The TimesNovember 12, 2007
Blue is the colour...football is the same
Chelsea 1 Everton 1Martin Samuel, Chief Football Correspondent, at Stamford Bridge
As Avram Grant will be aware, this was the sort of result – and pretty much the sort of performance – that got José Mourinho, his predecessor, his P45. With managerial changes no longer part of the picture at Chelsea, however, Roman Abramovich, the owner, will have to grin and bear it.
Chelsea murdered Everton for most of the match, did not turn their possession and supremacy into goals and conceded from the first shot on target faced, which came in the 90th minute.
These days Grant will be commiserated on his bad luck by a benign employer who is also a friend; two months ago, this would have formed part of the case for the prosecution, not least because Chelsea appeared to settle for three points from a single goal scored by Didier Drogba in the 75th minute. Failing to press for a more convincing margin of victory was a criticism often levelled at Mourinho.
Everton’s point was no travesty, though, for it rewarded the three best players on the pitch. Tim Howard, the Everton goalkeeper, was man of the match, with one save in the first half from Frank Lampard as good as any seen this season. At other times, his handling was decisive and confident. Just behind him were Joseph Yobo and Joleon Lescott, the centre backs who had a Premier League defender’s most demanding job – dealing with Drogba, the man mountain.
The task fell mostly to Lescott, who was outstanding, and would have delivered a near-perfect display had he not lost his man from a corner for the goal. It was tough luck that this rare lapse was punished in typical Chelsea style. Salomon Kalou whipped the ball in and Drogba was left challenging Lee Carsley at the near post. His header was beyond a furious Howard in the blink of an eye.
This was an echo of the heartbreaking champions of old. Under Mourinho, Chelsea’s forte was the killer goal scored just when it looked as if the end was in sight. In this way, they would sap the morale of the opposition, stretched to full capacity trying to keep the score tied. When Drogba scored, even a resolute Everton team should have been there for the taking, such was their disappointment. Instead, Chelsea made no attempt to kick for home, much as they would not have done under Mourinho. The difference being that when Mourinho’s influence was at its most potent, Chelsea knew how to keep a lead.
This may be a simple personnel matter. Chelsea are again missing John Terry, the captain and centre back, and Petr Cech in goal, the double whammy that did irreparable damage to their title challenge last season, but a back injury suffered by Ricardo Carvalho after 28 minutes brought the introduction of the cumbersome Tal Ben Haim.
Yesterday, equally harmful was the continued absence of Paulo Ferreira, missing since the Champions League win over Schalke 04 in October. Ferreira is not the most eye-catching right back, but in the matter of holding a lead, he is an improvement on Juliano Belletti, the new arrival. When Everton equalised, it was because, one-on-one with Tim Cahill, Belletti came up short.
James McFadden, introduced at half-time and as responsible for Everton’s second-half improvement as anybody, hit a shot cutting in on the right that Cahill held up with his back to goal, shielding the ball from Belletti as it hung in the air. With a flash of attacking inspiration at odds with the cautious nature of the rest of Everton’s performance, he leapt backwards, striking a most sublime bicycle kick that left Carlo Cudicini grasping at air in the Chelsea goal.
On the touchline, Grant’s dour visage reminded of nothing more than Les Dawson’s colourful description of his battleaxe mother-in-law. A face, the comedian said, like a tin of condemned veal.
Certainly, the beautiful football that Abramovich is said to have demanded as a return on his £500 million investment is more of an aspiration for Grant than an achievement. The 6-0 victory over Manchester City the previous weekend wrote a cheque that this Chelsea team could not cash and, while Grant saw good, positive, attacking football here, he was not among the majority.
Chelsea had greater ambition than Everton, which was not hard, and Howard’s one-handed save from a shot by Lampard in the 30th minute was a stunner, but Mourinho’s style was not so dull or Grant’s brand so scintillating for there to be a huge difference between the two. How could there be when the players are largely the same, Grant’s introduction of Joe Cole on a consistent basis his most radical contribution?
Cole was good again here without fully displaying the wit to find a path through Everton’s massed ranks. The best return on his creativity was a Drogba header from a corner, which Howard dealt with comfortably. Indeed, the best move down the left came from a run by Wayne Bridge – much like the run for his money he is giving Ashley Cole – fed into Shaun Wright-Phillips, who switched the ball across to Drogba.
Amazingly, the striker missed his kick; Steven Pienaar did the same for Everton after a cut-back from Leon Osman in the fourteenth minute, but it was not quite as unexpected.
Even when Howard was threatened, the Everton defence was in top form. A shot from Lampard in the 26th minute was headed clear by Nuno Valente, just at the point when it was threatening to sneak inside the right-hand post.
Later, after Howard had punched a Lampard corner only as far as Alex, Tony Hibbert, the right back, blocked his shot on the line.
David Moyes, the Everton manager, described the performance as gritty and it was certainly that. For Grant, it was the sort of grit that lodges in the shoes and makes walking uncomfortable. Either that or he was having flashbacks to the bold promises made on the day he took the job. Something had to explain that pained expression.
How they rated
CHELSEA
4-3-3 C Cudicini 6 J Belletti Y 5 Alex 7 R Carvalho 6 W Bridge 7 M Essien Y 7 J O Mikel 7 F Lampard 7 S Wright-Phillips 6 D Drogba 7 J Cole 7
Substitutes T Ben Haim 4 (for Carvalho, 28min), S Kalou 6 (for Wright-Phillips, 63) Not used Hilário, A Shevchenko, C Pizarro
EVERTON
4-2-3-1 T Howard 9 T Hibbett 7 J Yobo 8 J Lescott 8 Nuno Valente 7 L Carsley 6 P Neville Y 5 T Cahill 7 L Osman 7 S Pienaar Y 6 Yakubu 5
Substitutes T Gravesen (for Carsley, 75min), J McFadden 6 (for Neville, 46), V Anichebe 5 (for Yakubu, 46) Not used S Wessels, P Jagielka
Referee: A WileyAttendance: 41,683
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Tim Cahill cracker stuns ChelseaBy John Ley
Chelsea (0) 1 Everton (0) 1
Two Tims from either side of the planet blunted Chelsea's attempt to edge closer to the Premier League zenith, with an American goalkeeper and an Australian midfielder dampening blue spirits on a frustrating afternoon.
Tim Howard had produced a succession of outstanding saves to obstruct Chelsea before Tim Cahill stole a draw with a spectacular 89th-minute equaliser, cancelling out Didier Drogba's opening goal.
In restoring parity, Cahill also succeeded in becoming the first player to breach Chelsea's defence in the Premier League for a minute short of nine hours.
Having been repeatedly thwarted by the brilliance of Howard and the dogged belligerence of the Everton defence, Chelsea will also feel aggrieved at wasting chances. They may be trying to play attractive football, but that sometimes comes at a cost, with Chelsea ultimately exposed late on as they pushed for a second goal.
"We lost two points today and that's disappointing," said manager Avram Grant. "We want to win every game and we want to play good football."
As all the Englishmen appeared to come through unscathed it was an American who stole the show. Howard has been key to Everton's success and, against a Chelsea side keen to match their 6-0 thrashing of Manchester City in their previous Stamford Bridge league outing, the early signs pointed to another dominating home performance.
When Frank Lampard's volley was blocked in front of goal by Nuno Valente, Everton survived for the first time. But it was a save after half an hour which most impressed. Juliano Belletti fed Lampard, who side-footed a volley which Howard saved, changing his direction before tipping the ball around his left post.
It was a breathtaking save, following soon after another block, from Shaun Wright-Phillips. Howard then saved again, on the line, from Drogba's header.
In first-half added time, an error by Phil Neville saw Wayne Bridge set off on a 60-yard run before finding Wright-Phillips. The winger fed Drogba - who proceeded to kick air in front of goal. The quality of both the sublime move and faltering finish summed up Chelsea's half.
Everton manager David Moyes, sensing Neville and Yakubu were showing signs of fatigue following Thursday's 2-0 Uefa Cup win in Nuremberg, made two brave changes, with James McFadden and Victor Anichebe offering fresh legs.
Howard continued to impress in the second half, tipping over a Lampard chip, while Tony Hibbert cleared off the line after Alex's shot had deflected off Joleon Lescott.
Soon afterwards, Leon Osman was the subject of a high, crunching challenge from Michael Essien. The Chelsea midfielder was booked and Cahill later claimed that the Ghanaian would say sorry. "He's known for a few dodgy tackles," said Cahill.
"I heard the crunch, so if he's gone in a bit high he'll know about it and apologise later."
Chelsea finally got their breakthrough in the 71st minute when a corner from Salomon Kalou was met by the head of Drogba at the near post.
But with just a minute remaining McFadden's shot came off Belletti and spun up high. Cahill responded with an athletic and mesmeric bicycle kick to steal a draw for the visitors.
Steve McClaren may have chosen Stamford Bridge yesterday to check on Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Phil Neville and Joleon Lescott, but he will have left contented with the performance of another.
With Liverpool's Yossi Benayoun ruled out of Saturday's European Championship qualifier between Israel and Russia, the performance of Chelsea defender Tal Ben Haim could prove decisive in Tel Aviv. That the Israeli enjoyed more than an hour of action after coming on for the injured Ricardo Carvalho, will have given McClaren considerable satisfaction. It was only his second participation since September, so Ben Haim needed a game and he showed he could prove to be a hurdle for the Russian strikers. Dror Kashtan, the Israel coach, may be concerned that Ben Haim has struggled to hold down a regular place at Stamford Bridge but fellow Israeli Avram Grant, the Chelsea manager, said: "We have a different back four from a month ago, but that shows the strength we have in our squad.
"The fact that Chelsea have Alex, Carvalho and John Terry was always going to affect his chances of playing, but in terms of his ability to aid Israel - and England - he showed little to concern McClaren, who will also have been impressed with Lescott, whose performance alongside Joseph Yobo was imposing."
Man of the matchDidier Drogba (Chelsea)• The Ivorian scored one goal from six attempts • 50 per cent shooting accuracy• 100% tackle success---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:Chelsea 1 Everton 1: Cahill's bicycle kick puts brake on Grant's winning streak By Sam Wallace
Delivering exciting football, as Avram Grant is discovering, is a splendid idea as long as you make sure your team win the game too. Chelsea's excitement factor was waning considerably yesterday when Tim Cahill's overhead kick levelled the score in the last minute and made the home side wish they could have been boring and victorious instead.
The notion of exciting football was seized upon by Grant in those desperate, chaotic days in September when no one could understand why he of all people had been brought in to replace the most charismatic manager of his generation. On days like these that promise sits upon Grant like a curse. He may be the man charged with bringing pulse-quickening football to the post-Jose Mourinho era but he still moans about an injury crisis like any other manager who finds his back against the wall.
A goal to the good, thanks to Didier Drogba, Chelsea found themselves seeing out the last few minutes with a defensive five that, Grant pointed out, included none of his first-choice defenders and a second-choice goalkeeper. That was not all down to injuries – Grant left Ashley Cole on the bench and no one knows who his favourite right-back is – but the absence of John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho was telling. Chelsea are now another two points further away from Manchester United.
They are third in the Premier League but after four straight victories under their new manager – including six goals at home to Manchester City – yesterday it was fair to concede that maybe the stylistic changes promised by Grant are still some way off. The only thing more complex than figuring out how to change Chelsea into the club everyone loves to watch is making sense of Grant's post-match explanations, which seem more arcane the worse the result.
He claimed yesterday that "we dominated the game for 90 minutes". He added: "We created a lot of chances, the other team did not. They scored from one good chance." There was, Grant said, "raised expectation" for his players, although he can blame himself for that. Once upon a time Chelsea would win 1-0 and Grant's predecessor would say afterwards they were the best team on the planet. Nowadays not even 1-0 is enough.
It will overshadow the achievement of Everton, whose equaliser was beautifully taken by Cahill for his third goal of the season, having recovered from a broken metatarsal last month. The Australian had his say about Michael Essien too after the Chelsea midfielder ran his studs down Leon Osman's leg and was fortunate to get away with a booking.
"I was behind Ossie and I heard the crunch," Cahill said. "If he [Essien] has gone in a bit high he'll know and he'll apologise later. He is known for a few dodgy tackles. Ossie's still walking and that's the main thing. Everyone has a dodgy tackle from time to time in football as long as he knows what he has done."
Even without Mikel Arteta, Andy Johnson and Leighton Baines, David Moyes has a side of typically British strengths – strength and tenacity above all. The Everton manager poured praise on his England defender Joleon Lescott, whom he named as one of his side's best players along with Joseph Yobo and the goalkeeper, Tim Howard. Lescott, however, might not have inspired complete confidence in Steve McClaren in the seconds leading to Drogba's goal.
In those moments, in the 71st minute, Salomon Kalou hit a corner to the near post and Drogba simply ran away from Lescott and Lee Carsley to head the ball past Howard from a tight angle.
"I always thought we were in it," Moyes said. "We were gritty and hung on." He took off Yakubu and Phil Neville off at half-time but it was Cahill who did the trick in the end.
The substitute James McFadden drilled in a shot which cannoned off Juliano Belletti and Cahill inside the area before the Everton man, with his back to goal, executed a textbook overhead kick to beat Carlo Cudicini from close range. By then the centre of Chelsea's defence was being marshalled by Alex da Costa and Tal Ben Haim, which is no-one's idea of a safe back line.
Carvalho's departure half an hour into the match was a major blow for Grant – turned upside down while challenging Yakubu for a header, the Portuguese landed awkwardly and was barely able to walk thereafter. Later in the first half Howard pulled off a brilliant one-handed save from Frank Lampard's close-range shot although in Stamford Bridge no-one was requiring oxygen from the St John's Ambulance on account of too much excitement.
In fact the only out-of-the-seat moment in the first half came when Drogba conspired to miss a chance from five yards out. There was a great, barnstorming run from Wayne Bridge, a cut-back from Shaun Wright-Phillips and then, with the goal at his mercy, the Ivorian striker seemed to collapse involuntarily. Proof that even the great Drogba can let the excitement get to him at times.
Goals: Drogba (71) 1-0; Cahill (89) 1-1.
Chelsea: (4-1-4-1): Cudicini; Belletti, Alex, Carvalho (Ben Haim, 29), Bridge; Mikel; Wright-Phillips (Kalou, 64), Essien, Lampard, J Cole; Drogba. Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Shevchenko, Pizarro.
Everton (4-4-1-1): Howard; Hibbert, Yobo, Lescott, Valente; Cahill, Carsley (Carsley, 73), Neville (McFadden, h-t), Pienaar; Osman; Yakubu (Anichebe, h-t). Substitutes not used: Wessels (gk), Jagielka.
Referee: A Wiley (Staffordshire).
Booked: Chelsea Belletti, Essien, Mikel. Everton Neville.
Man of the match: Howard.
Attendance: 41,683.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chelsea cut to the quick by Cahill's overhead scissors
Kevin McCarra at Stamford BridgeMonday November 12, 2007The Guardian
They say it is unhealthy not to mourn the departed. After an unexpected delay this was put right as Chelsea fans felt the loss of Jose Mourinho keenly for the first time since he left the club in September. He was, after all, the master of converting a narrow lead into a victory. The Portuguese seemed to prefer that sort of win but it is now out of fashion at a club that showed zest yesterday, only to falter at the last.
Everton's 89th-minute equaliser was hit with acrobatic force by Tim Cahill and it would take a dreary soul to reproach Chelsea too much. Avram Grant's side produced bright football and were on the verge, as well, of a sixth consecutive clean sheet in the Premier League. The credit for Everton was due primarily for continuing to be dogged despite 48 hours less rest than the opposition following midweek matches in Germany for both clubs.David Moyes, their manager, is seeking to manage with a boldness appropriate to the improved quality of his squad. When it was goalless at the interval he took off his captain Phil Neville because the presence of a pair of defensive midfielders looked excessive. "We made a brave decision," Moyes said in excusable self-congratulation. "I always thought we were in it."
The Scot, none the less, could not claim to have transformed the match. Only with a minute to go did Everton cause consternation. James McFadden, Neville's replacement, came in from the right to aim a shot that bounced off Juliano Belletti. Cahill ensured that the full-back could not complete the clearance, putting his body in the way before hitting the net with a strong overhead kick. It was the Australian's first Premier League goal of the season. The finish flew past Carlo Cudicini, the deputy for the injured Petr Cech. A rueful Grant mused that the Chelsea defence in place at the close of this fixture was entirely different from the one present at the start of last month. Ricardo Carvalho went off with a back injury here and will have a scan today.
Even so John Terry and Cech were not badly missed. The luxurious options were such that the splendid Wayne Bridge was picked in preference to Ashley Cole. The latter lacks only match fitness and will join up with the England squad this week. Irrespective of the personnel, Chelsea played with enough conviction to make it appear that the composition of the defence was immaterial.
Grant has introduced verve and the principal concern lies in the fact that Didier Drogba is the sole forward who can be trusted to score. With this match tied at 0-0, it was a withering rebuke to the experienced attackers Andriy Shevchenko and Claudio Pizarro that they were kept on the bench.
The African Nations Cup will do its main harm to Chelsea in January by plundering Stamford Bridge for Drogba. The Ivorian, judging by comments to interviewers, envisages a permanent separation but Grant brushes that aside. "I see Drogba play with a lot of passion," the manager remarked. "He hasn't said anything to me about leaving."
Chelsea do have a terrible need for high quality reinforcements in the forward line, lending credence to claims that a bid will be made for someone like Bolton's Nicolas Anelka in January. There is a burden on Drogba, even if those broad shoulders do not look as if they feel the weight.
Steven Pienaar might have scored from a Leon Osman header after quarter of an hour but the match was largely about Chelsea's hankering for a goal. With 30 minutes gone, the outstanding Tim Howard made a particularly good save when he needed to change direction to deal with Frank Lampard's effort following a Belletti cross. The goalkeeper, by then, had denied Shaun Wright-Phillips as well.
In the 45th minute Howard was powerless. The lively Bridge intercepted an attempted pass, burst past Joseph Yobo and found Wright-Phillips. While the winger's cross did bobble it was still remarkable that Drogba could not make some sort of connection in front of an open goal.
Everton were often beleaguered and Tony Hibbert needed to knock an Alex attempt off the line after Howard had punched out a Lampard corner in the 64th minute. Joleon Lescott generally looked calm and authoritative in the midst of the havoc, making his claim, before the watching Steve McClaren, for filling the vacancy in the England defence this week.
"He dealt with one of the best forwards in Europe," said an admiring Moyes. Well, not entirely. Drogba did break through in the 71st minute, slipping away from Lescott and not being picked up at the near post by Lee Carsley before he had headed the substitute Salamon Kalou's corner into the net.
Chelsea celebrated, never dreaming Everton's perseverance would meet with so unlikely a reward.
Man of the match Tim Howard
The American goalkeeper was outstanding when Chelsea's pressure was at its greatest and he ensured that the game was not killed off in the first half. He also denied Shaun Wright-Phillips after the interval and punched away a Frank Lampard corner.
Best moment His change of direction to put behind Lampard's attempt during the first half.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Chelsea fall flat, exactly like their bossChelsea 1-1 Everton
By MATT LAWTON
Avram Grant might think the football is more exciting these days but the post-match entertainment has definitely disappeared at Stamford Bridge.
Imagine how previous Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho would have responded had he seen Everton equalise in the final minute with their first effort on target.
He would have condemned the opposition for playing the first 45 minutes with five in midfield. Criticised them for defending too deep. Accused them, even, of "parking the bus".
It might not have been fair but the 'Special One' has never been big on rational thought when he plays the victim. Just ask a certain 12-year-old schoolboy in Portugal.
Grant reacts rather more passively, however.
"It was disappointing to drop two points," he said. "Especially after the number of chances we created. Except for the result, though, I'm happy."
He thought the football was every bit as sexy as he has promised since taking charge, which prompted the obvious question.
Was he watching the game or does he simply shut his eyes for 90 minutes and hope for the best?
His programme notes pointed to the latter, given that he described that recent Carling Cup encounter with Leicester as a game that "must have been amazing to watch".
Chelsea should have won this relatively one- sided contest and their failure to do so had as much to do with a lack of urgency as a brilliant defensive display from the visitors.
An Everton display that was memorable for one save in particular from Tim Howard and a performance from Joleon Lescott that would have encouraged a watching Steve McClaren.
Centre-halves are proving hard to find for England's coach and the way Lescott coped with Didier Drogba yesterday was timely.
It was a shortage of defenders that ultimately cost Chelsea on this occasion.
As Mourinho discovered last season, trying to protect your goal in the absence of goalkeeper Petr Cech and captain John Terry can be difficult.
For Grant yesterday, the situation was actually even more distressing. Left back Ashley Cole was also missing - although only because he has just returned from injury - and when Ricardo Carvalho then collided with Aiyegbeni Yakubu and suffered what looks like a nasty back injury, Chelsea started to look vulnerable.
So vulnerable, in fact, that David Moyes took off his holding midfielder, Phil Neville, and switched to 4-4-2. 'It was a brave decision,' said the Everton boss.
It looked a little too brave when Drogba scored in the 70th minute, accelerating away from Lee Carsley to meet a Salomon Kalou corner with a terrific header at the near post.
But Moyes had sent on James McFadden as part of his tactical reshuffle and it paid off.
It was Scotland forward McFadden, after all, who drove the ball into the Chelsea penalty area and Tim Cahill who then held off Juliano Belletti before flicking the ball into the air and beating Carlo Cudicini with a spectacular bicycle kick.
"Fantastic goal," said Moyes, which it was.
Moyes and Cahill were less impressed with Michael Essien's reckless challenge on Leon Osman in the 67th minute.
"It wasn't the best," said Moyes, while Cahill noted that 'Ossie' was at least "still walking".
Cahill added: "He's known for a few dodgy tackles. I heard the crunch, so if he has gone in a bit high he will know it and he will apologise later."
It was actually one of Essien's less serious offences and deserved no more than the booking he received but it gave some indication of Chelsea's frustration against a determined opposition.
After Everton squandered the first decent chance of the game - when Steven Pienaar somehow failed to connect with a header from Osman that bounced invitingly across Chelsea's six-yard box - what chances there were fell to Chelsea.
Shaun Wright-Phillips had a shot blocked close to the line and when Belletti then crossed to the feet of Frank Lampard it required a magnificent one-handed save from Howard to deny the England midfielder.
Drogba was then guilty of committing an error not that dissimilar to Pienaar's. Wayne Bridge made a terrific run down the left, Wright-Phillips then drove the ball into the box and Drogba, like Everton's South African, failed to connect.
Everton then survived a vicious strike from Alex that was blocked by Tony Hibbert, but in the end could not stop the brilliant Drogba.
If Grant thought a fifth consecutive Premier League win was about to follow, Cahill had other ideas.
"It is difficult when you are missing four of your best defenders," said Grant, as a first League goal against Chelsea since September 23 then proved.
Mourinho would have been livid. If only Grant had been too. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, November 12, 2007
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
morning papers shalke away
The TimesNovember 7, 2007
Post, bar and Carlo Cudicini come to the aid of underfire ChelseaSchalke 0 Chelsea 0
Matt Hughes in Gelsenkirchen
As a self-styled aesthete, Avram Grant wants to make Chelsea the most attractive team in the world while continuing to win trophies, although he can be grateful that his players have not cast off the resilience instilled by his more pragmatic predecessor. The visiting team needed all their fortitude and considerable fortune last night to escape with a goalless draw that keeps them top of group B, needing only one win from their final two matches to reach the knockout phase.
How they retreated from the Rhineland intact is a mystery, however, as Schalke 04 hit the bar and a post, had two shots cleared off the line and were denied by good saves from two goalkeepers after Carlo Cudicini replaced Petr Cech, who hobbled off at half-time with a calf injury that will be examined today. For the first time in Grant’s 11-match reign as first-team coach, Chelsea were overrun, surprisingly so, given that their opponents had only five fit men on the bench because of injuries that have left them without a win in five matches.
Grant refused to condemn his players, however, saying: “It was not our best performance, but it was not a bad game for us. Everything is in our hands and I’m very happy with that.”
With Chelsea having dropped points in their first match against Rosenborg at Stamford Bridge, which proved to be José Mourinho’s last in charge, their position remains favourable, although they will have to improve considerably if they harbour hopes of winning the competition. Grant has stuck to the substance of Mourinho’s system while seeking to add more style, although both were absent last night in their worst performance of the season.
The impressive Ivan Rakitic was allowed to dominate midfield as Claude Makelele’s ageing legs appeared to be catching up with him, while Gerald Asamoah and Mesut Ozil gave Wayne Bridge and Juliano Belletti a torrid time on the flanks, though in mitigation Florent Malouda and Joe Cole offered precious little protection. Even Frank Lampard was anonymous on another difficult trip to the AufSchalke Arena, with Didier Drogba and Ricardo Carvalho the only outfield players to perform anywhere near their potential.
Chelsea began with the confidence that one would expect from a side who have won seven successive matches but, in between Manuel Neuer’s saves from Drogba in the sixth and 42nd minutes, found themselves on the back foot. Belletti attacks like a true Brazilian, as he demonstrated with his wonderful goal against Wigan Athletic, but unfortunately he defends like one, too. The former Barcelona full back’s desire to get forward left space at the back that enabled Schalke to take control, with Cech making good saves from Ozil and Heiko Westermann in the space of a minute.
Such warning signs were not heeded as Schalke were allowed to pour forward with impunity. Westermann again got the better of Belletti and Cole to bring another brilliant save from Cech, Marcelo Bordon heading wide from the resultant corner, but it was a rare error from the goalkeeper that presented the home side with their best chance.
Cech’s failure to claim Rakitic’s right-wing corner led to a goalmouth scramble in which he picked up the calf injury, the danger finally being averted when Belletti cleared Westermann’s shot off the line.
Chelsea’s problems increased when Cech was deemed unfit to continue after the interval, leaving Cudicini to keep a labouring team level. Rakitic caused most of the problems, playing a wonderful through-pass to Ozil only to watch the Germany Under21 midfield player shoot straight at the goalkeeper, before being denied by Cudicini himself with a good save at his near post.
With his side under siege, Grant responded with a positive substitution reminiscent of Mourinho, bringing on John Obi Mikel and moving Michael Essien to right back, and the latter made a crucial contribution when he headed Soren Larsen’s shot off the line after Rafinho had hit the bar. Peter Løvenkrands, a substitute, finally beat Cudicini but saw his shot rebound off the inside of a post late on, summing up Schalke’s misfortune.
Chelsea can make amends by beating Rosenborg in three weeks’ time, though given the freezing temperatures expected in Trondheim, Grant’s beautiful game may have to wait.
Group B
Schalke 04 (4-2-3-1): M Neuer – Rafinha, M Bordon, M Krstajic, H Westermann – J Jones, Z Bajramovic – G Asamoah, I Rakitic, M Ozil (sub: P Løvenkrands, 60min) – S Larsen. Substitutes not used: M Schober, C Grossmüller, B Howedes, M Azaouagh. Booked: Rakitic.
Chelsea (4-3-3): P Cech (sub: C Cudicini, 46) – J Belletti (sub: J O Mikel, 64), R Carvalho, Alex, W Bridge – M Essien, C Makelele, F Lampard – J Cole, D Drogba, F Malouda (sub: S Wright-Phillips, 79). Substitutes not used: A Shevchenko, C Pizarro, S Kalou, T Ben Haim.
Referee: M Busacca (Switzerland). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Chelsea lucky to escape with a pointBy John Ley in Gelsenkirchen
Schalke (0) 0 Chelsea (0) 0
An uncharacteristically disjointed performance under the roof of the Arena AufSchalke cost Chelsea the chance to confirm qualification for the knockout stages last night. With Rosenborg winning in Valencia, a Chelsea victory would have guaranteed their passage. Instead they left grateful for the point that keeps them at the head of Group B following a woeful performance.
Unlucky Schalke struck the woodwork and saw two chances cleared off the line as they dominated for most of the game. Yet Chelsea should still qualify; they need one win from their final two games - away to Rosenborg followed by the visit of Valencia - to progress for the fifth season in succession. The draw, though, brought to an end a sequence of seven straight victories under the careful stewardship of Avram Grant.
Worryingly for Chelsea, goalkeeper Petr Cech failed to emerge for the second half after injuring a calf in an early collision. With John Terry and Ashley Cole still sidelined, Chelsea will eagerly await results of a scan today.
Perhaps this poor display will act as a wake-up call for the new Chelsea. After such an inspirational run under Grant, this was his worst performance, yet still Chelsea took a valuable point. As Jose Mourinho would often point out, the key to long-term success is to ride occasional blips, so Sunday's visit of Everton provides a telling test
Of more concern will be the lacklustre performances of Joe Cole, recalled after a two-game rest, and Frank Lampard. Add an uncharacteristically poor display from the recalled Claude Makelele, and there is cause for concern, even if Grant preferred to look at the positives.
Schalke have suffered in recent weeks but the atmosphere belied their poor run; a sea of blue greeted the players, the stadium rocking to Status Quo.
If Roman Abramovich had his way, Chelsea would be rocking all over the world, but for now they will settle for an extended run in Europe in search of their holy grail and they remain on course, even if they must show a huge improvement in the cold of Trondheim in a fortnight. The early signs, though, were encouraging; just as in London when goalkeeper Manuel Neuer erred for Florent Malouda's early goal, so Mladen Krstajic slipped to offer Chelsea their first chance.
The defender gave the ball away, Michael Essien took advantage and threaded it to Cole, whose pass presented Didier Drogba with the kind of one-on-one chance he relishes. This time Neuer reacted well, deflecting the ball wide off his legs. From the corner, Juliano Belletti headed narrowly over.
When the Germans threatened in the opening exchanges, Chelsea's confidence shone through their goalkeeper. Mesut Ozil forced space, in the 19th minute, but Cech was down quickly to hold the low shot with ease. Another speculative attempt, from Heiko Westermann, forced Cech to parry clear for a corner and then Soren Larsen headed into the side netting.
But Schalke continued to improve and Cech was needed again, pushing aside another attempt by Westermann.
The pressure continued and a rare slip by Ricardo Carvalho almost let in Larson but the Portuguese defender responded with a telling second challenge. And, in the 28th minute, Chelsea almost conceded when Cech, who appeared to be impeded, dropped the ball to Westermann, whose goal-bound shot was hooked off the line by Belletti.
Cole had been quiet but, in the 42nd minute, he made a terrific run before freeing Drogba, but again the Ivorian was thwarted by Neuer when he should have scored. Lampard added a chance of his own, shooting wide just before the whistle sounded.
Carlo Cudicini came on for only his third appearance of the season and he was soon tested. In the 51st minute a tremendous pass from Ivan Rakitic found Ozil, who beat Makelele easily but then shot straight at the goalkeeper. And, in the 58th, Rakitic drove in a low, hard shot which Cudicini did well to push around his right-hand post.
In the 73rd minute Chelsea survived again when Marcio Rafinha rattled the bar from the right flank and, from the rebound, Larsen shot towards goal only for Essien to clear off the line.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Schalke 04 0 Chelsea 0: Cech injured as Chelsea hang on for grim draw
By Jason Burt at the Arena AufSchalke
Just as Avram could be forgiven for taking management for Grant-ed; a stern footballing lesson. This was substandard in every aspect from Chelsea – apart from the result. As the temperature plummeted, a minus performance.
And when Peter Lovenkrands raced past Michael Essien, a make-shift right-back to replace the woeful Juliano Belletti, in the 88th minute, hearts were in mouths. The Dane's shot was fierce and beat Carlo Cudicini but cannoned back off the far post. If he had scored, then who knows? Chelsea's qualification for the knockout stages would have been far more in the balance.
An eighth successive win for Chelsea would have secured their passage. But it was an evening to forgot – especially for the Brazilian defenders Alex and Belletti, while Wayne Bridge walked away accused of elbowing an opponent in frustration. Chelsea may also have to contend with the loss of Petr Cech. The goalkeeper damaged his calf in a first-half scramble and had to be replaced by Cudicini.
"He couldn't continue. How bad is the injury? We'll have to see," Grant said.
The damage could have been far worse had Schalke taken their chances. It certainly makes Chelsea's next encounter, away to Rosenborg, who were victorious in Valencia, a little tastier.
"We wanted to win but it was not easy," Grant said. "A draw for them wasn't good enough so it wasn't a bad result, although it wasn't our best game. After so many good games in a short time we can play a game that is not at the high level. We are still in first place. We started the tournament not very well, but it's still in our hands."
As early as the sixth minute, Didier Drogba almost scored but his shot was pushed away by Manuel Neuer and from then on Chelsea struggled.
It was another Dane, the Schalke striker Soren Larsen, who caught the eye. Twice he cut inside Belletti only for Cech to push away his shots while, from one of a series of corners, Marcelo Bordon stole in front of Drogba but headed over. He should have scored.
The pressure rose. Cech flapped at another corner, the ball fell to Larsen, again, and he hooked it goalwards only for Florent Malouda to clear off the line while Ricardo Carvalho, charging back, dispossessed Mesut Ozil.
Chelsea were in desperate need of respite and almost secured it when Joe Cole squeezed a pass to Drogba. Through again, his shot cannoned off Neuer's chest. Cudicini, soon after his arrival, performed a similar save from Ozil and the second-half pattern took on an even more lop-sided feel. Schalke attacked, Chelsea retreated and, from one more corner, Cudicini was alert to prevent Ivan Rakitic's fierce inswinging shot from dipping inside the near post.
By now, the alarm bells were not so much ringing, as rapidly increasing in decibels. In defence Chelsea were ragged, as yet another cross was bounced along the six-yard area before Cudicini was deceived by Rafinha's lob. And then Lovenkrands almost won it at the death. But Chelsea escaped. "It wasn't a bad game for us," Grant said. However, it was certainly a bad performance.
Schalke (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Rafinha, Krstajic, Bordon, Westermann; Bajramaovic, Jones; Ozil (Lovenkrands, 60), Rakitic, Asamoah; Larsen. Substitutes not used: Schober (gk), Grossmüller, Howedes, Azaouagh.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech (Cudicini, 46); Belletti (Mikel, 64), Alex, Carvalho, Bridge; Essien, Makelele, Lampard; J Cole, Drogba, Malouda (Wright-Phillips, 78). Substitutes not used: Shevchenko, Pizarro, Kalou, Ben Haim.
Referee: M Busacca (Italy).
Results: Chelsea 1 Rosenborg 1; Schalke 04 0 Valencia 1; Rosenborg 0 Schalke 04 2; Valencia 1 Chelsea 2; Chelsea 2 Schalke 04 0; Rosenborg 2 Valencia 0; Schalke 04 0 Chelsea 0; Valencia 0 Rosenborg 2.
Remaining fixtures: 28 November: Rosenborg v Chelsea; Valencia v Schalke 04. 11 December: Chelsea v Valencia; Schalke 04 v Rosenborg.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Stumbling Chelsea do just enough as Cech limps off
Dominic Fifield at the Arena AufSchalke
The Guardian
Chelsea have thrilled in recent weeks, but the scintillating has now been pursued by the unsettling. A seven-game winning streak lurched to an end last night in shivering stalemate in the Rhineland, with the visitors fortunate to emerge even with a point, so horribly stretched were they at times by an average Schalke side.The draw has edged them to the verge of qualification, which will be confirmed with a win in either of their remaining group games, and Avram Grant will cling to that encouraging reality because so little of what he witnessed here can have offered satisfaction. The manager was in denial in the aftermath, insisting he was not disappointed with his team's defending and still hopeful that a calf injury sustained by Petr Cech would not prove too serious. Yet, on nights such as this, John Terry's absence is felt keenly across the Chelsea back line.
The clean sheet was deceptive, and Cech's possible absence is unnerving. Ricardo Carvalho tried manfully to marshal those around him but the visitors spluttered throughout. Schalke's profligacy has most likely cost them a place in the knockout phase, given Rosenborg's victory in Valencia. The hosts struck the woodwork twice through Rafinha and the substitute Peter Lovenkrands, and must still be cursing the thigh injury sustained during last week's defeat to the Bundesliga's bottom club, Energie Cottbus, by their Germany striker Kevin Kuranyi.Even so it was disturbing to witness Chelsea's uncharacteristic vulnerability. What chances they created were plucked on the break, Didier Drogba twice liberated by Joe Cole only to be denied by the home side's young goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer. At the back, they creaked alarmingly throughout.
It took time for the home side to pluck up the courage to venture forward, the Germans apparently braced for a battering which never matierialised, but they found rhythm as the game progressed. Chelsea were nothing other than sloppy, with the Brazilian Alex hardly inspiring confidence and Carvalho desperately attempting to hold the rearguard together. Yet nowhere were their frailties more exposed than at right-back.
Juliano Belletti may offer real punch when he joins the attack but he cut an increasingly desperate figure as a defender. His substitution just after the hour mark was merciful. The £4m signing from Barcelona was a mess of misplaced passes, half-hearted challenges and hands-on-hips huffing at his team-mates.
He presented Mesut Ozil and Heiko Westermann with time and space to spit two shots at goal within one first-half minute. When Westermann was again allowed to progress unchallenged down the channel nominally guarded by the Brazilian, Cech had to tip a swirling shot behind. That Belletti recovered some of his composure to scramble Westermann's shot from the goalline after Cech had seen the ball slip from his grasp, in the challenge when he sustained his injury, could not mask the full-back's clear deficiencies.
Cech departed on crutches and will undergo a scan at Cobham today to ascertain the extent of his injury. "I don't know how serious it is," said Grant. "All I know is that, when I asked the doctor at half-time whether or not he could continue, he said he couldn't."
Carlo Cudicini saw Rafinha loft a cross-shot on to the bar, the emergency right-back Michael Essien nodding the rebound from the line, and Lovenkrands dragged a shot on to the far post when he should have converted. Quite how Marcelo Bordon and Gerald Asamoah missed from in front of goal remains a mystery.
Grant conceded that this was "not our best game". It was undoubtedly the worst of his 11-match reign. "But, after so many games at such a high level, we can have one that is not so good," he added. "Everything is still in our own hands."---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Schalke shaker as Chelsea hang on in Jose's shadow but lose CechSCHALKE 0 CHELSEA 0
By NEIL ASHTON in Gelsenkirchen
Avram Grant arrived at the Auf-Shalke Arena with seven successive victories, featuring 19 goals, and players beginning to talk of winning the Champions League. But the shadow of Jose Mourinho remains.
A little over three years ago, in this stadium, Mourinho outwitted Monaco and secured the European Cup for Porto with a handsome 3-0 victory.
Well, Chelsea could have played until next week and they would still not have scored here.
Rolling over the chocolate soldiers of Leicester, Manchester City, Middlesbrough and Bolton is the minimum requirement for any Chelsea manager.
Having the tactical nous to outwit the best teams in European is another.
Chelsea are only ever one game away from a crisis and this was as close as it has come under their Israeli manager.
Grant, and his team, had no answers to Schalke's enterprising display. Neither did Henk Ten Cate, the fabled Dutch coach brought into lead them to European Cup glory and beyond.
Schalke were superb, Chelsea were shocking. Yes, it really was that bad.
Struggling to make an impact in the Bundesliga after losing their last four games, they surrendered early territorial advantage but they refused to surrender the tie.
Mirko Slomka's side had been reduced by injury — he could only name five substitutes — but they wanted to hit Chelsea where it hurts — on the break and at breakneck speed.
Alex, so impressive at the heart of Chelsea's defence in recent weeks, gave away two clumsy fouls on the edge of the box in the opening 10 minutes but Schalke could not find a way past Petr Cech from two free-kicks outside the box.
Grant's side, on the verge of progressing to the last 16, were nervous. Despite stringing five across their midfield, Chelsea threatened to push the panic button.
Joe Cole, restored to the right in place of Shaun Wright- Phillips, looked like a lost soul at times and Florent Malouda was missing the magic touch.
Jermaine Jones provided the ring of steel in front of Schalke's defence and he attached himself to Lampard like glue. Wherever the Chelsea skipper went, so did Jones.
It has taken six years, but maybe someone has finally worked out how to play the midfielder. Some gameplan, but Schalke should have sneaked ahead.
They were magnificent on the break, flooding past Chelsea's fluorescent shirts and threatening the usually reliable Cech.
Didier Drogba had been denied the opening goal when Manuel Neuer pushed the Chelsea's striker's effort around the post but then Schalke, beaten 2-0 at Stamford Bridge last month, settled into their stride.
Cech saw Heiko Westermann's effort late and did well to turn the left-back's effort around the post, but the onslaught had only just begun.
Soren Larsen, preferred up front to former Rangers striker Peter Lovenkrands, hit the side netting midway through the first half and Westermann had another effort beaten out by Cech.
It was stirring stuff from a team struggling to kick start their season in the Bundesliga and Chelsea had clearly underestimated them.
Chelsea could barely muster a shot. Drogba shot wildly over the crossbar — more in frustration than with any realistic prospect of find a way past Neuer — but it summed up Chelsea's performance.
They were rattled, no doubt about it. Juliano Belletti, who scored at Wigan last weekend with a magnificent effort with the outside of his right boot, struggled to contain the runs of Mesut Ozil.
Cole, on the right and with licence to raid down the wing whenever Chelsea were in possession, took time to settle. When he did, he was electric.
He slipped the ball into the path of Belletti to cross in the closing stages of the first half, but the Chelsea full back failed to find his target.
Chelsea had finally found the chinks in Schalke's armoury, but they could not beat Neuer. Drogba's effort was straight at the keeper's chest and Lampard, who had scored four times in his previous two games, sent a left foot effort wide of the target.
Chelsea emerged after the break with Cudicini in goal. Chelsea officials claimed Cech may have injured his calf muscle in the first half.
Cudicini is an adequate replacement but Schalke were quick to test the substitute keeper. Whenever they had the ball, they attacked with pace down both wings and threatened to break Chelsea's resistance.
Belletti, who scored the winning goal for Barcelona in the final two years ago, never quite got to grips with Ozil. The Schalke winger must wish he played against Belletti every week and he turned his man time and again. Chelsea were in bits, struggling to find their rhythm and struggling to find a way to stop Schalke's rampaging runs.
Claude Makelele, once the warrior in the Chelsea team, gave the ball away too easily in midfield and the bulldozer Michael Essien was too sluggish to stop Schalke pouring forward.
In the end, they were queueing up to test Cudicini. Rakitic's effort was turned around the post and Rafinha's lob came back off the crossbar.
Post, bar and Carlo Cudicini come to the aid of underfire ChelseaSchalke 0 Chelsea 0
Matt Hughes in Gelsenkirchen
As a self-styled aesthete, Avram Grant wants to make Chelsea the most attractive team in the world while continuing to win trophies, although he can be grateful that his players have not cast off the resilience instilled by his more pragmatic predecessor. The visiting team needed all their fortitude and considerable fortune last night to escape with a goalless draw that keeps them top of group B, needing only one win from their final two matches to reach the knockout phase.
How they retreated from the Rhineland intact is a mystery, however, as Schalke 04 hit the bar and a post, had two shots cleared off the line and were denied by good saves from two goalkeepers after Carlo Cudicini replaced Petr Cech, who hobbled off at half-time with a calf injury that will be examined today. For the first time in Grant’s 11-match reign as first-team coach, Chelsea were overrun, surprisingly so, given that their opponents had only five fit men on the bench because of injuries that have left them without a win in five matches.
Grant refused to condemn his players, however, saying: “It was not our best performance, but it was not a bad game for us. Everything is in our hands and I’m very happy with that.”
With Chelsea having dropped points in their first match against Rosenborg at Stamford Bridge, which proved to be José Mourinho’s last in charge, their position remains favourable, although they will have to improve considerably if they harbour hopes of winning the competition. Grant has stuck to the substance of Mourinho’s system while seeking to add more style, although both were absent last night in their worst performance of the season.
The impressive Ivan Rakitic was allowed to dominate midfield as Claude Makelele’s ageing legs appeared to be catching up with him, while Gerald Asamoah and Mesut Ozil gave Wayne Bridge and Juliano Belletti a torrid time on the flanks, though in mitigation Florent Malouda and Joe Cole offered precious little protection. Even Frank Lampard was anonymous on another difficult trip to the AufSchalke Arena, with Didier Drogba and Ricardo Carvalho the only outfield players to perform anywhere near their potential.
Chelsea began with the confidence that one would expect from a side who have won seven successive matches but, in between Manuel Neuer’s saves from Drogba in the sixth and 42nd minutes, found themselves on the back foot. Belletti attacks like a true Brazilian, as he demonstrated with his wonderful goal against Wigan Athletic, but unfortunately he defends like one, too. The former Barcelona full back’s desire to get forward left space at the back that enabled Schalke to take control, with Cech making good saves from Ozil and Heiko Westermann in the space of a minute.
Such warning signs were not heeded as Schalke were allowed to pour forward with impunity. Westermann again got the better of Belletti and Cole to bring another brilliant save from Cech, Marcelo Bordon heading wide from the resultant corner, but it was a rare error from the goalkeeper that presented the home side with their best chance.
Cech’s failure to claim Rakitic’s right-wing corner led to a goalmouth scramble in which he picked up the calf injury, the danger finally being averted when Belletti cleared Westermann’s shot off the line.
Chelsea’s problems increased when Cech was deemed unfit to continue after the interval, leaving Cudicini to keep a labouring team level. Rakitic caused most of the problems, playing a wonderful through-pass to Ozil only to watch the Germany Under21 midfield player shoot straight at the goalkeeper, before being denied by Cudicini himself with a good save at his near post.
With his side under siege, Grant responded with a positive substitution reminiscent of Mourinho, bringing on John Obi Mikel and moving Michael Essien to right back, and the latter made a crucial contribution when he headed Soren Larsen’s shot off the line after Rafinho had hit the bar. Peter Løvenkrands, a substitute, finally beat Cudicini but saw his shot rebound off the inside of a post late on, summing up Schalke’s misfortune.
Chelsea can make amends by beating Rosenborg in three weeks’ time, though given the freezing temperatures expected in Trondheim, Grant’s beautiful game may have to wait.
Group B
Schalke 04 (4-2-3-1): M Neuer – Rafinha, M Bordon, M Krstajic, H Westermann – J Jones, Z Bajramovic – G Asamoah, I Rakitic, M Ozil (sub: P Løvenkrands, 60min) – S Larsen. Substitutes not used: M Schober, C Grossmüller, B Howedes, M Azaouagh. Booked: Rakitic.
Chelsea (4-3-3): P Cech (sub: C Cudicini, 46) – J Belletti (sub: J O Mikel, 64), R Carvalho, Alex, W Bridge – M Essien, C Makelele, F Lampard – J Cole, D Drogba, F Malouda (sub: S Wright-Phillips, 79). Substitutes not used: A Shevchenko, C Pizarro, S Kalou, T Ben Haim.
Referee: M Busacca (Switzerland). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Chelsea lucky to escape with a pointBy John Ley in Gelsenkirchen
Schalke (0) 0 Chelsea (0) 0
An uncharacteristically disjointed performance under the roof of the Arena AufSchalke cost Chelsea the chance to confirm qualification for the knockout stages last night. With Rosenborg winning in Valencia, a Chelsea victory would have guaranteed their passage. Instead they left grateful for the point that keeps them at the head of Group B following a woeful performance.
Unlucky Schalke struck the woodwork and saw two chances cleared off the line as they dominated for most of the game. Yet Chelsea should still qualify; they need one win from their final two games - away to Rosenborg followed by the visit of Valencia - to progress for the fifth season in succession. The draw, though, brought to an end a sequence of seven straight victories under the careful stewardship of Avram Grant.
Worryingly for Chelsea, goalkeeper Petr Cech failed to emerge for the second half after injuring a calf in an early collision. With John Terry and Ashley Cole still sidelined, Chelsea will eagerly await results of a scan today.
Perhaps this poor display will act as a wake-up call for the new Chelsea. After such an inspirational run under Grant, this was his worst performance, yet still Chelsea took a valuable point. As Jose Mourinho would often point out, the key to long-term success is to ride occasional blips, so Sunday's visit of Everton provides a telling test
Of more concern will be the lacklustre performances of Joe Cole, recalled after a two-game rest, and Frank Lampard. Add an uncharacteristically poor display from the recalled Claude Makelele, and there is cause for concern, even if Grant preferred to look at the positives.
Schalke have suffered in recent weeks but the atmosphere belied their poor run; a sea of blue greeted the players, the stadium rocking to Status Quo.
If Roman Abramovich had his way, Chelsea would be rocking all over the world, but for now they will settle for an extended run in Europe in search of their holy grail and they remain on course, even if they must show a huge improvement in the cold of Trondheim in a fortnight. The early signs, though, were encouraging; just as in London when goalkeeper Manuel Neuer erred for Florent Malouda's early goal, so Mladen Krstajic slipped to offer Chelsea their first chance.
The defender gave the ball away, Michael Essien took advantage and threaded it to Cole, whose pass presented Didier Drogba with the kind of one-on-one chance he relishes. This time Neuer reacted well, deflecting the ball wide off his legs. From the corner, Juliano Belletti headed narrowly over.
When the Germans threatened in the opening exchanges, Chelsea's confidence shone through their goalkeeper. Mesut Ozil forced space, in the 19th minute, but Cech was down quickly to hold the low shot with ease. Another speculative attempt, from Heiko Westermann, forced Cech to parry clear for a corner and then Soren Larsen headed into the side netting.
But Schalke continued to improve and Cech was needed again, pushing aside another attempt by Westermann.
The pressure continued and a rare slip by Ricardo Carvalho almost let in Larson but the Portuguese defender responded with a telling second challenge. And, in the 28th minute, Chelsea almost conceded when Cech, who appeared to be impeded, dropped the ball to Westermann, whose goal-bound shot was hooked off the line by Belletti.
Cole had been quiet but, in the 42nd minute, he made a terrific run before freeing Drogba, but again the Ivorian was thwarted by Neuer when he should have scored. Lampard added a chance of his own, shooting wide just before the whistle sounded.
Carlo Cudicini came on for only his third appearance of the season and he was soon tested. In the 51st minute a tremendous pass from Ivan Rakitic found Ozil, who beat Makelele easily but then shot straight at the goalkeeper. And, in the 58th, Rakitic drove in a low, hard shot which Cudicini did well to push around his right-hand post.
In the 73rd minute Chelsea survived again when Marcio Rafinha rattled the bar from the right flank and, from the rebound, Larsen shot towards goal only for Essien to clear off the line.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Schalke 04 0 Chelsea 0: Cech injured as Chelsea hang on for grim draw
By Jason Burt at the Arena AufSchalke
Just as Avram could be forgiven for taking management for Grant-ed; a stern footballing lesson. This was substandard in every aspect from Chelsea – apart from the result. As the temperature plummeted, a minus performance.
And when Peter Lovenkrands raced past Michael Essien, a make-shift right-back to replace the woeful Juliano Belletti, in the 88th minute, hearts were in mouths. The Dane's shot was fierce and beat Carlo Cudicini but cannoned back off the far post. If he had scored, then who knows? Chelsea's qualification for the knockout stages would have been far more in the balance.
An eighth successive win for Chelsea would have secured their passage. But it was an evening to forgot – especially for the Brazilian defenders Alex and Belletti, while Wayne Bridge walked away accused of elbowing an opponent in frustration. Chelsea may also have to contend with the loss of Petr Cech. The goalkeeper damaged his calf in a first-half scramble and had to be replaced by Cudicini.
"He couldn't continue. How bad is the injury? We'll have to see," Grant said.
The damage could have been far worse had Schalke taken their chances. It certainly makes Chelsea's next encounter, away to Rosenborg, who were victorious in Valencia, a little tastier.
"We wanted to win but it was not easy," Grant said. "A draw for them wasn't good enough so it wasn't a bad result, although it wasn't our best game. After so many good games in a short time we can play a game that is not at the high level. We are still in first place. We started the tournament not very well, but it's still in our hands."
As early as the sixth minute, Didier Drogba almost scored but his shot was pushed away by Manuel Neuer and from then on Chelsea struggled.
It was another Dane, the Schalke striker Soren Larsen, who caught the eye. Twice he cut inside Belletti only for Cech to push away his shots while, from one of a series of corners, Marcelo Bordon stole in front of Drogba but headed over. He should have scored.
The pressure rose. Cech flapped at another corner, the ball fell to Larsen, again, and he hooked it goalwards only for Florent Malouda to clear off the line while Ricardo Carvalho, charging back, dispossessed Mesut Ozil.
Chelsea were in desperate need of respite and almost secured it when Joe Cole squeezed a pass to Drogba. Through again, his shot cannoned off Neuer's chest. Cudicini, soon after his arrival, performed a similar save from Ozil and the second-half pattern took on an even more lop-sided feel. Schalke attacked, Chelsea retreated and, from one more corner, Cudicini was alert to prevent Ivan Rakitic's fierce inswinging shot from dipping inside the near post.
By now, the alarm bells were not so much ringing, as rapidly increasing in decibels. In defence Chelsea were ragged, as yet another cross was bounced along the six-yard area before Cudicini was deceived by Rafinha's lob. And then Lovenkrands almost won it at the death. But Chelsea escaped. "It wasn't a bad game for us," Grant said. However, it was certainly a bad performance.
Schalke (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Rafinha, Krstajic, Bordon, Westermann; Bajramaovic, Jones; Ozil (Lovenkrands, 60), Rakitic, Asamoah; Larsen. Substitutes not used: Schober (gk), Grossmüller, Howedes, Azaouagh.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech (Cudicini, 46); Belletti (Mikel, 64), Alex, Carvalho, Bridge; Essien, Makelele, Lampard; J Cole, Drogba, Malouda (Wright-Phillips, 78). Substitutes not used: Shevchenko, Pizarro, Kalou, Ben Haim.
Referee: M Busacca (Italy).
Results: Chelsea 1 Rosenborg 1; Schalke 04 0 Valencia 1; Rosenborg 0 Schalke 04 2; Valencia 1 Chelsea 2; Chelsea 2 Schalke 04 0; Rosenborg 2 Valencia 0; Schalke 04 0 Chelsea 0; Valencia 0 Rosenborg 2.
Remaining fixtures: 28 November: Rosenborg v Chelsea; Valencia v Schalke 04. 11 December: Chelsea v Valencia; Schalke 04 v Rosenborg.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Stumbling Chelsea do just enough as Cech limps off
Dominic Fifield at the Arena AufSchalke
The Guardian
Chelsea have thrilled in recent weeks, but the scintillating has now been pursued by the unsettling. A seven-game winning streak lurched to an end last night in shivering stalemate in the Rhineland, with the visitors fortunate to emerge even with a point, so horribly stretched were they at times by an average Schalke side.The draw has edged them to the verge of qualification, which will be confirmed with a win in either of their remaining group games, and Avram Grant will cling to that encouraging reality because so little of what he witnessed here can have offered satisfaction. The manager was in denial in the aftermath, insisting he was not disappointed with his team's defending and still hopeful that a calf injury sustained by Petr Cech would not prove too serious. Yet, on nights such as this, John Terry's absence is felt keenly across the Chelsea back line.
The clean sheet was deceptive, and Cech's possible absence is unnerving. Ricardo Carvalho tried manfully to marshal those around him but the visitors spluttered throughout. Schalke's profligacy has most likely cost them a place in the knockout phase, given Rosenborg's victory in Valencia. The hosts struck the woodwork twice through Rafinha and the substitute Peter Lovenkrands, and must still be cursing the thigh injury sustained during last week's defeat to the Bundesliga's bottom club, Energie Cottbus, by their Germany striker Kevin Kuranyi.Even so it was disturbing to witness Chelsea's uncharacteristic vulnerability. What chances they created were plucked on the break, Didier Drogba twice liberated by Joe Cole only to be denied by the home side's young goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer. At the back, they creaked alarmingly throughout.
It took time for the home side to pluck up the courage to venture forward, the Germans apparently braced for a battering which never matierialised, but they found rhythm as the game progressed. Chelsea were nothing other than sloppy, with the Brazilian Alex hardly inspiring confidence and Carvalho desperately attempting to hold the rearguard together. Yet nowhere were their frailties more exposed than at right-back.
Juliano Belletti may offer real punch when he joins the attack but he cut an increasingly desperate figure as a defender. His substitution just after the hour mark was merciful. The £4m signing from Barcelona was a mess of misplaced passes, half-hearted challenges and hands-on-hips huffing at his team-mates.
He presented Mesut Ozil and Heiko Westermann with time and space to spit two shots at goal within one first-half minute. When Westermann was again allowed to progress unchallenged down the channel nominally guarded by the Brazilian, Cech had to tip a swirling shot behind. That Belletti recovered some of his composure to scramble Westermann's shot from the goalline after Cech had seen the ball slip from his grasp, in the challenge when he sustained his injury, could not mask the full-back's clear deficiencies.
Cech departed on crutches and will undergo a scan at Cobham today to ascertain the extent of his injury. "I don't know how serious it is," said Grant. "All I know is that, when I asked the doctor at half-time whether or not he could continue, he said he couldn't."
Carlo Cudicini saw Rafinha loft a cross-shot on to the bar, the emergency right-back Michael Essien nodding the rebound from the line, and Lovenkrands dragged a shot on to the far post when he should have converted. Quite how Marcelo Bordon and Gerald Asamoah missed from in front of goal remains a mystery.
Grant conceded that this was "not our best game". It was undoubtedly the worst of his 11-match reign. "But, after so many games at such a high level, we can have one that is not so good," he added. "Everything is still in our own hands."---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Schalke shaker as Chelsea hang on in Jose's shadow but lose CechSCHALKE 0 CHELSEA 0
By NEIL ASHTON in Gelsenkirchen
Avram Grant arrived at the Auf-Shalke Arena with seven successive victories, featuring 19 goals, and players beginning to talk of winning the Champions League. But the shadow of Jose Mourinho remains.
A little over three years ago, in this stadium, Mourinho outwitted Monaco and secured the European Cup for Porto with a handsome 3-0 victory.
Well, Chelsea could have played until next week and they would still not have scored here.
Rolling over the chocolate soldiers of Leicester, Manchester City, Middlesbrough and Bolton is the minimum requirement for any Chelsea manager.
Having the tactical nous to outwit the best teams in European is another.
Chelsea are only ever one game away from a crisis and this was as close as it has come under their Israeli manager.
Grant, and his team, had no answers to Schalke's enterprising display. Neither did Henk Ten Cate, the fabled Dutch coach brought into lead them to European Cup glory and beyond.
Schalke were superb, Chelsea were shocking. Yes, it really was that bad.
Struggling to make an impact in the Bundesliga after losing their last four games, they surrendered early territorial advantage but they refused to surrender the tie.
Mirko Slomka's side had been reduced by injury — he could only name five substitutes — but they wanted to hit Chelsea where it hurts — on the break and at breakneck speed.
Alex, so impressive at the heart of Chelsea's defence in recent weeks, gave away two clumsy fouls on the edge of the box in the opening 10 minutes but Schalke could not find a way past Petr Cech from two free-kicks outside the box.
Grant's side, on the verge of progressing to the last 16, were nervous. Despite stringing five across their midfield, Chelsea threatened to push the panic button.
Joe Cole, restored to the right in place of Shaun Wright- Phillips, looked like a lost soul at times and Florent Malouda was missing the magic touch.
Jermaine Jones provided the ring of steel in front of Schalke's defence and he attached himself to Lampard like glue. Wherever the Chelsea skipper went, so did Jones.
It has taken six years, but maybe someone has finally worked out how to play the midfielder. Some gameplan, but Schalke should have sneaked ahead.
They were magnificent on the break, flooding past Chelsea's fluorescent shirts and threatening the usually reliable Cech.
Didier Drogba had been denied the opening goal when Manuel Neuer pushed the Chelsea's striker's effort around the post but then Schalke, beaten 2-0 at Stamford Bridge last month, settled into their stride.
Cech saw Heiko Westermann's effort late and did well to turn the left-back's effort around the post, but the onslaught had only just begun.
Soren Larsen, preferred up front to former Rangers striker Peter Lovenkrands, hit the side netting midway through the first half and Westermann had another effort beaten out by Cech.
It was stirring stuff from a team struggling to kick start their season in the Bundesliga and Chelsea had clearly underestimated them.
Chelsea could barely muster a shot. Drogba shot wildly over the crossbar — more in frustration than with any realistic prospect of find a way past Neuer — but it summed up Chelsea's performance.
They were rattled, no doubt about it. Juliano Belletti, who scored at Wigan last weekend with a magnificent effort with the outside of his right boot, struggled to contain the runs of Mesut Ozil.
Cole, on the right and with licence to raid down the wing whenever Chelsea were in possession, took time to settle. When he did, he was electric.
He slipped the ball into the path of Belletti to cross in the closing stages of the first half, but the Chelsea full back failed to find his target.
Chelsea had finally found the chinks in Schalke's armoury, but they could not beat Neuer. Drogba's effort was straight at the keeper's chest and Lampard, who had scored four times in his previous two games, sent a left foot effort wide of the target.
Chelsea emerged after the break with Cudicini in goal. Chelsea officials claimed Cech may have injured his calf muscle in the first half.
Cudicini is an adequate replacement but Schalke were quick to test the substitute keeper. Whenever they had the ball, they attacked with pace down both wings and threatened to break Chelsea's resistance.
Belletti, who scored the winning goal for Barcelona in the final two years ago, never quite got to grips with Ozil. The Schalke winger must wish he played against Belletti every week and he turned his man time and again. Chelsea were in bits, struggling to find their rhythm and struggling to find a way to stop Schalke's rampaging runs.
Claude Makelele, once the warrior in the Chelsea team, gave the ball away too easily in midfield and the bulldozer Michael Essien was too sluggish to stop Schalke pouring forward.
In the end, they were queueing up to test Cudicini. Rakitic's effort was turned around the post and Rafinha's lob came back off the crossbar.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
sunday papers wigan away
Telegraph:
Business as usual for Chelsea at Wigan By Duncan White
Wigan (0) 0 Chelsea (2) 2
Chelsea find themselves increasingly alienated from the hype of the Premier League's gravitational centre and on a weekend when Arsenal and Manchester United were celebrating the resurrection of their ascendancy in locked combat, Avram Grant's side were exiled to the division's least glamorous outpost.
Yet while attention was focused on events at the Emirates Stadium, Chelsea went about their ruthless business in Lancashire, dispatching an inferior Wigan team without flinching, the game redundant as a contest after early goals from an in-form Frank Lampard and full-back Juliano Belletti. It was their seventh-straight win and took them third, just three points behind the joint leaders.
"Our eyes are only on our own team," said Grant. "We have won again and played well, especially in the first half. For us it is important what we are doing, not what others are doing." That inward focus is largely directed at controlling the garrulous Didier Drogba. Last month he was quoted in a French magazine expressing a desire to quit after Jose Mourinho left the club and yesterday details emerged of further controversial comments from the Ivorian.
A DVD charting Drogba's career has been released in France, in which he talks of his "disgust" on signing for Chelsea in 2004 and of how he had hoped he would fail the medical to spare him the transfer. While it transpires that these statements may be several years old, and that his feelings were largely about the wrench of leaving Marseille, it has further frustrated Grant, who naturally would prefer attention directed on to the success he is coaxing out of this squad.
Squad is the right word: Grant is not quite Rafael Benitez in the rotation stakes, but he is working a system that shuffles his attacking players. In came Florent Malouda and Shaun Wright-Phillips and out went Salomon Kalou and Joe Cole. The change reaped immediate dividend. Wright-Phillips was outstanding, giving evidence that he has not lost the form that has earned him a place in the England XI. Further good news for Steve McClaren – who doubtless needs it – was Wayne Bridge's first Premier League start since May. These changes were far from disruptive and Chelsea were swiftly into their rhythm.
It took just 11 minutes for them to pry Wigan apart. Wright-Phillips, who tortured Kevin Kilbane all afternoon, scooted past the Wigan left-back on the inside, picking up Drogba's lay-off and curling a pass across the penalty area and into the stride of Lampard. The England midfielder made simple work of the finish.
advertisementSeven minutes later Chelsea doubled the lead and Wigan were in danger of submitting completely, haunted by the six-goal collapse of Manchester City the previous weekend. Wright-Phillips kept what had looked a lost ball in play with an acrobatic back-heel midway in his own half and Belletti collected. The Brazilian right-back strode 50 yards into the Wigan half, skipped past Denny Landzaat and, with the Wigan defence backing off, hit a forceful shot from 25 yards that blurred past Chris Kirkland in the Wigan goal.
The second half was not the polarised affair of the first as Wigan rallied admirably and began to compete. Marcus Bent was barged, albeit fairly, by Ricardo Carvalho on the very edge of the box as he closed on goal early in the half, while in the game's closing stages Antione Sibierski, on as a substitute, brought out a decent save from Petr Cech.
Still, this was Wigan's sixth straight defeat, casting them into the relegation zone, and with trips to Tottenham and Arsenal to come this month, the future does not hold much optimism. Wigan supporters will have to cling to the hope that Emile Heskey, two weeks away from fitness after breaking a metatarsal, rejuvenates a side on the slide.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Sunday TimesNovember 4, 2007
Chelsea crush sad WiganWigan 0 Chelsea 2Richard Rae at JJB stadium
While the scoreline might suggest something of the efficiency of the Jose Mourinho era, this was a Chelsea performance very much in keeping with the more open – and from a neutral point of view, unquestionably more entertaining – style of football that Avram Grant is encouraging. True, they didn’t finish as well as they have in recent games, and perhaps they were guilty of easing off towards the end of a game that they controlled throughout, but with Shaun Wright-Phillips involved in most of their best work, there was a bounce and flair about them which has become pleasantly familiar in recent weeks.
To suggest there was an air of fatalism hanging over the ground before kick-off does little justice to the almost funereal murmur in the stadium concourses beforehand, other than that behind the away end, of course. Wigan stayed up last season largely by dint of beating the teams around them, for that they deserve full credit, but when your record against the Big Four reads played 18, lost 18, their supporters could hardly be blamed for turning up expecting the worst.
Wigan’s recent performances against Chelsea, which included two unfortunate defeats to last-minute goals, should have given them a modicum of hope, which would have been born out by an opening 10 minutes in which they took the game to their opponents, and might have had a reward when Juliano Belletti appeared to hold Marcus Bent as the centre-forward moved into position to meet a cross. Referee Steve Bennett waved away the penalty appeal.
A minute or so later, Chelsea went ahead with a goal of ominous simplicity. It was made by Wright-Phillips, or, more precisely, by his pace and acuity. Selected instead of Joe Cole on the right, the England forward picked up the ball, saw Kevin Kilbane and Denny Landzaat were going to sell themselves, slipped it between them, ran on and hit a low, curling pass into the path of Frank Lampard, whom Wigan had completely failed to pick up.
Running from deep isn’t something Lampard does very often, after all. He beat Chris Kirkland with ease for his seventh goal of the season, and fourth in the Premier League.
The reaction of the Wigan players – you could almost see the belief draining out of them – suggested that might already effectively be game over; seven minutes later there was no doubt about it. Belletti, in possession well inside his own half, side-footed a pass to Wright-Phillips that Kilbane thought was going out only for Wright-Phillips to acrobatically flick the ball back into the full-back’s path.
While the hapless Kilbane continued to appeal for a throw-in, Belletti was allowed to run across halfway and on towards the Wigan penalty area without challenge before, from around 22 yards, hitting a right-foot shot that swerved beyond Kirkland as the goalkeeper dived left.
If that was embarrassing for the home team, the remainder of the first half was torturous. Such was their superiority, Chelsea looked capable of scoring with every possession.
With Jon Obi Mikel breaking up Wigan’s laboured attacks before they troubled his back four, Michael Essien could indulge himself in a more forward role, and Wigan obliged him with plenty of space in which to play. Florent Malouda, Wright-Phillips (twice), Lampard and Didier Drogba, who curled a free-kick inches wide with Kirkland a helpless spectator, might all have increased Chelsea’s lead before the whistle brought relief.
Complacency seemed to be the only danger for Chelsea, the more so when they began the second half by twice giving the ball away in dangerous areas, Wayne Bridge and Mikel the culprits. Jason Koumas, anonymous before the break, began to see more of the ball, and his pass for Bent resulted in another penalty appeal, after he went down under Bridge’s challenge. Again Steve Bennett shook his head, providing the home supporters with a convenient excuse.
Normal service was swiftly resumed, Wright-Phillips beating Kilbane again on the right. Drogba headed the subsequent cross back across goal but for once Lampard was not on hand to finish. Michael Brown, who was at least putting himself about for Wigan, made space for a shot that Alex blocked in front of Petr Cech, and Mr Bennett further endeared himself to the locals by booking Bent for protesting against yet another failed penalty appeal.
The more Wigan pressed, of course, the more room Chelsea had to play on the break. Lampard’s long pass gave Wright-Phillips yet another chance to humiliate Kilbane, but he chose instead to wait, teasing the full-back before chipping a sweet pass back to Lampard. For once, the midfielder failed to connect cleanly enough, volleying the ball gently into Kirkland’s hands.
It was with about 20 minutes remaining that the feeling that Chelsea had unconsciously taken their foot off the gas, holding something back in anticipation of their Champions League match later this week, began to grow. Or perhaps it was just that Wigan picked themselves up for a final effort; either way, Grant responded by taking off Drogba and Essien for Salomon Kalou and Steve Sidwell. Both had chances to make it three before the end, but while the final pass continued to let them down, there was never any questioning the inevitability of a the seventh consecutive win in all competitions. Wigan, by contrast, have now lost their past six in the league, and were half-heartedly booed off the field.
Star man: Shaun Wright-Phillips (Chelsea)
Player ratings: Wigan: Kirkland 5, Melchiot 5, Granqvist 5, Bramble 5, Kilbane 3, Valencia 4, Brown 6 (Skoko, 85min), Scharner 5, Landzaat 4 (Sibierski, 81min), Koumas 4, Bent 5
Chelsea: Cech 6, Belletti 7, Alex 7, Carvalho 7, Bridge 6, Mikel 7, Essien 7 (Sidwell, 75min), Lampard 7, Wright-Phillips 8, Drogba 7 (Kalou, 74min), Malouda 7 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Belletti belittles defensive efforts of waning Wigan
Paul Wilson at the JJB StadiumSunday November 4, 2007
The Observer
No goal feast this time, but Chelsea will be well content with a fourth successive win since the defeats to Aston Villa and Manchester United that bookended the departure of Jose Mourinho. The Special One himself could not have supervised a more convincing recovery. With six defeats in a row, on the other hand, and just a single league point collected since August, Wigan are looking anything but special. They are a pale imitation of the spirited performers who surprised even their own supporters two years ago, and though Emile Heskey and Antoine Sibierski have still to return from injury it will be nothing short of a miracle if goals from those two stave off relegation.
'Chelsea are back,' chorused the visiting supporters as Avram Grant's side strolled to a two-goal lead inside 20 minutes. Chelsea have never been away, but it must feel like it for their followers to be chirpy about beating Wigan. Then again, despite the obvious gulf between the sides here, Chelsea are unaccustomed to having everything their own way in Wigan. The Latics still have not taken so much as a point from any of the 'top four' sides in their three Premier League seasons, though both Chelsea's wins here in previous seasons came courtesy of stoppage-time winners, the first from Hernan Crespo and the second from Arjen Robben. Wigan have usually managed to give Chelsea a game, in other words, and the way they crumbled here did not offer much hope for their survival chances or for Chris Hutchings's future as manager. As a former Chelsea player, Hutchings must have been looking forward to this fixture, even after watching the 6-0 demolition of Manchester City last week. Yet his side failed to carry the attacking threat that characterised Paul Jewell's teams, with Marcus Bent only a token presence on his own up front and a five-man midfield easily bypassed by Chelsea's more effective communications between two rows of three.
Bent did have a half-decent appeal for a penalty turned down early in the game, but after that Wigan's erratic defending allowed Chelsea to do all the attacking. Frank Lampard's opener after 11 minutes showed that Didier Drogba's value to Chelsea is not limited to scoring goals. The striker dropped deep to pick up the ball and brought the home central defenders with him, immediately playing a short pass to Shaun Wright-Phillips that Denny Landzaat and Kevin Kilbane failed to anticipate, leaving the winger running into open space. Wright-Phillips delivered a measured pass into the box that eluded the Wigan backline's attempts to scurry back into position and fell perfectly into Lampard's stride for the Chelsea captain to stroke a shot past Chris Kirkland.
Wright-Phillips also played a valuable part in Chelsea's second, keeping the ball in play when Kilbane thought it had crossed the touchline and allowing Juliano Belletti to complete a one-two and go on an improbable 70-yard scoring run. Regardless of whether the ball had gone out, Wigan should have done something to prevent Belletti collecting a return pass in his own half and carrying the ball all the way to the edge of Kirkland's area. With Wigan obligingly retreating until Belletti was in shooting range, he calmly beat Kirkland from 20 yards for his first Chelsea goal.
Wigan showed a bit more aggression at the start of the second half and Alex did well to block a shot from Michael Brown, though when Ricardo Carvalho made a mistake to present Bent with an opening, he wasted it with a hasty cross. Brown, who had begun the game niggling Lampard so blatantly that he was spoken to by the referee, switched his attention to Drogba in the second half and provoked the striker sufficiently to see him booked for angrily grabbing his shirt collar. Brown then resumed his running dialogue with the referee and Lampard.
Wigan dropped into the bottom three, and clearly if they go down they intend to go down irritating people. Dave Whelan has just indicated he might be buying a few players in January. If Wigan carry on in this sorry manner, he might be looking to sell a few as well. They are carrying far too many passengers.
Sibierski came on for the last eight minutes and did well, heading one chance over the bar and forcing a one-handed stop from Petr Cech. Those two late efforts were the home side's only worthwhile chances and by that stage Chelsea had already begun to think about Schalke and Everton. With two away games at Spurs and Arsenal this month, it could easily be December before Wigan pick up another point. 'We're not looking at it like that,' Hutchings said. 'We'll be looking to pick up points next week.'
Man of the match: Frank Lampard
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Chelsea narrow the gapWigan 0 Chelsea 2
By DANIEL KING
Look out, look out, Chelsea are coming. There was no repeat of last weekend's fireworks, but the Blues' touchpaper has been lit.
While the dust was still settling at the Emirates Stadium after the dramatic end to the game of the day, Avram Grant's team narrowed the gap on Arsenal and Manchester United to just three points without breaking sweat.
Early goals from Frank Lampard and Juliano Belletti, the latter's first for Chelsea, settled the match before it was a quarter of the way through. The visitors proved that the addition of a licence to thrill, as they had done in thrashing Manchester City 6-0 a week earlier, had not come at the expense of their ability to kill a game.
A seventh consecutive win in all competitions for Grant has all but banished talk of Jose Mourinho, and the Israeli's position looks almost as secure as Chelsea insiders would have you believe. It is United and Arsenal who should be looking over their shoulders, but Grant is not a man to succumb to excitement.
The Chelsea manager said: "For us, it's important what we are doing, not other teams. We won again and we played well, especially in the first half.
"Last week we scored six, in midweek we scored four, but it will not be like this every game.We scored,we won; for me it's OK."
Chelsea once asked Chris Hutchings to give up the day job, but yesterday they moved him a step closer to the dole queue.The Wigan manager was a bricklayer before joining Chelsea in 1980, and his artisan team have lost six consecutive Premier League games since Emile Heskey broke a metatarsal. They have not won since August 18. With away games at Tottenham and Arsenal up next, it was a surprise to find Hutchings in a more upbeat mood than Grant.
"The two early goals left us with a mountain to climb," said the Wigan manager. "We regrouped in the second half. We took the game to them as much as we could do, and I was pleased with the effort and commitment.
"We are taking positives from the second half, but we are not happy with another defeat.We have to be positive and stick together as a group. When we have everyone fit, we will be a lot stronger."
Chelsea had left it late, very late, to claim all three points at the JJB Stadium in the two previous seasons, but wretched defending meant this game was over inside 18 minutes.
More worryingly for Hutchings, both the early goals suggested his players are so demoralised and worried about being the next one to make a mistake that they are afraid to take responsibility and make decisions.
Either Denny Landzaat or Kevin Kilbane could have cut out Didier Drogba's 11th-minute lay-off, but each left it to the other, allowing Shaun Wright-Phillips to dart between the two of them.The England winger, making his first Premier League start under Grant, still had plenty to do, but his cross-field ball behind the retreating Wigan defence was so good that Lampard did not have to break stride before side-footing it into the net.
The second goal was simply inexcusable, with Belletti allowed to run 50 yards from his own half without a challenge in sight until he let fly a 25-yard shot which scorched past Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland.
"Boring, boring Chelsea," sang the jubilant away fans, but this was not some new Avram Grant Total Football Machine (patent pending), just a classic, Mourinhostyle Chelsea away performance.
Wigan, at least, started the second half better. In a 15-minute period, Paul Scharner had a shot closed down,Marcus Bent felt hard done by when Ricardo Carvalho muscled him off a Jason Koumas through ball, and Alex did well to block Michael Brown's shot.
Then Andreas Granqvist tried to buy a penalty with theatrics which appalled even Drogba, and a late header over the bar by substitute Antoine Sibierski was as close as they got to a goal.
Chelsea barely threatened for the whole of the second half, safe in the knowledge that two goals would be more than enough against opponents who, for all their possession and effort, never looked like scoring one. Job done, energy was saved for bigger battles,such as the trip to Arsenal on December 16.
Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe may think the wages that loss-making Chelsea pay to John Terry and others are obscene, but there is something very attractive about the prospect of a threehorse race for the title.
WIGAN (4-5-1): Kirkland; Melchiot, Granqvist, Bramble, Kilbane; Valencia, Brown (Skoko 85min), Scharner, Landzaat (Sibierski 82), Koumas; M Bent. Subs (not used): Pollitt, Boyce, Aghahowa. Booked: Landzaat, Bramble.
CHELSEA (4-3-2-1): Cech; Belletti, Alex, Carvalho, Bridge; Essien (Sidwell 76), Mikel, Lampard; Wright-Phillips, Malouda; Drogba (Kalou 75). Subs (not used): Cudicini, Ben Haim, Shevchenko. Booked: Drogba.
Referee: S Bennett (Kent). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Wigan Athletic 0 Chelsea 2: Lampard makes Chelsea cruise but clock ticking for Hutchings Resurgent midfielder scores again to leave Wigan languishing in drop zone
By Jon Culley at the JJB Stadium
After the swamping of Manchester City, the anticipated deluge of goals against a much more vulnerable Lancashire opponent did not happen, nor was their much in the way of champagne football from Avram Grant's new adventurers. Yet Chelsea's seventh victory in a row in all competitions was comfortable enough after a dreadful start by Wigan handed them both the game's goals in the opening 18 minutes.
The win reduced the distance between Chelsea and the Premier League leaders to three points courtesy of the draw at the Emirates Stadium, a result in which Grant, in the time-honoured way of football, said he had no interest. "What is important is what we do," he said.
To their credit, Wigan responded with character and fight, putting Chelsea under some pressure, particularly in the second half and only a very good, one-handed save by Petr Cech from a header by the substitute Antoine Sibierski denied them the reward of a goal late on.
None the less, these are difficult days for Wigan's manager, Chris Hutchings, whose team has slipped into the bottom three after losing six matches off the reel. He will not thank anyone for pointing out, after his 12th game in charge, that he had reached only that number when he was dismissed as Bradford's manager in November 2000, nor that his current chairman, Dave Whelan, who is holidaying in Barbados next week, chose his Caribbean winter break as the moment to sack Bruce Rioch as Wigan manager in 2001.
Whelan has never seemed inclined to act in haste but losing habits can be difficult to shake off and Wigan's run of poor results has the smell of a developing pattern, for all that Hutchings insists that all will be well once his full squad is available. "I was pleased with the commitment in the second half," he said. "But I don't want anyone to be too happy about that because we need to win games. Giving away two goals left us with a mountain to climb."
With Michael Brown preferred to Sibierski in the starting line-up as Hutchings sought to match Chelsea's numbers in midfield, Wigan had begun eagerly and were aggrieved not to have won a penalty inside eight minutes when Juliano Belletti illegally prevented Marcus Bent from trying to reach a cross. In defence, however, they began so hesitantly in the face of an opponent they knew would have the confidence to attack from the outset that they surrendered the game effectively in the time it took Chelsea to go two goals up.
Shaun Wright-Phillips, making his first Premier League start for Grant in a Chelsea line-up from which Joe Cole was absent, helped to inflict the first wound by bursting between two defenders on the right flank before looking up to find Frank Lampard bearing down on goal. Clearly in the mood, Chelsea's stand-in captain was predictably first to his team-mate's low cross to claim his fourth goal in two matches, having score a hat-trick on Wednesday against Leicester City.
It was a moment of poor defending from Wigan but one that they soon trumped when Belletti advanced from his own half entirely free of impediment before deciding, as the home goal came into range, that he might as well have a shot. Chris Kirkland was beaten all ends up from 25 yards.
Thereafter, Chelsea seemed to be doing just enough on this occasion, rather than ruthlessly going for the jugular. "We scored six last week, four in midweek – it can't happen every time," Grant said. But his team were careless at times, John Obi Mikel and Wayne Bridge both guilty of giving the ball away in dangerous positions.
The latest rumours of unrest surrounding Didier Drogba – reported to have expressed his reluctance to join Chelsea in the first place on a DVD released in France – encouraged the home crowd to bait the striker at every opportunity, especially after he had run into the back of Andreas Granqvist in his own penalty area only for the Wigan player to be booked. Ironic cheers followed when Drogba was then carded himself after an incident with Wigan's man of the match Brown, then boos when he was taken off with 15 minutes left. As yet, Chelsea are making no comment on the DVD.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Business as usual for Chelsea at Wigan By Duncan White
Wigan (0) 0 Chelsea (2) 2
Chelsea find themselves increasingly alienated from the hype of the Premier League's gravitational centre and on a weekend when Arsenal and Manchester United were celebrating the resurrection of their ascendancy in locked combat, Avram Grant's side were exiled to the division's least glamorous outpost.
Yet while attention was focused on events at the Emirates Stadium, Chelsea went about their ruthless business in Lancashire, dispatching an inferior Wigan team without flinching, the game redundant as a contest after early goals from an in-form Frank Lampard and full-back Juliano Belletti. It was their seventh-straight win and took them third, just three points behind the joint leaders.
"Our eyes are only on our own team," said Grant. "We have won again and played well, especially in the first half. For us it is important what we are doing, not what others are doing." That inward focus is largely directed at controlling the garrulous Didier Drogba. Last month he was quoted in a French magazine expressing a desire to quit after Jose Mourinho left the club and yesterday details emerged of further controversial comments from the Ivorian.
A DVD charting Drogba's career has been released in France, in which he talks of his "disgust" on signing for Chelsea in 2004 and of how he had hoped he would fail the medical to spare him the transfer. While it transpires that these statements may be several years old, and that his feelings were largely about the wrench of leaving Marseille, it has further frustrated Grant, who naturally would prefer attention directed on to the success he is coaxing out of this squad.
Squad is the right word: Grant is not quite Rafael Benitez in the rotation stakes, but he is working a system that shuffles his attacking players. In came Florent Malouda and Shaun Wright-Phillips and out went Salomon Kalou and Joe Cole. The change reaped immediate dividend. Wright-Phillips was outstanding, giving evidence that he has not lost the form that has earned him a place in the England XI. Further good news for Steve McClaren – who doubtless needs it – was Wayne Bridge's first Premier League start since May. These changes were far from disruptive and Chelsea were swiftly into their rhythm.
It took just 11 minutes for them to pry Wigan apart. Wright-Phillips, who tortured Kevin Kilbane all afternoon, scooted past the Wigan left-back on the inside, picking up Drogba's lay-off and curling a pass across the penalty area and into the stride of Lampard. The England midfielder made simple work of the finish.
advertisementSeven minutes later Chelsea doubled the lead and Wigan were in danger of submitting completely, haunted by the six-goal collapse of Manchester City the previous weekend. Wright-Phillips kept what had looked a lost ball in play with an acrobatic back-heel midway in his own half and Belletti collected. The Brazilian right-back strode 50 yards into the Wigan half, skipped past Denny Landzaat and, with the Wigan defence backing off, hit a forceful shot from 25 yards that blurred past Chris Kirkland in the Wigan goal.
The second half was not the polarised affair of the first as Wigan rallied admirably and began to compete. Marcus Bent was barged, albeit fairly, by Ricardo Carvalho on the very edge of the box as he closed on goal early in the half, while in the game's closing stages Antione Sibierski, on as a substitute, brought out a decent save from Petr Cech.
Still, this was Wigan's sixth straight defeat, casting them into the relegation zone, and with trips to Tottenham and Arsenal to come this month, the future does not hold much optimism. Wigan supporters will have to cling to the hope that Emile Heskey, two weeks away from fitness after breaking a metatarsal, rejuvenates a side on the slide.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Sunday TimesNovember 4, 2007
Chelsea crush sad WiganWigan 0 Chelsea 2Richard Rae at JJB stadium
While the scoreline might suggest something of the efficiency of the Jose Mourinho era, this was a Chelsea performance very much in keeping with the more open – and from a neutral point of view, unquestionably more entertaining – style of football that Avram Grant is encouraging. True, they didn’t finish as well as they have in recent games, and perhaps they were guilty of easing off towards the end of a game that they controlled throughout, but with Shaun Wright-Phillips involved in most of their best work, there was a bounce and flair about them which has become pleasantly familiar in recent weeks.
To suggest there was an air of fatalism hanging over the ground before kick-off does little justice to the almost funereal murmur in the stadium concourses beforehand, other than that behind the away end, of course. Wigan stayed up last season largely by dint of beating the teams around them, for that they deserve full credit, but when your record against the Big Four reads played 18, lost 18, their supporters could hardly be blamed for turning up expecting the worst.
Wigan’s recent performances against Chelsea, which included two unfortunate defeats to last-minute goals, should have given them a modicum of hope, which would have been born out by an opening 10 minutes in which they took the game to their opponents, and might have had a reward when Juliano Belletti appeared to hold Marcus Bent as the centre-forward moved into position to meet a cross. Referee Steve Bennett waved away the penalty appeal.
A minute or so later, Chelsea went ahead with a goal of ominous simplicity. It was made by Wright-Phillips, or, more precisely, by his pace and acuity. Selected instead of Joe Cole on the right, the England forward picked up the ball, saw Kevin Kilbane and Denny Landzaat were going to sell themselves, slipped it between them, ran on and hit a low, curling pass into the path of Frank Lampard, whom Wigan had completely failed to pick up.
Running from deep isn’t something Lampard does very often, after all. He beat Chris Kirkland with ease for his seventh goal of the season, and fourth in the Premier League.
The reaction of the Wigan players – you could almost see the belief draining out of them – suggested that might already effectively be game over; seven minutes later there was no doubt about it. Belletti, in possession well inside his own half, side-footed a pass to Wright-Phillips that Kilbane thought was going out only for Wright-Phillips to acrobatically flick the ball back into the full-back’s path.
While the hapless Kilbane continued to appeal for a throw-in, Belletti was allowed to run across halfway and on towards the Wigan penalty area without challenge before, from around 22 yards, hitting a right-foot shot that swerved beyond Kirkland as the goalkeeper dived left.
If that was embarrassing for the home team, the remainder of the first half was torturous. Such was their superiority, Chelsea looked capable of scoring with every possession.
With Jon Obi Mikel breaking up Wigan’s laboured attacks before they troubled his back four, Michael Essien could indulge himself in a more forward role, and Wigan obliged him with plenty of space in which to play. Florent Malouda, Wright-Phillips (twice), Lampard and Didier Drogba, who curled a free-kick inches wide with Kirkland a helpless spectator, might all have increased Chelsea’s lead before the whistle brought relief.
Complacency seemed to be the only danger for Chelsea, the more so when they began the second half by twice giving the ball away in dangerous areas, Wayne Bridge and Mikel the culprits. Jason Koumas, anonymous before the break, began to see more of the ball, and his pass for Bent resulted in another penalty appeal, after he went down under Bridge’s challenge. Again Steve Bennett shook his head, providing the home supporters with a convenient excuse.
Normal service was swiftly resumed, Wright-Phillips beating Kilbane again on the right. Drogba headed the subsequent cross back across goal but for once Lampard was not on hand to finish. Michael Brown, who was at least putting himself about for Wigan, made space for a shot that Alex blocked in front of Petr Cech, and Mr Bennett further endeared himself to the locals by booking Bent for protesting against yet another failed penalty appeal.
The more Wigan pressed, of course, the more room Chelsea had to play on the break. Lampard’s long pass gave Wright-Phillips yet another chance to humiliate Kilbane, but he chose instead to wait, teasing the full-back before chipping a sweet pass back to Lampard. For once, the midfielder failed to connect cleanly enough, volleying the ball gently into Kirkland’s hands.
It was with about 20 minutes remaining that the feeling that Chelsea had unconsciously taken their foot off the gas, holding something back in anticipation of their Champions League match later this week, began to grow. Or perhaps it was just that Wigan picked themselves up for a final effort; either way, Grant responded by taking off Drogba and Essien for Salomon Kalou and Steve Sidwell. Both had chances to make it three before the end, but while the final pass continued to let them down, there was never any questioning the inevitability of a the seventh consecutive win in all competitions. Wigan, by contrast, have now lost their past six in the league, and were half-heartedly booed off the field.
Star man: Shaun Wright-Phillips (Chelsea)
Player ratings: Wigan: Kirkland 5, Melchiot 5, Granqvist 5, Bramble 5, Kilbane 3, Valencia 4, Brown 6 (Skoko, 85min), Scharner 5, Landzaat 4 (Sibierski, 81min), Koumas 4, Bent 5
Chelsea: Cech 6, Belletti 7, Alex 7, Carvalho 7, Bridge 6, Mikel 7, Essien 7 (Sidwell, 75min), Lampard 7, Wright-Phillips 8, Drogba 7 (Kalou, 74min), Malouda 7 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Belletti belittles defensive efforts of waning Wigan
Paul Wilson at the JJB StadiumSunday November 4, 2007
The Observer
No goal feast this time, but Chelsea will be well content with a fourth successive win since the defeats to Aston Villa and Manchester United that bookended the departure of Jose Mourinho. The Special One himself could not have supervised a more convincing recovery. With six defeats in a row, on the other hand, and just a single league point collected since August, Wigan are looking anything but special. They are a pale imitation of the spirited performers who surprised even their own supporters two years ago, and though Emile Heskey and Antoine Sibierski have still to return from injury it will be nothing short of a miracle if goals from those two stave off relegation.
'Chelsea are back,' chorused the visiting supporters as Avram Grant's side strolled to a two-goal lead inside 20 minutes. Chelsea have never been away, but it must feel like it for their followers to be chirpy about beating Wigan. Then again, despite the obvious gulf between the sides here, Chelsea are unaccustomed to having everything their own way in Wigan. The Latics still have not taken so much as a point from any of the 'top four' sides in their three Premier League seasons, though both Chelsea's wins here in previous seasons came courtesy of stoppage-time winners, the first from Hernan Crespo and the second from Arjen Robben. Wigan have usually managed to give Chelsea a game, in other words, and the way they crumbled here did not offer much hope for their survival chances or for Chris Hutchings's future as manager. As a former Chelsea player, Hutchings must have been looking forward to this fixture, even after watching the 6-0 demolition of Manchester City last week. Yet his side failed to carry the attacking threat that characterised Paul Jewell's teams, with Marcus Bent only a token presence on his own up front and a five-man midfield easily bypassed by Chelsea's more effective communications between two rows of three.
Bent did have a half-decent appeal for a penalty turned down early in the game, but after that Wigan's erratic defending allowed Chelsea to do all the attacking. Frank Lampard's opener after 11 minutes showed that Didier Drogba's value to Chelsea is not limited to scoring goals. The striker dropped deep to pick up the ball and brought the home central defenders with him, immediately playing a short pass to Shaun Wright-Phillips that Denny Landzaat and Kevin Kilbane failed to anticipate, leaving the winger running into open space. Wright-Phillips delivered a measured pass into the box that eluded the Wigan backline's attempts to scurry back into position and fell perfectly into Lampard's stride for the Chelsea captain to stroke a shot past Chris Kirkland.
Wright-Phillips also played a valuable part in Chelsea's second, keeping the ball in play when Kilbane thought it had crossed the touchline and allowing Juliano Belletti to complete a one-two and go on an improbable 70-yard scoring run. Regardless of whether the ball had gone out, Wigan should have done something to prevent Belletti collecting a return pass in his own half and carrying the ball all the way to the edge of Kirkland's area. With Wigan obligingly retreating until Belletti was in shooting range, he calmly beat Kirkland from 20 yards for his first Chelsea goal.
Wigan showed a bit more aggression at the start of the second half and Alex did well to block a shot from Michael Brown, though when Ricardo Carvalho made a mistake to present Bent with an opening, he wasted it with a hasty cross. Brown, who had begun the game niggling Lampard so blatantly that he was spoken to by the referee, switched his attention to Drogba in the second half and provoked the striker sufficiently to see him booked for angrily grabbing his shirt collar. Brown then resumed his running dialogue with the referee and Lampard.
Wigan dropped into the bottom three, and clearly if they go down they intend to go down irritating people. Dave Whelan has just indicated he might be buying a few players in January. If Wigan carry on in this sorry manner, he might be looking to sell a few as well. They are carrying far too many passengers.
Sibierski came on for the last eight minutes and did well, heading one chance over the bar and forcing a one-handed stop from Petr Cech. Those two late efforts were the home side's only worthwhile chances and by that stage Chelsea had already begun to think about Schalke and Everton. With two away games at Spurs and Arsenal this month, it could easily be December before Wigan pick up another point. 'We're not looking at it like that,' Hutchings said. 'We'll be looking to pick up points next week.'
Man of the match: Frank Lampard
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Chelsea narrow the gapWigan 0 Chelsea 2
By DANIEL KING
Look out, look out, Chelsea are coming. There was no repeat of last weekend's fireworks, but the Blues' touchpaper has been lit.
While the dust was still settling at the Emirates Stadium after the dramatic end to the game of the day, Avram Grant's team narrowed the gap on Arsenal and Manchester United to just three points without breaking sweat.
Early goals from Frank Lampard and Juliano Belletti, the latter's first for Chelsea, settled the match before it was a quarter of the way through. The visitors proved that the addition of a licence to thrill, as they had done in thrashing Manchester City 6-0 a week earlier, had not come at the expense of their ability to kill a game.
A seventh consecutive win in all competitions for Grant has all but banished talk of Jose Mourinho, and the Israeli's position looks almost as secure as Chelsea insiders would have you believe. It is United and Arsenal who should be looking over their shoulders, but Grant is not a man to succumb to excitement.
The Chelsea manager said: "For us, it's important what we are doing, not other teams. We won again and we played well, especially in the first half.
"Last week we scored six, in midweek we scored four, but it will not be like this every game.We scored,we won; for me it's OK."
Chelsea once asked Chris Hutchings to give up the day job, but yesterday they moved him a step closer to the dole queue.The Wigan manager was a bricklayer before joining Chelsea in 1980, and his artisan team have lost six consecutive Premier League games since Emile Heskey broke a metatarsal. They have not won since August 18. With away games at Tottenham and Arsenal up next, it was a surprise to find Hutchings in a more upbeat mood than Grant.
"The two early goals left us with a mountain to climb," said the Wigan manager. "We regrouped in the second half. We took the game to them as much as we could do, and I was pleased with the effort and commitment.
"We are taking positives from the second half, but we are not happy with another defeat.We have to be positive and stick together as a group. When we have everyone fit, we will be a lot stronger."
Chelsea had left it late, very late, to claim all three points at the JJB Stadium in the two previous seasons, but wretched defending meant this game was over inside 18 minutes.
More worryingly for Hutchings, both the early goals suggested his players are so demoralised and worried about being the next one to make a mistake that they are afraid to take responsibility and make decisions.
Either Denny Landzaat or Kevin Kilbane could have cut out Didier Drogba's 11th-minute lay-off, but each left it to the other, allowing Shaun Wright-Phillips to dart between the two of them.The England winger, making his first Premier League start under Grant, still had plenty to do, but his cross-field ball behind the retreating Wigan defence was so good that Lampard did not have to break stride before side-footing it into the net.
The second goal was simply inexcusable, with Belletti allowed to run 50 yards from his own half without a challenge in sight until he let fly a 25-yard shot which scorched past Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland.
"Boring, boring Chelsea," sang the jubilant away fans, but this was not some new Avram Grant Total Football Machine (patent pending), just a classic, Mourinhostyle Chelsea away performance.
Wigan, at least, started the second half better. In a 15-minute period, Paul Scharner had a shot closed down,Marcus Bent felt hard done by when Ricardo Carvalho muscled him off a Jason Koumas through ball, and Alex did well to block Michael Brown's shot.
Then Andreas Granqvist tried to buy a penalty with theatrics which appalled even Drogba, and a late header over the bar by substitute Antoine Sibierski was as close as they got to a goal.
Chelsea barely threatened for the whole of the second half, safe in the knowledge that two goals would be more than enough against opponents who, for all their possession and effort, never looked like scoring one. Job done, energy was saved for bigger battles,such as the trip to Arsenal on December 16.
Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe may think the wages that loss-making Chelsea pay to John Terry and others are obscene, but there is something very attractive about the prospect of a threehorse race for the title.
WIGAN (4-5-1): Kirkland; Melchiot, Granqvist, Bramble, Kilbane; Valencia, Brown (Skoko 85min), Scharner, Landzaat (Sibierski 82), Koumas; M Bent. Subs (not used): Pollitt, Boyce, Aghahowa. Booked: Landzaat, Bramble.
CHELSEA (4-3-2-1): Cech; Belletti, Alex, Carvalho, Bridge; Essien (Sidwell 76), Mikel, Lampard; Wright-Phillips, Malouda; Drogba (Kalou 75). Subs (not used): Cudicini, Ben Haim, Shevchenko. Booked: Drogba.
Referee: S Bennett (Kent). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Wigan Athletic 0 Chelsea 2: Lampard makes Chelsea cruise but clock ticking for Hutchings Resurgent midfielder scores again to leave Wigan languishing in drop zone
By Jon Culley at the JJB Stadium
After the swamping of Manchester City, the anticipated deluge of goals against a much more vulnerable Lancashire opponent did not happen, nor was their much in the way of champagne football from Avram Grant's new adventurers. Yet Chelsea's seventh victory in a row in all competitions was comfortable enough after a dreadful start by Wigan handed them both the game's goals in the opening 18 minutes.
The win reduced the distance between Chelsea and the Premier League leaders to three points courtesy of the draw at the Emirates Stadium, a result in which Grant, in the time-honoured way of football, said he had no interest. "What is important is what we do," he said.
To their credit, Wigan responded with character and fight, putting Chelsea under some pressure, particularly in the second half and only a very good, one-handed save by Petr Cech from a header by the substitute Antoine Sibierski denied them the reward of a goal late on.
None the less, these are difficult days for Wigan's manager, Chris Hutchings, whose team has slipped into the bottom three after losing six matches off the reel. He will not thank anyone for pointing out, after his 12th game in charge, that he had reached only that number when he was dismissed as Bradford's manager in November 2000, nor that his current chairman, Dave Whelan, who is holidaying in Barbados next week, chose his Caribbean winter break as the moment to sack Bruce Rioch as Wigan manager in 2001.
Whelan has never seemed inclined to act in haste but losing habits can be difficult to shake off and Wigan's run of poor results has the smell of a developing pattern, for all that Hutchings insists that all will be well once his full squad is available. "I was pleased with the commitment in the second half," he said. "But I don't want anyone to be too happy about that because we need to win games. Giving away two goals left us with a mountain to climb."
With Michael Brown preferred to Sibierski in the starting line-up as Hutchings sought to match Chelsea's numbers in midfield, Wigan had begun eagerly and were aggrieved not to have won a penalty inside eight minutes when Juliano Belletti illegally prevented Marcus Bent from trying to reach a cross. In defence, however, they began so hesitantly in the face of an opponent they knew would have the confidence to attack from the outset that they surrendered the game effectively in the time it took Chelsea to go two goals up.
Shaun Wright-Phillips, making his first Premier League start for Grant in a Chelsea line-up from which Joe Cole was absent, helped to inflict the first wound by bursting between two defenders on the right flank before looking up to find Frank Lampard bearing down on goal. Clearly in the mood, Chelsea's stand-in captain was predictably first to his team-mate's low cross to claim his fourth goal in two matches, having score a hat-trick on Wednesday against Leicester City.
It was a moment of poor defending from Wigan but one that they soon trumped when Belletti advanced from his own half entirely free of impediment before deciding, as the home goal came into range, that he might as well have a shot. Chris Kirkland was beaten all ends up from 25 yards.
Thereafter, Chelsea seemed to be doing just enough on this occasion, rather than ruthlessly going for the jugular. "We scored six last week, four in midweek – it can't happen every time," Grant said. But his team were careless at times, John Obi Mikel and Wayne Bridge both guilty of giving the ball away in dangerous positions.
The latest rumours of unrest surrounding Didier Drogba – reported to have expressed his reluctance to join Chelsea in the first place on a DVD released in France – encouraged the home crowd to bait the striker at every opportunity, especially after he had run into the back of Andreas Granqvist in his own penalty area only for the Wigan player to be booked. Ironic cheers followed when Drogba was then carded himself after an incident with Wigan's man of the match Brown, then boos when he was taken off with 15 minutes left. As yet, Chelsea are making no comment on the DVD.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, November 01, 2007
morning papers leicester cc
The TimesNovember 1, 2007
Dish fit for Roman Abramovich to savour but Chelsea's back line remains a worryChelsea 4 Leicester 3
Matt Hughes
Avram Grant’s press conferences may be best viewed on Ceefax, but his football team are well worth watching, if not always for the right reasons. It took a header from Frank Lampard in the 93rd minute that completed his hat-trick to secure victory in a seven-goal thriller against Leicester City, who were four minutes away from becoming the first domestic visiting side to win in open play at Stamford Bridge in more than 3½ years.
With discounted tickets priced between £10 and £20, an incredible match even provided excellent value for money, almost unheard of at Chelsea. Having dismissed José Mourinho for providing insufficient thrills and spills, Roman Abramovich was rewarded with the best match seen in these parts for years, although after Leicester, the Coca-Cola Championship club, took a 3-2 lead, the Russian may have been ruing what he had wished for.
The holders were going out until Andriy Shevchenko scored an equaliser in the 86th minute with a left-foot thunderbolt, with even Grant admitting that the result was too close for comfort. As many a would-be impresario has discovered before him, the entertainment industry is a risky business. “If we continue to win 4-3, it’s not good as we don’t want to concede so many goals,” Grant said. “We enjoyed winning and enjoyed scoring four goals, but not the way it happened. We conceded three goals, which we don’t like, but showed good character to fight back. I never in my life give up until the last moment.”
Grant said beforehand that he values style over substance, with this erratic performance serving to prove his point. While Chelsea’s resilience under pressure is admirable, their defending was little short of shambolic, with Tal Ben Haim and Alex playing like strangers at centre back and Steve Sidwell offering no protection to a harassed back four.
The visiting team took advantage to open the scoring through Gareth McAuley in the sixth minute before launching an audacious second-half fightback, with D. J. Campbell and Carl Cort scoring in the space of five minutes to leave Grant contemplating defeat in only his fourth home match. Ben Haim was caught out of position for all three goals in a dismal display that will not fill Steve McClaren with confidence before Israel’s crucial European Championship qualifying match against Russia this month.
Frank Burrows, the Leicester caretaker manager, struck the right note by refusing to bemoan his side’s cruel fortune and could take pride from giving Chelsea a Hallowe’en fright to remember. “It’s not often that John Terry, the captain of England, runs on the pitch to punch the air after victory over a Championship side,” Burrows said. “That’s why he’s captain of England, mind, he always wants Chelsea to win. I was guilty of allowing myself to dream.
“Chelsea were the better side, their passing was better, but our hearts were as big as theirs. We matched them with our heart and spirit, which is an old English thing. They never know when they’re beat.”
Without Lampard, Chelsea would have already been beaten and the prospect of losing him is enough to give the board nightmares. With the honourable exception of Scott Sinclair, who created Lampard’s first two goals on only his second start of the season, Chelsea’s acting captain was their only consistent attacking threat because Shaun Wright-Phillips looked bereft of confidence after being left out of Grant’s past two squads.
After missing almost two months of the season with a thigh injury, Lampard is relishing the responsibility of leading the side in Terry’s absence and thoroughly deserved his first hat-trick since scoring three in an FA Cup win over Macclesfield Town in January, taking his haul of Chelsea goals to 96 in 339 appearances. The century will surely come before long, but there is concern that there may not be many more because talks on a new contract have been postponed until the end of the season.
Grant urged the club to sort the matter out as soon as possible as Lampard has only 18 months remaining. “Frank wants to stay and Chelsea want him to stay,” Grant said. If Lampard’s first goal was one of the best he has scored for the club — he met Sinclair’s header with a sweetly struck right-foot volley before adding a neat finish to the 18-year-old’s cross for a second five minutes later — his winner summed up a hectic night perfectly.
The 28-year-old’s header appeared to have crossed the line before Shevchenko made sure, but the striker was not going to deny Lampard a hat-trick. Chelsea’s rousing comeback was completed by the news that they have moved closer to joining the elite G-14 group, but their fans will be more relieved that they remain in the Carling Cup.
Chelsea (4-4-2): C Cudicini – J Belletti, Alex, T Ben Haim (sub: M Essien, 80min), P Ferreira (sub: F Malouda, 52) – S Wright-Phillips, S Sidwell, F Lampard, S Sinclair (sub: S Kalou, 80) – C Pizarro, A Shevchenko. Substitutes not used: Hilário, J O Mikel. Booked: Sidwell, Ben Haim, Belletti.
Leicester City (5-3-2): M Fulop – R Stearman, P Kisnorbo, B N’Gotty, G McAuley, A Sheehan – S Newton (sub: L Porter, 61; sub: A Maybury, 80), D Kenton, J Chambers – M Fryatt (sub: D Campbell, 63), C Cort. Substitutes not used: P Henderson, S Hellings. Booked: Newton, Sheehan.
Referee: P Dowd. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Frank Lampard hat-trick saves ChelseaBy Oliver Brown
Chelsea (2) 4 Leicester City (1) 3
Frank Lampard can rarely have experienced a more chaotic game – or more cathartic. The midfielder has been bereft since the departure of mentor Jose Mourinho, not to mention barracked by England fans and baffled by interminable contract talks with Chelsea.
But last night he was transformed, lifted by a fine hat-trick to sustain Chelsea's resurgent season and bury the noble effort of Championship challengers Leicester.
The third part of Lampard's treble, coming late in the six minutes of injury time to seal a compelling tie, was borne of utter confusion. Initially both Andrei Shevchenko and Juliano Belletti were awarded the winner, but it was Lampard who found the header ultimately adjudged to have crossed the line.
Where Chelsea can perform powerfully under Avram Grant, they can also perform precariously. Stressing the study in contrasts that this match offered with Saturday's six-goal demolition of Manchester City, the Israeli said of Lampard: "The last game was about his assists – this game was about his goals. For him to be at such a high level is very important for us."
Chelsea's style has certainly evolved from doughty but dour 1-0 wins during Grant's brief tenure. Strangely impassive after 96 minutes spent living on the edge, the coach said: "We needed to have good character. I never in my life give up until the last moment – 1-0 is a good score but 4-3, I think, is better." Asked for his play-by-play analysis of Lampard's goal, he replied: "I don't care. All I care is that it was a Chelsea goal."
While Chelsea had to count the cost of a nasty-looking ankle injury to Paulo Ferreira, this occasion was largely a night for rehabilitation. Shevchenko was at last learning to smile again, too. Lampooned by Leicester fans throughout as an expensive has-been, the Ukrainian made sure he had the last word with a stylish equaliser from Michael Essien's cross.
Initially, Chelsea had struggled to reach the same heights. Their fragility was exposed unexpectedly in the sixth minute when Matt Fryatt, seizing on a quick free-kick from Shaun Newton, clipped a sharp cross that allowed captain Gareth McAuley to ghost in unchallenged for a header beyond Carlo Cudicini. Chelsea, who had not conceded for almost nine hours until that point, could have been forgiven a flakiness in response – but Grant appears to have modelled a team in his own image. His decision to use Lampard as the anchor in an inexperienced side yielded reward 12 minutes later, as he concluded a fluid three-man move for the equaliser. Juliano set up Scott Sinclair for an initial strike before Lampard contrived the most effortless half-volley.
When a low cross from Sinclair fell into his path the captain was ruthless again, stroking home a second volleyed finish from eight yards. Leicester, deflated, were not quite defeated. But for all their spirited counter-attacks, Chelsea should have left them for dust far sooner. The visitors seized the stage in the second half; first Levi Porter scattered Chelsea's back line with a high cross that DJ Campbell dispatched with a header.
Then Chelsea were shaken and Alan Sheehan's free-kick was angled past Cudicini by Carl Cort, as near pandemonium broke out in the Leicester end.
The upset looked perfectly possible. But this was to neglect Shevchenko, who contrived Chelsea's third with three minutes of normal time left. Then Lampard, showing a glorious sense of theatre, delivered the coup de grace.
Match detailsChelsea (4-4-1-1): Cudicini; Belletti, Alex, Ben Haim (Essien 80), Paulo Ferreira (Malouda 52); Wright-Phillips, Sidwell, Lampard, Sinclair (Kalou 80); Pizarro; Shevchenko.Subs: Hilario (g), Mikel.Booked: Sidwell, Ben Haim.Leicester (4-4-2): Fulop; McAuley, N'Gotty, Kisnorbo, Sheehan; Kenton, Stearman, Chambers, Newton (Porter 61); Cort, Fryatt (Campbell 62).Subs: Henderson (g), Hellings, Maybury.Referee: P Dowd (Staffordshire).---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 4 Leicester City 3: Lampard hat-trick outfoxes Leicester By Glenn Moore
At this rate Jose Mourinho will be forgotten before Christmas. After Saturday's 6-0 demolition of Manchester City Roman Abramovich, and 40,000 fellow Stamford Bridge spectators, witnessed seven goals last night as the Carling Cup holders won an extraordinary fourth-round tie.
The difference was Chelsea had to share the first six goals with Leicester City, of the Championship, before snatching a winner four minutes into added time. Having trailed after six minutes the Carling Cup holders led from the 29th to the 69th, created chance after chance, yet found themselves behind with 16 minutes remaining.
In a finale so dramatic it provoked the respective benches into a bout of grappling, Andrei Shevchenko drew Chelsea level then Frank Lampard completed a poacher's hat-trick in the fourth minute of injury time during a crazy melee. As Chelsea celebrated the Leicester coach Gerry Taggert and his Chelsea counterpart Steve Clarke had to be separated. "I did not see it," claimed Avram Grant of the argy-bargy at the end, "but the important thing is we all shook hands afterwards."
"It's nothing really, you're just disappointed when the goal goes in after working so hard," said Frank Burrows, Leicester City's caretaker coach, even more disingenuously. Of the football Grant said: "I think everybody will have enjoyed it. We showed we had good character."
Grant had surprisingly abandoned the 4-3-3 system that had brought him five successive wins and the torrent of goals against City, switching to 4-4-2. It seemed this was to accommodate Shevchenko and Claudio Pizarro. Shevchenko may have scored at the weekend but such is his fall from grace he is now one of those players for whom the Carling Cup offers the chance of a start.
Leicester arrived searching for their third new manager of a traumatic season but that did not deter 6,500 very vocal fans from making the journey. They were swiftly rewarded as Leicester outwitted and startled their hosts. Instead of swinging a free-kick into the box Shaun Newton rolled it down the touchline. Matty Fryatt was first to the ball, turned Steve Sidwell and crossed for his unmarked captain Gareth McAuley to head in.
The travelling Foxes went nuts, and remained in good voice even after Lampard equalised. The England midfielder had had a forward run halted by Darren Kenton's firm tackle but he had got up and continued his run as the ball rolled to Juliano Belletti. The Brazilian crossed deep, Scott Sinclair nodded the ball back, and Lampard drove home.
Lampard, whatever one may think of his depressing conversion to the cult of celebrity, gives full commitment in every match and his knack of running beyond his man into the box paid further dividends nine minutes later. Again the provider was Sinclair, the teenager running on to Paulo Ferreira's headed pass before crossing low to the near post. The ball broke off a scrum of bodies for Lampard to steer into the net. Chelsea had to reshuffle when Paolo Ferreira suffered what looked a bad ankle injury. With no defenders on the bench Florent Malouda came on to play, impressively, at left-back.
Then Burrows made a brace of substitions for the visitors. Within minutes the first, Levi Porter, was allowed time to pick out the second, DJ Campbell, who had crept behind Tal Ben Haim. Campbell, who was playing for nearby Yeading a few years ago, calmly headed over goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini. Then Porter was felled by Belletti and Carl Cort stabbed in the free-kick.
Grant went to three at the back – including Malouda – and Chelsea poured forward. Four minutes from time Shevchenko, showing the benefits of his speed training, turned slickly to level. Leicester, remarkably, sought a winner but were done on the counter-attack. Martin Fulop, who was superb all night, denied Kalou, sparking a frantic melee in which Pizarro hit the bar, Lampard had a header cleared off the line, then Shevchenko's shot struck Belletti, and flew in. It transpired the goal had already been given, for Lampard's header.
"It's not often John Terry [who was on the sidelines, injured] runs on to the pitch and punches the air for a result against a Championship side," said Burrows. He added: "They were the better side, but our hearts were as big as theirs."
Chelsea (4-4-2): Cudicini; Belletti, Ben Haim (Essien 80), Alex, Ferreira (Malouda 52); Wright-Phillips, Lampard, Sidwell, Sinclair ( Kalou 78); Pizarro, Shevchenko. Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Mikel.
Leicester City (5-3-2): Fulop; Stearman, McAuley, N'Gotty, Kisnorbo, Sheehan; Newton (Porter 60, Maybury 80), Kenton, Chambers; Cort, Fryatt (Campbell 62). Substitutes not used: Henderson (gk), Hellings.
Referee: P Dowd (Staffs).---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lampard hat-trick finishes off Foxes in seven-goal thriller
Simon Burnton at Stamford BridgeThursday November 1, 2007The Guardian
When Avram Grant promised that there would be more excitement at Stamford Bridge, this cannot have been what he meant. Twice Leicester led, Chelsea's second equaliser coming as late as the 86th minute, and it was deep into stoppage time before the holders confirmed their progress with a goal as chaotic as the game it decided. In the confusion Frank Lampard claimed the final touch, and with it a hat-trick. "I don't know who scored the last goal," said Grant, "and I don't care. Chelsea scored it."
Few Chelsea fans, having witnessed their team score six against Manchester City at the weekend, would have been unduly surprised that this game featured seven goals - the great shock was their distribution. Leicester, struggling in the Championship and without a manager since Gary Megson's defection to Bolton last week, could have won here and surely would have had Carl Cort not missed with a close-range header in the 82nd minute. Instead Grant was allowed to purr about his team's fighting spirit, ironically the only quality at which Frank Burrows, Leicester's caretaker manager, believed his charges bettered their hosts. "They had more possession than us, they passed the ball better than us," he said. "Where we matched them, and maybe in my opinion shaded it, was our hearts. I wouldn't change my laddies' hearts for theirs after that."
Given the chaos at their club and the quality of their opponents some disorganisation could have been expected from Leicester but it was Chelsea whose defence was more prone to panic. It crumbled at the first opportunity when Matt Fryatt's cross in the sixth minute found Gareth McAuley running in from the edge of the area to power home a header while those around him in blue stood useless.
Leicester reacted well to their lead, chasing possession and gamely snapping into tackles. Cruelly, the Foxes' tackling was to prove their undoing. First Darren Kenton's challenge on Lampard only allowed Juliano Belletti to cross, Scott Sinclair heading the ball back for Lampard to sidefoot past Marton Fulop. Then Bruno N'Gotty did excellently to divert Sinclair's cross away from Claudio Pizarro at the near post. Sadly the ball looped to Lampard eight yards out and he volleyed his side into the lead.
But Leicester were to be rewarded for their resistance. In the 69th minute two substitutes combined to draw them level, Levi Porter chipping the ball over Chelsea's defence and DJ Campbell capitalising on Carlo Cudicini's hesitance to head in. A further five minutes and they were in the lead, Alan Sheehan's free-kick turned in by Cort at the far post.
Then came Cort's miss and Chelsea, reprieved, poured forwards. In the 86th minute Michael Essien passed to Andriy Shevchenko and the Ukrainian spun sweetly before scoring with a left-footed drive from the edge of the area. Then deep into stoppage time the striker struck again, less cleanly this time, his shot looping off Belletti and skimming off Lampard before crossing the line.
Suddenly the 40 coachloads and more of Leicester fans, so recently in full voice, fell silent. "It was a big part of my teamtalk, the responsibility of sending those fans home with a bit of pride and I think we did that," said Burrows.
There will be some debate about whether this constituted an improvement from the plodding inevitability of Chelsea success under Jose Mourinho but Grant at least was convinced. "I think 1-0 is a good score," he said, "but 4-3 is better."---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Lamps treble gets Chelsea off the hookChelsea 4 Leicester City 3
By NEIL ASHTON
Andriy Shevchenko has been sprint training under the gaze of Darren Campbell and the Chelsea striker arrived just in time to save their Carling Cup blushes last night.
Chelsea were heading out of the competition when Shevchenko, who scored in the 6-0 destruction of Manchester City last weekend, produced a wonderful effort in the 87th minute to make it 3-3.
Substitute Levi Porter had put Leicester into fantasy land when he created two chances that were converted by DJ Campbell and Carl Cort to give the visitors a 3-2 advantage.
They had one foot in the door of the quarter-finals, but Shevchenko swivelled on the edge of the area and sent the ball beyond Martin Fulop And just when everyone at Stamford Bridge thought they were in for a bout of extra time, skipper Frank Lampard completed a remarkable hat-trick to rescue the London club when he had the last touch on a Shevchenko shot amid a frantic goalmouth scramble.
Up to that point, it had been the stuff of dreams for the 6,500 travelling fans stationed in the Shed End, but had been a reality check for Chelsea boss Avram Grant.
Leicester made no apology for stringing five across the back and hoped to stop the Chelsea juggernaut in its tracks.
Six wins on the spin suggested Chelsea could see off their rivals with something to spare, but seven changes from the weekend left them lop-sided. Chelsea had a 46-match unbeaten home record to protect — yes, Jose, you were in charge for most of them — and a team from the second tier of English football were once easily swatted aside.
Ever since Gary Megson upped sticks and left for Bolton, Leicester have been muddling along under dependable caretaker boss Frank Burrows.
Last night, they attempted to muddy the waters — and almost pulled off a huge surprise. The visitors took the lead after just six minutes.
Matt Fryatt turned Steven Sidwell too easily by the corner flag and Gareth McAuley's gamble paid off with a neat header.
Tal Ben Haim did not spot the Leicester skipper's run, but the post-mortem can wait until they prepare for this weekend's Premier League trip to Wigan.
Instead, Chelsea spent the next 84 minutes on the attack.
Lampard, wearing the captain's armband in the absence of injured John Terry, was on a one-man mission to take Chelsea through.
He slapped his thigh in disgust after an early shot failed to trouble Fulop, but he made amends with a 20th-minute equaliser.
Young Scott Sinclair headed Juliano Belletti's cross into Lampard's path and the midfielder sent a sweet half-volley beyond Fulop. Chelsea were in control and it was only a matter of time before they took the lead.
Shevchenko is still feeding off scraps and Claudio Pizarro is continues to struggle to find his feet in Chelsea's colours, but Lampard has certainly rediscovered his goalscoring touch.
Sinclair sent a teasing near post cross towards Claudio Pizarro and Lampard arrived in time to convert the loose ball.
Paulo Ferreira was stretchered off after a clash at the start of the second half, but Chelsea still created chances — Sinclair hit a post and Pizarro was denied by Fulop — but Leicester were still alive and kicking.
Burrows threw on his remaining substitutes and was rewarded when Campbell headed in an equaliser after a Porter cross.
Chelsea panicked. Their defence fell apart and Cort applied the finishing touch to Porter's dangerous free-kick only to make it 3-3 when Shevchenko pounced and then he stabbed in a close-range winner deep in injury time.
CHELSEA (4-4-2): Cudicini 6; Belletti 6, Ben Haim 5 (Essien 80), Alex 6, Ferreira 6 (Malouda, 52, 6); Wright-Phillips 6, Sidwell 7, Lampard 8, Sinclair 7 (Kalou 78); Pizarro 6, Shevchenko 6. Booked: Sidwell, Ben Haim.
LEICESTER CITY (3-5-2): Fulop 7; Kisnorbo 7, N'Gotty 7, McAuley 8; Stearman 6, Newton 5 (Porter 60, 8), Kenton 6, Chambers 7, Sheehan 6; Cort 7, Fryatt 7 (Campbell 62, 8). Booked: Sheehan, Newton.
Man of the match: Frank Lampard. Referee: Phil Dowd. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sun:
Chelsea 4 Leicester 3By ANDREW DILLON
FRANK LAMPARD and Andriy Shevchenko spared Chelsea’s blushes with a late, late show at Stamford Bridge.
In a crazy finale to a rollercoaster clash, England ace Lamps secured his hat-trick with a controversial goal three minutes into injury time.
His header from six yards in a goalmouth melee summed up a frenetic night when the Blues were three minutes from going out.
First they were indebted to £30million striker Shevchenko, who fired in a brilliant 20-yard strike to seemingly send the tie into extra time after they trailed 3-2.
Then up stepped Lamps to bundle in a winner.
Claudio Pizzaro’s cross deflected off the bar. Lampard’s close-range header appeared to be bundled clear by Leicester keeper Martin Fulop before Shevchenko followed up with a shot that cannoned off Juliano Belletti.
The goal was initially credited to Ukrainian ace Shevchenko. But ref Phil Dowd eventually gave it to Lampard — his third on a memorable night.
And the relief was clear as injured skipper John Terry joined his pals to celebrate getting off the hook and into the last eight.
It certainly underlined the importance of the Terry’s stand-in to Chelsea.
Lampard’s treble is his first since hitting three at Macclesfield at home in the FA Cup last January. And boss Avram Grant is optimistic the player’s long-running contract wrangle will soon be resolved.
Lampard, 29, had earlier equalised on 20 minutes with a cool volley after City skipper Gareth McAuley gave the brave Championship side a shock sixth-minute lead.
And the Blues star was on hand to prod home after excellent work by impressive teenager Scott Sinclair in the 29th minute.
But then the fun started with City sub Dudley Campbell, the artist formerly known as DJ, climbing high and cashing in on Carlo Cudicini’s horrendous hesitancy with 21 minutes left.
Striker Carl Cort was at the end of a free-kick to put unfancied Leicester 3-2 up and on the verge of a huge shock. But then Sheva and Lamps to turn party-poopers.
Foxes boss Frank Burrows played down a touchline bust-up between the two sets of club officials when Lampard grabbed his winner.
Burrows, who coached Lampard as a 16-year-old at West Ham, said: “It was nothing but the disappointment when a goal goes in after you have fought so hard.
“I told Frank when he was a kid ‘if you’re involved in anything that ends with the ball going over the line, claim it.’
“They passed better than us and had more possession but I wouldn’t swap their hearts for my lads’ hearts tonight.
“It’s not often you see John Terry, the captain of England, run onto the pitch to celebrate a win over a Championship side is it?
“They did not believe it was over until it was over and maybe that was the crucial difference out there. It’s why they are top-quality players.”
Regardless of who had the last word, Chelsea were made to look human again after a run of six successive wins.
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Dish fit for Roman Abramovich to savour but Chelsea's back line remains a worryChelsea 4 Leicester 3
Matt Hughes
Avram Grant’s press conferences may be best viewed on Ceefax, but his football team are well worth watching, if not always for the right reasons. It took a header from Frank Lampard in the 93rd minute that completed his hat-trick to secure victory in a seven-goal thriller against Leicester City, who were four minutes away from becoming the first domestic visiting side to win in open play at Stamford Bridge in more than 3½ years.
With discounted tickets priced between £10 and £20, an incredible match even provided excellent value for money, almost unheard of at Chelsea. Having dismissed José Mourinho for providing insufficient thrills and spills, Roman Abramovich was rewarded with the best match seen in these parts for years, although after Leicester, the Coca-Cola Championship club, took a 3-2 lead, the Russian may have been ruing what he had wished for.
The holders were going out until Andriy Shevchenko scored an equaliser in the 86th minute with a left-foot thunderbolt, with even Grant admitting that the result was too close for comfort. As many a would-be impresario has discovered before him, the entertainment industry is a risky business. “If we continue to win 4-3, it’s not good as we don’t want to concede so many goals,” Grant said. “We enjoyed winning and enjoyed scoring four goals, but not the way it happened. We conceded three goals, which we don’t like, but showed good character to fight back. I never in my life give up until the last moment.”
Grant said beforehand that he values style over substance, with this erratic performance serving to prove his point. While Chelsea’s resilience under pressure is admirable, their defending was little short of shambolic, with Tal Ben Haim and Alex playing like strangers at centre back and Steve Sidwell offering no protection to a harassed back four.
The visiting team took advantage to open the scoring through Gareth McAuley in the sixth minute before launching an audacious second-half fightback, with D. J. Campbell and Carl Cort scoring in the space of five minutes to leave Grant contemplating defeat in only his fourth home match. Ben Haim was caught out of position for all three goals in a dismal display that will not fill Steve McClaren with confidence before Israel’s crucial European Championship qualifying match against Russia this month.
Frank Burrows, the Leicester caretaker manager, struck the right note by refusing to bemoan his side’s cruel fortune and could take pride from giving Chelsea a Hallowe’en fright to remember. “It’s not often that John Terry, the captain of England, runs on the pitch to punch the air after victory over a Championship side,” Burrows said. “That’s why he’s captain of England, mind, he always wants Chelsea to win. I was guilty of allowing myself to dream.
“Chelsea were the better side, their passing was better, but our hearts were as big as theirs. We matched them with our heart and spirit, which is an old English thing. They never know when they’re beat.”
Without Lampard, Chelsea would have already been beaten and the prospect of losing him is enough to give the board nightmares. With the honourable exception of Scott Sinclair, who created Lampard’s first two goals on only his second start of the season, Chelsea’s acting captain was their only consistent attacking threat because Shaun Wright-Phillips looked bereft of confidence after being left out of Grant’s past two squads.
After missing almost two months of the season with a thigh injury, Lampard is relishing the responsibility of leading the side in Terry’s absence and thoroughly deserved his first hat-trick since scoring three in an FA Cup win over Macclesfield Town in January, taking his haul of Chelsea goals to 96 in 339 appearances. The century will surely come before long, but there is concern that there may not be many more because talks on a new contract have been postponed until the end of the season.
Grant urged the club to sort the matter out as soon as possible as Lampard has only 18 months remaining. “Frank wants to stay and Chelsea want him to stay,” Grant said. If Lampard’s first goal was one of the best he has scored for the club — he met Sinclair’s header with a sweetly struck right-foot volley before adding a neat finish to the 18-year-old’s cross for a second five minutes later — his winner summed up a hectic night perfectly.
The 28-year-old’s header appeared to have crossed the line before Shevchenko made sure, but the striker was not going to deny Lampard a hat-trick. Chelsea’s rousing comeback was completed by the news that they have moved closer to joining the elite G-14 group, but their fans will be more relieved that they remain in the Carling Cup.
Chelsea (4-4-2): C Cudicini – J Belletti, Alex, T Ben Haim (sub: M Essien, 80min), P Ferreira (sub: F Malouda, 52) – S Wright-Phillips, S Sidwell, F Lampard, S Sinclair (sub: S Kalou, 80) – C Pizarro, A Shevchenko. Substitutes not used: Hilário, J O Mikel. Booked: Sidwell, Ben Haim, Belletti.
Leicester City (5-3-2): M Fulop – R Stearman, P Kisnorbo, B N’Gotty, G McAuley, A Sheehan – S Newton (sub: L Porter, 61; sub: A Maybury, 80), D Kenton, J Chambers – M Fryatt (sub: D Campbell, 63), C Cort. Substitutes not used: P Henderson, S Hellings. Booked: Newton, Sheehan.
Referee: P Dowd. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Frank Lampard hat-trick saves ChelseaBy Oliver Brown
Chelsea (2) 4 Leicester City (1) 3
Frank Lampard can rarely have experienced a more chaotic game – or more cathartic. The midfielder has been bereft since the departure of mentor Jose Mourinho, not to mention barracked by England fans and baffled by interminable contract talks with Chelsea.
But last night he was transformed, lifted by a fine hat-trick to sustain Chelsea's resurgent season and bury the noble effort of Championship challengers Leicester.
The third part of Lampard's treble, coming late in the six minutes of injury time to seal a compelling tie, was borne of utter confusion. Initially both Andrei Shevchenko and Juliano Belletti were awarded the winner, but it was Lampard who found the header ultimately adjudged to have crossed the line.
Where Chelsea can perform powerfully under Avram Grant, they can also perform precariously. Stressing the study in contrasts that this match offered with Saturday's six-goal demolition of Manchester City, the Israeli said of Lampard: "The last game was about his assists – this game was about his goals. For him to be at such a high level is very important for us."
Chelsea's style has certainly evolved from doughty but dour 1-0 wins during Grant's brief tenure. Strangely impassive after 96 minutes spent living on the edge, the coach said: "We needed to have good character. I never in my life give up until the last moment – 1-0 is a good score but 4-3, I think, is better." Asked for his play-by-play analysis of Lampard's goal, he replied: "I don't care. All I care is that it was a Chelsea goal."
While Chelsea had to count the cost of a nasty-looking ankle injury to Paulo Ferreira, this occasion was largely a night for rehabilitation. Shevchenko was at last learning to smile again, too. Lampooned by Leicester fans throughout as an expensive has-been, the Ukrainian made sure he had the last word with a stylish equaliser from Michael Essien's cross.
Initially, Chelsea had struggled to reach the same heights. Their fragility was exposed unexpectedly in the sixth minute when Matt Fryatt, seizing on a quick free-kick from Shaun Newton, clipped a sharp cross that allowed captain Gareth McAuley to ghost in unchallenged for a header beyond Carlo Cudicini. Chelsea, who had not conceded for almost nine hours until that point, could have been forgiven a flakiness in response – but Grant appears to have modelled a team in his own image. His decision to use Lampard as the anchor in an inexperienced side yielded reward 12 minutes later, as he concluded a fluid three-man move for the equaliser. Juliano set up Scott Sinclair for an initial strike before Lampard contrived the most effortless half-volley.
When a low cross from Sinclair fell into his path the captain was ruthless again, stroking home a second volleyed finish from eight yards. Leicester, deflated, were not quite defeated. But for all their spirited counter-attacks, Chelsea should have left them for dust far sooner. The visitors seized the stage in the second half; first Levi Porter scattered Chelsea's back line with a high cross that DJ Campbell dispatched with a header.
Then Chelsea were shaken and Alan Sheehan's free-kick was angled past Cudicini by Carl Cort, as near pandemonium broke out in the Leicester end.
The upset looked perfectly possible. But this was to neglect Shevchenko, who contrived Chelsea's third with three minutes of normal time left. Then Lampard, showing a glorious sense of theatre, delivered the coup de grace.
Match detailsChelsea (4-4-1-1): Cudicini; Belletti, Alex, Ben Haim (Essien 80), Paulo Ferreira (Malouda 52); Wright-Phillips, Sidwell, Lampard, Sinclair (Kalou 80); Pizarro; Shevchenko.Subs: Hilario (g), Mikel.Booked: Sidwell, Ben Haim.Leicester (4-4-2): Fulop; McAuley, N'Gotty, Kisnorbo, Sheehan; Kenton, Stearman, Chambers, Newton (Porter 61); Cort, Fryatt (Campbell 62).Subs: Henderson (g), Hellings, Maybury.Referee: P Dowd (Staffordshire).---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 4 Leicester City 3: Lampard hat-trick outfoxes Leicester By Glenn Moore
At this rate Jose Mourinho will be forgotten before Christmas. After Saturday's 6-0 demolition of Manchester City Roman Abramovich, and 40,000 fellow Stamford Bridge spectators, witnessed seven goals last night as the Carling Cup holders won an extraordinary fourth-round tie.
The difference was Chelsea had to share the first six goals with Leicester City, of the Championship, before snatching a winner four minutes into added time. Having trailed after six minutes the Carling Cup holders led from the 29th to the 69th, created chance after chance, yet found themselves behind with 16 minutes remaining.
In a finale so dramatic it provoked the respective benches into a bout of grappling, Andrei Shevchenko drew Chelsea level then Frank Lampard completed a poacher's hat-trick in the fourth minute of injury time during a crazy melee. As Chelsea celebrated the Leicester coach Gerry Taggert and his Chelsea counterpart Steve Clarke had to be separated. "I did not see it," claimed Avram Grant of the argy-bargy at the end, "but the important thing is we all shook hands afterwards."
"It's nothing really, you're just disappointed when the goal goes in after working so hard," said Frank Burrows, Leicester City's caretaker coach, even more disingenuously. Of the football Grant said: "I think everybody will have enjoyed it. We showed we had good character."
Grant had surprisingly abandoned the 4-3-3 system that had brought him five successive wins and the torrent of goals against City, switching to 4-4-2. It seemed this was to accommodate Shevchenko and Claudio Pizarro. Shevchenko may have scored at the weekend but such is his fall from grace he is now one of those players for whom the Carling Cup offers the chance of a start.
Leicester arrived searching for their third new manager of a traumatic season but that did not deter 6,500 very vocal fans from making the journey. They were swiftly rewarded as Leicester outwitted and startled their hosts. Instead of swinging a free-kick into the box Shaun Newton rolled it down the touchline. Matty Fryatt was first to the ball, turned Steve Sidwell and crossed for his unmarked captain Gareth McAuley to head in.
The travelling Foxes went nuts, and remained in good voice even after Lampard equalised. The England midfielder had had a forward run halted by Darren Kenton's firm tackle but he had got up and continued his run as the ball rolled to Juliano Belletti. The Brazilian crossed deep, Scott Sinclair nodded the ball back, and Lampard drove home.
Lampard, whatever one may think of his depressing conversion to the cult of celebrity, gives full commitment in every match and his knack of running beyond his man into the box paid further dividends nine minutes later. Again the provider was Sinclair, the teenager running on to Paulo Ferreira's headed pass before crossing low to the near post. The ball broke off a scrum of bodies for Lampard to steer into the net. Chelsea had to reshuffle when Paolo Ferreira suffered what looked a bad ankle injury. With no defenders on the bench Florent Malouda came on to play, impressively, at left-back.
Then Burrows made a brace of substitions for the visitors. Within minutes the first, Levi Porter, was allowed time to pick out the second, DJ Campbell, who had crept behind Tal Ben Haim. Campbell, who was playing for nearby Yeading a few years ago, calmly headed over goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini. Then Porter was felled by Belletti and Carl Cort stabbed in the free-kick.
Grant went to three at the back – including Malouda – and Chelsea poured forward. Four minutes from time Shevchenko, showing the benefits of his speed training, turned slickly to level. Leicester, remarkably, sought a winner but were done on the counter-attack. Martin Fulop, who was superb all night, denied Kalou, sparking a frantic melee in which Pizarro hit the bar, Lampard had a header cleared off the line, then Shevchenko's shot struck Belletti, and flew in. It transpired the goal had already been given, for Lampard's header.
"It's not often John Terry [who was on the sidelines, injured] runs on to the pitch and punches the air for a result against a Championship side," said Burrows. He added: "They were the better side, but our hearts were as big as theirs."
Chelsea (4-4-2): Cudicini; Belletti, Ben Haim (Essien 80), Alex, Ferreira (Malouda 52); Wright-Phillips, Lampard, Sidwell, Sinclair ( Kalou 78); Pizarro, Shevchenko. Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Mikel.
Leicester City (5-3-2): Fulop; Stearman, McAuley, N'Gotty, Kisnorbo, Sheehan; Newton (Porter 60, Maybury 80), Kenton, Chambers; Cort, Fryatt (Campbell 62). Substitutes not used: Henderson (gk), Hellings.
Referee: P Dowd (Staffs).---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lampard hat-trick finishes off Foxes in seven-goal thriller
Simon Burnton at Stamford BridgeThursday November 1, 2007The Guardian
When Avram Grant promised that there would be more excitement at Stamford Bridge, this cannot have been what he meant. Twice Leicester led, Chelsea's second equaliser coming as late as the 86th minute, and it was deep into stoppage time before the holders confirmed their progress with a goal as chaotic as the game it decided. In the confusion Frank Lampard claimed the final touch, and with it a hat-trick. "I don't know who scored the last goal," said Grant, "and I don't care. Chelsea scored it."
Few Chelsea fans, having witnessed their team score six against Manchester City at the weekend, would have been unduly surprised that this game featured seven goals - the great shock was their distribution. Leicester, struggling in the Championship and without a manager since Gary Megson's defection to Bolton last week, could have won here and surely would have had Carl Cort not missed with a close-range header in the 82nd minute. Instead Grant was allowed to purr about his team's fighting spirit, ironically the only quality at which Frank Burrows, Leicester's caretaker manager, believed his charges bettered their hosts. "They had more possession than us, they passed the ball better than us," he said. "Where we matched them, and maybe in my opinion shaded it, was our hearts. I wouldn't change my laddies' hearts for theirs after that."
Given the chaos at their club and the quality of their opponents some disorganisation could have been expected from Leicester but it was Chelsea whose defence was more prone to panic. It crumbled at the first opportunity when Matt Fryatt's cross in the sixth minute found Gareth McAuley running in from the edge of the area to power home a header while those around him in blue stood useless.
Leicester reacted well to their lead, chasing possession and gamely snapping into tackles. Cruelly, the Foxes' tackling was to prove their undoing. First Darren Kenton's challenge on Lampard only allowed Juliano Belletti to cross, Scott Sinclair heading the ball back for Lampard to sidefoot past Marton Fulop. Then Bruno N'Gotty did excellently to divert Sinclair's cross away from Claudio Pizarro at the near post. Sadly the ball looped to Lampard eight yards out and he volleyed his side into the lead.
But Leicester were to be rewarded for their resistance. In the 69th minute two substitutes combined to draw them level, Levi Porter chipping the ball over Chelsea's defence and DJ Campbell capitalising on Carlo Cudicini's hesitance to head in. A further five minutes and they were in the lead, Alan Sheehan's free-kick turned in by Cort at the far post.
Then came Cort's miss and Chelsea, reprieved, poured forwards. In the 86th minute Michael Essien passed to Andriy Shevchenko and the Ukrainian spun sweetly before scoring with a left-footed drive from the edge of the area. Then deep into stoppage time the striker struck again, less cleanly this time, his shot looping off Belletti and skimming off Lampard before crossing the line.
Suddenly the 40 coachloads and more of Leicester fans, so recently in full voice, fell silent. "It was a big part of my teamtalk, the responsibility of sending those fans home with a bit of pride and I think we did that," said Burrows.
There will be some debate about whether this constituted an improvement from the plodding inevitability of Chelsea success under Jose Mourinho but Grant at least was convinced. "I think 1-0 is a good score," he said, "but 4-3 is better."---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Lamps treble gets Chelsea off the hookChelsea 4 Leicester City 3
By NEIL ASHTON
Andriy Shevchenko has been sprint training under the gaze of Darren Campbell and the Chelsea striker arrived just in time to save their Carling Cup blushes last night.
Chelsea were heading out of the competition when Shevchenko, who scored in the 6-0 destruction of Manchester City last weekend, produced a wonderful effort in the 87th minute to make it 3-3.
Substitute Levi Porter had put Leicester into fantasy land when he created two chances that were converted by DJ Campbell and Carl Cort to give the visitors a 3-2 advantage.
They had one foot in the door of the quarter-finals, but Shevchenko swivelled on the edge of the area and sent the ball beyond Martin Fulop And just when everyone at Stamford Bridge thought they were in for a bout of extra time, skipper Frank Lampard completed a remarkable hat-trick to rescue the London club when he had the last touch on a Shevchenko shot amid a frantic goalmouth scramble.
Up to that point, it had been the stuff of dreams for the 6,500 travelling fans stationed in the Shed End, but had been a reality check for Chelsea boss Avram Grant.
Leicester made no apology for stringing five across the back and hoped to stop the Chelsea juggernaut in its tracks.
Six wins on the spin suggested Chelsea could see off their rivals with something to spare, but seven changes from the weekend left them lop-sided. Chelsea had a 46-match unbeaten home record to protect — yes, Jose, you were in charge for most of them — and a team from the second tier of English football were once easily swatted aside.
Ever since Gary Megson upped sticks and left for Bolton, Leicester have been muddling along under dependable caretaker boss Frank Burrows.
Last night, they attempted to muddy the waters — and almost pulled off a huge surprise. The visitors took the lead after just six minutes.
Matt Fryatt turned Steven Sidwell too easily by the corner flag and Gareth McAuley's gamble paid off with a neat header.
Tal Ben Haim did not spot the Leicester skipper's run, but the post-mortem can wait until they prepare for this weekend's Premier League trip to Wigan.
Instead, Chelsea spent the next 84 minutes on the attack.
Lampard, wearing the captain's armband in the absence of injured John Terry, was on a one-man mission to take Chelsea through.
He slapped his thigh in disgust after an early shot failed to trouble Fulop, but he made amends with a 20th-minute equaliser.
Young Scott Sinclair headed Juliano Belletti's cross into Lampard's path and the midfielder sent a sweet half-volley beyond Fulop. Chelsea were in control and it was only a matter of time before they took the lead.
Shevchenko is still feeding off scraps and Claudio Pizarro is continues to struggle to find his feet in Chelsea's colours, but Lampard has certainly rediscovered his goalscoring touch.
Sinclair sent a teasing near post cross towards Claudio Pizarro and Lampard arrived in time to convert the loose ball.
Paulo Ferreira was stretchered off after a clash at the start of the second half, but Chelsea still created chances — Sinclair hit a post and Pizarro was denied by Fulop — but Leicester were still alive and kicking.
Burrows threw on his remaining substitutes and was rewarded when Campbell headed in an equaliser after a Porter cross.
Chelsea panicked. Their defence fell apart and Cort applied the finishing touch to Porter's dangerous free-kick only to make it 3-3 when Shevchenko pounced and then he stabbed in a close-range winner deep in injury time.
CHELSEA (4-4-2): Cudicini 6; Belletti 6, Ben Haim 5 (Essien 80), Alex 6, Ferreira 6 (Malouda, 52, 6); Wright-Phillips 6, Sidwell 7, Lampard 8, Sinclair 7 (Kalou 78); Pizarro 6, Shevchenko 6. Booked: Sidwell, Ben Haim.
LEICESTER CITY (3-5-2): Fulop 7; Kisnorbo 7, N'Gotty 7, McAuley 8; Stearman 6, Newton 5 (Porter 60, 8), Kenton 6, Chambers 7, Sheehan 6; Cort 7, Fryatt 7 (Campbell 62, 8). Booked: Sheehan, Newton.
Man of the match: Frank Lampard. Referee: Phil Dowd. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sun:
Chelsea 4 Leicester 3By ANDREW DILLON
FRANK LAMPARD and Andriy Shevchenko spared Chelsea’s blushes with a late, late show at Stamford Bridge.
In a crazy finale to a rollercoaster clash, England ace Lamps secured his hat-trick with a controversial goal three minutes into injury time.
His header from six yards in a goalmouth melee summed up a frenetic night when the Blues were three minutes from going out.
First they were indebted to £30million striker Shevchenko, who fired in a brilliant 20-yard strike to seemingly send the tie into extra time after they trailed 3-2.
Then up stepped Lamps to bundle in a winner.
Claudio Pizzaro’s cross deflected off the bar. Lampard’s close-range header appeared to be bundled clear by Leicester keeper Martin Fulop before Shevchenko followed up with a shot that cannoned off Juliano Belletti.
The goal was initially credited to Ukrainian ace Shevchenko. But ref Phil Dowd eventually gave it to Lampard — his third on a memorable night.
And the relief was clear as injured skipper John Terry joined his pals to celebrate getting off the hook and into the last eight.
It certainly underlined the importance of the Terry’s stand-in to Chelsea.
Lampard’s treble is his first since hitting three at Macclesfield at home in the FA Cup last January. And boss Avram Grant is optimistic the player’s long-running contract wrangle will soon be resolved.
Lampard, 29, had earlier equalised on 20 minutes with a cool volley after City skipper Gareth McAuley gave the brave Championship side a shock sixth-minute lead.
And the Blues star was on hand to prod home after excellent work by impressive teenager Scott Sinclair in the 29th minute.
But then the fun started with City sub Dudley Campbell, the artist formerly known as DJ, climbing high and cashing in on Carlo Cudicini’s horrendous hesitancy with 21 minutes left.
Striker Carl Cort was at the end of a free-kick to put unfancied Leicester 3-2 up and on the verge of a huge shock. But then Sheva and Lamps to turn party-poopers.
Foxes boss Frank Burrows played down a touchline bust-up between the two sets of club officials when Lampard grabbed his winner.
Burrows, who coached Lampard as a 16-year-old at West Ham, said: “It was nothing but the disappointment when a goal goes in after you have fought so hard.
“I told Frank when he was a kid ‘if you’re involved in anything that ends with the ball going over the line, claim it.’
“They passed better than us and had more possession but I wouldn’t swap their hearts for my lads’ hearts tonight.
“It’s not often you see John Terry, the captain of England, run onto the pitch to celebrate a win over a Championship side is it?
“They did not believe it was over until it was over and maybe that was the crucial difference out there. It’s why they are top-quality players.”
Regardless of who had the last word, Chelsea were made to look human again after a run of six successive wins.
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