that area. They were almost ahead in the first minute, when Samuel Eto’o turned on a sixpence to shoot an inch wide.
There was a brief scare when Peter Crouch headed wide, but Oscar then steadied the ship with a peach of a goal. Eto’o was brought down on the edge of the area and the Brazilian curled a glorious free-kick into the top corner.
Mourinho said: “It’s a contradiction because we played so well but won with a free-kick. We had some fantastic play against a difficult team. The free-kick makes us happy because Oscar practises those.
“We hit the post twice and their goalkeeper again showed how good he is. We controlled the game from the first minute.”
The only other scare was Stephen Ireland hitting the side netting in the first half, but Oscar then hit the post with a drive and Frank Lampard fluffed a good chance. Chelsea’s pressure on the Stoke defence thoughout was relentless and, when the excellent Oscar then put Andre Shurrle through, the German struck the bar with his shot.
With Eden Hazard having yet another excellent game – despite repeated attempts by the Stoke defence to hack him down wihich resulted in bookings for Geoff Cameron and Marc Wilson – the Potters struggled to contain their attack.
One glorious run by the Belgian saw first Ramires and then Eto’o somehow miss the target from six yards. And goalkeeper Asmir Begovic’s brilliant tip over from David Luiz’s rocket free-kick was another frustration.
Stoke piled forward at the end but they had neither the wit nor the pace to really trouble Chelsea. Manchester City might be different, of course.
Potters boss Mark Hughes said: “You have to hold your hands up when a player produces a free-kick of the quality that Oscar has. We stayed in the game right until the end but we did not force the issue hard enough.”
Hughes will today hope to finalise the swap deal which will see striker Peter Odemwingie join his side from Cardiff, with Kenwyne Jones going in the other direction – with priority being the goals that will secure Premier League survival.
Ashley Cole, 32, whose deal runs out at the end of this season, started yesterday’s 1-0 FA Cup fourth round win over Stoke, but could be replaced if Chelsea’s planned bid for Southampton’s Luke Shaw is successful.
Last night Cole responded to a supporter who said it was nice to see him back in the Blues defence by tweeting: “Cheers mate, just don’t get used to it.”

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Schwarzer; Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Cole; Matic, Lampard; Schurrle (Ramires 69 6), Oscar (Willian 82), Hazard; Eto’o (Ba 85). Goal: Oscar 27.
Stoke (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Cameron, Wilson, Shawcross, Pieters (Muniesa 85); Nzonzi, Palacios (Assiadi 71); Arnautovic (Adam 83), Ireland, Walters; Crouch. Booked: Cameron, Wilson, Pieters.
Referee: C Foy (Merseyside).

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

Star:

Chelsea 1 - Stoke 0: Oscar's magnificent free-kick sends the Blues into the last 16
CHELSEA gave Jose Mourinho the birthday gift of a seventh straight win - but this was no party for the Portuguese coach.
By David Woods

On the day he turned 51, Mourinho spent most of the FA Cup tie hands thrust deep in the pockets of his black coat, looking anxious as he prowled around his technical area.
In the 64th minute fans at the Shed End tried to lift him by singing ‘Happy Birthday’. He ignored them and it was the last we heard of it.
For despite claiming he loves the FA Cup - he won it in 2007 during his first spell at the Blues - a replay was the last thing he wanted, especially as it would have meant complications switching next Monday’s crunch trip to Manchester City.
As it was, Stoke never really threatened to hit back after Oscar’s 27th-minute goal.
Mark Hughes and his men had a bit of a go, but not much and certainly this was a much watered-down performance from the one that saw them beat Chelsea 3-2 at home in the league in December.
Even as the clock wound down they seemed more concerned about being caught on the break by the home side and, in particular, the excellent Eden Hazard.
Stoke took up just 600 out of a ticket allocation of 7000, but at least those fans can now - like their manager and team - concentrate on Premier League survival.
Mourinho might have been more relaxed had his men had a dream start.
It was almost to be as in their first attack, Samuel Eto’o turned smartly and shot just wide.
Then a superb Chelsea break saw Hazard pick out the veteran striker’s run through the heart of the Stoke defence.
Eto’o rolled to Oscar who then tried to do the same for Andre Schurrle, but the ball was too slow and Ryan Shawcross intercepted.
Shawcross also did well in the 25th minute when Eto’o tried to poke through for Oscar, getting to the ball first again.
But Oscar did not have to wait long for his chance. It came in after a clumsy foul by Erik Pieters on Eto’o.
From the right flank it looked like Luiz was going to shoot, but he ran past the ball and allowed Oscar to bend a terrific right foot strike over the top of the wall - which featured Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic and Schurrle - and sizzling past Asmir Bergovic.
“it looked like Luiz was going to shoot, but he ran past the ball and allowed Oscar to bend a terrific right foot strike over the top of the wall”
Steven Nzonzi tested Mark Schwarzer with a shot from long range which bounced awkwardly, but the Aussie keeper was equal to it. It was about as bothered as he was all match.
A superb run in from the right wing by Hazard culminated in a pass across goal which Frank Lampard just could not reach and seconds later Stephen Ireland fired into the side-netting for Stoke.
Chelsea broke with speed again, though, and Oscar smashed a shot against the foot of Begovic’s left post after being played in by Hazard.
Lampard ought to have done better than blaze over with his left foot following a cutback from Branislav Ivanovic.
A fine pass from new boy Nemanja Matic in the 48th picked out Oscar who then moved the ball onto Schurrle. He fed it onto Schurrle whose strong sidefoot struck high up on Begovic’s left upright.
There was little threat of a goal at either end then until the 76th minute when Lampard at last struck a ball cleanly, but Begovic got down well to deny him.
A minute later the excellent Hazard powered in from the left to present an opportunity for substitute Ramires and then Eto’o to poke home.
Neither could oblige under pressure from Stoke players, and Eto’o eventually prodded wide.
Soon after Begovic had impressively strong hands to push over a rasping free-kick from Luiz.
Like cheap champagne for a birthday bash, this match had little fizz left by the end of it.
Mourinho got his victory and Hughes took solace in a narrow defeat which will not have dented his men’s confidence.

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

Monday, January 20, 2014

Man Utd 3-1



 Independent:

Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1
Samuel Eto'o's hat-trick gives Jose Mourinho his 100th Premier League victory and creates more misery for David Moyes
Sam Wallace

Even Jose Mourinho, the man with a word or a gesture for every occasion, did not know where to look as Nemanja Vidic trudged in despair to the touchline after his red card in the closing stages of yet another Manchester United defeat.
The defending champions of England have become the embarrassing relative in the Premier League family; consistently letting themselves down on the big occasions, presiding over a shocking slide in standards and all of a sudden, the subject of pity rather than envy. Their rivals might even feel sorry for them if they were not so busy beating them.
Mourinho, a man given to mercilessly wringing out the last drop of advantage, did not bother to push Phil Dowd hard when it came to a foul worthy of a red card by Rafael Da Silva in the last few moments. All great generals have the knack of knowing when an opponent has been defeated and it certainly seemed that way with Mourinho, who was more disposed to sympathy towards United in his post-match press conference.
He threw some scraps United’s way: they had been the better team in the first 20 minutes of the game – that was true – and that Rafael’s reckless lunge at Gary Cahill was just a mark of frustration. There is no mileage in trying to psyche out a club that are 14 points off the top of the Premier League when he has much more serious rivals to contemplate.
This is where the United of 2014 currently rank in the concerns of the leading teams of the day. With four defeats in five in January, they are an after-thought. Mourinho delivered the bad news that the title race is now over for United with as much compassion as he could muster and a preface of “I am sure David won’t mind me saying ...” His logic was that while one of the top three could possibly blow up, not all of them would.
It was left to David Moyes to put a brave face on it all and talk about the scope of the “challenge” facing United. He blamed defeat on the “terrible defending” for the two set-pieces that led to the second and third goals of the hat-trick for Samuel Eto’o. But it is easier to reduce defeats like these to the details – the runner not tracked, the tackle missed – and ignore the bigger picture.
That picture is that once the effort of the opening stages was expended by United they never looked like finding a way back in. Without Wayne Rooney or Robin van Persie there is not that critical force which will place an opponent of the calibre of Chelsea under the kind of pressure that can break them. United pulled one back through the substitute Javier Hernandez but what they had was never going to be enough.
There were some good performances in the United team, from Danny Welbeck and Adnan Januzaj. Unfortunately for United, these are interesting little guitar solos compared to the might and discipline of Mourinho’s orchestra. This Chelsea team has the nous to dig in when the pressure is on, and the awareness to exploit the weaknesses of an opponent when the opportunity arises.
It was a great afternoon for Eto’o on the occasion of Mourinho’s 100th career Premier League win. His first goal came after an innocuous header away by Jonny Evans. On the right side, Eto’o seemed unsure where to go at first but when Phil Jones bought his dummy so easily he headed for goal and got a shot off as Michael Carrick came over to cover. The ball flicked up off the United midfielder and beat David De Gea at his far post.
Carrick had been one of the prime movers in a positive start for United. It was his ball out left to Ashley Young that created a chance within two minutes. Young exchanged passes with Welbeck on the left side of the area but, with a sight of goal, he could not get the ball past Petr Cech.
In those early stages United looked like a team responding to the demands of their manager to take charge of the game. Carrick stroked the ball around in the centre of midfield, Januzaj would later tie David Luiz up in knots and then slot the ball perfectly across the penalty area where, typically for United, no-one was waiting.
There was more misfortune later in the first half for United when Cesar Azpilicueta took away Welbeck’s standing foot as the forward was in the act of shooting. To Welbeck’s credit he managed to get a shot away and Moyes said later that a penalty on that occasion would have been “soft”.
The second Chelsea goal just before half-time was the first of those abject defensive episodes. Welbeck’s clearance from a corner fell to Ramires who pushed the ball out to Gary Cahill on the right and his cross was turned in relatively easily by Eto’o. The cameras picked out Rafael’s meander away from the left side he should have been defending, but in truth the whole United defence was woefully ineffective.
At that point it became critical for Moyes. Four minutes after half-time, Cahill won a header unopposed which De Gea just about saved with his elbow. With Valencia preoccupied with trying to wrestle Eto’o out of contention, the Chelsea striker prodded the ball into the goal.
The afternoon had begun with United fans baiting Mourinho over missing out on succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson; to which he responded with a cursory wave. By the end it was all about Moyes and the Chelsea fans who sang “we want you to stay”. As his team regrouped after the third goal they looked crushed. Patrice Evra hobbled off. The game was up.
Mourinho later acknowledged that United fought back bravely. Hernandez poked in Jones’ shot after excellent work from Welbeck. There was tiredness in Chelsea’s legs and Mourinho opted to send on the giant Nemanja Matic to shore up a five-man midfield. In the meantime, Fernando Torres, another substitute, sustained a knee ligament injury that could rule him out for a month.
The red card for Vidic for his tackle on Eden Hazard in the closing stages and Rafael’s subsequent rush of blood just added to the theme of raggedness about United. They need Rooney and Van Persie back as soon as possible but when it comes to making good, that really is only the start.

Chelsea: (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Luiz; Willian (Matic, 85), Oscar (Mikel, 68), Hazard; Eto’o (Torres, 79).
Substitutes not used: Schwarzer (gk), Cole, Lampard, Mata.

Manchester United (4-4-1-1): De Gea; R Da Silva, Vidic, Evans, Evra (Smalling, 51); Valencia, Carrick, Jones, Young (Hernandez, 56); Januzaj; Welbeck.
Substitutes not used: Lindegaard (gk), Giggs, Cleverley, Fletcher, Kagawa.

Referee: P Dowd
Booked: Manchester United Young
Sent off: Vidic
Man of the match: Eto’o
Rating: 6/10

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Guardian:

Chelsea's Samuel Eto'o hits hat-trick as Manchester United lose Vidic
Chelsea 3 Man Utd 1

Daniel Taylor

There was a moment, before it became apparent they were about to be subjected to another considerable ordeal, when Manchester United's supporters could be heard reminding José Mourinho of the common suspicion that he had once harboured strong ambitions for David Moyes's job. The Chelsea manager responded with a smile and a little wave, then settled back to watch his team inflict another grievous setback to Moyes's first season at this level. He might as well have made a "w" for "whatever" with his fingers.
Mourinho batted away the insults with the kind of nonchalance with which his players would find a way through the opposition defence. "David Moyes, we want you to stay," Chelsea's fans piped up in response, echoing a song that has become part of the soundtrack to United's season. The champions, 14 points off the top of the Premier League, have been stranded and, from here, nobody can be sure they have the personnel to clamber into the Champions League places.
No one ever assumed it was going to be easy for Moyes but seven defeats in 22 league games still represents an ignominious haul and, for the latest, they helped to transport Samuel Eto'o back to the days when he used to menace the world's most accomplished defences. Mourinho was asked afterwards about the title race and mentioned six clubs, including Everton, Liverpool and Spurs. United were an afterthought and Moyes sounded like a man going through the motions when he insisted he would not give up.
Eto'o will prize the match ball after a hat-trick that acted as a throwback to his younger days. United, all the same, were obliging opponents. They are entitled to have grievances about Nemanja Vidic's late red card, when a booking would have been sufficient for his scything challenge on Eden Hazard, but they were also extremely fortunate Rafael da Silva did not follow him in stoppage time for his two-footed tackle on Gary Cahill. The bigger picture is that a team with their ambitions cannot defend this generously and expect to get away with it. Chelsea played with knowhow; United lacked it.
Chelsea did not even have to reach their most illuminating heights to win convincingly. Mourinho's team withstood some early pressure and there were flashes of excellence that reminded everyone why Adnan Januzaj is attracting so much acclaim, but in other departments the home side were superior. Hazard, Oscar and Willian flickered only sporadically, but this was a victory for their organisation and togetherness. Chelsea are back to within two points of the leaders, Arsenal, and have won six straight games. Mourinho is also showing, once again, his qualities as a manager of rare achievement.
A lot of people would have been surprised to see Eto'o even make the starting line-up ahead of Fernando Torres. The late injury for Torres, damaging knee ligaments after coming on as a substitute, ensures the Cameroonian an extended run.
His first goal, after 17 minutes, was a reminder of the old Eto'o, as he changed direction, cut in from the right and curled a left-foot shot over David de Gea, courtesy of a small yet crucial deflection off Michael Carrick's boot. Eto'o had made his own good fortune, eluding Phil Jones and letting fly with a shot few would have dared to attempt. Jones looked as though his feet were stuck in treacle and the breakthrough came at a crucial time for Chelsea. As Mourinho admitted, they had been slow to settle into the match.
Missing Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, United at least have the basis of an excuse for why they are not the attacking force of old. They are far too reliant on the 18-year-old Januzaj and, again, there was more evidence about the shortcomings of Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young in wide positions.
Yet it must be troubling for Moyes that his defence looks so vulnerable. Eto'o's hat-trick goal, four minutes into the second half, emanated from a straightforward corner, a free header for Cahill and a question of who would be first to the rebound after the ball had spun off De Gea. It was only moments before that Valencia had realised Eto'o was unmarked inside the six-yard area and sprinted back to cover him. Yet Eto'o showed the greater anticipation and intent and easily held him off.
Moyes used the word "terrible" to describe it and he must have been appalled as well by the goal that made it 2-0. Again, it came from a corner. Danny Welbeck cleared the first ball but Ramires simply rolled it back into the penalty area and Eto'o was unmarked to turn in Cahill's low centre.
In between the first two goals, United had legitimate reasons to be aggrieved about the way César Azpilicueta came through the back of Welbeck when he was inside the six-yard area and shaping to shoot after John Terry's one lapse of the match. A penalty at that stage would have meant a red card and possibly changed the entire complexion of the match.
Instead, the 78th-minute goal for the substitute Javier Hernández, applying the finishing touch to Jones's shot, was largely irrelevant. United are no longer a team who can rely on late feats of escapology. Vidic's final contribution smacked of frustration and Mourinho killed them with flattery afterwards. He wanted them to finish in the top four, he said, but only because it would mean them taking points off teams with genuine title aspirations.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/gallery/2014/jan/19/chelsea-manchester-united-picture-gallery

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1

By  Henry Winter, at Stamford Bridge

Jose Mourinho headed to the Savoy after this comfortable victory, receiving a special tribute night from the Football Writers’ Association, but his team hardly needed to put on the Ritz to put Manchester United to the sword. In second gear throughout, Mourinho’s side were just too organised defensively, a contrast to the visitors, and just too intelligent tactically for United.
That was what should hurt the champions most. Chelsea did not need to be special to win. Adding to the pain, Mourinho offered United his sympathy afterwards, saying the game had been closer. Such pitying almost indicated that Mourinho did not see United as rivals any more, certainly not in the Premier League where David Moyes’s side now lie 14 points behind the leaders Arsenal.
With Roman Abramovich grinning, and David Beckham grimacing, United’s defence of their title ended here as their embarrassing defence dissolved in the face of the 32-year-old Samuel Eto’o, who went home with a huge smile and the match ball.
As Sir Alex Ferguson and Mick Hucknall looked on, United slumped to their fourth loss out of five in January, checking into a heartbreak hotel as Mourinho prepared for the Savoy.
United need a substantial change of personnel and attitude. Of those starting at the Bridge, only David De Gea, Rafael da Silva, Phil Jones, Michael Carrick, Adnan Januzaj and Danny Welbeck are worth keeping. They badly missed the injured Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie but it is the defence most urgently needing to be rebuilt with Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra expected to leave.
Jones needs embedding in at centre-half with Rafael to his right, a high-class centre-half alongside him and someone of Luke Shaw’s quality at left-back.
Central midfield has long required a dynamo, a player of guile and goals. If Rooney departs in the summer as expected, United will also need to strengthen there. It will not be cheap.
The fact remains that United generate fortunes with official sponsors ranging from a motorcycle partner in Thailand to an official noodles partner for Asia, Oceania and the Middle East, from Mr Potato to the Hong Kong Jockey Club. A powerful brand name must now help make a struggling squad powerful again.
Reports that the Glazer family, United’s owners, are now looking at the possibility of a £600 million bond issue to reduce their interest repayments was reflected in one banner held up by United fans in the Shed: “£600m reasons your time is up. Glazers out now. MUFC”.
United’s fans were defiant amid the gloom, telling Mourinho to “sit down” and chanting “Jose Mourinho, you wanted this job”. He would probably have shaped United’s unbalanced squad into a more effective team than Moyes has. Mourinho is an alchemist, improving players. Eden Hazard is a consistently effective force, tracking back as well as attacking. Willian is more imposing. He has revived John Terry.
Mourinho’s judgment was questioned when he brought in Eto’o but it has proved a masterstroke. Mourinho even raised eyebrows when starting Eto’o ahead of Fernando Torres here but only glasses were being raised to his perspicacity at the end. He explained that Eto’o was better at “movement in small spaces” while Torres needed more space.
The Cameroonian’s first goal arrived after 17 minutes. United had actually started well.
Ashley Young was denied by Petr Cech but the champions were soon caught out. Eto’o collected a headed clearance from Jonny Evans, a dummy took Jones out of the way, opening the space up. Eto’o shot left-footed, the ball hitting the sliding Carrick and looping up and in past De Gea.
United still hinted at a goal. Evra hustled Oscar into surrendering the ball but shot into the side-netting. Januzaj, moving briefly away from his unsuccessful role in the hole, then crossed from the left. Welbeck was caught by César Azpilicueta as he shot but Phil Dowd waved play on.
Mistakes and poor marking bedevilled United. Just before half-time, United only half-cleared a corner and then failed to push out.
Chelsea poured back in. Ramires fed Gary Cahill, who whipped the ball across and Eto’o, given the freedom of the United box, swept his second past De Gea from 10 yards out.
Two became three for Eto’o four minutes after half-time.
Willian curled the ball in and Cahill was left free by Evans. De Gea somehow kept Cahill’s header out but as Antonio Valencia dithered, Eto’o was quickest to the loose ball, stabbing it over the line.
The history books needed ­updating. Eto’o became the first Chelsea player to score a hat-trick against United since 1955 and only the fourth player to net a Premier League hat-trick against United after David Bentley (for Blackburn Rovers, 2006), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool, 2011) and Romelu Lukaku (for West Bromwich Albion in 2013).
Eto’o also struck for Barcelona in their 2009 Champions League final win against United in Rome and he may have compromised their chances of even qualifying for the competition next season.
There was a response of sorts from United, the tireless Welbeck running into the box, cutting the ball back to Jones, whose shot was turned in by Javier Hernández. It was the most hollow of consolations.
They will now miss Vidic for three games after he was dismissed late on for scything down Hazard while Rafael was fortunate not to follow his captain down the tunnel for a two-footed lunge on Cahill. Such indiscipline was borne of frustration and Moyes needs to instil greater leadership into the dressing-room.
The painful fact remains for Moyes that Chelsea were better organised, more in tune with their manager’s tactical demands. In orchestrating his 100th Premier League victory, Mourinho’s ability to prepare teams tactically for the most demanding challenges is arguably unrivalled currently.
Moyes has yet to acquire such knowledge; with United and while at Everton, Moyes has yet to win in the Premier League at Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and United (while at Everton) in 48 attempts.
Yet his United side have progressed promisingly in Europe this season. Moyes is a good manager requiring patience and money. He will continue to be backed by the board, and it is to be hoped backed powerfully in the summer transfer window when more A-list talents are for sale.
Moyes has to be allowed to build his own squad, a reality that may take a couple of years, and United’s board will have to hold their nerve through continued storm clouds. Encouragingly for Moyes, there was not a hint of rebellion amongst United supporters here.

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Mail:

Chelsea 3 Man United 1: Eto'o hat-trick hands Blues impressive win as Moyes' men fail another test
By Martin Samuel

There was no knee slide this time, no joyous arm-whirling sprint along the touchline. If we didn’t know him better, it was almost as if Jose Mourinho’s victory over Manchester United yesterday was, well, expected.
Chelsea defeated the champions as if they were inferiors. They held a two-goal cushion at half-time, added to it soon after the break and then, the challenge over, sloppily conceded a late goal to afford the illusion of contention. In reality, Chelsea were, at vital moments, a significant distance ahead.
At 3-0 they could have risked more in search of greater emphasis in the scoreline but Mourinho is not Manuel Pellegrini. He has little interest in chasing milestones or landslide victories. Once Samuel Eto’o had scored his third — the first Chelsea hat-trick against United since Seamus O’Connell in the 1954-55 title-winning season — Mourinho seemed happy to let his team see out the game in comfort. His substitutions, John Mikel Obi for Oscar in particular, were about preservation not annihilation.
It made United appear better than they were. In spells, they had the best of the play, but Chelsea won the key passages. When Chelsea dominated, they scored. United, by contrast, were kept at arm’s length. Only Adnan Januzaj looked capable of getting into Mourinho’s team and he is still young enough for Chelsea’s old sweats to gang up on him, which they did. United missed Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie — who wouldn’t? — but that was not the reason they lost. Defensive weakness allowed Chelsea to set the agenda here, and that is a part of the game that is supposed to be David Moyes’s strength.
O’Connell was a non-League player with Bishop Auckland and, on the day of the United game, a club official was sent to meet him at King’s Cross station. Unable to make contact, the official retired to the platform cafe and told his forlorn tale to a young stranger carrying a brown paper parcel — who turned out to be O’Connell. The pair got to Stamford Bridge, via taxi, in the nick of time. O’Connell scored a hat-trick,  Chelsea lost 6-5.
Eto’o’s route to Stamford Bridge was similarly circuitous. He was the stop gap, the afterthought, the man considered too old to be much of a threat in the Premier League. Tell that to United. What they wouldn’t have given yesterday for a finisher of Eto’o’s quality.
Danny Welbeck was a pale imitation of what was required. In the second minute, he set up Ashley Young for a good chance that Petr Cech saved and in the 38th minute only a last-ditch tackle by Cesar Azpilicueta stopped him, but only when Chelsea’s ambitions lowered did United threaten greatly.
Welbeck had a header from a Januzaj corner in the 69th minute, but missed that, too. Each time the anguish on the United bench contrasted with Mourinho’s ease.
Eto’o was Welbeck’s opposite, performing acts of alchemy. Chelsea had barely been in the game when he opened the scoring after 17  minutes, a goal created by his persistence and United’s negligence.
It is possible to speculate that Eto’o would still be running with the ball now had he not planted it in the net, via a deflection off Michael Carrick, such was United’s aversion to applying pressure or stifling space.
Eto’o collected the ball, ran out to the right, was untroubled by Patrice Evra or Phil Jones, cut back inside, continued to avoid traffic and eventually tried a shot which clipped Carrick and looped over David De Gea.
Chelsea did not deserve to be ahead at the time — but they made the most of it from there.
Willian hit a corner, met by Gary Cahill at the near post, that flew across the face of goal. Branislav Ivanovic had a powerful shot and Oscar an overhead volley from close range, following an Eto’o opportunity that ricocheted. In the final minute of the first half, United slumbered again — and Chelsea took an unassailable advantage.
Another Willian corner was cleared before Ramires put the ball back in to Cahill on the right side of the penalty area. His cross found Eto’o, who reacted quicker than Nemanja Vidic, leaving De Gea no chance from close range.
Within four minutes of the second-half restart, Chelsea had closed the game out after more calamitous defending from United at a set play. Again, a Willian corner was a prelude to carnage as Cahill met the ball unmarked, De Gea saved desperately with an elbow and Eto’o got to the ball before Antonio Valencia to send Stamford Bridge into delirium.
Valencia might have beaten Eto’o in the challenge had he not got on the wrong side, and he might not have got on the wrong side had he chosen to mark properly and make a tackle, rather than engage in another pointless round of Strictly Come Penalty Area
Valencia’s decision to clasp Eto’o allowed him to be spun around to a position of ineffectuality, and the game was lost. God knows what Len would have made of it, let alone Craig.
Substitute Javier Hernandez pulled a goal back from a pass by Jones in the 78th minute, but it was another United mirage. Aside from a header from Hernandez, directed straight at Cech in the 90th minute, there was no grandstand finish from the champions.
The biggest events in the minutes that followed were a red card for Vidic and a lucky escape for right back Rafael.
Moyes thought Vidic was treated harshly in the first minute of added time and, initially, it looked no more than a lousy tackle worthy of a booking. But replays showed the reckless intent of United’s captain in delivering a foul both late and high that could have caused Eden Hazard serious injury.
Moyes conceded Rafael could have been similarly dismissed but referee Phil Dowd clearly had no appetite for reducing United to nine, so only showed a yellow for a two-footed airborne and late tackle on Cahill two minutes later. As a card was issued, the FA will take no further action; an irony considering Cahill could have been kicked out of the World Cup at that moment.
Moyes put defeat down to the defending at set pieces and Mourinho has now mastered the art of patronising defeated managers, so left him to his illusion. The brutal reality is United are no longer a huge scalp this season. Moyes has won one game as United manager against the top nine clubs in the Premier League, and Wednesday’s Capital One Cup semi-final second leg against Sunderland has taken on incongruous importance.
Mourinho made a quick getaway to a reception at the Savoy Hotel in his honour. It was a  bigger celebration than any seen at Stamford Bridge — and that should hurt United most of all.

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


Mirror:

Chelsea 3-1 Manchester United: Samuel Eto'o nets hat-trick as hosts dispatch below-par champions
  
By Martin Lipton

The veteran striker struck three times to condemn David Moyes' side to another galling defeat
One hundred Premier League wins for Jose ­Mourinho, Chelsea with their eyes on the main prize.
But the game looks up for United. And it could get worse before it starts getting better.
As Stamford Bridge roared with delight last night, Mourinho wore a satisfied smile, David Moyes a look of sheer disbelief.
Yet with Samuel Eto’o making his manager’s big selection call look like genius, this felt like a defining moment for both these sides.
For Chelsea, simply better in every department until they declared with half an hour to go, this was merely a staging post in their journey.
Their rivals are Arsenal and Manchester City, a three-cornered fight for the glittering trophy, a battle royal between a trio finding their best form at the critical moment.
For Moyes and United, finishing with 10 men after Nemanja Vidic’s reckless leap into Eden Hazard – and lucky it wasn’t nine following Rafael da Silva’s two-footer on Gary Cahill – it looked more like a symbol of their decline.
That, though, is not Chelsea’s fault. It does not matter that this United side is rapidly becoming a pale shadow of the ones built by Sir Alex Ferguson.
They are still, as the Blues boss warned, Manchester United – still a team that evokes concern. But last night, as Mourinho prepared to be feted at the Football Writers’ ­Association gala dinner at The Savoy, his side fed on United’s carcass, with gluttonous delight.
This was a game that showed the gulf. Once United’s initial spark ­disappeared, all too quickly, they were simply bypassed, scared witless by the pace and brio of Hazard, ­Mouirinho’s Premier League century racked up in just 142 games.
The Belgian, though, was not alone as only Adnan Januzaj appeared in the same class as Mourinho’s men.
Oscar was terrific, a constant ­fizz-ball of energy and intelligence, Willian a menace every time he got the ball.
And Eto’o’s predatory hat-trick, two close-range finishes after his deflected opener, merely demonstrated, once again, how desperate United are reliant on the absent Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie.
Maybe, had Ashley Young converted his early chance after a one-two with Danny Welbeck, had Eto’o’s opener deflected off Michael Carrick into David De Gea’s hands, rather than the top corner, it might have been different.
But probably not. When it mattered, when Chelsea found their game and went through the gears, they had far, far too much for United.
The opener, 17 minutes in, summed things up. Jonny Evans headed to Eto’o, who had, seemingly, nowhere to go, first drifting right before ­realising Patrice Evra and Phil Jones were sleeping.
Jones was bypassed far too easily, Carrick’s reaction far too late, De Gea beaten by the arc of the ball.
Fortunate, perhaps, but with Mourinho in his pomp, Chelsea went for the jugular, Hazard at times unplayable, although Januzaj rolled across goal after picking David Luiz’s pocket.
But, in the final minute of the half, the killer blow, when a corner was cleared as far as Ramires, who picked out a simple ball to find Cahill in a huge hole in the United inside-left channel.
The defender teased across and Vidic was barely in the same ­postcode as Eto’o – chosen ahead of Fernando Torres – stroked home.
If that was bad, the third, straight after the break, was worse after Oscar and Eto’o combined to win a corner from nothing. Cahill, standing on the six-yard line, barely jumped, utterly unmarked to nod through De Gea’s legs, and while the ball ricocheted back off his trailing elbow, Eto’o could not miss.
Had Chelsea wanted to, they could have piled on the misery. Instead, Mourinho opted to ease off the throttle, sub Javier Hernandez getting the final touch from Jones’ shot after Welbeck burst into the box.
It was irrelevant in the greater context, and United will rue Vidic’s three-game ban for his needless ­stoppage-time lunge on Hazard, and feel relieved Rafael did not suffer the same fate.
Chelsea, though, are developing the old Mourinho momentum. They are looking up. They are coming. They are ready to pounce.

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

Express:

Chelsea 3 - Man Utd 1: Samuel Eto'o treble sends Blues on their way

JOSE MOURINHO keeps insisting this Chelsea is a work in progress, a project, a thing to be tinkered with and the kinks ironed out.

By: Tony Banks

Perhaps he is pulling the wool over our eyes.
Chelsea were already title contenders before this consummate command performance, though reckoned by most to be only on the tails of Manchester City and Arsenal.
Now any doubters will know. Mourinho’s team are the real deal.
Of course, this Manchester United are a wounded, hobbling beast compared to the formidable animal of old. Only at the beginning and end of this humbling afternoon did they show any of the fire of recent times.
But they still have to be beaten, and in some style bar a late, late stutter, Chelsea did that in style to give Mourinho his 100th league win as a Chelsea manager.
Samuel Eto’o has had his critics since his expensive summer arrival from Anzhi Makhachkala, but his hat-trick here is something the 32-year-old and many Chelsea fans will remember for a long time.
David Moyes’ dreadful season took a turn into even more grim territory at Stamford Bridge. Yes, there was a late Javier Hernandez goal, but United ended the game with 10 men after Nemanja Vidic was sent off for an awful injury-time tackle on the irrepressible Eden Hazard.
And it could have been still worse – Rafael should have gone too for a lunge on Gary Cahill.
This morning United are 12 points behind Chelsea, 14 off the top, with 16 games to go. The title is long gone, and a top-four place looks a mighty long way away.
United have now lost four of their five games in 2014, but it is the manner of this comprehensive defeat that will strike a chord of fear into Old Trafford.
United started well, but as soon as Chelsea scored they folded – something they never used to do.
At no point did they have any answer to the searing pace and skill of the electric Hazard, Willian, Oscar or Ramires. Even the old boy Eto’o was too much for their rocky defence.
Time and again Chelsea sprang out of defence with a venom and speed which left United’s sluggish midfield trailing in their wake. In Hazard, Chelsea probably have the most electric player in Europe on their hands right now.
Without either Wayne Rooney or Robin van Persie it was always going to be hard for Moyes’ men to have the edge. They did though start with intent, as Ashley Young tested Petr Cech with a sharp drive.
But Chelsea steadied, rode the storm, and struck. Eto’o gathered the ball on the right, meandered inside and as no challenge came, fired in a shot that deflected off Michael Carrick into the far corner.
Chelsea won every loose ball and were first to every challenge, and even though Patrice Evra and then Adnan Januzaj went close, and Danny Welbeck shot straight at Cech and could possibly have had a penalty for Cesar Azpilicueta’s challenge, they were now in control.
Oscar should have scored from Eto’o’s flick, but seconds before the break they struck again. United failed to clear a corner, Ramires found Cahill in acres of space, and Eto’o steered in his low cross. Game over.
Three minutes after the break, yet another corner exposed United’s woeful defending. Willian’s kick was nodded down by the unmarked Cahill, David De Gea somehow kept the ball out with his elbow, but Eto’o was on hand to stab home the rebound.
Humiliation looked on the cards for Moyes and his men. United were shapeless, ragged and lost. Only Januzaj provided any threat.
But Chelsea relaxed with the game won, Oscar went off, and United had their late flurry. Welbeck pulled the ball back, Phil Jones shot low, and Hernandez from six yards out steered it past Cech. It was no more than a consolation.
Moyes has never beaten Mourinho as a manager, and he was thoroughly out-witted here. Once Chelsea settled into their game their strikes were lethal, but just as importantly, Mourinho has instilled a steeliness and ruthlessness into this team, as he has done with all his best sides.
At one point earlier in the season, sloppy goals were being given away, points surrendered. Those traits are now ironed out – this was a sixth win in a row in all competitions.
Mourinho left for a glowing tribute night at the Savoy hotel in the Strand hosted by the Football Writers’ Association, Moyes for his own lonely cloud of gloom.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech 7; Ivanovic 7, Cahill 7, Terry 7, Azpilicueta 7; Luiz 7, Ramires 7; Willian 7 (Matic 85), Oscar 7 (Mikel 67, 6), Hazard 7; Eto’o 8 (Torres 79). Booked: Luiz. Goals: Eto’o 17, 45, 48.
Man Utd (4-2-3-1): De Gea 6; Rafael 6, Evans 5, Vidic 5, Evra 5 (Smalling 51, 6); Jones 6, Carrick 5; Valencia 6, Jasuzaj 6, Young 5 (Hernandez 55, 6); Welbeck 5. Booked: Young, Valencia, Rafael. Sent off: Vidic.  Goal: Hernandez 78.
Referee: Phil Dowd.

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Star:

Chelsea 3 - Man United 1: Champions in disarray as Samuel Eto'o hat-trick downs Moyes' men

SAMUEL ETO’O grabbed a hat-trick yesterday as Manchester United really did play like sleeping giants.

By David Woods

That was how Jose Mourinho described the champions on Friday.
And he was proved spot on as David Moyes’ dopes put to bed any lingering notion they are capable of retaining their crown.
With Sir Alex Ferguson watching, and listening, at Stamford Bridge, United produced another dismal defensive display, which sparked Blues fans to sing over and over that they want Moyes to stay.
United languish in seventh, 14 points off leaders Arsenal - and with 21 less than they had after 22 games last season. It is the fewest points they have ever had at this stage of a Premier League season.
Eto’o may be 33 three weeks today, but age has not taken away his goal-scoring prowess. The previous time he faced United was for Barcelona in the 2009 Champions League final, when he scored the first in Rome in a 2-0 victory.
Yesterday his treble saw the Londoners claw back to two points off the Gunners and one behind second-placed Manchester City.
It was Mourinho’s 100th Premier League win in 141 games, making the Portuguese coach the fastest ever to reach the landmark.
Amazingly, United started far the brighter as they tried to prove Moyes right after he claimed on Friday his team remained the biggest in the world.
Less than two minutes had gone when Ashley Young and Danny Welkeck played a smart one-two in the box following an excellent ball in from Michael Carrick.
The angle for his shot was tight for Young but, by lifting the ball off the ground, he made it easier for Petr Cech to dive and parry.
With Adnan Januzaj buzzing, they looked a major threat, but then Chelsea scored in the 17th minute, much to the shock of just about everyone.
Like all three goals, it was down to United frailties at the back. Eto’o, on the right flank, cut in and shimmied past a dithering Phil Jones, then lined up an angled drive with his left foot.
His 25-yard attempt was well struck but took a big deflection off the outstretched leg of Carrick, causing the ball to loop over the dive of David De Gea and nestle in the top-right corner of the keeper’s net.
Moyes’ men were unfortunate in the 31st minute when Januzaj left David Luiz trailing in the box with a couple of turns, then squared across goal.
But, with no Robin van Persie or Wayne Rooney. no United player had gambled on getting into a tap-in position.
Welbeck had a great chance to score in the 38th minute when another excellent ball in from the left by Januzaj was missed by Gary Cahill.
It landed at the feet of the England striker just six yards out, but under pressure from Cesar Azpilicueta he could only side foot weakly, allowing Cech to save.
Welbeck might have had a case for a penalty as the Spanish full back caught his standing leg as he shot.
Eto’o was sharper in the 45th minute. Ramires picked out Cahill who had stayed up after a corner and, with the backtracking Young nowhere near, him the centreback was able to pick out the Cameroon star in the box, as Nemanja Vidic was also failing to do his marking job.
Eto’s slotted home with a sidefoot to register the 300th goal of his career and claimed his third in the 48th minute.
Willian’s corner from the right was met by Cahill and although De Gea was able to keep the ball out as it bounced against an elbow, Eto’o beat Antonio Valencia to bundle in.
Being second to important balls was pretty much a theme of the afternoon for United.
Welbeck headed wide from a Januzaj corner and United did at least get a goal in the 78th minute.
Welbeck burst in the box and picked out Jones and his attempted shot found substitute Javier Hernandez, who poked home from close range.
But it went from bad for United when their frustrated skipper Vidic was shown a straight red in stoppage-time by referee Phil Dowd, for scything down Eden Hazard.
It was harsh - especially as it means a three-match ban - but equally it was a stupid and pointless challenge.
Rafael could then have joined him for a leaping, two-footed challenge on Cahill, only being spared because he got full contact on the ball.
It was an ugly end to a dreadful day for miserable Moyes and his so-called giants, who have been cut down to size big-time this season.

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