morning papers anderlecht away

Chelsea cruise on with Crespo
Jon Brodkin at Constant vanden Stock StadiumThursday November 24, 2005The Guardian
Jose Mourinho's sums may have let him down on the eve of this fixture but his team did nothing of the sort last night. Two early goals enabled Chelsea to play in cruise control for much of the match. With Real Betis failing to win at Anfield this took the Premiership champions through to the last 16, meaning their manager was spot on in suggesting that three more points would suffice. A similar result at home to Liverpool would secure the group's top spot.
Far tougher tests than this lie ahead but Chelsea are entitled to feel satisfied with a first away win in this tournament for just over a year. They were stronger, slicker and of a higher quality than a poor Anderlecht team, who barely looked like scoring after they wasted a fine chance to take the lead and have now lost 12 straight Champions League matches. When asked to, Chelsea defended soundly, with Michael Essien growing into his role as the holding midfielder.Hernán Crespo underlined his increasing value with a second strike in as many games and some nice touches with his back to goal as Chelsea, afforded far more space than usual, dictated the pace and rhythm. They started excellently and were content to play within themselves in the second half. Late on they struck a post through the influential Frank Lampard, who had set up both goals.
Chelsea could hardly be blamed for not expending energy in searching relentlessly for a bigger margin of victory or potentially exposing themselves to counter-attacks. They have plenty of Premiership business to attend to, starting at Portsmouth on Saturday, and Mourinho took the opportunity to bring on Lassana Diarra, Geremi and Carlton Cole.
The final group match against Liverpool in a fortnight will be nothing more than a face-off for first place. Mourinho said he would set out to win but that it was "not important" where his team finished. "If you are first you can get Real Madrid," he noted. "If second, you can get Lyon. What's the difference between playing Juventus and Bayern Munich? Maybe if you are first you have to play against Milan and second against PSV Eindhoven. Like last season, we finished first and played Barcelona."
Events here were as good as over after goals from Crespo and Ricardo Carvalho inside 15 minutes. Mourinho had called on his players to begin brightly and not underestimate the task after the failure to beat other troubled teams in Betis, Manchester United and Everton in recent weeks, and they did precisely that.
The identity of the goalscorers vindicated the manager's selections. He had stuck with Crespo and left Didier Drogba on the bench, and the Argentina striker coolly volleyed Chelsea's opener after Lampard robbed Anthony Vanden Borre, accelerated down the left and centred with his supposedly weaker foot.
It was Crespo's first start in this competition under Mourinho, who was surely reiterating that the striker has a future at the club despite suggestions to the contrary. Crespo's goals against Newcastle and here have shown his desire to succeed at Chelsea. "Hernán's performance was very good again," Mourinho said.
The advantage was doubled by Carvalho, chosen at centre-back instead of William Gallas, who was deployed at full-back. Carvalho does not score many but hit a powerful shot across goal after a Lampard corner was flicked on.
Chelsea were in control, retaining possession comfortably as Lampard and Eidur Gudjohnsen dictated matters, with good support from Joe Cole, but they might have faced a far tougher night had Anderlecht accepted an opening about 40 seconds before Crespo scored. A quick throw sent Christian Wilhelmsson down the right but Mbo Mpenza's shot from the Swede's cross spun wide.
The gap in class and muscle was soon evident and it was not hard to believe Anderlecht have been troubled by poor domestic results and infighting. They were jeered off by their fans. Mourinho had only praise for his players. "Our performance in the first half-hour was very good, very strong - quality in the game with intensity," he said. "The second half was not as beautiful as the first half but we controlled the game. We were under a little bit of pressure to qualify [but] we did it very well."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Anderlecht 0 Chelsea 2 Crespo's class tells as Chelsea cruise into knock-out stages By Jason Burt at the Vanden Stock Stadium Published: 24 November 2005 It isn't over until the fat lady sings, or so the saying goes. But she was warming up her tonsils on a bitter night in Brussels from the moment Hernan Crespo tapped the ball off the centre-spot to start proceedings. Never mind the opera, this was barely a drama, as one-sided a mismatch as the Champions' League gets, and it allowed Chelsea to record their first away win in seven matches in Europe.
A bizarre record indeed for such a formidable, and formidably resourced, opponent, and one stretching back to November last year, but by ending it - and with Real Betis failing to beat Liverpool - Chelsea qualified from Group G for the knock-out stages of this competition without having remotely to extend themselves.
Not that the Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho, cares whether his side or Liverpool top the group. "I think it is not important at all," he said, reasoning that facing Bayern Munich or Barcelona in the next round was much of a muchness. "But it would have been funny if Betis had won," he said. "Imagine Chelsea versus Liverpool. Ten points each and the loser is out of the competition. It would have been a fantastic night."
Some sense of humour that - and there was also a little dig at Rafael Benitez, saying he hoped he would come to entertain at Stamford Bridge next month. Mourinho also opened his comments with a swipe at having been criticised for his pre-match remark that all Chelsea needed to do was win. "First of all," he said, "I'm very good at maths because I told you three points was enough."
He was, again, right. Mourinho also got his permutations correct in playing Crespo ahead of Didier Drogba, and he was rewarded with a performance of class from the Argentinian, who is shifting into form, and into the limelight, just as Chelsea need him.
Crespo looked every bit the top international striker that he undoubtedly is and his employers would do well to smooth whatever unrest there remains in his heart over staying in London.
Crespo's name rang long into the night from the travelling Chelsea fans, whose team killed the game with two early goals in a first half that their manager described as "beautiful". That beauty was not maintained after the break although the firm grip established by the relentless power of Michael Essien was never loosened.
But Chelsea eased ahead through a goal created solely by Frank Lampard, who sent in what Mourinho described as an "unbelievable" cross for Crespo to leap and volley in. That came soon after Anderlecht should have scored when, with the disappointing Asier del Horno out of position, a quick throw-in released Christian Wilhelmsson, who pulled the ball back only for Mbo Mpenza to steer wide.
Soon the home side were further behind and again Crespo was involved. Lampard's corner was flicked on by the striker and Ricardo Carvalho half-volleyed into the roof of the net. Game over and with that Anderlecht were consigned to a record 12th consecutive Champions' League defeat.
Their only hope was the energy of Wilhelmsson but, in truth, and until Bart Goor made a hash of a cross late on, they were completely colourless and departed at both the half and full-time whistles to derision from their otherwise mute fans.
Perhaps because of the ease of it all, Chelsea dipped and a third goal would not come, as Crespo - in his final act before being replaced to a rich ovation - volleyed into the side-netting. His performance confirmed again the astonishing choices Mourinho has. There is the target man bludgeon of Didier Drogba, or the appealing rapier of Crespo. Last night belonged to the latter and he slit Anderlecht's throats. The smoothest of assassins.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Gallas, Terry, Carvalho, Del Horno; Lampard, Essien, Gudjohnsen (Geremi, 78); J Cole (Diarra, 62), Crespo (C Cole, 86), Duff. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Drogba, Ferreira, Huth.
Anderlecht (4-4-2): Proto; Zewlakow, Kompany, Tihinen, Deschacht; Wilhelmsson, Vanden Borre, Vanderhaeghe (Iachtchouk, h-t), Goor; Mpenza (Zetterberg, 60), Akin (Ehret, 74). Substitutes not used: Zitka (gk), Juhasz, De Man, Mitu.
Referee: S Farina (Italy).
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Sun:Anderlecht 0 Chelsea 2 By SUN ONLINE REPORTER
CHELSEA have qualified for the knockout phase of the Champions League.
After some poor performances, boss Jose Mourinho had ordered his side to put an end to their sloppy attitude.
And they did so in a fashion that would have delighted the coach with goals inside the first 15 minutes from Hernan Crespo and Ricardo Carvalho.
The win was also was enough to see the Blues progress to the next phase - as Mourinho had predicted.
In contrast, the Belgian side, without a goal in Europe this season or a victory in the Champions League for 12 games had nothing in their armoury.
Crespo, preferred in attack to Didier Drogba put the Blues in front after only seven minutes.
Frank Lampard enjoyed plenty of time and space on the left to deliver a pinpoint cross for Crespo.
And the Argentinian gave keeper Silvio Proto no chance by volleying the ball into the net.
In the 15th minute the away side doubled their advantage through Carvalho.
A corner on the right from Lampard was knocked on by Crespo for the Portuguese international to despatch a vicious volley into the top right-hand corner of the Anderlecht net.
It was Carvalho’s second goal in the competition and put Chelsea in complete control.
The rest of the first half saw Chelsea continue to dominate proceedings without adding to the scoreline.
Crespo saw a looping volley go just over the target and Joe Cole was unlucky with a chip that Proto just managed to collect from under the crossbar.
In the second half a clever run by Damien Duff almost opened up the Anderlecht defence once more.
But this time the Belgians managed to scramble the ball to safety.
Carvalho found himself through on goal in the 50th minute after Duff had put him clear but he did not have the legs to finish off the run and settled for a corner.
That resulted in Duff chancing his luck from 20 yards with a fierce shot that Proto did well to punch clear in a crowded goalmouth.
Anderlecht finally managed to get a shot on target in the 66th minute when Petr Cech was forced to dive low to his right to prevent Serhat Akin’s effort from creeping into the net at the near post.
But Chelsea almost added a third in the 84th minute when Lampard’s left-foot effort from just outside was pushed on to the foot of the post by Proto.
Seconds later Crespo should have done better with a right-foot shot that he place wide of the upright from six yards.
It was to be his last contribution of the night as Mourinho replaced him with Carlton Cole.
Liverpool’s goalless draw with Betis at Anfield ensured that both English sides qualified from Group G. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Crespo steers Chelsea through By Christopher Davies in Brussels Anderlecht (0) 0 Chelsea (2) 2
Latin flair and Belgian despair combined to see Chelsea gain the victory over Anderlecht which, with the failure of Real Betis to beat Liverpool, ensured the Premiership leaders of a place in the Champions League knockout phase for the third consecutive season.
Game over: Ricardo Carvalho celebrates Chelsea's second Hernan Crespo justified his selection ahead of Didier Drogba, the Argentine scoring the opening goal and laying on the second for Portugal international Ricardo Carvalho.
It brought to an end Chelsea's European travel sickness and was their first away win in the Champions League since their victory in Russia over Spartak Moscow just over a year ago.
With Liverpool also progressing to the next stage, it means the English derby between the Premiership and European Champions at Stamford Bridge in the final tie will decide which finish first in the group and become a seed for the next round. As Chelsea won their group last season and were then drawn to play Barcelona, Mourinho may question the value of winning the qualifying group.
However, it was never really in doubt that they would win a Champions League tie after eight failures because Anderlecht must be one of the most mediocre teams ever to rub shoulders with Europe's elite. The scoreline does not do justice to Chelsea's almost embarrassing superiority.
As the game progressed Chelsea, understandably, were happy to maintain their two-goal lead while Anderlecht were similarly content not to suffer a humiliating defeat. If it did not make for the most enthralling of matches, Chelsea flew home from Brussels with their mission of reaching the knockout stage accomplished.
Mourinho's mathematics had been questioned as he waded through the complexities of the qualification possibilities on the eve of the tie but the manager's team selection proved to be spot on, the choice of Crespo ahead of Drogba as the lone striker paying quick dividends.
With eight minutes gone Christian Wilhelmsson crossed from the right and Mbo Mpenza was a foot wide as he slid in on the centre. Anderlecht paid the heaviest of prices for Mpenza's profligacy because from the resulting goal-kick Chelsea scored.
Petr Cech's clearance found Damien Duff who helped the ball on to Frank Lampard on the left flank. The Footballer of the Year's centre was volleyed home by Crespo, making his first Champions League start under Mourinho, the Argentina international unmarked as he beat Silvio Proto from six yards.
Without a point or a goal in Group G, Anderlecht were looking at a fifth consecutive double-blank this season and when Ricardo Carvalho made it 2-0 in the 15th minute the game as a true contest was effectively over.
Lampard's right-wing corner was flicked on by Crespo to Carvalho by the far post and the Portugal defender scored with a half-volley from eight yards. Chelsea may have lost six of their last seven away ties in the Champions League but they had never been defeated when leading 2-0 under Mourinho and a side going into the match in the wake of 11 successive European defeats seemed unlikely to create a minor piece of Chelsea history.
Two minutes after the interval Mpenza was clear with only Cech to beat and for a moment the Constant Vanden Stock stadium held its collective breath.
Was Anderlecht's Champions League goal drought about to end? No. Mpenza's shot was saved by Cech's legs and, perhaps to the relief of the Anderlecht striker, he was offside, something he was unaware of at the time.
Apart from Lampard's shot with five minutes remaining that struck a post there was little to raise the pulse as the match became almost a glorified European training session for Chelsea though the suspicion is that their reserves would give them a tougher time than Anderlecht.
Match detailsAnderlecht (4-1-4-1): Proto; Zealakow, Kompany, Tihinen, Deschacht; Vanderhaeghe; Wilhelmsson, Vanden Borre, Akin (Ehret 75), Goor; Mpenza (Zetterberg 60). Subs: Zitka (g), Juhasz, Lachtchouk, De Man, Mitu. Booked: Vanden Boore. Chelsea ( 4-1-4-1): Cech; Gallas, Terry, Carvalho, Del Horno; Essien; J Cole (Diarra 63), Lampard, Gudjohnsen (Geremi 78), Duff; Crespo (C Cole 86). Subs: Cudicini (g), Drogba, Paulo Ferreira, Huth. Booked: Del Horno, Terry. Referee: S Farina (Italy).
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Times:
It all adds up fine for Mourinho as Chelsea saunter onFrom Matt Hughes in BrusselsAnderlecht 0 Chelsea 2
JOSÉ MOURINHO may have failed his own maths test, but it would be impossible to argue with his logic. The Chelsea manager had demanded an improved attitude from his players and they responded with a performance of outstanding professionalism, securing the win that takes them through to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

The match was over as a contest after 15 minutes thanks largely to Hernán Crespo, who kissed and made up with his manager by scoring the first goal and creating the second for Ricardo Carvalho. Such was the sense of lethargy among the away team’s fans that they amused themselves, if no one else, by singing about supposed slums in Liverpool, whose visit to Stamford Bridge next month will decide who finishes top of group G. Mourinho also appeared relaxed, even giving Gérémi a rare runout, before defending his mathematics.
"First of all I’m very good on maths because I thought three points would be enough and it was," Mourinho said. "The performance was very good in the first half. The attacking was very good and the intensity was there. We played very, very well and controlled the game."
Crespo was crucial to Chelsea establishing such control, making his first Champions League start under Mourinho and the first since scoring two goals in last season’s final for AC Milan. Mourinho has gone out of his way to make the fragile Crespo feel at home after a bust-up before Chelsea’s defeat away to Real Betis and made a big statement by overlooking his beloved Didier Drogba, the sledgehammer he uses to crack nuts. A knee injury to the Ivory Coast forward also influenced his decision.
"I choose Hernán because first of all I feel Didier is a target player and Hernán is a movement player," Mourinho said. "I always pick the team depending on what we need in each game. Hernán gave us what we needed and I also need to motivate players.
"Hernán performed very well for us and I always felt he was settled. He has great quality. I always wanted two players for every position and am happy with them. I’m getting what I want from both of them."
Crespo appeared determined to make the most of his opportunity from the outset, demonstrating surprising machismo for one usually so meek. Mourinho’s message — perspiration beats inspiration every time — may have got through. In the seventh minute he reached a through-pass from Joe Cole he had no right to get to, beating Hannu Tihinen to the ball and showing strength to hold off the Anderlecht captain, but his shot was saved by Silvio Proto.
In an entertaining opening Anderlecht threatened themselves a minute later, Mbo Mpenza shooting across goal after a cross from the right by Christian Wilhelmsson with Petr Cech nowhere, but that was the end of their evening.
Chelsea are a class apart when they counter-attack and 30 seconds on they scored when Crespo showed wonderful balance to direct a Frank Lampard cross into the net with a crisp volley from 12 yards, for his fifth goal in seven starts this season.
Having lost their previous 11 Champions League games and fought among themselves during a defeat by Westerlo at the weekend, Anderlecht’s heads understandably dropped and seven minutes later were between their knees. Crespo was again their tormentor, heading a Lampard corner across goal from the right for Carvalho to provide a neat finish. They may share a fondness for lank locks but their goalscoring records could not be more different, with the Portuguese celebrating his third goal for the club.
Despite their contribution to an open contest the home side were greeted with jeers at half-time. Many of their players, fatigued by weeks of failure, may not have wanted to return for the second half but they showed commendable character in coming back for more. They had chances too, Mpenza stealing the ball in the 47th minute from Carvalho, perhaps dreaming of further attacking glory, only to be ruled offside.
Carvalho’s dreams almost came to fruition four minutes later after a rare foray forward but his cross was cut out by Tihinen, while Lampard hit the post late on.
For the most part, though, Chelsea were happy to keep the ball, contentedly killing a game well and truly under control. The most interesting aspect of the second half was the introduction of Lassana Diarra, who was given the final half-hour. The 20-year-old Frenchman was signed as a long-term replacement for Claude Makelele, but on his second Chelsea appearance operated ahead of Michael Essien on the right of midfield, keeping the ball well without demonstrating any real quality. Tougher tests await for both the player and his club.
ANDERLECHT (4-3-2-1): S Proto — M Zewlakow, V Kompany, H Tihinen, O Deschacht — A Vanden Borre, Y Vanderhaege (sub: O Iachtchouk, 46min), B Goor — C Wilhelmsson, A Serhat (sub: F Ehret, 74) — M Mpenza (sub: P Zetterberg, 59). Substitutes not used: D Zitka, R Juhasz, M De Man, D Mitu. Booked: Vanden Borre.
CHELSEA (4-3-3): P Cech — W Gallas, R Carvalho, J Terry, A Del Horno — M Essien, F Lampard, E Gudjohnsen (sub: Gérémi, 78) — J Cole (sub: L Diarra, 63), H Crespo (sub: C Cole, 86), D Duff. Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, D Drogba, P Ferreira, R Huth. Booked: Del Horno, Terry.
Referee: S Farina (Italy).
INS AND OUTS
Qualified for knockout stages: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Juventus, Lyons, Ajax, Bayern Munich
Cannot qualify: Rapid Vienna, FC Bruges, Rosenborg, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Sparta Prague, FC Thun, Anderlecht, Real Betis, Fenerbahçe ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mirror:
HERNAN ON CRESP OF A WAVE TO PUT BLUES THROUGHCHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Group G: Anderlecht 0-2 ChelseaBy Darren LewisHERNAN CRESPO showed Chelsea fans just what a class act he is last night.
Crespo had talked of leading his Argentina side against England with a knife between his teeth. Last night he plunged that knife right into the heart of Anderlecht's slim hopes of reaching the UEFA Cup with an outstanding performance.
And the Chelsea supporters that had sided against him before and during that roller-coaster ride of a contest in Geneva welcomed him back with open arms.
Because Crespo is finally producing for Chelsea the kind of form Blues fans have wanted to see ever since he joined two years ago from Inter Milan.
Unsettled under Claudio Ranieri, he was packed off to Inter's rivals AC on a year-long loan in the summer of 2004 after falling foul of new Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
He did not want to come back to England but had to because of Mourinho's failure to land his prime targets, the likes of Andriy Shevchenko and Adriano. But with Crespo playing like he did last night, who needs them? And there was an edge and a purpose to Chelsea's all-round play right from the start on this freezing night in Brussels.
The west Londoners were desperate not only to end their appalling away record in the Champions League but also not to show up their manager again.
Mourinho had gaffed 24 hours earlier by insisting his team were guaranteed to make the knockout stages as long as they took the three points here. What he had forgotten was that Liverpool needed to beat the Spaniards of Real Betis to make that happen.
In any case, the fact remained that Chelsea still needed to do their bit.
Mourinho stuck with Crespo in attack even though powerful Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba was available after being banned for last Saturday's 3-0 win over Newcastle.
The Special One was proved right yet again after just seven minutes when Crespo speared home a peach of a cross from Frank Lampard with the home defence all over the place.
Seven minutes later, Ricardo Carvalho added a second. Well, he could do little else as he had found himself unmarked on the far post after Crespo had headed on Lampard's corner.
No wonder this Anderlecht team are such Champions League whipping boys. Beaten in their previous 11 straight ties in this competition. But Chelsea still had to go about their business in the right manner - and they did.
In fact, the way in which they set about dismantling sorry Anderlecht, chasing down every pass, fighting for every ball, showed they had finally taken heed of their manager's pre-match insistence that they needed to be ruthless against the weaker teams. Before the international break, during their run of conceding in seven out of eight, they had been held by Everton and beaten by both Charlton and injury-hit Betis.
Mourinho admitted that this was because his men had deluded themselves into taking victory for granted against their, on paper, inferior opponents.
Chelsea could in no way be found guilty of that last night.
The versatile Michael Essien, in for the injured Claude Makelele, was an effective screen in closing out Anderlecht's attempts to force their way through the heart of the Blues defence. Lampard in front of him was up and at it, looking as though he was about to lash in one of his trademark screamers every time he latched on to a loose ball.
And Crespo tore apart the charge often levelled at South American stars that they are unable to roll up their sleeves on a freezing night when it matters.
This was so one-sided it was embarrassing. And, remember, Chelsea were without Dutch winger Arjen Robben, just recovering from a hamstring injury, while Shaun Wright-Phillips was suspended.
It did not matter. Chelsea had this game by the scruff of the neck and they were never going to let go.
ANDERLECHT: Proto, Deschacht, Tihinen, Kompany, Zewlakow, Goor, Vanderhaeghe, Vanden Borre, Akin, Mpenza, Wilhelmsson.
CHELSEA: Cech, Del Horno, Terry, Carvalho, Gallas, Duff, Essien, Lampard, Joe Cole, Crespo, Gudjohnsen.
ATTENDANCE: 21,070
MAN OF THE MATCH: Crespo
REMAINING GAMES: Dec 6: Chelsea v Liverpool, Betis v Anderlecht

sunday papers newcastle home

The Sunday TimesNovember 20, 2005Chelsea 3 Newcastle 0: King Cole hurts NewcastleJoe Lovejoy at Stamford Bridge
CHELSEA were out of sorts again throughout a goalless first half, but found their form after the interval, when nicely taken goals from Joe Cole, Hernan Crespo and Damien Duff saw off a below-strength Newcastle team lacking England’s man of the moment, Michael Owen.
Recent results had come as something of a shock for the champions, with elimination from the Carling Cup at home to Charlton Athletic followed by back-to-back defeats against Real Betis and Manchester United, and Stamford Bridge was not its usual cocky, raucous self until Cole settled the crowd’s nerves with the first goal, in the 47th minute.
Well before that stage, Newcastle were hard done by when Mark Halsey, the referee who failed to punish Grimsby Town’s Justin Whittle for elbowing Alan Shearer, refused them an obvious penalty for John Terry’s scything tackle on Lee Bowyer. Their sense of injustice was fuelled when they had a second appeal turned down, Frank Lampard appearing to handle the ball well inside the area.
Chelsea are back on track then, but for a long time they had only one tactic: get the ball wide and cross it. For most of the match, there was not much by way of constructive passing movement, and when the crosses did come in, they were generally wide of the target.
After their recent stutter, and with Wednesday’s Champions League tie away to Anderlecht in mind, Jose Mourinho rotated his star-studded squad and started without four regulars: Didier Drogba (suspended), Michael Essien, William Gallas and Paulo Ferreira. In their absence, opportunity knocked for Glen Johnson, who failed to take advantage, plus Crespo and Eidur Gudjohnsen, who did.
Essien’s rest lasted all of 13 minutes, at which point he was called on to replace Claude Makelele, who injured a knee in making a typically robust challenge on Scott Parker. One man who is never rested, of course, is Lampard, who equalled David James’s record of 159 consecutive Premiership appearances. He marred the occasion with a booking late on, but made his usual thoroughly effective contribution, producing the final pass for Crespo’s goal.
For Newcastle, the omens weren’t good. They arrived without a win in 16 previous visits to the Bridge, or even a goal in their past four, and were without not only the talismanic Shearer but also Owen, the “Lion of Geneva”, absent with groin trouble.
Their midfield anchor man, Parker, was always in for a busy afternoon against his former club, and was not found wanting. The men in the famous zebra stripes could scarcely believe their ill fortune when they were denied two penalties in the first ten minutes. Graeme Souness was apoplectic when Terry got away with taking Bowyer’s legs instead of the ball close in.
“It looked like a penalty to me, and Bowyer was adamant that it was,” the Newcastle manager said. Had he asked the referee about it? “I don’t do that, you don’t get any sense out of them,” he snorted. Struggling to find any sort of rhythm or cohesion, Chelsea should nevertheless have scored after 18 minutes, when Ricardo Carvalho rose unchallenged to meet Duff’s free kick eight yards out, only to head horribly wide.
The chance sparked intermittent pressure from the league leaders, but they failed to translate a sudden glut of possession into anything worthwhile. Mourinho preferred to credit the opposition rather than criticise his own players, saying: “We were not playing well in the first half because Newcastle were. They gave us a difficult game.”
Crespo did manage to scramble the ball into the net in the 35th minute, but his supplier, Duff, had strayed offside. Cole let fly, but Celestine Babayaro, playing against his old club, was in smartly to deflect the shot behind, and from the consequent corner, taken by Duff, a glancing header from Asier Del Horno was inches wide of the far post. At half-time the honours belonged to Newcastle, but within two minutes of the resumption Chelsea were ahead, courtesy of a misplaced pass from the hapless Titus Bramble.
Gudjohnsen fastened on to it and from the edge of the centre circle delivered a pass that invited Cole to run through in the inside-right channel. The England midfielder did so with pace and purpose before scoring with a crisp shot. Newcastle’s obdurate defence had cracked, and after 51 minutes the margin was doubled by a lovely finish from Crespo. Essien originated the move, winning possession from Nolberto Solano before transferring it to Lampard, on the edge of the
‘D’. From there, the England man’s expertly weighted pass enabled Crespo to embarrass Bramble before curling his shot inside Given’s left-hand post.
Charles N’Zogbia gave the Geordie contingent belated reason to warm their hands with a rising 20-yarder that Peter Cech was happy to tip over. But the last word went to Chelsea, in the 90th minute, when Duff, out on the left, stepped inside Peter Ramage before scoring with a shot from 17 yards that deflected in off Parker. Souness said: “I didn’t think there was a great deal between the two teams, other than the fact we made two defensive ricks.”
Mourinho, asked about his reported contratemps with Crespo, replied: “It was suggested that he was injured playing for Argentina and that I ordered him to come home. The injury was cramp and I didn’t. He came back on Thursday and there were no problems as far as I was concerned.” After yesterday’s match, the Chelsea manager refused to speak to the daily newspapers that had reported the “row”.
STAR MAN: Joe Cole (Chelsea)
Player ratings: Chelsea: Cech 6, Johnson 5 (Gallas, 60min 6), Carvalho 6, Terry 6, Del Horno 6, Makelele 5 (Essien, 13min 6), Gudjohnsen 8, Lampard 7, Cole 8, Crespo 7 (Wright-Phillips, 80min 5), Duff 7
Newcastle United: Given 5, Babayaro 5, Boumsong 5, Bramble 4, Ramage 5, N’Zogbia 5, Bowyer 6, Emre Belozoglu 5, Solano 5 (Chopra, 70min 5), Ameobi 5
Scorers: Chelsea: Cole 47, Crespo 51, Duff 90
Referee: M Halsey Attendance: 42,268 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mirror:
IT'S A BLUES CRUISE CHELSEA...............3 Cole 47, Crespo 51, Duff 90 NEWCASTLE..........0 Cool Crespo has Chelsea back in the title mood Anthony Clavane
THE visit of one of Roman Abramovich's closest aides to Chelsea's training ground got everyone's knickers in a twist earlier in the week.
After back-to-back defeats there was ludicrous talk of the wheels coming off. And rumours that overpaid, underachieving stars like Hernan Crespo would soon be shown the door.
A tad premature, perhaps.
If Eugene Tenenbaum returns in the next few days, he will have to congratulate Jose Mourinho on extending the Blues' lead at the top of the Premiership to a staggering nine points.
And heap praise on Crespo for a wonderful goal that killed off a Newcastle side on a bit of a high after four straight wins.
Crisis? What crisis?
True, this was a routine, at times mundane victory over Graeme Souness's outfit - who, without England hero Michael Owen and Alan Shearer, had nothing to offer up front.
But winning 3-0 without hitting top form is the mark of champions.
With Didier Drogba suspended, Crespo seized his chance to stake his claim as first-choice centre-forward with both hands.
The South American followed up last week's strike for Argentina against England with his fourth goal of the season.
The club have denied a rift between Crespo and Mourinho. There are even suggestions that the Argentine striker, whose unauthorised time in the Middle East with his country didn't go down well with his club boss, will leave when the January transfer window opens.
But that would be a big mistake, for the Blues aren't exactly spoilt for attacking options. It took Joe Cole to calm the home side's nerves after a stuttering, at times sloppy first half in which they failed to produce one shot on target.
Receiving the ball from Eidur Gudjohnsen after a mistake by Titus Bramble in the Magpies' defence, the England midfielder struck a low drive past keeper Shay Given with great precision.
Then Crespo, playing in only his sixth Premiership match of the season, was put through by Frank Lampard after Nolberto Solano had been dispossessed.
The striker sublimely curled the ball around Given to make it 2-0 - and it was game over.
A third strike with just seconds remaining - Damien Duff gliding past Peter Ramage to fire home - sealed victory and proved that Chelsea are back on track.
Before yesterday, they had won only one out of their last five games in all competitions. The critics claimed they'd never been the same since losing their 40-game unbeaten run in the Premiership at Old Trafford.
A 1-0 Champions League defeat at Real Betis, and being knocked out of the Carling Cup by Charlton, meant the rot had set in.
What rot.
Mind you, they were lucky to be on level terms at half-time. The Toon Army might never have won a Premiership match at the Bridge but they had Chelsea pinned back in the opening quarter of an hour.
After only a few minutes, John Terry brought down Lee Bowyer in the box; yet referee Mark Halsey was the only person in the ground not to think it was a penalty.
Halsey turned down another good spot-kick appeal soon after when Lampard clearly handled the ball.
The home side were getting frustrated, and Claude Makelele was lucky to escape being booked after taking a flying leap at Scott Parker - the Frenchman injuring himself in the process and being replaced by Michael Essien.
Parker obviously felt he had a point to prove against his old club on his first return to the Bridge - as a crunching, but fair, challenge on his former team-mate Cole demonstrated.
But the first real chance fell to the Blues, Ricardo Carvalho making a complete hash of a free header after Duff had picked him out.
The Irish winger's corner was then glanced wide by Asier Del Horno.
As against Bolton a month ago, when they won 5-1 after being a goal down, Chelsea responded to their boss's interval blast to return a different side in the second period
And the Toon Army could only sit back and watch as Crespo and the rest, without breaking sweat, tore them apart.
MAN OF THE MATCH
JOE COLE
Chelsea's best player in a poor first half, and scored a great goal to calm the home side's nerves after the restart.
RATINGS
CHELSEA: Cech 7, Johnson 6 (Gallas 6), Del Horno 6, Terry 6, Makelele 6 (Essien 6), Carvalho 6, Lampard 6, COLE 8, Duff 7, Gudjohnsen 7, Crespo 7 (Wright-Phillips 6).
NEWCASTLE: Given 7, Solano 6 (Chopra 5), Emre 7, Babayaro 6, Ramage 7, Boumsong 6, Bowyer 6, N'Zogbia 6, Parker 7, Bramble 5, Ameobi 6.
MANAGERS: Mourinho 7; Souness 6
REFEREE: M Halsey 4
OVER the last 25 years Newcastle have not always enjoyed the trip to Stamford Bridge. They lost 4-0 in 1979-80, 1983-84 and 2004-05. They lost 5-0 in 2003-04 and 6-0 in 1980-81.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Observer
Cole strike restores Chelsea's swagger
Will Buckley at Stamford BridgeSunday November 20, 2005
One of the more wearisome traits of the times is the obsession with novelty. These days to be ahead of the game you have to call it before you see it. So it was that a handful of attention-seeking bookies paid out on Chelsea winning the Premiership before the end of September. It is an age of prematurity.And the bookmakers who had gone so early were in danger of seeming foolish during a sterile first half yesterday afternoon. Not only were Chelsea failing to beat a weakened Newcastle, they were also both cumbersome and lumbering, more cart-horse than champion.
Thanks to some half-time kidology from Jose Mourinho, normal service was resumed after the interval and their eventual win was comfortable. But they still need to take care for they are far from impregnable.
Both line-ups contained surprises, Newcastle not being able to play Michael Owen due to a groin injury and Chelsea opting to select Glen Johnson ahead of William Gallas.
The early play came from Newcastle. A header from Lee Bowyer flashed past the post and then the Newcastle player appeared to have been tripped up in the penalty area very slowly and very deliberately by John Terry. Perhaps it was too slow for referee Mark Halsey to catch it. Whatever, he declined to give a penalty.
Chelsea seemed both hesitant and rash, a combination made worse when their calmest player, Claude Makelele, had to come off after sustaining an injury making a high challenge on Scott Parker. That said, being able to replace him with Michael Essien lessened the blow.
And they might have taken the lead had not Ricardo Carvalho got underneath a threatening free-kick from Damien Duff. That proved to be a brief flash of inspiration, however, and too often they hoofed the ball forward.
Newcastle, meanwhile, hurtled around and harried their opponents without creating a chance. Chelsea managed to put the ball in the net, Hernan Crespo bundling it in from a yard, but Duff had been a whisker offside in the build-up.
The first half passed without a single save. There were no shots on target and precious few off it. Without the suspended Didier Drogba Chelsea lacked a focal point, and purpose.
Usually when Chelsea find themselves out of sorts they call for Eidur Gudjohnsen but he had been on from the start, albeit a yard off the pace and the target. Perhaps they just pretended to bring him on as a sub because within minutes of the restart he released Joe Cole who scored with the game's opening shot on target. The next one came four minutes later with Frank Lampard bringing the ball forward and releasing Crespo who calmly bypassed Shay Given.
Newcastle had to attack but in doing so left themselves pitifully weak at the back. Chelsea, now keeping the ball on the deck, were now rampant, as fluent as they had once been faltering.
Newcastle threatened briefly - a Charles N'Zogbia effort being well saved by Petr Cech - before Chelsea glossed their goal difference with a fine individual effort from Damien Duff.
Man of the match: Joe Cole - inventive in attack and mindful in defence.
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Telegraph:
Chelsea ease back into the winning habitBy Patrick Barclay at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (0) 3 Newcastle (0) 0
Maybe it was the pressure of performing in front of Malaysia's Minister of Tourism that caused Chelsea to seize up in the first half. And maybe Jose Mourinho used the interval to remind them of his recent remark that, if his team lost three matches in a row, he would expect to be sacked.
At any rate, they wasted little time in stopping what passes round these parts for a rot. Beaten by Real Betis and then Manchester United, they scored twice in a burst that proved lethal to a Newcastle side who had won three in a row in the Premiership but seemed to sense that the addition of Michael Owen to their casualty list was a signal to embrace realism.
Even so, Graeme Souness's team had been slightly the better of the two in a dire opening 45 minutes during which the manager exuded frustration over decisions that went against his side, in particular a penalty claim by Lee Bowyer. But once Joe Cole and Hernan Crespo had struck, the contest was dead. There were only seconds left when Damien Duff scored Chelsea's third.
While Newcastle were under-strength because of injury - their good news was that Owen's groin strain is not expected to keep him out of the match at Everton next weekend - Chelsea indulged in a spot of rotation. No doubt with an eye on Wednesday's visit to Anderlecht, rests were prescribed for Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, William Gallas and Paulo Ferreira. Within a quarter of hour, however, Essien was required to replace Claude Makelele, who had hurt himself in challenging Scott Parker.
The suspicion that it might still be an unequal struggle was enhanced when Titus Bramble underhit a pass back, obliging Shay Given to rush from his goal and boot clear of Crespo. Yet Newcastle settled and had two plausible appeals for penalties rejected. Their system involved Shola Ameobi up front, supported by Lee Bowyer, who in one of his early forays danced daintily past John Terry, inviting a tackle that arrived late; referee Mark Halsey's unwillingness to point to the spot infuriated Souness.
Next, Frank Lampard appeared to handle in the area. Chelsea needed all the luck that was going. Their sluggish movement offered Newcastle every encouragement to show a little more aggression and, from Emre's free-kick, a subtle header by Ameobi held promise - until it hit his team-mate, Charles N'Zogbia. No sooner had Asier del Horno raised Chelsea's hopes by advancing to meet a corner with a glancing header that went wide than the visitors were on the attack again, although a poor cross by, of all people, Emre let them down.
Any notions that Chelsea could go through an entire match without posing a sustained threat were, of course, far-fetched and they improved after the interval, as they had done against Bolton a few weeks back.
Only two minutes of the second half had gone when Ricardo Carvalho forced the ball forward, Crespo nodded on and the errant Bramble, having intercepted, gave it to Eidur Gudjohnsen. Cole duly presented himself to the Icelander's right and drove wide of Shay Given. Another example of Chelsea's speed on the break came four minutes later.
Essien won the ball from Nolberto Solano deep in the home half, accelerated and found Lampard. The England midfielder ran on and pushed the ball wide to Crespo, who side-stepped Bramble and sent a curling shot beyond Given.
Gallas came on for the limping Glen Johnson, Shaun Wright-Phillips for Crespo, who had done enough to suggest he might be preferred to Drogba in Brussels. Newcastle supplanted Solano with Michael Chopra and kept fighting, but only a low, left-foot drive from Ameobi made Petr Cech work before Chelsea again counter-attacked in numbers and Duff cut in before beating Given with the aid of a deflection.
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Independent;
Chelsea 3 Newcastle United 0 Cole strikes to end Chelsea 'crisis'
By Adrian Curtis at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea delivered the perfect response to their critics with an emphatic second-half display that crushed stubborn Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.
Newcastle had matched the reigning champions for effort and endeavour in a goalless opening half but strikes from Joe Cole and Hernan Crespo inside four minutes ensured that Chelsea restored their nine-point advantage at the top of the Barclays Premiership. Damien Duff completed the scoring right on the final whistle when his shot was deflected over the luckless Shay Given.
Jose Mourinho, clearly infuriated by his side's recent dip in form, had made a number of significant changes with William Gallas and a partially fit Michael Essien relegated to the substitutes' bench along with winger Shaun Wright-Phillips. There was no place at all in the line-up for Paulo Ferreira.
The Portuguese coach opted to replace the latter with Glen Johnson at right back in what was only his second start of the season, while Ricardo Carvalho slotted into the centre of defence alongside skipper John Terry.
Didier Drogba's suspension was overcome by the choice of a fit-again Crespo as Chelsea looked to banish the defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford last time out. However, the home side were lucky to escape what appeared to be a valid penalty appeal in the fifth minute when Terry felled Lee Bowyer. But referee Rob Halsey turned down the appeals.
In the seventh minute, Claude Makelele needed lengthy treatment after a dangerously high tackle on former Blue Scott Parker and was replaced five minutes later by Essien. Chelsea survived a second penalty scare in between when Del Horno appeared to handle inside the area as Newcastle gave the champions a few restless moments.
However, Carvalho wasted the clearest chance to opening the scoring in the 18th minute when he rose unmarked in the area only to head Duff's free-kick wide of the target.
Frank Lampard, equalling David James's record of 159 consecutive appearances in the top flight, was unable to impose himself on the game and as a result, Newcastle had more than their fair share of possession in the opening period.
But the critics who claimed Chelsea were beginning to lose a bit of their self-belief would have been heartened by a display that lacked guile and style.
This was not the Chelsea that swept all before it on its way to the first top flight title in 50 years last season. Their performance was a far cry from the team that went 40 matches unbeaten and only occasionally did Chelsea show any signs of their old swagger.
Mourinho resisted the urge to change his personnel during the interval, clearly hoping that his faith in the individuals that had failed to shine in the opening half would repay him.
His judgement was as astute as ever with Cole putting the Londoners in front two minutes into the second half.
Titus Bramble gave the ball away to Eidur Gudjohnsen and the Icelandic striker, playing in a midfield role behind Crespo, slotted the ball into the path of Cole who ran on to despatch a right-foot shot into the corner of the net for his fourth of the season. The goal lifted the gloom surrounding Stamford Bridge and sent the previously mute home fans into full voice.
It was now all Chelsea as the familiar style and panache returned with their confidence and four minutes later they doubled their advantage.
This time the architect was Lampard who provided a trademark pass into Crespo's path after Essien had won the ball in midfield. The Argentine striker checked his run before turning to fire the ball into the top corner to deliver the perfect response to those critics who claim he is unhappy at the club.
It was Chelsea at their very best once more and the fight, so evident in the opening half, had now evaporated from Newcastle's game.
Mourinho made his second change of the game on the hour, again enforced, when he replaced the injured Johnson with William Gallas at right back.
Crespo was replaced by Wright-Phillips with just over 10 minutes of the game remaining as Chelsea continued to exploit the space they were now enjoying.
The home side were content to play the game out to its conclusion with Newcastle demonstrating very little threat in attack to worry Terry or Carvalho.
Indeed, Chelsea had the last word when Duff burst into the penalty area and his shot was deflected over Given for the third.
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morning papers manu away

The Guardian
United come out fighting to resurrect their title challenge
Kevin McCarra at Old TraffordMonday November 7, 2005
Old Trafford has become the most august cemetery in English football.Arsenal's unbeaten run of 49 Premiership matches was laid to rest herelast season and now Chelsea's sequence, which lasted nine fixturesfewer, has also gone the way of all flesh. There was of course no hushand the mourners from London in the crowd were roundly jeered.It is still much too soon to say that Manchester United's reputationhas been raised from the dead but their combativeness was resurrectedyesterday. In a game of fitful quality and gripping intensity theirfingers were not to be prised from the 1-0 lead that came improbablythrough Darren Fletcher's first goal since the closing afternoon oflast season.
The midfielder had been among the more vilified performers in United'sabject loss to Lille last week, so much so that a bitter fan valuedhim at 1p in a mock auction on the internet. Supporters will not viewany member of their squad as priceless for a little longer but theirefforts here and the score will be cherished for a long time to come.In addition to the win bonus United's players can enjoy the relief ofknowing that their interrogation is, at least, suspended. Thequestions will be asked of Chelsea, who in the last fortnight hadalready been eliminated from the League Cup by Charlton and downed byReal Betis in a Champions League fixture. Jose Mourinho has never hadto face a spell of this nature since he came to England.
The end of his personal record against Sir Alex Ferguson of sixunbeaten matches with Porto and Chelsea will deepen hisreflectiveness. There can, of course, be no genuine crisis when he hasfootballers such as these at his command. For long periods of thesecond half, when the introduction of Eidur Gudjohnsen broughtpertinence and flow to the passing, they were far superior to United,but they could not exploit the advantage in their normal ruthlessfashion.
After the interval Asier del Horno volleyed a Damien Duff cross overthe bar but the other chances tended to be more muddled. Duff andGudjohnsen linked slickly after 57 minutes but Didier Drogba was pronewhen he poked the ball narrowly wide. The most promising chance arosefrom another Duff break when Frank Lampard burst through in hiscustomary fashion, to be foiled by Edwin van der Sar's close-rangesave on 68 minutes.
If games were to be measured purely by the distribution of chancesUnited could claim to have had the better of it. In the 54th minute,for instance, Wayne Rooney had flighted a delectable pass over DelHorno and when Fletcher then rolled the perfect cut-back it wasextraordinary to witness the arch-predator Ruud van Nistelrooysloppily fire over.
The match had been decided instead with a 31st-minute goal pluckedfrom a situation that had seemed bland. Ronaldo's cross had, afterall, been hit from deep on the left and, even then, Chelsea fans wouldhave been surprised rather than fearful to notice Fletcher moving forit beyond the far post. Mourinho even questioned whether the Scot hadmeant to score from a such an area.
None the less the midfielder's header looped over Petr Cech and JohnTerry before it dropped inside the far post. It is possible Fletcherwas playing the percentages and seeking to send the ball intodangerous territory. Players deserve to be rewarded now and again forthat instinct.
The Chelsea manager should really doubt his own men rather thanquerying Fletcher's intention. The only person even to make a vagueeffort to mark the scorer was Michael Essien. The Stamford Bridge clubhave conceded at least one goal in each of their last five games. Thismight prove to be an intermittent fault that is soon repaired but thestringency has vanished for the time being.
United's back four, against all expectation, fared better. Early inthe encounter when both sides were obsessed with hitting the long ballit was Chelsea who found the tactic productive. A beautifully flightedpass took out a static Rio Ferdinand but Drogba could not beat Van derSar from an angle. The United centre-back, though, did rally to ensurethis would not be yet another afternoon when his concentration andcharacter were doubted.
The same could be said of the entire United line-up. They must havetaken encouragement early on from the ease with which Chelsea wereknocked off balance. Too often the visitors failed to release men intotelling areas and when, for instance, Joe Cole sent Drogba gallopingaway from Mikaël Silvestre he was only in position to fire into theside-netting.
There was even nervousness on the verge of the interval when theirmanoeuvre at a free-kick was so ponderous that the members of theUnited wall had burst out to rush Lampard into a mis-kick when theball came to him at last. It was the sort of day when the home crowdwere ecstatic when any player harried Chelsea. United, of course,traditionally demand more than that from themselves but this will havedone very nicely for the time being.
Man of the match: Alan Smith (Manchester United)
Chelsea will still be the champions, says Mourinho
Kevin McCarraMonday November 7, 2005The Guardian
It has been a long wait but now we know how Jose Mourinho reacts to aperiod of real adversity. For the first time since he came to England,Chelsea have lost two significant matches in succession, following theChampions League defeat at Real Betis with yesterday's failure at OldTrafford. He was intent on reassuring everyone in his camp, even ifone observation had the touch of a trademark jibe about it."They are under pressure," he said of the victors. Mourinho was notingthat Manchester United have to win a game in hand, against Wigan nextmonth, to be sure of getting within seven points of Chelsea. "Theyhave a good team and a good manager," said Mourinho of United, "andthe future can only be better- but not, I believe, better enough forthem to be champions of England again."This will be taken as a jibe in Greater Manchester and beyond, yet theviews were probably intended for consumption at Cobham, the Chelseatraining ground. While Mourinho had agreed that the loss in Sevillewas merited, he treated this result just like the failure on penaltiesto Charlton in the League Cup. "This was a game we did not deserve tolose, but they fought a lot," he claimed.
That last phrase brought a fleeting graciousness to a speech otherwisedirected towards his own players. "You lose these games and you wantto look at them and be with them and show that they deserve to beappreciated," said Mourinho, drawing a contrast with the disgust hefelt for his side's attitude in the first half of the game with Betis.
"In the second half no one believed this was Old Trafford the wayChelsea pressed. We did everything to win the game. The same way Igive [United] credit I hope they can realise why Chelsea arechampions, top of the league and I believe will be champions again."
He tried to force himself to enjoy participation in a game as hardfought as yesterday's had been. "You feel proud of the team and ofparticipating," Mourinho claimed. He had a brisk reaction when askedif Chelsea would go into decline as Arsenal had done when, also aftera long unbeaten run in the Premiership, they were stopped in theirtracks at Old Trafford last season.
"No, I don't think so," said Mourinho. "Especially because of the waythe team performed." He added: "When Arsenal lost here the differencewas small and they were very close to the other opponents but at themoment we still have a comfortable distance between us and theothers."
He is intent on telling his men to stay "calm and confident". TheChelsea manager, whose team are six points ahead of Wigan with a gamemore played, argued that United would love to swap places, but hecannot deny a dip in form.
The winners had no need to enter a debate when there was a victory tobe savoured after the 4-1 rout at the Riverside and the loss to Lille."Everyone knows where the basis for this performance came from," saidthe United midfielder Alan Smith, savouring the reaction to thecriticism from, amongst others, the captain Roy Keane. "Sometimes youneed to be reminded of what it means to play for United. Roy Keane isa proud person and he told us exactly what he said."
Ferguson in rude health after Keano therapy
Richard Williams at Old TraffordMonday November 7, 2005The Guardian
There could have been no better occasion for Sir Alex Ferguson to geta very significant monkey off his back. On the day of his 19thanniversary as manager of Manchester United, after a week in whichmany voices questioned his right to celebrate a 20th, he confrontedJose Mourinho and came out a winner for the first time in sevenmeetings. Though it would be an exaggeration to say that United werereborn in yesterday's victory, few witnesses would doubt that theycreated a platform from which to mount a resurgence.
Ferguson himself had a short answer to a question about the rumours ofhis enforced departure before the end of the season. "It's a load ofbollocks," he told Sky TV as he reflected on a match in which United'scompetitive spirit appeared to erase doubts about his continuingability to motivate his players.When Mourinho said last week that he considered United to be Chelsea'sclosest rivals, it seemed likely that he was both killing Fergusonwith flattery and dealing Arsène Wenger yet another insult into thebargain. The Chelsea manager appears to believe that the best way todeal with Ferguson is to pal up with him, call him "boss" and share abottle of red wine. In that way, perhaps, he hopes to avoid the sortof fangs-bared commitment with which United traditionally respond toFerguson's highly personal dislike of Wenger.
Yesterday's performance, lacking the ferocity conferred by thepresence of Roy Keane, was not quite of the 18-certificate varietywith which United knocked Wenger's team out of the FA Cup in April oflast year and then, eight months later, put an end to Arsenal's49-match unbeaten record. Their results over the past few weeks haveexposed the comparative meagreness of Ferguson's resources,particularly in the enforced absence of his two dynamic full-backs,Gary Neville and Gabriel Heinze, and the team have stuttered badly. IfUnited were to prevail yesterday, they needed to overcome their ownrecent failings and to find a constructive response to the clubcaptain's midweek criticisms.
Luckily for them, Chelsea are experiencing a dip of their own. Theirrocket-propelled start to the season is receding into history, andyesterday's outcome demonstrated that if they are to maintain theirdominance they will need to knuckle down and fight. Yesterday Unitedset them the perfect example, overcoming their own initial hesitancythrough precisely the kind of collective effort of will that theircritics claim has become an endangered commodity at Old Trafford.
"We wanted to make sure that we played quick, passing football,getting it into their box as soon as we could," Ferguson saidafterwards. "We tried to instil that into them in the last few days.
"The loss to Lille on Wednesday night was not a good one. No matterwhat we said about the terrible pitch, we didn't play well enough towin it. How you handle yourselves after something like that isimportant. Everyone here has got on with the job."
Chelsea's own lack of fluency made United's job easier. Enjoying thevast majority of possession in the early stages, the home side lookedstilted in their movements. The man with the ball would stop, give apass to a stationary team-mate, and then start moving again. Thegeometry was static and relatively easy for Chelsea to counter.
But when the west London team proved to have few attacking ideas oftheir own, beyond hitting long balls for Didier Drogba to chase,United were given the scope to play themselves back into some sort ofrecognisable shape. What was not lacking, the watching Keane wouldhave noticed, was effort. Alan Smith lacks too many of the necessaryattributes to make him the captain's ideal understudy, but very littlecould be said against his performance in yesterday's demandingenvironment. Two tackles midway through the first half, on Drogba andJoe Cole, were of the crunchingly uncompromising sort that can liftthe whole team.
United were drifting at the time, and the chant of "There's only oneKeano" had been heard from both ends of the ground. Five minutes afterSmith had made his point, United were ahead when Darren Fletcher,another to have felt the lash of Keane's tongue, chased a lost causeat the far post and jumped to head the winning goal. Smith acceptedthe man-of-the-match award, but Fletcher probably deserved an extraswig from the presentation bottle of champagne for the fight he showedthroughout the match and for the header with which, after 54 minutes,he created a chance that Ruud van Nistelrooy should not havesquandered.
And so Roman Abramovich sat in the stands watching the end ofChelsea's unbeaten run in the league, while Malcolm Glazer and hissons, somewhere in the United States, could breathe a sigh of reliefin the knowledge that United's recent poor results might not, afterall, have imperilled their highly geared debt repayments.
"It was a fantastic spectacle," Ferguson said. "The keenness anddesperation to play of our young players was marvellous, but in thelast five minutes we were under the cosh because Chelsea went foreverything. That's what champions do. We've done it many times in thepast ourselves. And today was a turning point because the supportersshowed how much they care for the club. When they're like that, itraises the ante and puts the players under pressure to do well. Todaythey were unbelievable."
United's width was the key to unlocking Chelsea
David Pleat's chalkboard
Monday November 7, 2005The Guardian
Manchester United went back to playing with their traditional widthand that was the key to them starting so positively - and scoring whatturned out to be the decisive goal. Although Chelsea found a responsein the second half and gained the ascendancy, they could not equalise.Sir Alex Ferguson decided to stretch Chelsea by asking CristianoRonaldo to hug the left touchline. With United passing to him at everyopportunity, it worked brilliantly before the interval. They got theball across the pitch with such quick passes that Ronaldo was able torun at Paulo Ferreira before the full-back could intercept or hadcover.
When the ball was with Wes Brown on the other side, Ferreira wastucked in to cover his centre-backs. But with three rapid passesUnited pulled him out wide and got Ronaldo one against one with him,running at speed. Ferreira had no protection because John Terry wasmarking Ruud van Nistelrooy and William Gallas was covering on theleft. With Chelsea stretched it opened room in the middle for WayneRooney.Ronaldo's value was shown when he provided the cross from which DarrenFletcher scored. With Fletcher giving width on the right when his teamhad possession and tucking in when they lost it, United had a niceshape from which to dictate play. Chelsea found it hard to buildattacks when they had the ball at the back because Rooney stuck nearClaude Makelele and disrupted his promptings.
Makelele is usually so good at protecting Chelsea but he was renderedalmost redundant as an intercepter in front of his back four - Unitedbypassed him rather than going through the middle and prevented himfrom cutting out passes in front of his central defenders.
Chelsea did not get close enough to their opponents to prevent theball being worked to Ronaldo, but in the second half they closed thatspace and stopped the flow of passes to the wing. Makelele movedcloser to Rooney rather than sitting and hoping to intercept thingsand his midfield colleagues got tighter to Alan Smith and PaulScholes, allowing Chelsea to dominate.
That forced Ronaldo to tuck in to defend, so Ferreira was closer andRonaldo was less of an attacking threat. Jose Mourinho took chances,with Eidur Gudjohnsen coming on for Michael Essien and playing furtherforward, Shaun Wright-Phillips using his pace against tiring legs andCarlton Cole replacing Asier Del Horno. But United blocked bravely andheld on to win a vibrant game which was a credit to the Premiership.
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Independent :Ferguson told to mind his language as United end Chelsea's 40-game runBy Andy HunterPublished: 07 November 2005Manchester United were unified in their retort to accusations ofdecline at Old Trafford yesterday, their players inflicting a firstPremiership defeat on Chelsea after 40 unbeaten games and theirmanager, Sir Alex Ferguson, describing claims his job is underpressure as "absolute bollocks" live on national television.
The United manager was reprimanded on air by Sky reporter GeoffShreeves for his expletive but Ferguson was in irrepressible mood ashe savoured a tumultuous victory over Jose Mourinho's side, which senthis side third in the table and reignited their pursuit of thechampions.
After a week in which successive defeats at Middlesbrough and Lilleand the notorious Roy Keane interview had aggravated a sense of crisisat Old Trafford, there was a momentous sense of relief when DarrenFletcher, one of the players who had been the target of the Unitedcaptain's criticism, sent a looping header over Petr Cech in the 31stminute and ultimately condemned Chelsea to their first League reversesince 16 October 2004.
However, when asked if he had ever been under more pressure during his19 years at the United helm than he was before yesterday's victory,Ferguson bristled: "That's absolute bollocks; people forget we went 13games without winning once" before being asked to curb his languagefor the benefit of watching children.
United remain an ominous 10 points behind the reigning champions, butFerguson insisted: "This is a big result and a big performance. Wewere terrific for an hour and, though I thought we sat back too muchin the last five minutes, we got there. It is an enormous result. Youdon't get as much consistency when you have to play young lads all thetime but they have carried us because of our injuries and they wereoutstanding. They needed more belief in their own ability and we havetried to instil that in them."
Fletcher was not the only Keane target to respond as the injured clubcaptain would have wished, with Alan Smith producing his finestperformance as a midfielder to claim the man-of-the-match award."Everyone knows where the criticism has come from and it is not justRoy," Smith said. " We need to carry on the belief we showed today."
Chelsea's loss was their third in four games but Mourinho was adamantthe end of their unbeaten Premiership record would not spiral into thekind of slump that undermined Arsenal's attempts to retain the titleafter losing at Old Trafford last season.
"I know what happened to Arsenal but no, it won't happen to us," hesaid. " I don't think we will need to bounce back from this because wehave shown that we have bounced back from Betis. We had chances; wewere the better team, but once they scored they defended with greatspirit. United have been through a difficult period and though this isa fantastic result for them it will not be enough to stop us becomingchampions of England again. I believe we showed here why we arechampions."
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Telegraph:
Smith leads the Red resistance movementBy Henry Winter Manchester United (0) 1 Chelsea (0) 0
Manchester United banished the blues yesterday, stopping Chelsea intheir smooth stride and breathing new life into their own season.Showing the determination of their manager, re-paying a debt ofloyalty to their supporters and reminding Roy Keane of theirresilience, Sir Alex Ferguson's players stood up for themselves andstood firm in the teeth of the champions' pressure. Here was onebroadcast United's players would like to make Keane sit through.
Alan Smith, one of those criticised by the United captain, respondedmost vigorously. Spiky of hair and commitment, Smith took the sight ofa visitor settling in possession as a personal affront, and flew in torectify the situation, tracking and tackling as if he had Keane on hisshoulder, whispering the words from recent unflattering headlines.
Smith deservedly collected the man-of-the-match bubbly, a prize thisdown-to-earth teetotal soul will probably use as a door-stop. Not thetype to paint the town red, Smith certainly painted the midfield redyesterday. Chelsea's midfielders could hardly catch breath, such wasSmith's relentlessly dogged attentions. Frank Lampard increasinglyresembled a jogger being chased down the road by a particularlyannoying Yorkshire terrier.
Commitment and collectivity suffused United from start to finish, fromEdwin van der Sar at the back through Smith in midfield to WayneRooney in attack. One second-half moment encapsulated United's passionplay, Rooney dropping into the right-back role to repel a long PauloFerreira pass and then dispossessing Asier del Horno, who had thetemerity to seize on the loose ball.
Rooney, like Smith, was covering every blade of grass, clearlyrelishing Ferguson's decision to go with him floating off Ruud vanNistelrooy in a 4-4-2 formation. Inspired by the England pair,United's performance exuded defiance. Ferguson's men may have fadedafter the hour, wilting as Eidur Gudjohnsen arrived to orchestrateChelsea attacks, but they never broke under the pressure. United clungon, like a heavyweight on the ropes, withstanding the battering,refusing to yield their advantage.
In terminating Chelsea's 40-game unbeaten record in the league, Unitedwere far removed from the ghosts who had been vanquished atMiddlesbrough and Lille over the past tumultuous week. Now they mustmaintain yesterday's conviction for the remainder of the season,starting at Charlton Athletic on Nov 19.
This will have done their confidence the world of good. Even in theopening minutes, when Rio Ferdinand was caught out by Lampard's longball and Didier Drogba's pace, Van der Sar was there, saving hisdefender's blushes. That was the United way yesterday, covering foreach other, showing a unity not witnessed in recent days.
Ferdinand himself refused to hide after his early embarrassment,putting in some vital tackles to thwart Chelsea. Paul Scholes wasalmost back to his old creative self, pinging passes around with thecrispness and frequency many feared lost. The little midfielder almostscored, rolling back the years by racing forward and meeting Rooney'spass with a wonderful shot which snaked just wide.
Defending high up the pitch, Van Nistelrooy even dropped deep to houndClaude Makelele. Tackles were thundering in all around, not themalicious kind that halted Arsenal's Invincibles in theirrecord-breaking tracks last year, but whole-hearted, ball-seekingefforts. Smith led the resistance movement, sliding in to dispossessDrogba and then bowling into Joe Cole.
Chelsea were forced on the back foot, unable to organise their fabledraiding parties. In the 31st minute, the champions were caught outspectacularly. Here was the United of yore, breaking with conviction,speed and a dash of wing-play. Rooney played the catalyst, working theball from a central station 40 yards out to Scholes and then CristianoRonaldo out on the left.
The Portuguese flier turned Ferreira, and crossed high to the far-postwhere Darren Fletcher lurked. Although growing in danger, thesituation still seemed a fire Chelsea could extinguish. Meeting theball before Michael Essien could properly pressurise him, the youngScot headed back across goal, the ball clearing Petr Cech and thenJohn Terry on the line. United's celebrations were long and loud.
But they were wary, knowing the champions would hit back. Gudjohnsen'sreplacing of Essien, precision replacing power, brought greatercontrol and cleverness to Chelsea's surges. And so the siege of Vander Sar's goal began. Drogba saw a shot deflected wide by the divingJohn O'Shea, another denigrated of late yet resolute here.
And so the great rearguard action intensified. Ferdinand hustled JoeCole into conceding the ball. Smith stopped Gudjohnsen with anothertackle. Van der Sar, all good positioning and sharp reflexes, made awonderful save from close range to deny Lampard.
United were sitting deep, too deep, and the Stretford End urged themforward. "Attack, attack, attack," they pleaded. But that wasChelsea's approach, and only a magnificent clearance from Smith robbedDrogba of a promising scoring opportunity. Mourinho kept introducinghigh-speed locksmiths, like Carlton Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips, toopen up United's back door, but it was bolted firmly shut.
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Times:
United discover perfect remedyBy Matt DickinsonManchester United 1 Chelsea 0
THE GLAZER HEART BEATS WITH SUCH passion for Manchester United that,on the day that the empire was in greatest peril, not one member ofthe family bothered to cross the Atlantic. No doubt they watched thematch on television, but that was no substitute at all for witnessingthe stirring of a mighty beast within Old Trafford.Not Roy Keane (absent with injury) or even his hugely impressiveunderstudy, Alan Smith, but the United crowd, of course. They havebeen mocked down the years, even by Keane, but their raucous revivalyesterday was every bit as stunning, perhaps more so, than the superbperformances of Smith and Paul Scholes, among others.

Accustomed to jeering Rio Ferdinand, booing their "heroes" or watchingin silence, yesterday they reminded the world that Old Trafford canstill be one of sport's great cathedrals. "The crowd was the turningpoint," Sir Alex Ferguson said, shortly before turning the airwavesblue by describing talk of the worst crisis of his 19-year reign as"absolute b*****ks".
Whether or not this turns out to be a victory of lasting significance— and only a brave man will rush to predict Chelsea's decline — thiswas a magnificent, memorable occasion witnessed by an estimated 750million viewers worldwide. One that the Glazers should have attendedif only to realise how much this great institution can stir the soul."Caring for the club is done in different ways," Ferguson said.
Staying at home to watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers said everythingabout the devotion of the new owners.
All that can be said for the Americans is that, as detachedbusinessmen, they should at least know better than to read too muchinto the result. José Mourinho reaffirmed his belief that Chelsea willgo on to retain their Barclays Premiership title and, despite theending of a 40-match unbeaten league run, it may be wishful thinkingto believe that they will collapse like Arsène Wenger's Invincibles.
For United, last season's victory over Arsenal (the infamous Battle ofthe Buffet) was also supposed to be a critical juncture but Ferguson'smen went on to lose at Portsmouth and then draw at home to ManchesterCity in subsequent league matches. Will Scholes revert to his mediocreform, will Smith lose his snap and will Ferdinand slip back intocomplacent ways against Charlton Athletic?
Ten points behind Chelsea, albeit with a game in hand, it will be awhile before we can say that this was anything other than a roar ofdefiance in the long death throes of Ferguson's reign. His players canstill rouse themselves for a one-off battle against the best but thosewho doubted their ability to win the title or the European Cup shouldnot be revising their opinion simply because of one victory, howevertumultuous.
United rode their luck to survive Chelsea's second-half onslaught butat least they could point out that this victory did not require thebullying tactics so often employed to overcome Arsenal's superiortechnique. Mourinho could argue, as he did, that his team were unluckyto lose but he could not dispute that United's half-time lead was wellmerited.
The looping header from Darren Fletcher which was, in the end, theonly measurable difference between the two teams, may not have beendeliberately placed just inside the post but it was the culmination ofa slick move involving Wes Brown, Wayne Rooney, Scholes and theeffervescent Cristiano Ronaldo.
It was only when Mourinho replaced Michael Essien with EidurGudjohnsen in the 55th minute — belatedly by the standards of thedecisive Portuguese — that Chelsea began to put United under sustainedpressure. At right-back, Wes Brown looked ready to crack under thestrain but, with a bit of luck and a lot of hacking the ball away,Ferdinand and his defenders survived.
If one moment summed up United's resilience, it came in the 74thminute when Smith flung himself into a crucial challenge inside hisown area. Leaping to his feet, he angrily berated John O'Shea forfailing to cut out the danger earlier. Hair cut to the scalp and facescrewed up in rage, Keane would have been proud. Or perhaps not. Maybethe skipper will march into the training ground this morning and say:"It's very well to do that in a big match against Chelsea but wherewere you lot when Middlesbrough were sticking four away last week?"
Chelsea's defeat will be cheered up and down the land and Wigan nowlie only six points behind with a game in hand. It is unlikely thatMourinho will feel Paul Jewell's breath down his neck but, for acouple of weeks at least, it is a lovely thought.
PRAWN TO BE WILD
IT WAS NOT just the Manchester United players who seemed desperate toprove Roy Keane wrong yesterday. The home support, once described byKeane as prawn sandwich-eating mutes, gave great vocal support fortheir team. Some of the anthems were ironic, not least "My old mansaid 'Be a City fan' " and "Who the f*** are Man United?", and othersoffensive, particularly towards Peter Kenyon, who resigned as Unitedchief executive to take on that role at Chelsea. Compared with thematchday atmosphere at Stamford Bridge, the din was almost unbearable.OLIVER KAY
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Sun:
Man Utd 1 Chelsea 0
DARREN FLETCHER rammed Roy Keane's words down his throat with the goalthat ended Chelsea's 40-game unbeaten run.
United's Scotland midfielder was one of the players most harshlycriticised by Keane in that now infamous programme axed by MUTV.
But he responded in just the manner his injured captain would havewanted, rising to meet Cristiano Ronaldo's cross with a 31st-minutelooping header that dropped in at the far post.
United had to weather a second-half siege from Chelsea to steal the points.
They may have ridden their luck at times, but there was no doubt theirperformance had all the passion and intent that had been lacking indismal defeats to Middlesbrough and Lille.
Alan Smith typified the United spirit, his commitment in midfield wastotal, his tackle count was off the scale and he turned in a displayof which Keane in his prime would have been proud.
Wayne Rooney was not far behind him. He hardly got a sniff in attack,but he never gave Chelsea's backline a moment of peace and producedsome sublime touches which showed just why he is United's andEngland's best player.
This result was important for so many reasons. It ended Chelsea'sPremiership unbeaten run, it broke Jose Mourninho's hoodoo over SirAlex Ferguson and, who knows, it could have saved Fergie's job.
A little bit melodramatic perhaps, but a thumping win for the Blues inUnited's back yard and who knows what might have happened.
Chelsea started the brighter and could have taken the lead when RioFerdinand was caught snoozing on eight minutes.
He may be the most expensive defender in the world, but the formerLeeds man has looked a shadow of the player who dazzled at the WorldCup four years ago.
Ferdinand was not expecting Didier Drobga to get anywhere near a FrankLampard ball over the top.
The Ivory Coast international brought the pass down with a sensationalfirst touch and while Rio stood open-mouthed he fired in a shot whichEdwin van der Sar beat down at his near post.
United had another escape seven minutes later. Asier Del Horno losthis marker, Fletcher, at a free-kick from the right and blasted overthe bar.
At the other end Paul Scholes was only a foot away from giving United the lead.
Silvestre fed Rooney down the inside-left channel and the youngstercontrolled the ball superbly before setting up the ginger marauderarriving from the edge of the box. The former England man cut acrossthe ball with his right foot and it swerved just past the right-handupright.
That effort lifted United and they got a foothold in the game beforetaking the lead on 31 minutes.
Ronaldo's cross from the left found Fletcher unmarked andbackpedalling at the far post. The Scotland star tried to head theball back into the danger zone, but his effort looped across goal andjust dropped in under the bar.
Drobga fired into the sidenetting just before the break and withinfour minutes of the restart Smith cleared Frank Lampard's shot infront of van der Sar.
But United were still a threat at this stage. Fletcher's knockback wasa fraction behind Ruud van Nistelrooy, but the prolific Dutchmanshould still have done better than blast over from 12 yards.
Jose Mourinho threw on Eidur Gudjohnsen for Michael Essien just beforethe hour and suddenly it was all Chelsea. The Icelander carved out thechance of the game within two minutes of coming on.
He crossed from the left but the unmarked Damien Duff completelymiskicked eight yards out and Drogba slipped as he was about to pullthe trigger.
Drobga then scuffed a close-range shot from Gudjohnsen's pass but theball ran kindly to Lampard who was denied by a brilliant save low downfrom van der Sar.
Joe Cole's shot from the resulting corner was blocked by the omnipresent Smith.
Gudjohnsen was involved again with 20 minutes left. He fed Duff whosent an inviting cross into the danger zone. Del Horno was arriving atpace and sent an acrobatic volley over the bar.
Rooney had a chance to settle the game near the end. Substitute Parkchased a long ball with two defenders and all three collided. The ballbroke to Rooney 25 yards out but his instant shot was blocked for acorner.
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Mirror:
JOSE HITS THE BUFFERSManchester Utd 1 Chelsea 0 It's Theatre of Screams for Mourinho asChelsea's run is stopped by rampant RedsMartin Lipton Chief Football WriterNOW it really is pressure, Jose. And we will find out what your team is made of.
Just like Arsenal's "Invincibles" 13 months ago, Chelsea'sirresistible force was stopped in its tracks by the immovable objectof Manchester United's sheer desire.
As Old Trafford rocked to the rafters, as tension reverberated aroundthe Theatre of Dreams throughout Chelsea's second- half siege, it wasas if the gods of football wanted to teach Jose Mourinho and his mennothing is ever achieved without moments of doubt.
Doubt there must be, even in Mourinho's mind, after a second loss infive days by a team that did not have the word "defeat" in itscollective vocabulary.
And even if most of football has gloried in United and Sir AlexFerguson's discomfort over the past week, it will not just be ArseneWenger who offered up a prayer of thanks to the Laird of Old Traffordlast night.
The bulldozer that had crashed through all obstacles for the firstthree months of the campaign has slipped its gears, while the FortKnox defence has developed cracks that are starting to tell.
This was the team that recorded seven straight clean sheets, thatrarely even looked like being breached.
Now Mourinho's side have conceded in seven of the last eight games,and while the Portuguese boss has railed and warned against the recent"individual mistakes"- his players were not listening.
Perhaps we've got a title race after all.
This was a game won and lost by the old-fashioned virtues, by guts anddetermination, and refusal to be consumed by what at times looked likea superior force, as United dug deep into their reserves of courage.
Yet for all the possession Chelsea had in the second period as theysought to peg back the advantage eked out by Darren Fletcher'sfortuitous header, for all the blue shirts that flooded the Unitedbox, they did not test Edwin Van der Sar enough to win or even draw.
Fletcher did well to get on to the end of Cristiano Ronaldo's crossand his looping header drifted beyond the slow-reacting Petr Cech anddropped just inside the back post over the despairing John Terry.
But if Michael Essien or Asier Del Horno had been in the rightposition, it would not have been possible.
It was a shock to the system, but the type of shock that Mourinho'smen had recovered from all season - until Tuesday in Seville.
Before that Didier Drogba threatened to make Rio Ferdinand's seasonmore depressing, and with Joe Cole influential and Frank Lampard andDamien Duff keen to make inroads, Chelsea had looked calm andcontrolled although Alan Smith ran himself into the ground.
Paul Scholes had gone close after foraging from Wayne Rooney butDrogba, after a beautiful piece of control as Ferdinand lost his runon to Lampard's ball, knew he should have tested Van der Sar.
Yet the longer the half went on, the more United's midfield were ableto get a grip, with Fletcher's goal proof he has more to offer thanRoy Keane suggested.
It should have been over 12 minutes after the restart. Rooney teased aball out to Fletcher on the right, he pulled back but skipper Ruud vanNistelrooy slashed wildly into the Stretford End.
Duff's air-shot only fell for Drogba, who ended up on his backside butstill managed to see his shot screw wildly but fractionally outsidethe post with Van der Sar scrambling.
Cole fired over as the assault intensified. Del Horno prodded over,and when Drogba's shot fell to Lampard, Van der Sar turned the ballbehind.
Cole and Lampard dithered with the shooting opportunities and thedesperation left the Blues open at the other end, with only Terry'sprone body denying Rooney late on.
Not that United fans or the the country cared about that.
Unbeatable? Not any more. Unstoppable? Evidently not. Still, probably,champions.
But the questions are being asked. We have to wait two weeks to see ifChelsea can find the answers. Mourinho wants to know them too.
MAN UTD: Van der Sar, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Brown, Silvestre, Fletcher,Smith, Scholes, Rooney, van Nistelrooy (Park 82), Ronaldo.
CHELSEA: Cech, Paulo Ferreira, Gallas, Terry, Del Horno (C Cole 78),Essien (Gudjohnsen 55), Makelele, Lampard, J Cole (Wright-Phillips74), Drogba, Duff.
ATTENDANCE: 67,864
MAN OF THE MATCH: Smith

morning papers betis away

The Guardian :
Mourinho blames players as Chelsea stumble in Seville
Jon Brodkin at Manuel Ruiz de Lopera
Jose Mourinho denied his team were beaten by Charlton a week ago, because they went out of the Carling Cup only on penalties, but the Chelsea manager made no attempt to claim they did not lose last night. He described a poor display as unacceptable, the worst since he arrived at Stamford Bridge and criticised his players' attitude in a rare public castigation.He will trust it has the desired affect for Sunday's Premiership game at Old Trafford because Chelsea go there on the back of two defeats in less than a week, an almost unthinkable sequence. Knocked out of their rhythm by a physical, sometimes cynical Real Betis, they grew inceasingly frustrated and lost their calm and incisiveness. Whether Arsène Wenger was watching on the television or through a telescope he will have been encouraged.
Michael Essien was unlucky to see a shot hit both posts and end up in the goalkeeper's arms in the 71st minute but that was Chelsea's only chance of the second half as they often thoughtlessly tried to turn forward momentum into openings. Despite three good chances to equalise before the interval Mourinho accepted defeat was deserved.Mourinho admitted: "I've been here for 15 months and we have played perhaps 80 games at Chelsea and this was the worst performance. The first half was too bad to be true. I know everything was bad. I cannot find a positive out of the game."
Chelsea had known that a victory would take them into the last 16 but their recent results away in Europe had hardly suggested that would be easily achieved. Mourinho's previous five Champions League ties outside Stamford Bridge had produced four defeats and a goalless draw at Anfield. The manager had castigated his players on the eve of this match for too many defensive errors last month and must have been dismayed when a disappointing run of one clean sheet in six games extended to one in seven before half an hour had been played, leaving Chelsea trailing.
Chelsea had looked solid to begin with in the face of pressure from a Betis team who needed to win to stand a realistic chance of progressing. Betis had not made a chance of note before they went ahead and Chelsea may have felt that home morale would have dropped when the Spanish team lost two players to injury in five minutes, including their Brazilian forward Ricardo Oliveira, adding to a wretched run of recent casualties. Yet Oliveira's replacement, Dani, quickly scored. Betis worked the ball across the pitch and to their left and Jesus Capi's cross was not dealt with. Chelsea were flummoxed by an Edu dummy and William Gallas could not prevent the lively Dani from slamming a shot past Petr Cech from close range.
If that was disappointing for Chelsea, so had been their lack of threat going forward. They had not carved out a chance before going behind, with Joe Cole and Arjen Robben having little impact on the flanks and the team perhaps struggling to adjust to being without the aerial outlet of Drogba.
The Ivorian had been unexpectedly left on the bench, with the smaller Eidur Gudjohnsen given a rare opportunity to lead the line. Chelsea's early use of possession was looser than usual and though they began to find better range, with Frank Lampard showing good vision at times, their fluency in the first half was not at the level of which they are capable.
Dani's goal at least stung them into a response and with better finishing they could have found the net four times in the space of quarter of an hour before half-time. Cole, Robben and Gudjohnsen became more of an influence and, from a Cole cross, Essien put a free header over the bar.
Cole ought to have equalised when spotted on the right of the area by Gudjohnsen but seemed to think he was offside, delayed a fraction and had his shot saved by Pedro Contreras. The goalkeeper then saved from Robben before Gudjohnsen wasted Chelsea's best opening. Racing on to a long Terry pass, he had just Contreras to beat but shot woefully over.
There remained a threat from Betis, though. Mourinho had warned his player to take nothing for granted despite a 4-0 home win over this team and Cech was twice stretched before the interval. When he fisted out a swerving Edu shot, it was fortunate for Chelsea that Dani put the rebound wide.
The start of the second half showed how unhappy Mourinho had been with his team's performance. Shaun Wright-Phillips and Drogba came on and there was a greater intensity about the team's play. Yet Betis were making life hard, closing down fast and Chelsea could find little rhythm or make chances.
They were doing almost all the attacking but Betis posed danger on the break and it was hard to believe they had lost their past four domestic and European games. In search of a breakthrough Mourinho sent on Damien Duff for Robben but to no avail and Chelsea may need victories over Anderlecht and Liverpool to go through.
Real Betis (4-2-3-1) Contreras; Varela ·, Juanito; Nano (Castellini, 20), Melli ·; Rivera, Arzu; Joaquin, Capi · (Fernando, 84), Edu; Oliveira (Dani, 25 ·).
Subs not used Doblas, Xisco, Juanlu, Bascon.
Chelsea (4-3-3) Cech; Ferreira, Carvalho, Terry, Gallas; Essien, Makelele, Lampard; J Cole (Wright-Phillips, h-t ·). Gudjohnsen (Drogba, h-t ·) Robben (Duff, 65 ·).
Subs not used Cudicini, Geremi, Huth, Bridge,
Referee A Hamer (Luxembourg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Independent:
Real Betis 1 Chelsea 0 Bad day for Mourinho as Chelsea flop and Wenger feud escalates By Sam Wallace at Ruiz de Lopera stadium
The verdict from Jose Mourinho was simple enough: "The worst performance since I arrived at Chelsea," and there would be few among his players who would dare to disagree. Didier Drogba dragged away from the referee at full-time, Arjen Robben storming down the tunnel in disgust at his substitution: the great Chelsea match-winning regime was not supposed to come to an end like this.
Beaten for the first time in 90 minutes this season, Mourinho's team are still the Premiership's invincibles and, at nine points clear in that league, are hardly at crisis point. But two defeats in six days is the kind of form that would have been considered unthinkable.
"The first-half performance was too bad to be true," Mourinho said. "Everything was bad, I can't find anything that was positive about that performance."
If the post-match analysis was not shattering enough, Mourinho also responded to Arsène Wenger on the Arsenal manager's comments yesterday that his opposite number had been "stupid" in the spat between the two that had ignited on Monday.
Then Mourinho had accused Wenger of being a "voyeur" who was obsessed with Chelsea; yesterday the Arsenal manager threatened legal action. By 10pm last night it was round three.
Mourinho said that he had a "file of 120 pages" of comments from Wenger about Chelsea and that his attitude was "enough is enough", or there would be fight - there are few signs now of either man backing down.
Back to the occasion of Chelsea's defeat to the team placed 17th in Spain's La Liga and Mourinho was disbelieving about his side's performance. "The drama is not the result, the drama is the way we played," he said. "It was too bad in every aspect of the game."
Although the Chelsea manager pointed out that his side could still top Champions' League Group G if they won their remaining games, they now trail Liverpool by three points and Betis are just one point behind. The match against the European champions at Stamford Bridge now has a significance that few expected after the two sides' impressive start to the Champions' League.
With only one draw to blemish their Premiership record, and a Carling Cup exit on penalties, the great Chelsea machine is not stalling yet. However, in the first half, in which Betis lost their striker Ricardo Oliveira and the centre-half Nano to injury but still dominated, it was hard not to sympathise with Mourinho's point of view that his team were malfunctioning. "Maybe the players thought this was the second leg match and we were already 4-0 up," he said, "because the attitude was too relaxed when we were playing for points."
He started with Eidur Gudjohnsen in attack and the striker clouted his only clear-cut chance of the first half over the bar when he was set free by John Terry's pass. Robben was even worse. He was lucky not to be substituted at half-time and when he was hauled off for Damien Duff on 64 minutes stalked down the tunnel with a member of the Chelsea staff in pursuit.
When the home team did finally break through on 27 minutes, however, it was a goal created and executed by their two substitutes. Paolo Castellini passed the ball through Chelsea to the replacement striker Dani, who lingered at the back post. William Gallas' ponderous efforts to make a tackle allowed Dani to prod the ball home.
Duff created the best Chelsea chance of the match on 74 minutes - a moment in which Mourinho's side could scarcely believe they had not scored. The cross from the left was just a toe's width from being turned in by Didier Drogba but, before it rolled out of play, was turned back into the area by Shaun Wright-Phillips. Michael Essien scooped his shot against the goalkeeper Pablo Contreras' right post and from there it rolled across the line, struck the opposite upright and came out.
The frustration at his team's progress took Mourinho to the edge of his technical area and, at one point, toe-to-toe with the match referee Alain Hamer, who sent him back to his bench when he queried a decision. The Chelsea coach was withering in his assessment of the official from Luxembourg, adding that an official from a country with "no record in international football" might not be fit to take control of the game.
The game only threatened to spiral out of control in the second half when Drogba challenged Contreras for a loose ball and stood chest-to-chest with the goalkeeper before shoves were exchanged. The dives and time-wasting of the Betis players were part "of the Latin culture", Mourinho said, although he had little sympathy for his players in falling for the familiar old tricks.
Drogba and Wright-Phillips were on as half-time substitutes and the England winger's booking means he misses the game against Anderlecht. Drogba was booked and there was the hint of racist chants from the crowd.
There is hope at last for Manchester United on Sunday - how Chelsea respond could define the season.
Real Betis (4-4-2): Contreras; Varela, Juanito, Nano (Castellini, 20), Melli; Joaquin, Arzu, Rivera, Edu; Capi (Fernando, 83), Oliveira (Dani, 24). Substitutes not used: Doblas (gk), Xisco, Juanlu, Bascon.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Ferreira, Carvalho, Terry, Gallas; Makelele; Cole (Wright-Phillips, h-t), Lampard, Essien, Robben (Duff, 65); Gudjohnsen (Drogba, h-t). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Geremi, Bridge, Huth.
Referee: A Hamer (Luxembourg).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mirror :
GAMBLER JOSE A REAL LOSER Group G: Real Betis 1 Chelsea 0 from Seville Mour Euro trouble after Blues shock Darren Lewis
JOSE MOURINHO'S Champions League gamble last night blew up spectacularly in his face as Chelsea were humiliated by struggling Real Betis.
The Blues boss rested striker Didier Drogba and first-choice left-back Asier Del Horno with one eye on Sunday's crunch Premiership clash with Manchester United.
But he watched in fury as his Chelsea team were outplayed and outmanoeuvred before an error from stand-in left-back William Gallas gifted Betis striker Dani a shock 28th-minute winner.
The Spanish side had gone into last night's tie on the back of THREE straight defeats since being crushed 4-0 by the Premiership Champions a fortnight ago.
They were without FIVE first-team last night and they lost another TWO, including their top scorer Ricardo Oliveira, within half an hour.
Yet Chelsea failed to get a shot on target until seven minutes before half time and angry Mourinho read the riot act to his troops before declaring during the interval that the performance was the worst he had seen during his time in charge of the Blues.

Win the Group G face-off and Chelsea would march into the knockout stages and after nine minutes John Terry floated a 50-yard pass into the path of Dutch winger Arjen Robben.
With just one defender between himself and Eidur Gudjohnsen, Chelsea looked set to go ahead. But Robben allowed an outstretched boot from Betis defender Juanito to rob him. In reply, Spanish international winger Joaquin lashed a 12th-minute free-kick into the path of Edu, whose effort was intercepted by Michael Essien.
After that luckless Betis, without five first-team players going into the match, lost defender Nano to injury just 19 minutes in.
Barely five minutes had passed before they were robbed off leading scorer Oliveira too, the Brazilian striker failing to recover from a Ricardo Carvalho tackle.
It was a blow for the side fourth-from-bottom of La Liga and a boost for Chelsea. Until, that was, Dani entered the fray to strike the goal which once again laid bare the sudden fragility of the Chelsea defence.
After 28 minutes attacking midfielder Capi sent in a ball from the left which left the Blues defence uncharacteristically rooted to the spot.
Edu was allowed to dummy and Terry and Gallas ball-watched, giving Dani time and space to pick his spot.
Worse still they did not trouble Betis keeper Pedro Contreras until six minutes before half time. Gudjohnsen's pass found Joe Cole on the right and he homed in on goal with only Contreras to beat. But the Betis keeper stood up well before plunging to his right to stop the shot.
Chelsea were denied again as Robben played a one-two with Essien before unleashing a powerful left-foot drive into the body of Contreras.
But it was Gudjohnsen with the most glaring miss with barely two minute to go before the interval. He raced onto Terry's pass which left him one-on-one with Contreras, but lofted his ball high into the stands.
It could have been even worse for Chelsea on half-time, when Dani was presented with an open goal.
Blues keeper Petr Cech could only parry Edu's long-range drive and Dani sent his effort just wide. Despite the half-time hair-dryer treatment, Chelsea amazingly failed to find their usual second-half improvement.
As tensions boiled over, Mourinho clashed was involved in a shouting match with referee Alain Hamer and Didier Drogba was booked amid a hail of missiles from the home fans for an altercation with Contreras.
There was also racist chanting at Wright Phillips and Drogba which FIFA are certain to look into.
Chelsea's best chance came in the 72nd minute when Shaun Wright-Phillips sent a Damien Duff cross back into the six-yard box for Essien but the midfielder's effort hit one post, rolled across the goal-line and hit the other before rolling into the arms of Contreras.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sun:
Real Betis 1 Chelsea 0 By SUN ONLINE REPORTER
MAYBE Arsene Wenger was right after all.
Perhaps Chelsea ARE starting to crack up.
Jose Mourinho's men yet again proved they are not immortal by failing to break down Real Betis.
They now have just one victory to show from their last four games.
And boy, did they not like losing their first match for six months.
Five players were booked, three of them second half substitutes as their frustrations grew in this Champions League clash.
Chelsea were undone by Martin Dani's 28th-minute strike.
Michael Essien saw a late effort hit both posts before rebounding into the goalkeeper's arms.
But the Londoners may now need to win their final two games to ensure qualification to the knockout stages from Group G.
Arsenal boss Wenger riled Mourinho last week when he suggested that the Blues were losing it after the draw with Everton and the Carling Cup penalty shootout defeat to Charlton.
The Premiership champions quickly dispelled that theory with a 4-2 demolition of Blackburn.
But the way they let Rovers back into the game suggested Chelsea were rocking - and this defeat confirms it.
Mourinho surprisingly opted for Eidur Gudjohnsen in attack instead of Didier Drogba.
But the Icelandic striker failed to spark and he was replaced by the Ivory Coast hitman at the break.
Chelsea needed shaking up at that stage as well after Dani had given the home side a deserved lead.
Dani was introduced after top scorer Ricardo Oliveira was taken off on a stretcher following a tackle by Ricardo Carvalho.
But he quickly made his mark as he latched on to Capi's centre after Edu's dummy brought him time in the box.
Dani left William Gallas flat-footed and he picked his spot beyond Petr Cech to send the home fans delirious.
Joe Cole thought he had equalised six minutes before the break when his scrambled shot brought a fine one-handed save from Pedro Contreras.
Arjen Robben and Gudjohnsen had also gone close but Mourinho rang the changes at half-time with Shaun Wright-Phillips joining the fray with Drogba.
But Betis were more than a match for their opponents and Damien Duff was next to appear for the Blues.
Duff, Drogba and Wright-Phillips were all booked as they failed to make the desired impact and Essien summed up their night with by hitting the woodwork twice before Contreras gratefully grabbed the rebound.
Mourinho pushed John Terry up front for the final 15 minutes but this time the Blues boss had no get out of jail card.
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Times:
Chelsea left feeling the pain in Spain after Dani buoys BetisFrom Matt Hughes in SevilleReal Betis 1 Chelsea 0 ARSÈNE WENGER usually channel-hops on Champions League nights, but the Arsenal manager will have watched this match in its entirety with a smile stretched across his face. After winning their first eight matches of the season and going 12 games unbeaten, Chelsea have suddenly lost twice in seven days. Not even José Mourinho, Wenger’s nemesis, could quibble with this defeat. Chelsea were soundly beaten in a bad-tempered game in which there were ten bookings. They were not helped by a weak performance from Alain Hamer, Luxembourg’s leading referee, but Mourinho was man enough to accept that his team deserved to lose. The champions were dreadful in attitude and application, particularly in the first half, with only John Terry showing the necessary character.
The Portuguese had warned his players of the potential danger posed by the Spaniards after recent mistakes, but their defensive lapses had paled into insignificance compared with those of Real Betis. After an indifferent start to the season, they have imploded since last month’s 4-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge, conceding ten goals in three league games and slipping to seventeenth in La Liga.
In the first half last night it was Mourinho who was despairing in the dugout, though, as Chelsea produced their worst 45 minutes of the season. Usually so controlled in possession, the visiting team gave the ball away as if bestowing acts of charity, with Arjen Robben, who had been given a surprising recall, particularly culpable.
The Holland winger had an evening to forget, pulling out of challenges and appearing reluctant to receive the ball. No wonder Mourinho has privately questioned his mental strength.
With Alberto Rivera and Arzu controlling midfield, Betis pressed forward and were rewarded with a deserved goal in the 28th minute, a breakthrough even more impressive as they had just lost their centre back and centre forward, Nano and Ricardo Oliveira, to injury. Both substitutes were involved, with Paolo Castellini’s cross from the left being dummied by Edu, allowing Dani to get in front of William Gallas to score.
Chelsea’s misery was soon compounded when, after creating rare chances on the counter-attack, they wasted two clear opportunities. After being played through by Eidur Gudjohnsen, Joe Cole was the first culprit, shooting tamely at Pedro Contreras, the Betis goalkeeper, but the Iceland striker’s miss was even worse. He spooned the ball over the bar when through on goal after a long pass from Terry.
Unlike Mourinho’s mood at half-time, though, the scoreline could have been worse. On the stroke of the interval, Petr Cech, who has looked increasingly fallible of late, failed to hold a long-range effort from Edu, with Dani shooting narrowly wide on the rebound.
Gudjohnsen and Cole paid for their sins, being replaced by Didier Drogba and Shaun Wright-Phillips at half-time, and they will be expected to demonstrate more penitence in training this week. Robben was given a shot at redemption but failed to take it, lingering long enough only to pick up a booking for a petulant foul before being replaced by Damien Duff in the 65th minute. The 21-year-old’s exit was more memorable than his performance. He stormed down the tunnel before Mourinho sent his coaching staff to retrieve him.
As Betis continued to dominate, the pace of Duff on the counter-attack seemed to be Chelsea’s best hope of salvaging a point and, sure enough, the Irishman fashioned their only real opportunity. After rampaging down the left in the 72nd minute, Duff’s cross eluded Drogba but found Wright-Phillips on the far byline and he squared the ball to Michael Essien.
The Ghana midfield player beat Melli, the defender, to the ball, but his shot rebounded off the inside of the near post, ran along the goalline and hit the inside of the other post before bouncing into the arms of Contreras, summing up Chelsea’s evening. After a tortuous night in Seville, their players will await Mourinho’s Spanish Inquisition with trepidation.
REAL BETIS (4-2-3-1): P Contreras —F Varela, Juanito, Nano (sub: P Castellini, 19min), Melli — A Rivera, Arzu — Joaquín, Capi (sub: Fernando, 84), Edu — R Oliviera (sub: Dani, 25). Substitutes not used:A Doblas, Fernando, Xisco, Juanlu,I Bascón. Booked: Capi, Varela, Melli, Contreras, Dani.
CHELSEA (4-3-3): P Cech — P Ferreira, R Carvalho, J Terry, W Gallas — M Essien, C Makelele, F Lampard — J Cole (sub:S Wright-Phillips, 46), E Gudjohnsen (sub:D Drogba, 46), A Robben (sub: D Duff, 65). Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, R Huth, Gérémi, W Bridge. Booked: Cole, Robben, Drogba, Wright-Phillips, Duff.
Referee: A Hamer (Luxembourg).
BLUE MURDER FOR MOURINHO
JOSÉ MOURINHO is not normally a gracious loser, but he took last night’s defeat on the chin. “It was the worst performance since I arrived,” he said. “I’ve been here for 15 months, perhaps 80 matches at Chelsea, and this was the worst performance. The first half was too bad to be true.
“Maybe the players thought it was a knockout game and we were 4-0 up. The attitude was too relaxed for a game when we’re playing for points.”
Chelsea’s defeat leaves them three points behind Liverpool, but Mourinho is confident that his team can recover to win group G. “If we win our next two matches, we will be first in the group. We have our destiny in our hands,” he said. “The drama is not in the result, the drama is in the first-half performance.”
Mourinho also added more fuel to the fire of his dispute with Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager. “If my comments (about Wenger being a “voyeur” and “obsessed” with Chelsea) were very strong, I have to accept that the next comments will be very strong,” he said. “I accept that, but I have a file of quotes from Mr Wenger about Chelsea in the last 12 months. It’s a file of 120 pages. I accept the next answer being strong and it’s time to stop. If he doesn’t stop, we’re there for a fight.” MATT HUGHES -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telegraph:
Complacent Chelsea beaten by BetisBy Christopher Davies in Seville (Real Betis (1) 1 Chelsea (0) 0
Dominant in the Premiership, Chelsea once again showed their frailty away from home in the Champions League as they slumped to a fifth defeat in six ties on their travels, with Real Betis giving the visitors a lesson in attacking football.
Chelsea finished with John Terry as a makeshift striker, alongside Didier Drogba, but Betis deservedly held on for a famous victory that means Chelsea must wait to secure their place in the knockout stages.
It is difficult to believe they will not join Liverpool in progressing from Group G but it is a year since they won an away match in the Champions League and it is a flaw Jose Mourinho must correct.
Rarely have Chelsea had to defend in depth and for such long periods, against a Real Betis team who came into this match in the wake of four consecutive defeats.
Perhaps Chelsea were guilty of complacency but they were second best in most aspects of a rousing tie in the Andalucian capital that will give Betis real hope they can split the English teams.
Chelsea even collected four cautions, which means an automatic Uefa fine, and while Mourinho had said it did not matter if they qualified for the next stage last night or in the last group game, the manager would no doubt have preferred to secure their progress sooner rather than later.
Perhaps, with this weekend's Premiership game against Manchester United in mind, Mourinho rested Drogba and gave Eidur Gudjohnsen his first Champions League start of the season in attack, the Iceland international supported by Joe Cole and Arjen Robben.
It was the Chelsea defence that was called into action for much of the first half as some powerful runs by Joaquin tested the most miserly back line in the Premiership.
In the opening 15 minutes Chelsea were rarely out of their own half as Real Betis, struggling in 17th place in La Liga, poured forward from both wings and through the middle.
With Claude Makelele the shield in front of the back four, Chelsea were just about managing to keep Betis at bay but the home team were undoubtedly making life difficult for the visitors.
Injuries forced Betis to make two first-half changes - in the 21st minute Nano was replaced by Paolo Castellini and then leading goalscorer Ricardo Oliveira was stretchered off after a challenge from Ricardo Carvalho, with Dani coming on.
Yet Betis continued to dominate and it was no surprise when they broke the deadlock in the 29th minute through Dani, who had been on the field only four minutes.
Capi's cross from the left eluded Terry, and when William Gallas was the wrong side of Dani, the Betis player was able to beat Petr Cech from six yards.
There could be no doubt Betis deserved to be in the lead, their football belying their poor domestic form.
Cole was needlessly cautioned for telling Alain Hamer too forcefully that the referee should have awarded a corner rather than a throw-in, a cheap yellow card to collect which could prove costly later in the tournament.
Chelsea belatedly tested Pedro Contreras, the goalkeeper saving superbly when Cole was clear, and then he held a well-struck 25-yard shot by Robben.
Two minutes before the interval Gudjohnsen seemed certain to score as he bore down on the Betis goal but his shot from eight yards went high into the crowd.
There was still time for Dani to come within inches of making it 2-0 and Mourinho clearly had his work cut out as the Chelsea manager conducted his half-time team talk.
Mourinho made two changes for the start of the second-half, bringing on Shaun Wright-Phillips and Drogba for Gudjohnsen and Cole, but it was Betis who continued to set the pace with some breathtaking attacking.
The Chelsea manager was warned by Hamer to stay in his technical area, Mourinho on his feet trying to rally his troops who were in the unfamiliar position of being on the back foot.
The noise inside the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera stadium was incredible as the home fans sensed a significant scalp.
Tempers, too, were rising and Melli became the third Betis player to be shown the yellow card for an over-zealous challenge.
Drogba had looked a caution waiting to happen and, sure enough, he was booked by Hamer for roughing up Contreras.
Duff, fit again three weeks after undergoing knee surgery, was introduced in the 65th minute and there was a suspicion that Betis had put in so much effort into assuming control that they could not sustain the pressure.
Michael Essien came close to equalising in the 72nd minute when his shot struck both posts before rebounding into the grateful arms of Contreras.
Match details
Real Betis (4-4-1-1): Contreras; Varela, Juanito, Nano (Castellini 21), Melli; Joaquin, Rivera, Arzu, Edu; Capi; Oliveira (Dani 25). Subs: Doblas (g), Dani, Fernando, Xisco, Juanlu, Israel. Booked: Capi, Varela, Melli. Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Gallas; Essien, Makelele, Lampard; Cole (Wright-Phillips h-t), Gudjohnsen Drogba h-t), Robben (Duff 65). Subs: Cudicini (g), Geremi, Bridge, Huth. Booked: Cole, Robben, Drogba. Referee: A Hamer (Luxembourg).