The Sunday Times
Frank Lampard's late strike saves ChelseaChelsea 2 Stoke 1
Joe Lovejoy at Stamford Bridge
BEFORE the kick-off, they presented Frank Lampard with a silver boot to mark his 400th appearance for Chelsea, and his 123rd goal for the club, scored in the third minute of stoppage time, was one to savour, for all sorts of reasons. Before his last-gasp winner, driven in high and handsome from 18 yards, it was not only the Stoke fans who were taunting Luiz Felipe Scolari with choruses of “You’re getting sacked in the morning”.
After 70 minutes Peter Kenyon, the chief executive at Stamford Bridge and Roman Abramovich’s chosen instrument, had made his exit from the directors’ box with Chelsea trailing 1-0 to the team with the worst away record in the Premier League. Kenyon’s embarrassment was shared by the vast majority present, and the collective mood did not augur well for Scolari’s future one week after a 3-0 drubbing by Manchester United. Last night is was revealed that the club’s billionaire owner would be open to offers.
The manager’s contentious decision to omit Didier Drogba not just from the starting line-up but from the squad seemed likely to undermine his position still further when, with Stoke leading, he had only two novice strikers, Franco di Santo and Miroslav Stoch, to send on in an attempt to salvage an acceptable result.
Scolari’s other substitute, Juliano Belletti, restored equality with a close-range header in the 88th minute, and in stoppage time Lampard, who was captain for the day, gained all three points with a thunderous left-footed finish.
The England midfielder was given the armband in circumstances that suggested it was not to be Chelsea’s day. Shortly before the kick-off came news that Joe Cole had ruptured knee ligaments in the FA Cup victory at Southend in midweek and would play no further part this season. Then, in the warm-up, John Terry pulled up with a back injury and had to give way to Alex. The impression that Chelsea’s luck was out was fuelled when they dominated possession and fired off a fusillade of shots, only to be denied by resolute defence and an outstanding performance from keeper Thomas Sorensen.
Sorensen was threatened six times in a one-sided first half, but when Salomon Kalou tried to take the ball round him, a heavy first touch allowed the keeper to save, and the Ivorian was culpable again when he volleyed over from five yards. Nicolas Anelka, with head and boot, produced better attempts to no avail, and when Lampard, who had been at the root of every worthwhile attack, decided to go it alone, Sorensen twice foiled him.
Stoke were spikily competitive and not afraid to leave a foot in, but the only impression they left on the first half was on their opponents’ shins. Michael Ballack should have scored early in the second but headed wide of a gaping net from eight yards, and after 59 minutes the unthinkable happened. Much had been made of the threat posed by Rory Delap’s long throw-in, and Chelsea had spent their Friday training session practising plans to combat the Irish international’s version of the gridiron quarterback’s delivery.
It was not without irony, then, that Delap should score a goal of which any striker would be proud, running on to James Beattie’s clever delivery, muscling Ashley Cole off the ball and holding off Alex before shooting under Petr Cech’s advance. It was a classy goal — one that served to deflate Chelsea and inspire Stoke to defend even more enthusiastically. Lampard, never-say-die-spirit exemplified, rallied his team through personal example and was tantalisingly close to equalising, as was Cole.
In the absence of Drogba, however, Scolari’s team lacked a Plan B, and the crowd fell into a resigned silence, then started murmuring their discontent as shot after hit-and-hope shot came to nought. Some fans were already making for the exits when Kalou’s cross from the left was transferred via Di Santo’s head to Belletti, who nodded past Sorensen at whites-of-the-eyes range.
Stoke still thought they had a valuable point in their battle against relegation but a pinball sequence in the penalty area saw Lampard break their hearts right at the death. Every Chelsea player, with the exception of goalkeeper Cech, ran to the touchline to celebrate the goal by hugging Scolari, suggesting “Big Phil” is still as popular as ever in what is increasingly portrayed as a divided dressing room. Tony Pulis, the Stoke manager, said: “That killed us, we’re desperately disappointed, but the top four teams have a habit of scoring late winners. We knew we were going to have to defend. Our goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen was brilliant. He made some superb saves. When we scored we thought that it might just be our day.”
Scolari, who expects to have Terry fit for the FA Cup tie at home to Ipswich on Saturday, lauded Lampard as “a fantastic player and a fantastic man”. He said: “For the rest of his life, he and his family will remember this goal in the last minute on his 400th appearance.” Speaking generally, he added: “My team showed spirit, and they showed heart. They conceded a goal and then they fought first to draw and then to win. The group showed more togetherness today. I think this is the first time \ that we’ve scored a goal in the last minute.” Of the players’ show of support for him after Lampard’s winner, Scolari said: “They did it because all of us — the players and the staff — are united. I am only the one out in front.” Scolari insisted that there was no rift with Drogba. “He is training every day, and could play next week,” he said.
Scolari doubted that he would be doing any business during the transfer window, and said that in contrast to his recent predecessors, it was his intention to bring through the club’s youth team products, players such as Di Santo and Stoch. “Already I have played more young players than any manager here in the past five years,” he said.
In response to reports that every member of his squad was for sale, he said it was true at Chelsea, as at any other club, that every player had his price, but he was not looking to sell anybody. “Some clubs may want John Terry, but ask him if he wants to go, and he’ll tell you no, because he loves Chelsea,” he said. “I say to all my players, ‘If you love Chelsea, stay here. If you don’t, go. Finish.’ Now is the time to decide.”
Star man: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
Yellow cards: Stoke: Amdy Faye 14, Whelan 89 Referee: P Walton
Attendance: 41,788
CHELSEA: Cech 6, Bosingwa 6 (Belletti 78min), Carvalho 6, Alex 6, A Cole 6, Lampard 8, Mikel 6 (Stoch 82min), Ballack 6, Malouda 5 (Di Santo 60min), Anelka 6, Kalou 5
STOKE: Sorensen 7, Wilkinson 5, Shawcross 6, Abdoulaye Faye 6, Higginbotham 6 (Griffin 34min, 6), Delap 6, Whelan 6, Amdy Faye 6 (Pugh 28min, 5), Etherington 5 (Kitson 83min), Beattie 6, Cresswell 6
--------------------------------------------------------
Telegraph:
Frank Lampard strikes late to sink StokeChelsea (0) 2 Stoke City (0) 1 By Jonathan Wilson at Stamford Bridge
What a difference six minutes can make. With three minutes of normal time remaining Chelsea trailed, and the Stoke fans taunts of “You’re getting sacked in the morning” seemed to bear more than a trace of credibility for Luiz Felipe Scolari. After goals from Juliano Belletti and Frank Lampard had seized victory, though, the sense was that the improbable nature of their comeback may just have re-energised their title challenge.
For a long time, this looked like being an awful day for Chelsea. It began badly, as Joe Cole had surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligaments he ruptured during the FA Cup victory over Southend. He will not play again this season. It got worse as John Terry strained his back in the warm-up and had to be withdrawn. And when they fell behind, there must have been Chelsea fans looking at their bench and questioning the wisdom of leaving Didier Drogba out of the squad.
Scolari insisted he had had no bust-up with the Cote d’Ivoire striker, and was non-committal when asked if he expected him to be sold before the end of the January window. “It was my choice [not to pick him]," he said. “I didn’t have Drogba, but I had [Miroslav] Stoch and [Franco] Di Santo and they gave me what I want. It’s not my business to sell or buy. It is business for [the chief executive] Peter Kenyon.
"I follow what the club decides, but Drogba is training every day, training well. Maybe next week I will choose to play him. If you don’t love Chelsea, you should go. I mean that not just for Drogba but for every player.”
For much of the game, the gloom looked like deepening. This was not by any means a great performance by Chelsea, but it should equally be said that they would have been deeply unfortunate to lose. Stoke defended doggedly, while their goalkeeper, Thomas Sorensen, was inspired, one tip-over from an angled Ashley Cole drive, in particular, defying belief. “It killed us,” said their manager Tony Pulis. “We’re desperately disappointed.”
Chelsea themselves were profligate. Salomon Kalou lifted over from six yards, Michael Ballack put a free header wide, and Lampard, set through by Anelka, sliced badly from close range. To speak only of chances squandered, though, is perhaps to miss the point. There is, manifestly, a dearth of confidence, something manifested not only in their inefficiency in front of goal, but also in a number of needlessly misplaced passes. The defending at set-pieces, now with neither man-marking nor zonal marking, but something in-between, remained unconvincing.
There remains also the issue of Anelka, who for all the quality of his finishing, offers little in terms of link-up play or holding the ball up. Stoke’s goal demonstrated exactly what Chelsea are missing. There was nothing especially menacing about Shawcross’s clearance, but Beattie took the ball down superbly and laid it through for Delap, who finished deftly.
Eventually, weight of pressure told. Di Santo headed Kalous; cross back across goal and Bellitti nodded in and then, with a sense of inevitability, came the winner. Stoch’s cross was half-cleared, and when Anelka’s follow-up was blocked, Lampard, on his 400th appearance for the club, thrashed in the winner, with the help of a slight deflection of Ballack. “If I go back to a national team in a few years and could vote in one player, it would be Lampard,” said Scolari.
“He’s not just a player, he’s a man. What you need he gives to you. Before I had pressure; now I don’t have pressure.”
That may not be entirely true, but there is certainly a flame of hope alight that might not even have been awoken by a more comfortable victory. Scolari played down the significance of the way the players involved him in the celebrations, but he did acknowledge the effect on morale. “The group,” he said, “is more together now."
----------------------------------------------------------
Independent :
Lampard lifts blues to end Big Phil's nightmare
Chelsea 2 Stoke City 1: Midfielder's late winner caps amazing comeback as knee operation knocks out Joe Cole for the season
By Glenn Moore at Stamford Bridge
Roman Abramovich, whose absence from last Sunday's Old Trafford debacle was much discussed, declined to watch the team he owns this weekend as well. For a long time it looked as if the Russian was a good judge. In the end he missed one of those extraordinary comebacks which can change a season.
Stoke were within three minutes of their most famous victory against Chelsea since the 1971-72 Football League Cup Final when Juliano Belletti equalised Rory Delap's 60th-minute goal. Frank Lampard then won the game deep in added time. It was mightily cruel on Stoke who looked like achieving a result to better their defeat of Arsenal and brace of scoreless draws with Liverpool.
Those results may provide a fig-leaf defence for Luiz Felipe Scolari when he discusses this match with the club's benefactor but Abramovich – assuming he is interested – will doubtless wonder whether the scoreline obscures a deepening malaise, or indicates Scolari is heading in the right direction. Chelsea kept going, and played well in midfield, but they were unconvincing in centraldefence, toothless in attack and, due to injuries and the estrangement of Didier Drogba, short of alternatives on the bench. Scolari, having insisted he did not feel under pressure, said he felt the comeback proved his team were more "together" than before. There had, he said, been internal discussions since the Manchester United defeat and the squad were more united because of them.
Most of them, anyway. Drogba was again omitted from the 18. "I have nothing against Drogba," said Scolari. "He is training well but it is my choice not to select him. Maybe in the next game he plays. Today it was better to pick two young kids [Franco di Santo and Miroslav Stoch]." Would he sell Drogba? "That is up to [Peter] Kenyon [the chief executive]."
From which it can be deduced all is not well. In the circumstances Scolari did not want to hear the morning news that Joe Cole had undergone an operation after anterior cruciate ligament damage was diagnosed on the knee he injured at Southend on Wednesday. Cole will be out for the season, which is a blow to Fabio Capello as well as Scolari. The latter at least has a fortnight in which to buy a replacement – but intimated he did not expect to be given funds.
Then John Terry's troublesome back went in the warm-up. He is expected to play next week, but it is a worrying situation, for Chelsea and England. Without him Chelsea looked vulnerable at every set-piece, not least because they practised a curious mix of man-for-man and zonal marking. Fortunately for Petr Cech, who allowed Abdoulaye Faye a free header from the first corner, Stoke thereafter struggled to gain enough possession to force throw-ins or corners. It nevertheless took time for Chelsea to get behind Stoke. Salomon Kalou was forced wide after Lampard's reverse pass enabled him to round Thomas Sorensen; he should have done better when a Lampard free-kick eluded everyone else.
As pressure grew Sorensen shone, reacting sharply to parry Nicolas Anelka's shot-on-the-turn before turning aside powerful shots by Ashley Cole and Lampard. The breakthrough loomed when Florent Malouda's first-time cross teed up Michael Ballack, unmarked, eight yards out, soon after the break. But he headed wide and it came at the other end. James Beattie, making a solid debut, came off Ricardo Carvalho to chest down a clearance. With Alex too deep Beattie was able to feed Delap running beyond Cole. Delap held off the England left-back to beat a dithering Cech.
Lampard led the response, peppering Sorensen's goal. The game was largely being played within 20 yards of the Danish keeper and shots rained in. By block after block the Potters stood firm. Scolari threw on a series of substitutes but Drogba's shadow loomed large. Finally, with the away support singing, "You're going to get sacked in the morning," came salvation. One sub, Di Santo, headed Kalou's cross across goal and another, Belletti, headed in. Then another bout of bagatelle in the Stoke area ended with Lampard thrashing the ball in. "It killed us," said Tony Pulis, Stoke's manager. "We began to think it might be our day but you have to credit Chelsea for keeping going. They're not in crisis, they are a great team."
Attendance: 41,788
Referee: Peter Walton
Man of the match: Ab Faye
Match rating: 6/10
----------------------------------------------------------
Observer :
Lampard brings late relief to Chelsea
Chelsea 2 Belletti 88, Lampard 90 Stoke City 1 Delap 60
Amy Lawrence at Stamford Bridge
Frank Lampard embraces his manager Luiz Felipe Scolari after his stoppage time winner against Stoke. Photograph: Tom Hevezi/AP
Who would have thought that come January Luiz Felipe Scolari would be under more pressure than Tony Pulis? That encapsulates why the Chelsea manager erupted so viscerally when Frank Lampard prevented his biggest managerial embarrassment in English football with a stoppage-time thump.
It was, to borrow Sir Alex Ferguson's peerless description, a 'Football, bloody hell' moment. Stoke's players, who had led 1-0 until the 88th minute, were felled by the emotion of their own foiled efforts, of an historic opportunity turned to dust. The men in blue careered towards their manager on the touchline and enveloped him in a hug. The contrast between victor and vanquished is sometimes stomach churningly dramatic.
Let this not disguise, however, the reality of 87 minutes of Chelsea purgatory. Let nobody imagine that there is any less of a job on at Stamford Bridge, even though the team are heavily involved in three competitions. Despite mustering plenty of shots, for much of the game the Londoners struggled to flow. It was easy to nit pick all over the pitch.
It only served to reinforce how brave a manager Scolari is to alienate the club's best goalscorer of recent years by denying Didier Drogba even a place on the bench. So it was that Scolari's options, when he needed to salvage a game that had gone worryingly wrong, were two 19-year-olds, Franco Di Santo and Miroslav Stoch, and a peripheral if experienced full-back in Juliano Belletti.
He made a point of praising the two raw understudies. Di Santo did make a telling contribution, by nodding Salomon Kalou's cross back across the goal for Belletti to equalise with three minutes left. That in itself sent defiant celebrations coursing round Stamford Bridge.
But in insisting that Di Santo and Stoch had more to offer on the pitch than Drogba, it was difficult to believe Scolari's claims that he has no problem with the Ivory Coast striker. He was adamant that his team selection was purely the coach's prerogative. Hmmm. He was also emphatic in re-stating that anyone who wanted to leave Chelsea could, provided the money came in. "If you love Chelsea, stay. Finish," he said. "If you do not love Chelsea, go. Now is the time."
His stance is even more stubborn considering his attacking options took another hit when Joe Cole was yesterday ruled out for the rest of the season, having had an operation on his cruciate in the morning. If it seems obvious that Chelsea need to spend in the creativity department, Scolari zipped up his trouser pocket and explained that in Brazil he is known for being tight.
Such is modern Premier League management. You experience a profoundly emotional match and walk into an inquisition about players who did not even take part in the encounter.
This game will take some time to digest properly. "I think we had 30 shots, and were 10 times in front of the keeper, and then they had one shot and one goal," assessed Scolari. True enough.
Chelsea began by confronting their big fear of the set piece. Rory Delap had the opportunity to wind up his shot put as early as the second minute, and Florent Malouda was detailed to zonally mark the Stoke midfielder as he prepared to throw. It did not make a great deal of difference, and Chelsea were under the cosh. From the resulting corner, Abdoulaye Faye's header created considerable consternation at the back for Chelsea.
It was not a lasting concern, though. Stoke spent the rest of the first half much further back on the pitch, stacking up their big men in front of Scolari's side. Most of the time it worked.
It took Chelsea a while to engage Thomas Sorensen. Stoke's Denmark goalkeeper impressed with a series of stops to thwart Nicolas Anelka, Ashley Cole and Lampard and managed to keep the home side goalless at half-time. After the break, Michael Ballack really ought to have crafted the breakthrough when he snuck between the giants for a free header, only to skew it wide.
In the 60th minute, to everybody's astonishment, Stoke's first meaningful attack of the game opened the scoring. And would you believe it had nothing to do with Delap's arms, but instead everything to do with his fancy footwork.
Latching on to James Beattie's threaded pass, the Irishman shrugged off what passed for a challenge from Cole and Alex, surging past the pair of them to clip the ball into the bottom corner of the goal. Not bad for a one-trick pony.
Petr Cech had been in specialist training before this game to work on a new standing position that would enable him to come and catch Delap's long throws. As it turned out Chelsea forgot about the basics, such as cutting out passes to a forward, or trying to get a tackle in.
The pocket of fans from the Potteries were beside themselves with excitement. They could not resist a tease, serenading Scolari, by now wearing a bassett hound expression, with a chant about getting sacked in the morning.
The turnaround took so much time to materialise that Stoke began to believe they could hold out. In the end their diligent blocks, their defensive instincts abandoned them painfully late on.
It was fitting that Lampard was the hero of the day on his 400th appearance for Chelsea. "Frank Lampard is part of history," said Scolari. "He is not only a great player, he's a great man. What you need, he gives to you." The relieved manager was in no mood to admit it, but he will, doubtless, remember it too.
THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT
Grahame Fendle, CFCnet.co.ukIt was a hard slog but it was nice to see a Chelsea side fight for 90 minutes. Lampard, in particular, was outstanding – he ran tirelessly throughout the game, really fought for the club and fully deserved his goal, even if he left it a little late. That's the sort of spirit we need if we are to achieve anything this season. What is clear, though, is that even with a Brazilian manager we have become an extremely conservative side, and it wasn't until Stoch came on that we showed any invention. To Stoke's credit they came here to give us a game and did so, but fortunately we had the strength to see it though.
The fan's player ratings Cech 7; Bosingwa 8 (Belletti 7), Carvalho 6, Alex 4, A Cole 6; Lampard 9, Mikel 7 (Stoch 7), Ballack 6; Malouda 4 (Di Santo 6), Anelka 7, Kalou 7
Richard Murphy, author, Stoke City on this Day – StokeCity-Mad.co.uk One word sums it all up: gutted. People were literally in tears after the game. We haven't won away from home all season and then to come so close at Stamford Bridge... There's no other way to describe it. While they had all the ball we were not under intense pressure and, after getting an early goal, it seemed the least we could expect was to come away with a point – only for them to win the game in the 94th minute. But we got a point against Liverpool, and Manchester United and Chelsea only won with late goals, and that shows that we have the skills and just need to keep pushing forward.
The fan's player ratings Sorensen 9; Wilkinson 8, Shawcross 8, Abdoulaye Faye 8; Higginbotham 6 (Griffin 7); Delap 7, Whelan 6; Amdy Faye n/a (Pugh 7), Etherington 7 (Kitson 6); Beattie 7; Cresswell 7
----------------------------------------------------------
Mail:
Chelsea 2 Stoke 1: Big, big escape for under-fire Scolari
By PATRICK COLLINS
Luiz Felipe Scolari gathered his scattered senses, smiled his profound relief and delivered an extravagant eulogy to Frank Lampard. And as his praise grew more lyrical, we realised just how much had been at stake on this astonishing afternoon at the Bridge.The match was in the third minute of added time when the critical chance fell to Lampard, Chelsea's captain after John Terry suffered a recurrence of a back injury during the warm-up. Chelsea had equalised only five minutes earlier when Michael Ballack's head diverted the ball from Salomon Kalou's cross to the near post, where Juliano Belletti scored the two-yard header.And now they pushed forward with breathless desperation for the unlikely points. Stoke's defenders brought off yet another block but Lampard seized the ball 18 yards out. He had missed several similar opportunities, but this was the ultimate test of nerve and technique.
A player with a taste for the dramatic was never likely to pass up the chance of winning this, his 400th match for Chelsea. The shot was savage and true, and Thomas Sorensen, who had performed heroic wonders in the Stoke goal, could only jerk an arm as it flew past.Chelsea were once more authentic contenders, Scolari's job was a good deal more safe, and Lampard was at the centre of the dancing, screaming throng in front of the home dugout. Scolari spoke of him as a great player, possibly the best in the world.'He is not a player only, he is a man. What you need, he gives to you. I think his family will remember for life his goal in the last minute,' said the coach.In truth, both Lampard and Chelsea have enjoyed far more impressive days, but few results have carried so many consequences. Stoke had come to survive, nothing more. They had worked without cease, piled bodies behind the ball and tried desperately to cope with Chelsea's width and movement. And the simple, unambitious strategy had worked beyond expectation.
Chelsea had struck a total of 43 shots, yet Stoke had taken an improbable lead on the hour when a ball was played up to James Beattie who, in turn, played a short square pass which Rory Delap took in his stride. Entering the Chelsea area, he kept his head and his feet as two Chelsea defenders converged. With Petr Cech committed, he scored with the deftest of chips.'David v Goliath, Mike Tyson v Buster Douglas, Chelsea v Stoke!' screamed the man from the Potteries' local radio, with pardonable hyperbole. It was severe punishment for Chelsea's neat, controlled yet ultimately wasteful football, and it seemed to confirm the mood of foreboding which overhung the place.Losing Terry in the warm-up was a poor omen. Worse still was the news that Joe Cole would miss the rest of the season with a ruptured cruciate ligament. Nothing would happen for them, and they had tried so hard to present a softer, more vulnerable face.Listen to some of the Chelsea myth-makers and you could believe that theirs was a fight against financial odds. Not for them the riches of the Gulf, Instead, they were owned by a poor but honest Russian who watched his roubles and prevented anything which smacked of extravagance.
The most expensive player on view yesterday was Ricardo Carvalho, who cost £19.8million, which is the kind of money that Kaka pays his cleaner. Not only that, but some of the Chelsea players were rubbing along on £125,000 a week. Truly, we wonder how they meet their bills.Even the chap who is employed to shout at the crowd at half-time was 'on message' as he bawled the Manchester City score: 'Loadsamoney nil, Wigan nil!' he yelled. Without a hint of irony. There was a real sense that fate had it in for them, that a Premier League title was being lost. And the more saves that Sorensen conjured - from Kalou, Florent Malouda, Lampard and the rest - the more it seemed that the pessimism was well-founded.The boos were brewing, the inquests were being prepared and the season was being quietly laid to rest when, with those two minutes of normal time remaining, the roof began to fall in.As Stoke's hearts cracked and broke, so Chelsea's anthems of relief came surging through. They had contrived one of the season's more remarkable comebacks. Lampard was smiling, like a man who had never doubted the outcome.And Scolari was talking about the heart, spirit and resolution of a team who had learned how to stand and fight. It may well be that the family Lampard will always remember the winning goal in his 400th match. But the family Scolari will also remember the day. And they may have even better reason.
--------------------------------------------------------
NOTW:
CHELSEA 2, STOKE 1 Frank Lampard must be priceless — certainly to Chelsea fans anyway From ROB BEASLEY, 17/01/2009
IF Kaka is worth £100million then Frank Lampard must be priceless — certainly to Chelsea fans anyway.
He is already a Blues hero, a legend in the making and may go down as their greatest player.
Phil Scolari hands out warning to Drogba and praise to Lampard - click here for full story
Here, on his 400th appearance, the England star single-handedly galvanised a Chelsea side that was staring into the abyss.
Luiz Felipe Scolari’s men were 1-0 down at home to lowly Stoke the weekend after being stuffed out of sight at Old Trafford.
It was a nightmare scenario that Lampard simply refused to accept.
Forget another dent in the once- proud Chelsea home record, forget an embarrassing setback against a side fighting relegation.
This was the end of a title challenge, maybe even of a World Cup-winning manager, and the disintegration of a once great team.
But not if you are Super Frank.
Rescue
Remember David Beckham for England against Greece at Old Trafford? Of course you do.
A captain taking the game by the scruff of the neck and using his skill and will to rescue the day.
Beckham’s brilliant free-kick earned England a draw and a place in the 2002 World Cup finals. But Lampard, skipper again in place of the injury-prone John Terry, went one better — he scored the winner! And what a screamer.
Nicolas Anelka’s shot was blocked in a blur of Stoke defenders and the ball rebounded to Lampard.
One flash of his left boot and the ball was crashing into the back of the net.
The scenes that followed could not have been more joyous if it had been against Manchester United, Liverpool Barcelona or old enemies Leeds. Lampard’s celebration said it all.
As soon as his stoppage-time winner flew home, he reeled away and charged down the touchline to hug beleaguered boss Big Phil.
And the pair were quickly engulfed by the entire Chelsea team, bar keeper Petr Cech, in a delirious mass huddle of utter joy and relief in equal measure.
It was a clear demonstration of Lampard’s oft-repeated support for the Brazilian manager, amplified by the rest of the Chelsea side.
A side missing Didier Drogba, left out of the squad for the second game running.
A side also missing skipper Terry, who had pulled up lame in the warm-up, and Joe Cole, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season.
It was a Chelsea side still good enough to create 28 clear- cut chances against an uncompromising and committed Stoke team that regularly had 10 players back in their own box.
Yet it was a Chelsea side bad enough to squander them all with Salomon Kalou, Michael Ballack, Florent Malouda, Ashley Cole and even Lampard wasting great openings.
Magnificent
Add to that a truly magnificent display from Potters keeper Thomas Sorensen and the home side were living on the edge.
The Danish ace denied a rampant Lampard three times, Anelka twice and Ballack on two occasions. But Sorensen’s best save came when he turned a rasping Cole drive up and over the bar.
So when Stoke’s Rory Delap scampered on to James Beattie’s neat pass and squeezed between Cole and Alex to lift the ball over Cech in the 60th minute, it looked as if the game was up for Scolari and Chelsea.
Stoke fans were in ecstasy and cruelly taunted Scolari by singing “You’re getting sacked in the morning.”
And they might have been right. But Lampard simply stepped up a gear and led by example.
He sprinted to retrieve the ball for throw-ins, free-kicks and corners and relentlessly drove himself and his team forward.
The crowd picked up on his dynamic display and began to roar for more. Chelsea were lifted and suddenly a hopeless case looked like an inevitable escape.
But the Blues still left it oh so late.
Young Argentinian Angelo Di Santo and 19-year-old Slovakian Miroslav Stoch were thrown into attack.
And, unlike the absent Drogba, they delivered the goods.
Di Santo turned Kalou’s 88th- minute cross back across goal for fellow sub Juliano Belletti to nod home.
But the best was yet to come. Forget salvaging a draw, Lampard aand Chelsea wanted nothing less than victory and were rewarded deep into injury time. Although tough on Tony Pulis’ Stoke, it was a deserved victory for Chelsea, who let rip an amazing 43 shots in total — not all of them goal threatening. But, nevertheless, it tells the true story of yesterday’s match far better than the scoreline.
The consequences of defeat may have been dire but the boost of a victory could be dramatic, too.
Blues host Ipswich in the FA Cup fourth round this weekend and then play Middlesbrough at Stamford Bridge.
So Chelsea have a fantastic chance to build a winning run and lift their confidence and belief just in time for the trip to Anfield to face title rivals Liverpool on February 1.
And all thanks to that man called Frank Lampard.
So when you hear Scolari saying he is ready to sell any of his Chelsea stars if the price is right, don’t believe a word.
He means anyone but Lampard!
The England midfielder is not for sale — and no one could afford him anyway.
---------------------------------------------------------
Mirror:
Lampard grabs winner for Chelsea to take heat off Scolari
Chelsea 2 - 1 Stoke City
Chelsea pulled-off a sensational late fightback to ease the pressure on under-fire boss Luiz Felipe Scolari.
The Blues looked on the way to their third home league defeat of the season until substitute Juliano Belletti equalised in the 87th minute.
Frank Lampard then grabbed an unlikely winner in stoppage-time to cap his 400th appearance for the club in style.
The victory keeps Chelsea in the title hunt and will take some of the heat off their Brazilian coach.
Scolari's plight has not been helped by the loss of England midfielder Joe Cole with a knee injury for the rest of the season and John Terry's back problem in the pre-match warm-up meant he was unable to play.
But Scolari's public feud with Ivorian striker Didier Drogba appears to have backfired on him as he would have provided just the kind of cutting edge lacked by the Blues.
Since beating Sunderland 5-0 at the start of November, Chelsea had only managed home wins over CFR Cluj and West Brom.
They should have taken the lead in the 23rd minute but once again their attacking frailties were exposed.
It was perhaps unfortunate for Scolari that Frank Lampard's free-kick landed at the feet of Salomon Kalou instead of top scorer Nicolas Anelka.
The Ivorian failed to show the kind of coolness Anelka has been displaying this season and shot high over from just six yards.
Florent Malouda then had a shot charged down, then Anelka was unlucky not to take his tally for the season to 18 goals when his shot on the turn was superbly parried by Thomas Sorensen.
Stoke suffered a blow in the 32nd minute when defender Danny Higginbotham went off injured to be replaced by Andy Griffin.
In the 35th minute a superb run by Lampard helped set up Malouda on the left flank and his cross was destined for the head of Anelka until Sorensen's fingertips intervened.
Scolari's pitchside animation was a joy to behold from outstretched arms aimed at the fourth official to the scratching of his head at misplaced passes.
But despite his various gestures, his side were still lacking the cutting edge the axed Drogba would have certainly provided.
That fact was underlined in the 41st minute when a corner from Lampard was met at the far post by Anelka - - but his header was caught by Sorensen.
Two minutes before the break the Dane pulled off another great save when he tipped a vicious left-foot shot from Ashley Cole over the crossbar - and seconds later he produced another stunning save to stop a volley from Lampard.
Chelsea should have taken the lead in the 50th minute but an unmarked Ballack sent an eight-yard header the wrong side of the post following good work by Malouda.
Stoke managed to engineer a chance for new signing James Beattie in the 57th minute but the striker's attempted lob over Petr Cech was just too high.
It was a timely portent as Stoke stunned Chelsea with an opening goal in the 59th minute.
Beattie superbly chested the ball down and fed the onrushing Delap, who ran into the penalty area and held off the challenge of Alex before calmly slotting the ball over the advancing Cech.
It was a goal completely against the run of play - and another example of Chelsea's poor defending.
Scolari's reaction was to replace Malouda with Franco Di Santo but Stoke almost added a second goal when Cech flapped and missed a long throw from Delap.
However, Matthew Etherington just could not turn quickly enough to try his luck at an open goal and Chelsea cleared the danger.
Moments later Chelsea wasted another chance when Lampard shot wide from an acute angle after Anelka had put him clear.
Then Cole, found superbly by Anelka, fired a left-foot shot inches wide of the far post with Sorensen beaten.
Chelsea piled on the pressure with substitute Di Santo causing Stoke problems on the right flank - and with an embarrassing defeat on the cards, they produced the great escape.
First a cross from Kalou was headed back into the six-yard box by Di Santo and Belletti, on for Jose Bosingwa, converted from close range.
Then in stoppage-time, Lampard seized his chance to send a 20-yard shot beyond Sorensen for the winner.
----------------------------------------------------------
Express:
SCOLARI RESCUED BY STAND-IN LAMPARD
By Colin Mafham CHELSEA..2 STOKE...1
FRANK Lampard came to Chelsea’s rescue in every sense of the word, saving his team from an embarrassing draw that would have seriously dented their title hopes.
It rescued his manager from a post-match inquest tomorrow that would surely have put the Brazilian under immense pressure.
Promoted to captain when John Terry limped out of the game after injuring himself in the warm-up, Lampard left it late to rescue his side.
What a hero, and how Chelsea and Luiz Felipe Scolari needed him to live up to such a billing yesterday.
The only downside – if that’s the word – was that his heroics robbed Thomas Sorensen of the man of the match award after he had produced heroics of his own to keep Chelsea at bay.
All that after you got the feeling that things really aren’t going to plan for Big Phil with the revelation that Joe Cole is out for the season with cruciate ligament damage, and then the injury to Terry. Hurt in the warm-up, it was a blow against a Stoke side that believes in throwing ‘missiles’ into the box.
Not that Scolari appeared to have too much to concern himself with at the start of yesterday’s game.
Stoke, no matter what Tony Pulis might have told them, made their intentions very clear. A point would more than do. Anything else would be a pretty big bonus.
Chelsea, by contrast, huffed and puffed for half an hour without really threatening to blow anything down ... until Thomas Sorensen needed to go full stretch to deny striker Nicolas Anelka.
Same again just before the break when the Danish keeper produced two cracking saves from Ashley Cole and Lampard. Not bad for a bargain buy from Villa.
Chelsea pressure suggested that if they got one goal then the floodgates could open. Trouble was, Stoke had virtually every man behind those gates to stop it happening.
Over to Mr Scolari then to give his team the tools at the break to engineer a more impressive second period.
The opening second-half exchanges hinted he hadn’t had enough time to charge up his team.
And all this without a single long throw from Rory Delap. He used his feet instead this time.
All Chelsea’s pressure counted for nothing as James Beattie fed a ball through to his new teammate and with Ashley Cole and Alex failing to stop him, Delap sent the Stoke following ecstatic as he beat Petr Cech from close range.
You really couldn’t have seen that one coming and while the Stoke chants of ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ were a tad premature, Scolari was beginning to look like a man under the cosh.
Then Scolari threw on Slovakian teenager Miroslav Stoch to try to save the day.
Sadly it needed a bigger man and Juliano Belletti turned out to be that man, some 10 minutes after coming as as a substitute for Jose Boswinga.
With Chelsea getting increasingly desperate, Ashley Cole’s cross was headed back by Franco Di Santo and Belletti, who really shouldn’t have been where he was, flung himself to head home from close range. It was, if nothing else, justice being seen to be done.
But Chelsea weren’t in the mood to stop there.
With Scolari seemingly orchestrating things from the touchline, Chelsea threw everything at Sorensen.
With half the four minutes of added time remaining they finally cracked it, and Stoke’s defence, for that matter.
Lampard let fly from the edge of the box with just a minute of injury time left and even Sorensen at full stretch couldn’t stop it.
Chelsea’s celebrations afterwards looked as if they’d won the league rather than pulled off a great escape on home soil.
You really couldn’t mistake the massive relief all round the place.
CHELSEA: Cech 6; Boswinga 6 (Belletti 77th), Carvalho 6, Alex 6, A Cole 6; Mikel 6 (Stoch 82nd); Ballack 7, Lampard 9, Kalou 6, Anelka 5, Malouda 6 (Di Santo (60th) 6).
STOKE: Sorensen 9; Wilkinson 8, Ab Faye 7, Shawcross 7, Higginbotham 6 (Griffin 33rd) 6; Delap 6, Am Faye 5 (Pugh (28th) 6), Whelan 7, Etherington 4 (Kitson 83rd); Cresswell 4, Beattie 6.
MAN OF MATCH: Frank Lampard
Referee: P Walton.
Frank Lampard's late strike saves ChelseaChelsea 2 Stoke 1
Joe Lovejoy at Stamford Bridge
BEFORE the kick-off, they presented Frank Lampard with a silver boot to mark his 400th appearance for Chelsea, and his 123rd goal for the club, scored in the third minute of stoppage time, was one to savour, for all sorts of reasons. Before his last-gasp winner, driven in high and handsome from 18 yards, it was not only the Stoke fans who were taunting Luiz Felipe Scolari with choruses of “You’re getting sacked in the morning”.
After 70 minutes Peter Kenyon, the chief executive at Stamford Bridge and Roman Abramovich’s chosen instrument, had made his exit from the directors’ box with Chelsea trailing 1-0 to the team with the worst away record in the Premier League. Kenyon’s embarrassment was shared by the vast majority present, and the collective mood did not augur well for Scolari’s future one week after a 3-0 drubbing by Manchester United. Last night is was revealed that the club’s billionaire owner would be open to offers.
The manager’s contentious decision to omit Didier Drogba not just from the starting line-up but from the squad seemed likely to undermine his position still further when, with Stoke leading, he had only two novice strikers, Franco di Santo and Miroslav Stoch, to send on in an attempt to salvage an acceptable result.
Scolari’s other substitute, Juliano Belletti, restored equality with a close-range header in the 88th minute, and in stoppage time Lampard, who was captain for the day, gained all three points with a thunderous left-footed finish.
The England midfielder was given the armband in circumstances that suggested it was not to be Chelsea’s day. Shortly before the kick-off came news that Joe Cole had ruptured knee ligaments in the FA Cup victory at Southend in midweek and would play no further part this season. Then, in the warm-up, John Terry pulled up with a back injury and had to give way to Alex. The impression that Chelsea’s luck was out was fuelled when they dominated possession and fired off a fusillade of shots, only to be denied by resolute defence and an outstanding performance from keeper Thomas Sorensen.
Sorensen was threatened six times in a one-sided first half, but when Salomon Kalou tried to take the ball round him, a heavy first touch allowed the keeper to save, and the Ivorian was culpable again when he volleyed over from five yards. Nicolas Anelka, with head and boot, produced better attempts to no avail, and when Lampard, who had been at the root of every worthwhile attack, decided to go it alone, Sorensen twice foiled him.
Stoke were spikily competitive and not afraid to leave a foot in, but the only impression they left on the first half was on their opponents’ shins. Michael Ballack should have scored early in the second but headed wide of a gaping net from eight yards, and after 59 minutes the unthinkable happened. Much had been made of the threat posed by Rory Delap’s long throw-in, and Chelsea had spent their Friday training session practising plans to combat the Irish international’s version of the gridiron quarterback’s delivery.
It was not without irony, then, that Delap should score a goal of which any striker would be proud, running on to James Beattie’s clever delivery, muscling Ashley Cole off the ball and holding off Alex before shooting under Petr Cech’s advance. It was a classy goal — one that served to deflate Chelsea and inspire Stoke to defend even more enthusiastically. Lampard, never-say-die-spirit exemplified, rallied his team through personal example and was tantalisingly close to equalising, as was Cole.
In the absence of Drogba, however, Scolari’s team lacked a Plan B, and the crowd fell into a resigned silence, then started murmuring their discontent as shot after hit-and-hope shot came to nought. Some fans were already making for the exits when Kalou’s cross from the left was transferred via Di Santo’s head to Belletti, who nodded past Sorensen at whites-of-the-eyes range.
Stoke still thought they had a valuable point in their battle against relegation but a pinball sequence in the penalty area saw Lampard break their hearts right at the death. Every Chelsea player, with the exception of goalkeeper Cech, ran to the touchline to celebrate the goal by hugging Scolari, suggesting “Big Phil” is still as popular as ever in what is increasingly portrayed as a divided dressing room. Tony Pulis, the Stoke manager, said: “That killed us, we’re desperately disappointed, but the top four teams have a habit of scoring late winners. We knew we were going to have to defend. Our goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen was brilliant. He made some superb saves. When we scored we thought that it might just be our day.”
Scolari, who expects to have Terry fit for the FA Cup tie at home to Ipswich on Saturday, lauded Lampard as “a fantastic player and a fantastic man”. He said: “For the rest of his life, he and his family will remember this goal in the last minute on his 400th appearance.” Speaking generally, he added: “My team showed spirit, and they showed heart. They conceded a goal and then they fought first to draw and then to win. The group showed more togetherness today. I think this is the first time \ that we’ve scored a goal in the last minute.” Of the players’ show of support for him after Lampard’s winner, Scolari said: “They did it because all of us — the players and the staff — are united. I am only the one out in front.” Scolari insisted that there was no rift with Drogba. “He is training every day, and could play next week,” he said.
Scolari doubted that he would be doing any business during the transfer window, and said that in contrast to his recent predecessors, it was his intention to bring through the club’s youth team products, players such as Di Santo and Stoch. “Already I have played more young players than any manager here in the past five years,” he said.
In response to reports that every member of his squad was for sale, he said it was true at Chelsea, as at any other club, that every player had his price, but he was not looking to sell anybody. “Some clubs may want John Terry, but ask him if he wants to go, and he’ll tell you no, because he loves Chelsea,” he said. “I say to all my players, ‘If you love Chelsea, stay here. If you don’t, go. Finish.’ Now is the time to decide.”
Star man: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
Yellow cards: Stoke: Amdy Faye 14, Whelan 89 Referee: P Walton
Attendance: 41,788
CHELSEA: Cech 6, Bosingwa 6 (Belletti 78min), Carvalho 6, Alex 6, A Cole 6, Lampard 8, Mikel 6 (Stoch 82min), Ballack 6, Malouda 5 (Di Santo 60min), Anelka 6, Kalou 5
STOKE: Sorensen 7, Wilkinson 5, Shawcross 6, Abdoulaye Faye 6, Higginbotham 6 (Griffin 34min, 6), Delap 6, Whelan 6, Amdy Faye 6 (Pugh 28min, 5), Etherington 5 (Kitson 83min), Beattie 6, Cresswell 6
--------------------------------------------------------
Telegraph:
Frank Lampard strikes late to sink StokeChelsea (0) 2 Stoke City (0) 1 By Jonathan Wilson at Stamford Bridge
What a difference six minutes can make. With three minutes of normal time remaining Chelsea trailed, and the Stoke fans taunts of “You’re getting sacked in the morning” seemed to bear more than a trace of credibility for Luiz Felipe Scolari. After goals from Juliano Belletti and Frank Lampard had seized victory, though, the sense was that the improbable nature of their comeback may just have re-energised their title challenge.
For a long time, this looked like being an awful day for Chelsea. It began badly, as Joe Cole had surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligaments he ruptured during the FA Cup victory over Southend. He will not play again this season. It got worse as John Terry strained his back in the warm-up and had to be withdrawn. And when they fell behind, there must have been Chelsea fans looking at their bench and questioning the wisdom of leaving Didier Drogba out of the squad.
Scolari insisted he had had no bust-up with the Cote d’Ivoire striker, and was non-committal when asked if he expected him to be sold before the end of the January window. “It was my choice [not to pick him]," he said. “I didn’t have Drogba, but I had [Miroslav] Stoch and [Franco] Di Santo and they gave me what I want. It’s not my business to sell or buy. It is business for [the chief executive] Peter Kenyon.
"I follow what the club decides, but Drogba is training every day, training well. Maybe next week I will choose to play him. If you don’t love Chelsea, you should go. I mean that not just for Drogba but for every player.”
For much of the game, the gloom looked like deepening. This was not by any means a great performance by Chelsea, but it should equally be said that they would have been deeply unfortunate to lose. Stoke defended doggedly, while their goalkeeper, Thomas Sorensen, was inspired, one tip-over from an angled Ashley Cole drive, in particular, defying belief. “It killed us,” said their manager Tony Pulis. “We’re desperately disappointed.”
Chelsea themselves were profligate. Salomon Kalou lifted over from six yards, Michael Ballack put a free header wide, and Lampard, set through by Anelka, sliced badly from close range. To speak only of chances squandered, though, is perhaps to miss the point. There is, manifestly, a dearth of confidence, something manifested not only in their inefficiency in front of goal, but also in a number of needlessly misplaced passes. The defending at set-pieces, now with neither man-marking nor zonal marking, but something in-between, remained unconvincing.
There remains also the issue of Anelka, who for all the quality of his finishing, offers little in terms of link-up play or holding the ball up. Stoke’s goal demonstrated exactly what Chelsea are missing. There was nothing especially menacing about Shawcross’s clearance, but Beattie took the ball down superbly and laid it through for Delap, who finished deftly.
Eventually, weight of pressure told. Di Santo headed Kalous; cross back across goal and Bellitti nodded in and then, with a sense of inevitability, came the winner. Stoch’s cross was half-cleared, and when Anelka’s follow-up was blocked, Lampard, on his 400th appearance for the club, thrashed in the winner, with the help of a slight deflection of Ballack. “If I go back to a national team in a few years and could vote in one player, it would be Lampard,” said Scolari.
“He’s not just a player, he’s a man. What you need he gives to you. Before I had pressure; now I don’t have pressure.”
That may not be entirely true, but there is certainly a flame of hope alight that might not even have been awoken by a more comfortable victory. Scolari played down the significance of the way the players involved him in the celebrations, but he did acknowledge the effect on morale. “The group,” he said, “is more together now."
----------------------------------------------------------
Independent :
Lampard lifts blues to end Big Phil's nightmare
Chelsea 2 Stoke City 1: Midfielder's late winner caps amazing comeback as knee operation knocks out Joe Cole for the season
By Glenn Moore at Stamford Bridge
Roman Abramovich, whose absence from last Sunday's Old Trafford debacle was much discussed, declined to watch the team he owns this weekend as well. For a long time it looked as if the Russian was a good judge. In the end he missed one of those extraordinary comebacks which can change a season.
Stoke were within three minutes of their most famous victory against Chelsea since the 1971-72 Football League Cup Final when Juliano Belletti equalised Rory Delap's 60th-minute goal. Frank Lampard then won the game deep in added time. It was mightily cruel on Stoke who looked like achieving a result to better their defeat of Arsenal and brace of scoreless draws with Liverpool.
Those results may provide a fig-leaf defence for Luiz Felipe Scolari when he discusses this match with the club's benefactor but Abramovich – assuming he is interested – will doubtless wonder whether the scoreline obscures a deepening malaise, or indicates Scolari is heading in the right direction. Chelsea kept going, and played well in midfield, but they were unconvincing in centraldefence, toothless in attack and, due to injuries and the estrangement of Didier Drogba, short of alternatives on the bench. Scolari, having insisted he did not feel under pressure, said he felt the comeback proved his team were more "together" than before. There had, he said, been internal discussions since the Manchester United defeat and the squad were more united because of them.
Most of them, anyway. Drogba was again omitted from the 18. "I have nothing against Drogba," said Scolari. "He is training well but it is my choice not to select him. Maybe in the next game he plays. Today it was better to pick two young kids [Franco di Santo and Miroslav Stoch]." Would he sell Drogba? "That is up to [Peter] Kenyon [the chief executive]."
From which it can be deduced all is not well. In the circumstances Scolari did not want to hear the morning news that Joe Cole had undergone an operation after anterior cruciate ligament damage was diagnosed on the knee he injured at Southend on Wednesday. Cole will be out for the season, which is a blow to Fabio Capello as well as Scolari. The latter at least has a fortnight in which to buy a replacement – but intimated he did not expect to be given funds.
Then John Terry's troublesome back went in the warm-up. He is expected to play next week, but it is a worrying situation, for Chelsea and England. Without him Chelsea looked vulnerable at every set-piece, not least because they practised a curious mix of man-for-man and zonal marking. Fortunately for Petr Cech, who allowed Abdoulaye Faye a free header from the first corner, Stoke thereafter struggled to gain enough possession to force throw-ins or corners. It nevertheless took time for Chelsea to get behind Stoke. Salomon Kalou was forced wide after Lampard's reverse pass enabled him to round Thomas Sorensen; he should have done better when a Lampard free-kick eluded everyone else.
As pressure grew Sorensen shone, reacting sharply to parry Nicolas Anelka's shot-on-the-turn before turning aside powerful shots by Ashley Cole and Lampard. The breakthrough loomed when Florent Malouda's first-time cross teed up Michael Ballack, unmarked, eight yards out, soon after the break. But he headed wide and it came at the other end. James Beattie, making a solid debut, came off Ricardo Carvalho to chest down a clearance. With Alex too deep Beattie was able to feed Delap running beyond Cole. Delap held off the England left-back to beat a dithering Cech.
Lampard led the response, peppering Sorensen's goal. The game was largely being played within 20 yards of the Danish keeper and shots rained in. By block after block the Potters stood firm. Scolari threw on a series of substitutes but Drogba's shadow loomed large. Finally, with the away support singing, "You're going to get sacked in the morning," came salvation. One sub, Di Santo, headed Kalou's cross across goal and another, Belletti, headed in. Then another bout of bagatelle in the Stoke area ended with Lampard thrashing the ball in. "It killed us," said Tony Pulis, Stoke's manager. "We began to think it might be our day but you have to credit Chelsea for keeping going. They're not in crisis, they are a great team."
Attendance: 41,788
Referee: Peter Walton
Man of the match: Ab Faye
Match rating: 6/10
----------------------------------------------------------
Observer :
Lampard brings late relief to Chelsea
Chelsea 2 Belletti 88, Lampard 90 Stoke City 1 Delap 60
Amy Lawrence at Stamford Bridge
Frank Lampard embraces his manager Luiz Felipe Scolari after his stoppage time winner against Stoke. Photograph: Tom Hevezi/AP
Who would have thought that come January Luiz Felipe Scolari would be under more pressure than Tony Pulis? That encapsulates why the Chelsea manager erupted so viscerally when Frank Lampard prevented his biggest managerial embarrassment in English football with a stoppage-time thump.
It was, to borrow Sir Alex Ferguson's peerless description, a 'Football, bloody hell' moment. Stoke's players, who had led 1-0 until the 88th minute, were felled by the emotion of their own foiled efforts, of an historic opportunity turned to dust. The men in blue careered towards their manager on the touchline and enveloped him in a hug. The contrast between victor and vanquished is sometimes stomach churningly dramatic.
Let this not disguise, however, the reality of 87 minutes of Chelsea purgatory. Let nobody imagine that there is any less of a job on at Stamford Bridge, even though the team are heavily involved in three competitions. Despite mustering plenty of shots, for much of the game the Londoners struggled to flow. It was easy to nit pick all over the pitch.
It only served to reinforce how brave a manager Scolari is to alienate the club's best goalscorer of recent years by denying Didier Drogba even a place on the bench. So it was that Scolari's options, when he needed to salvage a game that had gone worryingly wrong, were two 19-year-olds, Franco Di Santo and Miroslav Stoch, and a peripheral if experienced full-back in Juliano Belletti.
He made a point of praising the two raw understudies. Di Santo did make a telling contribution, by nodding Salomon Kalou's cross back across the goal for Belletti to equalise with three minutes left. That in itself sent defiant celebrations coursing round Stamford Bridge.
But in insisting that Di Santo and Stoch had more to offer on the pitch than Drogba, it was difficult to believe Scolari's claims that he has no problem with the Ivory Coast striker. He was adamant that his team selection was purely the coach's prerogative. Hmmm. He was also emphatic in re-stating that anyone who wanted to leave Chelsea could, provided the money came in. "If you love Chelsea, stay. Finish," he said. "If you do not love Chelsea, go. Now is the time."
His stance is even more stubborn considering his attacking options took another hit when Joe Cole was yesterday ruled out for the rest of the season, having had an operation on his cruciate in the morning. If it seems obvious that Chelsea need to spend in the creativity department, Scolari zipped up his trouser pocket and explained that in Brazil he is known for being tight.
Such is modern Premier League management. You experience a profoundly emotional match and walk into an inquisition about players who did not even take part in the encounter.
This game will take some time to digest properly. "I think we had 30 shots, and were 10 times in front of the keeper, and then they had one shot and one goal," assessed Scolari. True enough.
Chelsea began by confronting their big fear of the set piece. Rory Delap had the opportunity to wind up his shot put as early as the second minute, and Florent Malouda was detailed to zonally mark the Stoke midfielder as he prepared to throw. It did not make a great deal of difference, and Chelsea were under the cosh. From the resulting corner, Abdoulaye Faye's header created considerable consternation at the back for Chelsea.
It was not a lasting concern, though. Stoke spent the rest of the first half much further back on the pitch, stacking up their big men in front of Scolari's side. Most of the time it worked.
It took Chelsea a while to engage Thomas Sorensen. Stoke's Denmark goalkeeper impressed with a series of stops to thwart Nicolas Anelka, Ashley Cole and Lampard and managed to keep the home side goalless at half-time. After the break, Michael Ballack really ought to have crafted the breakthrough when he snuck between the giants for a free header, only to skew it wide.
In the 60th minute, to everybody's astonishment, Stoke's first meaningful attack of the game opened the scoring. And would you believe it had nothing to do with Delap's arms, but instead everything to do with his fancy footwork.
Latching on to James Beattie's threaded pass, the Irishman shrugged off what passed for a challenge from Cole and Alex, surging past the pair of them to clip the ball into the bottom corner of the goal. Not bad for a one-trick pony.
Petr Cech had been in specialist training before this game to work on a new standing position that would enable him to come and catch Delap's long throws. As it turned out Chelsea forgot about the basics, such as cutting out passes to a forward, or trying to get a tackle in.
The pocket of fans from the Potteries were beside themselves with excitement. They could not resist a tease, serenading Scolari, by now wearing a bassett hound expression, with a chant about getting sacked in the morning.
The turnaround took so much time to materialise that Stoke began to believe they could hold out. In the end their diligent blocks, their defensive instincts abandoned them painfully late on.
It was fitting that Lampard was the hero of the day on his 400th appearance for Chelsea. "Frank Lampard is part of history," said Scolari. "He is not only a great player, he's a great man. What you need, he gives to you." The relieved manager was in no mood to admit it, but he will, doubtless, remember it too.
THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT
Grahame Fendle, CFCnet.co.ukIt was a hard slog but it was nice to see a Chelsea side fight for 90 minutes. Lampard, in particular, was outstanding – he ran tirelessly throughout the game, really fought for the club and fully deserved his goal, even if he left it a little late. That's the sort of spirit we need if we are to achieve anything this season. What is clear, though, is that even with a Brazilian manager we have become an extremely conservative side, and it wasn't until Stoch came on that we showed any invention. To Stoke's credit they came here to give us a game and did so, but fortunately we had the strength to see it though.
The fan's player ratings Cech 7; Bosingwa 8 (Belletti 7), Carvalho 6, Alex 4, A Cole 6; Lampard 9, Mikel 7 (Stoch 7), Ballack 6; Malouda 4 (Di Santo 6), Anelka 7, Kalou 7
Richard Murphy, author, Stoke City on this Day – StokeCity-Mad.co.uk One word sums it all up: gutted. People were literally in tears after the game. We haven't won away from home all season and then to come so close at Stamford Bridge... There's no other way to describe it. While they had all the ball we were not under intense pressure and, after getting an early goal, it seemed the least we could expect was to come away with a point – only for them to win the game in the 94th minute. But we got a point against Liverpool, and Manchester United and Chelsea only won with late goals, and that shows that we have the skills and just need to keep pushing forward.
The fan's player ratings Sorensen 9; Wilkinson 8, Shawcross 8, Abdoulaye Faye 8; Higginbotham 6 (Griffin 7); Delap 7, Whelan 6; Amdy Faye n/a (Pugh 7), Etherington 7 (Kitson 6); Beattie 7; Cresswell 7
----------------------------------------------------------
Mail:
Chelsea 2 Stoke 1: Big, big escape for under-fire Scolari
By PATRICK COLLINS
Luiz Felipe Scolari gathered his scattered senses, smiled his profound relief and delivered an extravagant eulogy to Frank Lampard. And as his praise grew more lyrical, we realised just how much had been at stake on this astonishing afternoon at the Bridge.The match was in the third minute of added time when the critical chance fell to Lampard, Chelsea's captain after John Terry suffered a recurrence of a back injury during the warm-up. Chelsea had equalised only five minutes earlier when Michael Ballack's head diverted the ball from Salomon Kalou's cross to the near post, where Juliano Belletti scored the two-yard header.And now they pushed forward with breathless desperation for the unlikely points. Stoke's defenders brought off yet another block but Lampard seized the ball 18 yards out. He had missed several similar opportunities, but this was the ultimate test of nerve and technique.
A player with a taste for the dramatic was never likely to pass up the chance of winning this, his 400th match for Chelsea. The shot was savage and true, and Thomas Sorensen, who had performed heroic wonders in the Stoke goal, could only jerk an arm as it flew past.Chelsea were once more authentic contenders, Scolari's job was a good deal more safe, and Lampard was at the centre of the dancing, screaming throng in front of the home dugout. Scolari spoke of him as a great player, possibly the best in the world.'He is not a player only, he is a man. What you need, he gives to you. I think his family will remember for life his goal in the last minute,' said the coach.In truth, both Lampard and Chelsea have enjoyed far more impressive days, but few results have carried so many consequences. Stoke had come to survive, nothing more. They had worked without cease, piled bodies behind the ball and tried desperately to cope with Chelsea's width and movement. And the simple, unambitious strategy had worked beyond expectation.
Chelsea had struck a total of 43 shots, yet Stoke had taken an improbable lead on the hour when a ball was played up to James Beattie who, in turn, played a short square pass which Rory Delap took in his stride. Entering the Chelsea area, he kept his head and his feet as two Chelsea defenders converged. With Petr Cech committed, he scored with the deftest of chips.'David v Goliath, Mike Tyson v Buster Douglas, Chelsea v Stoke!' screamed the man from the Potteries' local radio, with pardonable hyperbole. It was severe punishment for Chelsea's neat, controlled yet ultimately wasteful football, and it seemed to confirm the mood of foreboding which overhung the place.Losing Terry in the warm-up was a poor omen. Worse still was the news that Joe Cole would miss the rest of the season with a ruptured cruciate ligament. Nothing would happen for them, and they had tried so hard to present a softer, more vulnerable face.Listen to some of the Chelsea myth-makers and you could believe that theirs was a fight against financial odds. Not for them the riches of the Gulf, Instead, they were owned by a poor but honest Russian who watched his roubles and prevented anything which smacked of extravagance.
The most expensive player on view yesterday was Ricardo Carvalho, who cost £19.8million, which is the kind of money that Kaka pays his cleaner. Not only that, but some of the Chelsea players were rubbing along on £125,000 a week. Truly, we wonder how they meet their bills.Even the chap who is employed to shout at the crowd at half-time was 'on message' as he bawled the Manchester City score: 'Loadsamoney nil, Wigan nil!' he yelled. Without a hint of irony. There was a real sense that fate had it in for them, that a Premier League title was being lost. And the more saves that Sorensen conjured - from Kalou, Florent Malouda, Lampard and the rest - the more it seemed that the pessimism was well-founded.The boos were brewing, the inquests were being prepared and the season was being quietly laid to rest when, with those two minutes of normal time remaining, the roof began to fall in.As Stoke's hearts cracked and broke, so Chelsea's anthems of relief came surging through. They had contrived one of the season's more remarkable comebacks. Lampard was smiling, like a man who had never doubted the outcome.And Scolari was talking about the heart, spirit and resolution of a team who had learned how to stand and fight. It may well be that the family Lampard will always remember the winning goal in his 400th match. But the family Scolari will also remember the day. And they may have even better reason.
--------------------------------------------------------
NOTW:
CHELSEA 2, STOKE 1 Frank Lampard must be priceless — certainly to Chelsea fans anyway From ROB BEASLEY, 17/01/2009
IF Kaka is worth £100million then Frank Lampard must be priceless — certainly to Chelsea fans anyway.
He is already a Blues hero, a legend in the making and may go down as their greatest player.
Phil Scolari hands out warning to Drogba and praise to Lampard - click here for full story
Here, on his 400th appearance, the England star single-handedly galvanised a Chelsea side that was staring into the abyss.
Luiz Felipe Scolari’s men were 1-0 down at home to lowly Stoke the weekend after being stuffed out of sight at Old Trafford.
It was a nightmare scenario that Lampard simply refused to accept.
Forget another dent in the once- proud Chelsea home record, forget an embarrassing setback against a side fighting relegation.
This was the end of a title challenge, maybe even of a World Cup-winning manager, and the disintegration of a once great team.
But not if you are Super Frank.
Rescue
Remember David Beckham for England against Greece at Old Trafford? Of course you do.
A captain taking the game by the scruff of the neck and using his skill and will to rescue the day.
Beckham’s brilliant free-kick earned England a draw and a place in the 2002 World Cup finals. But Lampard, skipper again in place of the injury-prone John Terry, went one better — he scored the winner! And what a screamer.
Nicolas Anelka’s shot was blocked in a blur of Stoke defenders and the ball rebounded to Lampard.
One flash of his left boot and the ball was crashing into the back of the net.
The scenes that followed could not have been more joyous if it had been against Manchester United, Liverpool Barcelona or old enemies Leeds. Lampard’s celebration said it all.
As soon as his stoppage-time winner flew home, he reeled away and charged down the touchline to hug beleaguered boss Big Phil.
And the pair were quickly engulfed by the entire Chelsea team, bar keeper Petr Cech, in a delirious mass huddle of utter joy and relief in equal measure.
It was a clear demonstration of Lampard’s oft-repeated support for the Brazilian manager, amplified by the rest of the Chelsea side.
A side missing Didier Drogba, left out of the squad for the second game running.
A side also missing skipper Terry, who had pulled up lame in the warm-up, and Joe Cole, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season.
It was a Chelsea side still good enough to create 28 clear- cut chances against an uncompromising and committed Stoke team that regularly had 10 players back in their own box.
Yet it was a Chelsea side bad enough to squander them all with Salomon Kalou, Michael Ballack, Florent Malouda, Ashley Cole and even Lampard wasting great openings.
Magnificent
Add to that a truly magnificent display from Potters keeper Thomas Sorensen and the home side were living on the edge.
The Danish ace denied a rampant Lampard three times, Anelka twice and Ballack on two occasions. But Sorensen’s best save came when he turned a rasping Cole drive up and over the bar.
So when Stoke’s Rory Delap scampered on to James Beattie’s neat pass and squeezed between Cole and Alex to lift the ball over Cech in the 60th minute, it looked as if the game was up for Scolari and Chelsea.
Stoke fans were in ecstasy and cruelly taunted Scolari by singing “You’re getting sacked in the morning.”
And they might have been right. But Lampard simply stepped up a gear and led by example.
He sprinted to retrieve the ball for throw-ins, free-kicks and corners and relentlessly drove himself and his team forward.
The crowd picked up on his dynamic display and began to roar for more. Chelsea were lifted and suddenly a hopeless case looked like an inevitable escape.
But the Blues still left it oh so late.
Young Argentinian Angelo Di Santo and 19-year-old Slovakian Miroslav Stoch were thrown into attack.
And, unlike the absent Drogba, they delivered the goods.
Di Santo turned Kalou’s 88th- minute cross back across goal for fellow sub Juliano Belletti to nod home.
But the best was yet to come. Forget salvaging a draw, Lampard aand Chelsea wanted nothing less than victory and were rewarded deep into injury time. Although tough on Tony Pulis’ Stoke, it was a deserved victory for Chelsea, who let rip an amazing 43 shots in total — not all of them goal threatening. But, nevertheless, it tells the true story of yesterday’s match far better than the scoreline.
The consequences of defeat may have been dire but the boost of a victory could be dramatic, too.
Blues host Ipswich in the FA Cup fourth round this weekend and then play Middlesbrough at Stamford Bridge.
So Chelsea have a fantastic chance to build a winning run and lift their confidence and belief just in time for the trip to Anfield to face title rivals Liverpool on February 1.
And all thanks to that man called Frank Lampard.
So when you hear Scolari saying he is ready to sell any of his Chelsea stars if the price is right, don’t believe a word.
He means anyone but Lampard!
The England midfielder is not for sale — and no one could afford him anyway.
---------------------------------------------------------
Mirror:
Lampard grabs winner for Chelsea to take heat off Scolari
Chelsea 2 - 1 Stoke City
Chelsea pulled-off a sensational late fightback to ease the pressure on under-fire boss Luiz Felipe Scolari.
The Blues looked on the way to their third home league defeat of the season until substitute Juliano Belletti equalised in the 87th minute.
Frank Lampard then grabbed an unlikely winner in stoppage-time to cap his 400th appearance for the club in style.
The victory keeps Chelsea in the title hunt and will take some of the heat off their Brazilian coach.
Scolari's plight has not been helped by the loss of England midfielder Joe Cole with a knee injury for the rest of the season and John Terry's back problem in the pre-match warm-up meant he was unable to play.
But Scolari's public feud with Ivorian striker Didier Drogba appears to have backfired on him as he would have provided just the kind of cutting edge lacked by the Blues.
Since beating Sunderland 5-0 at the start of November, Chelsea had only managed home wins over CFR Cluj and West Brom.
They should have taken the lead in the 23rd minute but once again their attacking frailties were exposed.
It was perhaps unfortunate for Scolari that Frank Lampard's free-kick landed at the feet of Salomon Kalou instead of top scorer Nicolas Anelka.
The Ivorian failed to show the kind of coolness Anelka has been displaying this season and shot high over from just six yards.
Florent Malouda then had a shot charged down, then Anelka was unlucky not to take his tally for the season to 18 goals when his shot on the turn was superbly parried by Thomas Sorensen.
Stoke suffered a blow in the 32nd minute when defender Danny Higginbotham went off injured to be replaced by Andy Griffin.
In the 35th minute a superb run by Lampard helped set up Malouda on the left flank and his cross was destined for the head of Anelka until Sorensen's fingertips intervened.
Scolari's pitchside animation was a joy to behold from outstretched arms aimed at the fourth official to the scratching of his head at misplaced passes.
But despite his various gestures, his side were still lacking the cutting edge the axed Drogba would have certainly provided.
That fact was underlined in the 41st minute when a corner from Lampard was met at the far post by Anelka - - but his header was caught by Sorensen.
Two minutes before the break the Dane pulled off another great save when he tipped a vicious left-foot shot from Ashley Cole over the crossbar - and seconds later he produced another stunning save to stop a volley from Lampard.
Chelsea should have taken the lead in the 50th minute but an unmarked Ballack sent an eight-yard header the wrong side of the post following good work by Malouda.
Stoke managed to engineer a chance for new signing James Beattie in the 57th minute but the striker's attempted lob over Petr Cech was just too high.
It was a timely portent as Stoke stunned Chelsea with an opening goal in the 59th minute.
Beattie superbly chested the ball down and fed the onrushing Delap, who ran into the penalty area and held off the challenge of Alex before calmly slotting the ball over the advancing Cech.
It was a goal completely against the run of play - and another example of Chelsea's poor defending.
Scolari's reaction was to replace Malouda with Franco Di Santo but Stoke almost added a second goal when Cech flapped and missed a long throw from Delap.
However, Matthew Etherington just could not turn quickly enough to try his luck at an open goal and Chelsea cleared the danger.
Moments later Chelsea wasted another chance when Lampard shot wide from an acute angle after Anelka had put him clear.
Then Cole, found superbly by Anelka, fired a left-foot shot inches wide of the far post with Sorensen beaten.
Chelsea piled on the pressure with substitute Di Santo causing Stoke problems on the right flank - and with an embarrassing defeat on the cards, they produced the great escape.
First a cross from Kalou was headed back into the six-yard box by Di Santo and Belletti, on for Jose Bosingwa, converted from close range.
Then in stoppage-time, Lampard seized his chance to send a 20-yard shot beyond Sorensen for the winner.
----------------------------------------------------------
Express:
SCOLARI RESCUED BY STAND-IN LAMPARD
By Colin Mafham CHELSEA..2 STOKE...1
FRANK Lampard came to Chelsea’s rescue in every sense of the word, saving his team from an embarrassing draw that would have seriously dented their title hopes.
It rescued his manager from a post-match inquest tomorrow that would surely have put the Brazilian under immense pressure.
Promoted to captain when John Terry limped out of the game after injuring himself in the warm-up, Lampard left it late to rescue his side.
What a hero, and how Chelsea and Luiz Felipe Scolari needed him to live up to such a billing yesterday.
The only downside – if that’s the word – was that his heroics robbed Thomas Sorensen of the man of the match award after he had produced heroics of his own to keep Chelsea at bay.
All that after you got the feeling that things really aren’t going to plan for Big Phil with the revelation that Joe Cole is out for the season with cruciate ligament damage, and then the injury to Terry. Hurt in the warm-up, it was a blow against a Stoke side that believes in throwing ‘missiles’ into the box.
Not that Scolari appeared to have too much to concern himself with at the start of yesterday’s game.
Stoke, no matter what Tony Pulis might have told them, made their intentions very clear. A point would more than do. Anything else would be a pretty big bonus.
Chelsea, by contrast, huffed and puffed for half an hour without really threatening to blow anything down ... until Thomas Sorensen needed to go full stretch to deny striker Nicolas Anelka.
Same again just before the break when the Danish keeper produced two cracking saves from Ashley Cole and Lampard. Not bad for a bargain buy from Villa.
Chelsea pressure suggested that if they got one goal then the floodgates could open. Trouble was, Stoke had virtually every man behind those gates to stop it happening.
Over to Mr Scolari then to give his team the tools at the break to engineer a more impressive second period.
The opening second-half exchanges hinted he hadn’t had enough time to charge up his team.
And all this without a single long throw from Rory Delap. He used his feet instead this time.
All Chelsea’s pressure counted for nothing as James Beattie fed a ball through to his new teammate and with Ashley Cole and Alex failing to stop him, Delap sent the Stoke following ecstatic as he beat Petr Cech from close range.
You really couldn’t have seen that one coming and while the Stoke chants of ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ were a tad premature, Scolari was beginning to look like a man under the cosh.
Then Scolari threw on Slovakian teenager Miroslav Stoch to try to save the day.
Sadly it needed a bigger man and Juliano Belletti turned out to be that man, some 10 minutes after coming as as a substitute for Jose Boswinga.
With Chelsea getting increasingly desperate, Ashley Cole’s cross was headed back by Franco Di Santo and Belletti, who really shouldn’t have been where he was, flung himself to head home from close range. It was, if nothing else, justice being seen to be done.
But Chelsea weren’t in the mood to stop there.
With Scolari seemingly orchestrating things from the touchline, Chelsea threw everything at Sorensen.
With half the four minutes of added time remaining they finally cracked it, and Stoke’s defence, for that matter.
Lampard let fly from the edge of the box with just a minute of injury time left and even Sorensen at full stretch couldn’t stop it.
Chelsea’s celebrations afterwards looked as if they’d won the league rather than pulled off a great escape on home soil.
You really couldn’t mistake the massive relief all round the place.
CHELSEA: Cech 6; Boswinga 6 (Belletti 77th), Carvalho 6, Alex 6, A Cole 6; Mikel 6 (Stoch 82nd); Ballack 7, Lampard 9, Kalou 6, Anelka 5, Malouda 6 (Di Santo (60th) 6).
STOKE: Sorensen 9; Wilkinson 8, Ab Faye 7, Shawcross 7, Higginbotham 6 (Griffin 33rd) 6; Delap 6, Am Faye 5 (Pugh (28th) 6), Whelan 7, Etherington 4 (Kitson 83rd); Cresswell 4, Beattie 6.
MAN OF MATCH: Frank Lampard
Referee: P Walton.
