The TimesDecember 12, 2007
Avram Grant favours his tried and tested in quest to preserve momentumChelsea 0 Valencia 0Alyson Rudd
Chelsea achieved the landmark of a half-century of matches without defeat at Stamford Bridge and Avram Grant, their first-team coach, could boast a 16-game unbeaten run after he opted to show Valencia precisely why his team qualified as group winners with a match to spare for the knockout stage of the Champions League. It was lively fare, but perplexing; Valencia barely resembled a side that had something to play for. Chelsea by contrast managed to enjoy themselves without putting their home record in peril.
“We deserved 5-0,” Grant said. That they scored no goals serves only to underline how much his team miss Didier Drogba, who underwent a knee operation on Saturday. In some respects Grant wanted the best of both worlds last night. He wanted to continue his unbeaten run, but he also felt the need to haul off Andriy Shevchenko and Frank Lampard to rest them for the match away to Arsenal in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday.
There might have been a few Chelsea fans who trudged rather than marched to the ground concerned that the tie could represent Chelsea going through the motions. But the team were in celebratory mood, keen to stamp their credentials on a competition that they so badly want to win.
They enter the next phase among the top seeds. “It’s a good feeling,” Grant said, and in some respects almost rubbed Valencia’s noses in the fact. A gulf few predicted emerged between the clubs, leaving Valencia playing for a place in the Uefa Cup, a place that they surrendered last night to Rosenborg.
Valencia looked stunned as Chelsea, from the whistle, attempted to scintillate. Cross-field passes were inch perfect, runs were clever and confidence was high. The sell-out crowd waved flags and the only person in need of pity was Steve Sidwell, who, having been chosen by the club to be the face of Chelsea’s mandatory Champions League media conference, must have assumed he would be given a rare opportunity to show Grant he ought to figure more prominently in his thoughts. In the end Grant decided in favour of continuity.
Valencia could not afford to let pride enter the equation, but with the giant screen flashing up the score between Schalke 04 and Rosenborg, the visiting side could be forgiven for feeling disheartened; they could not progress in Europe if Schalke won, which they did.
The highlight of the first half was Santiago Cañizares’s fabulous reaction save from Lampard’s powerful strike.
From Chelsea’s perspective what was particularly pleasing was the way Shevchenko appeared utterly relaxed and in tune with the runs of Shaun Wright-Phillips and the passing of Lampard and Michael Essien, even if he did squander a clear opportunity. David Villa, a Spain player and striker on many a manager’s Christmas wish list, forced a save from Petr Cech in the 42nd minute, but it was Cañizares who was giving the masterclass, denying Claudio Pizarro after the Peruvian had made a mesmeric run.
Valencia are on a pitiful run, having gone five matches without scoring. Just as Grant evidently thought winning brings its own momentum, Ronald Koeman, the Valencia manager, must have been concerned that his team had forgotten how to finish. His side certainly appeared tentative not only in front of goal, but also when building from midfield.
Grant made his mark as Chelsea first-team coach by showing clear faith in Joe Cole - Cole was the architect of Chelsea ’s victory at the Mestalla Stadium on October 3 – and Grant brought him on in the second half for Lampard. At this point Sidwell must have wondered if Grant had forgotten he was on the bench. Almost immediately Salomon Kalou thought he had scored but his effort was, correctly, ruled offside. Pizarro took on Shevchenko’s mantle of lacking the killer touch and wasted a clear chance. In the 74th minute, Kalou hit the underside of the crossbar and Cole looked to have won the game when he ran at an increasingly dispirited Valencia defence and unleashed a shot that had the crowd celebrating, but the magnificent Cañizares somehow pushed the ball on to an upright.
Chelsea (4-4-2): P Cech - P Ferreira (sub: J Belletti, 71min), J Terry, T Ben Haim, W Bridge – S Wright-Phillips, M Essien, F Lampard (sub: J Cole, 62), S Kalou – A Shevchenko (sub: C Makelele, 46), C Pizarro. Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, S Sidwell, J O Mikel, Alex.
Valencia (4-3-3): S Cañizares – L Miguel (sub: M Fernandes, 65), R Albiol, I Helguera, E Moretti – Sunny, C Marchena, D Silva – Vicente (sub: J Mata, 74), F Morientes, D Villa (sub: J Arizmendi, 50). Substitutes not used: J Mora, N Zigic, D Lomban, A Montoro. Booked: Cañizares. Referee: G Gilewski (Poland).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
A show of strength from ChelseaBy John Ley at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (0) Valencia (0) 0
Chelsea achieved another milestone last night when they extended their unbeaten Stamford Bridge record in all competitions to 50. Already assured of their place in next week's Champions League knockout draw, and against a sadly inept Valencia showing nothing of their past brilliance, this was a canter and the result was predictable.
They ended their group campaign with another hugely impressive landmark yet when the Champions League began there were few signs of such an outcome, with Jose Mourinho's Chelsea stumbling to a 1-1 draw. Fast-forward to a dominant Chelsea display at a near-capacity Stamford Bridge happy to witness an uncomplicated affair ahead of Sunday's London collision with Premiership leaders Arsenal.
In terms of overall importance, this was hardly going to register as one of the great European nights at Stamford Bridge. But as a tool for returning key figures, it was a valuable outing. Already confirmed as group winners - that was achieved with a 4-0 win in Norway against Rosenborg - Chelsea could have been forgiven for treating this affair lightly, but that was far from the case.
Petr Cech was back ahead of Sunday's trip to the Emirates Stadium, making his first appearance since he damaged a calf muscle in the game in Gelsenkirchen against Schalke early last month. In addition, there was the welcome sight for Chelsea of defender Paulo Ferreira, returning after missing seven games with an ankle problem.
Add the presence of Michael Essien, in the middle of a league suspension, and Chelsea had reasons to be cheerful, even if Didier Drogba was out after undergoing a knee operation.
Drogba's absence offers Andrei Shevchenko an extended opportunity, and a player with one of the best goalscoring records in European competition almost added to his huge tally in the opening four minutes.
The Ukrainian began the night on 47 Champions League goals and 60 in all Uefa competitions, just three behind record-holder Filippo Inzaghi. When Frank Lampard threaded the ball forward, Shevchenko was a whisker away from goal No 61, only to be thwarted by veteran goalkeeper Santiago Canizares. From the corner Chelsea went close again, captain John Terry placing a header just wide of the target. Then Shaun Wright-Phillips forced Canizares into a clumsy punched clearance as Chelsea continued to display just how far they have come under Avram Grant, 11 weeks after the departure of Mourinho.
Chelsea were passing the ball comfortably and showing little of their caution under Mourinho, as demonstrated in the 17th minute when Ferreira ventured forward before crossing from the right, where Claudio Pizarro was inches away from deflecting the ball inside the near post.
Valencia, without a goal in their previous four games, showed a cavalier attitude of their own soon afterwards when Canizares rushed out of his area to clear from Salomon Kalou, only to lose the ball in a stranded position. Fortunately for the Spaniards, Kalou's return was every bit as casual. Canizares redeemed himself with a one-handed save to deny Lampard as Chelsea maintained their constant pressure.
Not until the 43rd minute was Cech brought properly into action, and he demonstrated that he had lost nothing during his sojourn when parrying an angled drive from David Villa.
At half-time Chelsea replaced Shevchenko - presumably to protect him for the Arsenal trip - with Claude Makelele, the Frenchman dropping in front of the back four and Pizarro operating as a lone striker, though with Kalou in close attendance.
Chelsea threatened again early in the second half when Essien fed Pizarro. Though the flag stayed down, by the time Canizares had saved, the referee's assistant belatedly gave offside.
Lampard was replaced by Joe Cole as Chelsea looked to protect their assets further and within seconds they had the ball in the Valencia net, only for Kalou to be judged offside as he converted Pizarro's through ball.
Canizares was called on again, in the 66th minute, to deny Pizarro as Chelsea tried with vigour to end their group campaign with a victory.
Before the end, Chelsea were denied twice by a post, first from Kalou and then Joe Cole, either side of another impressive save from Canizares, to deny Pizarro.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 0 Valencia 0: Grant on defensive as Chelsea fire blanks By Sam Wallace
No Didier Drogba, no goals and not even 90 minutes for Andrei Shevchenko, the man who would be the new goal king of Stamford Bridge. Chelsea might have wondered how they failed to win this one but the more pertinent question for Avram Grant is who will score the goals against Arsenal on Sunday.
Shevchenko was replaced at half-time – as agreed before the match, according to Grant – but he did not do much in the first 45 minutes to suggest he is ready to step into Drogba's boots. This was the Ukrainian's sixth start since Grant took over in September and it showed. Chelsea are undefeated in 16 games under Grant but winning is the problem for now.
It was only a Champions League dead rubber, and one which Grant said his side "deserved to win 5-0", but in the increasingly frantic attempts to break down a woeful Valencia side there was the tacit acknowledgment that Chelsea really should be winning games like this. Relying on a piece of Joe Cole magic may be an entertaining way of trying to win a game but it is hardly the most reliable.
Grant was back on the defensive after the match, claiming that he did not fear playing without the injured Drogba, who will be back before the next stage in February. "We have won games without Didier before and this was the best I could expect [in the circumstances]," he said. "The game was not important for qualification and we wanted to play good football. We deserved to win 5-0."
There was a sense of disbelief from Grant that yet more is expected of his side, who had won Group B before last night's game. As ever, they have the capacity to get results and remain unconvincing at the same time. Nevertheless they are in the draw for the knockout stages a week on Friday and Grant and John Terry were making all the usual noises last night about being one of the teams who could win the competition.
Petr Cech was back in goal for the first time since 6 November, although his biggest challenge was keeping warm in the chill December air. Paulo Ferreira, out since the end of October, was also back. In fact Grant picked at least seven players who have a chance of starting against Arsenal. Stamford Bridge managed a crowd of more than 41,000; not bad when you consider that Jose Mourinho's last game in charge, against Rosenborg, was in front of 24,973.
The other major question was how have Valencia become so poor? When Chelsea beat them on 3 October it was the launchpad for the Grant regime. Since then Valencia have lost seven times in league and Champions League and sacked their manager. Seventh in La Liga, their new coach, Ronald Koeman, is finding it hard to turn the club around.
Frank Lampard was withdrawn shortly before the hour as Grant sought to rest some of his key men. Salomon Kalou hit the bar when Claudio Pizarro headed the ball back across goal in the 74th minute; Pizarro's shot was turned wide by Santiago Cañizares.
The best moment was a Cole run and shot that Cañizares turned on to his post. Then, faced with a suicidal back pass from Stephen Sunday, the goalkeeper had to turn the ball wide with a diving header. John Terry squared up to Ivan Helguera at the end and had a word with the Polish referee. That was as exciting as it got.
Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Ferreira (Belletti, 71), Terry, Ben Haim, Bridge; Wright-Phillips, Essien, Lampard (J Cole, 59), Kalou; Pizarro, Shevchenko (Makelele, ht). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Sidwell, Mikel, Alex.
Valencia (4-3-3): Cañizares; Miguel (Fernandes, 64), Albiol, Helguera, Moretti; Sunday, Marchena, Silva; Villa (Arizmendi, 50), Morientes, Vicente (Mata, 74). Substitutes not used: Mora (gk), Zigic, Lomban, Montoro.
Referee: G Gilewski (Poland).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Grant content to preserve unbeaten run as Cañizares denies wasteful Chelsea
David Hytner at Stamford BridgeWednesday December 12, 2007The Guardian
Avram Grant pronounced himself satisfied enough at Chelsea's unbeaten march into the knockout stage yet he could not help but lament their profligacy against off-colour opponents from Valencia.In the absence of the injured Didier Drogba, who Grant hopes may yet return towards the end of the Christmas programme before he departs for the African Cup of Nations, a succession of strikers were asked to play as a single spearhead and breach the Spanish defences. One after the other, they failed.
Andriy Shevchenko was withdrawn at half-time - a prearranged move, Grant insisted, with the Premier League trip to Arsenal in mind - after he had spurned a gilt-edged opportunity from close range. Claudio Pizarro then took up the baton to similar frustration - he was thwarted on several occasions by Santiago Cañizares - before Salomon Kalou was moved to centre stage and managed to top them all. When Pizarro headed square, the goal yawned wide for Kalou but he smashed his effort against the underside of the bar and watched the ball scrambled to safety.
Cañizares was the star turn and he deserved his luck when a shot from the substitute Joe Cole squirmed underneath him but rebounded off the far post.
Chelsea extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 16 matches and they have now not tasted defeat at Stamford Bridge in 50. They will need their shooting boots, however, when the tougher tests loom, beginning at Arsenal on Sunday.
"We deserved to win 5-0 at least but because it was not important I enjoyed the game," said Grant, who knew beforehand that a top-place finish in Group B was assured. "We want Didier with us but we have won games without him also. This game was the best 0-0 I could expect. We played great football.
"Maybe Sheva had a chance but it's more important to keep his physical condition. He is supposed to play on Sunday. It's the same with Frank Lampard [who was also withdrawn]. The decision to take Sheva off was made before the game, he knew that. We have important games ahead."
Chelsea will benefit from top seeding in the second-round draw in Nyon next Friday and Grant remained bullish about his team's prospects. They have scored twice as many goals in the Premier League when Drogba is in the team and, indeed, they look twice the team. Grant can be cheered that Drogba will have returned from Africa when the Champions League resumes.
"It's a good feeling to go through as group winners but more important is how we play," said the manager. "We have played very good games. We want to be in the final at least. This is our target for the next years and I think we can do it this year. We want to achieve the best."
With a nod towards the Arsenal game, Grant welcomed back Petr Cech and Paulo Ferreira from injury and fielded an almost full-strength line-up. Only the Coles, Joe and Ashley, were excused from starting duties, although Grant insisted that the latter, who was not on the bench, was fit and would play against his former club.
Valencia, in transition under the new coach, Ronald Koeman, offered little and Chelsea were on the front foot throughout. Some of their approach work was easy on the eye but they could not find the finish. Lampard crossed for Shevchenko early on and the Ukrainian, in space and six yards out, looked certain to score, yet he slid and generated little power in his effort, allowing Cañizares to save.
Chelsea deserved a half-time lead and would have taken it but for Cañizares. The veteran saved brilliantly from Lampard's drive and in more regulation fashion from Pizarro's long-range shot.
Pizarro moved to the front of Grant's 4-2-3-1 formation after half-time but when the manager brought on Cole he shuffled again and opted for Kalou in the role. Pizarro and Kalou, in particular, should have done better when opportunities knocked and, when Cole's shot kissed the upright, Chelsea knew it was not to be their night.
Who's next? One of Rangers/Lyon, Roma, Celtic, Olympiakos, Fenerbahce/PSV Eindhoven, or Sevilla (if they are runners-up to Arsenal in Group H)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Chelsea have Arsenal on their minds as they go through the motions in draw with Valencia
Chelsea 0 Valencia 0
By SIMON CASS
If Chelsea's chances of overhauling their title rivals in the packed Christmas programme rest on the shoulders of Andriy Shevchenko, then Avram Grant clearly has a major task on his hands.
Going 50 games unbeaten at home in all competitions is admirable. But Chelsea's toothless display against a Valencia side devoid of ambition did nothing to suggest that coping without Didier Drogba will be easy.
In the Premier League this season Chelsea have scored almost twice as many goals when Drogba has been in in the side than when he has been an absentee.
And with Ivory Coast striker Drogba unlikely to turn out for his club before departing for the African Cup of Nations, they are set to be without him for two months.
Given that, the decision to withdraw Shevchenko at the break rather than hand him a full 90-minute work-out in a meaningless game ahead of Sunday's vital visit to Arsenal seemed odd.
Manager Grant insisted it had always been the plan. "It was a decision taken beforehand. We have three games in eight days and many more to come, so we took a decision about Shevchenko and Lampard that they would not play 90 minutes. Maybe with the chances we had in the second half he could have scored but it was more important to keep his physical condition."
Bridling at suggestions his side will flounder without Drogba, Grant added: "We want Didier to play but we've also won games without him. Tonight we played great football and deserved to win 5-0."
If Drogba had been on the park they probably would have. Shevchenko spurned a decent chance just four minutes in.
But a combination of poor finishing and the evergreen talents of veteran keeper Santiago Canizares were enough to keep Shaun Wright- Phillips, Claudio Pizarro and Frank Lampard from opening the scoring in the opening half hour.
As for Valencia, the combined attacking talents of Fernando Morientes, David Villa and Vicente had not managed a goal for a staggering 351 minutes before last night.
And the limp nature of Villa's and the Spanish side's first shot on goal did little to suggest that figure would not be increased by another 90.
With the first half petering out, Villa did at least force the returning Petr Cech to concede a corner before another tame effort from Shevchenko was easily gathered at the other end by Canizares.
In a bid to find more of a cutting edge, Grant switched to 4-3-3 at the break, replacing the increasingly ineffective Shevchenko with Claude Makelele.
Valencia were forced into a change of their own five minutes later when Villa, the best of a bad bunch, limped out and was replaced by Javier Arizmendi.
And with Group B rivals Schalke winning comfortably at home against Rosenborg to deny the Spanish side the chance of even a place in the UEFA Cup, what little fight they had shown soon disintegrated, particularly as Chelsea skipper John Terry was in his usual no-nonsense mood.
With the game played like a preseason friendly, Grant withdrew Lampard for Joe Cole — tormentor- in chief of Valencia in their previous meeting.
Chelsea did finally manage to put the ball in the net, but Pizarro delayed his pass a fraction too long and Kalou was half a yard offside when he stroked the ball home.
Kalou then hit the underside of the bar from six yards after Cole's free-kick was headed across goal by substitute Juliano Belletti. Cole tested Canizares again, the 37-year-old keeper tipping his effort on to the post.
Chelsea, of course, had already secured top spot, a feat Grant should be rightly proud of after picking up the reins from Jose Mourinho.
"It is a good feeling to finish top of the group, I like it," said Grant. "It's no secret that we want to be in the final. I think we can do it."
Given that Drogba will be back from international duty by the time the competition resumes, making the Champions League Final remains a realistic target.
Whether in his absence Chelsea can stay in the Premier League title race is another matter.
CHELSEA (4-4-2): Cech 6; Ferreira 6 (Belletti 71min, 6), Terry 7, Ben Haim 7, Bridge 6; Wright-Phillips 5, Essien 7, Lampard 7 (J Cole 62, 7), Kalou 6; Pizarro 5, Shevchenko 6 (Makelele 46, 6).
VALENCIA (4-3-3): Canizares 8; Miguel 6 (Fernandes 65, 6), Albiol 6, Helguera 6, Moretti 7; Sunny 5, Marchena 6, Silva 6; Vicente 5 (Mata 74, 4), Morientes 5, Villa 6 (Arizmendi 50, 6). Booked: Canizares.
Man of the match: Santiago Canizares.
Referee: G rzegorz Gilewski (Poland). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Sunday, December 09, 2007
sunday papers sunderland home
The Sunday TimesDecember 9, 2007
Andriy Shevchenko strikes formChelsea 2 Sunderland 0
Brian Glanville at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea, deprived of Didier Drogba, beat a passive Sunderland team without panache or excessive difficulty.
This was a game that posed three cogent questions. First, how would Chelsea fare without Drogba? Second, would Sunderland be inhibited rather than inspired by their demanding manager, Roy Keane? Third, how would Andriy Shevchenko perform, now that he has been dragged from outer darkness to take Drogba’s place up front, all alone, when it was widely expected the role would go to the Peru international, Claudio Pizarro?
So far as Drogba was concerned, there was a surprise shortly before kick-off when it was announced that the powerful and arguably irreplaceable Ivory Coast centre-forward had undergone a knee operation.
One way or another, Chelsea knew they were doomed to lose a player hugely important to their success with the Africa Cup of Nations looming in the new year. Drogba’s fitness for that tournament is now in doubt.
Chelsea were also without Michael Essien yesterday, but he seems sure to go to the African tournament to play for Ghana. At Villa Park, Harry Redknapp faces a similar problem. Players such as Sulley Muntari, so prominent in yesterday’s game and a goalscorer to boot, will also be playing for Ghana.
As for Roy Keane, you wondered when he was appointed manager of Sunderland whether his fierce perfectionism, the demands he makes not only on himself but on the rest of his team, could have a negative effect on players, few of whom could ever hope to reach his heights of ability. Last season things worked out well enough for Sunderland who were promoted to the Premier League. Lately, however, not least when they crashed 7-1 at Everton, there have been voices that the Sunderland players have indeed been somewhat overwhelmed by Keane’s forceful personality.
Shevchenko was bought by Chelsea for £30m from Milan but the mountain of cash has produced a mere molehill of performance. He has not been playing regulalry and there have been indications that he may even end next season in Major League Soccer in America.
Yesterday it seemed to demand a great deal from Shevchenko to leave him as the sole spearhead, but from the beginning he looked active and effective. The game had scarcely begun when he sent a neat pass to Salomon Kalou to spark a movement that forced Sunderland’s reserve keeper, Darren Ward, to somewhat nervously punch the ball out. Ward is displacing the Scotland international keeper, Craig Gordon, who cost a cool £9m, but seems to be suffering from a crisis of confidence.
After six minutes, Kalou headed solidly against the bar from Joe Cole’s corner. But on 23 minutes, it was Kalou who would send over the left-wing cross that Shevchenko converted with a powerful header.
Sunderland eventually had a shot on goal in the 33rd minute, coming from their towering lone striker Kenwyne Jones with a low, left-footed shot onto which Carlo Cudicini threw himself.
But Chelsea were comfortably in command. Their manager, Avram Grant, deployed the England international right-winger Shaun Wright-Phillips as an inside-right. Quite what Steve Sidwell, starting on the bench, thought of that, one can only guess. A key figure last season in the Reading central midfield, he chose to move to Chelsea in the summer on a free transfer. Reading plainly miss him, Chelsea seldom use him. No doubt the move has been lucrative for him, but there are other satisfactions even now in football.
Early in the second half, when the ball seemed to be running out of play on the Chelsea left, Shevchenko, with a dynamic burst, retrieved it, went past his man and sent in a cross that could well have brought a goal.
It was a long time before we would see any more drama at either end. On 75 minutes however, Chelsea would score a soft second. Frank Lampard’s free kick from the left provoked what referee Peter Walton deemed a foul in the box by Danny Higginbotham pulling Alex’s shirt. A penalty was given and Lampard, who by and large on this wet afternoon played what you might call a senatorial role, deep in midfield, when he might have been expected to advance more often, put away the spot-kick with no difficulty.
Sunderland’s cup was well and truly full when Liam Miller, after a challenge by Pizarro, stupidly pushed him in the face and was consequently sent off.
It was a comfortable but inglorious victory for Chelsea, yet Drogba will surely be seriously missed.
Player ratings
Chelsea: Cudicini 6, Belletti 6, Alex 6, Terry 7, A Cole 7, J Cole 7 (Sidwell 85min), Wright-Phillips 6, Lampard 6, Mikel 6, Kalou 6 (Pizarro 66min), Shevchenko 7 Star man: J Cole (Chelsea)
Sunderland: Ward 6, Halford 6, McShane 6, Higginbotham 6, Collins 6, Miller 6, Etuhu 6, Leadbitter 6 (Stokes 70min), Whitehead 6, Wallace 6, Jones 6 (Murphy 67min)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Andrei Shevchenko's nous enough for ChelseaBy Duncan White at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (1) 2 Sunderland (0) 0
Rattled by the news of Didier Drogba's knee operation, Chelsea's support can hardly have been emboldened by the sight of the faded talents of Andrei Shevchenko taking to the field. Yet the Ukrainian, the one-time scourge of the meanest defenders in Serie A, showed that while the legs may not work like they used to, the goal instinct has not quite been extinguished.
With 23 minutes gone, and Sunderland barely showing the ambition to get out of their own half, Shevchenko gave outlet to Chelsea's building pressure. Salomon Kalou befuddled the hapless Greg Halford before crossing left-footed to the far post. Shevchenko had found space and dived to head expertly past Darren Ward. "This has been his job since he was a little child," Avram Grant said. "He knows how to do it. Shevchenko is a good striker - a great striker. He knows how to score goals and is intelligent. I think Sheva has scored five or six this year. Last year he scored 14 and everyone was disappointed."
Well, he has scored four, but near enough. Still, replacing Drogba will take more than one neat finish, and while Grant believes it is "important" for Shevchenko to step up in Drogba's absence, it will prove far more difficult against more trying opposition.
Scoring goals might not come easily if Drogba does not return until late February; conceding them should not be a problem, however. John Terry and Alex were masterful yesterday, and with Petr Cech on the cusp of return it will take serious adventure to get in behind a team who are now 15 games unbeaten.
While the scoreline remained respectable, this was never really a competitive fixture. Chelsea swamped their opponents, dominating possession and restricting Roy Keane's side to the tamest of efforts at goal.
Chelsea buried Sunderland under lashings of early corners, with Kalou heading a Joe Cole outswinger onto the crossbar with just five minutes gone. Dean Whitehead bundled into the back of Shaun Wright-Phillips in the area minutes later and was lucky to get away with it.
Still, after Shevchenko had opened the scoring, Chelsea relented and did not score again until Frank Lampard converted a penalty 15 minutes from time. Alex had his shirt tugged by Danny Higginbotham as he tried to reach Lampard's free-kick and referee Peter Walton was decisive.
Keane said he had not seen the infringement but he certainly was unhappy about the circumstances surrounding Liam Miller's late red card. Miller challenged Terry and was confronted by Claudio Pizarro in the aftermath, only for the Irish midfielder to foolishly push the Chelsea substitute in the face.
"I'm not happy about the way Terry and Pizarro made a big issue out of it," Keane said. "It was a foul, yes, but there was no nastiness in it. It is in the last minute of the game. Of course, if you raise your hands there is no option but I felt the ref could have stepped in five seconds earlier. The reaction from Terry and Pizarro disappoints me."
While Sunderland fought hard, only Lampard's late shot against the post threatened to take the score beyond the bounds of the respectable. They will also be recruiting in January, to try to haul themselves out of the relegation mire. "This is the toughest league in the world," Keane said, "perhaps not technically, but physically and mentally it is so demanding. We certainly need to strengthen the squad. I've said that about nine million times this season."
Match summaryMoment of the match: He might not have had many moments to savour at Stamford Bridge but when Shevchenko leapt acrobatically to dive and head in Salomon Kalou¹s fine left-footed cross, he must have thought things were finally going his way. In the absence of Didier Drogba, Chelsea will need many more moments like that over the coming weeks. Rating: 6/10
This was routine stuff for Chelsea as a limited Sunderland side struggled to mount the merest threat to the hosts. Chelsea have gone 71 games unbeaten at Stamford Bridge and when Andriy Shevchenko headed in after 23 minutes that never looked like changing. Frank Lampard¹s penalty with 15 minutes to go finished things off.
Man of the matchFrank Lampard (Chelsea)
• One goal• Three shots• 71 passes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shevchenko rewarded for Chelsea's hard shift
Stuart BarnesSunday December 9, 2007The Observer
Andriy Shevchenko would be the first to admit that his time at Chelsea has been a big disappointment, falling far short of what he hoped for and what the club expected in return for a £30million transfer fee. Appearances have been sporadic, match-winning performances even less so. But for once he has delivered, and now has the chance to play a significant role in his team's season.Didier Drogba, the player who has overshadowed him, has undergone an operation on his knee. Manager Avram Grant says the extent of Drogba's lay-off will become clear 'in the next two or three days'. But the likelihood is that he will miss several games. That leaves Shevchenko the opportunity to lead the attack, and if he can reproduce the performance that went a long way to winning this match, then Chelsea's bid for domestic honours could survive the absence of their leading scorer.
The Ukrainian delivered the breakthrough with a diving header and throughout showed some of the technique and touches so conspicuous by their absence at Chelsea so far. 'I wouldn't mind him in my team,' said Roy Keane after overworked Sunderland stayed in touch until Frank Lampard's second from the penalty spot.'It is not easy to play without so many key players,' said Grant, who had to contend with injuries all season, before the loss of Drogba, who wanted the trouble cleared up in time for the African Cup of Nations.
'Shevchenko came in and did well for us. It was not easy against a side defending so well, but we dominated the game, moved the ball well and showed patience.'
Keane took a philosophical view of the penalty, conceded for shirt-pulling, and the late sending-off of Liam Miller for pushing Claudio Pizarro in the face after the substitute and John Terry had reacted to a Miller tackle.
'When the ball comes into the box like that there is every chance of the decision going for the home team,' he said. 'The penalty killed the game for us. At 1-0 you are always in with a chance.
'Raising your hands doesn't give the referee much choice. I just felt it could have been avoided if he had acted five or six seconds earlier before Terry and Pizarro got involved.
'We were a lot more solid than in the last away game, although that was probably not hard. I'm not sure Chelsea got out of second gear, but we know that anything we achieve against the top sides is a bonus. It's how we do against the others that matters.'
Keane, who dropped his £9m record goalkeeper Craig Gordon after the 7-1 drubbing at Everton, persisted here with Darren Ward and was grateful for the fact that Ward stood up well to the barrage of pressure that Chelsea mounted from the start.
Ward made two authoritative punched clearances as Shevchenko instigated early attacks that brought three corners in quick succession. From the third, delivered by Joe Cole, Salomon Kalou rose above defenders to send a header crashing against the face of the crossbar.
The pressure, however, had to tell and with 23 minutes gone the ball was worked out wide to the left for Kalou to cross and Shevchenko to connect with a diving header for his second goal of the season. Soon after, a 25-yard angled volley from Juliano Belletti thudded into the chest of Ward, who did well to hold on to it.
At last there was work for Chelsea's Carlo Cudicini, who smothered a low shot from Kenwyne Jones, who had engineered himself a position on the edge of the penalty box. It was an isolated Sunderland threat.
Shevchenko got on the end of another Kalou cross. This time the position was difficult and the pressure from defenders considerable, and he had to be satisfied with a corner after his header was deflected behind. When Ward failed to clear Belletti's cross, Shevchenko was in the thick of it again, hooking a volley wide.
Increasingly heavy rain meant that the ball was beginning to hold up on the sodden surface. This, together with Sunderland coming forward with more ambition, threatened to frustrate their opponents further.
Instead, Peter Walton ruled that Alex had his shirt pulled by Danny Higginbotham as Lampard played the ball in, and Lampard struck the spot-kick with his customary confidence.
The goal took the wind out of Sunderland's sails and they were reduced to 10 men near the end when the red mist descended on Miller.
There was still some action to come, and Lampard almost added a third for Chelsea in stoppage time, but his shot hit the post.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
'New' Chelsea sneak back into title race without their star Drogba
By IAN RIDLEY
And so comes the hard part for Chelsea. Without fuss,and without even much attention on them — for a change — they are hauling themselves back into the title race.
Now they have to sustain it without Didier Drogba. Drogba, so often their focal point, had an operation yesterday morning on a persistent knee injury and is likely to be sidelined for up to five weeks as Chelsea enter the crucial Christmas period that can make or break seasons. After that, the Ivory Coast striker is due to be away at the African Cup of Nations, possibly until almost mid-February.
In his absence, Andriy Shevchenko seized a rare chance to start and grabbed the goal that set them on their way to another efficient but hardly exciting victory over a toothless Sunderland, who had Liam Miller sent off late on. Frank Lampard's penalty confirmed the win that take Chelsea to within three points of the summit ahead of Arsenal's game at Middlesbrough.
It also stretched Chelsea's unbeaten run since Avram Grant's quiet management replaced Jose Mourinho's chattering talents to 15 games and their home League record — dating back to Claudio Ranieri — to 71 games without defeat. Retaining such a lofty position through more demanding challenges without Drogba will be an interesting test of Grant and Chelsea, however.
"In the last three months we have played without Petr Cech, John Terry and Frank Lampard, Ricardo Carvalho for certain periods but we have played well and look like a team," said the Israeli manager.
"It won't be easy to play without Drogba but I didn't come to this club for an easy life. Shevchenko is a great striker and I am happy that he played well and scored a goal. Claudio Pizarro is also doing well in training and we have Salomon Kalou, so that's three strikers."
In what may well be a difference of opinion within the club, Grant had clearly hoped to have Drogba available for next Sunday's game Arsenal but instead the fiercelyproud Ivory Coast captain chose to bring forward his surgery to be available for the African tournament, which starts on January 20.
Not that Chelsea needed him yesterday. Quite apart from Drogba, they were still without a host of first-choice players whom they hope will be closer to fitness for next Sunday — Cech, Carvalho and Florent Malouda — but still had more than enough to see off Sunderland, who looked overawed and even grateful to have avoided the seven-goal thrashing they suffered at Everton recently.
"The penalty killed the game for us," said Sunderland manager Roy Keane. "At 1-0 you are always in with a chance but when you come to Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal or Liverpool and there is a coming together in the box, it usually goes to the home side."
The boot is certainly on the other foot these days for the former Manchester United captain.
It always looked likely to be one of those routine days at Stamford Bridge. Intent was sounded when Kalou thumped a header from Joe Cole's corner against the crossbar and the inevitable goal arrived with the game nearly a quarter old. The impressive Juliano Belletti delivered a raking crossfield ball from the right-back position that found Kalou and from his chipped cross, Shevchenko stretched to head home only his second League goal of the season.
It was damage-limitation for Sunderland after that. Dickson Etuhu — a big miss for them, too, when he goes to the African Nations with Nigeria — worked manfully in midfield and there was defiance, if little by way of creativity.
In the first half, Kenwyne Jones did force Carlo Cudicini into a low save with a long shot, while Greg Halford also shot straight into the keeper's arms in the second. But they were isolated attempts. Otherwise, it developed into a predictable probing by Chelsea.
The game-sealing goal arrived in the 75th minute when Lampard swung in a free-kick and Danny Higginbotham was judged to have pulled back Alex. Lampard converted the penalty and almost claimed another with a shot that hit the post soon after.
As the game drifted, unnecessary enlivenment came when, after Miller's tackle on Terry had prompted an angry reaction, Miller responded to a sly nudge by Pizarro with a push right under referee Peter Walton's nose."Once you raise your hands, you don't give a choice to referees," said Keane. "It seems you're not allowed to tackle the England captain and I thought they made too much of a fuss of it." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andriy Shevchenko strikes formChelsea 2 Sunderland 0
Brian Glanville at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea, deprived of Didier Drogba, beat a passive Sunderland team without panache or excessive difficulty.
This was a game that posed three cogent questions. First, how would Chelsea fare without Drogba? Second, would Sunderland be inhibited rather than inspired by their demanding manager, Roy Keane? Third, how would Andriy Shevchenko perform, now that he has been dragged from outer darkness to take Drogba’s place up front, all alone, when it was widely expected the role would go to the Peru international, Claudio Pizarro?
So far as Drogba was concerned, there was a surprise shortly before kick-off when it was announced that the powerful and arguably irreplaceable Ivory Coast centre-forward had undergone a knee operation.
One way or another, Chelsea knew they were doomed to lose a player hugely important to their success with the Africa Cup of Nations looming in the new year. Drogba’s fitness for that tournament is now in doubt.
Chelsea were also without Michael Essien yesterday, but he seems sure to go to the African tournament to play for Ghana. At Villa Park, Harry Redknapp faces a similar problem. Players such as Sulley Muntari, so prominent in yesterday’s game and a goalscorer to boot, will also be playing for Ghana.
As for Roy Keane, you wondered when he was appointed manager of Sunderland whether his fierce perfectionism, the demands he makes not only on himself but on the rest of his team, could have a negative effect on players, few of whom could ever hope to reach his heights of ability. Last season things worked out well enough for Sunderland who were promoted to the Premier League. Lately, however, not least when they crashed 7-1 at Everton, there have been voices that the Sunderland players have indeed been somewhat overwhelmed by Keane’s forceful personality.
Shevchenko was bought by Chelsea for £30m from Milan but the mountain of cash has produced a mere molehill of performance. He has not been playing regulalry and there have been indications that he may even end next season in Major League Soccer in America.
Yesterday it seemed to demand a great deal from Shevchenko to leave him as the sole spearhead, but from the beginning he looked active and effective. The game had scarcely begun when he sent a neat pass to Salomon Kalou to spark a movement that forced Sunderland’s reserve keeper, Darren Ward, to somewhat nervously punch the ball out. Ward is displacing the Scotland international keeper, Craig Gordon, who cost a cool £9m, but seems to be suffering from a crisis of confidence.
After six minutes, Kalou headed solidly against the bar from Joe Cole’s corner. But on 23 minutes, it was Kalou who would send over the left-wing cross that Shevchenko converted with a powerful header.
Sunderland eventually had a shot on goal in the 33rd minute, coming from their towering lone striker Kenwyne Jones with a low, left-footed shot onto which Carlo Cudicini threw himself.
But Chelsea were comfortably in command. Their manager, Avram Grant, deployed the England international right-winger Shaun Wright-Phillips as an inside-right. Quite what Steve Sidwell, starting on the bench, thought of that, one can only guess. A key figure last season in the Reading central midfield, he chose to move to Chelsea in the summer on a free transfer. Reading plainly miss him, Chelsea seldom use him. No doubt the move has been lucrative for him, but there are other satisfactions even now in football.
Early in the second half, when the ball seemed to be running out of play on the Chelsea left, Shevchenko, with a dynamic burst, retrieved it, went past his man and sent in a cross that could well have brought a goal.
It was a long time before we would see any more drama at either end. On 75 minutes however, Chelsea would score a soft second. Frank Lampard’s free kick from the left provoked what referee Peter Walton deemed a foul in the box by Danny Higginbotham pulling Alex’s shirt. A penalty was given and Lampard, who by and large on this wet afternoon played what you might call a senatorial role, deep in midfield, when he might have been expected to advance more often, put away the spot-kick with no difficulty.
Sunderland’s cup was well and truly full when Liam Miller, after a challenge by Pizarro, stupidly pushed him in the face and was consequently sent off.
It was a comfortable but inglorious victory for Chelsea, yet Drogba will surely be seriously missed.
Player ratings
Chelsea: Cudicini 6, Belletti 6, Alex 6, Terry 7, A Cole 7, J Cole 7 (Sidwell 85min), Wright-Phillips 6, Lampard 6, Mikel 6, Kalou 6 (Pizarro 66min), Shevchenko 7 Star man: J Cole (Chelsea)
Sunderland: Ward 6, Halford 6, McShane 6, Higginbotham 6, Collins 6, Miller 6, Etuhu 6, Leadbitter 6 (Stokes 70min), Whitehead 6, Wallace 6, Jones 6 (Murphy 67min)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Andrei Shevchenko's nous enough for ChelseaBy Duncan White at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (1) 2 Sunderland (0) 0
Rattled by the news of Didier Drogba's knee operation, Chelsea's support can hardly have been emboldened by the sight of the faded talents of Andrei Shevchenko taking to the field. Yet the Ukrainian, the one-time scourge of the meanest defenders in Serie A, showed that while the legs may not work like they used to, the goal instinct has not quite been extinguished.
With 23 minutes gone, and Sunderland barely showing the ambition to get out of their own half, Shevchenko gave outlet to Chelsea's building pressure. Salomon Kalou befuddled the hapless Greg Halford before crossing left-footed to the far post. Shevchenko had found space and dived to head expertly past Darren Ward. "This has been his job since he was a little child," Avram Grant said. "He knows how to do it. Shevchenko is a good striker - a great striker. He knows how to score goals and is intelligent. I think Sheva has scored five or six this year. Last year he scored 14 and everyone was disappointed."
Well, he has scored four, but near enough. Still, replacing Drogba will take more than one neat finish, and while Grant believes it is "important" for Shevchenko to step up in Drogba's absence, it will prove far more difficult against more trying opposition.
Scoring goals might not come easily if Drogba does not return until late February; conceding them should not be a problem, however. John Terry and Alex were masterful yesterday, and with Petr Cech on the cusp of return it will take serious adventure to get in behind a team who are now 15 games unbeaten.
While the scoreline remained respectable, this was never really a competitive fixture. Chelsea swamped their opponents, dominating possession and restricting Roy Keane's side to the tamest of efforts at goal.
Chelsea buried Sunderland under lashings of early corners, with Kalou heading a Joe Cole outswinger onto the crossbar with just five minutes gone. Dean Whitehead bundled into the back of Shaun Wright-Phillips in the area minutes later and was lucky to get away with it.
Still, after Shevchenko had opened the scoring, Chelsea relented and did not score again until Frank Lampard converted a penalty 15 minutes from time. Alex had his shirt tugged by Danny Higginbotham as he tried to reach Lampard's free-kick and referee Peter Walton was decisive.
Keane said he had not seen the infringement but he certainly was unhappy about the circumstances surrounding Liam Miller's late red card. Miller challenged Terry and was confronted by Claudio Pizarro in the aftermath, only for the Irish midfielder to foolishly push the Chelsea substitute in the face.
"I'm not happy about the way Terry and Pizarro made a big issue out of it," Keane said. "It was a foul, yes, but there was no nastiness in it. It is in the last minute of the game. Of course, if you raise your hands there is no option but I felt the ref could have stepped in five seconds earlier. The reaction from Terry and Pizarro disappoints me."
While Sunderland fought hard, only Lampard's late shot against the post threatened to take the score beyond the bounds of the respectable. They will also be recruiting in January, to try to haul themselves out of the relegation mire. "This is the toughest league in the world," Keane said, "perhaps not technically, but physically and mentally it is so demanding. We certainly need to strengthen the squad. I've said that about nine million times this season."
Match summaryMoment of the match: He might not have had many moments to savour at Stamford Bridge but when Shevchenko leapt acrobatically to dive and head in Salomon Kalou¹s fine left-footed cross, he must have thought things were finally going his way. In the absence of Didier Drogba, Chelsea will need many more moments like that over the coming weeks. Rating: 6/10
This was routine stuff for Chelsea as a limited Sunderland side struggled to mount the merest threat to the hosts. Chelsea have gone 71 games unbeaten at Stamford Bridge and when Andriy Shevchenko headed in after 23 minutes that never looked like changing. Frank Lampard¹s penalty with 15 minutes to go finished things off.
Man of the matchFrank Lampard (Chelsea)
• One goal• Three shots• 71 passes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shevchenko rewarded for Chelsea's hard shift
Stuart BarnesSunday December 9, 2007The Observer
Andriy Shevchenko would be the first to admit that his time at Chelsea has been a big disappointment, falling far short of what he hoped for and what the club expected in return for a £30million transfer fee. Appearances have been sporadic, match-winning performances even less so. But for once he has delivered, and now has the chance to play a significant role in his team's season.Didier Drogba, the player who has overshadowed him, has undergone an operation on his knee. Manager Avram Grant says the extent of Drogba's lay-off will become clear 'in the next two or three days'. But the likelihood is that he will miss several games. That leaves Shevchenko the opportunity to lead the attack, and if he can reproduce the performance that went a long way to winning this match, then Chelsea's bid for domestic honours could survive the absence of their leading scorer.
The Ukrainian delivered the breakthrough with a diving header and throughout showed some of the technique and touches so conspicuous by their absence at Chelsea so far. 'I wouldn't mind him in my team,' said Roy Keane after overworked Sunderland stayed in touch until Frank Lampard's second from the penalty spot.'It is not easy to play without so many key players,' said Grant, who had to contend with injuries all season, before the loss of Drogba, who wanted the trouble cleared up in time for the African Cup of Nations.
'Shevchenko came in and did well for us. It was not easy against a side defending so well, but we dominated the game, moved the ball well and showed patience.'
Keane took a philosophical view of the penalty, conceded for shirt-pulling, and the late sending-off of Liam Miller for pushing Claudio Pizarro in the face after the substitute and John Terry had reacted to a Miller tackle.
'When the ball comes into the box like that there is every chance of the decision going for the home team,' he said. 'The penalty killed the game for us. At 1-0 you are always in with a chance.
'Raising your hands doesn't give the referee much choice. I just felt it could have been avoided if he had acted five or six seconds earlier before Terry and Pizarro got involved.
'We were a lot more solid than in the last away game, although that was probably not hard. I'm not sure Chelsea got out of second gear, but we know that anything we achieve against the top sides is a bonus. It's how we do against the others that matters.'
Keane, who dropped his £9m record goalkeeper Craig Gordon after the 7-1 drubbing at Everton, persisted here with Darren Ward and was grateful for the fact that Ward stood up well to the barrage of pressure that Chelsea mounted from the start.
Ward made two authoritative punched clearances as Shevchenko instigated early attacks that brought three corners in quick succession. From the third, delivered by Joe Cole, Salomon Kalou rose above defenders to send a header crashing against the face of the crossbar.
The pressure, however, had to tell and with 23 minutes gone the ball was worked out wide to the left for Kalou to cross and Shevchenko to connect with a diving header for his second goal of the season. Soon after, a 25-yard angled volley from Juliano Belletti thudded into the chest of Ward, who did well to hold on to it.
At last there was work for Chelsea's Carlo Cudicini, who smothered a low shot from Kenwyne Jones, who had engineered himself a position on the edge of the penalty box. It was an isolated Sunderland threat.
Shevchenko got on the end of another Kalou cross. This time the position was difficult and the pressure from defenders considerable, and he had to be satisfied with a corner after his header was deflected behind. When Ward failed to clear Belletti's cross, Shevchenko was in the thick of it again, hooking a volley wide.
Increasingly heavy rain meant that the ball was beginning to hold up on the sodden surface. This, together with Sunderland coming forward with more ambition, threatened to frustrate their opponents further.
Instead, Peter Walton ruled that Alex had his shirt pulled by Danny Higginbotham as Lampard played the ball in, and Lampard struck the spot-kick with his customary confidence.
The goal took the wind out of Sunderland's sails and they were reduced to 10 men near the end when the red mist descended on Miller.
There was still some action to come, and Lampard almost added a third for Chelsea in stoppage time, but his shot hit the post.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
'New' Chelsea sneak back into title race without their star Drogba
By IAN RIDLEY
And so comes the hard part for Chelsea. Without fuss,and without even much attention on them — for a change — they are hauling themselves back into the title race.
Now they have to sustain it without Didier Drogba. Drogba, so often their focal point, had an operation yesterday morning on a persistent knee injury and is likely to be sidelined for up to five weeks as Chelsea enter the crucial Christmas period that can make or break seasons. After that, the Ivory Coast striker is due to be away at the African Cup of Nations, possibly until almost mid-February.
In his absence, Andriy Shevchenko seized a rare chance to start and grabbed the goal that set them on their way to another efficient but hardly exciting victory over a toothless Sunderland, who had Liam Miller sent off late on. Frank Lampard's penalty confirmed the win that take Chelsea to within three points of the summit ahead of Arsenal's game at Middlesbrough.
It also stretched Chelsea's unbeaten run since Avram Grant's quiet management replaced Jose Mourinho's chattering talents to 15 games and their home League record — dating back to Claudio Ranieri — to 71 games without defeat. Retaining such a lofty position through more demanding challenges without Drogba will be an interesting test of Grant and Chelsea, however.
"In the last three months we have played without Petr Cech, John Terry and Frank Lampard, Ricardo Carvalho for certain periods but we have played well and look like a team," said the Israeli manager.
"It won't be easy to play without Drogba but I didn't come to this club for an easy life. Shevchenko is a great striker and I am happy that he played well and scored a goal. Claudio Pizarro is also doing well in training and we have Salomon Kalou, so that's three strikers."
In what may well be a difference of opinion within the club, Grant had clearly hoped to have Drogba available for next Sunday's game Arsenal but instead the fiercelyproud Ivory Coast captain chose to bring forward his surgery to be available for the African tournament, which starts on January 20.
Not that Chelsea needed him yesterday. Quite apart from Drogba, they were still without a host of first-choice players whom they hope will be closer to fitness for next Sunday — Cech, Carvalho and Florent Malouda — but still had more than enough to see off Sunderland, who looked overawed and even grateful to have avoided the seven-goal thrashing they suffered at Everton recently.
"The penalty killed the game for us," said Sunderland manager Roy Keane. "At 1-0 you are always in with a chance but when you come to Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal or Liverpool and there is a coming together in the box, it usually goes to the home side."
The boot is certainly on the other foot these days for the former Manchester United captain.
It always looked likely to be one of those routine days at Stamford Bridge. Intent was sounded when Kalou thumped a header from Joe Cole's corner against the crossbar and the inevitable goal arrived with the game nearly a quarter old. The impressive Juliano Belletti delivered a raking crossfield ball from the right-back position that found Kalou and from his chipped cross, Shevchenko stretched to head home only his second League goal of the season.
It was damage-limitation for Sunderland after that. Dickson Etuhu — a big miss for them, too, when he goes to the African Nations with Nigeria — worked manfully in midfield and there was defiance, if little by way of creativity.
In the first half, Kenwyne Jones did force Carlo Cudicini into a low save with a long shot, while Greg Halford also shot straight into the keeper's arms in the second. But they were isolated attempts. Otherwise, it developed into a predictable probing by Chelsea.
The game-sealing goal arrived in the 75th minute when Lampard swung in a free-kick and Danny Higginbotham was judged to have pulled back Alex. Lampard converted the penalty and almost claimed another with a shot that hit the post soon after.
As the game drifted, unnecessary enlivenment came when, after Miller's tackle on Terry had prompted an angry reaction, Miller responded to a sly nudge by Pizarro with a push right under referee Peter Walton's nose."Once you raise your hands, you don't give a choice to referees," said Keane. "It seems you're not allowed to tackle the England captain and I thought they made too much of a fuss of it." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, December 02, 2007
sunday papers whu home
The Sunday TimesDecember 2, 2007
Joe Cole's strike rescues ChelseaChelsea 1 West Ham United 0
Joe Lovejoy at Stamford Bridge
So much for the theory that Avram Grant is playing the football Roman Abramovich craved. A win is a win, as the professionals tell us, but this was the sort of performance that got Jose Mourinho the sack.
First, the stats. Chelsea are now unbeaten in their last 70 league matches at Stamford Bridge, and Grant has not been on the losing side in his last 14 in all competitions. Now the reality. Grant’s style of play is no better than Mourinho’s was, and he was left trotting out the old cliche that ugly wins are the ones that win you championships. For a long time, Curbishley’s game plan worked, frustrating Chelsea to the crowd’s increasingly vocal displeasure.
Without half the team they consider first choice, West Ham sought to contain their more celebrated opponents, and succeeded for 75 minutes. Once they have Dean Ashton and Craig Bellamy back in their starting lineup, the Hammers will have a tilt at any windmill. Without their cutting edge, they need to be circumspect, as they were here, with a 4-4-1-1 lineup featuring Carlton Cole as their solitary orthodox striker. Their application was such that it took Chelsea until well into the second half before they managed a decent strike at goal, and the thought occurred that had Curbishley been England’s manager two weeks ago, such tactics might well have denied Croatia their fateful winner.
Grant said afterwards: “They came here to defend and they did it very well. They played with aggression which caused us a lot of problems in the first half.” If only England could have said the same at Wembley 11 days ago. Frank Lampard was abused throughout by the West Ham fans, but it was another of the East End’s alumni, Joe Cole, who scored for the first time against his old club to win the game. The goal the game was crying out for was delayed until the 76th minute, when Carlo Cudicini’s long clearance was headed on by Didier Drogba and found its way via Salomon Kalou to Cole, who evaded Robert Green by stepping to the right before scoring with an emphatic, rising shot from six yards. Curbishley claimed Cole had been “slightly offside”, but television replays suggested the officials were right to give the benefit of the doubt to the attacking side. The West Ham manager probably had more of a point when he suggested that Jon Obi Mikel, otherwise a capable deputy of Claude Makelele, might have been sent off just before half-time for a bad tackle from behind on Scott Parker.
On an afternoon that raised few pulses, and even fewer talking points, much was made of Drogba’s complaint at half-time that somebody in the crowd had been disorienting him by flashing a laser in his eyes. The first 45 minutes were an eyesore, but there was no evidence of The Shining. Danny Gabbidon, preferred to Anton Ferdinand of late, made a better fist than most of marking the powerful Ivorian, and was not alone in the claret and blue ranks for assiduous efficiency in his defensive work. Matthew Upson and George McCartney also distinguished themselves in the goalless 75 minutes that had Grant looking more lugubrious than ever. In midfield, Parker and the unsung Hayden Mullins were more effective than Lampard and Steve Sidwell, who continues to look more like a Reading player than a Chelsea one, and until the goal went in, West Ham were good value for a point. “I thought we were going to come away with one, and I don’t think a draw would have flattered us,” Curbishley said. “My players did a really good job defensively, and I’m delighted with the way they performed. We lost concentration for the goal, but I thought Joe was slightly offside.”
When it was put to him that West Ham had set out to defend, their unapologetic manager said: “We came to match them man for man, to stop them dictating, which is what we did. Unfortunately we didn’t have quite enough in our locker going the other way, but we won’t be the last team to come here to stop Chelsea playing.” Grant admitted he would rather be in the dugout than the press room, and sounded like it. “It was not a great game, but we had the ball for most of the game”, he said. “We didn’t create a lot of chances, but we did enough to win by more than 1-0. We’ve had a fantastic run these past 14 games, but more important than that is the quality of football we’ve been playing.”
You would hardly have noticed yesterday, but Chelsea are back in contention for the title, with the power to add three points at home to Sunderland next Saturday. Away the following week at Arsenal will be the acid test of their potential.
The Grant effect
- Grant took over at Chelsea on September 20 and has won 11 of his 15 games.
He has lost just once – 2-0 in his first match at Manchester United
- Since being booed off after a 1-1 draw with Rosenberg in Jose Mourinho’s final match, Chelsea have reached the knockout stage of the Champions League and climbed to second in the Premier League
- Grant’s Chelsea have conceded only five goals, and scored 33, including a 6-0 win over Manchester City
Match stats
Star man: Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Player ratings:
Chelsea: Cudicini 6, Belletti 6, Alex 6, Terry 6, Bridge 5, Sidwell 5 (Wright-Phillips 66min), Mikel 7, Lampard 5, Kalou 6, J Cole 7 (Makelele 89min), Drogba 8 West Ham: Green 6, Neill 6, Gabbidon 7, Upson 7, McCartney 7, Solano 6 (Ljunberg 74min), Parker 6 (Spector 79min), Mullins 7, Etherington 6 (Ashton 79min), Boa Morte 6, C Cole 6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Mikel lucky as Joe Cole puts Chelsea secondBy Patrick Barclay
Chelsea (0) 1 West Ham United (0) 0
Was this just an off-day for a good referee or yet another symptom of a more general malaise? The question arises because Howard Webb, who was understandably hailed as England's top official both before and after his exemplary handing of the recent draw between Arsenal and Manchester United, did little here but enhance the view that leniency, in the Premier League, is going mad.
Webb finished up showing the yellow card to eight players, five from the home side, but took too long to stamp proper authority on those who appeared willing to do anything - with the possible exception of taking part in a move of sustained elegance -to secure a result.
Although the excesses were principally their fault, Webb was responsible for the most appalling miscarriage of justice when John Obi Mikel stayed on the field in the 37th minute despite having scissor-tackled Scott Parker from behind. A double red card it merited, yet Webb contented himself with yellow: the punishment he had just meted out, correctly, to Matthew Etherington for tugging a shirt and Nobby Solano, also correctly, for a trip.
No wonder feuds continued. No wonder Parker, before being withdrawn towards the end, launched a quite ridiculous challenge on his former clubmate Wayne Bridge which missed; this time Webb chose to issue no sanction at all. Coming on top of last weekend's eyebrow-raisers - or, in the case of the knee-high assault by Reading's Steve Hunt at Manchester City, stomach-turners - it was enough to make a visitor ask what you have to do to incur a red card in this country (dive twice, I suppose).
Avram Grant, savouring the extension of his unbeaten run since becoming Chelsea manager to 14 matches in all competitions, observed only that West Ham were lucky not to have more cards against their names. Less predictably, West Ham's Alan Curbishley neglected to dwell on the Mikel issue and Chelsea's luck in having a full complement of men with which to secure victory that keeps them up with the League's pacemakers. And so you will have to take my word for it that such gladiatorial rubbish as characterised the first half was no substitute for football.
In fairness to Grant and Chelsea, West Ham did defend very well - it was not just a matter of vigour - for 75 minutes until a foray down Route One broke their resistance. A long clearance by Carlo Cudicini was headed on, first by Didier Drogba and then by Salomon Kalou, leaving the increasingly influential Joe Cole to survive a suspicion of offside, veer wide of the outrushing Robert Green, and smash a rising drive inside the near post. Grant's team had been threatening, however, only since the resumption, which saw Frank Lampard shoot off target and Green bravely deny both Drogba and John Terry.
Once ahead, Chelsea relaxed and, after Drogba had nodded wide from a cross by the substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips, Joe Cole fed Mikel, who instantly contrived a delightful flip over the defence for Kalou, who failed to bring it down with only Green to beat, enabling the goalkeeper to collect. Nothing in the match sent the spirits soaring like this piece of Mikel class: such beauty, after that beast of a tackle earlier. There was, of course, no explanation from Webb of why the young Nigerian was allowed to play on. Maybe the referee was temporarily blinded by the laser pointer some nitwit of a fan had been shining in Drogba's eyes; the Ivorian complained about it halfway through the first half and stewards appeared to intervene successfully.
It was, all in all, a particularly ugly 45 minutes and Terry did not distinguish himself at the conclusion of a week in which Chelsea had been charged with failing to control their players (for the second time this season). After Cudicini, in trying to grasp a fine through pass from the excellent Hayden Mullins, had let the ball slip, Luis Boa Morte swung a boot quite legitimately yet was barged by the Chelsea and England captain as if he had done something dangerous. Terry deserved a yellow card for that. Then came Mikel's outrageous intervention with a worse tackle than that which prompted his dismissal against Manchester United in September. You could imagine the consternation in Chelsea's PR department, even before Terry was belatedly cautioned for dissent in the closing stages. We are led to believe they spent last week compiling a DVD of other teams' behaviour which suggested they, Chelsea, were more sinned against than sinning. They will not be updating it on this evidence.
Match summaryMikel's artfully lofted ball to Salomon Kalou reminded us of the beautiful game Roman Abramovich would like Avram Grant to bring to Stamford Bridge. If only the Nigerian had the self-discipline to go with his talent.Rating: 5/10
Man of the matchJohn Obi Mikel (Chelsea) 8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 1 West Ham Utd 0: Net king Cole nails Hammers Chelsea march on under cheerless Grant as Curbishley pays for tactics By Nick Townsend at Stamford Bridge
Avram Grant, the antithesis of the flamboyant Jose Mourinho, could have been discussing the funeral requirements of the recently bereaved as he reflected on Chelsea's 70th home match without defeat, Joe Cole's winner against his former club, eight cautions in total and victory which thrusts the club back into title contention.
Asked if Chelsea could indeed be considered to be aspirants for the Premier League again, the Israeli remarked stonily: "I told you from the beginning that I prefer to make things work on the pitch – then to talk. You can work that out for yourselves."
Those of us so richly rewarded with pearls of frequently outrageous wisdom from the Portuguese, even after so mundane a confrontation as this, could only lament how things have changed since the Special One departed. Yet, the Blues fans will not object to that one iota as they witness their team continue their discreet progress up the League under Mourinho's successor.
On a day when Didier Drogba, a persistent menace to the Hammers throughout, complained to fourth official Steve Tanner about a "laser light" being shone in his eyes from the West Ham contingent, there was precious little to dazzle the crowd here. Even the West Ham manager, Alan Curbishley, while lamenting not getting a draw "that most people would have felt was a fair result" conceded that "we did not really fashion the chance that was going to hurt Cudicini". He asserted that West Ham had arrived "to match up, stop them dictating the game – and that's what we did. But perhaps I didn't have enough going the other way." He can say that again.
There was Nobby Solano nipping in and almost deceiving Chelsea's rearguard just after the half-hour with a clever lob which finished on the roof of the net with Carlo Cudicini back-tracking. Luis Boa Morte had a sniff, but John Terry was able to take the sting off the shot to aid his goalkeeper. In the second half, Scott Parker dispatched a curled effort at Cudicini. And, well, that was about it.
The Hammers will attribute their shortcomings, to an extent, to injuries, with Craig Bellamy and Lee Bowyer among their absentees, but their followers will have anticipated rather more than this against a team whose principal target this season is said to be Champions' League glory.
Even the controversies were argued half-heartedly. First Joe Cole's 76th-minute goal. A booming clearance from Cudicini, was nodded on by Drogba and Salomon Kalou's header allowed Cole, appearing possibly offside, to round Robert Green and dispatch the winner high into the net. "It [the offside call] was tight," said Curbishley. "I think he [Cole] was perhaps slightly off. But it was the linesman's decision and we have just got to get on with it."
Curbishley's counterpart became about as animated as he ever does, claiming that West Ham had played "an aggressive game" especially in the opening minutes. The managers had already engaged in some pre-match sparring following Curbishley's opinion that officials' decisions favoured the big teams.
That was the precursor to a first half spiced by some uncompromising challenges. Referee Howard Webb dealt benignly with them; perhaps too leniently in the case of Chelsea's John Obi Mikel, who was guilty of an ugly lunge on former Chelsea man Parker. Apparently overlooking that particular indiscretion, Grant insisted: "In the first half we had to be busy reacting to their aggressive game, but in the second half we played our game and went on to win." Curbishley retorted: "There were some tackles, some niggly ones in the first half especially, but we were probably on the end of the two worst ones."
Chelsea created some half-chances after the interval. Wayne Bridge's cross lined up an invitation for Steve Sidwell, but the midfielder saw his attempt deflected wide by Matthew Upson's challenge. Terry also went close before Cole struck his splendid winner. It was one shining beam of illumination on a grey day – other than that in Drogba's eyes.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cole fires up Chelsea's title ambitions
Paul Wilson at Stamford BridgeSunday December 2, 2007Guardian Unlimited
Inevitably this west-east London derby was a bad-tempered bearpit, and inevitably it was won for Chelsea by a goal from a former West Ham player.Joe Cole's well-taken second-half strike stretched Chelsea's unbeaten run to 14 games and enabled Frank Lampard to give a clenched-fist salute to the noisy West Ham fans at the end. This was the first time Cole had scored against his former club and Lampard had endured the barracking of the travelling fans all afternoon, particularly when taking corners at the Shed end.
Didier Drogba also complained to the fourth official midway through the first half that a laser pointer was being shone in his eyes, something cameras picked up, and stewards were sent into the crowd to investigate. The West Ham fans might not care for Chelsea, but Alan Curbishley and his team gave them a little too much respect. 'West Ham just came here to defend,' said Avram Grant, a little harshly, but not unfairly. The visitors created chances to win before Chelsea scored, but did not have the players on the pitch to accept them.
Curbishley sent Dean Ashton and Freddie Ljungberg on only during the last quarter of an hour, when West Ham had to chase the game, and while Carlton Cole won his share of flicks and aerial challenges in the middle of the pitch he never managed directly to threaten the Chelsea goal.
Grant has just said that Chelsea's priority this season will be the Champions League, and it looked for the first hour as if his players intended to take him at his word. A club with the resources at Chelsea's disposal should not be ruling out the league before Christmas in any case, particularly when the Champions League is about to go away for a couple of months, and Grant might simply be trying to take pressure off his players.
Chelsea are still in touch with the leaders and have already been to Anfield and Old Trafford. They visit Arsenal in a fortnight, then have all three of their main rivals for the title at home in the new year. Chelsea will need to up their game judging by this display, but make no mistake they still have a chance of the title. 'If we'd got out of here with a point I think most people would have thought it a fair result,' said Curbishley, rather confirming he had pinned his hopes on a draw. 'We won't be the only team this season coming here to play for a draw. Perhaps we didn't have enough in the final third, but it feels like we had a point taken away from us.'
Grant complained West Ham had been over-aggressive in the first half, though they were not the only ones. Referee Howard Webb's reputation for control began to suffer as soon as he let the Chelsea and England captain John Terry get away with administering his own justice when Luis Boa Morte legitimately challenged for a loose ball Carlo Cudicini had spilled.
John Obi Mikel was lucky to get away with just a booking for attacking Scott Parker's ankles, Salomon Kalou was cautioned for a foul on Boa Morte, and when Boa Morte was booked, for an innocuous challenge on Mikel, it was only after the Chelsea player had observed to the referee that his previous tackle merited a card.
There was precious little football to talk about before the interval, though the game opened out in the second half and became entertainingly end-to-end. It took a block from Matthew Upson to prevent a Steve Sidwell shot reaching its target, then after Joe Cole and Lampard had gone close, the former miscued in front of goal when Sidwell's cross arrived at an awkward height.
West Ham's best chance fell to Nolberto Solano, which is bad enough news, worse was the fact that it was a headed chance. Though neat and effective in other aspects of play the Peruvian doesn't do headers, and when Upson set him up by heading invitingly back across goal Solano wasted a good opportunity and a great position by failing to make contact.
Boa Morte saw a shot saved shortly afterwards, but West Ham had had their moment and it was time for Chelsea to have theirs. There was a suggestion of offside when Kalou nodded the ball forward for Joe Cole, though it needed a freeze-frame to confirm it so he probably deserves the benefit of the doubt. He was just about level with Danny Gabbidon when Kalou diverted Drogba's header into his path, and he didn't need asking twice to round Robert Green and hold off George McCartney's challenge to score.
Chelsea could have had more, one particularly inventive pass from Mikel deserved a better finish than the one Kalou was able to supply, though in a scrappy game of eight bookings one goal was always likely to be enough.
'It was a question of being patient and giving a bit more - we were tired [after the Champions League],' Drogba said. Of the laser incident, the striker commented: 'You see this green light, but this is a bit of fun I think. The rest of the West Ham fans were good, they supported their team and that is what you want to see, not this.'
It was put to Grant that winning while not playing particularly well was the mark of champions, but the Chelsea manager didn't seem to understand the question. 'We played well, we could have had more goals,' he said.
Jose Mourinho he ain't, although that is hardly an exclusive. He still has Mourinho's old team, though, and anyone unbeaten in 14 games, not to mention the past 70 league games at home, should be in with a shout at the end of the season.
Man of the match: John Obi Mikel----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Chelsea midfielder Cole lifts dire derby with magic touchChelsea 1 West Ham 0
Avram Grant is the kind of football manager who wishes to remain anonymous. A large, doleful individual, he abhors controversy, recoils from limelight and deals in blandly inoffensive opinion.
In short, he is about as far removed from Jose Mourinho as it is possible for a man to be. And yet, the old chap has something going for him. Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 14 matches.
They are loitering with intent, close by the Premier League summit,and they are carrying the kind of confidence which was the hallmark of their game a couple of seasons ago.
True, they are distinctly unattractive, another feature of their football under Mourinho,and they tend to become involved in mediocre matches, of which this London derby was one. But, as the managers always tell us, this is 'a results business', and the songs of relief at Stamford Bridge announced that Grant is getting results.
In fairness, they scarcely deserved this latest victory. West Ham defended efficiently, organised effectively and worked hard enough to find tangible reward. The fact that they departed forlornly was due to the hair-line decision which decreed that Joe Cole was onside as he ran on to the chance created for him by Jon Obi Mikel and Didier Drogba in the 75th minute.
Cole held his balance, increased his pace and buried the canniest shot high into the West Ham net. And a side which had defended with such resolution for so long was forced to accept a harsh reality.
Drogba might argue that his own efforts had warranted reward, especially after claiming that a West Ham fan had been shining a laser beam in his eyes during the first half. If so, it was a troubling assault, but Drogba complains so loudly, so frequently, and of so much that sympathy is in short supply.
But then, any kind of sympathy was hard to come by yesterday, especially after so tedious a first half. And much of that could be blamed on the man in charge.
It is never easy to criticise a referee when he is surrounded by so many tireless and proficient cheats, but Howard Webb had a dreadful day. For the first 45 minutes, the match drifted towards a kind of petulant anarchy as he fumbled every important decision.
He should have booked John Terry early on, when the Chelsea captain over-reacted absurdly to Luis Boa Morte's legitimate challenge on Carlo Cudicini. Terry cuts a disturbing figure at the moment, a man seemingly in thrall to his own publicity. A stronger referee than Webb would surely have acted sooner.
He handed out great fistfuls of bookings, yet he managed to overlook a couple of wild lunges by Scott Parker, who lost his head dramatically at the close of the first half.
Most worryingly,in the 38th minute, he watched Mikel hurl a malevolent scything tackle at Parker's calves, and decided that a yellow card met the case. A straight red would have displeased the home fans,but it was the only appropriate decision, and Webb ducked it.
Five minutes later, Mikel had his jersey tugged by Boa Morte and waved an imaginary card,demanding a booking. Even by the subterranean standards of Premier League football, Mikel's behaviour was particularly shameful. But with referees like Webb around, he need fear no punishment.
The second half was a considerable improvement, as it had to be. Chelsea lifted the pace,West Ham responded in kind, and the worst of the first-half feuds flickered out.
Grant, in a moment of dazzling candour, conceded that: 'It wasn't a great game today', but he also insisted that Chelsea had enjoyed 70 or 80 per cent of possession.
For his part,Alan Curbishley quietly cursed the point which escaped and bit his lip when asked to comment on the tackles.We sensed that he might have had lots to say about Mikel's assault, but he simply observed that his team was on the receiving end of one or two poor tackles, but that he had no complaints.
The match represented the 70th consecutive home game in which Chelsea have avoided defeat. This is the kind of statistic which would have kept Mourinho chattering through the evening, citing the excellence of his preparation, the subtlety of his coaching and the indomitable spirit of his players.
Grant merely remarked that it was an interesting point, but that he did not concern himself with the past.
'Only the present and the future interest me,' he said.
Jose would have scorned his refusal to deliver a lecture on the subject. But Chelsea have a new man with new methods. The story may become fascinating before the season is through. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joe Cole's strike rescues ChelseaChelsea 1 West Ham United 0
Joe Lovejoy at Stamford Bridge
So much for the theory that Avram Grant is playing the football Roman Abramovich craved. A win is a win, as the professionals tell us, but this was the sort of performance that got Jose Mourinho the sack.
First, the stats. Chelsea are now unbeaten in their last 70 league matches at Stamford Bridge, and Grant has not been on the losing side in his last 14 in all competitions. Now the reality. Grant’s style of play is no better than Mourinho’s was, and he was left trotting out the old cliche that ugly wins are the ones that win you championships. For a long time, Curbishley’s game plan worked, frustrating Chelsea to the crowd’s increasingly vocal displeasure.
Without half the team they consider first choice, West Ham sought to contain their more celebrated opponents, and succeeded for 75 minutes. Once they have Dean Ashton and Craig Bellamy back in their starting lineup, the Hammers will have a tilt at any windmill. Without their cutting edge, they need to be circumspect, as they were here, with a 4-4-1-1 lineup featuring Carlton Cole as their solitary orthodox striker. Their application was such that it took Chelsea until well into the second half before they managed a decent strike at goal, and the thought occurred that had Curbishley been England’s manager two weeks ago, such tactics might well have denied Croatia their fateful winner.
Grant said afterwards: “They came here to defend and they did it very well. They played with aggression which caused us a lot of problems in the first half.” If only England could have said the same at Wembley 11 days ago. Frank Lampard was abused throughout by the West Ham fans, but it was another of the East End’s alumni, Joe Cole, who scored for the first time against his old club to win the game. The goal the game was crying out for was delayed until the 76th minute, when Carlo Cudicini’s long clearance was headed on by Didier Drogba and found its way via Salomon Kalou to Cole, who evaded Robert Green by stepping to the right before scoring with an emphatic, rising shot from six yards. Curbishley claimed Cole had been “slightly offside”, but television replays suggested the officials were right to give the benefit of the doubt to the attacking side. The West Ham manager probably had more of a point when he suggested that Jon Obi Mikel, otherwise a capable deputy of Claude Makelele, might have been sent off just before half-time for a bad tackle from behind on Scott Parker.
On an afternoon that raised few pulses, and even fewer talking points, much was made of Drogba’s complaint at half-time that somebody in the crowd had been disorienting him by flashing a laser in his eyes. The first 45 minutes were an eyesore, but there was no evidence of The Shining. Danny Gabbidon, preferred to Anton Ferdinand of late, made a better fist than most of marking the powerful Ivorian, and was not alone in the claret and blue ranks for assiduous efficiency in his defensive work. Matthew Upson and George McCartney also distinguished themselves in the goalless 75 minutes that had Grant looking more lugubrious than ever. In midfield, Parker and the unsung Hayden Mullins were more effective than Lampard and Steve Sidwell, who continues to look more like a Reading player than a Chelsea one, and until the goal went in, West Ham were good value for a point. “I thought we were going to come away with one, and I don’t think a draw would have flattered us,” Curbishley said. “My players did a really good job defensively, and I’m delighted with the way they performed. We lost concentration for the goal, but I thought Joe was slightly offside.”
When it was put to him that West Ham had set out to defend, their unapologetic manager said: “We came to match them man for man, to stop them dictating, which is what we did. Unfortunately we didn’t have quite enough in our locker going the other way, but we won’t be the last team to come here to stop Chelsea playing.” Grant admitted he would rather be in the dugout than the press room, and sounded like it. “It was not a great game, but we had the ball for most of the game”, he said. “We didn’t create a lot of chances, but we did enough to win by more than 1-0. We’ve had a fantastic run these past 14 games, but more important than that is the quality of football we’ve been playing.”
You would hardly have noticed yesterday, but Chelsea are back in contention for the title, with the power to add three points at home to Sunderland next Saturday. Away the following week at Arsenal will be the acid test of their potential.
The Grant effect
- Grant took over at Chelsea on September 20 and has won 11 of his 15 games.
He has lost just once – 2-0 in his first match at Manchester United
- Since being booed off after a 1-1 draw with Rosenberg in Jose Mourinho’s final match, Chelsea have reached the knockout stage of the Champions League and climbed to second in the Premier League
- Grant’s Chelsea have conceded only five goals, and scored 33, including a 6-0 win over Manchester City
Match stats
Star man: Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Player ratings:
Chelsea: Cudicini 6, Belletti 6, Alex 6, Terry 6, Bridge 5, Sidwell 5 (Wright-Phillips 66min), Mikel 7, Lampard 5, Kalou 6, J Cole 7 (Makelele 89min), Drogba 8 West Ham: Green 6, Neill 6, Gabbidon 7, Upson 7, McCartney 7, Solano 6 (Ljunberg 74min), Parker 6 (Spector 79min), Mullins 7, Etherington 6 (Ashton 79min), Boa Morte 6, C Cole 6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Mikel lucky as Joe Cole puts Chelsea secondBy Patrick Barclay
Chelsea (0) 1 West Ham United (0) 0
Was this just an off-day for a good referee or yet another symptom of a more general malaise? The question arises because Howard Webb, who was understandably hailed as England's top official both before and after his exemplary handing of the recent draw between Arsenal and Manchester United, did little here but enhance the view that leniency, in the Premier League, is going mad.
Webb finished up showing the yellow card to eight players, five from the home side, but took too long to stamp proper authority on those who appeared willing to do anything - with the possible exception of taking part in a move of sustained elegance -to secure a result.
Although the excesses were principally their fault, Webb was responsible for the most appalling miscarriage of justice when John Obi Mikel stayed on the field in the 37th minute despite having scissor-tackled Scott Parker from behind. A double red card it merited, yet Webb contented himself with yellow: the punishment he had just meted out, correctly, to Matthew Etherington for tugging a shirt and Nobby Solano, also correctly, for a trip.
No wonder feuds continued. No wonder Parker, before being withdrawn towards the end, launched a quite ridiculous challenge on his former clubmate Wayne Bridge which missed; this time Webb chose to issue no sanction at all. Coming on top of last weekend's eyebrow-raisers - or, in the case of the knee-high assault by Reading's Steve Hunt at Manchester City, stomach-turners - it was enough to make a visitor ask what you have to do to incur a red card in this country (dive twice, I suppose).
Avram Grant, savouring the extension of his unbeaten run since becoming Chelsea manager to 14 matches in all competitions, observed only that West Ham were lucky not to have more cards against their names. Less predictably, West Ham's Alan Curbishley neglected to dwell on the Mikel issue and Chelsea's luck in having a full complement of men with which to secure victory that keeps them up with the League's pacemakers. And so you will have to take my word for it that such gladiatorial rubbish as characterised the first half was no substitute for football.
In fairness to Grant and Chelsea, West Ham did defend very well - it was not just a matter of vigour - for 75 minutes until a foray down Route One broke their resistance. A long clearance by Carlo Cudicini was headed on, first by Didier Drogba and then by Salomon Kalou, leaving the increasingly influential Joe Cole to survive a suspicion of offside, veer wide of the outrushing Robert Green, and smash a rising drive inside the near post. Grant's team had been threatening, however, only since the resumption, which saw Frank Lampard shoot off target and Green bravely deny both Drogba and John Terry.
Once ahead, Chelsea relaxed and, after Drogba had nodded wide from a cross by the substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips, Joe Cole fed Mikel, who instantly contrived a delightful flip over the defence for Kalou, who failed to bring it down with only Green to beat, enabling the goalkeeper to collect. Nothing in the match sent the spirits soaring like this piece of Mikel class: such beauty, after that beast of a tackle earlier. There was, of course, no explanation from Webb of why the young Nigerian was allowed to play on. Maybe the referee was temporarily blinded by the laser pointer some nitwit of a fan had been shining in Drogba's eyes; the Ivorian complained about it halfway through the first half and stewards appeared to intervene successfully.
It was, all in all, a particularly ugly 45 minutes and Terry did not distinguish himself at the conclusion of a week in which Chelsea had been charged with failing to control their players (for the second time this season). After Cudicini, in trying to grasp a fine through pass from the excellent Hayden Mullins, had let the ball slip, Luis Boa Morte swung a boot quite legitimately yet was barged by the Chelsea and England captain as if he had done something dangerous. Terry deserved a yellow card for that. Then came Mikel's outrageous intervention with a worse tackle than that which prompted his dismissal against Manchester United in September. You could imagine the consternation in Chelsea's PR department, even before Terry was belatedly cautioned for dissent in the closing stages. We are led to believe they spent last week compiling a DVD of other teams' behaviour which suggested they, Chelsea, were more sinned against than sinning. They will not be updating it on this evidence.
Match summaryMikel's artfully lofted ball to Salomon Kalou reminded us of the beautiful game Roman Abramovich would like Avram Grant to bring to Stamford Bridge. If only the Nigerian had the self-discipline to go with his talent.Rating: 5/10
Man of the matchJohn Obi Mikel (Chelsea) 8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 1 West Ham Utd 0: Net king Cole nails Hammers Chelsea march on under cheerless Grant as Curbishley pays for tactics By Nick Townsend at Stamford Bridge
Avram Grant, the antithesis of the flamboyant Jose Mourinho, could have been discussing the funeral requirements of the recently bereaved as he reflected on Chelsea's 70th home match without defeat, Joe Cole's winner against his former club, eight cautions in total and victory which thrusts the club back into title contention.
Asked if Chelsea could indeed be considered to be aspirants for the Premier League again, the Israeli remarked stonily: "I told you from the beginning that I prefer to make things work on the pitch – then to talk. You can work that out for yourselves."
Those of us so richly rewarded with pearls of frequently outrageous wisdom from the Portuguese, even after so mundane a confrontation as this, could only lament how things have changed since the Special One departed. Yet, the Blues fans will not object to that one iota as they witness their team continue their discreet progress up the League under Mourinho's successor.
On a day when Didier Drogba, a persistent menace to the Hammers throughout, complained to fourth official Steve Tanner about a "laser light" being shone in his eyes from the West Ham contingent, there was precious little to dazzle the crowd here. Even the West Ham manager, Alan Curbishley, while lamenting not getting a draw "that most people would have felt was a fair result" conceded that "we did not really fashion the chance that was going to hurt Cudicini". He asserted that West Ham had arrived "to match up, stop them dictating the game – and that's what we did. But perhaps I didn't have enough going the other way." He can say that again.
There was Nobby Solano nipping in and almost deceiving Chelsea's rearguard just after the half-hour with a clever lob which finished on the roof of the net with Carlo Cudicini back-tracking. Luis Boa Morte had a sniff, but John Terry was able to take the sting off the shot to aid his goalkeeper. In the second half, Scott Parker dispatched a curled effort at Cudicini. And, well, that was about it.
The Hammers will attribute their shortcomings, to an extent, to injuries, with Craig Bellamy and Lee Bowyer among their absentees, but their followers will have anticipated rather more than this against a team whose principal target this season is said to be Champions' League glory.
Even the controversies were argued half-heartedly. First Joe Cole's 76th-minute goal. A booming clearance from Cudicini, was nodded on by Drogba and Salomon Kalou's header allowed Cole, appearing possibly offside, to round Robert Green and dispatch the winner high into the net. "It [the offside call] was tight," said Curbishley. "I think he [Cole] was perhaps slightly off. But it was the linesman's decision and we have just got to get on with it."
Curbishley's counterpart became about as animated as he ever does, claiming that West Ham had played "an aggressive game" especially in the opening minutes. The managers had already engaged in some pre-match sparring following Curbishley's opinion that officials' decisions favoured the big teams.
That was the precursor to a first half spiced by some uncompromising challenges. Referee Howard Webb dealt benignly with them; perhaps too leniently in the case of Chelsea's John Obi Mikel, who was guilty of an ugly lunge on former Chelsea man Parker. Apparently overlooking that particular indiscretion, Grant insisted: "In the first half we had to be busy reacting to their aggressive game, but in the second half we played our game and went on to win." Curbishley retorted: "There were some tackles, some niggly ones in the first half especially, but we were probably on the end of the two worst ones."
Chelsea created some half-chances after the interval. Wayne Bridge's cross lined up an invitation for Steve Sidwell, but the midfielder saw his attempt deflected wide by Matthew Upson's challenge. Terry also went close before Cole struck his splendid winner. It was one shining beam of illumination on a grey day – other than that in Drogba's eyes.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cole fires up Chelsea's title ambitions
Paul Wilson at Stamford BridgeSunday December 2, 2007Guardian Unlimited
Inevitably this west-east London derby was a bad-tempered bearpit, and inevitably it was won for Chelsea by a goal from a former West Ham player.Joe Cole's well-taken second-half strike stretched Chelsea's unbeaten run to 14 games and enabled Frank Lampard to give a clenched-fist salute to the noisy West Ham fans at the end. This was the first time Cole had scored against his former club and Lampard had endured the barracking of the travelling fans all afternoon, particularly when taking corners at the Shed end.
Didier Drogba also complained to the fourth official midway through the first half that a laser pointer was being shone in his eyes, something cameras picked up, and stewards were sent into the crowd to investigate. The West Ham fans might not care for Chelsea, but Alan Curbishley and his team gave them a little too much respect. 'West Ham just came here to defend,' said Avram Grant, a little harshly, but not unfairly. The visitors created chances to win before Chelsea scored, but did not have the players on the pitch to accept them.
Curbishley sent Dean Ashton and Freddie Ljungberg on only during the last quarter of an hour, when West Ham had to chase the game, and while Carlton Cole won his share of flicks and aerial challenges in the middle of the pitch he never managed directly to threaten the Chelsea goal.
Grant has just said that Chelsea's priority this season will be the Champions League, and it looked for the first hour as if his players intended to take him at his word. A club with the resources at Chelsea's disposal should not be ruling out the league before Christmas in any case, particularly when the Champions League is about to go away for a couple of months, and Grant might simply be trying to take pressure off his players.
Chelsea are still in touch with the leaders and have already been to Anfield and Old Trafford. They visit Arsenal in a fortnight, then have all three of their main rivals for the title at home in the new year. Chelsea will need to up their game judging by this display, but make no mistake they still have a chance of the title. 'If we'd got out of here with a point I think most people would have thought it a fair result,' said Curbishley, rather confirming he had pinned his hopes on a draw. 'We won't be the only team this season coming here to play for a draw. Perhaps we didn't have enough in the final third, but it feels like we had a point taken away from us.'
Grant complained West Ham had been over-aggressive in the first half, though they were not the only ones. Referee Howard Webb's reputation for control began to suffer as soon as he let the Chelsea and England captain John Terry get away with administering his own justice when Luis Boa Morte legitimately challenged for a loose ball Carlo Cudicini had spilled.
John Obi Mikel was lucky to get away with just a booking for attacking Scott Parker's ankles, Salomon Kalou was cautioned for a foul on Boa Morte, and when Boa Morte was booked, for an innocuous challenge on Mikel, it was only after the Chelsea player had observed to the referee that his previous tackle merited a card.
There was precious little football to talk about before the interval, though the game opened out in the second half and became entertainingly end-to-end. It took a block from Matthew Upson to prevent a Steve Sidwell shot reaching its target, then after Joe Cole and Lampard had gone close, the former miscued in front of goal when Sidwell's cross arrived at an awkward height.
West Ham's best chance fell to Nolberto Solano, which is bad enough news, worse was the fact that it was a headed chance. Though neat and effective in other aspects of play the Peruvian doesn't do headers, and when Upson set him up by heading invitingly back across goal Solano wasted a good opportunity and a great position by failing to make contact.
Boa Morte saw a shot saved shortly afterwards, but West Ham had had their moment and it was time for Chelsea to have theirs. There was a suggestion of offside when Kalou nodded the ball forward for Joe Cole, though it needed a freeze-frame to confirm it so he probably deserves the benefit of the doubt. He was just about level with Danny Gabbidon when Kalou diverted Drogba's header into his path, and he didn't need asking twice to round Robert Green and hold off George McCartney's challenge to score.
Chelsea could have had more, one particularly inventive pass from Mikel deserved a better finish than the one Kalou was able to supply, though in a scrappy game of eight bookings one goal was always likely to be enough.
'It was a question of being patient and giving a bit more - we were tired [after the Champions League],' Drogba said. Of the laser incident, the striker commented: 'You see this green light, but this is a bit of fun I think. The rest of the West Ham fans were good, they supported their team and that is what you want to see, not this.'
It was put to Grant that winning while not playing particularly well was the mark of champions, but the Chelsea manager didn't seem to understand the question. 'We played well, we could have had more goals,' he said.
Jose Mourinho he ain't, although that is hardly an exclusive. He still has Mourinho's old team, though, and anyone unbeaten in 14 games, not to mention the past 70 league games at home, should be in with a shout at the end of the season.
Man of the match: John Obi Mikel----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Chelsea midfielder Cole lifts dire derby with magic touchChelsea 1 West Ham 0
Avram Grant is the kind of football manager who wishes to remain anonymous. A large, doleful individual, he abhors controversy, recoils from limelight and deals in blandly inoffensive opinion.
In short, he is about as far removed from Jose Mourinho as it is possible for a man to be. And yet, the old chap has something going for him. Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 14 matches.
They are loitering with intent, close by the Premier League summit,and they are carrying the kind of confidence which was the hallmark of their game a couple of seasons ago.
True, they are distinctly unattractive, another feature of their football under Mourinho,and they tend to become involved in mediocre matches, of which this London derby was one. But, as the managers always tell us, this is 'a results business', and the songs of relief at Stamford Bridge announced that Grant is getting results.
In fairness, they scarcely deserved this latest victory. West Ham defended efficiently, organised effectively and worked hard enough to find tangible reward. The fact that they departed forlornly was due to the hair-line decision which decreed that Joe Cole was onside as he ran on to the chance created for him by Jon Obi Mikel and Didier Drogba in the 75th minute.
Cole held his balance, increased his pace and buried the canniest shot high into the West Ham net. And a side which had defended with such resolution for so long was forced to accept a harsh reality.
Drogba might argue that his own efforts had warranted reward, especially after claiming that a West Ham fan had been shining a laser beam in his eyes during the first half. If so, it was a troubling assault, but Drogba complains so loudly, so frequently, and of so much that sympathy is in short supply.
But then, any kind of sympathy was hard to come by yesterday, especially after so tedious a first half. And much of that could be blamed on the man in charge.
It is never easy to criticise a referee when he is surrounded by so many tireless and proficient cheats, but Howard Webb had a dreadful day. For the first 45 minutes, the match drifted towards a kind of petulant anarchy as he fumbled every important decision.
He should have booked John Terry early on, when the Chelsea captain over-reacted absurdly to Luis Boa Morte's legitimate challenge on Carlo Cudicini. Terry cuts a disturbing figure at the moment, a man seemingly in thrall to his own publicity. A stronger referee than Webb would surely have acted sooner.
He handed out great fistfuls of bookings, yet he managed to overlook a couple of wild lunges by Scott Parker, who lost his head dramatically at the close of the first half.
Most worryingly,in the 38th minute, he watched Mikel hurl a malevolent scything tackle at Parker's calves, and decided that a yellow card met the case. A straight red would have displeased the home fans,but it was the only appropriate decision, and Webb ducked it.
Five minutes later, Mikel had his jersey tugged by Boa Morte and waved an imaginary card,demanding a booking. Even by the subterranean standards of Premier League football, Mikel's behaviour was particularly shameful. But with referees like Webb around, he need fear no punishment.
The second half was a considerable improvement, as it had to be. Chelsea lifted the pace,West Ham responded in kind, and the worst of the first-half feuds flickered out.
Grant, in a moment of dazzling candour, conceded that: 'It wasn't a great game today', but he also insisted that Chelsea had enjoyed 70 or 80 per cent of possession.
For his part,Alan Curbishley quietly cursed the point which escaped and bit his lip when asked to comment on the tackles.We sensed that he might have had lots to say about Mikel's assault, but he simply observed that his team was on the receiving end of one or two poor tackles, but that he had no complaints.
The match represented the 70th consecutive home game in which Chelsea have avoided defeat. This is the kind of statistic which would have kept Mourinho chattering through the evening, citing the excellence of his preparation, the subtlety of his coaching and the indomitable spirit of his players.
Grant merely remarked that it was an interesting point, but that he did not concern himself with the past.
'Only the present and the future interest me,' he said.
Jose would have scorned his refusal to deliver a lecture on the subject. But Chelsea have a new man with new methods. The story may become fascinating before the season is through. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, November 29, 2007
morning papers rosenborg away
The TimesNovember 29, 2007
Brilliant Didier Drogba sends Chelsea through with something to spare
Rosenborg 0 Chelsea 4
Matt Hughes in Trondheim
In his quieter moments Avram Grant has been known to reflect that he was lucky to end up as the first-team coach of Chelsea, although not half as fortunate as he remains in being able to call upon Didier Drogba.
With a typically powerful demonstration of his art, the Ivory Coast striker fired Chelsea into the knockout phase as group B winners last night, scoring two early goals to set them on course for a comfortable victory. Alex, the Brazilian who resembles an old-fashioned English defender, and Joe Cole, the Englishman who plays like a Brazilian, scored the others to finish off limited opponents in style.
Grant’s improved fortunes since he was putting out the cones at Portsmouth are not all down to luck, however, and the quietly-spoken Israeli deserves considerable credit for transforming a traumatised set of players into a team who have remained in contention in all competitions.
Chelsea have scored 30 goals in winning ten and losing only one of his 14 matches in charge – the first, at Old Trafford – while playing with greater freedom than they were afforded under José Mourinho. Greater challenges await, but Grant is confident enough to suggest that he could yet give Roman Abramovich a dream Champions League final in Moscow in May. “This is one of our targets, maybe the main target, because we want to be a big club,” Grant said. “One of the things to achieve is to get to the final. I hope we will do it and we will do it.”
Given Drogba’s antipathy towards Grant’s appointment, it is a testament to the striker’s professionalism that he has recovered so quickly not only to stabilise but to strengthen a regime that looks capable of fighting for honours on all fronts. Drogba scored the surprise match-winning goal against Valencia last month that convinced many doubters of Grant’s credentials, so it was fitting that he should seal Chelsea’s qualification with another authoritative display.
Grant’s only concern was a jittery performance by Carlo Cudicini, whose poor positioning and vulnerability under crosses emphasised how important it is for Chelsea that Petr Cech recovers from a calf injury as soon as possible. Drogba was too hot to handle on a freezing night in Norway in a performance that underlined his case for individual honours.
The World Player of the Year award will be presented at a gala dinner in Zurich next month and although Fifa’s obsession with Champions League winners means that it will be won by Kaká, of AC Milan, Drogba deserves to feature in the top three. His dominance was all the more startling given that Vidar Riseth, the Norway centre back, had boasted beforehand of formulating a cunning plan to contain him after working with John Carew, the Aston Villa striker, on international duty; it proved to be as effective as one of Baldrick’s schemes.
“Didier is a very good striker,” Grant said. “We won without him [against Derby County on Saturday], but we wanted him to play. It’s easier with him in the side. It won’t be easy without him in January [when he will be at the African Cup of Nations], but we cannot change him.”
Grant had joked during the build-up to this match that his players would need to run around more than usual to combat the cold conditions and in an energetic opening they appeared to take him at his word. Chelsea could have opened the scoring on three occasions before Drogba finally did so in the eighth minute, with the Ivory Coast striker twice shooting wide before finding Michael Essien with an intelligent header from which he volleyed over the bar.
With Drogba at his rampaging best, it was only a matter of time before he was rewarded with a goal, although he was reliant on the brilliance of one of his teammates. After collecting the ball in his own half, Joe Cole embarked on one of those mazy runs that used to be his trademark before Mourinho stifled such creativity.
The England midfield player beat three opponents before unleashing a swerving shot from 25 yards that was saved by Lars Hirschfeld. Unfortunately for the former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper, he followed the example of one of his successors, Paul Robinson, by failing to clear the ball from the danger area and Drogba was on hand to sweep home from close range.
In this sort of mood, Drogba is unstoppable and he put the match beyond Rosenborg 12 minutes later. The 29-year-old had sought treatment for a back injury moments earlier, but he showed no ill-effects as he bundled home his ninth goal of the season.
Shaun Wright-Phillips found Essien in the penalty area and the Ghana midfield player held off two defenders, giving Drogba time to pounce with a left-foot finish. Chelsea’s dominance was such that they allowed Alex to score with a free kick in the 40th minute, before Cole added a fourth in the second half, to which Andriy Shevchenko, a substitute, even contributed. The Ukraine striker remains a peripheral figure under Grant, but many will seek to avoid his liberated team in the knockout phase.
How they lined up
Rosenborg (4-1-3-2): L Hirschfeld – F Stoor, B Kvarme, V Riseth, M Dorsin (sub: C Basma, 86min) – A Tettey, P Skjelbred, M Sapara, A Traoré (sub: R Strand, 56) – S Iversen, Y Koné (sub: D K Ya, 63). Substitutes not used: A Lund Hansen, M Koppinen, O Storflor, A Nordvik.
Chelsea (4-3-3): C Cudicini – J Belletti, Alex, J Terry, A Cole – M Essien, C Makelele, F Lampard (sub: C Pizarro, 77) – S Wright-Phillips (sub: S Kalou, 68), D Drogba (sub: A Shevchenko, 68), J Cole. Substitutes not used: Hilário, J O Mikel, W Bridge, T Ben Haim. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Didier Drogba double helps Chelsea throughBy John Ley in Trondheim
Rosenborg (0) 0 Chelsea (3) 4
With Christmas less than a month away Chelsea banished the ghost of managers past with another hugely impressive performance, to move into the knockout stages of the Champions League with a game to spare. Norway traditionally gift Trafalgar Square a Christmas tree; last night, Christmas came early for Chelsea in Norway.
Jose Mourinho's last act as Chelsea manager was to see his side stumble to a draw with Rosenborg on the opening day of the competition, but two goals from Didier Drogba and a third by Alex before half-time confirmed a stimulating victory. Joe Cole's second-half goal extended their advantage and even Chelsea's fans got into the festive spirit early, singing "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way, Oh what fun it is to see Chelsea win away". On that September evening Chelsea's Champions League aspirations took a jolt in what was to prove Mourinho's final game. A half-empty Stamford Bridge saw a lack-lustre performance and, at the time, it was hard to imagine Chelsea in the position they found themselves on a considerably colder night.
Mourinho left, Avram Grant was controversially appointed and, in Norway, he confirmed Roman Abravomich's decision was a prudent one by steering Chelsea a step closer to their Holy Grail with a hugely impressive performance.
The Scandinavian snow had relented but it was still bitterly cold with a slippy surface made worse by rain earlier in the day. With both sides needing a win, the stakes were high and the atmosphere in the Lerkendal Stadion tense.
Chelsea were still without key figures such as Petr Cech, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Florent Malouda and Michael Ballack. But Drogba, missing when these teams met two months ago, was back in place of Andrei Shevchenko while Claude Makelele, Cole and Alex returned, for Steve Sidwell, Salomon Kalou and Tal Ben Haim.
Having beaten Valencia home and away, Rosenborg should have started confidently, but the Norwegians appeared nervous and after a succession of early attacks, Chelsea took the lead.
Drogba had already troubled Rosenborg, finding the side- netting with a first-minute effort and shooting narrowly wide soon afterwards. And, in the eighth minute, Cole's strongly-hit attempt was only parried by Lars Hirschfeld, the former Spurs goalkeeper. The ball fell to Drogba, albeit at an acute angle, but the striker responded with a marvelous half-volley over the Canadian.
Chelsea continue to improve under Grant and this was the perfect start. Rosenborg responded, for the first time, with a speculative long-range shot from Marek Spara which bounced off the chest of Carlo Cudicini but the Chelsea goalkeeper gathered at the second attempt.
Chelsea were soon taking advantage of midfield mistakes and Michael Essien tested Hirschfeld again, the goalkeeper diving to his left to save. But, by the 20th minute, Drogba had extended Chelsea's advantage.
A long ball into the Rosenborg area caused confusion and after two failed attempts to clear Drogba seemed to push Essien out of the way before firing the ball high into the net with another exhibition of sublime finishing.
Drogba took his tally in 38 Champions League games to 21 goals and Chelsea were almost three goals to the good in the 28th minute when Frank Lampard attempted an audacious chip that Hirschfeld just saved on the line, juggling the ball precariously before taking it under his control.
Fellow England John Terry international made a tremendous challenge on Steffen Iversen at another brief Rosenborg flurry, but Chelsea finished the half in overall control, with Alex securing the third goal before the interval.
In the 40th minute Cole was fouled by Alexander Tettey and Alex was allowed to send a low, right-foot free-kick from 30 yards through a crowd area and into the left-hand corner.
Cole claimed the fourth, in the 73rd minute, finishing off a a move after Essien's shot had been parried by Hirschfeld---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Rosenborg 0 Chelsea 4:Drogba in regal form as Chelsea win group By Jason Burt at Lerkendal Stadium In the city of the kings, Chelsea made a regal procession. It's still to Trondheim, as ancient custom dictates, that the Norwegian sovereign comes for his blessing and last night the kings of the King's Road, with Didier Drogba at their head, made their own serene progress into the last 16 of the Champions League as winners of their group.
Drogba didn't so much overwhelm Rosenborg as humble them, taking control inside the first minute. The Ivorian, known as "King Drogba" in his homeland, struck twice in the first-half – he now has 21 goals in 38 appearances in this competition – to make a mockery of the pre-match claim by the home side's veteran defender Vidar Riseth that they had "devised" a plan to stop him. Some plan.
Drogba himself had said that Chelsea needed to win this Group B tie last night to prove they are contenders for the European Cup. Well, on that criteria, the case is proven although whether or not Rosenborg can be regarded as a litmus test is doubtful. In plunging temperatures they duly froze.
The 21,600-seat stadium could have sold out twice over and the build-up of chanting from the vertiginous stands promised a stern examination. It proved wholly illusionary. Rosenborg may have been buoyed by back-to-back victories over Valencia, and the draw at Stamford Bridge which ended Jose Mourinho's regime, but they played more like players who have just finished fifth in the Norwegian league – which they have – than equals with the continent's top teams.
Chelsea can count themselves among those with manager Avram Grant declaring of their performance and the conditions: "I was freezing but I was warm in the heart." It's now 13 games undefeated under him – 10 victories and three draws – with Grant admitting that winning this competition now represented the priority for Chelsea. "This is one of our targets, maybe the main target," the Israeli said. "We want to do it and we will do it. Hopefully we will do it this year. It's not just that we win games, it's that we progress and play better with good attacking football."
The importance of Drogba to that "project" cannot be underestimated. When he was replaced by the leaden Andrei Shevchenko it only served to highlight how crucial he is. Chelsea will have to contend without him early next year, with the African Nations Cup, with Grant admitting it will "not be easy" to cope.
Drogba set the tone immediately when he reached Ashley Cole's flick-on, ahead of Riseth, only to steer the ball the wrong side of the post. If that served as a warning then so did a fierce shot just three minutes later that whistled past Rosenborg goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld and narrowly wide.
The Norwegians poured forward but were doused by a counter-attack which ended with Michael Essien spooning a shot, from Drogba's header down, over the bar when he should have scored.
Moments later and Chelsea struck. Another strong run by the impressive Joe Cole carved a hole in the Rosenborg defence and gave him a clear sight of goal. His powerful drive was palmed out by Hirschfeld but the ball fell to Drogba who, from an acute angle, slammed his right-footed shot high into the net. Quickly he struck again by darting into the area to take the ball from Essien after Shaun Wright-Phillips' astute pass. With the defenders regrouping, the striker instantly steered the ball beyond Hirschfeld.
It deflated the Norwegians and that continued when Hirschfeld blundered. After Joe Cole was fouled, the former Tottenham goalkeeper was all too easily beaten by Alex with a low grass-cutter of a free-kick from almost 40 yards. The ball went straight through the Rosenborg wall.
The home side were booed off at half-time but immediately after the re-start they almost fell further behind as Wright-Phillips' rising shot only just cleared the bar.
Essien then broke away and his powerful drive was blocked by Hirschfeld only for Joe Cole, one of three on-rushing Chelsea players, to bundle the rebound home. Given his vibrant, clever contribution it was a deserved reward for the midfielder. And crowned an impressively-assured performance.
Rosenborg (4-3-1-2): Hirschfeld; Stoor, Riseth, Kvarme, Dorsin ( Basma, 86); Skjelbred, Tettey, Traoré (Strand, 56); Sapara; Kone (Ya, 63), Iversen. Substitutes not used: Lund Hansen (gk), Koppinen, Storflor, Nordvik.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cudicini; Belletti, Alex, Terry, A Cole; Essien, Makelele, Lampard (Pizarro, 76); Wright-Phillips (Kalou, 68), Drogba (Shevchenko, 68), J Cole. Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Mikel, Bridge, Ben Haim.
Referee: O Benquerenca (Portugal).---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Drogba double shows his value in Blues cruise
Dominic Fifield at Lerkendal StadiumThursday November 29, 2007The Guardian
The Champions League was supposed to have done away with mismatches like this. Chelsea claimed Group B at a canter last night, ripping a floundering Rosenborg side to shreds and ensuring that, when this competition resumes for the knockout phase in the new year, they will be paired with a runner-up rather than a group winner. Avram Grant's conviction that a first European Cup can be secured in Moscow next May remains unswayed.
This was a frighteningly comfortable evening against this season's supposed surprise package. The locals had arrived in this arena braced for temperatures to plummet to around -6C. In the end, they departed just grateful that their side's goal difference had not quite followed suit.It is hard to believe that these two teams could not be separated at Stamford Bridge back in September, when Jose Mourinho selected his last Chelsea line-up and Grant still peered out from the back of the dug-out. The Israeli can now survey this group from the summit.
Yet, poor as Rosenborg were, Chelsea were admirably ruthless. Crucially, Didier Drogba had been absent injured for the section's opening fixture. Last night, recovered from a knee complaint, he was simply irresistible to leave the home side gasping at the gulf in class. The Ivorian spent much of the first period either clutching his back or hobbling around the turf watching his team-mates dominate possession but, just as a Gordon Greenidge limp invariably signalled an imminent century, so Rosenborg should have known Drogba was in the mood.
He might have scored after 58 seconds and could have secured a hat-trick in the first 20 minutes. By then he had managed two splendid goals, however, the first battered into the roof of the net to set the tone after Lars Hirschfeld could only palm away the excellent Joe Cole's fizzed attempt from distance. When Shaun Wright-Phillips and Michael Essien combined midway through the half, Rosenborg's defenders crumpled in an untidy if obliging heap and Drogba curled a second into the corner.
Drogba will be missed in the new year when the African Cup of Nations takes him away for up to a month. "Ask me how to replace him in January when it comes to December. We'll lose four very important players from our squad for a long time. It won't be easy, but we cannot change it. There was a lot out there to please us. We scored four good goals and created plenty of other chances."
Others were just as impressive. Joe Cole tormented dithering markers all night, his fine run proving to be the prelude to Drogba's opener, and the England man eventually earned his own reward by tapping in the rebound when the overworked Hirschfeld could only palm out Essien's drive 17 minutes from time. The Ghanaian and Frank Lampard dominated central midfield throughout, Claude Makelele harrying at their backs, with Wright-Phillips a busy presence on the right. The winger clipped the woodwork early in the second half, but by that time the game was already won.
Some five minutes before the interval Alex stepped up to slap a low free-kick from 35 yards which scuttled across the icy turf and beyond the unsighted goalkeeper's delayed dive.
That was a goal more in keeping with the popular 1990s computer game Sensible Soccer than a Champions League tie, but it rather summed up the Norwegian side's glaring deficiencies. Rosenborg may have drawn the group's opening fixture in London, but they are a side who could finish only fifth in their domestic league this time around. Now they need to avoid defeat when they travel to Schalke on December 11 to reach the last 16.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Drogba makes it a Chelsea stroll
Rosenborg 0 Chelsea 4
By NEIL ASHTON
Two months ago, Rosenborg's remarkable draw with Chelsea put Jose Mourinho out of a job. Last night, it was simply job done.
The temperature here fell to minus five but that figure could end up being Rosenborg's goal difference in Group B after Chelsea inflicted a beating.
This was ruthless, right out of the old Mourinho school of magic. Avram Grant, more Mafia don in his black turtleneck sweater and long overcoat, really is getting to grips with management.
"I had to wear the jacket because it was freezing in the second half, but the performance warmed me up," said Grant. No one can argue with that.
Two goals from Didier Drogba, along with strikes by Alex and Joe Cole, secured Chelsea's right of passage to the next phase. It should have been more. They certainly deserved it.
Rosenborg, who finished fifth in the Norwegian league, froze on their big night and Chelsea, 13 games unbeaten, are through to the next round with a game to spare. Happy days, indeed.
This handsome victory means next month's visit of Valencia is a dead rubber, a chance to throw in the likes of Hilario, Claudio Pizarro and maybe Andriy Shevchenko.
"It's a long way until May but reaching the final is one of our targets, maybe even the main target," admitted Grant.
"We want to be considered as a 'big' club and to do it we have to reach the final. Hopefully, we can do it this season."
There is a chance, especially in this mood. Drogba could have put Chelsea ahead after just 58 seconds but they did not have to wait long before they took the lead.
The opener owed much to the ingenuity of that little ferret Joe Cole, darting down the left whenever he had the ball or cutting inside and driving past Rosenborg's static defence.
Cole shrugged off challenges from four Rosenborg players before electing to shoot. Lars Hirschfeld, the hero when these two teams met at Stamford Bridge, could only parry and Drogba lashed in the rebound with eight minutes on the clock.
This was a mismatch. Rosenborg second in the group? Astonishing. Embarrassing even. The gulf between these teams is as wide as the North Sea and it was a matter of time only before Rosenborg were scrambling for the life rafts.
Their domestic season finished two weeks ago and it showed. They were leggy, lethargic and lazy. Chelsea's wingers were electric, flashing one way then the other, and took full advantage.
Shaun Wright-Phillips is always eager to please and Chelsea's bundle of energy down the right deserves enormous credit for playing a significant role in their second goal.
He refused to give up a lost cause and finally battled his way past the Rosenborg defence before slipping a pass to Michael Essien.
Drogba timed his run, Essien found his man and the Chelsea striker did the rest.
Drogba was at his best last night.
Infuriating when he was sent off against Fulham at the beginning of Grant's regime, he illuminated this desperately one-sided game with a glorious performance.
He acted as the pivot at the head of Chelsea's attack, holding off Rosenborg's defenders with an arrogant swagger and waiting for his team-mates to join him in assault after assault. The heavy artillery was in Trondheim and Rosenborg had nowhere to hide.
Chelsea players should have spent the interval signing the match ball for Drogba but Hirschfeld finally came to Rosenborg's rescue when the striker attempted to chip him for a hat-trick.
"Didier is a very good striker," added Grant. "We won without him at Derby last week but it is easier for us when he is in the side.
"We will lose four very important players in January when they go to the African Nations Cup. It won't be easy but we cannot change it."
Crucially, Drogba will be back in time for the second phase of the Champions League but he deserves a pat on the back for this performance.
A third goal was coming and when it came it was right out of the top drawer. Chelsea are scoring goals at will — 30 in 14 games under Grant — and there was a smile on the face of Alex when his 35-yard free-kick found its way past the Rosenborg defence.
Wright-Phillips hit the post after the break, Essien had yet another opportunity to get on the scoresheet but Joe Cole sealed this special win with a 73rd-minute strike.
Essien, who will miss Saturday's clash with West Ham through suspension, had another effort blocked but Joe Cole finished off another sweeping move to stab in the rebound.
Try as they might, Chelsea finished one goal short of their record result in the competition — a 5-0 win over Galatasaray in 1999 — but this team is right in the groove.
Watch out, West Ham.
ROSENBORG (4-3-3): Hirschfeld 5; Stoor 5, Kvarme 6, Riseth 5, Dorsin 5 (Basma 84); Skjelbred 5, Tettey 4, Traore 5 (Strand 55min, 5); Iversen 5, Sapara 5, Kone 5 (Ya 63, 5).
CHELSEA (4-5-1): Cudicini 7; Belletti 7, Alex 7, Terry 7, A Cole 7; Wright-Phillips 7 (Kalou 68, 6), Makelele 7, Lampard 7 (Pizarro 76), Essien 7, J Cole 7; Drogba 8 (Shevchenko 68, 6).
Man of the match: Dider Drogba.
Referee: Olegario Benquerenca (Portugal). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mirror:
Grant: My Euro vision GROUP B: ROSENBORG 0 CHELSEA 4 'WE MUST WIN CHAMPS LEAGUE' Neil Mcleman From Trondheim 29/11/2007
Avram Grant claimed the Champions League was Chelsea's main target this season because they want to become a "big club" after coasting into the knockout stages last night.
The inspirational Didier Drogba caught Rosenborg cold with two ice-cool finishes in the first 20 minutes on a freezing night and stretched Chelsea's red-hot unbeaten streak to 13 games.
Alex added another before the break with Joe Cole rounding off the scoring. But such were the number of chances created by Grant's side - they had 21 shots in all, including 10 on target - they could have surpassed the eight goals scored by Liverpool against Besiktas earlier this month.
It was a very different story from the last time these sides met in September when the Norwegians' stubborn display in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge proved to be Jose Mourinho's last game in charge.
But the style of the performance, as well as going through the group stages undefeated away from home, confirmed Chelsea as genuine Champions League contenders again this season.
And after two Premier League titles in the Roman Abramovich era, the new coach said the club was now focusing on European domination.
"It's a long way until May, but Chelsea have never been in the final," said Grant. "This is one of our targets, maybe the main target, because we want to be a big club.
"One of the things to achieve that is to get to the final. I hope we will do it, and we will. Hopefully this year. We want to play positive, attacking football and I'm very happy with what's happened up to now. We've not just won games, but played better from game to game, good attacking football."
Admittedly, Rosenborg were the worst outfit to represent Norway since the last time they got nul points in the Eurovision Song Contest. But Chelsea were wonderfully in tune in a simply superb opening 45 minutes.
In a frantic opening five minutes, Drogba shot wide twice and Michael Essien scooped over to set the tone for the evening. When 60 seconds later Joe Cole's mazy run ended with a shot which former Spurs keeper Lars Hirschfeld could only parry, Drogba clipped home the rebound.
On 20 minutes Essien exchanged passes with Shaun Wright-Phillips to slice through the home rearguard and Drogba converted.
The Norwegian league season, where Rosenborg finished fifth, ended on November 3 and the home team had not played since a win in Valencia three days later. Last night it looked like it.
Alex put the game beyond the hosts on 40 minutes with a 30-yard free-kick. Wright-Phillips hit a post and Essien saw a shot cleared off the line before Joe Cole completed the rout on 73 minutes.
After this success in the land of mackerel, Chelsea have bigger fish to fry in Europe.
Rosenborg: Hirschfeld 7, Stoor 5, Riseth 4, Kvarme 4, Dorsin 5, Sapara 6, Tettey 5, Skjelbred 5, Traore 4 (Strand, 55), Iversen 4, Kone 5 (Ya, 63).
Chelsea: Cudicini 6, Belletti 7, Terry 8, Alex 8, A Cole 7, Makelele 5, Wright-Phillips 8 (Kalou, 68, 4), Lampard 8, Essien 8, J Cole 7, Drogba 9, (Shevchenko, 68, 6).
48% POSSESSION 52%
3 SHOTS ON TARGET 10
7 SHOTS OFF TARGET 11
0 OFFSIDES 2
6 CORNERS 3
7 FOULS 10
0 YELLOW CARDS 0
0 RED CARDS 0
ATTENDANCE: 21,582
Man Of The Match: Drogba ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brilliant Didier Drogba sends Chelsea through with something to spare
Rosenborg 0 Chelsea 4
Matt Hughes in Trondheim
In his quieter moments Avram Grant has been known to reflect that he was lucky to end up as the first-team coach of Chelsea, although not half as fortunate as he remains in being able to call upon Didier Drogba.
With a typically powerful demonstration of his art, the Ivory Coast striker fired Chelsea into the knockout phase as group B winners last night, scoring two early goals to set them on course for a comfortable victory. Alex, the Brazilian who resembles an old-fashioned English defender, and Joe Cole, the Englishman who plays like a Brazilian, scored the others to finish off limited opponents in style.
Grant’s improved fortunes since he was putting out the cones at Portsmouth are not all down to luck, however, and the quietly-spoken Israeli deserves considerable credit for transforming a traumatised set of players into a team who have remained in contention in all competitions.
Chelsea have scored 30 goals in winning ten and losing only one of his 14 matches in charge – the first, at Old Trafford – while playing with greater freedom than they were afforded under José Mourinho. Greater challenges await, but Grant is confident enough to suggest that he could yet give Roman Abramovich a dream Champions League final in Moscow in May. “This is one of our targets, maybe the main target, because we want to be a big club,” Grant said. “One of the things to achieve is to get to the final. I hope we will do it and we will do it.”
Given Drogba’s antipathy towards Grant’s appointment, it is a testament to the striker’s professionalism that he has recovered so quickly not only to stabilise but to strengthen a regime that looks capable of fighting for honours on all fronts. Drogba scored the surprise match-winning goal against Valencia last month that convinced many doubters of Grant’s credentials, so it was fitting that he should seal Chelsea’s qualification with another authoritative display.
Grant’s only concern was a jittery performance by Carlo Cudicini, whose poor positioning and vulnerability under crosses emphasised how important it is for Chelsea that Petr Cech recovers from a calf injury as soon as possible. Drogba was too hot to handle on a freezing night in Norway in a performance that underlined his case for individual honours.
The World Player of the Year award will be presented at a gala dinner in Zurich next month and although Fifa’s obsession with Champions League winners means that it will be won by Kaká, of AC Milan, Drogba deserves to feature in the top three. His dominance was all the more startling given that Vidar Riseth, the Norway centre back, had boasted beforehand of formulating a cunning plan to contain him after working with John Carew, the Aston Villa striker, on international duty; it proved to be as effective as one of Baldrick’s schemes.
“Didier is a very good striker,” Grant said. “We won without him [against Derby County on Saturday], but we wanted him to play. It’s easier with him in the side. It won’t be easy without him in January [when he will be at the African Cup of Nations], but we cannot change him.”
Grant had joked during the build-up to this match that his players would need to run around more than usual to combat the cold conditions and in an energetic opening they appeared to take him at his word. Chelsea could have opened the scoring on three occasions before Drogba finally did so in the eighth minute, with the Ivory Coast striker twice shooting wide before finding Michael Essien with an intelligent header from which he volleyed over the bar.
With Drogba at his rampaging best, it was only a matter of time before he was rewarded with a goal, although he was reliant on the brilliance of one of his teammates. After collecting the ball in his own half, Joe Cole embarked on one of those mazy runs that used to be his trademark before Mourinho stifled such creativity.
The England midfield player beat three opponents before unleashing a swerving shot from 25 yards that was saved by Lars Hirschfeld. Unfortunately for the former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper, he followed the example of one of his successors, Paul Robinson, by failing to clear the ball from the danger area and Drogba was on hand to sweep home from close range.
In this sort of mood, Drogba is unstoppable and he put the match beyond Rosenborg 12 minutes later. The 29-year-old had sought treatment for a back injury moments earlier, but he showed no ill-effects as he bundled home his ninth goal of the season.
Shaun Wright-Phillips found Essien in the penalty area and the Ghana midfield player held off two defenders, giving Drogba time to pounce with a left-foot finish. Chelsea’s dominance was such that they allowed Alex to score with a free kick in the 40th minute, before Cole added a fourth in the second half, to which Andriy Shevchenko, a substitute, even contributed. The Ukraine striker remains a peripheral figure under Grant, but many will seek to avoid his liberated team in the knockout phase.
How they lined up
Rosenborg (4-1-3-2): L Hirschfeld – F Stoor, B Kvarme, V Riseth, M Dorsin (sub: C Basma, 86min) – A Tettey, P Skjelbred, M Sapara, A Traoré (sub: R Strand, 56) – S Iversen, Y Koné (sub: D K Ya, 63). Substitutes not used: A Lund Hansen, M Koppinen, O Storflor, A Nordvik.
Chelsea (4-3-3): C Cudicini – J Belletti, Alex, J Terry, A Cole – M Essien, C Makelele, F Lampard (sub: C Pizarro, 77) – S Wright-Phillips (sub: S Kalou, 68), D Drogba (sub: A Shevchenko, 68), J Cole. Substitutes not used: Hilário, J O Mikel, W Bridge, T Ben Haim. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Didier Drogba double helps Chelsea throughBy John Ley in Trondheim
Rosenborg (0) 0 Chelsea (3) 4
With Christmas less than a month away Chelsea banished the ghost of managers past with another hugely impressive performance, to move into the knockout stages of the Champions League with a game to spare. Norway traditionally gift Trafalgar Square a Christmas tree; last night, Christmas came early for Chelsea in Norway.
Jose Mourinho's last act as Chelsea manager was to see his side stumble to a draw with Rosenborg on the opening day of the competition, but two goals from Didier Drogba and a third by Alex before half-time confirmed a stimulating victory. Joe Cole's second-half goal extended their advantage and even Chelsea's fans got into the festive spirit early, singing "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way, Oh what fun it is to see Chelsea win away". On that September evening Chelsea's Champions League aspirations took a jolt in what was to prove Mourinho's final game. A half-empty Stamford Bridge saw a lack-lustre performance and, at the time, it was hard to imagine Chelsea in the position they found themselves on a considerably colder night.
Mourinho left, Avram Grant was controversially appointed and, in Norway, he confirmed Roman Abravomich's decision was a prudent one by steering Chelsea a step closer to their Holy Grail with a hugely impressive performance.
The Scandinavian snow had relented but it was still bitterly cold with a slippy surface made worse by rain earlier in the day. With both sides needing a win, the stakes were high and the atmosphere in the Lerkendal Stadion tense.
Chelsea were still without key figures such as Petr Cech, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Florent Malouda and Michael Ballack. But Drogba, missing when these teams met two months ago, was back in place of Andrei Shevchenko while Claude Makelele, Cole and Alex returned, for Steve Sidwell, Salomon Kalou and Tal Ben Haim.
Having beaten Valencia home and away, Rosenborg should have started confidently, but the Norwegians appeared nervous and after a succession of early attacks, Chelsea took the lead.
Drogba had already troubled Rosenborg, finding the side- netting with a first-minute effort and shooting narrowly wide soon afterwards. And, in the eighth minute, Cole's strongly-hit attempt was only parried by Lars Hirschfeld, the former Spurs goalkeeper. The ball fell to Drogba, albeit at an acute angle, but the striker responded with a marvelous half-volley over the Canadian.
Chelsea continue to improve under Grant and this was the perfect start. Rosenborg responded, for the first time, with a speculative long-range shot from Marek Spara which bounced off the chest of Carlo Cudicini but the Chelsea goalkeeper gathered at the second attempt.
Chelsea were soon taking advantage of midfield mistakes and Michael Essien tested Hirschfeld again, the goalkeeper diving to his left to save. But, by the 20th minute, Drogba had extended Chelsea's advantage.
A long ball into the Rosenborg area caused confusion and after two failed attempts to clear Drogba seemed to push Essien out of the way before firing the ball high into the net with another exhibition of sublime finishing.
Drogba took his tally in 38 Champions League games to 21 goals and Chelsea were almost three goals to the good in the 28th minute when Frank Lampard attempted an audacious chip that Hirschfeld just saved on the line, juggling the ball precariously before taking it under his control.
Fellow England John Terry international made a tremendous challenge on Steffen Iversen at another brief Rosenborg flurry, but Chelsea finished the half in overall control, with Alex securing the third goal before the interval.
In the 40th minute Cole was fouled by Alexander Tettey and Alex was allowed to send a low, right-foot free-kick from 30 yards through a crowd area and into the left-hand corner.
Cole claimed the fourth, in the 73rd minute, finishing off a a move after Essien's shot had been parried by Hirschfeld---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Rosenborg 0 Chelsea 4:Drogba in regal form as Chelsea win group By Jason Burt at Lerkendal Stadium In the city of the kings, Chelsea made a regal procession. It's still to Trondheim, as ancient custom dictates, that the Norwegian sovereign comes for his blessing and last night the kings of the King's Road, with Didier Drogba at their head, made their own serene progress into the last 16 of the Champions League as winners of their group.
Drogba didn't so much overwhelm Rosenborg as humble them, taking control inside the first minute. The Ivorian, known as "King Drogba" in his homeland, struck twice in the first-half – he now has 21 goals in 38 appearances in this competition – to make a mockery of the pre-match claim by the home side's veteran defender Vidar Riseth that they had "devised" a plan to stop him. Some plan.
Drogba himself had said that Chelsea needed to win this Group B tie last night to prove they are contenders for the European Cup. Well, on that criteria, the case is proven although whether or not Rosenborg can be regarded as a litmus test is doubtful. In plunging temperatures they duly froze.
The 21,600-seat stadium could have sold out twice over and the build-up of chanting from the vertiginous stands promised a stern examination. It proved wholly illusionary. Rosenborg may have been buoyed by back-to-back victories over Valencia, and the draw at Stamford Bridge which ended Jose Mourinho's regime, but they played more like players who have just finished fifth in the Norwegian league – which they have – than equals with the continent's top teams.
Chelsea can count themselves among those with manager Avram Grant declaring of their performance and the conditions: "I was freezing but I was warm in the heart." It's now 13 games undefeated under him – 10 victories and three draws – with Grant admitting that winning this competition now represented the priority for Chelsea. "This is one of our targets, maybe the main target," the Israeli said. "We want to do it and we will do it. Hopefully we will do it this year. It's not just that we win games, it's that we progress and play better with good attacking football."
The importance of Drogba to that "project" cannot be underestimated. When he was replaced by the leaden Andrei Shevchenko it only served to highlight how crucial he is. Chelsea will have to contend without him early next year, with the African Nations Cup, with Grant admitting it will "not be easy" to cope.
Drogba set the tone immediately when he reached Ashley Cole's flick-on, ahead of Riseth, only to steer the ball the wrong side of the post. If that served as a warning then so did a fierce shot just three minutes later that whistled past Rosenborg goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld and narrowly wide.
The Norwegians poured forward but were doused by a counter-attack which ended with Michael Essien spooning a shot, from Drogba's header down, over the bar when he should have scored.
Moments later and Chelsea struck. Another strong run by the impressive Joe Cole carved a hole in the Rosenborg defence and gave him a clear sight of goal. His powerful drive was palmed out by Hirschfeld but the ball fell to Drogba who, from an acute angle, slammed his right-footed shot high into the net. Quickly he struck again by darting into the area to take the ball from Essien after Shaun Wright-Phillips' astute pass. With the defenders regrouping, the striker instantly steered the ball beyond Hirschfeld.
It deflated the Norwegians and that continued when Hirschfeld blundered. After Joe Cole was fouled, the former Tottenham goalkeeper was all too easily beaten by Alex with a low grass-cutter of a free-kick from almost 40 yards. The ball went straight through the Rosenborg wall.
The home side were booed off at half-time but immediately after the re-start they almost fell further behind as Wright-Phillips' rising shot only just cleared the bar.
Essien then broke away and his powerful drive was blocked by Hirschfeld only for Joe Cole, one of three on-rushing Chelsea players, to bundle the rebound home. Given his vibrant, clever contribution it was a deserved reward for the midfielder. And crowned an impressively-assured performance.
Rosenborg (4-3-1-2): Hirschfeld; Stoor, Riseth, Kvarme, Dorsin ( Basma, 86); Skjelbred, Tettey, Traoré (Strand, 56); Sapara; Kone (Ya, 63), Iversen. Substitutes not used: Lund Hansen (gk), Koppinen, Storflor, Nordvik.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cudicini; Belletti, Alex, Terry, A Cole; Essien, Makelele, Lampard (Pizarro, 76); Wright-Phillips (Kalou, 68), Drogba (Shevchenko, 68), J Cole. Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Mikel, Bridge, Ben Haim.
Referee: O Benquerenca (Portugal).---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Drogba double shows his value in Blues cruise
Dominic Fifield at Lerkendal StadiumThursday November 29, 2007The Guardian
The Champions League was supposed to have done away with mismatches like this. Chelsea claimed Group B at a canter last night, ripping a floundering Rosenborg side to shreds and ensuring that, when this competition resumes for the knockout phase in the new year, they will be paired with a runner-up rather than a group winner. Avram Grant's conviction that a first European Cup can be secured in Moscow next May remains unswayed.
This was a frighteningly comfortable evening against this season's supposed surprise package. The locals had arrived in this arena braced for temperatures to plummet to around -6C. In the end, they departed just grateful that their side's goal difference had not quite followed suit.It is hard to believe that these two teams could not be separated at Stamford Bridge back in September, when Jose Mourinho selected his last Chelsea line-up and Grant still peered out from the back of the dug-out. The Israeli can now survey this group from the summit.
Yet, poor as Rosenborg were, Chelsea were admirably ruthless. Crucially, Didier Drogba had been absent injured for the section's opening fixture. Last night, recovered from a knee complaint, he was simply irresistible to leave the home side gasping at the gulf in class. The Ivorian spent much of the first period either clutching his back or hobbling around the turf watching his team-mates dominate possession but, just as a Gordon Greenidge limp invariably signalled an imminent century, so Rosenborg should have known Drogba was in the mood.
He might have scored after 58 seconds and could have secured a hat-trick in the first 20 minutes. By then he had managed two splendid goals, however, the first battered into the roof of the net to set the tone after Lars Hirschfeld could only palm away the excellent Joe Cole's fizzed attempt from distance. When Shaun Wright-Phillips and Michael Essien combined midway through the half, Rosenborg's defenders crumpled in an untidy if obliging heap and Drogba curled a second into the corner.
Drogba will be missed in the new year when the African Cup of Nations takes him away for up to a month. "Ask me how to replace him in January when it comes to December. We'll lose four very important players from our squad for a long time. It won't be easy, but we cannot change it. There was a lot out there to please us. We scored four good goals and created plenty of other chances."
Others were just as impressive. Joe Cole tormented dithering markers all night, his fine run proving to be the prelude to Drogba's opener, and the England man eventually earned his own reward by tapping in the rebound when the overworked Hirschfeld could only palm out Essien's drive 17 minutes from time. The Ghanaian and Frank Lampard dominated central midfield throughout, Claude Makelele harrying at their backs, with Wright-Phillips a busy presence on the right. The winger clipped the woodwork early in the second half, but by that time the game was already won.
Some five minutes before the interval Alex stepped up to slap a low free-kick from 35 yards which scuttled across the icy turf and beyond the unsighted goalkeeper's delayed dive.
That was a goal more in keeping with the popular 1990s computer game Sensible Soccer than a Champions League tie, but it rather summed up the Norwegian side's glaring deficiencies. Rosenborg may have drawn the group's opening fixture in London, but they are a side who could finish only fifth in their domestic league this time around. Now they need to avoid defeat when they travel to Schalke on December 11 to reach the last 16.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Drogba makes it a Chelsea stroll
Rosenborg 0 Chelsea 4
By NEIL ASHTON
Two months ago, Rosenborg's remarkable draw with Chelsea put Jose Mourinho out of a job. Last night, it was simply job done.
The temperature here fell to minus five but that figure could end up being Rosenborg's goal difference in Group B after Chelsea inflicted a beating.
This was ruthless, right out of the old Mourinho school of magic. Avram Grant, more Mafia don in his black turtleneck sweater and long overcoat, really is getting to grips with management.
"I had to wear the jacket because it was freezing in the second half, but the performance warmed me up," said Grant. No one can argue with that.
Two goals from Didier Drogba, along with strikes by Alex and Joe Cole, secured Chelsea's right of passage to the next phase. It should have been more. They certainly deserved it.
Rosenborg, who finished fifth in the Norwegian league, froze on their big night and Chelsea, 13 games unbeaten, are through to the next round with a game to spare. Happy days, indeed.
This handsome victory means next month's visit of Valencia is a dead rubber, a chance to throw in the likes of Hilario, Claudio Pizarro and maybe Andriy Shevchenko.
"It's a long way until May but reaching the final is one of our targets, maybe even the main target," admitted Grant.
"We want to be considered as a 'big' club and to do it we have to reach the final. Hopefully, we can do it this season."
There is a chance, especially in this mood. Drogba could have put Chelsea ahead after just 58 seconds but they did not have to wait long before they took the lead.
The opener owed much to the ingenuity of that little ferret Joe Cole, darting down the left whenever he had the ball or cutting inside and driving past Rosenborg's static defence.
Cole shrugged off challenges from four Rosenborg players before electing to shoot. Lars Hirschfeld, the hero when these two teams met at Stamford Bridge, could only parry and Drogba lashed in the rebound with eight minutes on the clock.
This was a mismatch. Rosenborg second in the group? Astonishing. Embarrassing even. The gulf between these teams is as wide as the North Sea and it was a matter of time only before Rosenborg were scrambling for the life rafts.
Their domestic season finished two weeks ago and it showed. They were leggy, lethargic and lazy. Chelsea's wingers were electric, flashing one way then the other, and took full advantage.
Shaun Wright-Phillips is always eager to please and Chelsea's bundle of energy down the right deserves enormous credit for playing a significant role in their second goal.
He refused to give up a lost cause and finally battled his way past the Rosenborg defence before slipping a pass to Michael Essien.
Drogba timed his run, Essien found his man and the Chelsea striker did the rest.
Drogba was at his best last night.
Infuriating when he was sent off against Fulham at the beginning of Grant's regime, he illuminated this desperately one-sided game with a glorious performance.
He acted as the pivot at the head of Chelsea's attack, holding off Rosenborg's defenders with an arrogant swagger and waiting for his team-mates to join him in assault after assault. The heavy artillery was in Trondheim and Rosenborg had nowhere to hide.
Chelsea players should have spent the interval signing the match ball for Drogba but Hirschfeld finally came to Rosenborg's rescue when the striker attempted to chip him for a hat-trick.
"Didier is a very good striker," added Grant. "We won without him at Derby last week but it is easier for us when he is in the side.
"We will lose four very important players in January when they go to the African Nations Cup. It won't be easy but we cannot change it."
Crucially, Drogba will be back in time for the second phase of the Champions League but he deserves a pat on the back for this performance.
A third goal was coming and when it came it was right out of the top drawer. Chelsea are scoring goals at will — 30 in 14 games under Grant — and there was a smile on the face of Alex when his 35-yard free-kick found its way past the Rosenborg defence.
Wright-Phillips hit the post after the break, Essien had yet another opportunity to get on the scoresheet but Joe Cole sealed this special win with a 73rd-minute strike.
Essien, who will miss Saturday's clash with West Ham through suspension, had another effort blocked but Joe Cole finished off another sweeping move to stab in the rebound.
Try as they might, Chelsea finished one goal short of their record result in the competition — a 5-0 win over Galatasaray in 1999 — but this team is right in the groove.
Watch out, West Ham.
ROSENBORG (4-3-3): Hirschfeld 5; Stoor 5, Kvarme 6, Riseth 5, Dorsin 5 (Basma 84); Skjelbred 5, Tettey 4, Traore 5 (Strand 55min, 5); Iversen 5, Sapara 5, Kone 5 (Ya 63, 5).
CHELSEA (4-5-1): Cudicini 7; Belletti 7, Alex 7, Terry 7, A Cole 7; Wright-Phillips 7 (Kalou 68, 6), Makelele 7, Lampard 7 (Pizarro 76), Essien 7, J Cole 7; Drogba 8 (Shevchenko 68, 6).
Man of the match: Dider Drogba.
Referee: Olegario Benquerenca (Portugal). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mirror:
Grant: My Euro vision GROUP B: ROSENBORG 0 CHELSEA 4 'WE MUST WIN CHAMPS LEAGUE' Neil Mcleman From Trondheim 29/11/2007
Avram Grant claimed the Champions League was Chelsea's main target this season because they want to become a "big club" after coasting into the knockout stages last night.
The inspirational Didier Drogba caught Rosenborg cold with two ice-cool finishes in the first 20 minutes on a freezing night and stretched Chelsea's red-hot unbeaten streak to 13 games.
Alex added another before the break with Joe Cole rounding off the scoring. But such were the number of chances created by Grant's side - they had 21 shots in all, including 10 on target - they could have surpassed the eight goals scored by Liverpool against Besiktas earlier this month.
It was a very different story from the last time these sides met in September when the Norwegians' stubborn display in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge proved to be Jose Mourinho's last game in charge.
But the style of the performance, as well as going through the group stages undefeated away from home, confirmed Chelsea as genuine Champions League contenders again this season.
And after two Premier League titles in the Roman Abramovich era, the new coach said the club was now focusing on European domination.
"It's a long way until May, but Chelsea have never been in the final," said Grant. "This is one of our targets, maybe the main target, because we want to be a big club.
"One of the things to achieve that is to get to the final. I hope we will do it, and we will. Hopefully this year. We want to play positive, attacking football and I'm very happy with what's happened up to now. We've not just won games, but played better from game to game, good attacking football."
Admittedly, Rosenborg were the worst outfit to represent Norway since the last time they got nul points in the Eurovision Song Contest. But Chelsea were wonderfully in tune in a simply superb opening 45 minutes.
In a frantic opening five minutes, Drogba shot wide twice and Michael Essien scooped over to set the tone for the evening. When 60 seconds later Joe Cole's mazy run ended with a shot which former Spurs keeper Lars Hirschfeld could only parry, Drogba clipped home the rebound.
On 20 minutes Essien exchanged passes with Shaun Wright-Phillips to slice through the home rearguard and Drogba converted.
The Norwegian league season, where Rosenborg finished fifth, ended on November 3 and the home team had not played since a win in Valencia three days later. Last night it looked like it.
Alex put the game beyond the hosts on 40 minutes with a 30-yard free-kick. Wright-Phillips hit a post and Essien saw a shot cleared off the line before Joe Cole completed the rout on 73 minutes.
After this success in the land of mackerel, Chelsea have bigger fish to fry in Europe.
Rosenborg: Hirschfeld 7, Stoor 5, Riseth 4, Kvarme 4, Dorsin 5, Sapara 6, Tettey 5, Skjelbred 5, Traore 4 (Strand, 55), Iversen 4, Kone 5 (Ya, 63).
Chelsea: Cudicini 6, Belletti 7, Terry 8, Alex 8, A Cole 7, Makelele 5, Wright-Phillips 8 (Kalou, 68, 4), Lampard 8, Essien 8, J Cole 7, Drogba 9, (Shevchenko, 68, 6).
48% POSSESSION 52%
3 SHOTS ON TARGET 10
7 SHOTS OFF TARGET 11
0 OFFSIDES 2
6 CORNERS 3
7 FOULS 10
0 YELLOW CARDS 0
0 RED CARDS 0
ATTENDANCE: 21,582
Man Of The Match: Drogba ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, November 25, 2007
sunday papers derby away
The Sunday Times November 25, 2007 Red card for fiery Michael Essien Derby 0 Chelsea 2 John Aizlewood at Pride Park They say there are no easy games in the Premier League. As most of Derby Countys opponents this season have discovered, sometimes there are. This game, though, was different and this was a performance upon which they can build, although for all their winning endeavour, they still do not know how to win or even score, even if referee Andre Marriners decision to disallow Kenny Millers 65th-minute strike for offside when they were only a solitary goal in arrears was incorrect. A stoppage-time red card for Michael Essien, on as a 75th-minute substitute for Steve Sidwell, for an ugly elbow on Miller soured Chelseas night, and drew from the manager, Avram Grant, a claim referees may be making easy pickings of his players. I have a feeling we are easy targets in the way they give us red cards, Grant said. Since I came here we have had three red cards, two that were absolutely not. Chelsea, though, will be satisfied with their evenings work. They came to town, picked some of their more peripheral superstars and won with clinical endeavour. The three points only kept them in the fourth place that Liverpool briefly prised from them at lunchtime, but the Stamford Bridge machine is beginning to crank itself up again. September seems so long ago, but back then few would have given Grant much hope of not merely holding the dam that seemed about to break around Stamford Bridge after Jose Mourinhos departure, but of rebuilding the entire reservoir. Grants first-game defeat at Old Trafford was followed by an unbeaten 11-match run of mostly swashbuckling victories. Already, the Special One has been cast into the vaults of Stamford Bridge history, his folk memory gaining a sepia hue to match that of Roy Bentley, Charlie Cooke and Roberto Di Matteo. Chelsea rolled north yesterday without Didier Drogba, Petr Cech and Roberto Carvalho, but buoyed by the return of John Terry - three days too late, some might muse - and Joe Cole, albeit only as far as the bench where he smouldered alongside Essien, such was Grants confidence in his fringe players, a description that now - as it did under Mourinho includes Andriy Shevchenko. In glum contrast, Derby kicked off not having scored in eight hours and 41 minutes of Premier League football. A debacle at home to West Ham United before the international break had left them marooned firmly at the bottom of the table, licking wounds that are already seen by some as mortal. With centre-backs Claude Davis and Dean Leacock recovered from injuries, manager Billy Davies tinkered yet again, utilising Leacock in front of that leaky defence, a role, curiously, Jon Obi Mikel fulfilled for Chelsea, although Mikels role was to start attacks rather than bolster defence. Derby started eagerly, Craig Fagan trying to pick a Chelsea pocket or two and Giles Barnes matching his youthful gusto with a worldlywise way. Indeed, for the first 10 minutes, they were the more enterprising team. Chelsea whose England players, even the Terry and Ashley Cole were at sixes and sevens with Shevchenko again playing like a man with legs of lead. Then, 17 minutes in, they attacked and scored. Mikel found Frank Lampard the butt of the loudest jeers every time he touched the ball, and resoundingly booed off when substituted in the 89th minute whose neat through-ball reached Sidwell. As Derby back-pedalled, too late and too slowly seeing the crisis developing around them, Salomon Kalou nipped in to tuck imperiously past Stephen Bywater. As the ball nestled in Bywaters net, the hitherto fervid atmosphere evaporated into the drizzle and you sensed, even at this early stage, that Derbys moment had already gone. Soon, Bywater was making a thrilling, flying save from the industrious Shaun Wright-Phillips after Andy Griffin had been too easily outpaced and Kalou missed the most straightforward of chances when he ballooned over from almost under the bar after Davis had rashly nodded Wright-Phillipss cross into his path. Indeed, Chelsea had already began to give the impression they were thinking more of Rosenborg on Wednesday than the second half and by the end of the first, they were controlling the game at walking pace. In the second, Chelseas remit was clearly to keep slowing the game down; Derbys to raise the tempo as, when and however they could. Miller whipped a 48th-minute shot past Carlo Cudicini and the far post, but the Italian was finally tested when he dived to save Craig Fagans drive. Even so, for all their menacing flurries, the home side could never quite generate a head of steam. The clincher began when Shevchenko scythed through the back of Barness ankles. As Barnes lay prostrate, Marriner waved play on, Lampard ran through to shoot against the post and the rebound fell perfectly to Wright-Phillips, who poked home. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Telegraph: Wright-Phillips has last laugh at Derby By Nick Alexander Derby County (0) 0 Chelsea (1) 2 Shaun Wright-Phillips scored his first goal for Chelsea for seven months to silence the Derby boo-boys who had turned on the Blues' England contingent. Wright-Phillips, Frank Lampard and returning captain John Terry were all jeered and taunted after England's abject failure to qualify for Euro 2008. But after Salomon Kalou had fired home the 17th-minute opener at Pride Park, Wright-Phillips sealed the points in the 73rd minute to send Chelsea up to fourth in the Barclays Premier League. With fellow centre-back Ricardo Carvalho out for four weeks with a back injury, manager Avram Grant pressed Terry, returning as captain after seven weeks out after knee surgery, into service a few days earlier than he would have liked. Grant was without Didier Drogba after the striker sustained a knee injury on international duty with the Ivory Coast, resulting in a forward pairing of Andriy Shevchenko and Kalou. Derby boss Billy Davies recalled centre-backs Claude Davis and Dean Leacock after both missed the Rams' 5-0 mauling at home to West Ham. Terry at least looked fit as he made a number of cool, calm and telling contributions in the opening exchanges. Lampard had the game's first opportunity in the 15th minute, but he blazed a 22-yard right-foot shot over the bar, much to the delight of the home faithful who greeted his effort with derision. But their scorn was soon stifled as the visitors sliced open Derby's back four to take the lead via Kalou's fifth goal of the season. Mikel Jon Obi, Shevchenko and Steve Sidwell all played their part, with the latter sliding a ball into the path of Kalou, who passed a low shot into the net beyond Stephen Bywater. When Derby created their opening chance in the 27th minute as Giles Barnes teed up David Jones, it came as no surprise Terry was on hand to provide the necessary block. The rebound fell to Jay McEveley, but he ballooned a long-range shot over the bar, failing to trouble Carlo Cudicini, standing in for Petr Cech, out with a calf injury. Wright-Phillips then came close to personally silencing the Derby boo-boys, only to be denied by a fingertip save from Bywater as he turned away a 25-yard drive. It should have been 2-0 just over six minutes from the break as Davis nodded a Wright-Phillips cross down into the path of Kalou. But the 22-year-old failed to accept the gift, inexcusably not even testing Bywater as he side-footed Davis' gaffe over the bar from six yards. The home side offered a semblance of hope that the second period would not be so one-sided when captain Matt Oakley drove a right-foot shot through the six-yard box in the 47th minute. That was swiftly followed by a Lampard free-kick from wide on the left wing which was tipped wide by Bywater, with his effort taken under appalling provocation from the Derby fans. But they were at least raising their own players as Cudicini finally made a save after 50 minutes, pawing away a Fagan drive. Miller had the ball in the back of the net in the 65th minute, looping a fine shot over Cudicini after taking a Leacock pass on his chest, only for the assistant referee's flag to wrongly intervene. Wright-Phillips then tapped home the decisive second after Lampard hit the post. That was much to Davies' fury as Barnes was tackled from behind by Shevchenko and lay injured as Lampard then strode into the area. The game ended in contentious circumstances, substitute Michael Essien dismissed for flailing his arm into the face of Miller. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indy: Derby County 0 Chelsea 2: Blues cruise to victory but Essien red card spoils day Kalou and Wright-Phillips hit the target to finish off hopeless Derby By Ronald Atkin at Pride Park Not a sniff of a goal for nine hours now as Derby sink ever deeper into the relegation ooze, but at least there was a scalp for them to celebrate here with the straight red card dismissal in added time of Chelsea's substitute Michael Essien for a hand into the face of Kenny Miller. The Essien incident marred an otherwise comfortable evening's stroll for Chelsea, who closed the gap on Manchester United while still fielding a side with an eye on their Champions' League trip to Rosenborg in Wednesday. The midfielder will not miss the trip to Norway but is suspended for the next three Premier League games as a result of a completely unnecessary foul with the game as good as over. For Derby's manager, Billy Davies, the situation is even more dire. There were rumours before this game that he had two more matches to save his job and afterwards, calling for major investment in new blood in the January window, he admitted, "The team we have at the moment is not good enough to stay in the League. They have done a magnificent job but they need to see players walking through the door with the special technique needed to play at this level." The record to date hardly qualifies as "magnificent": one win, six points and just five goals from 14 matches this season. Derby rarely looked capable of improving on those dismal statistics, though Davies insisted that a Miller chip in the second half, greeted by a raised offside flag, was in fact a genuine goal, perhaps the sort of ill-luck which dogs teams in these straits. Avram Grant, presiding over his 12th game without defeat since stepping into Jose Mourinho's shoes, denied he was stamping his personality on the team. "I just wanted to do my job from the first day, and it was not easy," he said. But he was as close to indignant as it is possible for this quietly spoken Israeli to get when he complained: "I won't say anything to Essien. We are an easy target for red cards." It was their third this season. While not as humiliating as the five-goal hammering by West Ham in their last home game, Derby rarely showed any vestige of decent combination. A three-pass move was a rarity and Chelsea needed less than a quarter of an hour to suss out that this would be one of their easier outings. At that point they scored, having not by any means for the first time pene-trated Derby's porous central defence with a simply delivered ball down the middle. Steve Sidwell, making one of his rare starts, was the provider and Salomon Kalou supplied the sidefooted finish. Chelsea made light of the booing that greeted every touch by Frank Lampard and Shaun Wright-Phillips, who had been on the Wembley pitch last Wednesday, and John Terry and Ashley Cole, who had not. Grant had advised his players beforehand to "put it behind you", adding:, "What happened for them on Wednesday was some kind of tragedy, but they know life goes on." In their lollipop-man fluorescent yellow strip, Chelsea were clearly content that if boos were the worst part of this game they could handle it comfortably, as they did. Terry, having missed seven games with knee trouble, was back to captain the side with customary authority and Carlo Cudicini, standing in for the injured Petr Cech, did not have a shot to handle in the first half. A few Davies verbals at the interval clearly pepped Derby for the second half, when they should have been at least two goals behind. Kalou, benefiting when Claude Davis misheaded a Wright-Phillips cross on to his boots, shovelled a miserable effort over the top and Stephen Bywater made one excellent save from Wright-Phillips. For a while, a very short while, it seemed a price might be paid for those misses as Craig Fagan brought a low save from Cudicini at his near post before Miller's "offside" chip, but any Chelsea nerves were settled in the 72 minute by a second goal which Derby hotly disputed. Andriy Shevchenko, in his one notable contribution to the match, brought down Giles Barnes from behind just outside the centre circle, and with the Derby man lying injured Chelsea surged forward, Lampard struck a post and Wright-Phillips buried the rebound. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Davies rages at Derby dilemma Jamie Jackson at Pride Park Sunday November 25, 2007 The Observer Chelsea will take the three easy points from this outing against dire opposition, but will be cursing the straight arm that late substitute Michael Essien offered Kenny Miller in added time. The Ghana midfielder was sent off and Avram Grant faces the loss of a key player for three games. It was clumsy from Essien, but at least Chelsea fans wake up this morning to see their team just two points behind champions Manchester United, who lost at Bolton. If that means the Premier League title race is very much back on in west London, there seems a little trouble brewing at Pride Park judging by the remarks of the Derby manager, Billy Davies, who had a go at his team - 'they're not good enough' - and the new chairman, Adam Pearson: 'I have not spoken to him for three weeks, but it would be nice if I could see him before Christmas.' Before kick-off Pearson had chosen his third match since replacing Peter Gadsby as chairman to arch his back, though he had a differing target. 'There have been a lot of comments in relation to Disney of late which I am sure journalists have loved and it was very easy copy for them. I do feel however that the last laugh will be ours, if we can secure significant overseas investment and still align it to local stewardship. This club has too much heritage and tradition to be the butt of cheap jibes.' The idea that the company fronted by the mouse with the big ears could hook up with the club of Brian Clough, Dave Mackay and Roy McFarland will always sound like a half-decent yarn. So it is questionable if writing about it in programme notes is the best way to silence the hacks. Investment was also precisely the word that peppered Davies' hardly disguised rant at his chairman. Here is a flavour: 'To compete in this league and at this level you need investment in players. We have to invest in the playing staff. I haven't spoken to the new chairman in three weeks' - which seemed a staggering admission - 'because he's a busy man who does things different to the ex-chairman. But it would be nice to meet up soon. 'The club received £50 million from winning the play-off [final] against West Brom, we have average gates of 33,000, and record season-ticket sales. Everybody at this club must see we need,' he said, offering the word one more time, 'cash investment in players.' Is he, then, frustrated at never having set eyes on the man with the purse strings. 'Oh no, its not frustration,' Davies said, with an admirable straight face, before he was off again. 'But to compete at this level you have to invest in players. It would be nice if I could have a word with the chairman.' Pearson, though, may well feel like doing a Tom Hicks, the Liverpool co-owner, and informing his manager exactly who is in charge. As for the Derby players, what will they make of this? 'The team is not good enough for the Premier League,' said Davies. 'That's no reflection or disrespect to the players. They know that. They're not good enough.' Maybe, but telling the world may not be wise man-management. Grant, meanwhile, also did his bit to maintain the idea that managers are sane, intelligent and right-minded folk when asked about Essien's red card. 'I don't like to speak against the referee,' he began, announcing that he was about to do precisely that. 'But he [Andre Marriner] is in his first year [actually his fourth as a Premier League referee] and we are an easy target. 'It happened against Fulham and Manchester United [Didier Drogba and John Obi Mikel were sent off] and it cost us points.' When it was suggested that Essien had clearly stuck an arm out, Grant came up with the following: 'The uniforms have no pockets so [players] have to put their hands out like this.' Grant said he would take another look at it, but confirmed the club would probably appeal. Davies, meanwhile, had seen again the incident 64 minutes in when Miller lobbed Carlo Cudicini but was ruled offside. 'I know he was onside,' he said, and Davies did seem to have a point. Derby had huffed and puffed throughout, but it always appeared Chelsea's three points. Their opener came from a dazzling move that began when Mikel found Frank Lampard - booed along with his England colleagues throughout - who instantly turned it across midfield to Steve Sidwell. His pass to Salomon Kalou allowed the striker to run and finish inside the area. The clincher arrived after 73 minutes. Andriy Shevchenko had been anonymous as he can be. But when he lost possession, the striker made an impressive recovery to slide in on the ball and Giles Barnes. While the home fans howled at the referee to blow for a foul - it seemed a fair enough challenge - Lampard collected, advanced, and hit the post. Shaun Wright-Phillips was calm enough to finish. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mail: Essien red card takes the gloss off smooth riposte from Chelsea Derby 0 Chelsea 2 By IAN RIDLEY Avram Grant's brief of turning Chelsea into the entertainers of England will have to be put on hold until those days when players are not wearied or deflated by international double-headers, nor harried and chased by relegation candidates with bile and bite as their main weapons. The only blot on a smooth win yesterday came in added time when substitute Michael Essien was sent off for swinging an arm at Kenny Miller. Otherwise, Chelsea were efficient and adequate, with goals by Salomon Kalou and Shaun Wright-Phillips enough to keep them in the top-four hunt. As for Derby, they lamented two moments that went against them. First Miller was denied a potential equaliser by an offside flag, then Giles Barnes was floored in the build-up to Chelsea's second. Even well below full-strength and their best, Chelsea were value enough for their 12th game unbeaten in all competitions under new manager Grant. In keeping with the theme of the day, the England players on view were roundly jeered. Derby fans' venom was particularly spiteful. "You're not fit to wear the shirt," they sang at Wright- Phillips and Frank Lampard, who may not have had his best game for England but at least had the courage to convert the penalty. John Terry and Ashley Cole, absent against Croatia but fit to return for Chelsea, presented a bit of a problem. The crowd settled for: "Where were you on Wednesday night?" It may have contributed to a subdued Chelsea start, though the absence of Didier Drogba, who had injured a knee on duty for Ivory Coast, was probably a more significant factor as they adjusted to playing with Andriy Shevchenko as central striker. Even with Ricardo Carvalho injured and Essien and Joe Cole on the bench, Chelsea had far too many weapons for Derby. Lampard did not seem especially concerned by the ridicule he received after sending a shot over the bar. Within a minute he instigated the move that ended with Steve Sidwell slipping a ball into Kalou, darting through the gaping Derby central defence, Chelsea's other Ivorian tucking the ball neatly past Stephen Bywater. Kalou should have doubled the lead before half-time. Wright- Phillips, revelling in more accommodating opposition than the Croatians, floated in a cross from the left and Claude Davis horrendously headed the ball straight down on the edge of the Derby six-yard box. Kalou, unaccountably, fired over. It would have been fair reflection of the balance of play, with Derby exhibiting the English disease, not good enough to retain possession for long enough to carve out clear-cut chances or sustain pressure. Talented teenager Barnes did offer hope but he was too often isolated. When David Jones found Barnes, he in turn supplied Craig Fagan in space on the right but the drilled shot was wide. Derby rarely tested Carlo Cudicini, deputising for the injured Petr Cech, aside from a Fagan shot pushed away and the Miller lobbed finish which was controversially ruled out. Then when Barnes was caught in possession near halfway by Shevchenko, referee Andre Marriner waved play on, Lampard went on to hit a post and a kind rebound allowed Wright-Phillips to tap home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)