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Defoe delight as Portsmouth hold ChelseaPortsmouth 1 Chelsea 1
By MALCOLM FOLLEY
Jermain Defoe created an instant impression on an afternoon when Harry Redknapp gave the discarded England striker what he most craved — a game of football.
At £9 million, Defoe has been brought from the shadowlands of Tottenham's squad to provide a cutting edge at Portsmouth. And during an exciting, unpredictable second half at Fratton Park, he claimed a 64thminute equaliser against a Chelsea team heavily involved on four fronts, domestically and in Europe.
He also went excruciatingly close on three other occasions late in the game as Redknapp proved himself once more adroit at making the market work for him. On this performance, Defoe will not be languishing on the bench in his new environment. His future as an integral cog in the team is assured. Unlike that of Benjani Mwaruwari.
Until Thursday, he had been luxuriating in the position of Portsmouth's leading scorer with 12 Premier League goals. Without warning, he suddenly found himself demoted from first-choice striker to a pawn in Redknapp's world of wheeler-dealing.
He was invited to take himself to Manchester City's Eastlands to finalise a £7.6m transfer to offset the cost of Defoe.
But yesterday, due to an array of circumstances — involving missed flights, stories of a failed medical and conflicting reports that the paperwork had failed to be registered in time to beat Thursday's midnight transfer deadline — Benjani was living in a footballer's no-man's land.
The promise is that all will be revealed next week but for the moment Benjani is unwanted by Portsmouth and without a contract at Manchester City. Redknapp used the arrival of Defoe to deploy Niko Kranjcar in a role behind his strikers. It is the Croat's preferred position and he rivalled Lassana Diarra, playing against his former club, as the most influential player in the first half.
Diarra, small in stature but huge in authority, was sold by Chelsea to Arsenal, then brought to Portsmouth for £5.5m two weeks ago. Yesterday, he patrolled midfield with huge purpose.
Kranjcar, meanwhile, fulfilled his defensive responsibilities as well as acting as a probing force in support of Defoe and Milan Baros. In the 35th minute, stationed on the back post, the Croat headed Michael Ballack's header off the goalline after Alex had flicked Juliano Belletti's corner into the German's path. A couple of minutes later, Portsmouth appealed for a penalty after Baros struck the ball against Belletti's arm as he cleverly turned into the Chelsea area.
From Kranjcar's corner, Noe Pamarot delivered a thunderous header against a Chelsea post. Just before half-time, Portsmouth goalkeeper David James needed to be alert to deny Nicolas Anelka, advancing from his goal to make a critical block. But Anelka was not to be denied in the 55th minute.
He benefited from a classic counterattack as Chelsea sprung out of their own area into Portsmouth's with three passes. First, Claude Makelele won the ball and moved it upfield to Shaun Wright-Phillips. The England winger swiftly put Florent Malouda in possession over the halfway line and he gained ground before finding Joe Cole in Portsmouth's penalty area with a 40-yard crossfield pass.
Cole took the pace out of the ball with a delightful volleyed pass to Anelka. And the Frenchman, twisting to deal with a ball, beat James with a skilful first-time volley.
But Portsmouth deserved to draw level in a manner that Redknapp envisaged when he captured Defoe's signature. The goal came down route one but was no less aesthetic for that.
When Baros won an aerial duel to reach a downfield punt from James, Defoe anticipated the path of the ball and although alone against Petr Cech, arguably the best goalkeeper in the Premier League, he won the instant approval of Portsmouth fans with a cool finish in the bottom corner.
Later James had to make a superb close-range save from Belletti and Defoe had a fabulous chance but Cech's presence encouraged the striker to place a snap-shot wide. Rightly, the game ended all square but the day belonged to Defoe.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Portsmouth 1 Chelsea 1: Defoe makes instant impact for PortsmouthBy Ronald Atkin, Fratton ParkSunday, 3 February 2008
Whether he cost seven, eight or nine million, depending on the source of the transfer information, Jermain Defoe was joyously welcomed by Portsmouth as well worth the money as a coollytaken equaliser halted Chelsea's winning run at nine and applied a brake on their title ambitions in a rousing contest.
Defoe could have had a couple more, but victory for either side would have been unjust, since David James, reprising his brilliant form of a week ago against Plymouth in the Cup, denied Chelsea time and again as a rousing first half was capped for thrills by the second.
As Portsmouth's manager, Harry Redknapp, pointed out, "It could have gone either way – a good game for neutrals."
There were comforting words for Chelsea from Redknapp. "The championship is nowhere near over," he said, before turning to his Chelsea counterpart, Avram Grant, seated alongside him with the comment, "Full credit to this man, he has been fantastic for them when you think how many of his players are injured or away."
One player away for Ports-mouth was the striker Benjani Mwaruwari, whose transfer to Manchester City fell through on transfer-deadline day. "He is the big loser in all this. He is sitting up there [in Manchester] in a hotel and he doesn't deserve that. I hope it will get resolved in the next couple of days," offered a sympathetic Redknapp.
While giving credit to Defoe for his goal, Redknapp reserved his full praise for the brilliant midfield work of Lassana Diarra. "That little kid turned in a performance you would have to go a long way to see bettered in any league in the world. Absolutely superb." And so he was.
In a midfield containing the world-renowned likes of Michael Ballack and Claude Makelele, Diarra shone like a Portsmouth harbour light, forever prompting, setting up attacks at one end and closing them down at the other. It was the sort of performance which covered up weaknesses such as the slowness of Sol Campbell and the errors of Glen Johnson.
Defoe's goal did more than lift Portsmouth's fans. It shattered a dismal run of nine Premier League games lost to Chelsea in which one goal had been scored and 19 conceded. It was perhaps too much to hope Pompey would pull off their first win against the London side in any League for 60 years, but they certainly gave it a go. Though Petr Cech was in urgent action earlier than James, falling to his left to save from Diarra, it was the Ports-mouth goalkeeper who was busier after the first half-hour. When Florent Malouda flicked on a corner Ballack rose to send in a fierce header that Niko Kranjcar headed off the line.
Then Ballack put in an outstanding, finely timed tackle in his own penalty area to halt Milan Baros, while Noë Pamarot deserved to do better than hit the bar with glancing header from a corner. Back to the other end swung this fascinating match, for James to rush out and block Nicolas Anelka in time added on in the first half.
Defoe's first chance came at the very start of the second half, sent through by Kranjcar. He cut inside Alex smartly enough but fatally delayed his shot andwas closed down, though the rebound fell to Baros, who saw Cech save with his feet.
Anelka made up for his first-half miss in the 55th minute, and a fine goal it was. Malouda made ground on the left and crossed to the far post, where Joe Cole turned it back for Anelka to volley in.
Portsmouth needed only nine minutes to pull level with a Route One goal which clearly upset the Chelsea bench. James's mighty clearance was turned on by the head of Baros and Defoe strode through to tuck the goal away. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Jermain Defoe shines on Portsmouth debutBy Duncan White at Fratton Park
Jermain Defoe, dropped by Juande Ramos, discarded by Fabio Capello, but in Harry Redknapp he has found a manager who believes. Redknapp brought Defoe to West Ham as a teenager and the Portsmouth manager has never wavered in his admiration for a striker whose career stuttered and stalled when it should have been gathering momentum.
Signed for £9 million from Tottenham with just five minutes left before the transfer deadline closed, Defoe was quick to work. Trailing to Nicolas Anelka's first Premier League goal for Chelsea, Defoe, played onside by Juliano Belletti, collected Milan Baros's flicked header and calmly slotted the ball beyond Petr Cech. Three days into his new job and he is back to doing what he does best. "He needs to play, he needs to score," Redknapp said. "It was good for him to get the goal and he had a couple of other chances, too. Maybe if he had been sharp he would have stuck in the winner. That'll come when he gets games under his belt."
Defoe thrice came close to scoring that winner, a goal that would have broken Chelsea's 48-year unbeaten run against Portsmouth. Cech was swift out to deny him the first time but he leant back when teed up by Lassana Diarra and shot wide of the near post after cutting inside Claude Makelele. "I'm a little bit disappointed not to get the second," Defoe said. "But I'll take the goal and build on this. I really enjoyed it out there."
Chelsea came just as close to taking the three points in a thrillingly frantic second half. They had opened the scoring with a superb counter-attack, Shaun Wright-Phillips playing in Florent Malouda down the left for the Frenchman to send in a deep cross. Joe Cole calmly side-footed the ball to the on-rushing Anelka and he met it on the full, volleying into the bottom corner.
Niko Kranjcar had headed a Michael Ballack header off the line in the first half and, with the scores at 1-1, Wright-Phillips lobbed wide from a fine Ballack diagonal pass. Belletti had the chance to make up for his role in the Portsmouth goal but was denied by the excellent David James after Joe Cole's clever approach play. It was frustrating for Avram Grant and his first return to the club where he was director of football ended his hopes of securing a club record 10th straight win.
They are six points behind leaders Arsenal but have reinforcements on the horizon. Either Michael Essien or John Obi Mikel will be back after Ghana play Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations, while Frank Lampard is fit and ready. The influential Ricardo Carvalho, who is suspended, will also return.
Portsmouth have their own personnel on the way back from Ghana, but the status of Benjani Mwaruwari remains fraught. Portsmouth hope he will complete his £9?million move to Manchester City in the coming days.
"The big loser in all this has been Benji," Redknapp said. "You have never met a nicer boy in your life. He's sitting up there in a hotel, in limbo. It's sad, he doesn't deserve that."
Portsmouth deserved more than their solitary goal. Belletti clearly handled in the area in the first half and Noe Pamarot headed against the top of the far post from the ensuing Kranjcar corner. It was impressive from an improving Portsmouth. Baros was full of running in his second game since joining on loan from Lyon, while Diarra is rapidly earning cult-hero status among the support. "Absolutely superb," was Redknapp's verdict on the Frenchman's exemplary performance in the middle of midfield.
Man of the match Ashley Cole (Chelsea) 8/10 • Completed 85% of passes• Won 80% of tackles• Made 3 clearances Best moment of the matchLassana Diarra’s early slide tackle on a sprinting Ashley Cole was absolute perfection. Worst momentThe ball broke loose to Milan Baros, with Petr Cech stranded, it looked like a simple goal. The Czech striker tried a lob but could only dink the ball to his compatriot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Defoe makes a point and dents Chelsea's title hopes
Stuart Barnes at Fratton ParkSunday February 3, 2008The Observer
Delight for Jermain Defoe, disappointment for Chelsea and another twist in a fascinating Premier League championship race from a match that ebbed and flowed entertainingly throughout.Satisfying moments were few and far between for the £9million striker during a frustrating career with Tottenham - and for the best part of an hour here, not surprisingly, he struggled to make an impact for his new club.
Then some of that frustration began to wash away as he put Portsmouth on level terms. The confidence began to flow to such an extent that Defoe could easily have gone on to deliver a famous victory.
His goal was set up by fellow newcomer Milan Baros and, although it is unwise to pass judgment on the basis of one match, there was enough evidence to suggest their partnership could prove productive.'I enjoyed playing alongside him,' Defoe said. 'He worked his socks off. I was a little disappointed not to get a second because we could have taken all three points. But I'll settle for the one.'
Manager Harry Redknapp said: 'He took his goal well and with a couple of games under his belt could have stuck away the winner. He needs to be playing regularly.'
Chelsea were denied a club-record tenth successive win in all competitions, although Redknapp believes they are capable of an instant response. 'Considering the players they have been without, their run was tremendous. With the likes of Terry, Lampard, Essien and Drogba back, they are capable of going on another run.'
Avram Grant also felt his side should be applauded for overcoming injuries and Africa Cup of Nations calls. 'We should respect the players who have done it,' said the Chelsea manager. 'We are not so happy when we are not winning, especially after leading. But we were playing a good side and had chances to win it.'
Current form and past results between the teams weighed heavily in favour of another Chelsea victory. You had to go back to December 1960 for Portsmouth's last success - in a League Cup fourth- round tie - and more than 50 years for a win with points at stake.
They had lost all nine previous Premier League matches, conceded 19 goals in the process and scored just the one. That, ironically, was an October 2006 strike by Benjani, the player whose move to Manchester City remains clouded in uncertainty.
Baros had the first chance to mark his home debut with something special, gathering a long, precise through ball from the impressive Lassana Diarra but firing into the crowd with a shot on the run.
But Chelsea came closest to going ahead when Juliano Belletti's corner was helped on by Florent Malouda, headed goalwards by Michael Ballack and cleared off the line by Niko Kranjcar. Portsmouth were even closer as Noe Pamarot's header from Kranjcar's corner rattled the angle of bar and post.
Kranjcar, like Diarra, was getting through some good work, and when he played in Defoe, the newcomer's speed looked to have taken him into a shooting position. Although his run was halted, the ball broke favourably for Baros, who
shot straight at the advancing Petr Cech. Within a minute, Chelsea also threatened. Shaun Wright-Phillips released Ashley Cole, who cut in from the left and was denied by a combination of a touch by James and a completed clearance from Hermann Hreidarsson.
A classic counter brought them the lead. After Howard Webb turned down Portsmouth appeals for a penalty for handball, Wright-Phillips sent Malouda away and his deep cross was cushioned back across goal by Joe Cole for Nicolas Anelka to volley in. The advantage did not last long. A clearance by James was won in the air by Baros, who sent Defoe clear through the middle to beat Cech with a flourish.
Redknapp was full of praise for Diarra's display. 'You would go a long way to see one like that,' he said.
The Portsmouth manager is also hoping that Benjani's move, which faltered after a medical, will be sealed soon. 'He's been the big loser in all of this. He is in limbo waiting to see what happens and I'm hoping it goes through. If not, he will be back here,' Redknapp said.
THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT
Robin Dunford, Pompey.org The second half especially was very exciting and a fairer score would have been 4-4 - Defoe was very lively and could have had a hat-trick. As it was, our goal looked obviously offside and theirs was, too, apparently, and came from a rapid break after we had a penalty shout. Thanks to the Africa Cup of Nations we had no option for right midfield, so had to have a diamond, but we really went for it, with two up front plus Kranjcar in a free role. And the crowd was up for it as well and enjoyed having a go at Ashley Cole. Diarra looks a class act and I can't believe he'll be here too long, while Kranjcar was very creative. Hreidarsson was moved to centre-half today and made a number of crucial blocks.
Player ratings James 8; Johnson 7, Pamarot 7, Campbell 7, Hreidarsson 9; Davis 7 (Mvuemba 7), Diarra 9, Hughes 7, Kranjcar 9; Baros 7, Defoe 8
Trizia Fiorellino, Chair, Chelsea Supporters' Group We missed a hatful and in the end I was relieved we got a point. Wright?Phillips is a complete enigma. One game it looks as if we have a world-class player and the next he is hopeless. Today he was hopeless. And it's hard to know what Ashley Cole is doing in the team when we have Wayne Bridge only on the subs' bench. Bridge is a much better player - a better defender and a better attacking player. I'm so glad we have signed Anelka, though. He is class. He took his goal brilliantly and looked a danger all afternoon. He needs a bit more service, however, as he has to go looking for the ball too often. I hope we can stay in touch with the leaders till the other lads come back from injury and the Africa Cup of Nations.
Player ratings Cech 7; Belletti 7, Ben Haim 8, Alex 8, A Cole 4; Makelele 6; J Cole 7, Wright-Phillips 5, Ballack 6, Malouda 6 (Pizarro 6); Anelka 8
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sunday Times:
Jermain Defoe quick off the mark for new club Portsmouth
Portsmouth 1 Chelsea 1
Andrew Longmore at Fratton Park
Chelsea might know a little about the limbo that claimed Benjani Mwaruwari on transfer deadline. Given a rare chance to close the gap on Manchester United, if not Arsenal, Chelsea were left in no man’s land after Jermain Defoe, inevitably, had cancelled out Nicolas Anelka’s goal yesterday at Fratton Park.
Chelsea do not often let leads slip, least of all to Portsmouth, who were claiming their first point in 10 Premier League games against the London side.
Mwaruwari was marooned in a Manchester hotel awaiting a decision on his fate. In his absence, Defoe took 64 minutes to begin the payback on his £9m transfer from Tottenham and could have crowned his debut with a winner, blazing over from 15 yards and chipping another chance over Petr Cech but just wide in a pulsating final quarter. Both Coles, Joe and Ashley, had chances to claim a club record 10th straight victory for Chelsea.
It has been a crazy week at Portsmouth, but with Defoe and Milan Baros, making his home debut, providing a sharper edge to Harry Redknapp’s new-look side, Portsmouth will expect to renew their challenge for a place in Europe next season.
With Avram Grant, his former technical director at Fratton Park, alongside him, Redknapp laid down Chelsea’s title credentials rather more forcefully than the quietly spoken Israeli. “No Lampard, no Terry, no Drogba, no Essien and they won nine on the spin,” said the Portsmouth manager. “Carvalho was out today. When they all come back, they’ll get stronger and stronger. This championship is a long way from being over.”
Chelsea will echo those sentiments, but Frank Lampard and John Terry can not return soon enough given the staccato nature of their performance yesterday. Ricardo Carvalho, who was suspended, would surely not have been out-jumped by the diminutive Baros before Defoe’s equaliser. Alex and Tal Ben-Haim, both six-footers, should hold their heads in shame. But Chelsea could not argue with the outcome after Howard Webb had ignored a handball in the penalty area by Juliano Belletti midway through the first half.
After a quiet first half, illuminated only by the energy and creativity of Lassana Diarra and a header by Noe Pamarot that crashed against the post, both sides shed their inhibitions after the break. “A draw is not enough for us,” said Grant. “We had more chances to win the game, but we played against a very good team. All the top teams have found it difficult here.”
When Chelsea did take the lead, it was a goal of Arsenal-like speed and precision with just a touch of good fortune. Momentarily distracted by claims for handball by Claude Makealele, Portsmouth were slow to track back and when a long cross by Florent Malouda found Joe Cole on the right of the Portsmouth penalty area, his neat, volleyed pass was turned home from close range by Anelka.
Within 10 minutes, though, they were feting a new hero. It had to be. Yet, even Defoe might wonder how Baros managed to fend off Chelsea’s central defenders and plant a header straight into his path 10 yards out.
Presented with the sort of opportunity that brought him 43 goals for Tottenham, Defoe rolled the ball past Cech with a true striker’s confidence.
Level and sensing a shock, Portsmouth pushed on for all three points, leaving themselves wide open for a swift counter-thrust. Grant also gambled, replacing Malouda with the more direct Claudio Pizarro and pushing Shaun Wright-Phillips, who had begun the first half in a roving central role, back to his usual station on the right wing. Nico Kranjcar, playing behind the front two strikers for an hour, constantly probed Chelsea’s back line, but it was Diarra driving forward from midfield that threatened to turn the game decisively in favour of the home side.
“From the moment he walked in here, he’s been doing that,” said Redknapp. “The kid turned in a performance you would go a long way to see in the Premier League.”
James twice saved magnificently in the dying minutes and, Defoe might have banished fond memories of Mwaruwari with the winner. “I’m a little bit disappointed not to get a second,” said Defoe. “But I’ll take a goal any day.”
Star man: Lassana Diarra (Portsmouth)
Player ratings: Portsmouth: James 7, Johnson 7, Campbell 5, Hreidarsson 6, Pamarot 6, Hughes 6, Diarra 8, Davis 5 (Mvuemba 68min), Kranjcar 7, Baros 6, Defoe 7Chelsea: Cech 7, Belletti 6, Alex 5, Ben Haim 5, A Cole 6, Makelele 6, Ballack 6, Wright-Phillips 7, Malouda 7 (Pizarro 74min), J Cole 6, Anelka 7
Scorers: Portsmouth: Defoe 64 Chelsea: Anelka 55
Yellow cards: Portsmouth: Davis, Pamarot
Referee: H Webb
Attendance: 20, 488
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Saturday, February 02, 2008
morning papers reading home
The TimesJanuary 31, 2008Chelsea keep pressure on rivals with German bite from BallackMatt HughesAvram Grant may dress like an undertaker, but the manner in which hehas breathed fresh life into Chelsea's title challenge suggests thathe could easily retrain as a paramedic.Grant's team continued their dogged pursuit of Manchester United andArsenal with a ninth successive victory in all competitions thatequals the club record. Michael Ballack's first-half header was allthat separated the teams on the scoresheet, although in terms ofability the gap was wider than the grandest of canyons. Much mysterysurrounds how a relatively unknown man such as Grant has moulded astar-studded squad into a formidable fighting unit that has won 23 ofhis 30 matches in charge, although the answer may be straightforwardafter all.His players are simply playing better. Of last night's starting XI,Alex, Wayne Bridge, Claude Makelele, Ballack, Shaun Wright-Phillipsand Joe Cole are performing at a far higher level than they were underJosé Mourinho at the start of the season, while Petr Cech and RicardoCarvalho have maintained their customary excellence. Nicolas Anelkahas just arrived, so only Paulo Ferreira remains utterly average.While everyone — including the plodding Portugal player — contributed,this win was crafted by the classy midfield triumvirate of Makelele,Ballack and Wright-Phillips, whose impressive performances over thepast few weeks deserve to be rewarded today by a place in FabioCapello's first England squad.Wright-Phillips needs to improve his finishing, as was demonstratedwhen he was twice denied when one-on-one with Marcus Hahnemann, butthe increased confidence with which he is carrying and passing theball suggests that sharper shooting is within his compass. Makelele'senduring quality is less of a surprise, but the France player hasappeared revitalised in recent weeks, particularly in possession,while Ballack's powerful header was a carbon copy of many of the goalshe scored for Bayern Munich, but were conspicuous by their absenceduring his troubled first season at Chelsea.The 31-year-old leapt like a younger man above Stephen Hunt to meetFerreira's cross for his fifth goal of the season, which left Grantpurring, although whether the convalescing Frank Lampard enjoyed theexquisite execution remains to be seen. "I've known Ballack a longtime and didn't think he was as bad last season as everyone said,"Grant said. "He's a very modern player. He gets into the box, scoresgoals and makes assists."I told Makelele at the beginning [of Grant's tenure] that I would notuse him all the time, but only when I need him. I think he becomesyounger every match. Whenever the team need him he's there."With Chelsea unbeaten in 75 home league matches stretching back almostfour years, Reading had travelled in hope rather than expectation andtheir plans were further disrupted shortly before kick-off when DaveKitson was ruled out with a flu bug, an untimely setback given that heis known to feature in Capello's thoughts. Given such problems,Reading did well to start brightly, with Leroy Lita bringing a goodsave from Cech in the second minute, but Chelsea soon assumed control.Makelele continued the imperious form that has resulted in him makingfive successive starts since returning from an ear operation, to givethe home team dominance of midfield that Wright-Phillips and Ballackset about exploiting.Wright-Phillips has been a revelation since being moved to a centralrole, with his pace and energy helping to disguise his erraticdelivery and Hunt and James Harper were unable to keep up with him.The England midfield player won a free kick with an electric run fromwhich Ballack almost scored and played in Anelka before the Germanycaptain finally opened the scoring.Chelsea will need to develop more ruthlessness than they displayed ina lacklustre second half to maintain their challenge, but SteveCoppell, the Reading manager, believes that they could push United andArsenal all the way. "At the moment they're grinding out resultsrather than playing calypso football, but as long as they keep winningthere'll be no complaints," Coppell said. "With the players they'vegot to come back from the African Nations Cup, it's all to play for.Chelsea have a lot to do, but they're capable of doing it. You couldsee them going the rest of the season unbeaten."And to think that when Grant was appointed first-team coach Chelseawere presumed to be dead and buried.Chelsea (4-1-4-1): P Cech – P Ferreira, Alex, R Carvalho, W Bridge – CMakelele – J Cole, S Wright-Phillips (sub: S Sidwell, 86min), MBallack, F Malouda (sub: C Pizarro, 76) – N Anelka. Substitutes notused: C Cudicini, S Sinclair, T Ben Haim.Reading (4-4-2): M Hahnemann – G Murty, I Ingimarsson, K Cissé, NShorey – J Oster (sub: M Matejovsky, 81), S Hunt, J Harper, R Convey(sub: L Rosenior, 86) – L Lita, K Doyle. Substitutes not used: AFederici, U De La Cruz, A Bennett.Referee: M Dean.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:Michael Ballack is beginning to look the bossBy Oliver BrownChelsea (1) 1 Reading (0) 0Somebody sometime is going to have to give Avram Grant his due. TheChelsea manager is assuredly no headline-writer's dream, but it hastaken his curiously muted method to produce a winning streak of ninegames, equalling the club record. A ragged Reading restricted his sideto only one goal, but if ever a scoreline lied it was here, as Chelsea- inspired by a revitalised Michael Ballack - delivered the type ofstylish exhibition that looks set to stop Manchester United andArsenal from streaking off into the sunset.It was, predictably, the conspicuous omission of Ashley Cole thatstirred the most murmurs, as Grant chose to keep him out of sightwhile salacious rumours about the left-back's private life blew over.A pity, really, because in Cole's absence - and indeed, in that ofsuch talismen as Didier Drogba and Michael Essien, both indisposed atthe Africa Cup of Nations - Chelsea found their range, cultivating acute passing game that aesthetically eclipsed the dour defensive artsbeloved by Jose Mourinho.Grant, with the cerebral support of first-team coach Henk Ten Cate,has introduced a rare intricacy to Chelsea's play; evident in thevision of Florent Malouda, the fearsome pace of Joe Cole, and theenduring doggedness of Claude Makelele. But most of all the Israeli'sbeautiful blueprint was reflected in the resurgent confidence ofBallack, as dominant in defence as he was accomplished in attack. Afirst-half header that exemplified the German's physical threat wasthe least he deserved.Where Nicolas Anelka was contained all evening, Ballack made anemphatic statement of intent. Shaun Wright-Phillips had already beendenied at point-blank range by Marcus Hahnemann before Ballack,profiting from Cole's irresistible surge on the right, contrived abreakthrough in the 33rd minute. The England winger picked out theoverlapping Paulo Ferreira, a delicious cross ensued, Ballack stoodtall, Stephen Hunt dropped off, and the ball was in the back of theReading's net with an ease that even caused Grant to smile.To be fair, the Chelsea manager, in his familiar black match-day garb,cannot help looking so sinister sometimes. He was also on unusuallyanimated form here, as his team's vast superiority continued to befrustrated. The second half was just 15 seconds old when Cole stolethe ball off Nicky Shorey and unleashed a raking drive that onlyfractionally evaded the far post. Kevin Doyle, creating an opening forLeroy Lita, signalled the briefest of ripostes, before Anelka ruffledReading once more with a header from Wayne Bridge's looping pass.Perhaps the one Chelsea talent not so sucessfully translated fromMourinho to Grant is the ability to kill a game off, and there was anedgy moment 10 minutes from time when John Oster's arrowing free-kicksailed beyond Petr Cech's flailing arm. But the ability to hold firmeven at times of doubt and strain is a similarly enviable gift. Thusdid Chelsea prevail - any other outcome, for all Reading's resilience,would have been frankly perverse.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:Chelsea 1 Reading 0: Ballack maintains Chelsea's pursuitBy Jason BurtThursday, 31 January 2008A first home league win for Chelsea against Reading since 1929 which,given they have played each other only a couple of times in theintervening years, is not as startling a statistic as it sounds. No,the real impression last night was left by Avram Grant's side on thepitch with a performance rich in creativity – through a midfieldtriumvirate brilliantly marshalled by the indefatigable ClaudeMakelele – and intent.There was an impressive statistic, however. The result earned a ninthsuccessive victory – which, interestingly, equalled the club recordset only two years ago by a certain Jose Mourinho. And still thesupporters do not chant for Grant, even if he has achieved the featwithout many of the "untouchables" anointed by the Special One. One ofthem did score, however, Michael Ballack's powerful first-half headersettling the contest.It was not, according to Steve Coppell, "calypso football". But therewas certainly enough rhythm to dispose of the Reading manager's teammore convincingly than the score-line suggests, even if they almostpaid a heavy price when James Harper was presented with a clear sightof goal by Leroy Lita only to make a hash of his volley.Still, Coppell was impressed enough to add that the title was now a"three-horse race". And he went on: "Chelsea will have to keep winningbut you could see them going through the rest of the season unbeaten."Grant was unsure about that, of course, but said his immediate aim wasto remain in touch until his reinforcements arrive from the AfricanNations Cup and the treatment table – and Ashley Cole, perhaps, putshis personal problems behind him."We should have scored more goals," Grant lamented. "Their goalkeeperwas great but it was more that we missed." Shaun Wright-Phillips,lively and energetic, was particularly culpable, wasting twoone-on-ones after being released by Makelele, who has not only assumedthe captaincy but a previously unheralded ability to pick a decisiveforward pass.It did not help Reading's cause that they lacked Dave Kitson, absentthrough a bout of flu, although Coppell maintained it did not affecthis planning. That planning certainly did not include standing offtheir opponents for the opening 45 minutes as Reading were "passive"and Chelsea quickly piled on waves of attacks through Wright-Phillipsand Joe Cole.Marcus Hahnemann did indeed pull off a series of alert saves, notablypushing away Cole's drive, but flapped at a corner only for John Osterto hook the ball off the goal-line. Again Reading failed to clear andPaulo Ferreira broke on the right and crossed deep for Ballack,returning from a calf injury, to arrive late in the penalty area, leapand thump a header into the net.Coppell said his team "had a go" in the second half and he was right.But just a dozen seconds after the restart they should have fallenfurther behind as Cole dispossessed Nicky Shorey only to drag his shotnarrowly past the far post as Nicolas Anelka lunged to meet the ball.Anelka then pulled away to be picked out by Wayne Bridge. His headerthudded into the turf and sped goalwards only for Hahnemann to push itaround the post.Suddenly, however, the opportunities dried up and the confidence ofReading, now eight games without a win but surely too good to besucked into a relegation scrap, grew. Chelsea's lack of comfortbetrayed the way they had, earlier, dominated. That was a concern forGrant but he was right in his summary. He was charged with providingmore "style" and, slowly, Chelsea are getting there.Goal: Ballack (32) 1-0Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Ferreira, Alex, Carvalho, Bridge;Wright-Phillips (Sidwell, 86), Makelele, Ballack, J Cole; Anelka,Malouda (Pizarro, 76). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Sinclair,Ben-Haim.Reading (4-4-2): Hahnemann; Murty, Cissé, Ingimarsson, Shorey; Oster(Matejovsky, 81), Harper, Hunt, Convey (Rosenior, 85); Lita, Doyle.Substitutes not used: Federici (gk), De la Cruz, Bennett.Referee: M Dean (The Wirral).Man of the match: Makelele.Attendance: 41,171.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ballack quickens Chelsea pulses but still no one mentions the titleDavid Hytner at Stamford BridgeThursday January 31, 2008The GuardianChelsea's pursuit of Manchester United and Arsenal in the race for thetitle has been characterised by prosaic qualities. As injuries havebitten and the African Cup of Nations has made its demands, they haveground out results. Last night, they finally quickened the pulses.Victory was their sixth in seven Premier League matches and a ninth insuccession in all competitions, equalling the club record. It alsofeatured patches of the free-flowing football that is craved by RomanAbramovich, the billionaire owner. The points were the bottom line butShaun Wright-Phillips' and Joe Cole's artistry, in particular, provedcheer and the gloss.This was a scoreline that deceived. Chelsea ought to have won by ahandful, and not only by Michael Ballack's fifth goal of the season."We should have scored more goals, the [Reading] goalkeeper was greatbut it was more us missing," said Avram Grant, the manager. "I hopethat every game we play like this and create chances."Chelsea had drawn with Reading in the corresponding fixture lastseason, on Boxing Day - a result that they felt keenly in the finalreckoning - and are keenly aware that they have no margin for errorthis time out. The tightness of the race promises a thrilling run-in.Chelsea are determined not to blink first. "They have a lot to do butthey are capable of doing it," said Steve Coppell, the Readingmanager. "It's a three-horse race but you can easily see Chelsea goingthrough the season without losing a game."Ballack had missed their previous two fixtures with a calf problem buthis return helped to energise the team. He was involved in many oftheir best moments and it was fitting that his towering header was thedifference. Cole released Paulo Ferreira, he got past Nicky Shorey andstood up an inviting cross from the by-line. Ballack ghosted in behindIvar Ingimarsson and got above Stephen Hunt to thump the ball pastMarcus Hahnemann. "Ballack is a modern player because he can doeverything," said Grant. "One of his qualities is to come late intothe box and score or provide assists." Coppell lamented his team beingtoo "passive" in the first-half, only "running alongside Chelsea", andfor him, the half-time whistle could not come too soon.Nicolas Anelka, from Ballack's pass, was denied by Graeme Murty'sblock, Joe Cole drew a diving save from Hahnemann with a 20-yard driveand Wright-Phillips, keeping his balance beautifully after ClaudeMakelele's pass and Murty's challenge, found the Reading goalkeepertoo good when one on one.There was no sign of Ashley Cole, the Chelsea England left-back who isfighting to save his marriage, while Reading missed their striker DaveKitson because of a knee injury and a dose of the flu. Reading showednothing more than flickers - Petr Cech did not have a save to make -and it was Chelsea,who were in charge. Reading have now lost fivesuccessive games in the Premier League.Chelsea had an easy rhythm about them and with runners breakingforward en masse, the game should have been over early in the secondhalf. But for Hahnemann and some loose finishing, it would have been.Once again, the American goalkeeper was confronted by Wright-Phillips,one on one, after the England midfielder had drifted on to anotherprecise Makelele through ball and once again he left his line smartlyto block.Cole had earlier flashed a shot inches past the far post and justahead of the onrushing Nicolas Anelka while Wright-Phillips slashedthe ball over the bar after good work from Florent Malouda and Anelka.At least Hahnemann enjoyed himself. When Anelka converged unmarked onto Wayne Bridge's cross, the goalkeeper smuggled his downward headerto safety.While only Ballack's goal separated the teams Chelsea could not relax,and they had a moment of grave alarm when Leroy Lita barrelled downthe left and crossed for James Harper, but he miskicked his volleyhorribly. Chelsea eased home and it is now 76 Premier League gameswithout defeat at Stamford Bridge. "[Manchester] United look at us andthink, 'Why are Chelsea winning so much," smiled Grant. "I knowbecause I have spoken to Alex [Ferguson] about this. I wanted to stayin this position [third] and then we will see what happens."--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:Ballack is on high as Blues eye summitChelsea 1 Reading 0By MATT BARLOWMichael Ballack knows the value of timing. Slowly and without fuss, hehas returned to the Chelsea team to fill the void created by theabsence of so many influential first-teamers.Last night, Ballack stepped up again with a majestic first-half headerto settle the nerves as Avram Grant's team dominated Reading butfailed to compile the goals their superiority deserved.During the extended absence of John Terry, Frank Lampard and DidierDrogba, Ballack has established himself as the heartbeat of this team.Chelsea ticked to his unhurried rhythm last night. They refused topanic when the visitors started at a high tempo and steadily imposedthemselves on the game.The Blues were not fluent and they did not run away with the pointsbut they played with the efficiency of Ballack's Germany to equal aclub record with a ninth successive win.Very little has changed at Chelsea in four months under Grant, withthe Israeli losing just two of his first 29 games at the helm, arecord which equals Jose Mourinho's start at the club.Just as under Mourinho, a trip to Stamford Bridge remains the mostdaunting of prospects, especially for Reading who arrived without anaway win all season at a venue where the Blues had not been beaten inthe Barclays Premier League for almost four years.Grant's team came surfing into the game on a wave of confidence butSteve Coppell stuck with a decision to play two up front, despitelosing top-scorer Dave Kitson with flu, ahead of the game.Reading took a point from the same fixture last season and forced astring of early corners. The first glimpse of goal on the night fellto former Chelsea schoolboy Leroy Lita but his header was easilygathered by Petr Cech.Stephen Hunt was enthusiastically booed by home supporters on hisfirst appearance at the Bridge since the collision 16 months ago,which left Cech with a depressed skull fracture.Shaggy-haired Hunt has been a hate figure among Blues fans ever since,and this was the first chance they had to properly vent their angerbecause he was an unused sub when Reading visited Chelsea last season.There was no sign of Ashley Cole in the Chelsea 16. The England leftback was given the night off to cope with the marital problems whichhave made front page news in the recent days.With Wayne Bridge in such strong form, Cole has only started twoPremier League games this year and last night's omission must castdoubt over his hopes of starting for England in Fabio Capello's firstgame, against Switzerland next week.Chelsea had gradually taken command of possession by midway throughthe first half.Reading's initial flurry burned itself out and cracks were beginningto open up at the back to expose Marcus Hahnemann.Ballack swerved a free kick over before Hahnemann took off to his leftto push clear a drive from Joe Cole, which seemed destined to riseinto the top corner.Shaun Wright-Phillips , relishing his new role in central midfield,wriggled into the penalty area but again Hahnemann exploded from hisline to smother a shot.Nicolas Anelka dragged a shot wide from the edge of the box as thepressure increased and Reading's goalkeeper denied Florent Maloudawith the help of Hunt.John Oster then came to the rescue, hooking clear from his owngoalline when Hahnemann fumbled a corner, but the resistance wasbroken by Ballack's header in the 32nd minute.Paulo Ferreira raced to the byline on the right and delivered abeautiful cross which invited Ballack to arrive with his usual senseof precision timing.The German midfielder is majestic in the air in front of goal but thistime he did not require his full leap to beat the diminutive Hunt andplant the ball beyond Hahnemann for his third of the season.Ballack's aerial prowess was causing further problems for the visitorsmoments later. This time he glanced the ball to Alex but the bigBrazilian's shot was wildly off target.Ten seconds after the restart and Cole ought to have polished Readingoff. Nicky Shorey was nowhere as Cole cut in from the right and ate upthe ground towards Hahnemann's goal.His low shot beat the keeper but faded inches wide of the far post andjust out of reach of Anelka, who came sliding in. Wright-Phillipsdarted clear again to collect a long pass with an excellent firsttouch but his finishing let him down as he poked a shot intoHahnemann's legs.Grant's team should have been coasting but their failure to find thesecond goal left them vulnerable to the counter attack.Cech save bravely at Lita's feet and Kevin Doyle headed a cross fromMurty back into the goalmouth but there was no one there to apply afinish. Hahnemann saved again. This time to keep out a close-rangeheader from Anelka, but when James Harper missed a chance, nervesjangled among home supporters
Sunday, January 27, 2008
sunday papers wigan fa cup
The Sunday TimesJanuary 27, 2008
Thoroughbred Nicolas Anelka gets off the markWigan 1 Chelsea 2Jonathan Northcroft at JJB stadium
HERE WAS the case against video evidence. That Chelsea, kings of the cups, ruled in another knock-out tie is hardly a talking point, but two incidents en route to them winning certainly were. The first was the goal by which Nicolas Anelka, that £15m stopgap, set up the victory, the second involved an off-the-ball incident between Michael Brown and Claude Makelele that had Chelsea manager Avram Grant and his minions shooting to their feet as if an electric current had just passed through their seats. Wigan’s outrage concerning the first instance matched Chelsea’s over the second, though action replays, both times, provided confusion, not clarification.
The one certain thing about Anelka’s goal was that his finish was that of a thoroughbred. On a day when the defending was good and the pitch as rutted as a corrugated iron roof, chances were difficult to create and what was needed were ruthless scorers. Anelka, filling in for Didier Drogba and already looking brilliant business by Grant, again proved to be one. Juliano Belletti lofted a pass and Anelka ran beyond Wigan’s backline to beat Chris Kirkland to the ball. On the volley and with a beautifully judged touch he toed it past the goalkeeper, but had he been offside? The pictures appeared to show that he was level with Paul Scharner, the last defender, and therefore legal and Steve Bruce did not demur. But the cameras were at the wrong angle to be conclusive. Scharner was probably wrong to berate the linesman, but it was just possible that he was not.
That made it 1-0 to Chelsea, which became 2-0 when Shaun Wright-Phillips converted a breakaway and 2-1 thanks to Antoine Sibierski’s late but brilliant riposte. Brown and Makelele tangled just after Anelka scored. The Wigan midfielder moved to block off his opponent as Chelsea were moving upfield. Brown put an arm out and the Frenchman ran into it, taking a blow on the chin, but was Brown’s action a deliberate effort to elbow someone or was the contact acciden-tal? Once more, replays left matters open to interpretation. Why ask the cameras questions if they cannot provide answers? The brigade who want football to become like an American sport, with constant interruptions so TV can pass judgement, should think carefully. Grant seemed a little embarrassed, in hindsight, at how his bench had reacted over Makelele, claiming it was because Uriah Rennie, the referee, did not stop the game quickly and they were concerned Makelele might have sustained an injury, having just returned from nasal surgery.
“There was no incident as far as I’m concerned. I asked everyone on their bench individually: did you see it? None of them had,” Bruce scoffed. As for Anelka’s goal, his opinion was “he wasn’t offside. For three days we’d been talking about how Anelka always plays on the shoulder of the last defender, always on the brink of offside and it was our own fault. You can’t take risks with him”.
Where television’s influence was discernable and definitive was in the size of the crowd.
Even by Wigan’s standards, 14,166 was poor given admission prices were reduced and the FA Cup holders were in town. The lack of interest was a pity as for once two Premier League managers treated a cup tie with absolute seriousness. Bruce and Grant used their strongest XIs, Grant declining to rest any of the side who overcame Everton in Wednesday’s Carling Cup semi-final.
Wigan limited Chelsea through their workrate and pressing. While Grant may have had Shaun Wright-Phillips in the hole and Joe Cole pushed so far up he was sometimes Anelka’s strike partner, but his players never forgot their defensive duties.
How Bruce needs his new arrival, Marlon King, because Emile Heskey had to shoulder too far much in Wigan’s attack. Until Anelka scored, Heskey had produced the most penetrating moment, turning Alex and angling a pass through to Mar-cus Bent, who reacted slowly and Wayne Bridge cleared. At 1-0 down, Bruce brought on Jason Koumas and Sibierski in search of greater creativity and the pair combined for a glorious goal, Sibierski swivelling and beating Petr Cech with a volley.
It would have been worthy of saving any game but this was now beyond Wigan. As Wigan pressed at 1-0, Anelka found Wright-Phillips after Kevin Kilbane’s slip and he converted calmly. Three goals, two controversies, one winner - and no help from the TV cameras.
Player ratings: Wigan: Kirkland 6, Melchiot 7, Bramble 6, Scharner 6, Kilbane 6, Valencia 7, Brown 6, Palacios 7 (Sibierski 77min), Taylor 6 (Koumas 58min, 6), Heskey 7 (Aghahowa 84min), Bent 5
Chelsea: Cech 7, Belletti 7, Alex 6, Carvalho 7, Bridge 7, Sidwell 6, Makelele 6, Cole 6, Wright-Phillips 6, Malouda 5 (Ferreira 80min), Anelka 7 (Pizarro 90min)
Star man: Wilson Palacios (Wigan)
Scorers: Wigan: Sibierski 87
Chelsea: Anelka 53, Wright-Phillips 82
Yellow cards: Wigan: Bramble, Scharner, Palacios, Aghahowa
Chelsea: Alex, Carvalho
Referee: U Rennie
Attendance: 14,166 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Nicolas Anelka keeps Chelsea's double alive By William Johnson at the JJB Stadium
Wigan (0) 1 Chelsea (0) 2
Nicolas Anelka, after several agonising near misses since his recent £15 million transfer from Bolton, finally opened his Chelsea account and then set up the clinching second for Shaun Wright-Phillips against Wigan to keep Avram Grant's team on course for a Wembley cup double.
Anelka, predatory in the North West playing at Liverpool, Manchester City and Bolton, broke the deadlock eight minutes into the second half of what had been until then a desperately disappointing tie which only belatedly rose to the standard expected of one of the plums selected for live television.
The French striker displayed all the sharpness he showed as an Arsenal youngster to propel the holders into the last 16. Firstly, he was alert to time his darting run on to Juliano Belletti's chip to meet it on the volley just before the advancing Chris Kirkland to steer the ball into an unguarded net. He then showed commendable unselfishness by refusing the chance of a second for himself by teeing up Wright-Phillips for a much simpler finish - a tap-in which reduced the ensuing goal of the match from Wigan substitute Antoine Sibierski to consolation status.
"Anelka is a proven striker and he showed his class today," Grant said. "We need him more than ever at the moment because we are short of players in attack."
Anelka's goal rescued a contest which had threatened to be the dampest of squibs. Wigan's defenders felt aggrieved that he was allowed to execute a clinical finish and Paul Scharner sprinted 40 yards to make the assistant referee aware of his complaint - an over-reaction which brought a yellow card.
The official had been spot on and a disappointed Wigan manager Steve Bruce agreed by suggesting his players' attempts to lay the offside trip had cost them dearly.
Eight minutes from time Anelka was through again after eluding the challenge of Kevin Kilbane to burst clear and tee up Wright-Phillips 10 yards out to the delight of the Chelsea faithful who were in the area on cup duty for the second time in four days, having watched them account for Everton in the semi-finals of the Carling Cup.
Chelsea deserved their latest success under the astute guidance of Grant, who is steadily reducing his predecessor Jose Mourinho to a distant memory.
They were hardly threatened by hosts whose priority is Premiership survival until Sibierski chested the ball down just outside the penalty area and unleashed a terrific shot on the turn.
Until then, Cech was called into action only twice, to save with his feet from Emile Heskey and then gather a Sharner free kick, but he was almost beaten a second time in stoppage time when Marcus Bent struck the top of the crossbar with a fierce drive from a tight angle.
The excitement of the second half contrasted sharply with a first which would have stretched the patience of the armchair audience at tea time and it was a hard slog for those who occupied the half-full JJB Stadium as they watched the highly paid players from both teams struggle to cope with a pitch not conducive to producing flowing football. If Joe Cole, whose goal secured Chelsea's Carling Cup final place, had scored after 47 seconds with his side's best chance of that opening period it might have turned into a more appealing spectacle.
Similarly, if Bent had profited from his Wigan strike partner Emile Heskey's splendid through ball at the other end and not allowed Wayne Bridge to recover and clear, his side might have forced the holders out of their comfort zone.
Man of the match Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)Great goal and unselfish lay-off for the winner.
Match details
Wigan: Kirkland, Melchiot, Bramble, Scharner, Kilbane, Valencia, Brown, Palacios, Taylor, Bent, HeskeyBooked: Bramble, Scharner, Palacios, Aghahowa. Subs: Sibierski, Koumas, AghahowaChelsea: Cech, Belletti, Carvalho, Alex, Bridge, Malouda, Makelele, Sidwell, Wright-Phillips, Joe Cole, AnelkaBooked: Alex, Carvalho. Goals: Anelka 53, Wright-Phillips 82. Subs: Ferreira, PizarroReferee: Uriah Rennie ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Independent:
Wigan Athletic 1 Chelsea 2: Anelka delivers knockout punchDave Hadfield at the JJB StadiumSunday, 27 January 2008
Nicholas Anelka's first goal for Chelsea set up the Carling Cup finalists for progress on another front. Anelka broke his duck with a brilliantly taken if hotly disputed goal after 53 minutes of an undistinguished FA Cup fourth-round tie.
He then turned unselfish provider eight minutes from the end to present Shaun Wright-Phillips with his side's second, effectively settling a match which Chelsea had always struggled to dominate.
In the time remaining, the Wigan substitute Antoine Sibierski pulled one back when he took the ball on his chest and volleyed in on the turn and Marcus Bent skimmed the bar when threatening an equaliser. In the final analysis, however, Chelsea and Anelka had done just enough to stay in the running for four trophies.
"One goal and one assist," said Anelka's manager Avram Grant about his most eye-catching contribution so far. "He was very, very good today and it's not easy to play football on this pitch."
The Frenchman made it look easy enough when he timed his run to perfection to claim his first strike for his new club. Ryan Taylor, who had been brought in by Wigan for the transferred Denny Landzaat, lost possession in midfield and Juliano Belletti played in what looked merely a hopeful long ball.
Anelka, lurking just onside, arrived in time to meet the ball and guide it over the head of the advancing Chris Kirkland. Paul Scharner was booked for leading the protests that insisted he had been offside, but replays suggested that he had been level with the last man, Scharner himself, at worst and had thus got it exactly right. That was the view of the Wigan manager, Steve Bruce. "If we've tried to play offside, we're at fault," he said. "You can't take that risk with someone like Anelka.
"It's the one thing we've talked about for the last three days. He's always on your shoulder, always on the verge of being offside. It's another individual error and it's cost us the game."
It did not help their cause that Wigan were opened up so easily for a second. Again it was an optimistic long punt that paved the way, this time from the substitute, Paulo Ferreira. Anelka got rid of his markers rather too easily and rolled the ball square to give Wright-Phillips a tap-in when he could probably have scored himself.
Wigan's surge came too late, but they had been the better side for the middle section of a game in which the football never quite mastered the deteriorating playing surface.
Chelsea had started brightly enough, with Joe Cole missing a reasonable chance in the first minute, but gradually the game came to be played more and more in the air. The major excitement came when both benches got into a heated debate after Michael Brown appeared to floor Claude Makelele with a stray arm.
Grant and Bruce yelled across the no-man's land separating the technical areas, but the Chelsea manager explained afterwards that he had not seen the incident and was angry because Uriah Rennie was allowing play to go on while Makelele was injured on the ground.
It was the end of a very satisfactory week for Chelsea, especially in view of how depleted their squad is at the moment.
"This week has told me what I thought before," said Grant. "The players have developed very well in the last two or three months."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Anelka bridges Chelsea class gap at WiganWigan 1 Chelsea 2
By JOE BERNSTEIN
Nicolas Anelka showed why Chelsea invested £15million in him as he kept the London club in the running for four competitions.
Anelka's debut goal for his new club was a beauty, quite out of keeping with the rest of an awful game on an awful pitch. For good measure, he set up a late second for Shaun Wright- Phillips — and even displayed a broad smile no one expected from a player who used to have a sulky image.
The FA Cup-holders fancy a double return to Wembley, having already booked their place in the Carling Cup final, and this was Avram Grant's side's eighth win in a row.
Even more impressive is the fact that Chelsea won yesterday without nine key players. Didier Drogba, John Obi Mikel, Michael Essien and Salomon Kalou are on African Cup of Nations duty, while John Terry, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko are injured and Ashley Cole was absent after a week in which there have been lurid allegations regarding his private life.
Without so many big players, Grant needed his first big-money signing to shine. Anelka did not let him down. The former Arsenal, Real Madrid and Liverpool striker, taken from Bolton during the transfer window, showed his class with the crucial opening goal after 53 minutes.
Juliano Belletti chipped a 60-yard pass with backswing and Anelka's clever run saw him advance past Titus Bramble from an onside position. If that was good, the finish was truly great. The France striker noted Chris Kirkland rushing out from goal and deftly extended his right leg to divert the ball past him as it dropped over his shoulder.
"Nicolas played very well on a pitch that wasn't easy and shouldn't be allowed at a Premier League club," said Grant. "He scored one goal and made one assist. But he is a proven striker. I think my judgment on him is right, not only because of this game."
Wigan manager Steve Bruce complained: "We spoke for three days about Anelka playing on the shoulder of the last defender — and we still let him do it.
"Chelsea's biggest strength remains their resilience. Alex has come in and the greatest thing you can say is that John Terry hasn't been missed."
Anelka's moment of class separated Chelsea from Bruce's honest grafters. The Wigan boss won the FA Cup twice as a player with Manchester United but is unlikely to get to Wembley as a manager unless he upgrades his squad.
Wigan huffed and puffed but were always hanging on. The dreadful pitch restricted Chelsea's chances to a curled effort from Joe Cole and a penalty appeal after Anelka went down when challenged by Kevin Kilbane.
At least Bruce can unveil new striker Marlon King for Tuesday's relegation six-pointer against Middlesbrough, although another signing, full-back Erik Edman, has suffered a calf injury.
Anelka's strike effectively settled the tie. Wigan had a chance to level moments after they fell behind, but Emile Heskey slammed his shot into Petr Cech's midriff.
The dugouts shouted and glared at each other when Michael Brown challenged Claude Makelele with a forearm and the Frenchman went down clutching his face, but the Wigan midfielder escaped any punishment.
Grant said: "I was only concerned because I thought it might be a head injury and the referee should stop play." But Bruce insisted: "There was no incident, handbags. I asked every one of their bench if they had seen what happened and none of them had."
Chelsea's second goal arrived seven minutes from time. Anelka shook off Kilbane and unselfishly squared to Shaun Wright-Phillips to slot home.
Antoine Sibierski hooked in a consolation strike three minutes from time and there was some late excitement when Marcus Bent skimmed the top of the crossbar in injury-time.
But Chelsea march on. Grant may not have the charisma of the Special One, but his record is beginning to look pretty special.
"We have developed spirit in our play over the last three months," he said. "We have so many players missing but Steve Sidwell, Shaun and others have come in and done a great job."
As for Bruce, the move from Birmingham seems to have stopped his serial whingeing. His view of the JJB pitch? "It's difficult. The rugby league starts in two weeks. That's really going to help!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Observer:
Anelka finds welcome finesse in the gloom
Paul Wilson at the JJB StadiumSunday January 27, 2008The Observer
A Chelsea spokesman before the game said Ashley Cole was unavailable. Then Avram Grant said afterwards he was available, but he thought Wayne Bridge deserved a run. One way or another, Cole's availability has been the story of the week. Sorry about the cheap gags, but you really don't want to know too much about the game, which was the sort of Cup tie that gives the BBC a bad name for screening it when there was a seven-goal thriller on offer at Anfield.
Perhaps that is a little unfair. Wigan made the last few minutes moderately exciting and there were three goals by the end, the first and last both excellent. There was also a masterful contribution from Nicolas Anelka, who scored his first Chelsea goal, made another and added some much needed finesse to another impressively workmanlike win by a team who have won eight in a row. 'I can only admire Chelsea's resilience,' Steve Bruce said. 'They have lost all those players and switched manager and they are as hard to beat as ever. Nothing has changed. I can only commend them.'
Chelsea passed their way around Wigan easily enough, it was the surface they found difficult to master. Lumpy, bald in places and uneven of bounce everywhere, the pitch confounded both teams' attempts at control and the Warriors have not started playing rugby on it yet.
Add in a blustery wind and the fact that Chelsea had played in midweek and you could say the conditions were ripe for an upset, though Wigan did not seem to possess Havant & Waterlooville's have-a-go attitude. Their defence was split open after barely a minute, only for Joe Cole to shoot wastefully wide when he had effortlessly rounded the last defender. Then again, Cole's shot might have been a miscue caused by one of a million bobbles. They might also explain why Kevin Kilbane soon overhit a back-pass to concede a corner and why Shaun Wright-Phillips sent a cross straight into the crowd.
Mainly due to Kilbane surviving an optimistic penalty appeal from Anelka, the home side survived a shaky first few minutes, finding to their relief that Chelsea could not keep up their initial pressure. Marcus Bent was given space and a clear sight of goal from Emile Heskey's pass, but waited too long to shoot and was brushed off the ball by Wayne Bridge. Then Michael Brown had a chance to slip a ball through to Bent but opted to crash into Alex instead, conning Uriah Rennie into booking the Chelsea player.
Someone hit the bar at the first attempt during the half-time entertainment, and the host was not lying when he said it produced the biggest cheer of the night. So it was something of a relief when Anelka stole in at the start of the second half to stun Wigan, since the prospect of a replay was too numbingly awful to imagine.
The goal was Anelka at his lethal best. Paul Scharner was booked for furiously protesting that Anelka had strayed offside, though replays suggested he had timed his run to perfection as Juliano Belletti launched his pass over the defence. While Scharner and Titus Bramble maintained their line expecting Chris Kirkland to collect the ball, Anelka simply ran in behind them to scoop the ball over the goalkeeper at the last moment. 'It wasn't offside, it was our individual error,' Bruce admitted. 'You can't take a chance with Anelka, he's always on your shoulder, and we have spent most of the week working on that. I thought we had a chance in this Cup tie, but we made mistakes.'
The game took an unsavoury turn when Brown felled an unsuspecting Claude Makelele with an elbow to the face. The incident occurred when the ball was elsewhere, so Rennie could not be blamed for missing it, though he must have been aware something serious had taken place as the technical area was suddenly filled with men gesticulating angrily. Brown may face retrospective disciplinary action once the video has been reviewed, though Grant accepted the contact might have been accidental and said the main concern of his bench was that the referee let the play go on with Makelele lying on the floor.
Wigan had their moments after going behind, Petr Cech producing a good save to deny Heskey from close range then a more routine one to prevent Scharner equalising from a free-kick, though as plenty more teams have discovered this season Chelsea are not easy to break down. The Cup holders added a second goal eight minutes from time just to confirm their superiority, Anelka chasing down another long ball and beating an out-of-position Kilbane before rolling a pass across the face of goal for Wright-Phillips to finish.
The home fans who left after that will have missed a late consolation goal, a terrific shot on the turn from Antoine Sibierski on the edge of the area and arguably the game's best strike. It would have graced Wembley, but that will not be happening, thank goodness, despite Bent hitting the bar in stoppage time. Chelsea versus Manchester United was bad enough.
Man of the match
Nicolas Anelka Just what you expect from a £15m signing. Anelka ran cleverly, took his goal well just after half time and made another for Shaun Wright-Phillips near the end. Altogether he was too much for the Wigan defence to handle.
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Thoroughbred Nicolas Anelka gets off the markWigan 1 Chelsea 2Jonathan Northcroft at JJB stadium
HERE WAS the case against video evidence. That Chelsea, kings of the cups, ruled in another knock-out tie is hardly a talking point, but two incidents en route to them winning certainly were. The first was the goal by which Nicolas Anelka, that £15m stopgap, set up the victory, the second involved an off-the-ball incident between Michael Brown and Claude Makelele that had Chelsea manager Avram Grant and his minions shooting to their feet as if an electric current had just passed through their seats. Wigan’s outrage concerning the first instance matched Chelsea’s over the second, though action replays, both times, provided confusion, not clarification.
The one certain thing about Anelka’s goal was that his finish was that of a thoroughbred. On a day when the defending was good and the pitch as rutted as a corrugated iron roof, chances were difficult to create and what was needed were ruthless scorers. Anelka, filling in for Didier Drogba and already looking brilliant business by Grant, again proved to be one. Juliano Belletti lofted a pass and Anelka ran beyond Wigan’s backline to beat Chris Kirkland to the ball. On the volley and with a beautifully judged touch he toed it past the goalkeeper, but had he been offside? The pictures appeared to show that he was level with Paul Scharner, the last defender, and therefore legal and Steve Bruce did not demur. But the cameras were at the wrong angle to be conclusive. Scharner was probably wrong to berate the linesman, but it was just possible that he was not.
That made it 1-0 to Chelsea, which became 2-0 when Shaun Wright-Phillips converted a breakaway and 2-1 thanks to Antoine Sibierski’s late but brilliant riposte. Brown and Makelele tangled just after Anelka scored. The Wigan midfielder moved to block off his opponent as Chelsea were moving upfield. Brown put an arm out and the Frenchman ran into it, taking a blow on the chin, but was Brown’s action a deliberate effort to elbow someone or was the contact acciden-tal? Once more, replays left matters open to interpretation. Why ask the cameras questions if they cannot provide answers? The brigade who want football to become like an American sport, with constant interruptions so TV can pass judgement, should think carefully. Grant seemed a little embarrassed, in hindsight, at how his bench had reacted over Makelele, claiming it was because Uriah Rennie, the referee, did not stop the game quickly and they were concerned Makelele might have sustained an injury, having just returned from nasal surgery.
“There was no incident as far as I’m concerned. I asked everyone on their bench individually: did you see it? None of them had,” Bruce scoffed. As for Anelka’s goal, his opinion was “he wasn’t offside. For three days we’d been talking about how Anelka always plays on the shoulder of the last defender, always on the brink of offside and it was our own fault. You can’t take risks with him”.
Where television’s influence was discernable and definitive was in the size of the crowd.
Even by Wigan’s standards, 14,166 was poor given admission prices were reduced and the FA Cup holders were in town. The lack of interest was a pity as for once two Premier League managers treated a cup tie with absolute seriousness. Bruce and Grant used their strongest XIs, Grant declining to rest any of the side who overcame Everton in Wednesday’s Carling Cup semi-final.
Wigan limited Chelsea through their workrate and pressing. While Grant may have had Shaun Wright-Phillips in the hole and Joe Cole pushed so far up he was sometimes Anelka’s strike partner, but his players never forgot their defensive duties.
How Bruce needs his new arrival, Marlon King, because Emile Heskey had to shoulder too far much in Wigan’s attack. Until Anelka scored, Heskey had produced the most penetrating moment, turning Alex and angling a pass through to Mar-cus Bent, who reacted slowly and Wayne Bridge cleared. At 1-0 down, Bruce brought on Jason Koumas and Sibierski in search of greater creativity and the pair combined for a glorious goal, Sibierski swivelling and beating Petr Cech with a volley.
It would have been worthy of saving any game but this was now beyond Wigan. As Wigan pressed at 1-0, Anelka found Wright-Phillips after Kevin Kilbane’s slip and he converted calmly. Three goals, two controversies, one winner - and no help from the TV cameras.
Player ratings: Wigan: Kirkland 6, Melchiot 7, Bramble 6, Scharner 6, Kilbane 6, Valencia 7, Brown 6, Palacios 7 (Sibierski 77min), Taylor 6 (Koumas 58min, 6), Heskey 7 (Aghahowa 84min), Bent 5
Chelsea: Cech 7, Belletti 7, Alex 6, Carvalho 7, Bridge 7, Sidwell 6, Makelele 6, Cole 6, Wright-Phillips 6, Malouda 5 (Ferreira 80min), Anelka 7 (Pizarro 90min)
Star man: Wilson Palacios (Wigan)
Scorers: Wigan: Sibierski 87
Chelsea: Anelka 53, Wright-Phillips 82
Yellow cards: Wigan: Bramble, Scharner, Palacios, Aghahowa
Chelsea: Alex, Carvalho
Referee: U Rennie
Attendance: 14,166 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Nicolas Anelka keeps Chelsea's double alive By William Johnson at the JJB Stadium
Wigan (0) 1 Chelsea (0) 2
Nicolas Anelka, after several agonising near misses since his recent £15 million transfer from Bolton, finally opened his Chelsea account and then set up the clinching second for Shaun Wright-Phillips against Wigan to keep Avram Grant's team on course for a Wembley cup double.
Anelka, predatory in the North West playing at Liverpool, Manchester City and Bolton, broke the deadlock eight minutes into the second half of what had been until then a desperately disappointing tie which only belatedly rose to the standard expected of one of the plums selected for live television.
The French striker displayed all the sharpness he showed as an Arsenal youngster to propel the holders into the last 16. Firstly, he was alert to time his darting run on to Juliano Belletti's chip to meet it on the volley just before the advancing Chris Kirkland to steer the ball into an unguarded net. He then showed commendable unselfishness by refusing the chance of a second for himself by teeing up Wright-Phillips for a much simpler finish - a tap-in which reduced the ensuing goal of the match from Wigan substitute Antoine Sibierski to consolation status.
"Anelka is a proven striker and he showed his class today," Grant said. "We need him more than ever at the moment because we are short of players in attack."
Anelka's goal rescued a contest which had threatened to be the dampest of squibs. Wigan's defenders felt aggrieved that he was allowed to execute a clinical finish and Paul Scharner sprinted 40 yards to make the assistant referee aware of his complaint - an over-reaction which brought a yellow card.
The official had been spot on and a disappointed Wigan manager Steve Bruce agreed by suggesting his players' attempts to lay the offside trip had cost them dearly.
Eight minutes from time Anelka was through again after eluding the challenge of Kevin Kilbane to burst clear and tee up Wright-Phillips 10 yards out to the delight of the Chelsea faithful who were in the area on cup duty for the second time in four days, having watched them account for Everton in the semi-finals of the Carling Cup.
Chelsea deserved their latest success under the astute guidance of Grant, who is steadily reducing his predecessor Jose Mourinho to a distant memory.
They were hardly threatened by hosts whose priority is Premiership survival until Sibierski chested the ball down just outside the penalty area and unleashed a terrific shot on the turn.
Until then, Cech was called into action only twice, to save with his feet from Emile Heskey and then gather a Sharner free kick, but he was almost beaten a second time in stoppage time when Marcus Bent struck the top of the crossbar with a fierce drive from a tight angle.
The excitement of the second half contrasted sharply with a first which would have stretched the patience of the armchair audience at tea time and it was a hard slog for those who occupied the half-full JJB Stadium as they watched the highly paid players from both teams struggle to cope with a pitch not conducive to producing flowing football. If Joe Cole, whose goal secured Chelsea's Carling Cup final place, had scored after 47 seconds with his side's best chance of that opening period it might have turned into a more appealing spectacle.
Similarly, if Bent had profited from his Wigan strike partner Emile Heskey's splendid through ball at the other end and not allowed Wayne Bridge to recover and clear, his side might have forced the holders out of their comfort zone.
Man of the match Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)Great goal and unselfish lay-off for the winner.
Match details
Wigan: Kirkland, Melchiot, Bramble, Scharner, Kilbane, Valencia, Brown, Palacios, Taylor, Bent, HeskeyBooked: Bramble, Scharner, Palacios, Aghahowa. Subs: Sibierski, Koumas, AghahowaChelsea: Cech, Belletti, Carvalho, Alex, Bridge, Malouda, Makelele, Sidwell, Wright-Phillips, Joe Cole, AnelkaBooked: Alex, Carvalho. Goals: Anelka 53, Wright-Phillips 82. Subs: Ferreira, PizarroReferee: Uriah Rennie ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Independent:
Wigan Athletic 1 Chelsea 2: Anelka delivers knockout punchDave Hadfield at the JJB StadiumSunday, 27 January 2008
Nicholas Anelka's first goal for Chelsea set up the Carling Cup finalists for progress on another front. Anelka broke his duck with a brilliantly taken if hotly disputed goal after 53 minutes of an undistinguished FA Cup fourth-round tie.
He then turned unselfish provider eight minutes from the end to present Shaun Wright-Phillips with his side's second, effectively settling a match which Chelsea had always struggled to dominate.
In the time remaining, the Wigan substitute Antoine Sibierski pulled one back when he took the ball on his chest and volleyed in on the turn and Marcus Bent skimmed the bar when threatening an equaliser. In the final analysis, however, Chelsea and Anelka had done just enough to stay in the running for four trophies.
"One goal and one assist," said Anelka's manager Avram Grant about his most eye-catching contribution so far. "He was very, very good today and it's not easy to play football on this pitch."
The Frenchman made it look easy enough when he timed his run to perfection to claim his first strike for his new club. Ryan Taylor, who had been brought in by Wigan for the transferred Denny Landzaat, lost possession in midfield and Juliano Belletti played in what looked merely a hopeful long ball.
Anelka, lurking just onside, arrived in time to meet the ball and guide it over the head of the advancing Chris Kirkland. Paul Scharner was booked for leading the protests that insisted he had been offside, but replays suggested that he had been level with the last man, Scharner himself, at worst and had thus got it exactly right. That was the view of the Wigan manager, Steve Bruce. "If we've tried to play offside, we're at fault," he said. "You can't take that risk with someone like Anelka.
"It's the one thing we've talked about for the last three days. He's always on your shoulder, always on the verge of being offside. It's another individual error and it's cost us the game."
It did not help their cause that Wigan were opened up so easily for a second. Again it was an optimistic long punt that paved the way, this time from the substitute, Paulo Ferreira. Anelka got rid of his markers rather too easily and rolled the ball square to give Wright-Phillips a tap-in when he could probably have scored himself.
Wigan's surge came too late, but they had been the better side for the middle section of a game in which the football never quite mastered the deteriorating playing surface.
Chelsea had started brightly enough, with Joe Cole missing a reasonable chance in the first minute, but gradually the game came to be played more and more in the air. The major excitement came when both benches got into a heated debate after Michael Brown appeared to floor Claude Makelele with a stray arm.
Grant and Bruce yelled across the no-man's land separating the technical areas, but the Chelsea manager explained afterwards that he had not seen the incident and was angry because Uriah Rennie was allowing play to go on while Makelele was injured on the ground.
It was the end of a very satisfactory week for Chelsea, especially in view of how depleted their squad is at the moment.
"This week has told me what I thought before," said Grant. "The players have developed very well in the last two or three months."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Anelka bridges Chelsea class gap at WiganWigan 1 Chelsea 2
By JOE BERNSTEIN
Nicolas Anelka showed why Chelsea invested £15million in him as he kept the London club in the running for four competitions.
Anelka's debut goal for his new club was a beauty, quite out of keeping with the rest of an awful game on an awful pitch. For good measure, he set up a late second for Shaun Wright- Phillips — and even displayed a broad smile no one expected from a player who used to have a sulky image.
The FA Cup-holders fancy a double return to Wembley, having already booked their place in the Carling Cup final, and this was Avram Grant's side's eighth win in a row.
Even more impressive is the fact that Chelsea won yesterday without nine key players. Didier Drogba, John Obi Mikel, Michael Essien and Salomon Kalou are on African Cup of Nations duty, while John Terry, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko are injured and Ashley Cole was absent after a week in which there have been lurid allegations regarding his private life.
Without so many big players, Grant needed his first big-money signing to shine. Anelka did not let him down. The former Arsenal, Real Madrid and Liverpool striker, taken from Bolton during the transfer window, showed his class with the crucial opening goal after 53 minutes.
Juliano Belletti chipped a 60-yard pass with backswing and Anelka's clever run saw him advance past Titus Bramble from an onside position. If that was good, the finish was truly great. The France striker noted Chris Kirkland rushing out from goal and deftly extended his right leg to divert the ball past him as it dropped over his shoulder.
"Nicolas played very well on a pitch that wasn't easy and shouldn't be allowed at a Premier League club," said Grant. "He scored one goal and made one assist. But he is a proven striker. I think my judgment on him is right, not only because of this game."
Wigan manager Steve Bruce complained: "We spoke for three days about Anelka playing on the shoulder of the last defender — and we still let him do it.
"Chelsea's biggest strength remains their resilience. Alex has come in and the greatest thing you can say is that John Terry hasn't been missed."
Anelka's moment of class separated Chelsea from Bruce's honest grafters. The Wigan boss won the FA Cup twice as a player with Manchester United but is unlikely to get to Wembley as a manager unless he upgrades his squad.
Wigan huffed and puffed but were always hanging on. The dreadful pitch restricted Chelsea's chances to a curled effort from Joe Cole and a penalty appeal after Anelka went down when challenged by Kevin Kilbane.
At least Bruce can unveil new striker Marlon King for Tuesday's relegation six-pointer against Middlesbrough, although another signing, full-back Erik Edman, has suffered a calf injury.
Anelka's strike effectively settled the tie. Wigan had a chance to level moments after they fell behind, but Emile Heskey slammed his shot into Petr Cech's midriff.
The dugouts shouted and glared at each other when Michael Brown challenged Claude Makelele with a forearm and the Frenchman went down clutching his face, but the Wigan midfielder escaped any punishment.
Grant said: "I was only concerned because I thought it might be a head injury and the referee should stop play." But Bruce insisted: "There was no incident, handbags. I asked every one of their bench if they had seen what happened and none of them had."
Chelsea's second goal arrived seven minutes from time. Anelka shook off Kilbane and unselfishly squared to Shaun Wright-Phillips to slot home.
Antoine Sibierski hooked in a consolation strike three minutes from time and there was some late excitement when Marcus Bent skimmed the top of the crossbar in injury-time.
But Chelsea march on. Grant may not have the charisma of the Special One, but his record is beginning to look pretty special.
"We have developed spirit in our play over the last three months," he said. "We have so many players missing but Steve Sidwell, Shaun and others have come in and done a great job."
As for Bruce, the move from Birmingham seems to have stopped his serial whingeing. His view of the JJB pitch? "It's difficult. The rugby league starts in two weeks. That's really going to help!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Observer:
Anelka finds welcome finesse in the gloom
Paul Wilson at the JJB StadiumSunday January 27, 2008The Observer
A Chelsea spokesman before the game said Ashley Cole was unavailable. Then Avram Grant said afterwards he was available, but he thought Wayne Bridge deserved a run. One way or another, Cole's availability has been the story of the week. Sorry about the cheap gags, but you really don't want to know too much about the game, which was the sort of Cup tie that gives the BBC a bad name for screening it when there was a seven-goal thriller on offer at Anfield.
Perhaps that is a little unfair. Wigan made the last few minutes moderately exciting and there were three goals by the end, the first and last both excellent. There was also a masterful contribution from Nicolas Anelka, who scored his first Chelsea goal, made another and added some much needed finesse to another impressively workmanlike win by a team who have won eight in a row. 'I can only admire Chelsea's resilience,' Steve Bruce said. 'They have lost all those players and switched manager and they are as hard to beat as ever. Nothing has changed. I can only commend them.'
Chelsea passed their way around Wigan easily enough, it was the surface they found difficult to master. Lumpy, bald in places and uneven of bounce everywhere, the pitch confounded both teams' attempts at control and the Warriors have not started playing rugby on it yet.
Add in a blustery wind and the fact that Chelsea had played in midweek and you could say the conditions were ripe for an upset, though Wigan did not seem to possess Havant & Waterlooville's have-a-go attitude. Their defence was split open after barely a minute, only for Joe Cole to shoot wastefully wide when he had effortlessly rounded the last defender. Then again, Cole's shot might have been a miscue caused by one of a million bobbles. They might also explain why Kevin Kilbane soon overhit a back-pass to concede a corner and why Shaun Wright-Phillips sent a cross straight into the crowd.
Mainly due to Kilbane surviving an optimistic penalty appeal from Anelka, the home side survived a shaky first few minutes, finding to their relief that Chelsea could not keep up their initial pressure. Marcus Bent was given space and a clear sight of goal from Emile Heskey's pass, but waited too long to shoot and was brushed off the ball by Wayne Bridge. Then Michael Brown had a chance to slip a ball through to Bent but opted to crash into Alex instead, conning Uriah Rennie into booking the Chelsea player.
Someone hit the bar at the first attempt during the half-time entertainment, and the host was not lying when he said it produced the biggest cheer of the night. So it was something of a relief when Anelka stole in at the start of the second half to stun Wigan, since the prospect of a replay was too numbingly awful to imagine.
The goal was Anelka at his lethal best. Paul Scharner was booked for furiously protesting that Anelka had strayed offside, though replays suggested he had timed his run to perfection as Juliano Belletti launched his pass over the defence. While Scharner and Titus Bramble maintained their line expecting Chris Kirkland to collect the ball, Anelka simply ran in behind them to scoop the ball over the goalkeeper at the last moment. 'It wasn't offside, it was our individual error,' Bruce admitted. 'You can't take a chance with Anelka, he's always on your shoulder, and we have spent most of the week working on that. I thought we had a chance in this Cup tie, but we made mistakes.'
The game took an unsavoury turn when Brown felled an unsuspecting Claude Makelele with an elbow to the face. The incident occurred when the ball was elsewhere, so Rennie could not be blamed for missing it, though he must have been aware something serious had taken place as the technical area was suddenly filled with men gesticulating angrily. Brown may face retrospective disciplinary action once the video has been reviewed, though Grant accepted the contact might have been accidental and said the main concern of his bench was that the referee let the play go on with Makelele lying on the floor.
Wigan had their moments after going behind, Petr Cech producing a good save to deny Heskey from close range then a more routine one to prevent Scharner equalising from a free-kick, though as plenty more teams have discovered this season Chelsea are not easy to break down. The Cup holders added a second goal eight minutes from time just to confirm their superiority, Anelka chasing down another long ball and beating an out-of-position Kilbane before rolling a pass across the face of goal for Wright-Phillips to finish.
The home fans who left after that will have missed a late consolation goal, a terrific shot on the turn from Antoine Sibierski on the edge of the area and arguably the game's best strike. It would have graced Wembley, but that will not be happening, thank goodness, despite Bent hitting the bar in stoppage time. Chelsea versus Manchester United was bad enough.
Man of the match
Nicolas Anelka Just what you expect from a £15m signing. Anelka ran cleverly, took his goal well just after half time and made another for Shaun Wright-Phillips near the end. Altogether he was too much for the Wigan defence to handle.
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Thursday, January 24, 2008
morning papers everton away cc semi
The Times
January 24, 2008
One touch of brilliance pierces the gloom and bursts Everton’s bubbleEverton 0 Chelsea 1 (Chelsea win 3-1 on agg)Martin Samuel, Chief Football Correspondent
For Fabio Capello, the England manager, it must have seemed a very long way to come for very little. The game was tired and tame, the players who were of interest were largely uninspired and the occasion was muted. The big team won, the smaller team lost and the first-team coach who said that he cared little for the tournament is now on his way to Wembley, with barely a smile.
Fortunately, amid so much that was uninspiring, there was an absolute gem of a winning goal, scored by an Englishman and certain to catch Capello’s eye, much like torchlight in a graveyard. It came from Joe Cole, who is sure to be named in Capello’s first squad on February 2, and perhaps is the answer to his problems if Michael Owen fails to regain his form and the England manager is forced to play Wayne Rooney as a striker, with a supporting midfield player behind.
Cole has long coveted a more central, attacking role and, although he did not get it in a depleted Chelsea team here — surprisingly, Avram Grant, their first-team coach, played Shaun Wright-Phillips through the middle and kept Cole wide on the right — he showed what he can do in front of goal with the 68th-minute intervention that decided the game and, with it, the tie, given Chelsea’s 2-1 advantage from the first leg.
Capello has taken to leaving games early, as Sven-Göran Eriksson did when he was the England head coach, but it was to be hoped that he was still in his seat when Cole provided the only moment worth watching on a disappointing night, making what started as nothing more than a hopeful long pass from Florent Malouda appear more like a flash of genius with a finish that deserved a place at Wembley, even if not much else did.
Cole outran Joleon Lescott, took the ball down with one touch, and then finished with a flourish, a right-foot shot that beat Tim Howard at his near post, more through speed and surprise than studied placement. And that was all it took, really. On a night that promised so much for Everton, David Moyes’s team disappointed like at no other time this season, failing to show the cutting edge that could have put Chelsea under pressure, given that a 1-0 home win would have made the Merseyside team Wembley bound for the first time since 1995.
It was never likely to happen on this showing. Two saves by Petr Cech in the space of a minute midway through the second half were the only time that Chelsea looked stretched, despite a makeshift line-up that included Wright-Phillips and Steve Sidwell as a central midfield pairing, an accident waiting to happen against a team with more to offer. In the end, though, Chelsea won at a canter and, while Grant claims that the Carling Cup is way down his list of priorities, he may get caught up in the atmosphere once he is at Wembley; Tottenham Hotspur’s hunger for a trophy and a desire for Chelsea not to go the same way as Arsenal should see to that.
Indeed, it was the memory of Tuesday night’s show at White Hart Lane that made this encounter seem such a damp squib. Tottenham showed how to get on the front foot on such an occasion, but Moyes simply does not have the same quality at his disposal.
Both clubs have been affected by the exodus to the African Cup of Nations, but, while Everton are without Yakubu Ayegbeni, their record £11.25 million signing, who is on duty with Nigeria, Chelsea replaced Didier Drogba, the Ivory Coast striker, by lavishing £15 million on Nicolas Anelka. That was the difference.
Emotions were high at Goodison Park, certainly, with the club enjoying their most significant night of domestic cup football in more than a decade, but their play could not keep step with the expectation. Everton have spent too long playing safe against teams with the might of Chelsea to go hell for leather now, and Moyes’s game plan of using Andrew Johnson as a lone striker, with Tim Cahill withdrawn in support, resembled a sling-shot against Chelsea’s armour-plated defence.
In the first half, neither team conjured a clear opportunity, trading instead in the lesser currency of half-chances and hope until Anelka hit the bar in the first attack of the second half. Chelsea looked increasingly dangerous on the break and, when Cole broke the stalemate, few were surprised. It could have been different had the much-needed galvanising goal for the home team arrived first, and there were two close shaves, in the 57th minute when a short corner by Mikel Arteta was met by Phil Neville, at last drawing a save worthy of the name from Cech, and then when Leon Osman took Cech by surprise, his shot forcing an ungainly clearance off the line with his legs.
At those moments, Goodison Park at last reached the decibel levels that had been promised, yet by the end, all was quiet. Everton did not turn up for the party and Chelsea have enjoyed too many bigger bashes of late to put out the flags for the Carling Cup.
Everton (4-4-1-1): T Howard – P Neville, P Jagielka, J Lescott, N Valente – M Arteta, M Fernandes (sub: J Vaughan, 78min), L Carsley (sub: V Anichebe, 70), L Osman – T Cahill – A Johnson. Substitutes not used: A Hibbert, A Stubbs, S Wessels. Booked: Carsley, Fernandes, Valente, Neville.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): P Cech – J Belletti, Alex, R Carvalho, W Bridge – C Makelele – J Cole (sub: C Pizarro, 82), S Wright-Phillips, S Sidwell, F Malouda (sub: A Cole, 90) – N Anelka (sub: T Ben Haim, 90). Substitutes not used: P Ferreira, C Cudicini. Booked: Makelele, Belletti.
Referee: S Bennett.
The final:
Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea Wembley, February 24, 3pm
Mirror image
Remarkably, in their first 28 games in charge of Chelsea in all competitions (including last night’s cup-tie), José Mourinho and Avram Grant share identical records:
Played 28 Won 21 Lost 2 Drawn 5
Source: Opta ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------telegraph:
Joe Cole sends Chelsea to another finalBy Tim Rich
Everton (0) 0 Chelsea (0) 1Agg: 1-3
Avram Grant's attempt to convince the world that Chelsea were not especially bothered by the Carling Cup sounded false from the moment it left his lips. Not since Don Revie constructed his all-white machine at Leeds has there been a club who have set out so remorselessly to win everything. 'The Special One' did not get his name by picking and choosing his trophies and nor, it seems, will his successor.
The Carling Cup was the first silverware Jose Mourinho won as manager of Chelsea and for the third time in four seasons they find themselves in the final. Although Tottenham, their opponents on Feb 24, reached Wembley rather more spectacularly, this semi-final was at least settled by an exquisite goal, a long ball from Florent Malouda that Joe Cole controlled instinctively with one touch and buried past Tim Howard with the second.
It was a wonderful move but not one the romantics would have wanted. The People's Club had been beaten by a billionaire's plaything. However, Everton did not do nearly enough to reach their first final since 1995. Their manager, David Moyes, had said that to reach Wembley they would have to play as well as they had ever done against a side they had not beaten for eight years. This, they never remotely did.
Perhaps Everton were tempting fate by printing the Wembley Arch on the front of the matchday programme. Perhaps they were tempting fate by playing reruns of their finest semi-final, the defeat of Bayern Munich in 1985.
But when you have a history, it is as well to remember it and at Goodison they sang and screamed about it. Grant was right; this semi-final did mean more to Everton than to Chelsea, who took an embarrassingly small contingent, some of them from Cyprus, to Goodison. But it was not because Everton are a small club.
Interrupted only by a minute's silence for Wally Fielding, who played more than 400 times for the club in the immediate post-war years, Goodison provided plenty of evidence for Arsene Wenger's theory that it is a naturally more intimidating venue than Anfield. Both provide grand theatre, but the noise from the Gwladys is not as self-conscious as that from the Kop.
Everton might have been carried away by this riptide of emotion but, instead of indulging in cavalry charges, they attacked cleverly through Mikel Arteta and Manuel Fernandes, who having stalked out of Goodison in the summer has now stalked back in after falling out with the Valencia manager, Ronald Koeman.
Their best chance of the first half fell to one of Everton's more regular threats, the centre-half Joleon Lescott, whose own goal may have decided the first leg at Stamford Bridge but who had also scored seven times for Everton. It was a toss-up whether he or Tim Cahill would reach Arteta's corner first but Lescott's header was saved at full stretch on the line by Petr Cech, who yesterday morning had become a father for the first time.
And until Everton relaunched their attacks around the hour mark, that was almost his only real piece of work in a contest that became less emotional and more attritional as the minutes ticked relentlessly by. Only in terms of atmosphere did it compare with Tuesday's semi-final at White Hart Lane.
Although both sides had lost a significant number of players to the Africa Cup of Nations, Chelsea were also deprived of the injured Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard, whose father's goal had deprived Everton of a place in the 1980 FA Cup final. John Terry, still nursing his injured foot, met England manager Fabio Capello for the first time, in the directors' box.
Nevertheless, Chelsea were still hungry and knew that a single goal, especially if it was the first one of the night, would virtually see them to Wembley. Joe Cole and Florent Malouda were both given openings and both shot into the crowd but it was Nicolas Anelka who provided the most obvious threat. For Phil Jagielka the task of marking him must have been like having to stand guard over a panther.
Just after the interval, he finally broke free, driving his shot almost on to the intersection of post and bar but had the top of Jagielka's head not made contact with the Frenchman's shot, it would almost certainly have been the decisive goal Chelsea craved.
For someone whose collective transfer fees amount to more than £80 million, it could be thought Anelka might not be overly motivated by this competition but despite winning the Double in his first season at Arsenal, he has not seen much silverware since lifting the European Cup with Real Madrid in 2000. Even to big players, the Carling Cup matters.
Match details
Everton (4-4-1-1): Howard; Neville, Jagielka, Lescott, Valente; Arteta, Fernandes (Vaughan 78), Carsley (Anichebe 70), Osman; Cahill; Johnson. Subs: Wessels (g), Hibbert, Stubbs.Booked: Carsley, Fernandes, Nuno Valente, Neville. Chelsea (4-4-1-1): Cech; Belletti, Carvalho, Alex, Bridge; J Cole (Pizarro 82), Sidwell, Makelele, Malouda (A Cole 90); Wright-Phillips; Anelka (Ben-Haim 90). Subs: Cudicini (g), Ferreira. Booked: Makelele, Belletti. Goal: Joe Cole 69Referee: S Bennett (Kent).---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Everton 0 Chelsea 1 (Chelsea win 3-1 on agg.): Cole's flash of brilliance puts Chelsea on road to Wembley
Some nights cry out for a fairytale finish. In an old fashioned stadium and an old fashioned football atmosphere, Everton chased silverware here last night in a way which rekindled memories of what the League Cup once stood for. In the words of the club anthem which thundered out before kick off, it was all "enough to make your heart go wooooah".
But the reverie ended 20 minutes before the finish, with an audacious piece of skill by Joe Cole which would have delighted the onlooking Fabio Capello as much as it destroyed Evertonians. A 40-yard crossfield pass by Florent Malouda, for once the undoing of Joleon Lescott as it bisected him and Phil Jagielka, left Cole to control with one touch and unleash a right-foot shot which sent Chelsea through to face Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on 24 February. It left Everton still searching for the trophy which would tell the world that they are much more than just valiant losers.
There was plenty of consolation for David Moyes here, if he chose to take it. The quality of the players he has assembled was unquestionable with Mikel Arteta demonstrating there is probably no better deliverer of a ball in the Premier League at the moment. Lescott will also have impressed Capello, the new England manager, hugely with a commanding performance against Nicolas Anelka. The way that he toe-poked a lofted ball from Shaun Wright-Phillips out of Anelka's path early in the second half said everything about his potential.
But Moyes was not consoled. He knew that while his own side's chances were marginal, Chelsea's were clinical, clear cut and could have elicited more goals. Avram Grant, the Chelsea manager, was probably being disingenuous when he said on Tuesday that the Carling Cup did not matter to him. Chelsea are now in their third Carling Cup final in four years and the side Grant fielded demonstrated that he wants the trophy much more than Manchester United and Arsenal. Anelka was a constant threat, Wright-Phillips troublesome and energetic and Claude Makelele created a spine with Ricardo Carvalho which maintained the side's shape. Everton never looked like reversing the 2-1 first-leg deficit after the initial blood and thunder.
And yet the atmosphere had told how badly Everton wanted a victory. Tim Cahill had predicted it would be "ridiculous" and rarely in the 13 years since Everton last appeared at Wembley had Goodison heard noise like it. Amid all this, the silence which suddenly descended in memory of the legendary, late post-war Everton striker Wally Fielding before kick off was stunning.
Everton's play never quite matched the theatre. There was an instant reminder of realities when Anelka shielded the ball into the path of the first-leg matchwinner Wright-Phillips two minutes in. His thumping shot from 30 yards was headed off course and behind by Jagielka.
Arteta kept the home fires burning though. Among several absorbing duels in a game which will have held much interest for Capello was that between the Spaniard and Wayne Bridge. Arteta edged it – just – and when he delivered one of the pinpoint corners Everton fans are so familiar with, early in the match, a goal threatened. Lescott stepped back from Alex to head the cross firmly towards goal but Petr Cech did well to save with the distraction of Cahill diving towards him. As Moyes later observed, Everton had no better chance all night.
The opening exchanges set the tone for a thrilling first half which pitched the flash fluorescence of Chelsea – for whom Anelka looks a bargain buy – against sheer Evertonian spirit. Chelsea's chances were the better. Malouda sent Anelka through the central channel and he was flagged offside when he looked half a yard on. Malouda blasted over on the half hour after finding room to shoot. Anelka could find only the side netting after a Lee Carsley deflection delivered the ball into his path five yards from goal on the left.
Arteta created where he could, delivering another perfect ball which Andrew Johnson took while reversing, span and pushed the ball into his path as he bore down on the penalty area but he could only to find the side netting.
Though Anelka hit the bar after the ball bounced off Cole early in the second half, Everton were pressing at their hardest when the goal came. Arteta – who else? – had just picked out Phil Neville from a short corner and the full-back, running in, thumped in a low shot through a crowded which Cech, a heroic figure last night, did well to stop. A deft Jagielka flick was also kicked clear by Cech.
It is now 52 years since Everton beat Chelsea in a cup competition and for Moyes there is anguish in that. "We've got to take the next step," he said.
Everton (4-4-1-1): Howard; Neville, Lescott, Jagielka, Nuno Valente; Arteta, Carsley (Anichebe, 70), Fernandes (Vaughan, 78), Osman; Cahill; Johnson. Substitutes not used: Hibbert, Stubbs, Wessels.
Chelsea (4-1-3-2): Cech; Belletti, Carvalho, Alex, Bridge; Makelele; Wright-Phillips, Sidwell, Malouda (A Cole, 90); J Cole (Pizarro, 83), Anelka (Ben Haim, 90). Substitutes not used: Ferreira, Cudicini.
Referee: S Bennett (Kent).
Spurs travails at hands of Chelsea
Tottenham Hotspur ended one London jinx in handing out a 5-1 thrashing to Arsenal (6-2 on aggregate) on Tuesday, but now face a similar task against Chelsea in the Carling Cup final at Wembley on Sunday 24 February.
Spurs recorded a 5-1 win against their west London neighbours in the 2002 League Cup semi-final, but that came after a run of 26 games without success. Since then, they have won just once in 15 matches against Chelsea.
Avram Grant's side were due at White Hart Lane for a Premier League game the day before the final. That game will now be rearranged for a later date.
23 Jan '02 LCSF Tottenham 5 Chelsea 1
10 Mar '02 FA6R Tottenham 0 Chelsea 4
13 Mar '02 PL Chelsea 4 Tottenham 0
3 Nov '02 PL Tottenham 0 Chelsea 0
1 Feb '03 PL Chelsea 1 Tottenham 1
13 Sep '03 PL Chelsea 4 Tottenham 2
3 Apr '04 PL Tottenham 0 Chelsea 1
19 Sep '04 PL Chelsea 0 Tottenham 0
15 Jan '05 PL Tottenham 0 Chelsea 2
27 Aug '05 PL Tottenham 0 Chelsea 2
11 Mar '06 PL Chelsea 2 Tottenham 1
5 Nov '06 PL Tottenham 2 Chelsea 1
11 Mar '07 FA6R Chelsea 3 Tottenham 3
19 Mar '07 FA6RR Tottenham 1 Chelsea 2
7 Apr '07 PL Chelsea 1 Tottenham 0
12 Jan '08 PL Chelsea 2 Tottenham 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cole power puts an end to Everton's final dreams
Andy Hunter at Goodison ParkThursday January 24, 2008The Guardian
Everton songs drifted through the windows at Goodison Park long after their dreams of a first Wembley appearance for 13 years had evaporated last night but it was Chelsea who had the monopoly on defiance.Resolute in defence, clinical in attack and nerveless amid a fierce examination of character, this was Jose Mourinho's vision of perfection rekindled by Chelsea although, unlike Avram Grant, the Special One never left Merseyside having delivered victory in a cup semi-final. The Israeli must produce more than one showpiece occasion against Tottenham Hotspur to justify his appointment but a baton appeared to have been passed last night in the competition that began Mourinho's haul of five trophies in three seasons.
A touch of class from Joe Cole secured victory at Goodison and, before the watching Fabio Capello, the England international's finish was both timed and executed to perfection. Yet Chelsea's place at Wembley on February 24 - their third Carling Cup Final appearance in four seasons - was never seriously in doubt despite the fierce passion that drove David Moyes's side.The tie, far removed from the rich entertainment that did for Arsenal at White Hart Lane, was shaped by spirit and settled by quality. Chelsea's excellence in those departments, along with their fixation on the Carling Cup, has not diminished with the change of manager and it was with the humility his predecessor lacked that Grant spoke of only beginning his task of satisfying Roman Abramovich here. Compared with the tumult that stirred around Stamford Bridge last autumn, the transition between managers appeared seamless last night. The club's appetite for honours has been similarly unaffected.
Everton's Latin motto may translate as 'Nothing but the best is good enough' but that was exposed as patently untrue by Chelsea's commanding display. The best Moyes' side had to offer could not overturn their first-leg deficit and they rarely threatened to do so. While Everton have designs on breaking the elite in England there remains a gulf between expectation and reality, perspiration and quality. Few teams can demonstrate that truism as ruthlessly as Chelsea and, though they had four key players absent on African Cup of Nations duty, it was Everton who missed the cutting edge of Yakubu Ayegbeni, the steel of Joseph Yobo and the invention of Steven Pienaar more.
In terms of who craved a place in the final more there was no contest. Goodison provided the team from west London with the kind of Merseyside welcome usually reserved for Anfield in a Champions League semi-final and the only empty seats in the house were those in the away section. The visitors requested 6,000 tickets for this semi-final. They sold 2,600. Grant's admission that the competition meant more to Everton after 13 trophy-less years may have riled sections of the home support but it was undoubtedly true. The occasion bore that out although, unfortunately for Everton, the Chelsea players were not as compliant as the attitude of their manager and supporters indicated.
Moyes' side were fast and furious as they sought to overturn not only a 2-1 deficit but the tide of recent history in this fixture. In 18 games against the Londoners Everton had failed to emerge victorious, a sequence stretching back to 2000, and their hopes of transforming the tie were almost extinguished by Shaun Wright-Phillips inside three minutes. The winger, making a miraculous recovery from the ankle injury sustained at Birmingham City on Saturday, was the scourge of Everton at Stamford Bridge and so nearly continued where he left off in the first leg. A shot from the edge of the area appeared destined for Tim Howard's goal until Phil Jagielka intervened to deflect the ball inches wide.
The pressure on Petr Cech's goal remained minimal. His wife presented him with a daughter, Adela, yesterday morning and presumably there were more palpitations there than he had inside Everton's den. Only once was the Czech international troubled before the interval when Mikel Arteta delivered a rare corner beyond the first Chelsea defender. Joleon Lescott sent a free header towards goal butCech saved comfortably.
With such a solid platform and pace in attack the visitors had the personnel to exploit Everton's search for a breakthrough. They did so in the most exquisite fashion 21 minutes from time, Florent Malouda instigating the move that settled the contest with a raking 50-yard pass over the home defence. For once Lescott and Nuno Valente lost their man and, with a sublime piece of control and equally accomplished finish inside Howard's near post, Cole sent Chelsea to Wembley.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Cole has the final say as his breakaway goal ends Everton's challengeEverton 0 Chelsea 1 (J Cole 69)
By MATT LAWTON
A glance at the Barclays Premier League table was enough to fool us into thinking this could be every bit as dramatic as the semi-final that had been contested at White Hart Lane the previous evening.
Fourth, after all, were playing third and only one goal separated them after an absorbing first leg.
But the gulf between fourth and third remains enormous when fourth happens to be an Everton side punching well above their weight and third remains the most expensively assembled squad in English football history.
Even on a night when so many key players were missing, Chelsea proved too strong for a determined Everton.
Proved, much to the disappointment of fans so desperate to reach their first final since Joe Royle's 'dogs of war' snarled their way to FA Cup glory in 1995, too well organised, too deadly when the one real chance presented itself to Joe Cole.
While Chelsea marvelled at the manner in which Cole controlled Florent Malouda's 50-yard pass before driving a half-volley past Tim Howard, Everton had to concede that their industry was not matched by the invention they so clearly needed.
They could find no way past a back four led quite brilliantly by Ricardo Carvalho and a certain individual who spent the morning at his wife's side as she gave birth to a daughter, then traded the theatre greens for his grey goalkeeping kit.
Petr Cech made fine saves to deny Joleon Lescott, Phil Neville and Phil Jagielka.
Chelsea also went close when Nicolas Anelka sent an effort against the bar via the head of Jagielka.
But until Cole struck in the 70th minute, they performed rather as they might have done under Jose Mourinho, protecting their one-goal advantage in a fashion that would have met with the approval of their former manager.
Avram Grant said he was not that bothered if his side won or lost and, judging by the sea of empty seats in the visitors' section, Chelsea's fans were of much the same opinion.
But Grant will be pleased that, like Tottenham's Juande Ramos, he too has reached a final after only a few months in charge.
His side, presumably, will be more adventurous when they meet Tottenham at Wembley in their second final at the new stadium.
Certain players performed well. Steve Sidwell was excellent, as were Claude Makelele and the entire Chelsea back line.
But it was not a night for those who demand a bit of flare and ambition. Not the kind of night Roman Abramovich would normally enjoy.
The atmosphere was terrific, the desire to reach a Wembley final for the first time in 13 years almost tangible.
A reminder, perhaps, for Chelsea of those Champions League semi-finals across Stanley Park at Anfield.
For Chelsea's players it must have been every bit as intimidating as it was against Liverpool. The roar that accompanied the sight of Manuel Fernandes winning the ball from Florent Malouda.
The cry when Petr Cech dived to his left to deny Lescott yet another goal.
Chelsea had also threatened in the early stages, Wright-Phillips unleashing a shot that Jagielka bravely headed to safety.
But the momentum was most definitely with the home side and the side chasing the goal that would put them level in this tie.
It was not going to be easy. Not when Everton had failed to beat Chelsea for 18 consecutive matches, dating back to 2000. But they were determined to give it a go.
Maybe they were encouraged by the team they had seen reach the final the previous night. That, after all, was Tottenham's first win against Arsenal in 22 games. Maybe the sight of a Chelsea team missing John Terry, Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba was all they needed to convince them it could be done.
Andy Johnson clearly fancied his chances, shooting from distance only to see his effort drift wide.
Lee Carsley was more accurate moments later when he caught Wright-Phillips with a reckless challenge that invited the first yellow card of the night.
Predictably, it was proving hard for Everton to penetrate Chelsea's defence. Terry might have been missing but Carvalho was there to make sure they had the measure of their opponents.
It enabled Chelsea to break forward with confidence and remind Everton of the threat they could pose, Anelka testing Tim Howard with a teasing effort.
Everton were attacking in numbers but that sometimes proved dangerous, not least when Lescott lost possession on the edge of the Chelsea box and the visitors quickly accelerated up the pitch. In the end, though, Wright-Phillips drove his shot yards over the bar and a moment of panic passed.
Johnson went closer with a shot that hit the side netting but the first half was concluded with a feeling of frustration for Everton.
When Anelka then saw his effort clip Jagielka's head and rebound off the bar shortly after the break, the dream of that final appeared to be slipping from Everton's grasp.
But they continued to battle, continued to search for a breakthrough. When Neville forced a fine save from Cech with a shot that he probably intended to be a cross, Everton spirits lifted. Likewise when Jagielka tried to beat Chelsea's formidable goalkeeper with a cheeky backheel.
Nothing, however, was going to break Chelsea's concentration. Not the arrival of a new baby and not the close attention of Lescott and Nuno Valente.
Cole must have been aware of both men as Malouda's diagonal ball floated in his direction, but he brought it down on his right foot before leaving Howard and his team-mates to reflect on what might have been.
Everton: Howard, Neville, Jagielka, Lescott, Nuno Valente, Osman, Cahill, Carsley, Arteta, Fernandes, Johnson. Subs: Wessels, Hibbert, Vaughan, Stubbs, Anichebe.
Chelsea: Cech, Belletti, Carvalho, Alex, Bridge, Makelele, Malouda, Sidwell, Joe Cole, Wright-Phillips, Anelka. Subs: Cudicini, Ashley Cole, Pizarro, Ferreira, Ben-Haim.
Referee: Steve Bennett (Kent)
January 24, 2008
One touch of brilliance pierces the gloom and bursts Everton’s bubbleEverton 0 Chelsea 1 (Chelsea win 3-1 on agg)Martin Samuel, Chief Football Correspondent
For Fabio Capello, the England manager, it must have seemed a very long way to come for very little. The game was tired and tame, the players who were of interest were largely uninspired and the occasion was muted. The big team won, the smaller team lost and the first-team coach who said that he cared little for the tournament is now on his way to Wembley, with barely a smile.
Fortunately, amid so much that was uninspiring, there was an absolute gem of a winning goal, scored by an Englishman and certain to catch Capello’s eye, much like torchlight in a graveyard. It came from Joe Cole, who is sure to be named in Capello’s first squad on February 2, and perhaps is the answer to his problems if Michael Owen fails to regain his form and the England manager is forced to play Wayne Rooney as a striker, with a supporting midfield player behind.
Cole has long coveted a more central, attacking role and, although he did not get it in a depleted Chelsea team here — surprisingly, Avram Grant, their first-team coach, played Shaun Wright-Phillips through the middle and kept Cole wide on the right — he showed what he can do in front of goal with the 68th-minute intervention that decided the game and, with it, the tie, given Chelsea’s 2-1 advantage from the first leg.
Capello has taken to leaving games early, as Sven-Göran Eriksson did when he was the England head coach, but it was to be hoped that he was still in his seat when Cole provided the only moment worth watching on a disappointing night, making what started as nothing more than a hopeful long pass from Florent Malouda appear more like a flash of genius with a finish that deserved a place at Wembley, even if not much else did.
Cole outran Joleon Lescott, took the ball down with one touch, and then finished with a flourish, a right-foot shot that beat Tim Howard at his near post, more through speed and surprise than studied placement. And that was all it took, really. On a night that promised so much for Everton, David Moyes’s team disappointed like at no other time this season, failing to show the cutting edge that could have put Chelsea under pressure, given that a 1-0 home win would have made the Merseyside team Wembley bound for the first time since 1995.
It was never likely to happen on this showing. Two saves by Petr Cech in the space of a minute midway through the second half were the only time that Chelsea looked stretched, despite a makeshift line-up that included Wright-Phillips and Steve Sidwell as a central midfield pairing, an accident waiting to happen against a team with more to offer. In the end, though, Chelsea won at a canter and, while Grant claims that the Carling Cup is way down his list of priorities, he may get caught up in the atmosphere once he is at Wembley; Tottenham Hotspur’s hunger for a trophy and a desire for Chelsea not to go the same way as Arsenal should see to that.
Indeed, it was the memory of Tuesday night’s show at White Hart Lane that made this encounter seem such a damp squib. Tottenham showed how to get on the front foot on such an occasion, but Moyes simply does not have the same quality at his disposal.
Both clubs have been affected by the exodus to the African Cup of Nations, but, while Everton are without Yakubu Ayegbeni, their record £11.25 million signing, who is on duty with Nigeria, Chelsea replaced Didier Drogba, the Ivory Coast striker, by lavishing £15 million on Nicolas Anelka. That was the difference.
Emotions were high at Goodison Park, certainly, with the club enjoying their most significant night of domestic cup football in more than a decade, but their play could not keep step with the expectation. Everton have spent too long playing safe against teams with the might of Chelsea to go hell for leather now, and Moyes’s game plan of using Andrew Johnson as a lone striker, with Tim Cahill withdrawn in support, resembled a sling-shot against Chelsea’s armour-plated defence.
In the first half, neither team conjured a clear opportunity, trading instead in the lesser currency of half-chances and hope until Anelka hit the bar in the first attack of the second half. Chelsea looked increasingly dangerous on the break and, when Cole broke the stalemate, few were surprised. It could have been different had the much-needed galvanising goal for the home team arrived first, and there were two close shaves, in the 57th minute when a short corner by Mikel Arteta was met by Phil Neville, at last drawing a save worthy of the name from Cech, and then when Leon Osman took Cech by surprise, his shot forcing an ungainly clearance off the line with his legs.
At those moments, Goodison Park at last reached the decibel levels that had been promised, yet by the end, all was quiet. Everton did not turn up for the party and Chelsea have enjoyed too many bigger bashes of late to put out the flags for the Carling Cup.
Everton (4-4-1-1): T Howard – P Neville, P Jagielka, J Lescott, N Valente – M Arteta, M Fernandes (sub: J Vaughan, 78min), L Carsley (sub: V Anichebe, 70), L Osman – T Cahill – A Johnson. Substitutes not used: A Hibbert, A Stubbs, S Wessels. Booked: Carsley, Fernandes, Valente, Neville.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): P Cech – J Belletti, Alex, R Carvalho, W Bridge – C Makelele – J Cole (sub: C Pizarro, 82), S Wright-Phillips, S Sidwell, F Malouda (sub: A Cole, 90) – N Anelka (sub: T Ben Haim, 90). Substitutes not used: P Ferreira, C Cudicini. Booked: Makelele, Belletti.
Referee: S Bennett.
The final:
Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea Wembley, February 24, 3pm
Mirror image
Remarkably, in their first 28 games in charge of Chelsea in all competitions (including last night’s cup-tie), José Mourinho and Avram Grant share identical records:
Played 28 Won 21 Lost 2 Drawn 5
Source: Opta ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------telegraph:
Joe Cole sends Chelsea to another finalBy Tim Rich
Everton (0) 0 Chelsea (0) 1Agg: 1-3
Avram Grant's attempt to convince the world that Chelsea were not especially bothered by the Carling Cup sounded false from the moment it left his lips. Not since Don Revie constructed his all-white machine at Leeds has there been a club who have set out so remorselessly to win everything. 'The Special One' did not get his name by picking and choosing his trophies and nor, it seems, will his successor.
The Carling Cup was the first silverware Jose Mourinho won as manager of Chelsea and for the third time in four seasons they find themselves in the final. Although Tottenham, their opponents on Feb 24, reached Wembley rather more spectacularly, this semi-final was at least settled by an exquisite goal, a long ball from Florent Malouda that Joe Cole controlled instinctively with one touch and buried past Tim Howard with the second.
It was a wonderful move but not one the romantics would have wanted. The People's Club had been beaten by a billionaire's plaything. However, Everton did not do nearly enough to reach their first final since 1995. Their manager, David Moyes, had said that to reach Wembley they would have to play as well as they had ever done against a side they had not beaten for eight years. This, they never remotely did.
Perhaps Everton were tempting fate by printing the Wembley Arch on the front of the matchday programme. Perhaps they were tempting fate by playing reruns of their finest semi-final, the defeat of Bayern Munich in 1985.
But when you have a history, it is as well to remember it and at Goodison they sang and screamed about it. Grant was right; this semi-final did mean more to Everton than to Chelsea, who took an embarrassingly small contingent, some of them from Cyprus, to Goodison. But it was not because Everton are a small club.
Interrupted only by a minute's silence for Wally Fielding, who played more than 400 times for the club in the immediate post-war years, Goodison provided plenty of evidence for Arsene Wenger's theory that it is a naturally more intimidating venue than Anfield. Both provide grand theatre, but the noise from the Gwladys is not as self-conscious as that from the Kop.
Everton might have been carried away by this riptide of emotion but, instead of indulging in cavalry charges, they attacked cleverly through Mikel Arteta and Manuel Fernandes, who having stalked out of Goodison in the summer has now stalked back in after falling out with the Valencia manager, Ronald Koeman.
Their best chance of the first half fell to one of Everton's more regular threats, the centre-half Joleon Lescott, whose own goal may have decided the first leg at Stamford Bridge but who had also scored seven times for Everton. It was a toss-up whether he or Tim Cahill would reach Arteta's corner first but Lescott's header was saved at full stretch on the line by Petr Cech, who yesterday morning had become a father for the first time.
And until Everton relaunched their attacks around the hour mark, that was almost his only real piece of work in a contest that became less emotional and more attritional as the minutes ticked relentlessly by. Only in terms of atmosphere did it compare with Tuesday's semi-final at White Hart Lane.
Although both sides had lost a significant number of players to the Africa Cup of Nations, Chelsea were also deprived of the injured Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard, whose father's goal had deprived Everton of a place in the 1980 FA Cup final. John Terry, still nursing his injured foot, met England manager Fabio Capello for the first time, in the directors' box.
Nevertheless, Chelsea were still hungry and knew that a single goal, especially if it was the first one of the night, would virtually see them to Wembley. Joe Cole and Florent Malouda were both given openings and both shot into the crowd but it was Nicolas Anelka who provided the most obvious threat. For Phil Jagielka the task of marking him must have been like having to stand guard over a panther.
Just after the interval, he finally broke free, driving his shot almost on to the intersection of post and bar but had the top of Jagielka's head not made contact with the Frenchman's shot, it would almost certainly have been the decisive goal Chelsea craved.
For someone whose collective transfer fees amount to more than £80 million, it could be thought Anelka might not be overly motivated by this competition but despite winning the Double in his first season at Arsenal, he has not seen much silverware since lifting the European Cup with Real Madrid in 2000. Even to big players, the Carling Cup matters.
Match details
Everton (4-4-1-1): Howard; Neville, Jagielka, Lescott, Valente; Arteta, Fernandes (Vaughan 78), Carsley (Anichebe 70), Osman; Cahill; Johnson. Subs: Wessels (g), Hibbert, Stubbs.Booked: Carsley, Fernandes, Nuno Valente, Neville. Chelsea (4-4-1-1): Cech; Belletti, Carvalho, Alex, Bridge; J Cole (Pizarro 82), Sidwell, Makelele, Malouda (A Cole 90); Wright-Phillips; Anelka (Ben-Haim 90). Subs: Cudicini (g), Ferreira. Booked: Makelele, Belletti. Goal: Joe Cole 69Referee: S Bennett (Kent).---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Everton 0 Chelsea 1 (Chelsea win 3-1 on agg.): Cole's flash of brilliance puts Chelsea on road to Wembley
Some nights cry out for a fairytale finish. In an old fashioned stadium and an old fashioned football atmosphere, Everton chased silverware here last night in a way which rekindled memories of what the League Cup once stood for. In the words of the club anthem which thundered out before kick off, it was all "enough to make your heart go wooooah".
But the reverie ended 20 minutes before the finish, with an audacious piece of skill by Joe Cole which would have delighted the onlooking Fabio Capello as much as it destroyed Evertonians. A 40-yard crossfield pass by Florent Malouda, for once the undoing of Joleon Lescott as it bisected him and Phil Jagielka, left Cole to control with one touch and unleash a right-foot shot which sent Chelsea through to face Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on 24 February. It left Everton still searching for the trophy which would tell the world that they are much more than just valiant losers.
There was plenty of consolation for David Moyes here, if he chose to take it. The quality of the players he has assembled was unquestionable with Mikel Arteta demonstrating there is probably no better deliverer of a ball in the Premier League at the moment. Lescott will also have impressed Capello, the new England manager, hugely with a commanding performance against Nicolas Anelka. The way that he toe-poked a lofted ball from Shaun Wright-Phillips out of Anelka's path early in the second half said everything about his potential.
But Moyes was not consoled. He knew that while his own side's chances were marginal, Chelsea's were clinical, clear cut and could have elicited more goals. Avram Grant, the Chelsea manager, was probably being disingenuous when he said on Tuesday that the Carling Cup did not matter to him. Chelsea are now in their third Carling Cup final in four years and the side Grant fielded demonstrated that he wants the trophy much more than Manchester United and Arsenal. Anelka was a constant threat, Wright-Phillips troublesome and energetic and Claude Makelele created a spine with Ricardo Carvalho which maintained the side's shape. Everton never looked like reversing the 2-1 first-leg deficit after the initial blood and thunder.
And yet the atmosphere had told how badly Everton wanted a victory. Tim Cahill had predicted it would be "ridiculous" and rarely in the 13 years since Everton last appeared at Wembley had Goodison heard noise like it. Amid all this, the silence which suddenly descended in memory of the legendary, late post-war Everton striker Wally Fielding before kick off was stunning.
Everton's play never quite matched the theatre. There was an instant reminder of realities when Anelka shielded the ball into the path of the first-leg matchwinner Wright-Phillips two minutes in. His thumping shot from 30 yards was headed off course and behind by Jagielka.
Arteta kept the home fires burning though. Among several absorbing duels in a game which will have held much interest for Capello was that between the Spaniard and Wayne Bridge. Arteta edged it – just – and when he delivered one of the pinpoint corners Everton fans are so familiar with, early in the match, a goal threatened. Lescott stepped back from Alex to head the cross firmly towards goal but Petr Cech did well to save with the distraction of Cahill diving towards him. As Moyes later observed, Everton had no better chance all night.
The opening exchanges set the tone for a thrilling first half which pitched the flash fluorescence of Chelsea – for whom Anelka looks a bargain buy – against sheer Evertonian spirit. Chelsea's chances were the better. Malouda sent Anelka through the central channel and he was flagged offside when he looked half a yard on. Malouda blasted over on the half hour after finding room to shoot. Anelka could find only the side netting after a Lee Carsley deflection delivered the ball into his path five yards from goal on the left.
Arteta created where he could, delivering another perfect ball which Andrew Johnson took while reversing, span and pushed the ball into his path as he bore down on the penalty area but he could only to find the side netting.
Though Anelka hit the bar after the ball bounced off Cole early in the second half, Everton were pressing at their hardest when the goal came. Arteta – who else? – had just picked out Phil Neville from a short corner and the full-back, running in, thumped in a low shot through a crowded which Cech, a heroic figure last night, did well to stop. A deft Jagielka flick was also kicked clear by Cech.
It is now 52 years since Everton beat Chelsea in a cup competition and for Moyes there is anguish in that. "We've got to take the next step," he said.
Everton (4-4-1-1): Howard; Neville, Lescott, Jagielka, Nuno Valente; Arteta, Carsley (Anichebe, 70), Fernandes (Vaughan, 78), Osman; Cahill; Johnson. Substitutes not used: Hibbert, Stubbs, Wessels.
Chelsea (4-1-3-2): Cech; Belletti, Carvalho, Alex, Bridge; Makelele; Wright-Phillips, Sidwell, Malouda (A Cole, 90); J Cole (Pizarro, 83), Anelka (Ben Haim, 90). Substitutes not used: Ferreira, Cudicini.
Referee: S Bennett (Kent).
Spurs travails at hands of Chelsea
Tottenham Hotspur ended one London jinx in handing out a 5-1 thrashing to Arsenal (6-2 on aggregate) on Tuesday, but now face a similar task against Chelsea in the Carling Cup final at Wembley on Sunday 24 February.
Spurs recorded a 5-1 win against their west London neighbours in the 2002 League Cup semi-final, but that came after a run of 26 games without success. Since then, they have won just once in 15 matches against Chelsea.
Avram Grant's side were due at White Hart Lane for a Premier League game the day before the final. That game will now be rearranged for a later date.
23 Jan '02 LCSF Tottenham 5 Chelsea 1
10 Mar '02 FA6R Tottenham 0 Chelsea 4
13 Mar '02 PL Chelsea 4 Tottenham 0
3 Nov '02 PL Tottenham 0 Chelsea 0
1 Feb '03 PL Chelsea 1 Tottenham 1
13 Sep '03 PL Chelsea 4 Tottenham 2
3 Apr '04 PL Tottenham 0 Chelsea 1
19 Sep '04 PL Chelsea 0 Tottenham 0
15 Jan '05 PL Tottenham 0 Chelsea 2
27 Aug '05 PL Tottenham 0 Chelsea 2
11 Mar '06 PL Chelsea 2 Tottenham 1
5 Nov '06 PL Tottenham 2 Chelsea 1
11 Mar '07 FA6R Chelsea 3 Tottenham 3
19 Mar '07 FA6RR Tottenham 1 Chelsea 2
7 Apr '07 PL Chelsea 1 Tottenham 0
12 Jan '08 PL Chelsea 2 Tottenham 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cole power puts an end to Everton's final dreams
Andy Hunter at Goodison ParkThursday January 24, 2008The Guardian
Everton songs drifted through the windows at Goodison Park long after their dreams of a first Wembley appearance for 13 years had evaporated last night but it was Chelsea who had the monopoly on defiance.Resolute in defence, clinical in attack and nerveless amid a fierce examination of character, this was Jose Mourinho's vision of perfection rekindled by Chelsea although, unlike Avram Grant, the Special One never left Merseyside having delivered victory in a cup semi-final. The Israeli must produce more than one showpiece occasion against Tottenham Hotspur to justify his appointment but a baton appeared to have been passed last night in the competition that began Mourinho's haul of five trophies in three seasons.
A touch of class from Joe Cole secured victory at Goodison and, before the watching Fabio Capello, the England international's finish was both timed and executed to perfection. Yet Chelsea's place at Wembley on February 24 - their third Carling Cup Final appearance in four seasons - was never seriously in doubt despite the fierce passion that drove David Moyes's side.The tie, far removed from the rich entertainment that did for Arsenal at White Hart Lane, was shaped by spirit and settled by quality. Chelsea's excellence in those departments, along with their fixation on the Carling Cup, has not diminished with the change of manager and it was with the humility his predecessor lacked that Grant spoke of only beginning his task of satisfying Roman Abramovich here. Compared with the tumult that stirred around Stamford Bridge last autumn, the transition between managers appeared seamless last night. The club's appetite for honours has been similarly unaffected.
Everton's Latin motto may translate as 'Nothing but the best is good enough' but that was exposed as patently untrue by Chelsea's commanding display. The best Moyes' side had to offer could not overturn their first-leg deficit and they rarely threatened to do so. While Everton have designs on breaking the elite in England there remains a gulf between expectation and reality, perspiration and quality. Few teams can demonstrate that truism as ruthlessly as Chelsea and, though they had four key players absent on African Cup of Nations duty, it was Everton who missed the cutting edge of Yakubu Ayegbeni, the steel of Joseph Yobo and the invention of Steven Pienaar more.
In terms of who craved a place in the final more there was no contest. Goodison provided the team from west London with the kind of Merseyside welcome usually reserved for Anfield in a Champions League semi-final and the only empty seats in the house were those in the away section. The visitors requested 6,000 tickets for this semi-final. They sold 2,600. Grant's admission that the competition meant more to Everton after 13 trophy-less years may have riled sections of the home support but it was undoubtedly true. The occasion bore that out although, unfortunately for Everton, the Chelsea players were not as compliant as the attitude of their manager and supporters indicated.
Moyes' side were fast and furious as they sought to overturn not only a 2-1 deficit but the tide of recent history in this fixture. In 18 games against the Londoners Everton had failed to emerge victorious, a sequence stretching back to 2000, and their hopes of transforming the tie were almost extinguished by Shaun Wright-Phillips inside three minutes. The winger, making a miraculous recovery from the ankle injury sustained at Birmingham City on Saturday, was the scourge of Everton at Stamford Bridge and so nearly continued where he left off in the first leg. A shot from the edge of the area appeared destined for Tim Howard's goal until Phil Jagielka intervened to deflect the ball inches wide.
The pressure on Petr Cech's goal remained minimal. His wife presented him with a daughter, Adela, yesterday morning and presumably there were more palpitations there than he had inside Everton's den. Only once was the Czech international troubled before the interval when Mikel Arteta delivered a rare corner beyond the first Chelsea defender. Joleon Lescott sent a free header towards goal butCech saved comfortably.
With such a solid platform and pace in attack the visitors had the personnel to exploit Everton's search for a breakthrough. They did so in the most exquisite fashion 21 minutes from time, Florent Malouda instigating the move that settled the contest with a raking 50-yard pass over the home defence. For once Lescott and Nuno Valente lost their man and, with a sublime piece of control and equally accomplished finish inside Howard's near post, Cole sent Chelsea to Wembley.
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Cole has the final say as his breakaway goal ends Everton's challengeEverton 0 Chelsea 1 (J Cole 69)
By MATT LAWTON
A glance at the Barclays Premier League table was enough to fool us into thinking this could be every bit as dramatic as the semi-final that had been contested at White Hart Lane the previous evening.
Fourth, after all, were playing third and only one goal separated them after an absorbing first leg.
But the gulf between fourth and third remains enormous when fourth happens to be an Everton side punching well above their weight and third remains the most expensively assembled squad in English football history.
Even on a night when so many key players were missing, Chelsea proved too strong for a determined Everton.
Proved, much to the disappointment of fans so desperate to reach their first final since Joe Royle's 'dogs of war' snarled their way to FA Cup glory in 1995, too well organised, too deadly when the one real chance presented itself to Joe Cole.
While Chelsea marvelled at the manner in which Cole controlled Florent Malouda's 50-yard pass before driving a half-volley past Tim Howard, Everton had to concede that their industry was not matched by the invention they so clearly needed.
They could find no way past a back four led quite brilliantly by Ricardo Carvalho and a certain individual who spent the morning at his wife's side as she gave birth to a daughter, then traded the theatre greens for his grey goalkeeping kit.
Petr Cech made fine saves to deny Joleon Lescott, Phil Neville and Phil Jagielka.
Chelsea also went close when Nicolas Anelka sent an effort against the bar via the head of Jagielka.
But until Cole struck in the 70th minute, they performed rather as they might have done under Jose Mourinho, protecting their one-goal advantage in a fashion that would have met with the approval of their former manager.
Avram Grant said he was not that bothered if his side won or lost and, judging by the sea of empty seats in the visitors' section, Chelsea's fans were of much the same opinion.
But Grant will be pleased that, like Tottenham's Juande Ramos, he too has reached a final after only a few months in charge.
His side, presumably, will be more adventurous when they meet Tottenham at Wembley in their second final at the new stadium.
Certain players performed well. Steve Sidwell was excellent, as were Claude Makelele and the entire Chelsea back line.
But it was not a night for those who demand a bit of flare and ambition. Not the kind of night Roman Abramovich would normally enjoy.
The atmosphere was terrific, the desire to reach a Wembley final for the first time in 13 years almost tangible.
A reminder, perhaps, for Chelsea of those Champions League semi-finals across Stanley Park at Anfield.
For Chelsea's players it must have been every bit as intimidating as it was against Liverpool. The roar that accompanied the sight of Manuel Fernandes winning the ball from Florent Malouda.
The cry when Petr Cech dived to his left to deny Lescott yet another goal.
Chelsea had also threatened in the early stages, Wright-Phillips unleashing a shot that Jagielka bravely headed to safety.
But the momentum was most definitely with the home side and the side chasing the goal that would put them level in this tie.
It was not going to be easy. Not when Everton had failed to beat Chelsea for 18 consecutive matches, dating back to 2000. But they were determined to give it a go.
Maybe they were encouraged by the team they had seen reach the final the previous night. That, after all, was Tottenham's first win against Arsenal in 22 games. Maybe the sight of a Chelsea team missing John Terry, Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba was all they needed to convince them it could be done.
Andy Johnson clearly fancied his chances, shooting from distance only to see his effort drift wide.
Lee Carsley was more accurate moments later when he caught Wright-Phillips with a reckless challenge that invited the first yellow card of the night.
Predictably, it was proving hard for Everton to penetrate Chelsea's defence. Terry might have been missing but Carvalho was there to make sure they had the measure of their opponents.
It enabled Chelsea to break forward with confidence and remind Everton of the threat they could pose, Anelka testing Tim Howard with a teasing effort.
Everton were attacking in numbers but that sometimes proved dangerous, not least when Lescott lost possession on the edge of the Chelsea box and the visitors quickly accelerated up the pitch. In the end, though, Wright-Phillips drove his shot yards over the bar and a moment of panic passed.
Johnson went closer with a shot that hit the side netting but the first half was concluded with a feeling of frustration for Everton.
When Anelka then saw his effort clip Jagielka's head and rebound off the bar shortly after the break, the dream of that final appeared to be slipping from Everton's grasp.
But they continued to battle, continued to search for a breakthrough. When Neville forced a fine save from Cech with a shot that he probably intended to be a cross, Everton spirits lifted. Likewise when Jagielka tried to beat Chelsea's formidable goalkeeper with a cheeky backheel.
Nothing, however, was going to break Chelsea's concentration. Not the arrival of a new baby and not the close attention of Lescott and Nuno Valente.
Cole must have been aware of both men as Malouda's diagonal ball floated in his direction, but he brought it down on his right foot before leaving Howard and his team-mates to reflect on what might have been.
Everton: Howard, Neville, Jagielka, Lescott, Nuno Valente, Osman, Cahill, Carsley, Arteta, Fernandes, Johnson. Subs: Wessels, Hibbert, Vaughan, Stubbs, Anichebe.
Chelsea: Cech, Belletti, Carvalho, Alex, Bridge, Makelele, Malouda, Sidwell, Joe Cole, Wright-Phillips, Anelka. Subs: Cudicini, Ashley Cole, Pizarro, Ferreira, Ben-Haim.
Referee: Steve Bennett (Kent)
Sunday, January 20, 2008
sunday papers brum away
Mail:
Chelsea boss Avram's on a roll as Pizarro nips in
Birmingham 0 Chelsea 1
By DANIEL KING
Claudio Pizarro cost £15million less than Nicolas Anelka but it was the Peruvian, a substitute and free transfer, who snatched an undeserved win for unconvincing Chelsea.
Just moments before his late winner, Pizarro had shown his team's growing desperation by trying to fool referee Rob Styles with a dive in the penalty area. But the striker redeemed himself, at least in his team's eyes, with the headed goal which made an off-key display by Anelka on his full debut irrelevant.
If winning games when you are not playing well is the mark of champions, then Chelsea are still looking good to give Manchester United and Arsenal a run for their money.
Birmingham will rightly feel hard done by. A week after claiming a deserved point at the Emirates Stadium, Alex McLeish's team once more matched their supposed betters. More than matched, in many ways, not least because they played as a team against a disjointed Chelsea who still show little sign of becoming the exciting, attacking force Avram Grant promised to deliver.
Although Grant differs from his predecessor in almost every other way, he shares with Jose Mourinho the uncanny knack of seeing a different game from almost everyone else.
Grant said: "I thought we deserved to win. We had control of the ball for most of the game. It was one of Pizarro's best performances for us and he deserved to score the goal.
"We have momentum now because we have won so many games, when no one expected us to. We cannot wait to get players back from injury and the Africa Cup of Nations."
It was an injury which gave Pizarro a chance to shine, Shaun Wright-Phillips hurting his ankle in a challenge which eventually forced him off before the half-hour mark.
Despite enjoying spells of possession in the first half, Chelsea created only one half-chance from open play. Birmingham gave the ball away too frequently to be fluent, but when they did put their game together they looked much the more dangerous side.
Cameron Jerome went closest, first heading against the post when nervous-looking Petr Cech drove a poor clearance straight at the Birmingham striker and then using his pace and power to create two quickfire shooting opportunities, which were blocked by Juliano Belletti and Alex.
The home side began the second half in the same vein and should have been ahead when Olivier Kapo jinked along the byline and Cech could only get a weak hand on his cross. Unfortunately for Birmingham, Sebastian Larsson did not react quickly enough to send the rebound into the net.
Just when you were wondering what on earth had happened to Anelka, he had the chance to score the sort of goal for which he has been signed. Florent Malouda touched the ball through to his fellow Frenchman, well inside the box, but Anelka's shot was weak and Maik Taylor kept it out easily with his legs.
It was soon time for the Birmingham fans to see their own new multi-million pound striker and, with what may have been his first touch, James McFadden turned on to a quick free-kick from Franck Queudrue but the angle of his low shot favoured Cech, who saved.
Although Chelsea at last began to apply some sustained pressure, desperation crept in when Pizarro threw himself to the ground in the area and was deservedly shown the yellow card.
"Continentals see it as being clever," said a stony-faced McLeish. "If he had got his team a penalty, none of the Chelsea players, even the English ones, would have complained."
The Birmingham manager was more upset about the poor marking which allowed Pizarro to head in Belletti's corner just moments later.
"It was a great performance,'" said McLeish. "We rattled Chelsea, but unfortunately we've nothing to show for our efforts."
There was time after the goal for Anelka to sting Taylor's hands, but for once in the Premier League, cheap and cheerful had, in a way, won the day.
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The Sunday TimesJanuary 20, 2008
Claudio Pizarro in head start as Chelsea beat BirminghamBirmingham 0 Chelsea 1
Brian Doogan at St Andrews
NICOLAS ANELKA’S frustrated efforts to secure his first Chelsea goal epitomised an unconvincing, vulnerable performance by Avram Grant’s team. But, with only 11 minutes remaining, substitute Claudio Pizarro’s header from a corner kick – the Peru international’s first goal since he scored in a 3-2 win against Birmingham on the opening day at Stamford Bridge – secured victory for the visitors and Grant was able to walk away smiling about a result that proved beyond Arsenal a week ago at the Emirates.
If Chelsea can maintain their present momentum – this was a fifth victory in six Premier League games – they can surely be a viable threat in the title race when they reintroduce the likes of Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou, Frank Lampard and John Terry from African Cup of Nations duty and from injury. Petr Cech was more active than his counterpart, Maik Taylor, in goal, and Ricardo Carvalho was susceptible to Cameron Jerome’s pace in an unbalanced defensive partnership with Alex.
But Chelsea managed to hang on as a fortuitous header by Jerome struck the post in the first half, Sebastian Larsson missed a sitter in the second and “a world-class delivery” – Birmingham manager Alex McLeish’s justified description of Juliano Belletti’s corner kick – presented Pizarro with the perfect opportunity.
“Birmingham are a hard team to play, they know how to defend, they make good counter-attacks and we had to be patient. It was very important to win here,” Grant said. “We have momentum now. We have won so many games in the past three months when nobody thought these players could do it.”
Despite Grant’s insistence that his side dominated the majority of the game, there was no real conviction about this Chelsea display. Claude Makelele was superb in his customary role in front of the back four, breaking up Birmingham attacks and setting up Joe Cole and Florent Malouda at the other end, but his level of assurance was lacking elsewhere. Joe Cole’s delivery lacked the precise effectiveness of Belletti’s decisive corner. Taylor was well protected by the central defensive duo of Liam Ridgewell and Rafael Schmitz, and Anelka was reduced to a few speculative shots on goal and one opportunity with which he ought to have done better. He won a corner off Schmitz in the opening minute, did the same again in a challenge with Franck Queudrue and secured another with a shot from the left side of the penalty area which struck Larsson.
An injury to Shaun Wright-Phillips forced Grant to replace him with Pizarro. Malouda’s tame shot from a Makelele cross from the left and an Alex header wide from a Malouda cross from the right typified Chelsea’s impotence.
Ashley Cole had to block a shot by Garry O’Connor on the edge of the penalty area before a corner by Larsson was headed wide by O’Connor. Cech saved another header by Jerome from Larsson’s cross.
Chelsea almost came undone when Cech took a return ball from Alex and half-scuffed a clearance which was met by Jerome’s head on the edge of the penalty area. Fortunately for Cech and Chelsea, the ball hit the right post and bounced wide. Birmingham kept up the pressure and O’Connor’s cross was knocked away by Carvalho but Jerome’s shot required a block by Alex. The corner fell for Fabrice Muamba, whose shot cleared the crossbar.
Anelka had chances in the second half, the first when he beat Damien Johnson but he dragged his shot between Ridgewell’s legs and wide.
Twice his touch let him down when he failed to control the ball from a header down and Olivier Kapo cleared before a clever one-two between Anelka and Malouda on the edge of the area yielded a shot, as Schmitz challenged him, which Taylor saved. Birmingham continued to look dangerous and a header down on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area presented Larsson with an opportunity from 25 yards but he sliced his shot wide. Then the Swede missed a glorious chance when Kapo beat Carvalho and drove in a low ball which eluded Cech and, somehow, Larsson missed from point-blank range.
Cech denied Birmingham debutant James McFadden with a save at his near post before, out of the blue, Chelsea struck gold.
Belletti swung in his corner kick with pace to the near post and Pizarro met it with a solid header past Taylor. “We didn’t do our job of man-marking in the box and we got punished,” reflected McLeish.
Match stats
Star man: Claude Makelele (Chelsea) Player ratings: Birmingham: Taylor 7, Kelly 6, Schmitz 7, Ridgewell 7, Queudrue 7, Larsson 6, Muamba 6, Johnson 7, Kapo 6, O’Connor 6 (Forssell 72min), Jerome 7 (McFadden 72min)Chelsea: Cech 7, Belletti 6, Alex 6, Carvalho 6, A Cole 7, Wright-Phillips 5 (Pizarro 29min, 6), Makelele 8, Ballack 6, J Cole 7 (Sidwell 85min), Anelka 5, Malouda 7 (Bridge 90min) Yellow cards: Birmingham: Muamba Chelsea: Pizarro Referee: R StylesAttendance: 26,567 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Claudio Pizarro picks up pieces at BirminghamBy Duncan White at St Andrew's
Birmingham City (0) 0 Chelsea (0) 1
All the attention may have been focused on Avram Grant's first multi-million pound signing but it was a Jose Mourinho bargain that eventually broke a spirited Birmingham. Nicolas Anelka, the £15 million arrival from Bolton, made his full debut amid much expectation but it was Claudio Pizarro, a summer free transfer from Bayern Munich, who came off the bench to head the winner, thumping in Juliano Belletti's fine corner.
The Peruvian marksman had been dropped to accommodate Anelka but when Shaun Wright-Phillips was forced off with a worrying ankle injury, Pizarro came on to play as a deep-lying striker. He hadn't scored in the Premier League since the first day of the season when he found the net against the same opposition, but he came up with the goods and Chelsea have now won six on the spin. Grant was not optimistic about the injury to Wright-Phillips, though. "It's not looking so good," said Grant. "We keep losing our in-form players and I want to get him back as soon as possible." It is also bad news for Fabio Capello, who may lose the winger for his first game as England manager, against Switzerland on Feb 6. The only beneficiary is fellow right-winger David Beckham, who is desperate to earn his 100th cap in that game.
With Didier Drogba away with the Ivory Coast - and seemingly determined to make that absence permanent in the summer - Anelka has been charged with becoming Chelsea's chief source of goals. But Pizarro, it seems, may still have a big part to play in the future of this club. "It was one of his best games," said a predictably laconic Grant. "He deserved it." Chelsea didn't. Birmingham, who gave a debut to their own big-money signing in substitute James McFadden, were dreadfully unfortunate not to score and, for much of the game, they dominated a strangely lacklustre Chelsea. With the game scoreless, McFadden even came close to crowning his first appearance since his £5 m move from Everton with a goal, running onto a quickly-taken Franck Queudrue free-kick only for his shot to be blocked by Petr Cech.
By then Birmingham had spurned a series of chances to take the lead, especially in the periods either side of half-time when they put tremendous pressure on Ricardo Carvalho and co. Cameron Jerome twice came desperately close. When Cech, under pressure, hooked a clearance straight at Jerome, the Birmingham striker could not quite steer his header into the open goal - it hit the post and squirmed wide. Just before the break and with the Chelsea defence in disarray his shot beat the prone Cech only to be blocked by the covering Alex.
If that was frustrating for the roaring home support, then Sebastian Larsson had them hanging their heads after the break. With Birmingham still on top, Fabrice Muamba breezed past Carvalho before squaring to the Swedish winger. Larsson somehow managed to send the ball on a vertical trajectory from point-blank range.
Chelsea got desperate - no-one more than Pizarro who disgraced himself with an appallingly obvious dive in the box. He was justly booked but moments later scored the winner, which made swallowing this defeat all the harder for Alex McLeish's valiant players.
Match summary
Birmingham ratings: Taylor 7/10, Kelly 5, Schmitz 6, Ridgewell 7, Queudrue 7, Larsson 6, Muamba 5, Johnson 6, Kapo 6, O’Connor 5 (Forssell 4), Jerome 8 (McFadden 5). Possession 30%, offsides 1, shots on target 2, shots off target 6, corners 6, fouls conceded 10, yellow cards 1, red cards 0.Chelsea ratings: Cech 7/10, Belletti 9, Alex 7, Carvalho 8, A Cole 7, Wright-Phillips 5 (Pizarro 8), Makelele 8, Ballack 7, J Cole 6 (Sidwell 4), Anelka 7, Malouda 7 (Bridge 4).Possession 70%, offsides 4, shots on target 6, shots off target 3, corners 10, fouls conceded 7, yellow cards 1, red cards 0.Best moment: Midway through the second half Joe Cole deluded two Birmingham defenders with a double drag back before pushing the ball around a bemused third to earn space on the wing. Thrilling stuff. Worst moment: Sebastian Larsson was given the ball by Fabrice Muamba right in front of goal and with space aplenty he coived to slice the ball so finely that it shot straight up into the air. A horror miss. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pizarro steals in to pick Birmingham's pocket
Duncan Mackay at St AndrewsSunday January 20, 2008The Observer
It would not have surprised fans leaving this match if they had met a cavalcade of police cars, blue lights flashing, rushing to the ground, such was the daylight robbery Chelsea pulled off. Totally outplayed for two-thirds of this match by a Birmingham side rejuvenated under Alex McLeish, they managed to nick all three points thanks to one of two chances they created.It came from an unlikely source, too, in the shape of substitute Claudio Pizarro, the Peruvian who has been such a disappointment this season and probably only owed his place on the bench to the absence of so many regulars.
But Chelsea will be grateful he took his opportunity. By the time he struck in the 79th minute they were probably thinking they would be glad to leave here with a draw, such was the superiority Birmingham were exerting.It was a point illustrated by the fact that the corner Juliano Belletti floated over for Pizarro to meet with an acrobatic diving header that sailed past Maik Taylor was their first of the half. It was his second Premier League goal of the season. The other one? For Chelsea against Birmingham on the opening day.
The ground was again not full, which is sure to spark another debate in the local press, especially coming so soon after McLeish was allowed to spend £7m on buying James McFadden from Everton and Dave Murphy from Hibernian.
It is a favourite topic of Birmingham chairman David Sullivan, and he renewed his attack on the club's poor attendances. In the programme he wrote: 'It does hurt us a bit, as a board, seeing Derby getting 32,000 gates, week in week out, and Sunderland over 40,000.'
Avram Grant may come across as Leonard Cohen's less cheerful brother, but he has now fashioned a run of 12 victories in 17 Premier League matches. It has largely been achieved while missing captain John Terry and Frank Lampard, whose absence again for this match cast further doubt over whether he will be available for Fabio Capello's first England match against Switzerland next month.
With Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou on service in the African Nations Cup, there were further problems for Grant - and Capello - when Shaun Wright-Phillips limped off in the 29th minute.
It also robbed Nicolas Anelka of a vital avenue of service in his first start for the club. He worked hard up front, alongside the ineffectual Florent Malouda, but Birmingham's tactics of stifling the opposition, which had worked so well the previous week in a draw against Arsenal, again reaped dividends.
It nearly led to a bigger bonus in the 38th minute with an incident that nearly so produced a moment that could have been a staple on a bloopers DVD for years to come. Chelsea keeper Petr Cech, with no Birmingham player within 10 metres of him, went to kick the ball out but succeeded only in hitting it straight at Cameron Jerome, whose header bounced back off a post.
It had the effect of whipping up the crowd and got Jerome's adrenaline going because three minutes later he saw a double effort blocked, the second by Alex off the line as the Birmingham player followed up his first effort.
Birmingham's high-octane finish to the half was maintained into the second period from crowd and players, with Chelsea being pegged back in their own half for long periods.
But it is a truism that you have to take your chances when they come, something that marks out the leading clubs from the rest. It is a lesson Sebastian Larsson is probably pondering after being guilty of one of the misses of the season in the 56th minute. He was four yards from goal when Olivier Kapo's low cross found him unmarked only for the Swede to fall over his own feet and embarrassingly loop the ball wide.
Mind you, Larsson would probably point to what happened down the other end 10 minutes later when, following good interchange work with Malouda, Anelka found himself in acres of space and presented with Chelsea's best opportunity of the match.
But even £15m, does not guarantee a 100 per cent success rate and the Frenchman hit a pretty poor effort straight at Maik Taylor, who was able to smother it with his legs.
The introduction of McFadden, Birmingham's record signing, in the 72nd minute was greeted with great enthusiasm by the crowd and he so nearly marked his debut with a goal within three minutes, firing a low shot that Cech kept out with his legs. It turned out to be a valuable save.
THE FANS' VERDICT
Paul Rivers, VBBFootball.com If I could give Rob Styles a mark, it would be a two. He was awful. We call him 'cyclops', because he has only one eye and that's for the big clubs - he seemed to give Chelsea every decision. We certainly didn't deserve to lose. You could tell Chelsea are a class side with their passing and movement, but they had no cutting edge and really didn't look like scoring. We, on the other hand, had chances we just couldn't put away. I was beginning to think what an entertaining 0-0 draw it was when they scored. It was undeserved, because we were the better team for most of the game. We've played the top three in successive games and got one point. This time last year we were winning games for fun, which was probably why the date on the match programme said 19 January 2007. Wishful thinking.
Player ratings Taylor 7; Kelly 7, Schmitz 7, Ridgewell 6, Queudrue 8; Larsson 8, Muamba 7, Johnson 7, Kapo 9; O'Connor 7 (Forssell 7), Jerome 8 (McFadden 8)
Trizia Fiorellino, Chair, Chelsea Supporters' Group We were lucky to get all three points. We looked like 11 strangers and I felt quite sorry for Anelka as he was getting no service whatsoever. Some of our defending was comical - Cech and Carvalho weren't on the same wavelength, which is very unusual, and it was worse with Alex. They weren't talking and at one point the ball almost just rolled into the net. Grant seems tactically naive and only changed things when he had no choice, when Wright-Phillips had to go off. Pizarro did quite well, while Anelka did what he could. Malouda made a goalline clearance, but otherwise was poor, though no one covered themselves in glory.
Player ratings Cech 5; Belletti 6, Alex 5, Carvalho 7, A Cole 6; Wright-Phillips 7 (Pizarro 7), Makelele 7, Ballack 6, J Cole 5 (Sidwell 6); Anelka 7, Malouda 5 (Bridge n/a)
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Birmingham Mail:
Birmingham City 0 Chelsea 1Jan 19 2008
By John Curtis SUBSTITUTE Claudio Pizarro gave Chelsea a 1-0 win against battling Birmingham City at St Andrew's.
The Peru international's only other goal for Blues since his summer move from Bayern Munich had been on the opening day of the season against the same opposition.
He struck 11 minutes from time to earn Avram Grant's side a fourth successive win despite again being decimated by injuries and African Nations Cup call-ups.
Chelsea seldom fired on all cylinders despite having more of the possession but would have been pleased with the contribution made on his full debut by £15million capture Nicolas Anelka.
Alex McLeish's side gave a performance as committed as the one which had seen them share the spoils with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last weekend with skipper Damien Johnson impressive in the middle of the park.
But the former Scotland boss must be concerned by the number of goals his side concede from set pieces as Pizarro was first to react for the winner to a corner from Juliano Belletti.
Chelsea winger Shaun Wright-Phillips needed early treatment after landing awkwardly on an ankle following an aerial challenge with Johnson and he eventually was replaced by Pizarro.
Chelsea enjoyed the bulk of the possession for the majority of the opening 45 minutes with Michael Ballack and Florent Malouda impressive.
Birmingham midfielder Fabrice Muamba became the first player to be yellow carded after 11 minutes for a mis-timed challenge on Ricardo Carvalho.
Ballack was over-ambitious in going for goal from fully 40 yards out after Sebastian Larsson fouled Ashley Cole and the ball dribbled through to home goalkeeper Maik Taylor.
City were on the back foot for the majority of the time and full-back Stephen Kelly got an important touch on a fiercely driven free-kick by Ballack across the face of goal.
Birmingham were finding space on occasions in behind the two Chelsea full-backs on the counter-attack but could not take advantage of the situations with the final ball letting them down.
But Cameron Jerome could have put Birmingham ahead after 38 minutes after a blunder by Cech.
Cech made a mess of his clearance which flew at pace towards Jerome and his instinctive header from 18 yards out hit the outside of the post.
Birmingham started to build up some momentum towards the interval and Jerome was twice more denied by blocks in front of goal from Cole and Alex.
Chelsea seemed rattled and unsettled by the aggressive approach of Alex McLeish's side, who left the pitch at half time to a standing ovation.
Anelka gave a glimpse of his class when dummying Johnson but he dragged his 20-yard shot wide.
Birmingham were now having almost as much of the possession as the visitors and a half volley from Larsson was not too far off target.
The Swedish international then saw a low cross from Kapo bobble off his leg and wide after it had taken a slight deflection off Cech.
Kapo was an increasing influence and one deft pass played in Jerome whose shot was blocked by Cech, although the City striker had strayed marginally offside.
Chelsea created their best opening to date after 68 minutes when Malouda played in Anelka who found himself with only Taylor to beat.
But Rafael Schmitz got across just to make a vital touch on his eventual shot and Taylor was able to make the block.
McLeish made a double substitution after 73 minutes with the injured Jerome and O'Connor replaced by newcomer McFadden and Mikael Forssell.
And McFadden was soon in the thick of the action, forcing Cech to beat away his low drive.
But with 11 minutes left all the home side's hard work was undone as Pizarro headed in Belletti's corner despite the efforts on the line of Larsson to keep the ball out. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chelsea boss Avram's on a roll as Pizarro nips in
Birmingham 0 Chelsea 1
By DANIEL KING
Claudio Pizarro cost £15million less than Nicolas Anelka but it was the Peruvian, a substitute and free transfer, who snatched an undeserved win for unconvincing Chelsea.
Just moments before his late winner, Pizarro had shown his team's growing desperation by trying to fool referee Rob Styles with a dive in the penalty area. But the striker redeemed himself, at least in his team's eyes, with the headed goal which made an off-key display by Anelka on his full debut irrelevant.
If winning games when you are not playing well is the mark of champions, then Chelsea are still looking good to give Manchester United and Arsenal a run for their money.
Birmingham will rightly feel hard done by. A week after claiming a deserved point at the Emirates Stadium, Alex McLeish's team once more matched their supposed betters. More than matched, in many ways, not least because they played as a team against a disjointed Chelsea who still show little sign of becoming the exciting, attacking force Avram Grant promised to deliver.
Although Grant differs from his predecessor in almost every other way, he shares with Jose Mourinho the uncanny knack of seeing a different game from almost everyone else.
Grant said: "I thought we deserved to win. We had control of the ball for most of the game. It was one of Pizarro's best performances for us and he deserved to score the goal.
"We have momentum now because we have won so many games, when no one expected us to. We cannot wait to get players back from injury and the Africa Cup of Nations."
It was an injury which gave Pizarro a chance to shine, Shaun Wright-Phillips hurting his ankle in a challenge which eventually forced him off before the half-hour mark.
Despite enjoying spells of possession in the first half, Chelsea created only one half-chance from open play. Birmingham gave the ball away too frequently to be fluent, but when they did put their game together they looked much the more dangerous side.
Cameron Jerome went closest, first heading against the post when nervous-looking Petr Cech drove a poor clearance straight at the Birmingham striker and then using his pace and power to create two quickfire shooting opportunities, which were blocked by Juliano Belletti and Alex.
The home side began the second half in the same vein and should have been ahead when Olivier Kapo jinked along the byline and Cech could only get a weak hand on his cross. Unfortunately for Birmingham, Sebastian Larsson did not react quickly enough to send the rebound into the net.
Just when you were wondering what on earth had happened to Anelka, he had the chance to score the sort of goal for which he has been signed. Florent Malouda touched the ball through to his fellow Frenchman, well inside the box, but Anelka's shot was weak and Maik Taylor kept it out easily with his legs.
It was soon time for the Birmingham fans to see their own new multi-million pound striker and, with what may have been his first touch, James McFadden turned on to a quick free-kick from Franck Queudrue but the angle of his low shot favoured Cech, who saved.
Although Chelsea at last began to apply some sustained pressure, desperation crept in when Pizarro threw himself to the ground in the area and was deservedly shown the yellow card.
"Continentals see it as being clever," said a stony-faced McLeish. "If he had got his team a penalty, none of the Chelsea players, even the English ones, would have complained."
The Birmingham manager was more upset about the poor marking which allowed Pizarro to head in Belletti's corner just moments later.
"It was a great performance,'" said McLeish. "We rattled Chelsea, but unfortunately we've nothing to show for our efforts."
There was time after the goal for Anelka to sting Taylor's hands, but for once in the Premier League, cheap and cheerful had, in a way, won the day.
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The Sunday TimesJanuary 20, 2008
Claudio Pizarro in head start as Chelsea beat BirminghamBirmingham 0 Chelsea 1
Brian Doogan at St Andrews
NICOLAS ANELKA’S frustrated efforts to secure his first Chelsea goal epitomised an unconvincing, vulnerable performance by Avram Grant’s team. But, with only 11 minutes remaining, substitute Claudio Pizarro’s header from a corner kick – the Peru international’s first goal since he scored in a 3-2 win against Birmingham on the opening day at Stamford Bridge – secured victory for the visitors and Grant was able to walk away smiling about a result that proved beyond Arsenal a week ago at the Emirates.
If Chelsea can maintain their present momentum – this was a fifth victory in six Premier League games – they can surely be a viable threat in the title race when they reintroduce the likes of Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou, Frank Lampard and John Terry from African Cup of Nations duty and from injury. Petr Cech was more active than his counterpart, Maik Taylor, in goal, and Ricardo Carvalho was susceptible to Cameron Jerome’s pace in an unbalanced defensive partnership with Alex.
But Chelsea managed to hang on as a fortuitous header by Jerome struck the post in the first half, Sebastian Larsson missed a sitter in the second and “a world-class delivery” – Birmingham manager Alex McLeish’s justified description of Juliano Belletti’s corner kick – presented Pizarro with the perfect opportunity.
“Birmingham are a hard team to play, they know how to defend, they make good counter-attacks and we had to be patient. It was very important to win here,” Grant said. “We have momentum now. We have won so many games in the past three months when nobody thought these players could do it.”
Despite Grant’s insistence that his side dominated the majority of the game, there was no real conviction about this Chelsea display. Claude Makelele was superb in his customary role in front of the back four, breaking up Birmingham attacks and setting up Joe Cole and Florent Malouda at the other end, but his level of assurance was lacking elsewhere. Joe Cole’s delivery lacked the precise effectiveness of Belletti’s decisive corner. Taylor was well protected by the central defensive duo of Liam Ridgewell and Rafael Schmitz, and Anelka was reduced to a few speculative shots on goal and one opportunity with which he ought to have done better. He won a corner off Schmitz in the opening minute, did the same again in a challenge with Franck Queudrue and secured another with a shot from the left side of the penalty area which struck Larsson.
An injury to Shaun Wright-Phillips forced Grant to replace him with Pizarro. Malouda’s tame shot from a Makelele cross from the left and an Alex header wide from a Malouda cross from the right typified Chelsea’s impotence.
Ashley Cole had to block a shot by Garry O’Connor on the edge of the penalty area before a corner by Larsson was headed wide by O’Connor. Cech saved another header by Jerome from Larsson’s cross.
Chelsea almost came undone when Cech took a return ball from Alex and half-scuffed a clearance which was met by Jerome’s head on the edge of the penalty area. Fortunately for Cech and Chelsea, the ball hit the right post and bounced wide. Birmingham kept up the pressure and O’Connor’s cross was knocked away by Carvalho but Jerome’s shot required a block by Alex. The corner fell for Fabrice Muamba, whose shot cleared the crossbar.
Anelka had chances in the second half, the first when he beat Damien Johnson but he dragged his shot between Ridgewell’s legs and wide.
Twice his touch let him down when he failed to control the ball from a header down and Olivier Kapo cleared before a clever one-two between Anelka and Malouda on the edge of the area yielded a shot, as Schmitz challenged him, which Taylor saved. Birmingham continued to look dangerous and a header down on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area presented Larsson with an opportunity from 25 yards but he sliced his shot wide. Then the Swede missed a glorious chance when Kapo beat Carvalho and drove in a low ball which eluded Cech and, somehow, Larsson missed from point-blank range.
Cech denied Birmingham debutant James McFadden with a save at his near post before, out of the blue, Chelsea struck gold.
Belletti swung in his corner kick with pace to the near post and Pizarro met it with a solid header past Taylor. “We didn’t do our job of man-marking in the box and we got punished,” reflected McLeish.
Match stats
Star man: Claude Makelele (Chelsea) Player ratings: Birmingham: Taylor 7, Kelly 6, Schmitz 7, Ridgewell 7, Queudrue 7, Larsson 6, Muamba 6, Johnson 7, Kapo 6, O’Connor 6 (Forssell 72min), Jerome 7 (McFadden 72min)Chelsea: Cech 7, Belletti 6, Alex 6, Carvalho 6, A Cole 7, Wright-Phillips 5 (Pizarro 29min, 6), Makelele 8, Ballack 6, J Cole 7 (Sidwell 85min), Anelka 5, Malouda 7 (Bridge 90min) Yellow cards: Birmingham: Muamba Chelsea: Pizarro Referee: R StylesAttendance: 26,567 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Claudio Pizarro picks up pieces at BirminghamBy Duncan White at St Andrew's
Birmingham City (0) 0 Chelsea (0) 1
All the attention may have been focused on Avram Grant's first multi-million pound signing but it was a Jose Mourinho bargain that eventually broke a spirited Birmingham. Nicolas Anelka, the £15 million arrival from Bolton, made his full debut amid much expectation but it was Claudio Pizarro, a summer free transfer from Bayern Munich, who came off the bench to head the winner, thumping in Juliano Belletti's fine corner.
The Peruvian marksman had been dropped to accommodate Anelka but when Shaun Wright-Phillips was forced off with a worrying ankle injury, Pizarro came on to play as a deep-lying striker. He hadn't scored in the Premier League since the first day of the season when he found the net against the same opposition, but he came up with the goods and Chelsea have now won six on the spin. Grant was not optimistic about the injury to Wright-Phillips, though. "It's not looking so good," said Grant. "We keep losing our in-form players and I want to get him back as soon as possible." It is also bad news for Fabio Capello, who may lose the winger for his first game as England manager, against Switzerland on Feb 6. The only beneficiary is fellow right-winger David Beckham, who is desperate to earn his 100th cap in that game.
With Didier Drogba away with the Ivory Coast - and seemingly determined to make that absence permanent in the summer - Anelka has been charged with becoming Chelsea's chief source of goals. But Pizarro, it seems, may still have a big part to play in the future of this club. "It was one of his best games," said a predictably laconic Grant. "He deserved it." Chelsea didn't. Birmingham, who gave a debut to their own big-money signing in substitute James McFadden, were dreadfully unfortunate not to score and, for much of the game, they dominated a strangely lacklustre Chelsea. With the game scoreless, McFadden even came close to crowning his first appearance since his £5 m move from Everton with a goal, running onto a quickly-taken Franck Queudrue free-kick only for his shot to be blocked by Petr Cech.
By then Birmingham had spurned a series of chances to take the lead, especially in the periods either side of half-time when they put tremendous pressure on Ricardo Carvalho and co. Cameron Jerome twice came desperately close. When Cech, under pressure, hooked a clearance straight at Jerome, the Birmingham striker could not quite steer his header into the open goal - it hit the post and squirmed wide. Just before the break and with the Chelsea defence in disarray his shot beat the prone Cech only to be blocked by the covering Alex.
If that was frustrating for the roaring home support, then Sebastian Larsson had them hanging their heads after the break. With Birmingham still on top, Fabrice Muamba breezed past Carvalho before squaring to the Swedish winger. Larsson somehow managed to send the ball on a vertical trajectory from point-blank range.
Chelsea got desperate - no-one more than Pizarro who disgraced himself with an appallingly obvious dive in the box. He was justly booked but moments later scored the winner, which made swallowing this defeat all the harder for Alex McLeish's valiant players.
Match summary
Birmingham ratings: Taylor 7/10, Kelly 5, Schmitz 6, Ridgewell 7, Queudrue 7, Larsson 6, Muamba 5, Johnson 6, Kapo 6, O’Connor 5 (Forssell 4), Jerome 8 (McFadden 5). Possession 30%, offsides 1, shots on target 2, shots off target 6, corners 6, fouls conceded 10, yellow cards 1, red cards 0.Chelsea ratings: Cech 7/10, Belletti 9, Alex 7, Carvalho 8, A Cole 7, Wright-Phillips 5 (Pizarro 8), Makelele 8, Ballack 7, J Cole 6 (Sidwell 4), Anelka 7, Malouda 7 (Bridge 4).Possession 70%, offsides 4, shots on target 6, shots off target 3, corners 10, fouls conceded 7, yellow cards 1, red cards 0.Best moment: Midway through the second half Joe Cole deluded two Birmingham defenders with a double drag back before pushing the ball around a bemused third to earn space on the wing. Thrilling stuff. Worst moment: Sebastian Larsson was given the ball by Fabrice Muamba right in front of goal and with space aplenty he coived to slice the ball so finely that it shot straight up into the air. A horror miss. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pizarro steals in to pick Birmingham's pocket
Duncan Mackay at St AndrewsSunday January 20, 2008The Observer
It would not have surprised fans leaving this match if they had met a cavalcade of police cars, blue lights flashing, rushing to the ground, such was the daylight robbery Chelsea pulled off. Totally outplayed for two-thirds of this match by a Birmingham side rejuvenated under Alex McLeish, they managed to nick all three points thanks to one of two chances they created.It came from an unlikely source, too, in the shape of substitute Claudio Pizarro, the Peruvian who has been such a disappointment this season and probably only owed his place on the bench to the absence of so many regulars.
But Chelsea will be grateful he took his opportunity. By the time he struck in the 79th minute they were probably thinking they would be glad to leave here with a draw, such was the superiority Birmingham were exerting.It was a point illustrated by the fact that the corner Juliano Belletti floated over for Pizarro to meet with an acrobatic diving header that sailed past Maik Taylor was their first of the half. It was his second Premier League goal of the season. The other one? For Chelsea against Birmingham on the opening day.
The ground was again not full, which is sure to spark another debate in the local press, especially coming so soon after McLeish was allowed to spend £7m on buying James McFadden from Everton and Dave Murphy from Hibernian.
It is a favourite topic of Birmingham chairman David Sullivan, and he renewed his attack on the club's poor attendances. In the programme he wrote: 'It does hurt us a bit, as a board, seeing Derby getting 32,000 gates, week in week out, and Sunderland over 40,000.'
Avram Grant may come across as Leonard Cohen's less cheerful brother, but he has now fashioned a run of 12 victories in 17 Premier League matches. It has largely been achieved while missing captain John Terry and Frank Lampard, whose absence again for this match cast further doubt over whether he will be available for Fabio Capello's first England match against Switzerland next month.
With Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou on service in the African Nations Cup, there were further problems for Grant - and Capello - when Shaun Wright-Phillips limped off in the 29th minute.
It also robbed Nicolas Anelka of a vital avenue of service in his first start for the club. He worked hard up front, alongside the ineffectual Florent Malouda, but Birmingham's tactics of stifling the opposition, which had worked so well the previous week in a draw against Arsenal, again reaped dividends.
It nearly led to a bigger bonus in the 38th minute with an incident that nearly so produced a moment that could have been a staple on a bloopers DVD for years to come. Chelsea keeper Petr Cech, with no Birmingham player within 10 metres of him, went to kick the ball out but succeeded only in hitting it straight at Cameron Jerome, whose header bounced back off a post.
It had the effect of whipping up the crowd and got Jerome's adrenaline going because three minutes later he saw a double effort blocked, the second by Alex off the line as the Birmingham player followed up his first effort.
Birmingham's high-octane finish to the half was maintained into the second period from crowd and players, with Chelsea being pegged back in their own half for long periods.
But it is a truism that you have to take your chances when they come, something that marks out the leading clubs from the rest. It is a lesson Sebastian Larsson is probably pondering after being guilty of one of the misses of the season in the 56th minute. He was four yards from goal when Olivier Kapo's low cross found him unmarked only for the Swede to fall over his own feet and embarrassingly loop the ball wide.
Mind you, Larsson would probably point to what happened down the other end 10 minutes later when, following good interchange work with Malouda, Anelka found himself in acres of space and presented with Chelsea's best opportunity of the match.
But even £15m, does not guarantee a 100 per cent success rate and the Frenchman hit a pretty poor effort straight at Maik Taylor, who was able to smother it with his legs.
The introduction of McFadden, Birmingham's record signing, in the 72nd minute was greeted with great enthusiasm by the crowd and he so nearly marked his debut with a goal within three minutes, firing a low shot that Cech kept out with his legs. It turned out to be a valuable save.
THE FANS' VERDICT
Paul Rivers, VBBFootball.com If I could give Rob Styles a mark, it would be a two. He was awful. We call him 'cyclops', because he has only one eye and that's for the big clubs - he seemed to give Chelsea every decision. We certainly didn't deserve to lose. You could tell Chelsea are a class side with their passing and movement, but they had no cutting edge and really didn't look like scoring. We, on the other hand, had chances we just couldn't put away. I was beginning to think what an entertaining 0-0 draw it was when they scored. It was undeserved, because we were the better team for most of the game. We've played the top three in successive games and got one point. This time last year we were winning games for fun, which was probably why the date on the match programme said 19 January 2007. Wishful thinking.
Player ratings Taylor 7; Kelly 7, Schmitz 7, Ridgewell 6, Queudrue 8; Larsson 8, Muamba 7, Johnson 7, Kapo 9; O'Connor 7 (Forssell 7), Jerome 8 (McFadden 8)
Trizia Fiorellino, Chair, Chelsea Supporters' Group We were lucky to get all three points. We looked like 11 strangers and I felt quite sorry for Anelka as he was getting no service whatsoever. Some of our defending was comical - Cech and Carvalho weren't on the same wavelength, which is very unusual, and it was worse with Alex. They weren't talking and at one point the ball almost just rolled into the net. Grant seems tactically naive and only changed things when he had no choice, when Wright-Phillips had to go off. Pizarro did quite well, while Anelka did what he could. Malouda made a goalline clearance, but otherwise was poor, though no one covered themselves in glory.
Player ratings Cech 5; Belletti 6, Alex 5, Carvalho 7, A Cole 6; Wright-Phillips 7 (Pizarro 7), Makelele 7, Ballack 6, J Cole 5 (Sidwell 6); Anelka 7, Malouda 5 (Bridge n/a)
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Birmingham Mail:
Birmingham City 0 Chelsea 1Jan 19 2008
By John Curtis SUBSTITUTE Claudio Pizarro gave Chelsea a 1-0 win against battling Birmingham City at St Andrew's.
The Peru international's only other goal for Blues since his summer move from Bayern Munich had been on the opening day of the season against the same opposition.
He struck 11 minutes from time to earn Avram Grant's side a fourth successive win despite again being decimated by injuries and African Nations Cup call-ups.
Chelsea seldom fired on all cylinders despite having more of the possession but would have been pleased with the contribution made on his full debut by £15million capture Nicolas Anelka.
Alex McLeish's side gave a performance as committed as the one which had seen them share the spoils with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last weekend with skipper Damien Johnson impressive in the middle of the park.
But the former Scotland boss must be concerned by the number of goals his side concede from set pieces as Pizarro was first to react for the winner to a corner from Juliano Belletti.
Chelsea winger Shaun Wright-Phillips needed early treatment after landing awkwardly on an ankle following an aerial challenge with Johnson and he eventually was replaced by Pizarro.
Chelsea enjoyed the bulk of the possession for the majority of the opening 45 minutes with Michael Ballack and Florent Malouda impressive.
Birmingham midfielder Fabrice Muamba became the first player to be yellow carded after 11 minutes for a mis-timed challenge on Ricardo Carvalho.
Ballack was over-ambitious in going for goal from fully 40 yards out after Sebastian Larsson fouled Ashley Cole and the ball dribbled through to home goalkeeper Maik Taylor.
City were on the back foot for the majority of the time and full-back Stephen Kelly got an important touch on a fiercely driven free-kick by Ballack across the face of goal.
Birmingham were finding space on occasions in behind the two Chelsea full-backs on the counter-attack but could not take advantage of the situations with the final ball letting them down.
But Cameron Jerome could have put Birmingham ahead after 38 minutes after a blunder by Cech.
Cech made a mess of his clearance which flew at pace towards Jerome and his instinctive header from 18 yards out hit the outside of the post.
Birmingham started to build up some momentum towards the interval and Jerome was twice more denied by blocks in front of goal from Cole and Alex.
Chelsea seemed rattled and unsettled by the aggressive approach of Alex McLeish's side, who left the pitch at half time to a standing ovation.
Anelka gave a glimpse of his class when dummying Johnson but he dragged his 20-yard shot wide.
Birmingham were now having almost as much of the possession as the visitors and a half volley from Larsson was not too far off target.
The Swedish international then saw a low cross from Kapo bobble off his leg and wide after it had taken a slight deflection off Cech.
Kapo was an increasing influence and one deft pass played in Jerome whose shot was blocked by Cech, although the City striker had strayed marginally offside.
Chelsea created their best opening to date after 68 minutes when Malouda played in Anelka who found himself with only Taylor to beat.
But Rafael Schmitz got across just to make a vital touch on his eventual shot and Taylor was able to make the block.
McLeish made a double substitution after 73 minutes with the injured Jerome and O'Connor replaced by newcomer McFadden and Mikael Forssell.
And McFadden was soon in the thick of the action, forcing Cech to beat away his low drive.
But with 11 minutes left all the home side's hard work was undone as Pizarro headed in Belletti's corner despite the efforts on the line of Larsson to keep the ball out. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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