Aston Villa 3-0

Independent:
Diego Costa continues remarkable form in Jose Mourinho's 250th game in charge of the Blues
 
Chelsea 3 Aston Villa 0
Miguel Delaney  

Chelsea may look in full health following another fine home win, but Jose Mourinho now wants to ensure Diego Costa reaches the same condition.
 
The Portuguese called for Spain to rest the striker for the October internationals away to Slovakia and Luxembourg, stating that the full 15 days off would ensure Costa is finally more readily able to play two games a week for club and country. The 25-year-old has struggled with his hamstring since May, and Mourinho feels he merely needs an extra period of rest without a match.
“I think if he doesn’t go to the national team, and stays here for 15 days on treatment, recovering and making the muscle and the other areas around the muscle stronger, he has the perfect chance to be top for Chelsea and top for the national team.
“If he doesn’t have this period, he will always play one game, the other one is in trouble. The muscle will be tight, the muscle [will be susceptible] to a rupture.”
Mourinho said he would not expressly ask Spanish manager Vicente Del Bosque to rest the player, as he did not feel that was proper.
“I can’t. I don’t do that, and don’t think I should. The players, from the moment they are selected for the national team, belong to them. Everything is in their hands and, from club, you have to respect decisions.”
Mourinho revealed Costa is barely training right now.
“He’s doing almost nothing. He’s just resting and recovering from the tight muscle he has every time he accumulates fatigue.”
Asked whether Costa would start away to Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday, Mourinho said “I want to”.
Chelsea certainly started well against Aston Villa, and Costa got his usual clinical finish to score, and make it a personal eight goals in six games.
Any element of doubt here was dismissed within eight minutes, as Chelsea took the lead. Willian streaked down the right, before finding space and pummelling a shot at Brad Guzan. The goalkeeper managed to parry it away but only to Oscar, who slid the ball between Philippe Senderos’s legs.
The scorer was influential in other ways. Despite Villa flooding the midfield in a manner that caused Chelsea - and specifically Cesc Fabregas - problems in previous games this season, Oscar shuttled brilliantly between there and attack to shore the gap. Mourinho was impressed.
“I think he needs this confidence that comes with matches,” the Portuguese said. “His performance was good. He was in important areas in our game. The connection between him and [Nemanja] Matic was good. The connection between him and the attacking players was good.
As such, it quickly developed into one of those very typical Mourinho home wins, even if there was more spark in attack and a little bit more looseness in defence. That back-line still has some work to do, in spite of the eventual clean sheet. They certainly didn’t display the old assurance at set-pieces on 23 minutes, when Aly Cissokho poked just wide from an effective free shot after a corner.
Despite their overall conservatism, Villa looked a little dangerous on the break, which is also something that has been a common problem for Chelsea so far this season. A common sight has been Branislav Ivanovic chasing back to try and cover an acre of space left in behind, and it was much the same just after half-time here, when Andreas Weimann suddenly released Gabriel Agbonlahor.
The England winger took his touch too far wide, however, and Chelsea were able to re-adjust. The home side soon re-asserted their authority, too, as Costa returned to his best. On 58 minutes, the Spaniard scored his first goal in three games - a relative drought given his sensational start to the season.
This was a typically tidy goal. First, Willian and Eden Hazard interchanged nicely on the left, before cutting the ball back for Cesar Azpilicueta. He curled the ball in, for Costa to plunder a header past Guzan.
Willian had been brilliant throughout the game and eventually got the goal he deserved. After another Chelsea siege on 79 minutes, the ball ricocheted around the box, with Cissokho deflecting towards his own net. Willian made sure, poking the ball in from close range.
The most ominous aspect is that Mourinho still does not think they’re close to their best.
“We are fine, playing well, scoring goals, we are happy,” Mourinho said, although he scotched suggestions Chelsea are already in a commanding position.
“I think nobody is convinced Chelsea is going to keep this run for 10, 15 matches, getting positive results. We know this Premier League. Everyone knows it’s possible for top teams to lose points.
“We are not perfect. We have a lot to improve in every area of our game but we are playing well.”
A fully fit Costa would greatly help.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois 7; Ivanovic 7, Cahill 7, Terry 7, Azpilicueta 8; Matic 7, Fabregas 7; Willian 8, Oscar 8 (Mikel 77; 6), Hazard 7 (Schurrle 68; 6); Costa 7 (Remy 79; 6)

Aston Villa (4-5-1): Guzan 6; Hutton 5, Senderos 5, Baker 5, Cissokho 6; Richardson 6 (Bent 67; 5), Cleverley 5, Westwood 5, Delph 5, Weimann 6 (N’Zogbia 67; 6); Agbonlahor 6

Referee: Phil Dowd
Match rating: 6/10
Man of the match: Oscar

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Observer:

Chelsea’s Diego Costa nets eighth league goal in win over Aston Villa
Chelsea 3 - 0 Aston Villa

Simon Burnton at Stamford Bridge

Against Arsenal last week Aston Villa’s team had been laid low by a virus; this time they were brought to their knees by a phenomenon they found similarly impossible to defend against and equally destructive to their morale and their victory chances, in the rather more human shape of Diego Costa.
The Chelsea striker scored one – his eighth goal in six league matches – and created another before coming off to spend the last 10 minutes resting his suspect hamstrings, the leaders’ victory assured. It was a fine if imperfect display from the Spaniard, whose passing outside the penalty area was often imprecise, but, more importantly, his movement was constant and menacing, and when the ball fell his way in the area he was typically devastating.
José Mourinho said that goals were of particular importance for Costa given that he is doing “almost nothing” in training. “For me what’s important is that the team scores enough goals to win,” he said. “But I know it’s good for him and for his confidence, especially for a player like him who’s not training as he should, so he cannot be on top of his game.”
Having complained earlier in the week that Spain remain free to select Costa despite his injury concerns, Mourinho now pinpointed the period next month in which they have back-to-back qualifiers against Slovakia and Luxembourg as key to Costa’s long-term fortunes for club and country. ‚
“If he stays here, and spends 15 days just on treatment and recovery and making the muscle stronger, he has the perfect chance to be top for Chelsea and for the national team,” he said. “If he doesn’t have this chance, he will always play one game, and the next he’s in trouble.”
He played this game, and it was Villa who were in trouble. The visitors had built their impressive early-season form on defensive solidity rather than attacking brio – they arrived here with three clean sheets and just eight shots on target in five previous games – but a team that struggles so badly to create and take chances is unlikely to prosper against this calibre of opponent.
They were never overrun but Thibaut Courtois made only one save, from Alan Hutton’s tame effort at the end of a long individual run in the 69th minute, despite a flurry of almost-chances at the start of each half.
“Against teams like this, when you get a chance you have to score,” said the Villa manager, Paul Lambert. “But when you come here, if you get beat you’ve got to leave with your confidence intact, which we certainly are. Other than failing to get a goal, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
From Lambert’s perspective there was an element of misfortune about the first and third goals, with Willian benefitting from handy ricochets on both occasions.
For the first, the Brazilian was sent scurrying down the right by Branislav Ivanovic and, with all team-mates to his left marked, he shot low and hard towards the near post. Brad Guzan pushed the ball straight back into his path, and this time Willian pulled back to the now-clear Oscar, whose finish trundled through Philippe Senderos’s legs on its way to goal.
Willian came close to a second in the 15th minute when he ran on to Costa’s excellent backheel flick and set off down the centre but Nathan Baker diligently shepherded him wide of goal, from where his shot was deflected the wrong side of the near post.
Though their advantage remained slender, Chelsea displayed the class and confidence that befits league leaders and title favourites, with Oscar beating Senderos with a drop of the shoulder that provoked not so much cheers from the nearby fans as a collective sigh of pleasure, and Eden Hazard, who was otherwise becalmed, attempting a showy rabona.
“I don’t remember feeling fear or scared or not comfortable,” said Mourinho. “The team always gave the feeling that everything was under control.”
All the more so when, in the 59th minute, the Villa defence was momentarily mesmerised by some neat triangular passing on the left and forgot to keep an eye on Costa, who scored with a powerful header when César Azpilicueta finally speared in a cross.
Twenty minutes later, Aly Cissokho having in the meantime cleared Oscar’s casual effort as it rolled towards the line, Costa was found in too much space on the left, from where he cut inside, cut inside a little more and then sent in a shot that bounced off Guzan and Cissokho before landing helpfully between Willian and an empty net.

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 3 Aston Villa 0: Jose Mourinho celebrates easy win in 250th game in charge
By  Jim White, Stamford Bridge

This was José Mourinho's 250th game in charge at Stamford Bridge. And rarely can he have enjoyed an afternoon of such telling dominance. In beating Villa 3-0 with goals from the Brazilian-born trio of Oscar, Diego Costa and Willian, this was Chelsea at their most compelling. From the moment Villa kicked off, not for one second was the result in doubt.
“I think everything was under control,” said Mourinho, ever the master of understatement. “I don't remember when we felt scared or not comfortable.” The manager's new Chelsea team is rapidly emerging, a side of greater cunning and initiative than the muscular pragmatists of his first title-winning outfit.
Where it was once a thing of power and strength, his midfield now fizzes with speed and intricacy. Against a quick, athletic, but ultimately limited Villa team, Willian whipped and zipped, Oscar tricked and tormented, Eden Hazard feinted and flicked.
But it was from Cesc Fabregas that the real mark of authority flowed. Hanging off just behind his sparkling colleagues, the former Arsenal man made himself constantly available, always there to spread play, his passes endlessly probing and threatening. Not once in the entire game did he waste possession.
In the sixth minute came a goal typical of Mourinho's Chelsea mark two. Branislav Ivanovic galloped down the right wing to receive Fabregas's perfectly weighted pass. He slid the ball in behind Villa's left back Aly Cissokho for Willian to run on to.
Free and unencumbered by any hint of Villa defence, the Brazilian slapped a shot at Brad Guzan; the keeper diving to his left, scooped the ball back straight in the direction it had come. Willian, showing admirable composure, cunningly tucked it to the unmarked Oscar standing in the middle of the goal, who duly scored.
Eight minutes later, Fabregas almost returned the compliment to Ivanovic, beautifully playing him through. But Guzan was too quick. A minute later, Willian again required the American to save. This time there was no rebound. And so the pattern continued for much of the first half: Chelsea probing, Villa's Nathan Baker endlessly obliged to make last second interventions, Guzan constantly involved.
Not that Villa were entirely without threat. As early as the second minute, they gave notice of their pace on the breakaway, the weapon that had brought them maximum points on the road this season, taking them briefly to third in the table.
As a Chelsea corner was knocked away, Fabian Delph and Kieran Richardson tore at the home back line, exchanging passes to arrive in the box. Thiboult Courtois was too quick for Richardson to pounce, however. In the 25th minute, Gary Cahill was booked for a rugby-style tap tackle on Gabby Agbonlahor as the Villa forward was poised to leg it away.
Mourinho, perhaps anxious to get involved in his landmark game, stared menacingly at the Villa assistant manager Roy Keane as he bearded the referee following Cahill's intervention. Eye-balling Roy Keane: possibly not the most certain way to guarantee you'll be around for another 250 games.
As the game developed, there was a growing sense that Chelsea just needed a finish to convert supremacy into certainty. It came, inevitably, from Diego Costa, the man who cannot stop scoring, despite apparently operating on only one leg. Twice he had planted headers in Guzan's palms, before he finally found his range in the 58th minute.
Out on the left wing, Hazard back-heeled the ball deftly to Cesar Azpilicueta whose precise chip was powered home via the Spanish international's forehead. Oscar should then have made it three, two minutes later, slipping the ball past Guzan, but Cissokho scooped it clear.
Appropriately, though, it was Fabregas who had the final say. Picking up the ball inside his own half, he unleashed a quite magnificent crossfield pass, dipping over the head of Alan Hutton to fall perfectly into the path of Costa. The forward skipped inside and fired hard at Guzan. For the second time, the American saw his save rebound straight at an opponent, this time Willian, who ran the ball cheerily into the net.
“It is too early,” said Mourinho when asked if the three point cushion his side now enjoys at the top of the table is of wider significance. “But it is a little bit of a space that gives you a good feeling.”
The kind of good feeling that comes from supervising the 165th win across his two spells at Stamford Bridge. With Fabregas in this sort of form, you suspect there will be plenty more where that came from.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Courtois 6; Ivanovic 7, Cahill 6, Terry 6, Azpilicueta 6; Matic 6, Fabregas 8; Willian 7, Oscar 7 (Mikel 76), Hazard 6 (Schurrle 67); Costa 7 (Remy 80) Subs Cech, Luis, Zouma, Drogba. Booked Cahill, Fabregas

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1) Guzan 7; Hutton 5, Baker 7, Senderos 6, Cissokho 5; Cleverley 5, Delph 6; Westwood 5, Weimann 5 (N'Zogbia 67), Richardson 5 (Bent 67); Agbonlahor 5 Subs Given, Clark, Bacuna, Sanchez, Grealish. Booked Senderos, Cleverley

Referee Phil Dowd (Staffs)
Attendance 41,616

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Times:

Chelsea 3 Aston Villa 0: Easy does it for Costa
Andrew Longmore 

CHELSEA were so dominant and Aston Villa were so timid that it was easy to forget that this was first versus third in the Premier League.
With a tricky away trip to Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Tuesday and the visit of Arsenal next Sunday, Chelsea could not have asked for a gentler afternoon once Oscar opened the scoring after seven minutes.
Mindful of some previous thrashings at the Bridge and the absence of Ron Vlaar, their inspirational captain, Aston Villa started with five men strung across midfield and played as if they were 17th in the League and already battling for survival.
Oscar and Eden Hazard were rested for the final quarter of the contest, though it was touch and go whether sitting on the bench or playing was the more arduous task. Jose Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, was even able to wait for Diego Costa to score his eighth goal in five games on the hour before substituting the Spaniard 10 minutes from time.
Willian, who had helped to create the first, bundled in the last to complete a run-of-the-mill win for Chelsea.
According to the Chelsea manager, Costa is doing almost nothing in training at the moment in a bid to protect a tight hamstring. Furthermore, Mourinho wants his £32m striker to stay in England for the next international break, during which Spain have Euro 2016 qualifying matches against Slovakia and Luxemburg, but the Spaniard’s free-scoring run of form does not help that particular cause.
“Everyone knows what is going on with Diego but it is their [Spain’s] decision — it is completely out of my control,” Mourinho said.
Asked to explain the difference between this team and the Chelsea of last autumn, Mourinho highlighted the strength and versatility of his new forward. “He is a different kind of striker,” said Mourinho. “He can move to the sides, he can hold the ball up and he can score goals.”
Heaven help the rest of the division if Costa ever does get fit. Chelsea certainly look more compact this season and with Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas dictating the midfield there was never any risk that Aston Villa would recover from Oscar’s early strike.
“I don’t remember feeling any fear or not being comfortable even at 1-0,” said Mourinho. “Everything was under control and the second goal kills everything.”
Paul Lambert’s critics have been silenced by Villa’s excellent start to the season, but Villa’s passivity in the face of a typically robust and fluent performance by the home team would have renewed their fears. The Villa manager did not switch tactics until his side were 2-0 down and the cause was lost. If Roy Keane, who looks more and more like a wizened old submarine captain, has been brought in to lend some steel to Villa’s backbone, he might begin his task in the bootroom. Villa, as they showed in occasional counterattacks, are better than this.
“This team [Chelsea] will be close winning the title and possibly the Champions League,” Lambert said. “It’s hard to come here at the best of times but we gave it a right good go.” A long-range shot by Fabian Delph and a poked volley just wide by Aly Cissokho from a corner were about the sum of Villa’s aggression. Thibaut Courtois will rarely have a more relaxed afternoon.
With Andreas Weimann on the left, Matic and Fabregas were invited to run the game, which they duly did. Willian’s fierce shot was parried by Brad Guzan, but fell invitingly back to the Brazilian, whose cut back was tucked home by Oscar in the seventh minute. Villa did well to keep the score within reach until half-time, but Costa with a clinical header from Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross, and Willian, from close range, gave the scoreline a more realistic look.
With a three-point gap at the head of the table and 19 goals in six games, Chelsea will still be top when Arsenal visit the Bridge on Sunday.
They will take some shifting too. “Different players are scoring goals in different ways,” added Mourinho with just a hint of pride. “We are not perfect, but we are happy with what we are doing.”

 Chelsea: Courtois 7, Cahill, 7 Ivanovic 7, Terry 7, Azpilicueta 7, Matic 8, Fabregas 7, Hazard 6 (Schurrle 68min), Willian 7, Oscar 7 (Mikel 77min), Costa 7 (Remy 81min)

 Aston Villa: Guzan 7, Hutton 6, Senderos 5, Baker 6, Cissokho 6, Delph 6, Cleverley 7, Westwood 6, Richardson 5 (Bent 69min), Agbonlahor 6, Weimann 5 (N’Zogbia 69min)

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Mail:

Chelsea 3-0 Aston Villa:
Oscar, Diego Costa and Willian strike as Jose Mourinho's Premier League leaders breeze to victory
By Matt Barlow

For an hour or so, Diego Costa had the look of a striker who might have been nursing a hamstring problem; one which was preying on his mind, eating away at confidence and preventing him from turning his dial to full power.
Then he crashed a header past Villa keeper Brad Guzan to score Chelsea’s second goal — his eighth in seven games this season — created the third for Willian and, with Chelsea’s opponents beaten, left the field to another standing ovation.
Jose Mourinho’s team continue to forge ahead at the top of the Premier League. They have won from the front before and are shaping up as if in the mood to do it again. Yet the lingering concerns over Costa’s fitness will stop anyone getting carried away in west London.
Without him, they lose their cold spearhead. While he is fit and tormenting centre-halves they seem well-armed to charge clear.
Loic Remy replaced Costa for the last 10 minutes, as Mourinho turned his thoughts to Tuesday’s game against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League and wondered whether he can risk him from the start in Portugal. Mourinho’s team remain unbeaten this season. They have dropped only two points from six games. After Sporting, they play Arsenal at home and Mourinho knows his striker must be handled with extreme care.
‘He is doing almost nothing [between games],’ said Mourinho. ‘He’s just resting and recovering from the tight muscle he has every time he accumulates fatigue. I hope he goes home after this game and sleeps until tomorrow morning.
‘He cannot be at the top of his game but even so, scoring a goal is good for his confidence.’
‘If he doesn’t go to the national team, and stays here for 15 days of treatment, he has the perfect chance to be top for Chelsea and top for national team. We can’t do anything. I can’t speak to the Spain manager.’
If there was any cause for complaint yesterday, it might have been that the manager would have liked the points to be secure sooner, especially as it had started so well, when Oscar fired in a seventh-minute opener, a goal owing everything to the persistence of Willian.
Branislav Ivanovic slid a pass to the latter, who forced Guzan into a save but the rebound spilled kindly to Willian, who spotted Oscar unmarked.
From seven yards, Oscar swept in his first Premier League goal of the season. Willian went close soon after but the visitors responded.
Aly Cissokho almost turned a shot on target when Chelsea failed to clear a corner and Gary Cahill was booked for tripping Gabriel Agbonlahor after being turned and left on the turf by the Villa striker.
It was the home team, however, who dominated both in terms of possession and unconverted chances, defied as they were by wasteful finishing, solid defending and good goalkeeping.
For almost an hour Costa had lacked some of his usual menace. Twice, either side of half time, he was found in front of goal and twice Guzan saved without fuss. The sequence ended in the 59th minute.
Cesar Azpilicueta delivered the cross from the left, clipped towards the near post for Costa, who climbed above Nathan Baker and this time beat Guzan for power.
This was the goal to sink Villa. They had set up to play on the counter-attack and there was plenty to admire about their spirit and energy. Fabian Delph impressed in an English midfield trio with Ashley Westwood and Tom Cleverley and almost equalised in the second half with a shot from distance.
‘If you told me we would take three points from Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, I would probably have taken it,’ said Villa manager Paul Lambert. ‘It’s tough and we’re up against Manchester City next. ’
Despite the quality of the opposition, it is back-to-back 3-0 defeats for Villa and their 1-0 win at Anfield on September 13 loses its gloss with each subsequent game Liverpool fail to win.
Villa are still without captain Ron Vlaar and striker Christian Benteke and a positive start to the campaign has taken a turn for the worse since the club was struck by a virus last week. And yesterday Lambert was left to reflect on chances not taken when they trailed 1-0; Baker headed a good one over from a free-kick and Lambert said: ‘When you get a chance you have to score. It’s hard to come here at the best of times. Chelsea will be close to winning the title and the Champions League.’
By the end, however, Villa had managed only one shot on target and Thibaut Courtois celebrated his second clean sheet of the season.
Chelsea pressed on after the second goal. Cissokho recovered well to clear off his own line from Oscar but Willian then grabbed the goal his performance deserved by scoring from Costa’s rebound.
This was enough for Mourinho. With a three-goal lead, off came Costa to be wrapped in cotton wool.

CHELSEA 4-2-3-1: Courtois 6.5; Ivanovic 7, Cahill 5.5, Terry 6, Azpilicueta 6; Fabregas 7, Matic 7; Willian 7.5, Oscar 7 (Mikel 77), Hazard 6 (Schurrle 68, 6); Costa 7 (Remy 81).
Subs not used: Cech, Luis, Zouma, Drogba, Remy.
Bookings: Cahill, Fabregas.
Manager: Jose Mourinho 7.

ASTON VILLA 4-5-1: Guzan 6.5; Hutton 6, Senderos 6, Baker 6, Cissokho 6; Richardson 6 (Bent 69, 5), Cleverley 6.5, Westwood 6.5, Delph 7, Weimann 5 (N’Zogbia 69, 5); Agbolahor 7.
Subs not used: Given, Clark, Bacuna, Sanchez, Grealish.
Bookings: Cleverley, Senderos
Manager: Paul Lambert 6

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Mirror:

Chelsea 3-0 Aston Villa: Blues record comprehensive victory to extend impressive start

Steve Stammers

The west Londoners underlined their title credentials with another convincing win at home, thanks to goals from Oscar, Costa and Willian
 
Cold, clinical, professional – the qualities required by champions were evident at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea eventually overcame a ­stubborn Aston Villa outfit to extend their unbeaten start to the season.
The hosts were not at their most fluent, or indeed their most creative.
But they had enough class to see off the spirited challenge of a side who are now finding their true level in the Premier League.
It was for days like this that Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho invested so heavily in the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa.
Villa’s energy and commitment was enough to survive a potential collapse after they conceded a seventh-minute goal.
In fact, it was only in the last half-hour that they folded to produce a replica scoreline to the one against Arsenal seven days earlier.
And as Chelsea worked to build on the early strike by Oscar, it was Fabregas who was the heartbeat of the team.
Always available, he invariably chose the right option with either a short or raking pass and enabled his team to maintain what was to be a match-winning tempo.
And eventually Costa was able to prove once again that he is evolving as the front man to fear in the Premier League.
“And he is not yet 100 per cent fit,” said Mourinho. “What training does he do between games? None! He has to be nursed because he could maybe rupture the muscle that is the problem for him.”
That ‘muscle’ is his hamstring though Villa’s central defenders Nathan Baker and Philippe Senderos will need some convincing that the Brazilian-born striker adopted by Spain is below par.
But Mourinho will hope that Spain manager Vicente del Bosque does him a favour and omits Costa from ­forthcoming European Championship qualifiers against lesser lights Slovakia and Luxembourg.
Of the match, Mourinho was content enough with the performance and result. “We looked solid and we looked ­comfortable,” he said. “And we can still improve.”
His Villa counterpart Paul Lambert was pleased with the resilience shown by his team. “It was against a team who could well win both the Premier League and the Champions League,” he said. “We had a couple of chances and against teams like Chelsea, you have to take them.”
The hosts’ start was bright enough. The breakthrough came when their arch-warrior Branislav Ivanovic initiated the move with an inch-perfect pass to release Willian.
The Brazilian honed in on goal and unleashed a drive that Brad Guzan was relieved to push away. ­Unfortunately the reprieve was short-lived.
Possession was regained by Willian and this time the option was a low cross converted by compatriot Oscar.
But then the threatened deluge did not ­materialise, for two reasons: Chelsea seemed to assume that the goals would come.
And Villa were ­determined not to capitulate.
But Fabregas kept on feeding the danger-men Oscar and Eden Hazard and there was a kind of inevitability that a second goal would come.
Come the hour, come the man. Costa, naturally. A neat interchange of passes between Hazard and Cesar Azpilicueta and the Spanish defender crossed for Costa to power a header past Guzan. In reality, it was game over.
Villa continued to press and challenge all over the park but Chelsea were now approaching cruise control and 11 minutes from time came the goal that finally killed any resistance.
There was a hint of good fortune as Guzan kept out Costa’s fierce shot only to see the ball ricochet off Aly Cissokho into the path of Willian a yard out.
Not a great week for the French defender. Cissokho scored an own-goal against Arsenal and now he can claim an ­involuntary ‘assist’.
A comprehensive win by the team labelled ‘the little horse’ by Mourinho last season. Not applicable now. More like thoroughbreds.

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Express:

Chelsea 3 - Aston Villa 0: Costa fires up lethal Blues to keep Mourinho humming

DIEGO COSTA continued his hot-streak as table-topping Chelsea sent out another warning to the Premier League.

By: Mike Carey

Jose Mourinho claims his £32million striker is still not fully fit and can play only one game a week.
But even on one leg he cut an impressive figure as he took his season's tally to eight goals. He even had a say in Willian's late strike as Chelsea coasted home.
Oscar's early opener threatened to open the floodgates. That never materialised but Mourinho's men hardly had to break sweat to see out this one-sided contest.
Mourinho said: "We kept control of the game all the time. We are fine, playing well, scoring goals and we are happy."
And the Chelsea boss insisted Costa needed more recovery time, adding: "He's doing almost nothing. He's just resting and recovering from the tight muscle he has every time he accumulates fatigue."
Aston Villa's good start to the season came to a shuddering halt against Arsenal last time out and they knew it would not get any easier here.
Chelsea have been scoring goals for fun and Villa knew their 100 per cent record on the road was on the line.
And with Costa the Premier League's deadliest marksman, it would take something special to blunt the hosts.
Villa boss Paul Lambert did his best to pack his midfield and then look to break with pace at every opportunity.
That chance almost presented itself in the second minute as Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was out quickly to smother Fabian Delph following a breakaway.
But Oscar drew first blood in the seventh minute. Willian's shot was blocked by Brad Guzan but the rebound fell kindly for the Brazilian to set up his countryman's close-range finish.
And it could have got worse in the 15th minute. Costa's clever flick freed Willian and his cross was deflected inches wide off Alan Hutton. Villa's best hope probably lay in a set-piece play and that almost contributed to a 19th-minute leveller.
Ashley Westwood's corner caused a scramble in the Chelsea box, but Aly Cissokho stabbed wide.
Cesc Fabregas drove wide from the edge of the box on the half-hour mark and the impressive Willian then crossed for Costa to force Guzan into a routine save from a tame header.
Content to frustrate the hosts, Villa finally broke out and threatened just two minutes after the restart.
Delph's quick feet found him some extra room and the new England midfielder saw his 25-yard shot curl the wrong side of the post.
This wasn't the same Chelsea side that blitzed Everton and Swansea in the opening few weeks. Much of that was down to the visitors and they sounded a warning of themselves with 54 minutes on the clock.
Westwood's free-kick found Nathan Baker but the defender could only head onto the top of the net.
It was the wake-up call Chelsea needed as Costa continued his sparking start to life in west London in the 59th minute.
Costa got a run on Baker to power home a header from Cesar Azpilicueta's cross beyond Guzan.
Costa tormented the Villa defence again and after his shot was beaten out by Guzan the ball rebounded for Willian to score in the 79th minute.
Costa was replaced moments later but his job was already done.
Lambert lamented: "When you get a chance you have to score.
"We gave it a right go but we are playing without a recognised striker at the moment. We are in a run of games that is really tough."

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Star:

Chelsea 3 - Aston Villa 0: Diego Costa scores again as Blues stay top
DIEGO COSTA continued his hot-streak as table-topping Chelsea sent out another Premier League warning.


By Adrian Stiles

Jose Mourinho claims his £32million striker is still not fully-fit and can only play one game a week.
But even on one leg he cuts an impressive figure as he took his season’s tally to eight goals. He even had a say in Willian’s late strike.
Oscar’s early opener threatened to open the floodgates. That never materialised but Mourinho’s men hardly had to break sweat to see out this one-sided contest.
Aston Villa’s good start to their season came to a shuddering halt against Arsenal last time out and it they knew it would not get any easier here.
And with Costa the Premier League’s deadliest marksman, it would take something special to blunt the hosts.
Mourinho explained how he is wrapping his star striker in cotton wool. “Diego is doing almost nothing,” he said. “He’s just resting and recovering from the tight muscle he has every time he accumulates fatigue.
“I think if he doesn’t go to the national team and stays here 15 days for treatment, recovering, he has the perfect chance to be the top for Chelsea. If he doesn’t have this period, he will always play one game.”
Paul Lambert did his best to pack his midfield and then look to break with pace at every opportunity.
That Chance almost came in the second minute as Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois was a out in a flash to stop Fabian Delph following a breakaway.
But the ploy was wrecked when Oscar drew first blood in the seventh minute.
Willians shot was blocked by Brad Guzan but the redound fell kindly for the Brazilian to set his compatriot up for a close range finish. Villa's best hope probably lay in a set piece play and that almost brought a 19th minute leveller.
Ashley Westwood's corner caused a scramble in the Chelsea box but Aly Cissokho could only stab wide.
That was a rare moment of panic as Villa did their best to keep Chelsea at bay.
To their credit, Mourinho's men were largely restricted to long range efforts.
Once they came within range, Cesc Fabregas drove wide from the edge of the box on the half-hour mark.
The impressive Willian crossed for Costa to force Guzan into a routine save from a tame header.
Villa were happy to sit and soak up pressure.
Content to frustrate the hosts, Villa finally broke out and threatened two minutes after the restart.
Delph's quick feet found himself some extra room and the new England midfielder saw his 25-yard shot curl wide of the post.
Westwood’s free-kick found Nathan Baker unmarked but the defender could only head on to the top of Courtois’ net.
It was the wake-up call Chelsea needed as Costa continued his sparkling start to life in west London in the 59th minute.
The Spain international got a run on Baker to power home a header from Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross.
Villa knew they had to take any chance that presented itself and Alan Hutton would have been disappointed to shoot straight at Courtois.
Unsurprisingly, it was Chelsea who increased their advantage.
Oscar’s free-kick saw John Terry head wide but it was brief respite as Willian got the goal his display deserved.
Costa tormented the Villa defence again and after his shot was beaten out by Guzan, the ball rebounded kindly for the Brazilian in the 79th minute.
Costa was replaced moments later but his job was already done.
Villa boss Lambert said: “It’s hard to come here at the best of times. We gave it a right go but we are playing without a recognised striker at the moment.
“We are in a run of games that is really tough.
“You are playing against top sides. You know it’s tough and we are up against Manchester City next.”

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

Bolton 2-1

Independent:

Blues given a fright before Oscar pounces to see off stubborn Bolton

Chelsea 2 Bolton Wanderers 1

Fringe players make heavy weather of third round clash

By SAM WALLACE


For most of the game Jose Mourinho's touchline demeanour could best be described as impassive, but there was no disguising the nature of his team's performance - they were making heavy weather of it.

Not exactly a weak Chelsea team with nine internationals including a World Cup winner among them, but this was certainly not Chelsea-Max. Oscar's second half winning goal means that they are safely through to the last-16 of the Capital One Cup where they will face League Two Shrewsbury Town, and a draw that has - away tie aside - been very kind to them.

It was a chance for Mourinho to give a run-out to his peripheral players such as Mohamed Salah, Filipe Luis and Loic Remy, but that they did not win by more was a source of frustration for their manager. This is not a good Bolton team, currently just outside the Championship relegation zone and with manager Dougie Freedman's position in peril. Chelsea should have been comfortable.

Only Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta remained in the team from Sunday's draw with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium and, having taken the lead through debutant Kurt Zouma, Chelsea dominated the game and missed countless chances. Against the odds, Bolton managed to fashion an equaliser through captain Matt Mills and even after Oscar scored the second on 55 minutes it remained tight to the end.

At the start of the night, Mourinho had been kept waiting by the tunnel longer than he likes to greet Freedman and it set the tone for the evening for the Chelsea manager - one of persistent annoyance and frustration.

Chelsea were in control and yet nothing was certain until the final whistle with Bolton's threat from set-pieces a problem all night. There were times when Andre Schurrle appeared to be playing Bolton on his own and his luck - 12 shots, no goal - was encapsulated by a late effort that hit the post and bounced back to Bolton goalkeeper Andrew Lonerghan, who had a good game.

Poor old Bolton, shackled with huge debts and going nowhere fast rallied in the latter stages when Mourinho sent on Didier Drogba, Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic to steady the ship. Later Steve Holland, Mourinho's assistant admitted that a lack of height in the team was a worry at set-pieces and Drogba and Matic were introduced to remedy that.

Bolton had one attempt on goal in the first half, and one goal to show for it. All in all, a remarkable return in a half in which there were times when they seemed like they might just assume the brace position and hope for the best.

With a first team squad with as much quality as the one at Mourinho's disposal, there are fewer opportunities for giving the academy kids a game. He gave a debut to Zouma and a start to the promising Under-21s Dutch midfielder Nathan Ake.

Otherwise, the club's best Under-21s players Andreas Christensen and Lewis Baker had to settle for a place on the bench. There was a first game of the season for Petr Cech, given a warm reception by the home crowd.

Zouma's goal was forced in from close range after Cahill saw his header blocked by Craig Davies. It came to Zouma via Remy and from then on it looked like it would be easy for Chelsea. Lonerghan led something of a charmed life in goal for Bolton, however, and then a remarkable equaliser.

Liam Feeney's free-kick from the right was headed in by Mills who had got between Cahill and Zouma. The header was impressive but it went across Cech and into the right-hand corner of the goal. He should have done much better.

Holland said: “The players' mentality was excellent right from the kick-off. Their approach to the game, the quality with which they played, was very good. At half-time we couldn't have asked for much more, other than a bit more detail in the two penalty boxes”. As for Schurrle, Holland said he “reflected the mentality of the team”.

“When you think not much more than two months ago he was playing in a World Cup final, now he's playing in the third round of the Capital One Cup and showed a really committed performance.”

Freedman said that his plan had been to get to the last ten minutes with his team in contention and try to put pressure on Chelsea with set-pieces. “For their manager to bring on the players he did was a credit to our team,” he said. “I thought it was a good performance, very solid and committed.”

What turned out to be the winner from Oscar came ten minutes after the break when he turned sharply and hit a right-foot shot from outside the area low and inside Lonerghan's right-sided post. No less than they deserved but it was a slog to get there.

Man of the match Schürrle.

Match rating 5/10.

Referee G Scott (Oxford)

Attendance 40,988.


===========

Guardian:

Oscar goal sees off Bolton Wanderers as Chelsea cruise into the last 16

Chelsea 2 - 1 Bolton

Russell Kempson at Stamford Bridge


José Mourinho has a special affinity with the League Cup, having won it in his first season in charge of Chelsea in 2005. It announced his arrival on the English stage and, that season, his side also lifted the Premier League title.

Two years on Mourinho and Co did it again. This time, they completed another “double” by going on to claim the FA Cup as well. Small wonder the Portuguese views the competition with such affection.

At Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, Chelsea began their campaign to win the trophy for the third time this century with a comfortable win against lowly Championship opponents Bolton Wanderers. The scoreline masked a brutally one-sided third-round tie in which Chelsea had 28 attempts on goal, 10 on target. Bolton mustered three attempts as they focused desperately on not caving in completely.

André Schürrle was the most wasteful from a remarkable 13 efforts on goal and he was often thwarted in an all-action personal duel with Bolton’s goalkeeper Andy Lonergan. Three times Lonergan spectacularly denied the German – clawing one free-kick just over, tipping another on to the crossbar and scrambling a third close-range effort on to a post. But Schürrle’s persistence was admirable, considering it was not that long ago that he was appearing on the grandest stage of all in Brazil.

“André’s performance reflected the mentality of our team,” Steve Holland, the Chelsea assistant first-team coach, said. “Two months ago he was playing in the World Cup final; tonight he was in the third round of the Capital One Cup. He was a good example of what was best about us.

“I was very happy with the display of the team. You hope motivation is not a problem, it sometimes can be but everyone was determined to put in a performance. We want to do well in this competition.”

A Chelsea second XI, though also including Petr Cech, Oscar, Loïc Rémy and Gary Cahill, opened in machine-gun fashion, spraying Lonergan from all angles.

Kurt Zouma, the 19-year-old French centre-back on his competitive debut, made the breakthrough, lashing home after a corner. When Bolton equalised six minutes later, their captain, Matt Mills, nodding in a Liam Feeney free-kick, it was so unexpected as to be laughable.

Chelsea regained the lead early in the second half, Oscar guiding in a low drive from 30 yards, and held on despite a late Bolton flurry. “We knew we would have to ride our luck a bit,” Dougie Freedman, the Bolton manager, said. “And we had a good go towards the end.”

Shrewsbury Town now await a visit from Chelsea in the last 16. Mourinho can already sniff a third League Cup triumph.


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


Telegraph:

Chelsea 2 Bolton Wanderers 1, Capital One Cup: Oscar rescues wasteful Premier League leaders

By Jon West, Stamford Bridge

Oscar hits second-half winner after Matt Mills cancels out Kurt Zouma's opener

A trip to Shrewsbury Town of League Two turned out to be the reward for this victory, which really should have replicated some of Chelsea’s spectacular Premier League successes.

Jose Mourinho’s side, the line-up altered nine times from the draw at Manchester City on Sunday, may have triumphed by a single goal but that scoreline does not do justice to the scale of their attacking ambition, or their wastefulness.

The home side ended up hanging on as Bolton Wanderers, fourth from bottom in the Championship, finally applied some pressure themselves. But the final whistle confirmed Chelsea had launched no fewer than 28 shots to the visitors’ three.

André Schürrle must have been responsible for half of those, with the German denied on a number of occasions by Andy Lonergan, including one in the second half that squirmed under the Bolton goalkeeper but rebounded back to him off a post. Earlier Lonergan had made a much better save, tipping Schürrle’s shot on to the bar.

“André’s performance reflected the mentality of the team – he was dangerous throughout the game and a really good example,” Steve Holland, one of Mourinho’s three assistants, said. He was right, up to a point. The point where the ball left Schürrle's boot in fact.

Bolton were breached from a 25th-minute corner. Gary Cahill saw his header blocked by a defender, Loic Remy – making his first Chelsea start – nodded it back towards goal, where a colleague rammed it into the roof of the net. That man was the defender Kurt Zouma, the teenager named after a Jean-Claude Van Damme character in the film Kickboxer, who was finally making a debut following a £12.5?million transfer from St Etienne in January.

The lead lasted six minutes as Bolton levelled from a free-kick launched long into a crowd of players by Liam Feeney and headed past Petr Cech by Matt Mills, the captain. It was Bolton’s first attempt at goal and for a long time their only one.

The winning goal turned out to be Oscar’s in the 55th minute. The Brazilian retrieved a blocked effort from Remy, turned and launched a low left-footer that eluded Lonergan. Inevitably, more Chelsea chances came and went, with the irrepressible Schürrle usually involved.

Bolton sent on Chung-Young Lee and the South Korean’s skills upgraded their attacking threat levels from nonexistent to occasional. Jermaine Beckford only just failed to connect in front of goal and Chelsea had to defend stoutly in stoppage-time. “We were always going to have to ride our luck,” Dougie Freedman, Bolton’s manager, said. “In the last 15 minutes we gave it a right go.”


Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Cech; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Zouma, Luis; Ake (Matic 91), Mikel; Salah (Hazard 80), Oscar, Schurrle; Remy (Drogba 72). Subs not used Schwarzer, Ivanovic, Christensen, Baker.

Bolton Wanderers (4-5-1) Lonergan; Herd, Mills, Dervite, Moxey; Feeney (Spearing 68), Pratley, Medo, Danns (Mason 83), C Davies (Lee); Beckford. Subs not used Kenny, McNaughton, Ream, Clayton. Booked Pratley, Herd.

Referee G Scott (Oxfordshire).


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


Times:


Chelsea make hard work of dispatching underdogs Bolton Wanderers

Rory Smith


In this one sense, at least, Bolton Wanderers proved a little more obdurate than Brazil. André Schürrle scored twice against the host team at the World Cup this summer. The overriding image from Chelsea’s unnecessarily arduous victory in the Capital One Cup was the German toiling in vain to do similar against Dougie Freedman’s altogether less imposing side.

José Mourinho’s Chelsea team made it through to the fourth round, but that they were left hanging on as Bolton mounted an unlikely siege in the dying minutes at Stamford Bridge was, in no small part, Schürrle’s fault.

Chelsea should have been out of sight within 20 minutes. That they were not owed little to Bolton’s resilience and more to Schürrle’s profligacy.

The Germany forward alone had seven chances in the opening exchanges, the best of them a header cleared from the line by Matt Mills and a free kick, which Andy Lonergan tipped on to the bar. Schürrle was not the only culprit — Mohamed Salah and Oscar might have done better, too — but he was, by some distance, the worst.

Still, 25 minutes in, when Kurt Zouma stabbed home his first goal for the club, pouncing after Gary Cahill and then Loïc Rémy had failed to convert Salah’s corner, the Barclays Premier League leaders looked for all the world as though they would ease away from opponents languishing near the foot of the Sky Bet Championship. Freedman’s side, after all, had mustered just one win this season. It did not quite work out like that.

Bolton had only one chance; it came on the one occasion they made it out of their half for more than a few seconds. Liam Feeney swung in a free kick, Mills rose highest and planted a header low, into the corner of the net. It was hard to avoid the suspicion that Petr Cech — making his first appearance of the season, having been usurped by Thibaut Courtois — might have done rather better with it a couple of years ago.

Chelsea kept coming. Lonergan denied Nathan Aké, from fully 30 yards, before the break and Oscar, from substantially closer, after it. The Bolton goalkeeper could not hold out for long. When the visiting team allowed the Brazilian the time and space to turn, 30 yards from goal, a moment later, he made Bolton pay. His shot arrowed into the corner, beyond Lonergan’s reach.

The chances continued. Rémy should have made it safe, Schürrle fired one effort wide after a brilliant, jinking run, then saw another — rather less elegant — attempt clip a post. Bolton, though, lacked the nous to carve out another chance. Chelsea had done enough, just.


Chelsea (4-2-3-1): P Cech — C Azpilicueta, G Cahill, K Zouma, Filipe Luís — N Aké (sub: N Matic, 90min), J O Mikel — M Salah (sub: E Hazard, 80), Oscar, A Schürrle — L Rémy (sub: D Drogba, 72). Substitutes not used: M Schwarzer, B Ivanovic, N Matic, A Christensen, L Baker.

Bolton Wanderers (4-2-3-1): A Lonergan — C Herd, M Mills, D Dervite, D Moxey — M Kamara, D Pratley — L Feeney (sub: J Spearing, 68), N Danns (sub: J Mason, 83), C Davies (sub: Lee Chung Yong, 52) — J Beckford. Substitutes not used: P Kenny, K McNaughton, T Ream, M Clayton. Booked: Pratley, Herd, Spearing.

Referee: G Scott.


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


Mail:

Chelsea 2-1 Bolton:

Oscar and debutant Kurt Zouma spare Andre Schurrle's blushes as Blues book fourth-round spot

Don't worry Andre Schurrle, you have scored in a World Cup semi-final. That memory should keep the Germany forward sane when he reflects on all the opportunities he wasted against Bolton last night.

The more he tried, the more he looked to the heavens. The final shot count for Schurrle was 12, four times as many as Bolton managed during the entire 90 minutes.

Thankfully for the 23-year-old, Kurt Zouma and Oscar were more accurate as the Blues booked a Capital One Cup last-16 trip to League Two Shrewsbury. It should have been a much smoother ride for the west London club, though.

‘Andre’s performance reflected the mentality of the team,’ said Steve Holland, Chelsea’s assistant coach.

‘Not much more than two months ago he was playing in the World Cup final, tonight he was playing in the Capital One Cup. He showed a real committed performance — full of drive all night. He looked our most likely source throughout the game. He was an example of what was best about our performance.

‘A combination of some missed chances, a bit of bad luck and some very good goalkeeping meant that we were still at the limit right at the end of the game.’

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho fielded an understrength side, giving goalkeeper Petr Cech his first appearance of the season.

Mourinho also gave Loic Remy a full debut after his move from Queens Park Rangers, while there were starts for youngsters Nathan Ake and Kurt Zouma.

Bolton manager Dougie Freedman also made five changes from the side that started their Championship defeat by Wolves on Saturday.

Chelsea began as if they meant business, possibly prompted by Mourinho’s wardrobe choice — the Portuguese opting for a suit rather than the tracksuit he favoured during this tournament last season.

Or perhaps it was the fact Freedman kept him waiting for the customary pre-match handshake. Whatever it was, Chelsea came flying out the blocks and could have been four up inside 17 minutes.

Schurrle had enough chances to have scored a hat-trick before the game was a quarter of an hour old. He was denied twice inside the first five minutes; his free-kick tipped wide by Andy Lonergan before a header was cleared off the line by Matt Mills.

Mills again denied Schurrle, this time with a well-timed challenge as the World Cup winner met Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross after 14 minutes.

Then Remy fluffed a chance to break the deadlock with a poor header before Schurrle squandered another chance.

He was getting closer, though, his 20-yard free-kick being tipped on to the bar by Lonergan.

The goal finally arrived in the 25th minute, but from an unlikely source. Bolton defender Dorian Dervite blocked Gary Cahill’s header from Mohamed Salah’s corner only for the ball to drop to Zouma and the French centre back slammed home his first goal for the club.

Relief swept through the crowd but seven minutes later Bolton snatched a shock equaliser. Liam Feeney’s deep free-kick looked more hopeful than accurate but Mills rose above Jon Obi Mikel to head home from 14 yards.

The goal did not alter the flow of the game, however, as Chelsea — and Schurrle, looked to regain the lead.

The German missed two more chances before Ake thumped a long-range drive well over the bar just before the break.

Schurrle, inevitably, was involved in their first chance of the second half but Oscar’s header from the German’s free-kick was well saved by the over-worked Lonergan in the 51st minute.

Five minutes later, Chelsea made the vital breakthrough as Oscar thumped a 25-yard drive past Lonergan after good work by Remy.

As if to rub salt into Schurrle’s wounds, he then saw his 80th-minute drive from 15 yards tipped on to a post by Lonergan, who gratefully held on to the loose ball. It was just one of those nights for Schurrle.


Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech 6; Azpilicueta 6.5, Zouma 7, Cahill 6.5, Luis 7; Mikel 6.5, Ake 7 (Matic 90); Salah 7 (Hazard 79), Oscar 7, Schurrle 6.5; Remy 6 (Drogba 73).

Subs: Ivanovic, Matic, Schwarzer, Christensen, Baker.

Manager: Mourinho 7


Bolton (4-5-1): Lonergan 7.5; Herd 6, Mills 6.5, Dervite 6, Moxey 5, Feeney 5 (Spearing 68, 5), Danns 5 (Mason 82), Pratley 5, Kamara 5, Davies 5 (Lee 52); Beckford 5

Subs: Clayton, McNaughton, Ream, Kenny. Booked: Pratley

Manager: Freedman 6


Referee: Graham Scott (Oxfordshire) - 6


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

Mirror:

Chelsea 2-1 Bolton: Kurt Zouma debut goal and Oscar winner take Mourinho's men through

By John Cross

The Special One says he loves the League Cup - the first trophy he won with the Blues in 2005 - and he's into its last 16 despite Matt Mills' defiant equaliser

No wonder his middle name is Happy.

Kurt Zouma was all smiles after scoring on his debut to help secure Chelsea's this League Cup victory and set up a trip to League Two side Shrewsbury in the last 16.

Chelsea's £12m defender Zoumaopened the scoring before Oscar grabbed a second half winner to finally see off brave Bolton.

Zouma, who has the best middle name in football, also earned glowing praise from Chelsea's assistant boss Steve Holland.

Holland said: "Zouma has been waiting patiently for his chance. If you can also be a threat in the opposition's penalty box that's a big bonus. He fed on to a second ball from a corner, showed really good instincts and got a goal which I'm sure he'll always remember on his first appearance.

"I think Jose (Mourinho) has shown he is happy to play him and he's a big strong boy who has quality and experience from playing in the French league. We were very happy with the performance from the team tonight. It's a game where you hope motivation isn't a problem but it can sometimes be.

"Players that aren't playing regularly in the league suddenly get an opportunity in a different competition. The players' mentality was excellent right from the kick-off. Their approach to the game, the quality with which they played was very good.

"A combination of some missed chances, a bit of bad luck and some very good goalkeeping meant that we were still at the limit right at the end of the game."

Blues boss Mourinho declared his love for this competition – then made nine changes. Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta were the only ­survivors from Sunday’s starting line-up at Manchester City.

But that was testament to the strength of his squad, as in came Petr Cech for his first start of the season, and France Under-21 international Zouma.

Mourinho highlighted his ­affection for the League Cup in his programme notes – it was the first trophy he won for Chelsea in 2005.

Under the heading “This ­competition is very dear to us it holds a lot of great memories” – he outlined how important it is as a platform for success.

We've only just begun: Mourinho and Chelsea lift the League Cup back in 2005

Holland insisted Chelsea will not take the draw with Shrewsbury lightly. He added: "You always want to play at home so that's a shame. Last season we had an experience of League One opposition at Swindon and the year before we were six minutes from going out of the FA Cup at Brentford.

"So we will show them the same respect in terms of preparation that we will for the games with Aston Villa, Sporting Lisbon and Arsenal in the next week or so."

Chelsea went ahead after 25 minutes when Cahill's header was blocked by Jermaine Beckford, Loic Remy helped the ball on and Zouma lashed home from close range.

Bolton fought their way back into the contest and Liam Feeney's free-kick was headed in by skipper Matt Mills to give them a 32nd minute leveller.

Chelsea deserved their win and Oscar's low 25-yard shot after 55 minutes put them through.

Andre Schurrle had 12 shots and still could not find a goal while Bolton's late pressure also failed to pay off.

Bolton boss Dougie Freedman said: "Our keeper was fantastic, we had a game plan and we stuck to it. The aim was always to still be in the game with ten or 15 minutes left but we just couldn't find another goal."


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


Star:

Chelsea 2 - Bolton 1: Blues through to fourth round thanks to Oscar and Zouma strikes

CHELSEA new-boy Kurt Zouma bagged a goal on his full debut to help the Blues secure a place in the fourth round of the Capital One Cup.

By Chisanga Malata

Jose Mourinho's side started the game brightly, and immediately put the Championship side on the back-foot.

Andre Schurrle nearly put the Blues in-front with a stunning free kick, but Potters keeper Andy Lonergan was equal to his attempt.

The German international rattled the post minutes later, and it seemed that the Blues wouldn't be able to break Dougie Freedman's side down.

But they eventually beat Lonergan in the 25th minute when Zouma got on the end of a cross from Loic Remy.

Their lead didn't last long, and just six minutes later Matt Mills levelled the score with a towering header.

Mourinho's men began to pile on the pressure on their opponents, and were rewarded for their efforts in the 55th minute when Oscar restored their lead and booked the Blues a place in the fourth round of the cup.


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

Express:


Chelsea 2 - Bolton 1: 'Happy' Kurt Zouma fires Chelsea into last 16 of Cup

A MAN named Happy helped wipe the scowl off Jose Mourinho’s face last night – as his team scrambled unconvincingly into the fourth round.

By: Tony Banks


Kurt Zouma, the French teenager Chelsea captured from Saint-Etienne last season for £12million, has the middle name Happy. And when he scored on his debut at Stamford Bridge there were smiles all round.

But this turned into anything but a smooth ride for Mourinho’s team, when Championship strugglers Bolton levelled through Matt Mills.

In the end though, Oscar’s 25-yard drive booked a trip to Shrewsbury. Mourinho’s assistant Steve Holland said: “Kurt has waited patiently for a chance to play.

“Jose was happy to play him. Kurt is only 19 but he has plenty of experience and I thought he was immaculate in everything he did. The bonus of course is that he scored a goal he will always remember.”

This was the first trophy Mourinho won in England, way back in 2005, and he has fond memories of it – though he still made 10 changes to the line-up who drew at Manchester City on Sunday.

Andre Schurrle could have scored four times by the time Chelsea did break the deadlock.

First Bolton keeper Andrew Lonergan tipped away a free-kick, then the German saw a header hacked off the line.

Lonergan pushed another free-kick on to the bar – and finally Schurrle curled a shot just wide.

Bolton cracked when Loic Remy’s prod was rifled into the roof of the net by Zouma for his first Chelsea goal.

But astonishingly, six minutes later and against the run of play, Bolton were level. Liam Feeney swung in a free-kick and Mills rose above John Obi Mikel to nod in off the post.

Chelsea soon recovered their poise and 10 minutes into the second half they regained the lead.

This time Oscar picked up a loose ball 25 yards from goal and drilled it low past Lonergan. Holland added: “We needed an individual to produce that quality to win us the game, and Oscar is capable of that.”

Schurrle went close yet again as his 12th shot of the night was pushed on to a post. But it was a patchy Chelsea display that had the Special One fidgeting uneasily for long spells.


CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Cech; Azpilicueta, Zouma, Cahill, Luis; Ake (Matic 90), Mikel; Schurrle, Oscar, Salah (Hazard 80); Remy (Drogba 72). Goals: Zouma 25, Oscar 55.

BOLTON (4-4-2): Lonergan; Herd, Dervite, Mills, Moxey; Feeney (Spearing 68), Danns (Mason 83), Pratley, Medo; Davies (Lee 52), Beckford. Booked: Pratley, Herd, Spearing. Goal: Mills 31.


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

Man City 1-1

Independent:

Frank Lampard shows no joy after denying Chelsea victory

Manchester City 1 Chelsea 1

By SAM WALLACE

In the pre-match briefing document prepared for his players on Manchester City’s strengths and weaknesses, Jose Mourinho will no doubt have noted the tendency of the opposition’s No 18 to make late runs into the penalty area and score important goals.

After all, Frank Lampard has made a career out of doing just that: the problem, even at the age of 36, is stopping him doing it.

His 85th-minute equaliser was the most dramatic twist in an afternoon that took its time coming to the boil but was well worth the wait. The equaliser was a genuine double-take moment. Having connected with James Milner’s cross and denied Chelsea victory, Lampard embarked upon the most mawkish, low-key goal celebrations in the history of players scoring goals against former clubs.

Forty years since Denis Law did the same for City against Manchester United, Lampard took that particular art to a new, even more understated level. For the travelling support who had sung Lampard’s name all afternoon, in defiance of any suggestion there is animosity, it was one of those moments they will find very hard to forget.

The mood was very different on the City bench, where Manuel Pellegrini had sent Lampard on as a 78th-minute substitute for Aleksandar Kolarov with his team a goal down and reduced to 10 men following the red card for Pablo Zabaleta on 66 minutes. They had been beaten home and away last season in the league by Chelsea and another defeat for Pellegrini, always just a few degrees below boiling when it comes to facing Mourinho, would have been hard for him  to take.

As ever this was a Mourinho performance somewhere on the spectrum between brilliance and cynicism, and when his substitute André Schürrle struck with less than 20 minutes left, he must have believed he could win.

Pellegrini later accused Chelsea of a “small team” mentality and having come to City only to defend. Mourinho spat back that the City manager should stick to his former promise not to talk about Chelsea. The dismissal of Zabaleta will do nothing to change Pellegrini’s mind, with the City view very much that Diego Costa, Mourinho’s alter ego on the pitch, played a key part in the red card.

Nevertheless, Lampard’s late equaliser was the kind of twist of the knife for Mourinho that he is more accustomed to inflicting than sustaining. He flatly refused to discuss Lampard post-match, a sure sign that he felt it keenly. The suggestion was that Mourinho wanted to give Lampard another year’s contract but the club felt that it was time to move their all-time record goalscorer on and so he went to New York City – and then to their sister club on loan.

It was a game that burst into life in the last 25 minutes. Before then there were some intriguing personal battles on the pitch – nowhere more than Vincent Kompany against Costa – but there was too much at stake for either team to commit to the kind of attack that would force  the issue.

You would be hard-pressed to recall a significant chance before the break. On 29 minutes the ball sat up nicely for Fernandinho on the edge of the Chelsea area and he sliced his shot so badly he turned his back on it immediately in disgust – it did not even go out for a goal-kick.

There were only three different names in the Chelsea first XI to the side Mourinho selected in February in the 1-0 win for Chelsea at the Etihad. They were Thibaut Courtois for Petr Cech, Cesc Fabregas instead of the departed David Luiz and Costa in place of Samuel Eto’o, now also gone. On paper this is a better Chelsea team, but then Pellegrini was not about to make the same mistakes either.

He took a risk by selecting Eliaquim Mangala in the centre of defence, a risk given that he had not previously played a single competitive minute for the club since his transfer from Porto. In the event, Mangala had an assured game alongside Kompany, while in the midfield they traded fouls. Cesar Azpilicueta was booked for a kick on David Silva; Silva and Yaya Touré were booked for challenges on Willian.

By far the standout chance of the game in that first hour fell to Sergio Aguero on 57 minutes when he turned away from Fabregas in the box and hit a shot low to the left of Courtois which the young goalkeeper did well to stop. It fell invitingly for Edin Dzeko in the area but Ramires, always a useful man in an emergency like that, reacted first and got the ball away.

These are the small details upon which a game can turn. Five minutes later, Mourinho brought on Schürrle and John Obi Mikel, moved Fabregas into the No 10 position and soon after Chelsea scored. At the centre of it all was Zabaleta’s red card, a tangle with Costa that ended badly for the Argentine. You could not help but feel that he played into the hands of the striker.

Zabaleta was already on a booking when he went into the challenge with Costa, initially winning the ball and then, when he went back in for a second bite at it, fouling his opponent. The Chelsea man made the most of it, rolling over, squaring up and then prising Zabaleta’s conciliatory hand off his head. It all added to the drama of the incident, and when the dust had settled, Mike Dean showed a yellow card to both men.

Zabaleta had fouled Costa but whether it measured up as another booking given some of the other tackles during the afternoon is dubious. Bacary Sagna was sent on for Dzeko. City’s shape was shot.

The goal was beautifully worked by Chelsea, coming from the left to Branislav Ivanovic, on to Costa and then out wide to Eden Hazard on the right. He sent his cross to the back post and it was met by Schürrle with his left foot.

City were desperate not to go down again at home to Chelsea and Lampard came on for Kolarov with 12 minutes left, with the away fans singing his name. Shortly afterwards, Costa hit the post and then Milner, who had been excellent, picked out Lampard for the goal. He had to leave Chelsea at some point, and one supposes this summer was as good as any. Even so, it was a hell of a way to say goodbye.


Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Mangala, Kolarov (Lampard, 78); Fernandinho (Navas, 73), Toure; Milner, Silva, Aguero; Dzeko (Sagna, 70).

Substitutes not used: Caballero (gk), Demichelis, Clichy, Nasri.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Fabregas, Matic; Ramires (Schurrle, 62), Willian (Mikel, 62), Hazard; Costa (Drogba, 86)

Substitutes not used: Cech (gk), Felipe Luis, Oscar, Remy.

Booked: Manchester City Zabaleta, Silva, Toure Chelsea Ramires, Azpilicueta, Costa, Ivanovic

Sent off: Zabaleta

Referee: M Dean

Man of the match: Kompany


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

Guardian:

Manchester City rely on Frank Lampard’s late strike to deny Chelsea

Man City 1 - 1 Chelsea


Daniel Taylor at Etihad Stadium


For a few seconds Frank Lampard looked almost overcome with awkwardness. He had been on the pitch seven minutes, making his first home appearance for Manchester City, when the ball came to him in the position that used to be his trademark for Chelsea, back in the days when he was establishing himself as the most prolific scorer there has ever been at Stamford Bridge.

Lampard struck his shot with the power and precision that has formed the stamp of his career, picking his spot to the right of Thibaut Courtois, and what a dramatic way to introduce himself to his new crowd, just as the match had been threatening to turn into an ordeal for the champions and Chelsea were close to extending their immaculate start to the season.

Until that moment it had been the away end serenading the former England international. Now it was the City supporters loudly proclaiming his name and, remarkably, Lampard might actually have gone on to win the match. With the clock ticking down, the next chance that came his way enticed more memories of all those times when he had scored vital goals from the edge of the penalty area. This time his shot came back off his old mate, John Terry, prostrate on the turf, and Lampard was spared any more of the post-match apologies that began with his slightly contrite wave to the away fans after the final whistle.

It was a dramatic finale out of keeping with the rest of the match and City, a man down after Pablo Zabaleta’s red card, ought to feel immense relief bearing in mind the eight-point gap that was threatening to open up between the sides. They did show great resilience but from José Mourinho’s perspective he will regard it as unusual carelessness not to have held on against 10 men.

At 1-0 it had looked for all the world as if City were going to suffer again at the hands of Mourinho’s tactical nous, with more than a sprinkling of deja vu from when the two sides met here last season. Again, it was a match of few chances, with Chelsea defending in numbers, displaying all their qualities of structure and organisation. Courtois had been just as redundant as Petr Cech in the corresponding fixture in February and it was only five minutes after Zabaleta’s sending-off that Eden Hazard put the ball across the six-yard area for the substitute André Schürrle to slide in and open the scoring at the far post.

That would usually have been the position for Zabaleta to guard and he, more than anyone, owes Lampard a debt of gratitude. Zabaleta is a hero in these parts, afforded a standing ovation as he left the pitch, but the cries of “one-nil to the referee” felt like a crowd looking for an excuse that was not really there.

Mike Dean had an erratic afternoon but a player of Zabaleta’s experience, already booked for bringing down Hazard, really ought to have known better than to go in from behind on Diego Costa twice in succession. His first was risky enough but the second connected with Costa’s calf and Chelsea’s new signing is not the kind of man who accepts those indignations easily. His reaction inflamed the situation and quite possibly that was deliberate on his part. The bottom line, however, is Zabaleta put his team at risk.

As tends to happen when Mourinho comes up against Manuel Pellegrini, the game was followed by a lack of pleasantries, with Chelsea’s manager resorting to his old trick of getting an opponent’s name wrong, in this case “Mr Pellegrino”. Mourinho’s real beef, however, was almost certainly about the way his team surrendered a winning position. Costa struck the post when he had a chance to make it 2-0 after 81 minutes and by that point City had been restricted to only a couple of opportunities.

The game had been largely devoid of penalty-box drama yet it was still a captivating spectacle seeing these two heavyweights of the modern game slugging it out. It was an epic tussle, epitomised by that little cameo in the first half when Vincent Kompany and Costa went for the same ball, holding their ground like two warring old stags.

They did not give an inch before Kompany finally emerged with the ball and it was that kind of brute strength and raw determination that marked out the contest rather than the occasional moments of skill.

By half-time there had been six bookings and two of the players on yellow cards, Fernandinho and David Silva, could conceivably have been sent off. It was a contest for midfield supremacy and that might not have made it gripping in an orthodox sense but the various duels – Yaya Touré versus Nemanja Matic, Fernandinho against Willian, James Milner versus César Azpilicueta – still held the crowd’s attention. At one end John Terry and Gary Cahill created a formidable barrier for Edin Dzeko and the strangely subdued Sergio Agüero to pass. At the other end Kompany was immense and Eliaquim Mangala can be encouraged by his debut.

City had been on the verge of their first back-to-back home matches without a league goal since November 2010 when Milner turned the ball into Lampard’s path and nobody really should have been too surprised by his absence of celebration.

Man of the match Fernandinho (Manchester City)


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

Telegraph:

Frank Lampard comes off the bench before scoring equaliser against former club for 10-man City

Manchester City 1 Chelsea 1

By Henry Winter, Football Correspondent Etihad Stadium


Frank Lampard holds a special place in the Chelsea record books and in the hearts of their fans. Even when their club’s all-time leading scorer, “Super” Frank Lampard, equalised for Manchester City here, Chelsea supporters continued to sing his name. He cost them two points but had given them 13 unforgettable years. Lampard will always be in credit in their ledger of loyalty.

At the end of a contentious, slightly surreal encounter, Lampard walked over to thank the away fans, who waved banners and chorused his name again in return. Little sportsmanship resides in football in the cynical modern era so it was an impressive reaction by the Chelsea contingent.

Eulogising an erstwhile employee who had just thwarted them, who had wrecked their unblemished start to the season, inevitably triggered a debate amongst many Chelsea supporters but the general conclusion seemed to be that Lampard would always be above reproach, especially as he did not celebrate the goal.

Chelsea fans have done this before, saluting an old friend dressed in the clothes of a foe. They lauded Didier Drogba when he returned to the Bridge with Galatasaray. They chanted the name of Gianfranco Zola when he was manager at West Ham. They praised Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink when he scored against them for Charlton Athletic in 2006. Chelsea fans don’t forget.

“I had 13 amazing years with Chelsea fans,’’ Lampard told Sky afterwards. “I’m obviously pleased the team I played for got a draw. I’m professional. I’m playing at this club now. I came on and Chelsea fans were singing [his name] and that was emotional.’’

Lampard’s intervention, rolling back the years with a well-timed run on to a pass from James Milner with six minutes remaining, was the most dramatic moment in a remarkable last half-hour to this chess match between the country’s elite pair.

Lampard’s goal was totally deserved for a City side who fought back admirably from going a man down, when Pablo Zabaleta was controversially dismissed after 65 minutes, and going a goal down when André Schürrle capped a majestic counter-attack after 70 minutes.

Lampard brought sanity to the scoreline. It would have been an insult to sporting justice had Eliaquim Mangala, a muscular, mobile centre-half making an accomplished debut, finished on the losing side. It would have been affront had Milner’s tireless contribution of running and passing and tackling not received some reward.

City certainly answered those who had questioned their levels of dynamism and strength of character. They were by far the more assertive side, even if Manuel Pellegrini’s post-match jibe at Chelsea being a “small team” was a cheap shot.

Jose Mourinho was in a slight huff, refusing to talk about Lampard but everyone else was. He scored 211 in 648 games for Chelsea. His departure from the Bridge this summer brought much anguish. The editor of the influential cfcuk fanzine, David Johnstone, declared himself “broken-hearted”.

As an editorial in last month’s cfcuk declared: Lampard’s “loan move to City will do nothing to lessen the love and respect for him”.

He won three Premier League titles, one Champions League and eternal love at Chelsea, admitting it was “a wrench” leaving, but also having mentioned a year ago that he could not envisage himself playing for another Premier League club. Times change. He needs to keep fit, keep busy before he starts his new adventure at New York City. Chelsea fans understood.

When he made his debut for City in their televised game against Arsenal on Sept 13, cheering could be heard in Chelsea pubs on Fulham Broadway.

Lampard was always more than an employee for the club, more than the work and the goals and match-day contribution. Lampard represented Chelsea with style and dedication. It is no surprise to hear that Lampard has been staying on after training at Carrington, practising his shooting, doing the drills that he has always done, that prepare him for the key moments as with six minutes left here.

For 65 minutes, though, this felt rather like after the Jamie Vardy Show, a poor follow-up to the fireworks at the KP. City, in fairness, had started as hungrily as the entrants in the pie-eating competition staged outside.

Milner muscled his way down the line, Sergio Agüero wriggled into the box and Zabaleta crossed from the right. Edin Dzeko headed wide and then had a shot blocked by the diving Gary Cahill. From a David Silva corner, Yaya Touré powered in a header but straight at Thibaut Courtois. It felt like City had been stung by the criticism, by comments from the likes of Gary Neville that they were an ageing force, that they lacked intensity.

Manuel Pellegrini chose his most physically robust XI. Given their respective starts to the season, City had to take the game to Chelsea.

Chelsea were subdued. Mangala, was a mix of power and stealth in timing his interceptions. Diego Costa could not escape Mangala or Vincent Kompany. City charged around, pressing Chelsea, hunting the ball, not holding back. Zabaleta received his first caution for a foul on Eden Hazard, hardly the most violent offence but the referee, Mike Dean, was showing little mercy, constantly taking names.

Dean then overlooked City’s legitimate appeal for a penalty early in the second half. Branislav Ivanovic first fended off Touré as the Ivorian ran into the box, and then caught him with his leg but Dean waved play on. City kept up the pressure, Milner playing the ball across for Sergio Aguero to turn and bring a low save from Courtois.

The game then burst into life. For such an experienced professional, Zabaleta went in too vigorously on Costa, forgetting he was on a booking. Costa responded by pushing Zabaleta, who then began the slow walk to the tunnel, applauded by the City fans all the way. Costa could easily have followed him for grabbing Zabaleta by the throat.

Chelsea took the handbrake off, taking the lead with a counter-attack of speed and beauty. Hazard began the move on the right, turning inside and sweeping a cross-field pass to Fabregas, so commencing an odyssey defined by intelligent decision-making and precise passing. Fabregas touched the ball to Ivanovic, who passed it on to Costa. He quickly wrong- footed Aleksandar Kolarov and released Hazard, who had continued his run down the right.

Schürrle was also on the move, running from right to left, arriving at the far-post just as Hazard’s cross came in, leaving the German with a straightforward left-footed finish. The World Cup winner has this heightened awareness of how a move will develop and is becoming a master at making the right runs as against Burnley earlier in the season.

Chelsea could easily have added a second. Joe Hart saved a Costa header and then was relieved when the Spaniard’s shot hit a post. The home fans beseeched their team for a reaction, chanting “we’re Manchester City, we’ll fight til the end”. And they did. Cue Lampard. He could even have won it but Terry blocked his shot. “He’s been doing that in training for years,’’ Lampard smiled.


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


Times:

Manchester City 1 Chelsea 1

Contrite Frank Lampard pops up to earn Manchester City a point

Oliver Kay Chief Football Correspondent


Rarely will a goal so significant be marked with such sincere contrition from the scorer. Modern football is full of self-regarding muted celebrations when players score against a former club, but in the case of Frank Lampard yesterday, having done to Chelsea what he did 211 times on their behalf over the previous 13 years, the air of sadness was genuine.

Lampard will move to New York City — the new Major League Soccer franchise set up by Manchester City — long before the points are totted up at the end of this Barclays Premier League campaign. It is far too early to know what impact his 85th-minute equaliser yesterday will have, but at very least it denied Chelsea the opportunity to move eight points clear of City at the top of the table.

Until Lampard’s late intervention, as a substitute, this was going to be the story of another classic Chelsea victory away from home: backs against the wall in the first half, but resilient, tactically disciplined and utterly clinical on the counter-attack when André Schürrle, also a substitute, rounded off a superbly incisive break with 19 minutes remaining.

It is unusual to see a José Mourinho team surrender a lead, particularly with a one-man advantage after Pablo Zabaleta was sent off for a second bookable offence, but City deserved their equaliser, which came when Lampard made a characteristic run from midfield to convert James Milner’s cushioned pass.

Of course you would never get two managers with the shared history of Manuel Pellegrini and Mourinho admitting it was a fair result. The pair of them bickered ungraciously in their respective post-match press conferences — Pellegrini claiming that Chelsea had been a “big team playing like a little team, like Stoke”, Mourinho again referring to “Mr Pellegrino” in less than deferential terms — and no doubt we can expect more mud-slinging and name-calling over the months ahead.

It would have been a shame to let that — or any acrimony over Zabaleta’s red card, for which he later apologised on Twitter — overshadow other aspects of the game. There were not the jaw-dropping skills you would see in a Spanish clasico or indeed the thrills and spills of Leicester City’s chaotic 5-3 victory over Manchester United earlier in the afternoon, but this was one of the few occasions these days when it was possible to come away from a Premier League game enthusing about all four central defenders on view.

City’s supporters have had to wait for their first glimpse of Eliaquim Mangala, their £32 million summer signing from Porto, but the France defender made an encouraging debut as he and Vincent Kompany succeeded, for the most part, in stifling the threat of Diego Costa. At the other end, Gary Cahill and John Terry ensured that, for all City’s possession in advanced positions, Edin Dzeko and Sergio Agüero rarely threatened.

If Pellegrini felt affronted by Chelsea’s approach — an extremely compact back four, as usual, with Nemanja Matic and his midfield colleagues allowing little space in front of it — then it seems clear it is one that City will have to learn to live with this season. When Yaya Touré, David Silva, Agüero and Dzeko play as they can do, they usually find a way through, but for long periods yesterday a dominant performance lacked the precision and unpredictability to break down Chelsea’s defence.

City’s best moments of the first half came through Zabaleta and Milner down the right-hand side. Milner made a strong impression all afternoon — starting on the right-hand side of midfield, finishing off at left back, even having his name chanted by the home crowd when Mangala was announced as the man of the match — but despite his efforts, City could not find the breakthrough in the first half, making only half-chances with which Dzeko and Agüero could not find the target.

Another feature of the first half was the six yellow cards shown by Mike Dean, the referee. With Dean and indeed both sets of players in this mood, there was always the likelihood of someone picking up a second booking and a red card after half-time. Zabaleta’s first booking had been a little harsh, a clip on Eden Hazard, but he showed a loss of control for the second, hacking at Costa midway through the second half and paying the price.

City seemed to lose their concentration and their shape, however briefly, and Chelsea exploited it. To that point, they had not counter-attacked anything like so swiftly as they did in winning here in February, but the move that brought the opening goal was a classic, with Cesc Fàbregas, Branislav Ivanovic and Costa combining to set up Hazard, whose measured right-wing cross was swept in at the far post by Schürrle.

So far, so utterly perfect from Mourinho’s viewpoint. Chelsea were growing in confidence, almost claiming a second goal when Costa hit the foot of the post moments later.

City sent on Lampard for his home debut and, despite having said beforehand that it would be “weird” to face Chelsea, the 36-year-old quickly settled into the groove. With five minutes remaining he passed to Milner before drifting off into space as the move continued. Milner found Silva, who floated a pass back out to Milner, by now attacking the penalty area. Milner knocked the ball into the path of Lampard, who, having escaped from Ivanovic, adjusted his body to meet the ball at thigh height, beating Thibaut Courtois to level the scores.

Having scored once, Lampard even threatened a second goal in stoppage time, shooting just wide from the edge of the area. It is hard to know how he would have reacted had that one flown in. As it was, he looked dewy-eyed as he walked over to applaud the Chelsea supporters at the final whistle — they returned his affection with interest — and raised a hand in what looked like apology.

They would tell him he had nothing to apologise for. If anyone was to hold up the Chelsea bandwagon, there was no one better to do it. They will just hope that the dropped points do not cost them in the final reckoning.


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

Mail:

Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea:

Blues legend Frank Lampard haunts his former club with late equaliser after Andre Schurrle opener

By Martin Samuel

Frank Lampard has now scored against 39 different Premier League teams. He just didn’t ever imagine Chelsea would be one of them.

Not since Denis Law believed he had condemned Manchester United to relegation — also in a Manchester City shirt, coincidentally — has a player looked so mixed up about scoring.

Lampard’s 85th-minute equaliser came at the end of an afternoon in which his name had been sung as enthusiastically by the away end as by the fans of his new club.

They held up banners in his honour and continued to celebrate and embrace him as one of their own.

Lampard said he didn’t get a chance to say a proper goodbye. He must have been relishing the opportunity, yet privately dreading a send-off like this.

Lampard did not celebrate his big moment and, at the final whistle, appeared close to tears. That didn’t stop him, post-equaliser, having another go at winning it for his new club, with a shot blocked at full stretch by John Terry.

If he had been given time to think maybe he would have skied both balls diplomatically, but Lampard was never less than the consummate professional.

Faced with a scoring chance, instinct simply took over.

Until that moment — a Thibaut Courtois save from Sergio Aguero after 57 minutes aside — Manchester City had not significantly threatened Chelsea’s goal.

Indeed, the match was shaping up as one of those Jose Mourinho specials in which he sends out a team to do a job and they execute his plan to perfection.

Chelsea were outstanding at the back and, as the game wore on, began quietly slipping through the gears in midfield. This is a Chelsea known to all, soaking it up and then, bang, hitting viciously on the counter-attack.

Yet if Chelsea successfully parked the bus for 85 minutes, what was forgotten is Lampard has the keys to that particular vehicle. He knows how to manoeuvre it and drove it as well as anybody. And it was from memory that he arrived to score the levelling goal; the memory of converting a hundred or more like it on his way to becoming Chelsea’s record scorer. The ball forward was speculative to say the least and tremendous credit is due to James Milner, who contrived to square it at full stretch on the volley.

From this unlikely scenario, magic occurred. Lampard arrived, late but perfectly synchronised as ever, and struck his shot past a defeated Courtois.

How many times had Chelsea’s faithful seen him do that, but in a blue shirt of a different hue?

This was one occasion when refusing to celebrate seemed appropriate.

There was too much respect on both sides for Lampard to throw it back in the faces of the travelling contingent. Instead, he looked slightly sheepish. Knowing him, however, inside he may feel a point has been proved. How did they let him go? How did they ever risk that he would end up playing for a rival? Would Manchester United ever have lined up against Ryan Giggs or Paul Scholes? Of course not.

The warmth of the hugs and handshakes from former Chelsea team-mates suggested they knew what had been lost, too.

The identity of the scorer and the timing of his goal made this feel like a defeat for Chelsea.

Even so, when the Lampard sting is forgotten, it is still a good result.

Just five games gone and Chelsea are already five points clear of the reigning champions. They have four on Arsenal, who visit Stamford Bridge in two weeks, six on Tottenham Hotspur, seven on Liverpool, eight on Manchester United.

Last February, Chelsea dominated this game and could have won by more. On Sunday, even Mourinho conceded that honours were even.

Chelsea let Manchester City play the football and the home fans will argue the turning point of the game was the unjust 66th-minute dismissal of Pablo Zabaleta. It wasn’t. Yes, it was goalless then and 1-0 to Chelsea five minutes later. Yet that isn’t why Chelsea got a point.

From City’s perspective, the game had an ominous look for a good 10 minutes before that, Chelsea coming into it, linking together well, starting to get the upper hand in midfield, even if goalkeeper Joe Hart remained untroubled.

Manuel Pellegrini compared their style to Stoke City but that is nonsense, too. They would quite possibly have broken the deadlock 11 versus 11.

More importantly, Zabaleta deserved to go. Already booked for a foul on Eden Hazard — there were nine yellow cards, including Zabaleta’s two — he was reckless in his challenge on Diego Costa and became involved in some pointless grappling after the event.

It was the foul that earned the second yellow card, though, and Zabaleta’s protests were futile and misguided.

He has been sent off in six of his seven seasons with City and, for all his excellence, has a tendency to hot-headedness. So does Costa, but he was the wronged party here. In the circumstances, City have no cause for complaint.

Chelsea’s breakthrough, which followed soon after, was poetry in motion.

Costa held the ball up in midfield perfectly, moving it on and finally out to Hazard on the right flank. His cross was precise, as was substitute Andre Schurrle’s run, arriving at the far post as he so often does for club and country, sharper than City’s covering defenders, a goal waiting to happen.

It could have been all over from there had Costa not hit a post after 81 minutes. This meant he failed to match the Premier League scoring record of eight in five games held by Micky Quinn at Coventry City.

In these days of sprees measured in hundreds of millions, it is nice to know that an old school figure like Quinn can still have his name in the record books. Lampard, too. Thirty-nine and counting. Don’t think it ends here. He couldn’t stop himself, you know, even if he tried.


Man City: Hart 6.5, Zabaleta 7, Kompany 8, Mangala 7.5, Kolarov 7 (Lampard 78, 7), Milner 7.5, Fernandinho 7.5 (Jesus Navas 73, 6), Toure 7.5, Silva 6.5, Dzeko 7 (Sagna 70, 6), Aguero 6.5.Subs Not Used: Nasri, Caballero, Clichy, Demichelis.

Sent Off: Zabaleta (66).

Booked: Fernandinho, Zabaleta, Silva, Toure.

Goals: Lampard 85.


Chelsea: Courtois 7, Ivanovic 7, Cahill 7, Terry 8, Azpilicueta 7, Fabregas 6.5, Matic 6.5, Ramires 6 (Schurrle 63, 7), Willian 6.5 (Mikel 63, 6), Hazard 7.5, Costa 7 (Drogba 86).

Subs Not Used: Cech, Luis, Oscar, Remy.

Booked: Ramires, Matic, Costa, Ivanovic.

Goals: Schurrle 71.

Ref: Mike Dean (Wirral) 5.5

Ratings by Ian Ladyman at the Etihad Stadium


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

Mirror:

Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea: Frank Lampard the hero with an equaliser against his old club

By Martin Lipton

The Blues passed up the chance to go eight points clear of their rivals, as Lampard cancelled out his old-team's lead for 10-man City

Of all the players, in all the grounds, in all the world.

It HAD to be him.

A legend, for ever, at Stamford Bridge. Rightly so.

The player who made 648 appearances for Chelsea, who left, against his will, as their record goalscorer this summer.

Feted, when he arrived, with 12 minutes left, by the travelling fans, supporters who were denied the chance to thank him for 13 remarkable years.

Yet now wearing sky blue, representing a City side who were staring at an eight-point deficit on Jose Mourinho’s men, down to 10 after the needless dismissal of Pablo Zabaleta was seized on by Andre Schurrle’s close-range finish.

And, with just five minutes to go at The Etihad, with his former club on the brink of striking a mammoth blow in the battle for the crown, Frank Lampard rolled back time, replicating the moment the Chelsea supporters gleefully applauded 211 times.

David Silva clipped forward, where James Milner’s latest lung-busting effort saw him divert back into the box.

And there, timing his run, anticipating the moment, applying the finish, as he has done on so many occasions, Lampard, just too quick for old mate John Terry, too good for Thibaut Courtois.

He did not celebrate. Of course not. He couldn’t. Not after what Chelsea means to him.

Had it been the winner, rather than the goal that secured a point – and it needed a Terry block, at the death, to deny him a second – you wonder whether Lampard might have retired on the spot.

Even so, there were tears in his 36-year-old eyes as he walked, alone, towards the Chelsea fans at the final whistle, noting how they stood, as one, to chant his name, appreciate his efforts.

Sometimes, now and then, football can unify rather than divide. This was one of them, the chant of ‘’Super Frankie Lampard’’ on all Etihad lips.

Yet even if Mourinho and his men were left ruing how the thickness of the post had prevented Diego Costa repeating Micky Quinn’s feat of scoring in each of the first five Premier League games, it was Chelsea who had more credit in the bank.

Their resolution at the back had been immaculate, on an afternoon where all four centre-halves stood out, refusing to let City’s physicality unhinge them.

And when Zabaleta, already booked for one foolish foul on Eden Hazard in the first half, hooked out at Costa and got involved in a minor skirmish to earn his second yellow card, it was Chelsea who struck.

Costa worked space, fed to Hazard, whose low ball in from the right begged for the finish applied by the sliding Schurrle.

Had Milner, who started wide right but ended at left-back, not got the touch to help Costa’s left-footer onto the post, soon after the striker’s header straight at Joe Hart, City would not have retained the platform for Lampard’s rescue act.

They may have dominated possession and territory but without making much headway, Courtois having to produce just the one save, from Sergio Aguero.

It looked like we would be hailing another Mourinho masterclass, picking Manuel Pellegrini’s pocket once more.

Instead, unquestionably, it became about another who will always be park of SW6 folklore. But will see out his Premier League days in northern exile. Astonishing.


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Express:

Manchester City 1 - Chelsea 1: Lampard breaks through Mourinho masterplan to stun Blues

AS the dust settled at the Etihad Stadium there was little to be learned other than compelling confirmation that these two heavyweights will slug it out for the Premier League title.

By: Richard Tanner


Even Jose Mourinho grudgingly admitted a point apiece was a fair result and both teams will be happy enough with it - for different reasons.

Although Chelsea will be frustrated they threw away a lead against 10 men, Mourinho had set them up to contain Manchester City and if someone had offered him a draw at the start he would surely have taken it.

This was classic Mourinho. A superbly organised, disciplined performance that strangled the life out of the game for the most part. But then who can blame him against the team who rattled in over 150 goals last season?

City went into the game needing the win more than Chelsea but the fact they kept came back after falling a goal and a man down showed great character and turned what was shaping up to be a disastrous week into an acceptable one.

Two draws against Arsenal and Chelsea sandwiched the last-gasp Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich. Add in the defeat to Stoke before the international week and City have now gone four games without a victory for the first time since Mark Hughes' era as boss.

But while he is concerned at the results, manager Manuel Pellegrini insisted afterwards he is not overly worried about performances and that only one team set out to win this game.

Despite knocking at the door for 90 minutes, however, City only forced one serious save out of Thibault Courtois, who was so well protected by John Terry and Gary Cahill.

But there was still plenty to encourage Pellegrini. Yaya Toure answered criticism of his form with a much more energetic midfield performance, Eliaquim Mangala's belated debut was impressive, Vincent Kompnay underlined why he is the Premier League's best centre back by keeping Diego Costa on a tight leash while the often unsung James Milner was awarded man of the match for a tireless shift and his assist for City's equaliser.

Mourinho will be frustrated that an almost faultless tactical plan and defensive display - not to mention their 100 per cent start in the League - was wrecked by one lapse in concentration.

Of all teams, Chelsea should know Frank Lampard's penchant for making late runs into the penalty. After all the bulk of the club record tally of 211 goals over his 13-year spell at Stamford Bridge were scored in similar fashion.

While Chelsea fans gave Lampard a rousing reception when he came on as substitute, but no-one expected his former team-mates to be so charitable by giving him the time and space to score a trademark goal.

For once City got in behind Chelsea's back four when David Silva lofted an exquisite pass over the back four, Milner laid it off first time and there was Lampard running into the box to score with a first time half-volley.

He didn't celebrate out of respect to Chelsea but his goal could prove highly significant come judgement day in May. It is early days but City were well aware they would have struggled to claw back an eight-point lead on a team that is so hard to beat.

Chelsea's goal came when City were still reeling from the controversial 68th minute dismissal of Pablo Zabaleta. And until that point, it would have surprised no-one if the game had finished goal-less.

Booked in the first half for a foul on Eden Hazard, Zabaleta received a second caution from referee Mike Dean for chopping down Costa. At first it looked like Costa might be in trouble for putting his hands around the throat of the City defender but it was Zabaleta who walked - and replays suggested he couldn't have too many complaints. Costa escaped with just a yellow card.

Almost immediately Chelsea took advantage. Pellegrini had sent on Bacary Sagna for Eden Dzeko but City were still re-adjusting when Andre Schurrle stole in at the far post to tap in Hazard's low cross that had snaked it's way right across the penalty area after a breakaway.

The way Chelsea had defended up until then, suggested City were done for. And the game would certainly have been beyond them had Costa not been denied a goal for the fifth League game running when his snap shot struck the post with Joe Hart beaten. But Lampard's introduction 12 minutes from the end made the difference and for him, at least, it was the perfect result.


Man City (4-4-2): Hart 6; Zabaleta 6, Kompany 9, Mangala 7, Kolarov 6 (Lampard 78, 7); Milner 7, Toure 7, Fernandinho 7, Silva 7; Dzeko 6 (Sagna 70, 5), Aguero 6.

Goal: Lampard 85.

Sent off: Zabaleta.

Booked: Zabaleta, Fernandinho, Silva, Toure.

Next up: Wed - Sheffield Wed (h) Capital One Cup.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois 6; Ivanovic 6, Cahill 7, Terry 8, Azpilicueta ; Ramires 6 (Schurrle 62, 7), Matic 7; Willian 5 (Mikel, 62, 6), Fabregas 6, Hazard 5; Costa 5 (Drogba 85, 5).

Goal: Schurrle 72.

Booked: Ramires, Matic, Costa, Ivanovic.

Next up: Wed - Bolton (h) Capital One Cup.

Referee: M. Dean (Wirral).

Stat of the day: Frank Lampard has become the first player to score against 39 different Premier League clubs.


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Star:


Man City 1 - Chelsea 1: Lampard late show denies Mourinho's side three points

FRANKLY who would have believed it!

By David Woods

On a weekend full of Premier League surprises, Frank Lampard topped the lot by coming off the bench to score the equaliser against his beloved former club.

He is joining New York City in the new year, but the on-loan star's contribution yesterday was more like something dreamt up in Hollywood.

As he was introduced in the 78th minute, with the champions trailing, the travelling support bellowed out, "super Frankie Lampard" and "he's won more than you".

Seven minutes later they were struck silent as he scored his first goal for City to earn them a crucial point.

Lampard looked bemused and embarrassed, not having a clue how to celebrate.

At the final whistle he hugged six Chelsea players, applauded the home fans, then walked slowly down to the away section to clap them too.

A chorus of "Super Frankie Lampard went up again" before the 36-year-old walked off the pitch still looking shellshocked.

He might even have scored a winner, his great mate John Terry blocking a firm left-foot drive in the 89th minute.

That effort came three minutes after Chelsea's record scorer - 211 goals in 13 seasons at the club - managed a finish he will never forget against the team who declined to give him a new contract.

A chipped ball from David Silva to James Milner on the left, saw the England man volley across goal.

Lampard just evaded the lunging attempted block by Terry to slightly scuff a sidefooted volley which crept in at the near post.

You could not make it up.

Up until then it had looked like Jose Mourinho was going to repeat his successful recipe for beating City on their own turf, with Chelsea going ahead in the 71st minute when Andre Schurrle scored. It was their first attempt on goal.

On Friday Mourinho laughed off claims his 1-0 win at The Etihad last season had proved him to be a master tactician. The only master he knew of was master chef Gordon Ramsay.

To be fair to City, another Blues win would not have left a good taste in the mouth.

Yes, they defended brilliantly and Mourinho set them up to frustrate City and catch them on the break.

That they did with a wonderful sweeping move which culminated in Branislav Ivanovic finding Diego Costa, who picked out Eden Hazard on the right flank.

His ball across goal evaded all the light blue shirts in the box and Germany star Schurrle tapped in at the far post.

At the time there were only nine of those light blue shirts on the pitch, with Pablo Zabaletta correctly sent off by Mike Dean in the 66th minute.

The ref showed the Argentine two yellow cards, the second for a crude challenge on Costa, having earlier been cautioned for tripping Hazard.

Up until the two goals it had been a game where defenders, particular central ones, ruled.

City's £32m signing from Porto, Eliaquim Mangala, was immense on his debut and for most of the game seven-goal Costa was treated with disdain by Vincent Kompany.

Costa did strike the outside of a post in the 81st minute, but the Brazilian-born Spanish international was given a harsh lesson yesterday about just how tough the Premier League can be for a solitary striker.

The Blues rearguard of Terry and Gary Cahill were excellent too.

But apart from the goals, there was not a great deal to get excited about, especially when compared to the shocks elsewhere in the Premier League yesterday at Leicester, Tottenham and Everton.

All that went on before, though, was just a warm-up prior to Lampard's cameo, which will live long in the memory of both sets of fans.