fulham 0-0 aet 4-3 pens

Independent:



Chelsea 0 Fulham 0 (aet; Chelsea win 4-3 on penalties)

By Jack Pitt-Brooke at Stamford Bridge



For all of Andre Villas-Boas's insistence that he wants to impose a new philosophy at Chelsea, it was the strength of the old virtues which carried them past Fulham in the Carling Cup third round last night. Despite playing for 73 minutes with 10 men, their resilience and athleticism – an effort described by Villas-Boas as "super-human" – allowed them to have the better of two hours of goalless football, before their ruthlessness rewarded them with a penalty shoot-out success.

While Fulham had the game's best chance – Pajtim Kasami's penalty which struck the bar early in the second half – Chelsea created more, attacking with verve and daring even after Alex's dismissal. "To be with 10 men for 70 minutes and to create the most amount of opportunities and the best opportunities is something that's out of this world," said Villas-Boas afterwards. "It was very, very gratifying."

It was not until Fulham struck the bar from the spot a second time that Chelsea were delivered into the fourth round. Bryan Ruiz took the 10th kick of the shoot-out, needing to score to force an 11th, but his shot bounced off the bar, off the line, and then to safety.

Martin Jol, the Fulham manager, was not too downhearted, though. "A couple of months ago, I wouldn't have thought that my second XI could play a game like this against Chelsea," he said.

Villas-Boas's team selection reflected his mission of rejuvenation at Stamford Bridge. He has taken it upon himself to build a post-Jose Mourinho Chelsea, and last night he gave full debuts to Oriol Romeu, Romelu Lukaku and Ryan Bertrand, while Josh McEachran made his first start of the season.

While the opening spell did not exactly suggest that the pride of SW6 was at stake (there was barely a single tackle worthy of a derby), Chelsea's football was imaginative and enterprising. Romeu rewarded the trust put in him, looking utterly like a product of his Barcelona education. "He had an amazing game," said Villas-Boas. "His ability to receive the ball is something out of this world, his comfort with it is extraordinary."

Romeu, who started most of Chelsea's attacks while ending most of Fulham's, was stationed just in front of a well-advanced defensive line, so high up the pitch that the visitors' Orlando Sa twice nearly exploited it, but was denied both times.

Chelsea created enough good chances of their own, most of them down a left flank dominated by Betrand. The best, though, came when McEachran burst from midfield, only to have his shot turned in by the obliviously offside Daniel Sturridge, who immediately went off injured.

Goalkeeper Petr Cech did not emerge for the second half, having gone to hospital for a scan following a head collision, which revealed no injury. He was replaced by Ross Turnbull, who was immediately confronted by the drama which the first half lacked. Two minutes after the re-start Alex felled Kerim Frei in the box, and referee Chris Foy was compelled both to award a penalty and to send him off. Kasami could not convert.

In response, Villas-Boas introduced John Terry for McEachran. He switched to 4-4-1, and the first half pattern of play was reversed. Chelsea had to rely on counter-attacks, their most threatening weapon being the fearlessly charging Lukaku. Fulham, in contrast, started to play the delicate, precise football.

With neither team keen on adding 30 extra minutes to their schedules, the game opened up. First Turnbull tipped over brilliantly from close range before Zdenek Grygera had to scramble Lukaku's header from off the line.

As had been the case all night, though, the finishing did not live up to the approach play. Chelsea, powerfully improving as the game went on despite their disadvantage, had chances but could not save themselves the exertions of another short-handed half an hour.


Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech (Turnbull, h-t) ; Ferreira, Luiz, Alex, Bertrand; McEachran (Terry, 52), Romeu, Malouda; Sturridge (Lampard, 44), Lukaku, Kalou.Substitutes not used Mata, Drogba, Mikel, Bosingwa.

Fulham (4-4-1-1): Schwarzer; Kelly, Grygera, Senderos, Briggs; Kasami (Zamora, 79), Baird, Gecov (Sidwell, 90), Frei; Ruiz; Sa (Dembélé, 59).Substitutes not used Etheridge (gk), Riise, Kacaniklic, Halliche.


Referee C Foy (Merseyside).




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Telegraph:


Chelsea 0 Fulham 0 (After extra time Chelsea win 4-3 on penalties)

By Jason Burt, at Stamford Bridge



Third-round Carling Cup ties with second-string teams are not supposed to be as dramatic as this, nor call on “super-human effort”. And they are not supposed to have the Chelsea manager talking about exorcising two ghosts for his new club so early in the campaign.

There was also the most arresting of finishes with a penalty shoot-out after the players had run themselves to a standstill through the 90 minutes and 30 minutes of extra-time, with Fulham's new £10.5 million striker Bryan Ruiz crashing his decisive spot-kick against the crossbar only for the ball to then bounce down and land flush on the goal-line. Did it cross? It didn’t appear to but in the confusion nobody was sure apart from referee Chris Foy and his assistants.

There was more drama. Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech was taken to hospital for a scan at half-time after complaining of dizziness following a collision during the first period of the game. That was all the more alarming given Cech’s history of head injuries, having suffered that stress fracture to the skull five years ago, but Andre Villas-Boas confirmed afterwards that the player had been given the all-clear and would be able to play this weekend.

There was a further scare with Daniel Sturridge limping off and fearing ligament damage to his knee but it is hoped that he is also not as severely injured as first feared.

Chelsea were also dealt a blow when Alex was sent off with a straight red card by Foy, having brought down the impressive Kerim Frei to concede a penalty. As if to act as a taste of things to come Pajtim Kassani’s kick struck the cross-bar.

The dismissal meant that Chelsea were forced to play for 70 minutes with 10-men but they pushed and probed and admirably kept trying to go forward with a courageous performance by teenager Romelu Lukaku, on his full debut.

Later there were superlatives — and a barb — from Villas-Boas. When asked about the fateful miss by Ruiz, and whether it had crossed the line, he said: “We (on the bench) just looked at each other and waited for the celebrations. The linesman was there so maybe this time the decision was right.”

That was in reference to his continuing irritation over the failure to pull up Manchester United for an offside first goal in Sunday’s 3-1 Premier League defeat and despite claiming that this competition was of far less importance to Chelsea he also knew that he did not want to experience back-to-back losses this early in his career at the club.

In addition to changes in personnel, there was another surprise on the Chelsea team-sheet — with Carlo Ancelotti named as the manager before a second version was hastily produced. There had been much talk of young players, and giving youth its head, and as well as Lukaku and Oriol Romeu and, in particular, Josh McEachran — before he was sacrificed — Chelsea still had Frank Lampard and John Terry on the field by the end.

Lampard missed his penalty in the shoot-out, Terry scored his and Chelsea won only their second such contest in their last nine attempts. Villas-Boas also pointed out that it was another Carling Cup tie that Chelsea had competed in with 10-men. That was the two ghosts laid to rest.

“You have had to put back your headlines and deadlines,” Villas-Boas said to reporters afterwards referring to the late finish. “Ten brave individuals played for 120 minutes there.” But Fulham were brave also. Jol fielded an even more altered line-up and said: “A couple of months ago I would not have thought my second XI would play this way against Chelsea.”

And play they did. This game offered fine build-up play and a whole host of chances for both teams. Sturridge eked out the first opportunity before his shot struck the side-netting and others followed.

Stephen Kelly recovered superbly to hook the ball away as Florent Malouda was picked out and shaped to shoot close to the penalty spot. Malouda then provided for Salomon Kalou who sent a header wide before Lukaku out-muscled Matthew Briggs. Schwarzer parried.

Not that Chelsea were invulnerable. Twice Ruiz wonderfully provided for his strike partner, Sa.

Kalou should have opened the scoring, with Lampard feeding him only for another effort to slam into the side-netting and then Fulham broke for Frei to earn the penalty. Chances continued with Lukaku setting off on two barnstorming runs, Schwarzer saving from his header and then Chelsea substitute goalkeeper Ross Turnbull blocking spectacularly from Terry’s deflection. Somehow it remained scoreless. And then came the penalties.


Match Details

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech (Turnbull h-t); Ferreira, Alex, Luiz, Bertrand; Romeu; Sturridge (Lampard 44), McEachran (Terry 52), Malouda, Kalou; Lukaku. Subs: Mata, Drogba, Mikel, Bosingwa.Sent off: Alex. Booked: Lampard.

Fulham (4-4-2): Schwarzer; Kelly, Grygera, Senderos, Briggs; Kasami (Zamora 79) Baird, Gecov (Sidwell 90), Frei; Ruiz, Sa (Dembele 59). Subs: Etheridge (g), Riise, Kacaniklic, Halliche.Booked: Frei.

Referee: C Foy (Merseyside).




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Guardian:


Ten-man Chelsea beat Fulham in Carling Cup shoot-out


Jamie Jackson at Stamford Bridge

André Villas-Boas's selection may suggest the Carling Cup is of minor importance but after his 10-man team won this entertaining tie on the penalty shoot-out, courtesy of Bryan Ruiz's missed fifth kick that smacked the crossbar and bounced close to the goalline, he will be content.
The 33-year-old knows that the greater his collection of silverware the more enhanced his prospects of stalling Roman Abramovich, the club's owner, from the moment that eventually comes to all Chelsea managers.

Regarding the result, the beaming Portuguese said: "I am very happy with the display. It was a super-human effort and very gratifying as Fulham just didn't lump it forward, and to be with 10 men for 70 minutes and to create the most and best chances is, for me, out of this world."
In a match that gradually caught fire Villa-Boas's team dominated as it moved into extra-time, but continued their frustrating dance of normal play when chances could not be finished. Then, after Frank Lampard and Moussa Dembélé had their penalties saved, the count finished at 4-3 to Chelsea, following Ruiz's skewed attempt, and despite the visitors' claim that this had crossed the line (it appeared not), Villas-Boas had a invaluable win.
This was achieved after Alex was sent off just after the break, when the Brazilian central defender was judged by Chris Foy to have fouled Kerim Frei, and Daniel Sturridge and Petr Cech were replaced because of injuries.

Regarding Alex, after the referee pointed to the spot and Pajtim Kasami crashed the first of the evening's penalties against Ross Turnbull's bar, Villas-Boas said: "He got a bit of the ball but most of the player," before giving the medical bulletin on Sturridge and Cech.
Sturridge, injured before the break after scoring a goal disallowed for offside, has a "strain in the knee ligaments but no pain", and could be available for selection on Saturday against Swansea. Cech, who brought back unwanted memories of the serious head injury he suffered when playing at Reading in October 2006, was taken off at half-time. "He went to the hospital for a scan and feels alright – he felt some dizziness but should be OK for Saturday," Villas-Boas said.

From the side that were beaten 3-1 at Manchester United on Sunday, the Portuguese had retained only Cech and Sturridge. Oriol Romeu, Romelu Lukaku and Ryan Bertrand were handed full debuts, with Cech asked to lead a team that had Lampard, John Terry, Didier Drogba and Juan Mata on the bench in case the tie veered off-message.
In the 18-year-old Lukaku Chelsea have acquired a 6ft 3in chunk of a young man who Villas-Boas admits is as an £18m "gamble". The hope is that he will show an ability to batter defences a la Drogba while powering home 15 to 20 league goals a season to continue the Ivorian's work when he finally leaves west London.
Lukaku suggested he can certainly do the first part with nonchalance in an appearance in which he barged over Matthew Briggs down the left, moved forward, then unloaded shot that Mark Schwarzer did well to save low down.
Preceding this had been a quiet opening in which the Belgian received scant service from colleagues who dominated but were only gradually stuttering into gear.

The first real opportunity fell to Florent Malouda, who surged from his midfield role into the area, where on controlling a high ball he fell to the grass under a challenge by Stephen Kelly, the visiting right-back. Foy, though, failed to be tempted by the Chelsea penalty claims.
After Cech did not emerge for the second half Turnbull was able to add a sixth Chelsea appearance to his CV, and the 26-year-old had barely drifted into position when he was welcomed to the game by having to face Kasami's penalty.
In his own weakened XI, Martin Jol selected Bobby Zamora, Steve Sidwell, John Arne Riise and Dembélé, of his usual starters, as replacements, probably minded that Europa League commitments mean there is only energy enough at the club for one cup run. And with Fulham third-bottom in the league, probably not even this.
The Dutchman introduced the first of these, Dembélé, on the hour, perhaps sensing that he might yet steal the win that would go down a treat with the Fulham support, from whom he requires goodwill.
He said: "A couple of months ago I didn't think a second XI could play a game like this." But Chelsea's second string still prevailed.




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Mirror:



Chelsea 0-0 Fulham (aet, 4-3 pens):
Ruiz miss puts 10-man Blues through

By Darren Lewis



Third round ties in the Carling Cup are not supposed to be this pulsating.

What should have been a routine fixture between the might of Chelsea’s second XI and Fulham’s rag-tag and bob tails turned into a thrill-a-minute contest packed with drama.

"Superhuman" Chelsea earn gushing AVB praise after they win a thriller



The climax symbolised the closeness between the two sides as Bryan Ruiz’s decisive, missed penalty smacked the bar, fell plumb on the line and bounced away to safety.

And, yet again, Andre Villas Boas, the King of the cup competitions, had come out on top.

He’d had no right to do so, given that he had lost striker Daniel Sturridge just before half-time and keeper Petr Cech at the break, both to injury.

Villas Boas was then robbed of defender Alex just three minutes into the second half when Chris Foy produced a straight red for a foul on midfielder Kerim Frei.

It was then left to the 10 remaining Blues to keep out on a Fulham side that had grown in confidence throughout the match.

They were helped massively by the lack of composure shown by 19-year-old Swiss midfielder Patjim Kasami, who would surely have won this match had he scored with his 48th-minute penalty.

Instead, he smashed it impulsively against the bar to help Chelsea out of a huge hole and, once Villas-Boas had replaced young Josh McEachran with battle-hardened John Terry, that was that.

Both sides had had their chances in the first half. Florent Malouda dithered when he should have scored on 15 minutes and allowed Stephen Kelly to nick the ball of him.

Salomon Kalou missed with a free header three minutes later. Romelu Lukaku shot weakly at Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer when he should have squared it to Sturridge on the edge of the box on 21 minutes.

And Kalou was guilty of yet another miss shortly after that, firing wide when he should have tested Schwarzer.

The irony of Ruiz’s decisive penalty miss was that he’d had a very good game having flopped on his debut against Blackburn.

Here, he was both inventive and inspirational with his two passes to set strike partner Orlando Sa free among the moves of the match.

Cech was at his quick-thinking best to prevent Sa scoring with his first opportunity while the former Porto frontman, who signed for Fulham on a free this month, shot into the side netting with his second chance as Cech closed down the space at his near post.

Sturridge appeared to put Chelsea ahead when he turned in McEachran’s cross six minutes before half time. But the effort was ruled out for offside and it appeared the striker had injured himself for his troubles, tangling with Kelly.

Worse was to follow as Cech and Sa collided as they went for a cross from midfielder Matthew Briggs. Cech was replaced at half-time by third-choice Ross Turnbull.

Former Middlesbrough man Turnbull was fortunate enough not to have to make a save from Kasami’s poor penalty. But he did pull off two stunning stops to keep his side in it.

The first was on 73 minutes from Moussa Dembele and the second, a reaction stop from a Kasami header, was equally as impressive.

Schwarzer topped them both, however, late on as he plunged to his left to keep out Lukaku’s header.

And during extra time Fulham enjoyed a large slice of luck as referee Foy failed to spot Philippe Senderos’ handball from Lukaku’s cross on 116 minutes.

It sent the contest into penalties and Chelsea hearts in mouths as Schwarzer saved brilliantly from Frank Lampard’s effort.

Especially with the Blues’ wretched run of losing seven of their last eight appearances in shoot-outs.

Bobby Zamora netted to put Fulham ahead. And the two sides then traded spot-kicks before Moussa Dembele missed at 2-2.

Kalou and Malouda responded to Baird’s effort to make it 4-3 before Ruiz’s effort ended the match.

Chelsea breathe again in this competition.

And, having lifted the Portuguese Cup and the Europa League title with Porto, Villas-Boas clearly takes EVERY competition he enters seriously.

Judging by the way he and his staff celebrated at the end, he wants to win this one as well.



Chelsea: Cech 7 (Turnbull 46, 7), Ferreira 6, Luiz 7, Alex 5, Bertrand 6, McEachran 7 (Terry 52, 5), Romeu 7, Malouda 6, Sturridge 6(Lampard 44, 6), Lukaku 7, Kalou 6.

Fulham: Schwarzer 9, Kelly 7, Baird 7, Senderos 7, Grygera 7, Gecov 6 (Sidwell 90+2), Kasami 5 (Zamora 78), Frei 6, Briggs 7, Orlando Sa 6 (Dembele 60, 6), Ruiz 7.


Man of the Match: Schwarzer

Referee: Chris Foy (Merseyside)




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Sun:


Chelsea 0 Fulham 0
(aet, 90 mins 0-0, Chelsea win 4-3 on pens)

By MARK IRWIN


SO much for the brave new world of Andre Villas-Boas.

Chelsea's boss had promised that the Carling Cup would be all about the bright young kids knocking on the first-team door at Stamford Bridge.

But this heart-stopping victory was down to those familiar old virtues of grit, sweat and sheer bloody-mindedness.

And once again it was those dependable old stalwarts John Terry and Frank Lampard who provided the inspiration to see their team over the winning line.

In the end it came down to the width of the goal-line in a nerve-shredding penalty shootout.

Bryan Ruiz's spot-kick crashed down off the crossbar, on to the line and bounced back up to hit the bar AGAIN before flying to safety — settling the shootout 4-3 in Chelsea's favour.

But it was the home team's stubborn refusal to give way during the previous 75 minutes when reduced to 10 men which was the deciding factor.

Fulham should have settled the match long before extra-time.

Pajtim Kasami had already missed from 12 yards just two minutes into the second half, drilling his penalty against the bar after Alex had been sent off for tripping Kerim Frei.

The Brazilian's departure proved a blessing in disguise for Chelsea as it heralded the introduction of Terry.

And it was the captain, along with fellow veteran Lampard, who gave Chelsea the leadership to defy Fulham's numerical advantage. Villas-Boas had promised to use the Carling Cup to blood Chelsea's rich vein of young talent.

But only three teenagers made the starting line-up — and two of them were bought for £25million.

And by the final whistle the average age of the 'Boas Babes' was a far from youthful 26 years and four months!

Romelu Lukaku, Oriol Romeu and Josh McEachran were all handed their first starts of the season.

Frei, Orlando Sa, Chris Baird, Moussa Dembele and Steve Sidwell all had decent opportunities to break the deadlock for the visitors.

But it was Chelsea who first had the ball in the net after 39 minutes. McEachran's shot was heading in before Daniel Sturridge dived in to prod the ball over the line from an offside position.

That was to be Sturridge's final contribution as he limped off to be replaced by 33-year-old Lampard.

Just before half-time Petr Cech was involved in a collision with Sa.

For a brief moment it looked as though the Chelsea keeper had suffered another blow to the skull he fractured five years ago.

To everyone's relief, Cech was up on his feet and smiling after a few minutes of treatment. But he still failed to appear for the second half.

And two minutes after the interval Chelsea were down to 10 when Alex received a straight red card for tripping Frei in the area.

Sub keeper Ross Turnbull had not even touched the ball when Kasami took the penalty. And he did not get involved as the Swiss midfielder's kick cannoned off the bar.

AVB immediately sent on skipper Terry, 30, for McEachran to steady things at the back.

Lukaku, the Blues' Incredible Hulk, was denied by a magnificent reaction save from Mark Schwarzer and Florent Malouda ran himself into the ground as Chelsea found the physical resources to take the tie to penalties.

The very first spot-kick from Lamps was saved by Schwarzer, but Dembele was denied by Turnbull.

With sudden-death looming, up stepped Fulham's £10.6million Costa Rican international Ruiz to take the final penalty — and Chelsea were through.

Ruiz was convinced his effort had crossed the line but referee Chris Foy got it absolutely right.


DREAM TEAM

STAR MAN - ZDENEK GRYGERA

CHELSEA: Cech 6 (Turnbull 6), Ferreira 5, Alex 5, Luiz 5, Bertrand 6, McEachran 6 (Terry 6), Romeu 7, Malouda 6, Sturridge 5 (Lampard 6), Lukaku 7, Kalou 5. Not used: Bosingwa, Mikel, Mata, Drogba. Booked: Lampard. Sent-off: Alex.

FULHAM: Schwarzer 7, Kelly 6, Grygera 8, Senderos 6, Briggs 6, Kasami 5 (Zamora 6), Baird 7, Gecov 6 (Swidwell 5), Frei 6, Ruiz 7, Sa 6 (Dembele 6). Not used: Etheridge, JA Riise, Halliche, Kacaniklic. Booked: Frei.




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Mail:


Chelsea 0 Fulham 0 (AET, 4-3 on pens):
10-man Blues through after ending penalty hoodoo

By SAMI MOKBEL


According to Wednesday night's team-sheet Carlo Ancelotti is still in charge at Stamford Bridge.

But that misprint was the last thing on Andre Villas-Boas’ mind as Chelsea ended their penalty shoot-out hoodoo — but were pushed to the limit by Fulham before Bryan Ruiz’s miss handed their west London rivals a place in the Carling Cup fourth round.

The Costa Rican’s spot-kick crashed on to the underside of the bar but the ball did not fully cross the line.

The striker was not the only Fulham player to endure penalty agony as Patjim Kasami missed from 12 yards in normal time before Moussa Dembele fluffed his shoot-out effort.

It was only Chelsea’s second penalty shoot-out win in nine and Villas-Boas said: ‘I was made aware of our record before the game by one of our players, so it’s nice to be able to break that. The fact we were down to 10 men makes that win very gratifying.’

Villas-Boas took his first proper look at £18million striker Romelu Lukaku, giving the teenage striker his first start since last month’s move from Anderlecht.

In addition to Lukaku, Josh McEachran, Oriol Romeu and Ryan Bertrand all started at Stamford Bridge.

Lukaku’s strike-partner, Daniel Sturridge, carved out the first chance of the night, his low strike from a tight angle ruffling the side netting.

Chelsea did not have it all their own way and they were indebted to Alex for an excellent challenge on Karim Frei two minutes later as the youngster burst though.

Three minutes later, everyone at Stamford Bridge caught a glimpse of why Chelsea spent two years chasing Lukaku.

McEachran stroked a beautiful pass to set his fellow teenager away down the right. Confronted with Fulham left-back Matthew Briggs, Lukaku bundled the young defender to the floor before hitting a low rasping drive that Mark Schwarzer did well to parry.

The whole landscape of the clash changed in the 48th minute. Kerim Frei was about to pull the trigger when Alex came through the back of him, resulting in a penalty to Fulham and a red card for the defender.No chance: Alex remonstrates with Peter Walton in vain after receiving his red card

No chance: Alex remonstrates with Peter Walton in vain after receiving his red card

However, any joy the noisy travelling support felt quickly ended when Kasami blasted his kick on to the bar.

Even with 10 men, Chelsea dominated possession and John Terry, on for McEachran, thought he had snatched victory 12 minutes from time when his header was cleared off the line by Chris Baird.

The extra 30 minutes were predictably cagey, with no one wanting to make the mistake that could their side the game. David Luiz and Florent Malouda both had half-chances before Steve Sidwell volleyed Stephen Kelly’s cross just over the bar in the 118th minute as the game went to penalties.

Lampard missed the first but Terry, David Luiz, Kalou and Malouda all converted as Chelsea edged through.



MATCH FACTS

Chelsea: Cech 6 (Turnbull 46, 7); Ferreira 7, Luiz 7, Alex 6, Bertrand 7; McEachran 6 (Terry 52, 7), Romeu 7, Malouda 6; Sturridge 6 (Lampard 44, 6), Lukaku 8, Kalou 6.
Subs not used: Mata, Drogba, Mikel, Bosingwa.

Red card: Alex

Fulham: Schwarzer 6; Kelly 6, Grygera 7, Senderos 6, Briggs 7; Gecov 6 (Sidwell 90), Kasami 6 (Zamora 79), Baird 7, Frei 7; Sa 6 (Dembele 59, 6), Ruiz 6.
Subs: Etheridge, John Arne Riise, Kacaniklic, Halliche.

Yellow card: Frei.

Man of the match: Romelu Lukaku

Attendance: 37,632.

Referee: Chris Foy 6.




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Star:


CHELSEA 0 FULHAM 0: (CHELSEA WIN 4-3):
CHELSEA BOSS ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS SPOT OF LUCK


By David Woods



CHELSEA finally broke their penalty shoot-out hoodoo in dramatic circumstances last night.

Fulham’s £10m signing Bryan Ruiz smashed the final spot-kick against the bar – but was convinced the ball had crossed the line as Chelsea players mobbed stand-in keeper Ross Turnbull.

It was only their second shoot-out victory in their last NINE attempts – including their Champions League Final heartbreak against Manchester United in 2008.

Frank Lampard missed Chelsea’s first penalty but David Luiz, John Terry, Salomon Kalou and Florent Malouda all netted.

Bobby Zamora, Steve Sidwell and Chris Baird scored for Fulham but Moussa Dembele and Ruiz missed giving Chelsea a 4-3 victory.

But Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas could be on his phone again today to have another rant about a ref.

Chelsea had Alex sent off in the 47th minute by Chris Foy, who awarded Fulham a penalty for his challenge on Karim Frei.

Replays showed the Brazilian centre-back got a slight touch on the ball as he slid in from behind after Ruiz teed up Kerim Frei.

Alex argued long and hard with Foy and also had a few sharp words for fourth official James Linnington as he left the pitch. Pajtim Kasami failed to take advantage though, sending his spot-kick against the bar.

Foy’s decision came a day after Villas-Boas revealed he had made an official complaint about the officiating during Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat at Manchester United on Sunday.

It added some fire to a west London derby – which also saw keeper Petr Cech pick up an injury after an accidental clash.

Both managers made sweeping changes from their weekend line-ups.

Chelsea started with just Cech and Daniel Sturridge from the team who took to the field at Old Trafford.

Martin Jol kept Mark Schwarzer, Chris Baird and Stephen Kelly from his side who fought back so well to draw with Manchester City on the same day.

But any Blues fan expecting a side full of kids was wrong with the only youngsters being Oriol Romeu, 19, Romelu Lukaku and Josh McEachran – both 18 – and Ryan Bertrand, who at 22 is hardly a rookie.

Alex showed all his first-team experience to produce a perfect slide tackle to dispossess Orlando Sa after the striker darted clear following a stylish pass from Ruiz in the 27th minute. An even better Ruiz ball, this time a lovely dinked chip, set up Sa again but this time he shot into the side-netting.

Lukaku showed good hold-up play to put in Malouda but he fired wide too.

Chelsea looked to have scored when McEachran surged through and cut a shot past Schwarzer.

It was not the cleanest of connections but looked sure to evade Kelly chasing back.

But Sturridge opted to prod in from close range, doing it from an offside position, and so denying his team-mate a first senior goal. He was also hurt by Kelly in the process.

He was replaced by Frank Lampard, who is certainly no kid at 33.

In the 43rd minute there was further worry for Villas-Boas when Cech and Sa clashed accidentally as the keeper dived full-stretch to claim a Briggs cross.

Cech, who fractured his skull at Reading five years ago, and Sa were soon up after treatment.

But Chelsea took no chances replacing their star keeper with Ross Turnbull at the break so they could make sure Cech was okay.

Then came the Alex controversy, with his sending-off forcing Villas-Boas to replace the luckless McEachran with Chelsea skipper Terry.

Fulham quickly had another appeal for a penalty when Frei went down in the box but it was turned down by Foy.




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Express:


CHELSEA O FULHAM 0: TURNBULL SAVES CHELSEA HOPES

By Tony Banks



ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS is known as a man who pays phenomenal attention to detail. But even he could not have planned to win this tie by the mere width of a goal-line.

When Bryan Ruiz’s last penalty of the shoot-out slammed against the bar and then bounced down on to the line, Chelsea’s 10 men had ground out a battling, courageous victory on a night when it could so easily have all gone very wrong – indeed, they had lost seven of their previous eight spot-kick contests.

The Chelsea manager saw his team forced to play for 70 minutes last night with 10 men after Alex was sent off just two minutes into the second half. Fulham failed to make them pay as Pajtim Kasami missed from the spot – and it was more agony in the shoot-out.

Though Frank Lampard for once missed as a gripping tie reached its climax with the spot-kick contest, Mousa Dembele then saw his effort saved and Florent Malouda finally put Chelsea ahead before Ruiz, the £10.5million Costa Rican striker, fluffed his big moment.

Villas-Boas said: “That was a superhuman effort from 10 men for 70 minutes. I am very happy with my players.

“To be with 10 men for that long in a match and to create so many chances was phenomenal. We have broken two hoodoos. Chelsea never usually win shoot-outs and we always previously seemed to go out of the Carling Cup having a man sent off. That’s why this was special.”

In fact, the only worry of a gripping night for Chelsea was the head injury suffered by goalkeeper Petr Cech just before half-time. Cech, who still plays in protective headgear after fracturing his skull in 2006, was immediately rushed to hospital for scans, but given the all clear.

It was that kind of night. A game that started out as largely an experiment for both sides, each playing makeshift teams packed full of youngsters and fringe players, gradually turned into a gripping cup tie.

Villas-Boas gave new youngsters Romelu Lukaku and Oriol Romeu, who both joined in the summer, their first starts and also in his side were Josh McEachran and Ryan Bertrand.

That was not the only surprise on the team sheet – which still listed Carlo Ancelotti as the Chelsea manager. Four years to the week since Jose Mourinho left Chelsea, the latest incumbent of one of the hottest seat in football saw his team set about Fulham from the start.

Daniel Sturridge hit the side netting and then only a superb last-ditch challenge from Stephen Kelly denied Malouda.

Salomon Kalou guided a header wide and Lukaku showed his power as his fierce shot was pushed out.

Sturridge had the ball in the net but was ruled offside as McEachran carved open the Fulham defence again. And then the game changed. Karim Frei burst into the area and Alex chopped him down. The Brazilian was instantly sent off, but Kasami slammed the penalty against the crossbar.

A minute later, Fulham should have had another penalty, as Sa was pushed over in the area by Romeu, but this time referee Chris Foy waved away their claims.

So much for bouncing back quickly from the 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford last Sunday. Now it was a salvage job.

Fulham took charge, as Chelsea left Lukaku on his own up front. Malouda wasted a chance as he shot straight at Mark Schwarzer, but Fulham were sensing their moment and Turnbull had to be at his acrobatic best to deny first Dembele then Kasami.

Further chances came at either end and Steve Sidwell could have punished his old team in extra time but volleyed over. Then came the shoot-out and Ruiz’s moment of agony.

Fulham manager Martin Jol said: “We came so close to winning here for the first time in 32 years with our second team.”




Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech (Turnbull 46); Ferreira, Luiz, Alex, Bertrand; Romeu, McEachran (Terry 52), Malouda; Sturridge (Lampard 39), Lukaku, Kalou. Sent off: Alex 46. Booked: Lampard

Fulham (4-4-2): Schwarzer; Kelly, Grygera, Senderos, Briggs; Kasami (Zamora 60), Baird, Gecov (Sidwell 90), Frei; Ruiz, Sa (Dembele 59). Booked: Frei

Referee: C Foy (Lancashire).

man u 1-3

Independent:


Manchester United 3 Chelsea 1

By Sam Wallace at Old Trafford



If there was one consolation for Andre Villas-Boas yesterday it was that, unlike many young managers' first defeat at Old Trafford, he need not remember it as a humiliating experience. Eventually, he might even see it the way the rest of us did: as one of those football matches with the drama and unpredictability to make you shake your head in disbelief.

In terms of its ebb and flow, it did not feel like a 3-1 win for Manchester United, but then it did not feel like any game in recent memory. There were two offside goals and one miss from Fernando Torres that defied explanation, although Wayne Rooney's shanked penalty was not too far behind. There was the brilliant and there was the sheer erratic. It was football-eh-bloody-hell and it is only halfway through September.

The basic truth is that United have gone clear at the top of the Premier League with five wins from five games and 21 goals, which gives them two points on Manchester City, who drew yesterday. But that does not begin to tell half the story of a match played on the brink from start to finish and in which, despite the result, Chelsea had the upper hand for long periods.

Where to start? How about near the end when Torres, a dominant performer who scored within 30 seconds of the start of the second half, again ran through on goal and tricked his way around David de Gea. Old Trafford braced itself for him to pull the trigger and from a few yards out he stumbled on to the ball and put it to the left side of the post.

It was yet another moment that defied the usual narrative of a match. Just 30 seconds after half-time Torres had scored the kind of goal that made him look like Torres once more. Then his miss made you ask yourself all over again whether he really has sorted himself out. Sir Alex Ferguson compared it to Diego Forlan's infamous miss for United against Juventus in pre-season in 2003. But this was not a friendly in the United States. This was one of the biggest games of the season.

The other conspicuous miss came from Rooney, whose standing leg gave way when he took a penalty 10 minutes after the break, which meant that he scooped the ball wide in the fashion of John Terry in the 2008 Champions League final. "The worst things happen to the best strikers in the world," Villas-Boas said afterwards.

Although they went in at half-time three goals down, this was a decent Chelsea performance. They attacked United throughout and there was a bad miss from Ramires on 26 minutes with the score at 1-0 when he allowed De Gea to scramble back and push the ball around the post. That said, Ramires was excellent and so too the likes of Juan Mata and Torres as Chelsea's confidence grew in the second half.

There were plenty of signs that this is a new Chelsea era. As Villas-Boas switched to a 4-4-2 formation in the second half with Mata behind Torres, it was Frank Lampard whom he withdrew to make room for Nicolas Anelka and in the latter stages Romelu Lukaku came on. So far Villas-Boas seems to be carrying his team with him, even in the difficult times. He said later in his immaculate English that the players "had balls" to fight back in the second half – and he was right.

Chelsea lost the game in those first two goals of the game, and both of them were offside. Chris Smalling was offside when he headed in Ashley Young's free-kick from the left. Then, when Luis Nani took Jonny Evans' crossfield ball on his chest and set off for his brilliant run and shot for the second, he did so having come from an offside position. Villas-Boas could have chosen to kick up a stink but, five games into his Premier League career, he decided against going to war with the officials.

That said, Nani's goal was a classic. He went past Mata's half-baked challenge, picked up speed as Raul Meireles came over to intercept his run and unleashed a shot of some violence into the top-left corner of Petr Cech's goal. It was the crowning moment of Nani's performance. He was the game's outstanding player, although he was run close by De Gea and Torres too, until the latter's Ronny Rosenthal moment.

The telling stat of the day was that Nani has scored the same number of goals, 19, in his first 100 games for the club as Cristiano Ronaldo did in his, and Nani is comfortably ahead on assists, 33 to 12 over the same time frame. Yesterday Nani was as important to United as Rooney.

There was no dispute over United's third, which was made by a great forward run from Phil Jones, who opened up Chelsea and played in Nani. His backheel was intercepted by Terry but the ball ricocheted off Nani and back to Rooney, who scored. It had come entirely against the run of play, which had turned in Chelsea's favour after the second goal.

It should have killed Chelsea. If anything it may have emboldened Villas-Boas to make his decisive changes. "A very, very strange game," the Chelsea manager said later. Yet even when Torres ran on to Anelka's through ball and sent a flawless chip over De Gea you could not have imagined the ensuing chaos. On 55 minutes Jose Bosingwa ran into the back of Nani and the referee, Phil Dowd, awarded United a penalty. Rooney's slip and miss prompted a bout of impromptu gardening from the striker as he replaced the turf.

Before his big miss, Torres might have had another but De Gea saved his first effort and the striker put the second over. On 77 minutes there was a bad late challenge from Ashley Cole on Javier Hernandez as the latter tried to bury a Rooney shot that came off the post. Cole was booked but no penalty was given because Hernandez's shot had already gone into touch before connection was made. Either way it was a bad one.

In injury time Cole got back to get substitute Dimitar Berbatov's shot off the line. It was the last act to a complicated story. The momentum is undoubtedly with United, but Chelsea and their young manager are by no means finished yet.


Substitutes: Man United Valencia (Smalling, 62), Carrick (Anderson, 62), Berbatov (Hernandez, 79). Chelsea Anelka (Lampard, h-t), Lukaku (Sturridge, 69), Mikel (Meireles, 79).


Booked: Man United Valencia, Fletcher.Chelsea Cole, Ramires, Terry.

Man of the match Nani. Match rating 8/10. Possession Man United 50% Chelsea 50%. Attempts on target: Man United 7 Chelsea 9.

Referee P Dowd (Staffordshire).

Attendance 75,455.




==================================================================



Guardian:


Manchester United maintain their winning start by beating Chelsea


Kevin McCarra at Old Trafford



The two most powerful teams in the land in recent years combined to put on an enthralling spectacle of frailty. Chelsea, in view of the result, might look second rate. They were indeed inferior but Manchester United's lead would have been trimmed had Fernando Torres not declined to take his second goal of the afternoon. Having carried a Ramires pass away from the Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea he shot wide in the 83rd minute.
United's 3-1 advantage was therefore undisturbed. Even so, Torres had not really added a new episode to the stories of his tribulations at Chelsea. He ought to be remembered best for the instant of perfect confidence when he took a through ball from the substitute Nicolas Anelka and flighted the ball home with a sure, right-footed finish.

Sir Alex Ferguson, of course, can still live happily with this occasion and all the more so when a two-point lead over Manchester City was opened up in the Premier League. Chelsea have been beaten for the fourth time in a row by United, yet André Villas-Boas has no cause to dwell on that statistic. The past cannot be the responsibility of a manager in his debut season at Stamford Bridge. He should instead be heartened by the vigour with which his men rallied.
As a man without any obligations to the club's history and many of the people in the lineup who shaped it, he had no compunction about withdrawing a person seen as a focal point of the side. At 33, it will be hard for Frank Lampard to retain such status. Employed in a relatively defensive midfield role, as he was here, it is impossible for him to make enough of a contribution. If, on the other hand, he lacks the drive to come through and scored as often as he once did, the England midfielder cannot contribute the goals that have been the core of his value.
Chelsea, as a whole, may have left the north-west with at least a trace of encouragement, yet there were moments when the whole match might have come crashing down on their heads. The home side could have had the invitation to take a fourth goal but the referee, Phil Dowd, awarded no penalty in the 77th minute because he judged the ball had just gone out of play before Ashley Cole caught and injured Javier Hernández with his challenge.

But United need not brood because they are victorious. While it is understood that Chelsea have some players in the latter stages of their careers, the experience has made up for the decline until now. In this game, though, the vivacity of the hosts did them harm.
Villas-Boas is a newcomer and while his worth is scarcely in dispute, the Portuguese manager has much further to go in the transfer market and in the promotion of younger players on the staff before the essential dynamism is visible in all the areas of the side where it is necessary.

Torres could help in the revitalisation. This was his second goal for the club since the £50m move from Liverpool in January but the burden of that recent past looked as if it had been lifted from him, even though he was so wasteful seven minutes from the close. Fallibility was all the rage. Wayne Rooney wasted a penalty. Having struck the bar, Nani was brought down by José Bosingwa in the panic that ensued. Rooney then lost his footing as he miskicked the spot-kick wide in the 56th minute.
It would be unfair, all the same, to be unduly engrossed by erratic incidents when the match was crammed with endeavour and talent.

United's assumption of a new identity is taken for granted merely because they top the table but there should be a pause to appreciate how uncanny it is that a newcomer such as Phil Jones and Jonny Evans, a centre‑half hitherto viewed as cover for the real defenders Ferguson needs, are thriving. Chris Smalling, perceived not so long ago as a man for the middle of the back four, is a right-back now but he still retained overtones of his former life when he was in the centre of the goalmouth and, it appeared, in a marginally offside position as he headed an Ashley Young set piece into the net after eight minutes.
Torres ought to have levelled four minutes later after Anderson inadvertently gave him the ball but the Spaniard missed the target.

United led 2-0 following a splendid 20-yarder from Nani and, on the verge of the interval John Terry crashed a clearance against the winger, with the ball running to Rooney for a simple finish. Despite United's solid lead, the game seldom paused and Ashley Cole was on the goalline to clear a shot from the substitute Dimitar Berbatov in stoppage time at the close of the day.
Chelsea, for their part, would have tied the score at 1-1 in the 26th minute had Ramires's shot not hit De Gea after a Torres pass. This was a day with an erratic tone but Ferguson's side, with all five League games won, continued on their formidably steady course.






===================================================================




Telegraph:


Manchester United 3 Chelsea 1

By Henry Winter, at Old Trafford



This was an extraordinary game, chaos and class writ large. This was a match that had everything: spectacular strikes, horrendous misses and relentless scrutiny of the beauty and blemishes of a star’s technique.

One moment Wayne Rooney was tapping home, the next he was slipping up. One moment Fernando Torres was finishing like Romario, the next like Ronnie Rosenthal. Great game, crazy game.

This was also a day that saw second-placed Manchester City dropping points at Fulham, strengthening Manchester United’s belief that they will retain their title.

Even in third gear, the champions offered too broad a range of goalscoring options from Chris Smalling’s header, Nani’s majestic strike and Rooney’s close-ranger.

A limp linesman’s flag helped with the first two but nobody exploits hesitant defending more brutally than Rooney and company.

Alarmingly for United’s rivals, the history books show that Sir Alex Ferguson’s thoroughbreds traditionally lengthen their stride only in January. Not this year.

Not with Rooney, Nani, Ashley Young and Phil Jones in this sort of form. United have come flying out of the starting gate, racing to their best opening to a league season in 26 years: five games, five wins, 21 goals for, four against.

Chelsea’s numbers are far less impressive: 10 points, three wins, eight scored, six conceded. Even in the frustration of defeat, Chelsea can take heart and invaluable knowledge from events in the second half here, especially in the reaction of their young manager Andre Villas-Boas. The Portuguese coach proved he was a man with a game plan that could serve Chelsea well.

Trailing 3-0 at the interval, Villas-Boas had to be bold. He had no choice, of course. Ignominy loomed. The Stretford End was crowing, revelling in what appeared another stroll down coronation street.

Chelsea’s fans kept singing, chanting “we’re going to win 4-3”, but it was more in hope than expectation.

So Villas-Boas acted, introducing Nicolas Anelka for the anonymous Frank Lampard and successfully revamping the system from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1.

Suddenly, there was more belief, more movement, more of a platform for Torres. Chelsea were more open, running more freely, the handbrake off.

Torres scored within 29 seconds and looked far happier. Even the memory of a remarkable late miss, the ball ending up among jubilant home fans after he had confidently rounded David de Gea, cannot mask the reality that this was a greatly improved display by Torres.

At the final whistle, the £50 million man shook hands with Jonny Evans, then Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher before Rooney walked up, embraced Chelsea’s No 9 and whispered a few words.

Rooney, too, had suffered deep embarrassment as well as joy in front of goal, his left foot failing to grip the turf as his right bore down into the ball, so scuffing his penalty.

But Rooney’s hug with Torres was not a mutual pitying society; it was a reflection that even the best can make mistakes, that class will eventually out.

For all the local cackling over Torres’s aberration, the Spaniard left Old Trafford with more of a swagger in his step. No wonder. Villas-Boas appears to have designed a system that helps Torres.

Behind him, Anelka was busy on the left, Juan Mata far more influential in the hole while Daniel Sturridge and eventually Romelu Lukaku worked the right.

Anelka, Sturridge and Lukaku are not natural wide players but they may have to sacrifice elements of their game for the collective good.

Chelsea, who have too often relied on their full-backs for width in recent years, still need some wingers.

Whether this 4-2-3-1 system wins trophies remains to be seen but it can be the only way forward for Chelsea. Villas-Boas deserves long-term support in his attempt to rejuvenate Chelsea; that second period, and particularly the manager’s decisiveness, confirmed he is on the right path.

This was his first league defeat since April 2010 when his Academica side lost to Benfica but Villas-Boas took pride from the performance, and particularly the 21 opportunities created at the citadel of the champions.

Even in the first half, as United rattled in three, Chelsea were hardly poor. As the game opened, Torres ran at United’s defence until stopped by Evans’ magnificent tackle.

The champions woke up, seizing the lead after eight minutes when Smalling headed in Young’s free-kick. Whatever the legitimacy of the visitors’ squeals for offside, nothing could justify the lax nature of the marking by Lampard in particular.

Back came Chelsea, Torres and Lampard shooting wide before Ramires was denied by De Gea. Even when United are not excelling they work so hard to close down opponents and then open them up.

With eight minutes of the half remaining, Evans caught Chelsea out with a long pass to Nani. Evans also caught the linesman out. Nani was fractionally offside but dropped back, collected the ball and glided towards goal. Mata’s challenge was too lame.

Raul Meireles’s attempted interception too late. Petr Cech stood no chance as Nani let fly. Having put Chelsea’s defence in a spin, the winger celebrated in suitably head-over-heels fashion.

There was more. As the game melted towards the interval, Jones embarked on one of those lengthy charges that are making him a cult figure at Old Trafford.

Having exchanged passes with Rooney, Jones kept going, soon receiving a back-heel from Nani. Jones’ determination eventually saw the ball rebound from John Terry to Nani and then Rooney, who easily tucked away his ninth of the season.

The future of one Rooney’s England colleagues then came under unforgiving focus. In the stock market of footballing fortunes, now’s the time to sell any shares in Lampard.

Villas-Boas’s desire for Chelsea to support Torres more quickly is an issue for the 33-year-old Lampard. Anelka immediately released Torres into the box. The finish was a gem, echoing one of Romario’s clinical lifted balls over the keeper.

After all the hits, it was time for the misses, for Rooney’s failed penalty and a shot against the post. Torres was denied by De Gea before firing over and then skewing that shot wretchedly wide.

There was also time for Ashley Cole to catch Javier Hernández with a filthy challenge that brought yellow but could have drawn red. Cole survived to clear Dimitar Berbatov’s effort off the line.

Great game, crazy game.




========================================================




Manchester United 3 Chelsea 1: Champions pull clear at summit after dismantling rivals

By Matt Lawton


It was, as Andre Villas- Boas said, a 'crazy, chaotic' game. As torturous for some as it was tremendous for others, and for Chelsea's manager a rather more memorable meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson than that brief encounter at a coaching conference.

Inside the tortured mind of Fernando Torres it probably amounts to a nightmare. His miss, seven minutes before the end, is sure to haunt him and will only feed what Villas-Boas already considered an 'obsession' with the most expensive player in the history of English football.

But this is one of the reasons why this contest was so utterly insane, because it was the Spaniard's finest performances in a Chelsea shirt and the most compelling evidence yet that he is on the way to returning to his best.

The miss and another squandered opportunity aside, Torres was excellent. Strong, sharp and athletic, he took the goal he did score beautifully and created a couple of chances that his colleagues really should have converted, too.

But Sunday was about so much more than Torres. It was about Manchester United being clinical enough to emerge from such a fiercely contested first half with a three-goal lead; the fact that they would have scored a fourth had Wayne Rooney not slipped to send his penalty kick wide.

It was about the sight of Nani not only scoring a brilliant goal but also destroying Ashley Cole in a manner Cristiano Ronaldo never quite managed. Cole was such a chastened figure that his frustration was manifested in a shocking challenge on Javier Hernandez, who was as lucky not to leave the field with a broken ankle as Cole was to escape with a yellow card from Phil Dowd.

There were marvellous performances and some miserable ones.

Phil Jones was magnificent alongside the similarly impressive Jonny Evans. For Frank Lampard, however, it was nothing like as satisfying. Hooked during the interval after a difficult first half that included his failure to track Chris Smalling for the opening goal, you have to wonder if the 33-year-old will occupy the role of spectator more and more.

It was a day when records tumbled. As well as matching United's best start to a league campaign since 1985, it was also the club's 18th successive home league win - equalling a record that dates back to the 1904-05 season. For Villas-Boas it marked the end of an astonishing run. This was his first league defeat in 37 matches, dating back to April 2010 when his Academica side lost 3-2 at home to Benfica.

Victory for United owed much to Chelsea's defensive fragility. Villas-Boas wants his team to play with more intensity, further up the field, but a midfield three of Ramires, Lampard and Raul Meireles did little to protect a back four that was particularly vulnerable to Nani and Ashley Young down the flanks. That said, Chelsea played pretty well at Old Trafford and the first real chance certainly fell to them: Ramires met a cross from Cole with a volley that David de Gea did well to block with his right foot.

It made Smalling's controversial opener all the more painful. The England defender seized not only on some poor defending but some poor officiating to meet Young's free-kick in an offside position and guide a header beyond the reach of Petr Cech.

After receiving a loose pass from Anderson, Torres might have levelled. He did well to accelerate between Anderson and Evans but then scuffed his shot wide. Yet it did not compare to the miss that followed from Ramires, Torres ran on to a delightful pass from Juan Mata and inviting the Brazilian to score only to see him shoot meekly at United's goalkeeper.

Further punishment followed. Nani, controlling a long, diagonal ball from Evans before skipping past Mata, unleashed a 25-yard missile that flew beyond Cech and into the top corner. Villas-Boas can again bemoan that Nani had been in an offside position, but he will also be angry with his midfielders for backing off as much as they did. United's third, scored by Rooney just before the break, exposed yet more defensive indiscipline. A surging run from Jones ended with John Terry's attempted clearance rebounding off Nani and rolling into the path of an unmarked Rooney.

Villas-Boas responded by replacing Lampard with Nicolas Anelka and what a smart move it proved. The France striker produced the pass that enabled Torres to lift the ball over an advancing De Gea with what was a superb finish after less than 30 seconds of the restart.

That there were no more goals was perhaps the most astonishing aspect of this game. Rooney failed to capitalise on Jose Bosingwa's foul on Nani by missing the penalty in the 56th minute and then saw Dimitar Berbatov squander a chance he provided moments before the end.

For Torres, though, it was a touch more painful. First he blasted over from close range after seeing his initial effort parried by De Gea and then came the miss of the match - the former Liverpool striker bursting clear in pursuit of a pass from Bosingwa and rounding De Gea only to send his left-foot shot wide.

All Villas-Boas has to do now is convince Torres he still had a good game.




========================================================




Sun:


Man Utd 3 Chelsea 1

By SHAUN CUSTIS



WHEN the end-of-season DVDs come out, this match will deserve a disc all of its own.

And there will be plenty of categories to choose from — comedy penalty starring Wayne Rooney, miss of the season by Fernando Torres, sensational goal featuring Nani and X-rated tackle from Ashley Cole.

The scoreline does not begin to tell the story of one of the most amazing games ever in Premier League history. Honestly, you could replay it again and again and never get bored.

It could have been 6-6, 7-7, 8-5 — anything.

Yet, at the end of it all, United made it five wins out of five to register their best start to a season in the top flight for 26 years — before Alex Ferguson was manager.

Even better the noisy neighbours, Manchester City, dropped points at Fulham giving Fergie's men a two-point lead at the top. United have scored a staggering 21 goals so far in their league campaign, averaging more than four a match.

This was also their 18th straight home league win equalling a record that has stood since 1904-05.

But it was difficult to understand how Chelsea were 3-0 down by half-time having played some great stuff.

And had Torres hit the target after pulling the visitors back to 3-1, the Blues might have gone on to rescue a point.

The Spaniard was much more like a £50million striker than the 50p one he has looked like since his switch from Liverpool. However, his blunder here is one which will haunt him for many a year.

Torres was so often the thorn in United's side as a Red and, when he went through with seven minutes left latching on to Ramires' pass, he got most of the job right.

He cleverly switched the ball from his right foot as he skipped round David De Gea but, with the goal gaping, he somehow shot wide from six yards.

Robert Earnshaw can rest easy. His howler for Wales against England has been relegated to second place in the miss of the season contest. Torres has it in the bag.

Manager Andre Villas-Boas, who lost his first league game as a boss since the season before last — stretching back 37 matches — felt Chelsea should have had a point.

The visitors could have been ahead inside two minutes when De Gea saved with his foot from a Ramires shot. But in the eighth minute Ashley Young's free-kick sailed over to the far post where Chris Smalling got in front of Frank Lampard to head in.

Torres then scuffed a good chance wide after Anderson gave the ball away.

Ramires could not do any better, either, when the Brazilian's mis-hit from Cole's cross allowed De Gea to save.

By 37 minutes United were 2-0 up as Nani collected out wide, went past Juan Mata and unleashed an absolute screamer which gave the diving Petr Cech no chance. Chelsea could not believe they were two behind and it got worse on the stroke of half-time.

Phil Jones exchanged passes with Rooney and battled his way into the box.

John Terry came across with a sliding clearance which hit Nani and, as luck would have it, fell into the path of Rooney who made no mistake for his ninth goal of the season.

Villas-Boas replaced Lampard with Nicolas Anelka at the break and moved Mata in-field — and the benefit was instant.

Anelka played a defence-splitting pass for Torres, who coolly flicked past the helpless De Gea.

It was only Torres' second goal in 24 games as a Blue but it was one which had been coming.

United then won the penalty which seemed certain to set the seal on the afternoon after Nani hit another rasper which was deflected on to the bar and, when it bounced down, he was fouled by Jose Bosingwa before he could get to the follow-up.

Up stepped the normally reliable Rooney whose left foot slid from under him as he set himself for the strike with the result that, as he connected, he hit the ball off his sliding foot and it skewed wide.

Memories of David Beckham's misses from the spot in the Euro qualifier in Turkey eight years ago and in the shootout against Portugal at Euro 2004 came to mind.

Terry could relate to it, too, seeing as he missed against United in the Champions League in Moscow when, had he not slipped over, Chelsea would have won the trophy. United had another chance to put the game to bed only for Rooney to turn Patrice Evra's cross against the foot of the post.

As the ball bounced away, Javier Hernandez came in to finish it off and Cole caught him with a horrible challenge which left the Mexican writhing in a heap.

Cole was lucky to escape with a booking but no penalty was given as the ball was out of play. Hernandez could take no further part, limping down the tunnel and Fergie was understandably angry.

But he was a relieved man when Torres produced his miss of misses and there was still time for Cole to clear off the line from sub Dimitar Berbatov.

As the final whistle blew Rooney went over to Torres, put an arm round his shoulder and whispered in his ear.

Wonder what he said — thanks for sharing the embarrassment perhaps?


DREAM TEAM

STAR MAN - NANI (Man Utd)

MAN UTD: De Gea 8, Smalling 8 (Valencia 6), Jones 7, Evans 6, Evra 6, Nani 9, Fletcher 6, Anderson 5 (Carrick 6), Young 7, Rooney 7, Hernandez 7 (Berbatov 6). Subs not used: Lindegaard, Giggs, Park, Fabio. Booked: Valencia, Fletcher.

CHELSEA: Cech 6, Bosingwa 5, Ivanovic 5, Terry 5, Cole 5, Ramires 8, Meireles 7 (Mikel 6), Lampard 5 (Anelka 8), Sturridge 6 (Lukaku 6), Torres 7, Mata 8. Subs not used: Turnbull, Luiz, Romeu, Malouda. Booked: Ramires, Terry, Cole.

REF: P Dowd 7





======================================================




Star:


MANCHESTER UNITED 3 - CHELSEA 1: RED WRECKERS SHATTER BLUES

By Jeremy Cross


MANCHESTER UNITED claimed their biggest victims of the season so far as Sir Alex Ferguson’s red wrecking ball left Chelsea demolished in a bizarre contest at Old Trafford.

So much for this being a clash between two title rivals.

The same was said before Arsenal came to town and Arsene Wenger’s men found themselves on the wrong end of an eight-goal hammering.

This wasn’t the same scoreline, but the outcome was just as significant as United made it clear once and for all which team are still the top dogs of English football.

New Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas suffered his first league defeat in 17 months as a wonder goal from Nani helped make it five straight wins for Fergie’s men.

The champions remain top of the table and if Villas-Boas didn’t appreciate the size of his task in trying to depose United before this, then he will now.

Fergie’s men could even afford to miss a penalty through Wayne Rooney, while a rare goal from Fernando Torres counted for nothing on a miserable afternoon for the visitors and the Spanish flop in particular, when he produced the miss of the season in the closing stages.

Yet Villas-Boas will have spent most of the flight back to London scratching his head at just how the Blues failed to win, let alone lose.

Despite notching a consolation on 46 minutes with only his second league goal in 19 attempts, Torres also squandered a host of other chances.

Daniel Sturridge and Frank Lampard were also wasteful as the Blues took the game to United, but the worst offender was Ramires, who missed the best chance of all from point-blank range before the break.

The killer instinct, however, belonged to United, who took the lead through Chris Smalling’s first league goal and never looked back.

Nani doubled the advantage with a stunning individual effort on 37 minutes before Rooney’s ninth of the season on the stroke of half-time left the Blues dead and buried.

Fergie was good to his word and recalled David de Gea in goal at the expense of Anders Lindegaard, ­despite the Danish star’s heroics against Benfica last time out.

Phil Jones, Nani, Ashley Young and Javier Hernandez were also recalled, while Fergie showed his faith in Darren Fletcher for such a crucial clash, ­despite the fact he has made just two starts in the last six months due to a serious stomach virus.

Dimitar Berbatov had to settle for a place on the bench yet again, while Rio Ferdinand missed out altogether after picking up a knock in training.

Villas-Boas will have spent hours mulling over his team selection for what promised to be the biggest test of his Blues tenure so far.

In the end he kept faith with Torres in attack instead of Nicolas Anelka, while Sturridge was also included with Didier Drogba still out with concussion.

Lampard and John Terry were also recalled as Villas-Boas packed his side with experience for what he knew would be a thorough examination of his team’s title credentials.

Villas-Boas had insisted before kick-off that the result of this clash would have no bearing on the outcome of the title.

True, there is still a long way to go, but a defeat for Chelsea leaves them five points behind a United side which doesn’t look in the mood to lose many games.

The Blues also owed United big time following four defeats to them last season, including two in the Champions League and one on this same ground which all but secured Fergie’s men a record 19th league title.

Revenge could have been on the cards had the visitors had someone capable of taking the chances.

De Gea’s legs denied Ramires inside three minutes, while Sturridge shot wide following an error by Hernandez before Smalling converted Young’s free- kick to head United in front.

But the Blues continued to pile forward, with Torres and Lampard both firing wide before Torres teed up a simple chance for Ramires, only for the Brazilian to fire straight at De Gea.

It proved costly when Nani ghosted past Juan Mata and cut in from the right before unleashing an ­unstoppable effort into the top corner to double United’s advantage.

It went from bad to worse on the stroke of half-time when Terry’s clearance pinged off Nani’s legs straight to Rooney and the outcome was inevitable.

The England hitman then made a mess of his spot-kick just before the hour mark after Torres had charged on to substitute Anelka’s sublime pass and beat De Gea with a neat finish to pull one back.

Chances continued to come and go, with Torres shooting straight at De Gea then firing the rebound over the bar.

His generosity rubbed off on Rooney, who hit the post in the final quarter as the opportunity to score his third hat-trick in a row passed him by.

But the humiliation belonged to Torres, who rounded De Gea with ease on 84 minutes, only to slice his shot wide with the goal at his mercy – which is exactly where United now have all their rivals.wonder goal puts United in the driving seat





========================================================




Mirror:


Manchester Utd 3-1 Chelsea:

By Martin Lipton



Astonishing. Simply, utterly, unforgettably astonishing.

But while United roll on, now clear at the top and still with a 100 per cent record, this was about far more than the scoreline and the table, even if Sir Alex Ferguson and his players want to suggest otherwise.

It was about the goals, yes. Dodgy goals, ridiculous goals and two great goals, one instinctive brilliance, the other, briefly, the rebirth of a deadly predator.

Yet it was equally about the misses, four of them that defied belief, one of which may haunt Fernando Torres until the end of his Chelsea career if he cannot show the strength of character he had demonstrated for the previous 83 minutes.

The purists who say that defence is the best form of attack, will doubtless carp and neither manager will be happy with the huge holes that opened up in front of the regularly exposed David De Gea and Petr Cech.

No one present, nor the millions watching on TV, will agree. They know they witnessed a game that will be remembered for years.

For United, Wayne Rooney dancing into space, a ninth goal of the season, another against the post and a penalty horror show that brought parallels with John Terry in Moscow.

Nani’s runs, Ashley Young destroying poor Jose Bosingwa, Phil Jones surging forward, De Gea making a series of superb saves as Chelsea carved out chances they should have converted.

But for Andre Villas-Boas, suffering a first league defeat since Benfica beat his Academica de Coimbra side 17 months ago, there were almost as many positives as negatives.

Yes, Chelsea’s defending was shambolic at times, never more so for the catalogue of cock-ups that presented Rooney with the third goal in the final minute of the first half, which ended in what must be the most misrepresentative scoreline of the season.

Yet in the attacking movement of Juan Mata, Raul Meireles, Ramires, substitute Nicolas Anelka and especially that of Torres, this was the extra pace that Villas-Boas has demanded.

Of course, in the final analysis, it is the result that counts and United once again, even if without the authority they demonstrated against Arsenal and Bolton, found a way to win.

Quite how was harder to understand. Even before Chris Smalling’s headed opener – only Javier Hernandez was closer to Cech’s goal when Young delivered the free-kick – De Gea had saved from Ramires, while Torres dragged wide.

Then Mata fed Torres, who presented the unmarked Daniel Sturridge with what had to be a tap-in, only for Ramires to steal the ball off his team-mate’s foot and allow De Gea to save.

Cue United’s second. Nani, receiving from Jonny Evans, should also have been flagged in the build-up but Mata, Meireles and Terry reacted far too slowly as the Portuguese scooted forward to smash home from 28 yards.

When Rooney accepted his gift, Terry trying to clear off the floor but instead smashing the ball against Nani into the striker’s path, Chelsea were facing the worst defeat of the Roman Abramovich era, the home fans singing “are you Arsenal in disguise?”

But Villas-Boas hooked Frank Lampard, sent on Anelka and moved Mata into the middle and within 28 seconds of the restart the substitute threaded through for Torres to take a touch then flip exquisitely past De Gea, for his first goal in a Chelsea start at the 16th attempt. Suddenly, an open game became a free-for-all. Mata went close, Nani smashed against the bar but was downed by Bosingwa as he went for the rebound, only for Rooney’s comedy miskick from the spot to follow.

Torres thumped at De Gea and blazed the rebound over before an unmarked Rooney hit the post from six yards, with Ashley Cole so late when he went over the top on Hernandez – it could have been red, not yellow – that the ball was already out of play so there could not be another penalty.

Then Torres’ nightmare, swaying past De Gea with ease but somehow, impossibly, missing the target and dropping to the ground in disbelief.

Whether the £50million man can recover is another issue, although Dimitar Berbatov, found by Rooney, was equally culpable in added time.

Truly astounding. Truly sensational. Truly memorable.

bayer leverkusen 2-0

Independent:


Goal-shy Torres plays the assistant to give Chelsea perfect start

Chelsea 2 Bayer Leverkusen 0

By Sam Wallace at Stamford Bridge



Deep in injury-time last night with the opposition's goal in his sight and only the goalkeeper to beat, Fernando Torres had a decision to make. He could pull the trigger himself and try to end a run of games without a goal that goes back to April or he could square it to Juan Mata, who needed this goal much less than him. In fact, there is no-one in English football who needs a goal more than Torres does now.

That Torres opted to tee up Mata for Chelsea's second goal told us a little more about the mindset of the £50m striker who has just one goal in 23 games for the club he joined in January. It suggested that Torres is coping with the burden of being the highest-profile non-goalscoring goalscorer in English football. He took the unselfish option when, to put it bluntly, no-one would have blamed him for lashing the ball at goal.

For Torres it is inevitable at the moment that he will be the story if he scores and he will be the story if he does not. This was not the most confident Chelsea victory in a Champions League opener, that they dominated but did not score in until 65 minutes gone and two major substitutions made. Yet in the end it came down to how far down the line Chelsea are in getting Torres back to the kind of form that persuaded Roman Abramovich to pay all that money for him in January.
Related articles

The verdict last night? No goals but two assists. Anxious and tending to over-elaborate in front of goal when given his chance, Torres was a lot more assured in making the first goal for David Luiz and the second for Mata. Didier Drogba is not fit for Sunday's game against Manchester United, Andre Villas-Boas said last night, which means there is much less chance of Torres being left out at Old Trafford.

The Chelsea manager, who had an anxious debut in Europe's leading club competition, said that he had resolved the issues over Torres' controversial interview that the striker gave while on international duty last week. But there is still a great deal to do at Chelsea for this young manager who must balance the many egos and talents within his dressing room.

Villas-Boas made a bold move last night in leaving out John Terry and Frank Lampard from the team, the former of whom was not even on the bench. In the end he was forced to bring Lampard into the game, along with Nicolas Anelka, but there was no mistaking a major change of attitude towards two players who have always played when they have been fit.

You could justify the omission of Terry and Lampard from last night's team on a few grounds. Terry played every minute of both England games next week. Lampard played most of the second match. Both of them are not getting any younger. And both of them, presumably, will be required to play against United on Sunday.

But the point about Lampard and Terry is that these two have historically always played every Chelsea game. In previous years it would not have mattered if one of them had played two England internationals, every league game and five sets of tennis in the US Open final the night before. He would have started. By way of example, Terry even began the club's only Carling Cup game last season and Lampard may well have done had he been fit at the time.

Later Villas-Boas explained that it was an issue of "fairness" towards Lampard and Terry's team-mates, not a consideration that had ever been regarded as important under previous regimes. "It's just fairness [in regard] to the amount of talent that we have at our disposal," he said. "If you look in depth at our squad, you see the amount of talent we have. It would be a mistake for me not to try and keep everybody motivated. That's the task of any manager."

In their stead, Daniel Sturridge and Mata were in. This was new Chelsea. The mind drifted back to Torres' dream of a Chelsea team without the "old" and "slow" players cited in that interview. It was another big call from a manager who is marking himself out as a man prepared to make the tough decisions. But for him to be vindicated, his team needed to win.

Although in the last minute of the game Torres was cool enough to defer to Mata, he did not look so calm early on. A two-footed lunge on Simon Rolfes, for which the striker was booked, told you that he was wound up tight. As ever with Torres you find yourself asking those two questions. Has he lost something from his game? Or he is just very unlucky when it comes to the chances that fall his way?

On 28 minutes, Torres got the ball in the area in a promising position but, twisting and turning, could not get away from Rolfes in the Bayer Leverkusen penalty area. Chelsea had a goal ruled out for offside after just four minutes when Raul Meireles back-heeled Torres initial back-heel into the goal. Even before then Leverkusen had one disallowed themselves, and that decision looked harsh.

After the break, the best of Leverkusen's chances fell to Michael Ballack, returning to the club where the supporters retain a great fondness for him. The old boy never scored many for Chelsea and when he ran onto André Schürrle's knockdown you did not really fancy his chances. Even so it needed a very good save from Petr Cech to stop him.

A minute after Anelka and Lampard came on, Torres cushioned a cross from Florent Malouda into the stride of Luiz who did a very good job of beating goalkeeper Bernd Leno with a low shot from the edge of the area.

Immediately, the pressure was drawn out of the situation for Chelsea. Anelka was excellent and both Mata and Lampard went close with shots at goal before Torres broke free and cut the ball back for Mata to score. It was not a goal for Chelsea's most expensive asset. But it was the next best thing.


Man of the match Ivanovic.

Match rating 6/10.

Referee S Lannoy (France).

Attendance 33,820.




==============================================



Guardian:


Juan Mata seals Chelsea Champions League win against Bayer Leverkusen


Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge

André Villas-Boas's first brush with the Champions League may have proved something of a slog but, in victory, there were clear positives upon which to cling. The theory that Chelsea did not sign an expensive goalscorer in January continues to be exposed as a myth, even if it is David Luiz rather than Fernando Torres. Perhaps it is the Spaniard's role that should be reassessed. This was his night to be provider.
Each of Chelsea's goals resulted from Torres's lay-offs here, Juan Mata making a point of stirring the crowd to recognise his compatriot's contribution to the second, deep into stoppage time. This club is still seeking evidence that their £50m was well spent earlier in the year and Torres will not be remotely satisfied as a slick supply line rather than finisher, but any hint of form is to be cherished at present. Too much of the striker's career at Stamford Bridge to date has been traumatic.
Perhaps he had been stirred into a more threatening display by the reminder of his responsibilities delivered by his manager prior to this tie, following comments allegedly made in an interview with the Spanish league's website. Whether Torres had indeed suggested his "older" club-mates had been "very slow" in their approach play, and by implication nullified his own impact since his move to London, is still open to debate, but the issue appears to have been resolved. "The problem is solved, the problem is solved," said Villas-Boas. "The investigation [into the validity of the quotes, not the legitimacy of the sentiment] is over.
"We had a chat and the situation is solved. You saw a player very involved, who put in a good performance, like the team. Hopefully these things won't arise in the group again. If they do, I, as manager, will resolve them." Those comments contrasted with the manager hailing his entire team's "excellent work", "excellent effort" and "tremendous possession". Torres may have scored only one goal in 23 appearances for this club, but he has offered a persuasive case to be included at Manchester United on Sunday, particularly given Didier Drogba's absence with a head injury.
This might have been an even more awkward occasion than it actually proved. Villas-Boas's selection, with Frank Lampard on the bench and John Terry in the stands, had hinted at risk, though the quality Chelsea did field proved sufficient both to weather Leverkusen's threat and eventually erode the Germans' resistance. The flurry of opportunities created by the visitors around the hour mark had the locals' nerves jangling, the returning Michael Ballack denied by Petr Cech, having burst through on to Andre Schürrle's pass. Schürrle himself might have scored moments later, but the goalkeeper reacted well again. In truth, those were rare moments of alarm created amid the visitors' industry. It needed a flash of real flair to prise the contest apart.
Chelsea would privately have wished that that magical moment had been conjured by Torres, but the excellent Bernd Leno had thwarted him before the break to suggest this would be another evening of toil for little personal reward. Rather, it was David Luiz who claimed the limelight. The £23.5m signing from Benfica had not featured for club or country since being hauled unceremoniously from the fray by Carlo Ancelotti at half-time at Old Trafford in early May, a show of dissent following the visitors' early concession that day having spoiled an otherwise promising start to his career at the club. There had been a thigh injury since, but this was a return to the fray. If his defending can be unnecessarily risky at times, his unpredictability is an attacking threat to be tapped.
The gallop upfield midway through the second half was trademark, the ball flitting from Florent Malouda to Torres before David Luiz curled the Spaniard's lay-off gloriously round Stefan Reinartz and into the corner. He has scored three goals in 13 appearances for the Londoners. Torres has one from 23. "It's not the first time this season that you've seen our centre-halves breaking through, driving on with the ball," said Villas-Boas. "It's something we're proud of: all of them have that natural technical ability."
The drive and determination was Torres's in stoppage time, the burst away from Reinartz splaying Bayer open, with the forward unselfishly squaring for Mata to finish. Chelsea could take heart from the displays mustered by the new arrival from Valencia, the clever Raul Meireles and the ever eager and bright Daniel Sturridge, who had forced Leno into two smart saves and offered bite up front.
All will presumably be involved at Old Trafford on Sunday, along with Lampard and Terry. "That will be a different kind of challenge altogether," said the manager. "We face United perhaps in their most tremendous moment of motivation, flair and style. But I think it provokes in us a good challenge. We will go there to try to win it. Let's see what happens."
As for Torres, however, Villas-Boas refused to confirm if the Spaniard's contribution here was enough to make the starting XI for Sunday. "I have to make a decision. We have another couple of days to train, and he will compete with the other four for that position. We have to take the best decision possible," said the Chelsea manager.







=============================================




Telegraph:


Chelsea 2 Bayer Leverkusen 0

By Jason Burt, Deputy Football Correspondent, at Stamford Bridge



This was a bit of hair-raiser for Chelsea. And not just because David Luiz scored another of his buccaneering specials of a goal but because Andre Villas-Boas rolled the dice with his team selection, leaving out some big players, on what was his Champions League debut and came out with a precious victory.

When he won the Europa League last season, with Porto, Villas-Boas joked that maybe he was a lucky manager.

He was a little fortunate last night, for sure, with the impressive Juan Mata’s goal deep into injury time adding a gloss to the scoreline. Chelsea deserved the win but it was not totally convincing.

There were two assists for Fernando Torres, also, but that was deceptive. Restored to the starting line-up, as expected, he struggled after a bright start, spurning chances, and his shoulders eventually drooped .

Significantly, Luiz gestured to the crowd after his goal to make sure no one was in any doubt that it was Torres’s lay-off that had provided him with the opportunity to finish with such aplomb. Luiz and Torres are linked, of course. Both arrived at Chelsea in January with big price tags – £25 million and £50 million respectively – and beyond a Premier League and FA Cup double the season before, one of Carlo Ancelotti’s most important legacies was pushing for the signing of Luiz.

He believed the Brazilian could become the best central defender in the world but last night, on his return to the team, Luiz again showed that he perhaps has ambitions to be the best striker. Without his dramatic intervention, charging down the left to find Florent Malouda and then reach Torres’s pass to bend his first-time shot cleverly, Chelsea might not have gained the victory they craved in their opening Group E match.

Leverkusen had chances also. They had a goal ruled out, perhaps wrongly, in the opening minutes from a corner and then Michael Ballack, on his return to Stamford Bridge, spurned a golden opportunity as he ran on to a clever through ball to breach the Chelsea defence. Clear on goal, he stabbed a shot but Petr Cech blocked.

Maybe, almost as crucially, Ballack was withdrawn and soon after Villas-Boas had seen enough as his side laboured. He brought on Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka who had been names as substitutes with Sunday’s visit to Manchester United in the Premier League in mind. John Terry, indeed, did not even make the squad as he was held back.

It was a bold statement, a risky one also given the stakes even though this was round one of the competition. But Villas-Boas was typically dismissive of such concerns, saying it was “fairness to the talent we have” that he rotated and that he “didn’t see any braveness in it”. He added: “I don’t see things like that. I think you are trying to look at the negative where there are so many positives. We have a very competitive squad.”

He was equally withering of any attempts to suggest that, perhaps, he had been fortunate. “How many chances did we have? Numerous,” Villas-Boas said.

Chelsea did have numerous chances, 22 in all, but Leverkusen had 11. They did not roll over and even though their rookie 19-year-old goalkeeper, Bernd Leno, had an outstanding game he was not the only active goalkeeper on show. He did well, though, to deny Torres, with his feet, and also beat out a fierce cross-shot from Daniel Sturridge.

Sturridge was lively, almost reaching a low cross, and then swivelling and firing close from a quick free-kick but Mata was even more of a live wire. His arrival has added energy, vision and speed to Chelsea as he continually pushed and probed.

Chances came. Malouda intercepted a stray pass and picked out Torres but, with another sight of goal, he, again, hesitated and Stefan Reinartz recovered with the striker hustled into mis-controlling. Later the Spaniard dabbed another effort across goal and failed to gain enough power with a header.

If he was subdued, then so was the crowd. Stamford Bridge was far from full – a result of the early stages of this competition but also a hike in prices – and there then grew an unease as Leverkusen started to work their way into the contest. Lars Bender cut inside and shaped to shoot only for Branislav Ivanovic to intercept and then André Schürrle broke through before half-hitting a shot which Cech fielded easily.

On the touchline Villas-Boas was his usual animated self, willing the ball forward, crouching and coaxing and continually gesturing his instructions.

But he had to make changes. On came the big guns but before that, Leno turned Sturridge’s sidefooted volley against a post. It was Sturridge’s last involvement. Finally, however, Chelsea were spurred into a breakthrough and it came from Luiz. The goal rocked Leverkusen. Soon after, Mata’s shot was pushed over by Leno as the Germans reeled but just as it seemed the relief of a second goal would not come, Torres was released down the left, holding off challenges and pushing his way into the area.

Torres may have shot but had the presence of mind to pull the ball back to Mata who swept home his second goal for his new club in two home games. A Spaniard scored for Chelsea. Villas-Boas will say it does not matter who gets the goals, but inside he can be forgiven for wishing it was Torres.

“The problem is solved. It’s not a case for CSI,” he said, responding to questions over Torres’s troublesome interview last week. But, despite the gloss, another problem persists.







=============================================




Mail:



Chelsea 2 Bayer Leverkusen 0: David Luiz back with a bang for Blues

By MATT BARLOW


The man who sells big frizzy wigs in the Fulham Broadway is back in business with the return to cult status of David Luiz.

Whether it is enough to revive the London economy remains to be seen but his beautiful strike, 23 minutes from time, helped Andre Villas-Boas secure a winning start in his first Champions League campaign.

Juan Mata added the second in stoppage time to end Bayer Leverkusen's resistance, with both goals stylishly created by Fernando Torres.

After grumbling about the pace of his team, the £50million striker appeared far happier last night but, in goal terms, slipped further behind the Brazilian centre half who arrived on the same day in January.

Luiz was last seen shrugging shoulders and shaking his mop in the direction of Carlo Ancelotti as Chelsea surrendered the Barclays Premier League title at Old Trafford in May.

Ancelotti hauled him off at half-time that day and never picked him again. As the Italian was sacked, images of the shaggy-haired South American denying responsibility for his mistake seemed to sum up a campaign that promised so much and delivered so little.

In the four months which followed, Luiz was barely seen. He went off to the Copa America with the national team. He did not play for Brazil but the tournament ensured he would return late for pre-season and minor injuries stalled his progress further.

It was an astonishing fall from grace for a £25m player who dazzled when he first arrived, with his adventurous style and vital goals, against Manchester United and City.

On Tuesday night came his rebirth, nicely timed, ahead of Chelsea's return to Old Trafford on Sunday. Villas-Boas gave Luiz a game as he told John Terry to take a breather. It was a bold call, not least because it was coupled with a decision to leave Frank Lampard on the bench.

With Didier Drogba still suffering the after-effects of concussion, it was Petr Cech who led out the team and Torres was asked to be the spearhead. If this was a weakened team, it was a very expensive one.

In front of a disappointing crowd of less than 34,000, Torres looked sharp, though misfortune continued to haunt him in front of goal, from the moment he turned a smart volley over the bar in the first minute.

He glanced a header so fine it cannoned off the marker he had shrugged off and was then thwarted by a fine challenge from Stefan Reinartz after Florent Malouda's had slid him clear.

As frustrations built, he lunged at Simon Rolfes and was booked before another ambitious effort sliced away towards a corner flag.

Torres cannot complain that his team were not slick enough last night. Chelsea displayed great energy and desire, and the game pulsed at a healthy tempo, helped by Leverkusen's own ambition to score.

Both teams had goals ruled out in the first few minutes. First Rolfes nodded the ball into Cech's net from close range, but the whistle had gone for a foul. Then Raul Meireles was denied, having drifted slightly offside before diverting a miscued backheel from Torres into the net with a miscued backheel of his own.

Villas-Boas twitched and skipped in his technical zone, leaping high into the air as Daniel Sturridge exploded into life, cutting in from the right and testing keeper Bernd Leno with a fierce left-footer.

The 19-year-old Leno performed brilliantly, saving twice more from Sturridge either side of the break.

It came as a surprise when Villas-Boas opted to take off Meireles and Sturridge ahead of Torres in the 65th minute, but on came Lampard and Nicolas Anelka and the decision was soon justified.

Leverkusen reacted by replacing Michael Ballack, who was warmly applauded on his return to Stamford Bridge but ought to have broken the deadlock when he burst clear early in the second half. Cech made an important save with his legs.

Within a minute of Ballack's exit, Chelsea were ahead, with Torres nursing the perfect pass into the path of Luiz, who bounded forward and curled a right-footer low inside the far post from 20 yards.

His defending may leave a little to be desired at times but he knows where the net is. This was his third goal in 13 games for the club, compared to one in 23 for Torres, who may have found a role as a creator.

In the second minute of added time, the Spain striker sprinted from halfway, rode a tackle and unselfishly squared a pass for the impressive Mata to apply a simple finish.


MATCH FACTS

Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Luiz (Alex 76), Cole, Mikel, Sturridge (Anelka 64), Malouda, Meireles (Lampard 65), Mata, Torres. Subs not used:Hilario, Ferreira, McEachran, Kalou.

Yellow cards: Torres, Luiz.

Scorers: Luiz 67, Mata 90+3.


Bayer Leverkusen: Leno, Castro, Reinartz, Toprak, Kadlec, Rolfes, Bender (Balitsch 80), Ballack (Renato Augusto 76), Sam (Derdiyok 73), Kiessling, Schurrle.Subs not used: Yelldell, Schwaab, Friedrich, Bellarabi.

Yellow cards: Castro, Bender, Derdiyok.


Attendance: 33,820.

Referee: Stephane Lannoy (France).





=============================================




Mirror:


Chelsea 2-0 Bayer Leverkusen: Torres gives Luiz and Mata a hand

By Martin Lipton



Torres, back in the starting line-up, had spent 90 minutes of personal suffering, of angst and frustration, broken only with the lay-off that allowed David Luiz to edge Andre Villas-Boas' side ahead of the gritty German challenge.

It was not that Torres was bad. Certainly he was better than he looked when he came on at Sunderland at the weekend, but he still appeared to be a man in the middle of a living nightmare.

Like it or not, one goal in eight months is an unacceptable return for a British record £50million signing, a record that makes Andriy Shevchenko's tally of 22 in 87 games for the Blues seem prolific.

After all, Torres was supposed to be the man who would give Chelsea the killer instinct that would turn them into Champions League winners after all the years of disappointment and his failure to deliver seemed all the greater because of the weight of expectations.

Last night, with John Terry and Frank Lampard rested, Torres was even more the centre of attention and despite his key part in Luiz's goal, he hardly looked like a stellar talent, put in the shade by the performances of Daniel Sturridge, Juan Mata and Raul Meireles, as well as second half replacement Nicolas Anelka.

Yet Torres, to the delight and relief of most of those inside the Bridge, was saving the best until last.

Only seconds were left on the clock when Torres received the ball out on the left, reverting to the surging model of his Liverpool days as he drove powerfully and unstoppably into the box.

Aware of his desperation for a goal, the crowd stood, willing Torres to set the net rippling, urging him to pull the trigger.

Instead, clam, unselfish, unflurried, Torres looked up, spotted Mata to his right, rolled the ball into the path of his fellow countryman, who could not miss.

A roar, delight, and Mata milked the moment, running to embrace Torres, pointing to the striker, telling the crowd to hail the man who had made his second Chelseas goal in three games possible.

Torres had created one more in 23 minutes than he has scored in 23 appearances for the Blues yet this seemed as if it was a momentous incident, maybe, at last, the turning point the Spaniard needed.

That will become clearer over the weeks and months to come. Torres has to score, soon and often and the pressure will be on him to do exactly that at Old Trafford on Sunday.

But what it definitely bought Torres and Villas-Boas was breathing space, leeway, time to get things right, exactly what the manager and player both needed.

Admittedly, this was not a display to suggest Chelsea are favourites to be running out in the Allianz Arena in Munich in May, although Barcelona, of course, were held at home by AC Milan.

Yet it was a win, albeit one that would have been seriously endangered had former Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack not fluff his chance to make a final SW6 impression just before Luiz put the Blues in front.

And at this stage of the season, with four victories and a draw from his first five games in charge. Villas-Boas will settle for the victory and the extra zip and pace that the arrivals of Mata and Meireles, and the return of Sturridge, have given his side.

That vim and vigour did not look as if it would be rewarded for more than an hour, as Leverkusen's resolves threatened to frustrate the Blues.

Torres was inches over at the outset and found himself denied by Leno and last-gasp Leverkusen tackles, Meireles had a goal rightly chalked off - just after Simon Rolfes had a strike disallowed at the other end - and Sturridge went close three times all before the break.

Yet while Torres and Sturridge both came close in the second half, it was only when Villas-Boas turned to the cavalry and sent on Lampard and Anelka that the Germans cracked.

Instantly, Torres turned Ashley Cole's low centre into the path of Luiz, who curled home, and after Lampard, Mata and Anelka all went close, Torres made his second and most important contribution to set up Mata. All he needs now, you feel, is that goal.





=============================================




Sun:


HE'S THE CREATORR
£50m Fernando Torres is Chelsea's pass master
Chelsea 2 v Bayer Leverkusen 0

From SHAUN CUSTIS at Stamford Bridge



FERNANDO TORRES may have forgotten how to take them — but he certainly knows how to make them.

The £50million Spanish striker drew another blank last night to extend his woeful scoring record to just one in 23 games in a Chelsea shirt.

But Torres the provider was a different story altogether as he set up David Luiz and Juan Mata for the goals which broke the Germans' resistance.

The former Liverpool man had brought huge pressure on himself with a much publicised interview in which he criticised his team for being too old and too slow.

Torres, 27, wants quicker players around him and he hailed the arrival of Mata as an example of a signing he believed would bring the best out of him.

Manager Andre Villas-Boas decided to see if his actions could back up his words.

The boss paired Mata and livewire Daniel Sturridge as the support act to Torres while dispensing with some of the old guard.

Of the over-30s club, skipper John Terry was omitted from the squad altogether, while Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka were left on the bench.

It was a pragmatic decision with one eye on Chelsea's big Premier League visit to Manchester United on Sunday.

But the Blues only took the game by the scruff of the neck when Lampard and Anelka joined the action midway through the second half.

This was Villas-Boas' first Champions League match as a manager. But his team selection suggested he regards domestic matters as the priority — whatever the desire of owner Roman Abramovich to land Europe's biggest prize.

There was a Carling Cup feel to the occasion, with the changes in personnel and a rather subdued atmosphere among home fans around Stamford Bridge which was only three-quarters full.

Torres, though, will take great confidence from his part in last night's success and both Luiz and Mata made a special point of congratulating him on his assists.

Torres almost made an instant impact with an overhead kick from the first attack which flew just over the bar.

Both sides had goals disallowed in the space of 30 seconds. Captain Simon Rolfes headed in for the visitors and it was hard to see why the ref ruled it out.

Then Raul Meireles got the faintest of backheel touches into the net but it was rightly scrubbed out for offside.

Torres was tearing around, desperate to impress but he got carried away on the touchline and went right through Rolfes to earn a yellow card. Once he had the ball, he took a pass from his pal Mata and hit a left-foot shot which keeper Bernd Leno saved with his outstretched foot.

It was Torres' partner Sturridge who looked the more dangerous.

The England Under-21 striker has come on a ton since his loan spell at Bolton and watching Three Lions boss Fabio Capello must surely have him in his thoughts.

Sturridge livened things up with a magnificent turn and strike from 25 yards which fizzed low towards the bottom corner but Leno, diving to his left, scrambled it away.

Then he took a pass from Meireles, turned and whipped in another fierce strike which curled away from the upright.

Lampard was getting itchy feet and began warming up to much applause at the start of the second half.

The England midfielder was watching as Torres rose well to meet a Florent Malouda cross but his header was comfortably saved after which Leverkusen should have taken the lead through old-boy Michael Ballack.

The ex-German captain played a one-two on the edge of the area and when he got it back he was staring at the whites of former team-mate Petr Cech's eyes.

Cech came out, Ballack rushed his right-foot shot and the keeper blocked well. Leverkusen were finding their feet and Andre Shurrle tested Cech, too, with an effort from 12 yards.

It was a brief flurry from the visitors and Chelsea soon regained the initiative.

Sturridge went close again as he met Ashley Cole's cross but Leno did really well to push the ball on to the post.

Villas-Boas decided it was time for change with Anelka and Lampard replacing Sturridge and Meireles.

They had only just come on when Chelsea took the lead on 67 minutes as Luiz, the £24m centre-back with the dodgy barnet, made a bursting run from half-way and fed Cole.

The ball in was laid back perfectly by Torres and Luiz, making his first appearance of the season, curled a brilliant shot into the far corner. A case of Hair 1 Herr 0.

The Blues tails were up now, and Mata's effort was tipped over by the flying Leno.

But with the game three minutes into added time Torres got clear down the left and headed for the penalty area.

He had a choice. He could have shot from a tight angle and tried to get a much needed goal to add to his meagre tally.

Instead, he chose the correct option by squaring to Mata who had the easiest of tasks to slide the ball home.

Nothing the Mata with that at all.




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Star:


DAVID LUIZ LIFTS BLUES: CHELSEA 2 - B LEVERKUSEN 0


By Danny Fullbrook



DAVID LUIZ lit up Stamford Bridge last night with a wonder goal.

It was exactly whatChelsea needed as the Blues had been disappointing untilLuiz struck in the 67th minute.

The Brazilian central defender was making his first appearance of the season and his superb run set up the chance as he came surging forward and slipped a pass toAshley Cole

The left-back played the ball into Fernando Torres, who prodded it back into the path of Luiz and his first-time shot was caressed low into the far corner.

Torres was also the provider for Chelsea’s second goal in injury-time.

The Spaniard drove forward and from the left side unselfishly squared the ball to Juan Mata to slide home into an empty net.

Until Luiz’s breakthrough Chelsea had been thankful to their goalkeeper Petr Cech.

He made a great save from former Chelsea star Michael Ballack.

The German midfielder could have enjoyed a moment of glory as he was put clean through on goal after playing a clever one-two which opened up the Blues. It was Ballack’s first return to Stamford Bridge since being released last summer.

But as he thundered in on goal his 59th-minute effort was smothered by a sharp save from Cech, who had hardly been called on during the game.

Torres was given his chance last night to prove his point in front of Nicolas Anelka.

The striker has been warned by club and country that if he does not starting scoring goals he will be left on the sidelines.

The former Liverpool hitman is in hot water with boss Andre Villas-Boas for moaning that the Chelsea team is too old and slow.

But that did not stop the pragmatic Portuguese boss picking him last night. However, the rookie boss did make a few surprise selections.

This was the first time he had managed in the Champions League after winning the Europa League last year with Porto. But he had enough confidence in his side to go into the game without club stalwarts John SDHpTerry and Frank Lampard.

The Blues skipper was left out of the side completely – obviously with the manager having an eye on Sunday’s game against Manchester United at Old Trafford – and was replaced by Luiz.

Lampard, in contrast, was on the bench as Villas-Boas went with a midfield trio of John Obi Mikel, Raul Meireles and the recalled Florent Malouda.

Villas-Boas insisted that his side did not have a mental block when it came to the Champions League, despite reaching five semi-finals in six years and only one losing final from that.

But Ballack feels the penalty shoot-out defeat by Manchester United in the 2008 final has stuck in their minds.

Villas-Boas insists he will not be judged by his Champions League record, but of course he will because Roman Abramovich has sacked the ­previous six managers who have failed to deliver for him.

The Chelsea fans made their point about the competition as the Bridge was far from full last night with loads of empty seats due to a boycott over the 33 per cent price rise for tickets. The game started brightly as the ball was in the back of both nets inside the first four minutes, though both strikes were disallowed.

Leverkusen’s Simon Rolfes headed home at the far post, but there had been a push in the Chelsea area in the build-up.

Then at the other end a backheel from Torres was followed by one from Meireles, but the former Liverpool midfielder was rightly flagged offside.

Torres was clearly up for the game and could have been sent off for his tackle in the ninth minute on Rolfes, but luckily for him he was only shown a yellow.

The start of the game was typically all about Torres.

He had already seen an overhead kick from a Jose Bosingwa cross fly over the top of the crossbar.

Then he was denied a goal after the Leverkusen keeper Bernd Leno saved with his left foot from an underhit shot.

Chelsea were far from inspiring but in the 34th minute the ground came alive as a fierce long-range shot from Daniel Sturridge was saved low down by Leno. The young striker was doing his best to liven the game up and flashed another effort just wide.

Chelsea were lucky that Leverkusen were showing little attacking threat.

On the touchline Villas-Boas was doing his own version of Basil Fawlty, with the way he leapt about and became immersed in the game.

Luiz can be great going forward, and the former Benfica star showed that with a run and pass at the start of the second half.

That pass found Sturridge, but his cross just evaded the Brazilian defender who had sprinted into the penalty area.

England manager Fabio Capello was in the stands watching Sturridge, who was Chelsea’s sharpest player on the night before he was replaced by Anelka.

Just before he was taken off, Sturridge met a cross from Malouda with a volley which Leno did well to turn on to the post.




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Express:


LEVERKUSEN 0 CHELSEA 2: DAVID LUIZ GIVES ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS GREAT START

By Tony Banks


ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS is a man who likes to work out the percentages, make sure of all the facts, check every angle. But last night he took a chance – and it paid off. Just.

Chelsea opened their Champions League campaign with a two-goal victory at Stamford Bridge, as Brazilian David Luiz stepped up to rescue his manager from embarrassment and Juan Mata’s late strike made the scoreline more comfortable.

Andre Villas-Boas took the huge gamble of leaving out skipper John Terry and confining Frank Lampard to the bench – and he nearly ended up with egg on his face as stubborn Bayer Leverkusen threatened a real upset.

But it was centre-back Luiz who saved the day in the 67th minute, striding forward to crack in a right-footed shot from the edge of the area – in his first game of the season.

It was, though, another night of misery for Fernando Torres as he suffered another shut-out, even if he helped set up Luiz’s goal and made a decisive contribution to Mata’s strike.

Terry and Lampard were not the only major stars left out – so was striker Nicolas Anelka – with Sunday’s crunch Premier League clash at Manchester United looming.

Torres was recalled to lead the attack, still with only one goal in 22 competitive games for the club since his arrival last January.

It was a huge risk, with this the opening game of the group and German teams always stubborn opposition. It was a selection from Villas-Boas, making his Champions League debut as a manager, that could easily have blown up in his face. The fans seemed, though, to share the feeling – Stamford Bridge was far from a sell-out.

After five semi-finals in six years, the past two campaigns had been a major disappointment under Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea going out in the last 16 two years ago and the quarter-finals last season. It is the competition that owner Roman Abramovich covets, and though Villas-Boas insisted before the game that his future would not hang on it, history shows that the truth is rather different.

In the Leverkusen line-up was former Blues favourite Michael Ballack, discarded in the summer of 2010 after four years, three FA Cups, one league title and one league cup at Stamford Bridge.

Torres had claimed this week that Chelsea had been playing too slowly and their players were too old. Perhaps he was intent on showing them the way as he flashed a hooked shot just wide in the first minute.

Leverkusen gave Chelsea a major scare as Simon Rolfes forced the ball home, but the goal was fortunately disallowed. Villas-Boas’s team went straight back down the other end and Raul Meireles flicked home – but he was offside. Then Mata crossed and Torres saw his low drive kept out by keeper Bernd Leno’s foot. But his best opportunity, when clean though from Florent Malouda’s pass, saw the Spaniard’s poor touch let him down.

Leverkusen, who started their Bundesliga season slowly but are unbeaten in their last four games, were well-organised and worked ferociously hard to close down Chelsea’s space – and the Germans counter-attacked with pace, as Lars Bender was only just thwarted and then Andre Schurrle flashed a shot wide.

It was clearly not going to be an easy night. Torres suffered yet more frustration as his glancing header was saved by Leno. The Germans were gaining in confidence as Chelsea seemed to be running out of ideas, Torres yet again fading after a bright start, but Daniel Sturridge and Mata were also finding it hard to make any headway.

Villas-Boas threw on a double substitution to try to turn the tide as Lampard and Anelka were pushed into the fray – and within four minutes the deadlock was broken.

Luiz had made several dangerous runs forward and he burst clear again, played a delightful one-two with Torres – and slotted the Spaniard’s return pass right-footed into the corner from 18 yards. It was a precious goal, in the nick of time. Anelka had suddenly transformed the Chelsea attack with his runs – twice setting up Mata, once for a shot that was pushed away, and then another that he fired over.

In the second minute of injury time the suffering Torres made another vital intervention. He set up Mata, who beat the keeper from eight yards.

Chelsea were winners by two goals but in reality it was a skin-of-the-teeth performance.


Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Luiz (Alex 76), Cole; Meireles (Lampard 65), Mikel, Malouda; Sturridge (Anelka 64), Torres, Mata. Booked: Luiz, Torres. Goals: Luiz 67, Mata, 90.

Bayer (4-5-1): Leno; Castro, Reinartz, Toprak, Kadlec; Schurrle, Bender (Balitsch 80), Ballack (Augusto 66), Rolfes, Sam (Derdiyok 73); Kiessling. Booked: Castro, Bender, Sam.

Referee: S Lannoy (France).