West Ham 3-0

Independent:

West Ham United 0 Chelsea 3 Frank Lampard hammers his former club

By MIGUEL DELANEY

This time, no close shave. A crew- cut Jose Mourinho may have said on Friday that it’s “not good to compare” this current Chelsea team with his old one, but they are increasingly illustrating many of the same fine qualities.
Just at the point when a poor run of results looked set to become a problem, they showed a remarkable capacity to claim the kind of win that levels everything out again. Between 2004 and 2006, his title-winning teams never went three successive league games without a victory and that is still the case.
Chelsea responded to the dropped points and poor performances against Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion with a commanding victory. Frank Lampard, meanwhile, responded to a 10-game drought to score twice against his old club.
For all that Mourinho will have wanted to quickly inject an intensity into his team again, Chelsea were not immediately imposing. There was still a slight reticence about their play with only Hazard on the left offering any sense of liveliness.
West Ham were comfortable, and even had the better of the early chances, which will make it all the more galling for Sam Allardyce, their manager, that they gifted the away side the opening goal in such a calamitous way. After 20 minutes, Guy Demel, the defender, tried to play a relatively aimless Chelsea cross back to Jussi Jaaskelainen in the West Ham goal, only to misjudge and meekly hit the ball with his thigh. That allowed Oscar to nip in ahead of the goalkeeper, draw the approach and go over under the challenge. Even if there was an element of innovation about the way the Brazilian went down, a collision was inevitable and referee Chris Foy couldn’t but award the penalty that Lampard smashed into the roof of the net.
The real grievance for Allardyce was not to go behind to such a good team but to lose that first goal so cheaply when Chelsea were then playing so limply. The game was transformed. Still without a striker in the absence of Andy Carroll, West Ham’s entire attempt at containment and countering was rendered irrelevant.
On 34 minutes, Chelsea’s two star attackers rendered their defenders irrelevant too. Receiving the ball just inside the opposition half, Hazard flicked on to Oscar before peeling off to the right. That opened up even more space in front of the West Ham backline, which the latter duly maximised. Oscar surged forward with the ball before beautifully slipping it into the bottom corner. Two goals down, Allardyce evidently felt he had no choice but to make two significant switches before half-time with Joe Cole and Jack Collison hauled off for Mohamed Diamé and Modibo Maiga.
It almost paid off as, after 65 minutes as Maiga was presented with a chance to pull one back.
After much better footwork from the surging Demel on the flank, the right-back squared for Maiga to finish from just yards out but he could only pull it wide.
In truth, it would have pushed West Ham’s luck too. Chelsea could have been out of sight by then, with Gary Cahill having a header cleared off the line by Mark Noble and Oscar powering wide after a flowing move. Amidst all this, Samuel Eto’o was displaying some sublime touches.
West Ham were at least then displaying greater fight too, with the use of an actual forward clearly helping, even if he hadn’t helped himself with his finishing. Minutes from the end, though, Lampard showed him how. After a Branislav Ivanovic cross found its way to the edge of the box, the England midfielder found the bottom corner with a drive. Chelsea were simply a cut above.

West Ham (4-2-3-1): Jaaskelainen; Demel, Collins, Tomkins, O’Brien; Collison (Maiga, 40), Noble; J Cole (Diamé, 40), Morrison, Downing; Nolan (Jarvis, 76).

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Mikel, Lampard; Ramires, Oscar (Schürrle, 83), Hazard  (Essien, 84); Eto’o (Ba, 79).
Referee: Chris Foy.
Man of the match: Lampard (Chelsea)
Match rating: 7/10

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

Observer:

Chelsea ease to victory at West Ham courtesy of Frank Lampard's brace
David Hytner at Upton Park

For José Mourinho and Chelsea, there was beauty in this East End stroll. Needing victory after the loss at Newcastle United and the fortunate home draw against West Bromwich Albion, they found opponents only too happy to oblige.
West Ham United were a shambles in the first half. Sam Allardyce persisted with his 4-6-0 formation and the manager watched his players offer nothing and, seemingly, look to do little more than cling on.
So bad were his tactics and his team that he made two substitutions in the 40th minute, with one of the new faces being a striker, Modibo Maïga. Joe Cole was furious to be withdrawn and he stormed straight off to the dressing room.
The damage was done by then. Chelsea took advantage of West Ham's lack of ambition and, also, defensive slackness; the opening goal, thrashed home from the penalty spot by Frank Lampard against his old club, followed a faintly ludicrous lapse. Oscar got the goal that his man-of-the-match performance deserved after the half-hour and that was pretty much that.
Mourinho's team were helped on their way but they were stable, confident and incisive. They might have struggled at times when opposing teams have flooded the midfield but not here. Mourinho's only gripe was that the third goal took so long to come and, at 2-0, Chelsea risked allowing West Ham back.
Maïga did fluff their only chance on 65 minutes, and it was a glorious one, but a comeback never looked likely. Lampard scored again, shooting home after yet another flowing move and West Ham, despite showing more spirit and purpose in the second-half, could not escape being booed off.
Allardyce believes that the striker-less strategy is the best way to compensate for the absence of Andy Carroll and it did work in the 3-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur on 6 October. Since then, though, there have been two points taken and the club have been left to teeter above the relegation places.
The tactic, quite simply, feels negative at home and when any manager tears up a blueprint after 40 minutes, it is tantamount to an admission that he got things horribly wrong in the first place.
What Allardyce did not need was the darkly comic moment that served to put Chelsea in charge. Gary Cahill's chip did not appear to present a problem but Guy Demel contrived to create a big one, when his attempt to get the ball back to Jussi Jaaskelainen with his thigh went askew. Oscar nipped in, Jaaskelainen sent him spinning and the only discussion concerned the colour of thegoalkeeper's card.
Mourinho said it should have been red; the referee Chris Foy ruled that it was not even yellow. Oscar was running away from goal and it was not a clear scoring opportunity. Lampard relished converting in front of the Bobby Moore stand and the supporters who continue to jeer him.
Chelsea ratcheted up the intensity, Lampard twice went close and Oscar's goal came as no surprise. It was another soft concession. James Collins lost his bearings after Eden Hazard's flick and Oscar ran and kept running before, in the absence of any challenge, he threaded low into the corner from the edge of the area.
Allardyce chuntered about Cole's reaction to his removal. "All any player ever does is think about himself," Allardyce said. "It's up to him the next time he gets a chance to make it impossible for me to substitute him."
Allardyce also removed his captain, Kevin Nolan, in the 76th minute, a decision that was greeted by cheers from the home crowd.
Chelsea might have had more before the interval – Jaaskelainen made one save from Samuel Eto'o – and the visitors could revel in lovely individual flickers, with Hazard running Oscar close for star billing. Eto'o showed his touch and skill.
Mourinho had started Mikel John Obi in front of the back four to counter West Ham's high balls and allow Lampard to get forward while the team was configured to allow Hazard to eschew any defending. He enjoyed himself and so did the travelling fans. "Frankie Lampard," they told their West Ham counterparts. "He's won more than you."
Chelsea pushed for more. Cahill had a header cleared off the line by Mark Noble and Oscar was off target following a Chelsea counter. Maïga's point-blank miss, after Demel's wonderful run and cross, seemed to sum things up for West Ham and Lampard twisted the knife with his second.
Mourinho said that a "third game without a win would not have been acceptable" but for Allardyce, comfort was scarce. "We've lost our home fortress," he said. "We are struggling in front of goal and now, we are suffering with our defensive errors."

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Telegraph:

West Ham United 0 Chelsea 3
By Oliver Brown

Frank Lampard rather enjoys sabotaging his former club.
Despite the unrepeatable slurs he endures whenever he returns to this corner of E13, he has now scored five goals in his past five encounters with West Ham, and none better than the luscious strike with which he rounded off a superlative contribution on Saturday night to lift Chelsea into third place in the Premier League.
It was refreshing, too, to see him celebrate with such exuberance, subverting the absurd maxim that one should mark a goal against one’s ex-employers like a lapsed monk.
By rights, and there is never any such thing for a player who leaves a club for a loathed enemy, Lampard ought to be accorded a little more respect by West Ham’s fans.
He was part of a young side that led the club to a fifth-place finish in the Premier League in 2000 and yet he is treated here like the devil incarnate. Small wonder that this superb brace, which brought to an end his longest goal drought as a Chelsea player, was the source of such relish.
It was likewise a relief for Jose Mourinho, as Chelsea reasserted their authority with a first clean sheet in seven matches, courtesy of record scorer Lampard and a beautifully-taken first-half goal by Oscar.
As Lampard put it: “We knew if we kept conceding silly points we were going to be out of the race, so I very pleased to be a part of this.”
By contrast West Ham left the field to boos after an abject performance, in which Guy Demel gifted an early penalty and substitute Modigo Maiga was guilty of a horrendous miss that killed off any hope of a comeback.
West Ham, as has become increasingly common, were suffocatingly negative.
Sam Allardyce appears to be on a strange crusade this season, exhorting his players to defend with such grim obduracy that their opponents fall into a kind of glazed stupor. But there is scarcely much point in reverting to a 4-6-0 system when you start with two strikers seething on the bench, in Carlton Cole and Maiga, and when you fall two goals behind within 34 minutes.
It is a damning reflection upon this team’s indecision, and sapping lack of ambition, that the first half could be so sterile and that they could still found themselves holed below the waterline so quickly. The breakthrough of Lampard’s penalty was a prime case in point.
Guy Demel was specifically told by Jussi Jaaskelainen ‘time, time’ and yet inexplicably chose to knee the ball back in the direction of his stranded goalkeeper. It was such a witless move that the ever-likely Oscar needed no second invitation to steal in, only be upended by the suddenly exposed Finn.
Referee Chris Foy rightly chose not to show a red card to Jaaskelainen, who did dive in strongly on Oscar but caught the Brazilian as he was going away from goal.
Lampard, meanwhile, could not wait to take the ball to the spot, lashing it home with a ferocious strike. He wheeled exultantly in front of the West Ham stands, arguably a just decision for the fearful abuse that the fans mete out to him here, over his perceived perfidy in leaving them in 2003.
While West Ham had shown the faintest flickers of a threat, not least when John Terry had to block Mark Noble’s follow-up shot from a Kevin Nolan header, Chelsea looked in control.
By the 34th minute they all but had the match won as Oscar struck at the culmination of an attack of devastating simplicity. James Collins, charged with marking him, chose instead to close down Eden Hazard and the 22-year-old from Sao Paulo had more time than he could ever expect on the training ground to tee up his shot and slot the ball expertly beyond Jaaskelainen.
Allardyce, at a loss to configure his starting XI, had to act, and quickly.
Maïga was brought on at the expense of James Collison, while Mohamed Diame replaced the unfortunate Joe Cole, hooked after only 39 minutes and reacting to his manager with a thunderous look and a contemptuous brush of the hand. West Ham fans, intensely fond of Cole despite his less than stellar impact since rejoining his former club last winter, booed the switch loudly to heighten a mutinous mood inside the Boleyn Ground.
Chelsea, well-drilled by Mourinho in the wake of that fractious draw with West Bromwich Albion, kept a firm grip on West Ham’s throats. Even Gary Cahill was not afraid to join the offensive, watching his bullet header cleared off the line by Ravel Morrison.
They were equally effective on the counter, as when Cesar Azpilicueta picked off Noble’s pass with ease and angled a slick ball to the feet of Samuel Eto’o before overlapping.
The Spanish lofted an enticing cross to the far post but Oscar, contriving an audacious volley, for once could not convert.
Eto’o, in particular, seemed the fittest he has been since his Premier League baptism, and almost grabbed a goal himself with a wonderful whipped effort that drifted fractionally past the far corner.
For the sake of their pride, West Ham did at least make an effort at a fightback. Demel, desperate to atone for his hideous earlier lapse, ran determinedly down the right to slide a ball across the face of Petr Cech’s goal that screamed ‘bury me’.
Instead, Maiga, a man with an average of a goal every two games at Sochaux, continued his dismal form at Upton Park by directing it straight into the advertising hoardings.
Lampard, ultimately, could not resist having the last word, with a block by Joey O’Brien directing straight into his path, and he was unerring in unleashing a typically ferocious strike past Jaaskelainen. For these London rivals, the balance of power has seldom looked so lopsided.

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Mail:

West Ham 0 Chelsea 3: Frankly, it's too easy! Lampard returns to haunt former club (again) with two goals in comfortable win

By MARK RYAN

Frank Lampard tasted fresh freedom, scored his first goals for ten league matches and reignited his ‘bromance’ with Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
As for Sam Allardyce, there was no outward display of affection towards any of the West Ham players who underperformed for him, becausehe says ‘all players ever do is think of themselves’. And his relationship with Joe Cole, substituted inside 40 minutes, seems to have hit a very rocky patch.
First to the messages of love exchanged between Lampard and Mourinho.
The 35-year-old midfielder ended a ten-goal scoring drought, the longest of his career in the top flight, to seal only Chelsea’s second away win of the season with two goals — making it five in as many league games against his old club.
Released from the shackles of defensive responsibility, he responded by taking the pressure off a man he clearly adores.
Lampard said: ‘We knew if we’d thrown away any more silly points we’d be out of the title race, so I’m very pleased to be part of this win.
‘I’ve been playing a holding role of late but I’ll play anywhere for this manager. Once we were ahead, we were superb.’
Chelsea led thanks to Lampard’s 21st-minute penalty, fired past Jussi Jaaskelainen with disdain.
Perhaps he shared Mourinho’s view at the time, because his manager had been bending the ears of any official who would listen, insisting that Jaaskelainen should have been sent off for bringing down Oscar.
Unusually for Mourinho, he had relented by the time he voiced his opinions to the media, insisting that, although he thought it had ‘possibly’ been a red card, he was by then ‘happy’ to leave the ultimate judgement to referee Chris Foy. It might have been  different if his team had lost.
But by then Oscar had skipped through to slot Chelsea’s second, released by a magical flick from Eden Hazard. Then, with eight minutes, left Lampard arrived on the edge of the area to sweep home a typically feisty finish and complete Mourinho’s joy.
No wonder we were treated to the following outpouring of love. Mourinho said of Lampard: ‘I think he’s in a moment when he has nothing to prove to you, the fans, to me or to himself.
'He just needs to enjoy the last years of his career, try to play the maximum he can, try to score, because it was always part of his DNA as a player before.
‘I was his manager in the best period of his career possibly, and I am here to enjoy the last years of his career.’
That is the kind of praise you receive when you have saved your manager from further embarrassment, because, as Mourinho had already pointed out, ‘a third game without a win would not have been acceptable’.
Allardyce was unable to feel a similar glow when he talked about the substitution of Joe Cole. It was Cole’s display of frustration, as he took off his shirt and disappeared down the tunnel, which prompted some cold-hearted remarks from Big Sam.
‘Every player is frustrated because all every player ever does is think about themselves. I have to think about the bigger picture. If he’s frustrated then fine, next time he gets a chance he’s going to play so well for me that the last thing I can do is substitute him. If he doesn’t play quite as well and I think I need to take Joe Cole off, I’ll do it.’
Allardyce clearly did not see Cole as a threat to Mourinho’s men, even though the former Chelsea midfielder almost scored early on, seeing his shot blocked.
Allardyce added: ‘I brought  my captain Kevin Nolan off  too because I didn’t think he drove the team on as well as he normally does.’
Modibo Maiga missed a  point-blank chance to put  West Ham back in the game after Guy Demel had sent in a dangerous low cross.     
Allardyce sounds distraught and needs wins quickly, now that the fans are booing.
‘Our world has been turned upside down because last season we lost only four games at home in the entire season. This year we’ve already lost four at home so we’ve lost our fortress,’ he said.
Many more public attacks like this and Allardyce might risk  losing the dressing room too. No danger of that for Mourinho.

West Ham: Jaaskelainen, Nolan, Tomkins, Collison (Maiga 40), Morrison, Noble (Jarvis 76), O'Brien, Collins, Demel, Downing, J.Cole (Diame 40).
Subs not used: McCartney, Adrian, Taylor, C.Cole

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Mikel, Lampard, Ramires, Oscar (Schurrle 83), Hazard (Essien 84), Eto'o (Ba 79).
Subs not used: Schwarzer, Cole, Mata, Willian.

Goals: Lampard (pen) 21, Oscar 34, 82

Att: 34,977

Ref: Chris Foy
Man of the match: Frank Lampard

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Mirror:

West Ham United 0-3 Chelsea: Lampard double piles pressure on Sam Allardyce
By Steve Stammers

The former Hammer was on target twice as Chelsea won with ease
Frank Lampard last night continued his personal vendetta against West Ham as Chelsea cruised back into title contention at Upton Park.
The England midfield star brought his goal tally against the club where he learned his trade to five in five Premier League games as Chelsea moved to third in the table.
There were the ingredients for a fascinating clash that would have an impact at both ends of the table.
A Chelsea win would oust Southampton from third spot while West Ham would enjoy some relief on the edge of the relegation zone.
But the massive advantage for Chelsea was the strength of the squad at the disposal of manager Jose Mourinho. He had seven internationals to cover every eventuality.
West Ham, in contrast, looked short of firepower with Sam Allardyce reluctant to call on misfiring Modibo Maiga and Carlton Cole, still striving for match fitness.
Mourinho said: “From the first minute we looked very tough, solid, comfortable. From We were in control.”
Mourinho is still intent on challenging Ashley Cole to re-establish himself in the first team at Stamford Bridge. He may be an England centurion but currently Cesar Azpilicueta is proving something of an obstacle to his ambitions.
Needless to say, two East End sons who have been guaranteed a hostile welcome on every visit to home territory are John Terry and Frank Lampard.
Nothing changed yesterday in the cold and gloom of Upton Park. But it was Lampard who came out the winner.
The abuse was cruel and vindictive – and it bothered Lampard not one bit. He stayed assured and commanding and in front of him were the elusive Edin Hazard and the talented Oscar.
West Ham were forced to defend deep with the occasional forward foray. James Collins and James Tomkins needed to defend manfully but their work was undone by a brainstorm from Guy Demel on 20 minutes.
A forward ball from Gary Cahill was hopeful at best and Demel had time to select any option to clear. He chose the wrong one as he attempted to guide the ball back to Jussi Jaaskelainen off his thigh. It fell woefully short and Oscar pounced only to be brought down by the goalkeeper.
Referee Chris Foy had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Lampard was delegated to take the spot-kick and despite ferocious attempts from those in the Bobby Moore stand to distract him, he drove the ball firmly into the net. The only debating point was why ­Jaaskelainen was not shown a card for the ­challenge.
Mourinho said: “I expected a red card. The keeper was the last man. He made contact with Oscar to bring him down.”
Worse was to come in the 34th minute. Oscar and Hazard performed a neat exchange and the Brazilian broke clear to score from the edge of the area.
Allardyce (left) reacted – but not in the way a ­discontented crowd wanted. He took off local hero Joe Cole who reacted by tearing off his shirt and disappearing down the tunnel. Jack Collison was also replaced and on came Mohammed Diame and Maiga.
Chelsea went looking for the goal that would surely end West Ham’s resistance and it almost came in the 53rd minute.
Lampard drilled in a corner and Cahill rose above the West Ham defence to head ­goalwards but Mark Noble cleared.
Chelsea’s dominance was interrupted by a spectacular run in the 65th minute from Demel. He muscled past two challenges, crossed low but Maiga shot wide.
Lampard got the crucial third in the 82nd minute when he drove home a cross from Branislav Ivanovic.

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West Brom 2-2

Independent:

Chelsea 2 West Brom 2
Steve Clarke left crushed by Ramires' fall
Albion suffer rough justice after being denied a famous victory at Chelsea by penalty decision

By GLENN MOORE

Twenty-four hours after Jose Mourinho declared of diving, “I hate it, but I don’t have a problem as none of my players do it,” his unbeaten league record at Stamford Bridge was rescued by an example of the genre from Ramires. The Brazilian tumbled to the floor in the 94th and final minute of this pulsating match. It may have been a dive, it may have been Ramires lost control of his legs, either way it should not have been a penalty.
Andre Marriner thought differently and Eden Hazard converted the spot-kick to end his difficult week on a positive note and deny Steve Clarke a famous victory over his former boss.
Behind to an injury-time first-half goal from Samuel Eto’o, Albion had scored twice in eight second-half minutes through Shane Long and Stéphane Sessègnon – the latter due to a howler by Petr Cech. They had chances to kill the game but seemed set for victory when Ramires burst into the box and hit the deck as Steven Reid came in to tackle. Ben Foster, Albion’s injured goalkeeper, tweeted in apparent response: ‘A load of shit’.
“It was a penalty,” insisted Mourinho with a straight face. “I wasn’t sure from the bench but I have seen it on television.” He must have been watching a different screen to Clarke who said, after viewing a series of replays: “I am flabbergasted at the decision. I can’t believe he gave it. It was a bad decision. [Ramires] started going down early, before the contact. "
Clarke added: “It is very, very hard to take. I am very disappointed and very sad for my team as they deserved the three points, but I’m proud of my team too.”
Mourinho felt his team deserved at least a point as Albion had “not crossed the halfway line in the first half”. That is reasonably accurate, but given the clubs’ respective resources it was up to Chelsea to break them down.
That they struggled to do. A well-drilled back four is a thing of rare beauty and Albion’s operates with clockwork precision. With distances between defenders expertly maintained, and Jonas Olsson  calling the ‘step up’, ‘drop off’, movement, they kept Chelsea restricted to the free-kicks Claudio Yacob kept conceding. Oscar brought a good save from Boaz Myhill from one of these but it was still a surprise when Chelsea broke though.
The architect was Hazard, dropped against Schalke in midweek as punishment for missing training on Monday following a cross-Channel trip. He cut in from the right, evading challenges, before driving a low shot towards the far post. Myhill went full length to palm the ball out and Liam Ridgewell should have cleared. But he paused to allow the ball to run across his body so he could kick with his left foot and Eto’o nipped in to poke the ball past the prone keeper.
As Eto’o’s recent embarrassing of goalkeepers David Marshall and Timo Hildebrand has shown, the veteran striker may not be quite as quick over 20 yards as he once what, but his mind is as sharp as ever.
The irony was, having been forced to come out Albion outplayed Chelsea. Long headed against the post from a Morgan Amalfitano cross before heading in the loose ball after Cech had parried a point-blank Gareth McAuley header from an Amalfitano corner. Then Sessègnon robbed Branislav Ivanovic – “a bad mistake by the referee, it was a foul”, said Mourinho; “not a foul” said Clarke, “just good pressure”. The Benin striker traded passes with Ridgewell then shot weakly, but under Cech’s dive.
Mourinho, who dropped Ashley Cole for the match, preferring Cesar Azpilicueta at left-back, introduced Juan Mata among a trio of substitutions and went to three at the back. With Mata orchestrating the attacks they laid siege to Albion’s goal. Myhill saved an Ivanovic volley, Willian headed over Hazard’s cross, Demba Ba somehow failed to connect with a Gary Cahill cross.
With John Terry and Cahill playing as auxilary stikers, and John Obi Mikel sweeping, Albion broke and Chris Brunt should have scored. The seconds ticked by and had Goran Popov taken the ball into the corner flag instead of trying an ambitious shot in the 94th minute, Albion would have won. Instead Chelsea went forward one last time. “Chelsea had run out of ideas,” said Clarke. “They were lumping the ball into the box, they were waiting for a lucky break, and they got it.”

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta (Mikel, 72); Ramires, Lampard (Ba, 64); Willian, Oscar (Mata, 72), Hazard; Eto’o.

West Bromwich (4-4-1-1): Myhill; Reid, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell; Amalfitano (Popov, 88), Mulumbu, Yacob, Brunt; Sessègnon (Morrison, 81); Long (Anichebe, 79).

Referee: Andre Marriner
Man of the match: Olsson (West Bromwich)
Match rating: 7/10

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

Observer:

Chelsea deny West Bromwich victory with contentious late penalty

Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge

Escapes such as this merely fuel the sense that José Mourinho is invincible when it comes to Premier League matches in this arena. Chelsea seemed beaten here as the fourth and final minute of stoppage time ticked down, their desperate gameplan apparently spent with Goran Popov in possession deep inside the home half, Petr Cech off his line and home players strewn upfield as if accepting of their fate.
Had the West Bromwich Albion substitute taken the ball into the corner and wasted the last few seconds, rather than attempting an unlikely shot from an unkind angle, then his side might have added a victory at Stamford Bridge to that already achieved at Old Trafford this season. As it is, that wait for a first win here since 1978 goes on. Chelsea reclaimed the ball, Ramires bustled into the area and tumbled under contact of some kind with Steven Reid. The clock read 93 minutes and 41 seconds when Andre Marriner, after a pause as if for dramatic effect, pointed to the spot.
It was the type of flashpoint that provoked immediate confusion over whether the official had spotted a foul or a dive, and debate over whether Ramires was en route to the turf prior to impact or sent sprawling by Reid's intervention. The managers, predictably, agreed to disagree. By the time Eden Hazard's penalty had billowed the net, extending the Portuguese's unbeaten league run here to 66 matches, the injured West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster had tweeted his own sense of deflation. "Load of shit," he offered. His team-mates made their feelings just as clear out on the pitch.
Chris Brunt and Jonas Olsson took their frustrations out on the officials, barking their disappointment at Marriner, an afternoon of admirable endeavour having been soured at the last. Steve Clarke's side can be inconsistent, blown away at Anfield one week but just as capable of winning at Manchester United, but they had been solidly impressive here. Well drilled and feverishly industrious, they had blunted the hosts in the opening period until their concentration wavered on the stroke of half-time. Once behind they were compelled to be slightly more expansive, only to excel yet more persuasively with their strength in the air and pace on the counterattack.
Shane Long had already thumped a header on to a post from Morgan Amalfitano's centre when the winger's delivery duly prompted panic at a corner just after the hour-mark. Gareth McAuley, such a threat at set-plays with his muscular presence and charge on to the cross, might have scored only for Petr Cech to push the attempt up rather than out. John Terry, Frank Lampard and Branislav Ivanovic were all inside the six-yard box watching the ball loop high into the early evening gloom, perhaps assuming its arc might take it over the bar and away, but it was Long who reacted smartest, springing up above all three to deposit his own header beyond Cech and in.
Mourinho bemoaned that defensive indecision, the concession too sloppy for comfort particularly given his side had succumbed on their last league outing at Newcastle and had considered this an opportunity to eat into Arsenal's lead at the top. Yet he was incensed seven minutes later when Stéphane Sessègnon's dispossession of Ivanovic just inside the Albion half was deemed legal. "Even the fourth official said I was right [to complain]," he offered having watched Sessègnon leave the Serb on the floor and break at pace, exchange passes with Liam Ridgewell, and then cut inside Terry to eke out space for a shot.
The attempt was scuffed and might have been stopped with ease, only to scuttle under Cech's loose attempt to save and Chelsea were breached yet again. Had Ivanovic been fouled in the build-up? "No," said Clarke. "They pressured us in midfield through the first half. When we do it very well on a Chelsea player, why is it suddenly a foul?"
Thereafter the home side cast caution aside and, had their opponents been more ruthless, might have been buried on the break. Those chances Chelsea created themselves were missed, Boaz Myhill springing to turn aside Ivanovic's shot and Willian heading over from point-blank range, before Ramires earned a reprieve and Hazard, his passport and place in the side restored, claimed a point.
"We deserved a draw," said Mourinho. "We were the only team who tried to score in that half."
The visitors had been unambitious but comfortable until virtually the half-time whistle, when Gary Cahill's cross-field pass was controlled on the chest by Hazard who cut in from the left flank and ran at Reid. The Belgian skimmed a low shot towards the far corner which Myhill pushed out and Ridgewell should then have cleared. But as he waited for the ball to come across his body, there was Samuel Eto'o, sneaking up on the blind side, to wrap his foot around the full-back and ram the loose ball into the gaping net. Myhill buried his head in the turf in disgust. By the end, that sense of exasperation had been exacerbated.

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

Telegraph:

Chelsea 2 West Bromwich Albion 2

By Jason Burt, Stamford Bridge

Eden Hazard was dropped after forgetting his passport. On Saturday he delivered a pass of his own for Jose Mourinho by scoring a hugely contentious 95th-minute penalty which preserved the Special One’s special record of never having lost a league match at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho had refused to accept Hazard’s apology after his fateful – and absent-minded – trip to Lille last weekend but here was an acceptable response from the player he continually refers to as the “kid”.
But that record of 65 matches should have gone.West Bromwich Albion should also have recorded a unique double of winning at both Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford this season – and a first victory here since 1978 – as apprentice turned sorcerer Steve Clarke outsmarted Mourinho, who cut a figure of incredulous frustration as the clock ticked.
How his team laboured, with that old guard of Petr Cech, John Terry and Frank Lampard creaking and Chelsea indebted to an incredible passage of good fortune in the final moments of this intriguing encounter. A slow burner that eventually crackled.
The climax started with West Brom captain Chris Brunt breaking. Three on one. He foolishly decided to go alone and ballooned a shot over. Then substitute Goran Popov, rather than retaining possession, ridiculously attempted a shot from the touchline.
It gave Chelsea one last chance to pour forward – Ramires ran into the penalty area, Steven Reid ran across and the Brazilian hit the turf. Easily – although he might argue his momentum took him over. Andre Marriner pointed to the penalty spot and West Brom were apoplectic, with the referee brandishing cards in the confusion.
But Hazard stayed calm. He may have been omitted from the midweek Champions League tie at home to Schalke because he missed a training session after mislaying his passport on a flying visit to his former club, but Mourinho had restored him to the starting line-up. In truth he had done little all afternoon but he coolly dispatched the penalty.
Had Hazard not scored then Mourinho would have been staring at back-to-back league defeats and the brewing of a crisis. There would also have been more discussion of his handling of his players – with Ashley Cole, for example, dropped and Juan Mata on the bench again.
Even so Chelsea dropped points. Again. November is often a difficult month for them, with poor runs of form in recent years and five points have been mislaid in the last two league matches. Mourinho also complained about his team having to play on Saturday while other Champions League clubs had 24 hours more rest.
Chelsea certainly looked jaded. Mourinho complained – again – accusing West Brom of not wanting to venture over halfway and putting up a “double wall”, but that was a disservice. There was far more wit to the visitors than that, even if they were unadventurous until falling behind, and Mourinho knew it. Instead his team huffed and puffed.
Little happened in that first half. The crowd probably half expected tumbleweed to drift across the pitch. Goalkeeper Boaz Myhill smartly tipped over Oscar’s free-kick and it seemed to be meandering to the interval until there was a dreadful mistake by Liam Ridgewell. After Myhill had done well to push out Hazard’s cross-shot, Ridgewell dawdled. And dawdled. He was waiting for the ball to run across his body to his stronger left foot instead of simply clearing – surely he can kick with his right – and Samuel Eto’o nipped in to stab the ball home.
Little wonder Clarke talked about being “mugged”. Surely that would settle Chelsea? Not so. Instead it was West Brom who showed the attacking intent.
Shane Long delivered the warning, beating Gary Cahill, only for his header to come back off a post – and then delivered the equaliser.
A corner was met powerfully by Gareth McAuley and Cech reacted superbly to push it out. But the ball dropped back into the six-yard area. Fatally Terry tried to create space rather than attack the ball, and Long jumped above him to nod it into the net.
Chelsea were stunned and then shocked. As Mourinho complained bitterly that Branislav Ivanovic was fouled – even claiming fourth official Scott Mathieson agreed with him and somehow should have intervened – West Brom broke. Stephane Sessegnon exchanged passes with Ridgewell and easily skirted to the right of the back-pedalling Terry. His shot was low and not particularly strong but it beat Cech, who was clearly at fault.
Chelsea reeled. And then they threw the kitchen sink. In fact they threw the sink, the bath – everything they could get hold of. They poured forward and Myhill pushed out Ivanovic’s half-volley and substitute Demba Ba made a hash of a chance, trying to flick the ball home and missing it completely from Cahill’s low cross. Then came that frantic final minute.

Match details
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech 5; Ivanovic 5, Cahill 6, Terry 4, Azpilicueta 6 (Mikel, 73); Ramires 6, Lampard 5 (Ba, 64); Willian 6, Oscar 6 (Mata, 73), Hazard 5; Eto’o 5.
Subs: Schwarzer (g), Cole, Luiz, De Bruyne.
Booked: Ivanovic, Lampard, Eto’o.

West Bromwich Albion (4-4-1-1): Myhill 7; Reid 6, McAuley 6, Olsson 7, Ridgewell 4; Amalifitano 7 (Popov, 89), Mulumbu 6, Yacob 7, Brunt 5; Sessegnon 6 (Morrison, 81); Long 7 (Anichebe, 79).
Subs: Daniels (g), Vydra, Dawson, Berahino.
Booked: Ridgewell, Yacob, McAuley, Olsson, Amalifitano, Long, Brunt.

Referee: A Marriner (W Midlands).

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

Mail:

Chelsea 2 West Brom 2: Baggies fume as Hazard saves Mourinho's home record with controversial penalty deep into injury time
By Rob Draper

Maybe Jose Mourinho is right. Perhaps there is no such thing as a curse on Chelsea in November. For Saturday, they were as lucky as you can be.
For the past three seasons, the west London club have capitulated in November, effectively surrendering their title hopes. This time, they avoided their second successive defeat of the month — but only with a huge slice of fortune.
Flat and uninspired for long periods, they salvaged a point three-and-a-half minutes into four minutes of time added on with a dubious penalty.
West Bromwich Albion had done the hard yards. They had defended manfully and then overcome a dreadful goal conceded just before half-time to come back to take a 2-1 lead. They had even wasted excellent chances to go 3-1 up, with Chris Brunt shooting over on 91 minutes when Victor Anichebe was in a great position to score.
Even then, with more than 93 minutes on the clock, Goran Popov rushed to control a ball deep inside Chelsea’s half. He kept the ball in play and needed only to head for the corner flag for Mourinho to experience his first defeat at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.
It would have been a seminal moment. Instead, Popov tried a cross, which was intercepted, Chelsea broke and Ramires carried the ball into the penalty area. As the Brazilian ran out of options, he stumbled, ran into Steven Reid and fell down, appealing for a decision.
For a moment it appeared justice would be done, as referee Andre Marriner did nothing. But then came the fateful whistle. Eden Hazard dispatched the penalty with 20 seconds left on the clock, at least providing a degree of redemption for his problematic weekend jaunt to Lille.
But there were no redeeming features for West Bromwich. ‘I’m flabbergasted at the decision,’ said Albion boss Steve Clarke. ‘I can’t believe he [Marriner] gave it. I’ve been in the game a long time and I knew he [Ramires] was already on the way down before anyone was near him. The referee has to be 100 per cent sure. How he can be 100 per cent sure is beyond me.’
Mourinho had condemned diving in his pre-match press conference and said the Premier League should use video replays to shame players. Did Ramires stumble or dive? Whatever, he appealed as he went down.
‘You can put a label on it if you want,’ said Clarke, ‘but the onus is on the referee to make the right decision. It should have been a fantastic result for us, but it’s just a good result in the end.’
For Mourinho, it was a penalty. ‘It came at a moment when it’s difficult for the team that is winning to accept, but this one was a penalty,’ he said. ‘From the bench, I don’t know. But on the screen, no doubts.’
However, Mourinho had his own battles to fight. Albion’s second goal came from a move that had started with what looked like a foul by Stephane Sessegnon on Branislav Ivanovic. ‘It’s a free-kick just in front of fourth official,’ said the Chelsea manager. ‘It’s a big mistake from the  referee.’
And he had his team to defend, declaring himself: ‘Absolutely satisfied. The attitude in the first half was absolutely the correct one: be patient, wait, difficult to break a wall, wait for a mistake. After their  second goal our reacton could be, “Die” or “Fight for life”. And the team fought for life.’
It is true that Willian and Demba Ba had chances to equalise before the penalty and that Mourinho went to a now-familiar back three in search of the goal, even summoning the out-of-favour Juan Mata from the bench. Eventually, he had his reward.
But the first half was a turgid affair and Chelsea had managed to create hardly anything — a superb Oscar free-kick apart, which Boaz Myhill tipped over — until Hazard cut inside and forced a save from Myhill. From the deflection, Liam Ridgewell dallied horrendously, allowing Samuel Eto’o to charge in and thump the rebound home on the stroke of half-time.
Yet West Bromwich responded better, with Shane Long forcing a great save from Petr Cech on 57 minutes. Then, from Morgan Amalfitano’s corner on 61 minutes, Gareth McAuley powered a header which Cech parried. Frank Lampard and John Terry both stood uncharacteristically still as Long leapt, hungrier to win the ball, and headed in from close range.
West Bromwich were ahead seven minutes later. Though Sessegnon had appeared to foul Ivanovic, he then fed Ridgwell, who turned the full-back smartly to find  Sessegnon again, who stepped inside Terry to shoot home, with Cech seemingly wrong-footed.
Myhill would be forced to make a save from Ivanovic on 75 minutes and there were those late chances for Ba and  Willian. But Chelsea were faltering, their cohesion lost and their creativity in question.
It might have ended luckily in the end, but they have not yet done enough to  banish the idea of that November curse.

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Express:

Chelsea 2 - West Brom 2: Jose Mourinho saved in spot-kick storm

TEN seconds to go. Just 10 seconds to the end of Jose Mourinho’s proud record of never losing a Premier League match at home as manager of Chelsea.
By: Jim Holden
But it couldn’t happen, of course it couldn’t. Not to the Special One. He couldn’t lose 2-1 at home to West Brom. His magic run could not be crushed.
Mourinho had to be saved somehow, and salvation came from the softest penalty decision you will see in a long time as Ramires fell down when he touched shoulders running at speed with defender Steven Reid.
Referee Andre Marriner pointed to the spot, sparking fury among the Albion players, and launching a nationwide debate about how such decisions always favour big clubs over the smaller ones.
Eden Hazard kept his cool, no mean feat in the circumstances, and scored the penalty to claim a draw for Chelsea, while the West Brom players were distraught at being robbed of the glory they deserved. As for Mourinho? He gave Hazard a kiss and this time gladly accepted the hazards of fate.
Most weeks during his career Mourinho has been full of conspiracy theories, raging about his club getting the rough end of the stick.
Even before this match he had been moaning about the fixture compilers who had brazenly given his team a schedule of playing on Wednesday and then Saturday.
It sounded oh-so hollow as the final whistle blew yesterday. So were his words afterwards, claiming with an absolutely straight face that: “Yes it was a definite penalty.
“Of course it is difficult for the team that is winning to accept this, but I have seen it on video and it is a penalty.”
West Brom manager Steve Clarke saw it very differently, and most neutrals will share his sentiments. “It’s very hard to take and I’m very sad for my team,” he said. “It was a bad decision because it wasn’t a penalty in my view. The player was already going to ground before any contact was made.
“I’m not putting any label on that. The onus is on the referee to make the correct decision. He has to be 100 per cent sure it is a penalty and I don’t see how you can be.
“It was the kind of penalty that can be given when the home crowd are shouting for everything in a game.”
West Brom’s dismay was understandable. They had played with such purpose throughout, and even Chelsea’s first goal, just before half-time, was a gift.
Hazard had drifted in from the right and fired in a low shot that was well saved by keeper Boaz Myhill. The ball fell straight to the feet of defender Liam Ridgewell, who had plenty of time to hack it away to safety.
Instead, bizarrely, foolishly, he wanted time to think. Chelsea striker Samuel Eto’o wasted no such mental energy and quick as a flash stabbed the ball into the gaping goal.
Ridgewell was mortified, lying face down on the pitch in horror.
The response from his team-mates after the break was stunning, as they found ambition and purpose to rock Chelsea with their football.
Shane Long headed against a post in the 50th minute and then scored the equaliser 10 minutes later.
Gareth McAuley had seen a powerful header from a corner brilliantly stopped by Chelsea keeper Petr Cech, but the diminutive Long climbed high above John Terry to head in the rebound.
Eight minutes later West Brom were in the lead. They counter-attacked after a strong tackle on Branislav Ivanovic in midfield and the move was finished by Stephane Sessegnon with a left-foot shot.
Mourinho threw caution to the wind with attacking substitutions, and Myhill had to save from Ivanovic and Ramires while Willian headed a chance over the bar.
As the match went into stoppage time the tension was palpable with Mourinho’s record in dire peril. Chris Brunt missed a chance to seal victory for West Brom on a counter-attack, shooting over the bar when he might have passed.
Then, with 30 seconds on the clock, Goran Popov tried to score from long range rather than take the ball to the corner flag and see out time.
Chelsea broke forward, the referee awarded the contentious penalty, and Mourinho had his moment of salvation.

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

Schalke 3-0

Independent:

Chelsea 3 Schalke 0
Samuel Eto'o takes his chance to shoot down German side
Cameroon striker scores twice after coming in to starting line-up to replace the injured Fernando Torres

By SAM WALLACE

One centre-forward's misfortune at Chelsea is another's opportunity and for Samuel Eto'o, his first Champions League goals for the club tonight will once again change the way that Jose Mourinho thinks about his squad of players.
Fernando Torres' training ground injury on Monday left the Chelsea manager with no choice but to make a change in attack and so his team moved on from that scrappy defeat to Newcastle on Saturday with a classically ruthless European performance. Mourinho's side were not at their best, and they will have to play much better sides than Schalke, but it was the home team who took their opportunities.
That was Eto'o who scored his second and third goals for the club, the first of which was a perceptive poacher's goal that severely embarrassed the Schalke goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand. He scored a second on 54 minutes to kill the game and left to a standing ovation. His replacement Demba Ba scored the third, his first goal of the season.
For this night at least, the erratic goalscoring contribution of Torres was not missed. He has an adductor injury and will require the international break to recover. It leaves Chelsea on top of Group E with nine points and in a strong position as they go to Switzerland to face Basel away in the penultimate group game. Basel, who beat them in the first game of the group at Stamford Bridge, only drew with Steaua Bucharest.
Six changes were wrought on the Chelsea team that made Mourinho feel so angry and mystified at Newcastle on Saturday. The notable one was the decision to drop Eden Hazard for returning late on Monday and missing training. But he also left out Ashley Cole and moved Cesar Azpilicueta over to left-back again. There was a return to the bench for Juan Mata and David Luiz.
The benefits were not immediately noticeable, not with Chelsea overrun in the early stages and looking more like the away side than one of the big boys of European football. The Hungarian striker Adam Szalai had two good chances in the first six minutes, made by Atsuto Uchida and Julian Draxler, both of which he snatched at and dragged wide.
In those moments, Chelsea had singularly failed to impose themselves on the game and a better side than Schalke might have punished them. But Schalke did not have much of a cutting edge up front and although they fought hard in those early stages they did not test Petr Cech. Draxler flitted in and out of the game and picked up a silly booking for dragging Azpilicueta back by the shirt.
From that free-kick in the 20th minute, Andre Schurrle struck a very nice right-footed shot that faded and dropped towards Hildebrand's right post. The goalkeeper got both hands on it and then embarked on a round of gratuitous high-fives and self-congratulatory shouting and clapping before the corner came in.
Oh, what a fall from grace he had awaiting him. Chelsea had only really tested him the once before the goalkeeper, who has seven caps for Germany, inexplicably lingered over a clearance in his own area in 31 minutes. At first, Eto'o angled his run to take him into the periphery of Hildebrand's vision but by the time he got close there was no doubting that the goalkeeper knew he was there.
Yet, for some reason Hildebrand had taken two big steps back to get a run-up at the ball and by the time he struck it, Eto'o had eaten up the ground and was in front of him. His block was skilfully done. It was no accident that the ball cannoned off his foot and into the empty goal. For Hildebrand, the fist-bumps and look-at-me celebrations after the Schurrle free-kick must have felt a very long way off indeed.
Later Mourinho would claim that he spotted the weakness in Hildebrand's game and encouraged Eto'o to chase him down. Certainly they both looked very pleased with themselves when Eto'o headed over to the touchline for a conspiratorial goal celebration.
Before then, John Terry, excellent all night, had caught an elbow from Szalai in the face which he was particularly unhappy about. Then after half-time, Schalke prised Chelsea open at last and might have scored when Draxler cut inside on his left foot and forced a great save out of Cech, diving to his right.
Mourinho can still rely upon his trusty old goalkeeper in moments such as these and so Cech came through for him yet again. Within two minutes of that save Eto'o scored Chelsea's second goal and the game began to look very comfortable for Mourinho's team.
The second was a fast-breaking beauty. It started with an Oscar ball across the middle of the pitch nicked away from Christian Fuchs by Willian who surged forward in possession. Eto'o broke to his right and had the ball delivered to his feet perfectly. He picked his spot beyond Hildebrand with some confidence.
Chelsea were in control. Had he still been under contract, Paulo Ferreira, the half-time guest at Stamford Bridge, might even have been given 15 minutes at the end of the game. Mourinho gave Kevin De Bruyne his first taste of Champions League football for the club, as a late replacement for Schurrle.
Ba scored with seven minutes left, a nicely taken volley from a player whose confidence will have suffered in recent months. It was Ba who chested down Gary Cahill's free kick forward from there it went from Willian to another substitute, Frank Lampard. He struck a nicely weighted ball over the Schalke backline which Ba volleyed past Hildebrand.
It was a bad night for the German goalkeeper. As for Eto'o he showed some signs of the kind of form that Mourinho requires from his strikers. He needs a goalscorer to lead this team and one suspects that while he is still not entirely satisfied with any of his options, Eto'o gave him something to think about.



Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Mikel; Willian, Oscar (Lampard 81), Schurrle (De Bruyne 78); Eto'o (Ba 76).

Schalke (4-4-1-1): Hildebrand; Uchida, Howedes, Matip, Aogo; Draxler (Clemens 62), Jones, Neustadter, Fuchs (Meyer 66); Boateng (Kolasinac 76), Szalai.

Man of the match Terry.
Rating 6/10.
Referee S O Moen (Nor).
Attendance 40,000.

Results so far
Chelsea 1-2 Basel, Schalke 3-0 Steaua Bucharest; Basel 0-1 Schalke, Steaua 0-4 Chelsea; Schalke 0-3 Chelsea, Steaua 1-1 Basel; Basel 1-1 Steaua, Chelsea 3-0 Schalke.

Remaining fixtures
26 Nov Basel v Chelsea, Steaua v Schalke.11 Dec Chelsea v Steaua, Schalke v Basel.


===========

Guardian:

Chelsea's Samuel Eto'o punishes dozy keeper to set up win over Schalke

Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea will hope this constituted normal service being resumed. A team that had been shaken by its own complacency up at Newcastle United over the weekend recovered its momentum in emphatic fashion, their aggression and industry overcoming Schalke to gain breathing space at the top of the group.
Roman Abramovich visited the home dressing room after the match and discovered the throng in celebratory mood. One more win will secure the section.
This was a reaffirmation of the José Mourinho effect. The manager had been so disgusted by his team's display on Tyneside – and dismayed by Eden Hazard's timekeeping – that he carried through his threat to reshuffle the pack in search of a response, albeit not with 11 changes but six, one of which was enforced, surely stinging the pride of the discarded.
There was validation, too, of the club's lavish summer pursuit of Samuel Eto'o and Willian from Anzhi Makhachkala, with that pair, so rusty upon arrival, enjoying their most productive evening yet in English football.
The veteran Eto'o scored twice and has now registered for four different clubs in a competition he has already won three times, numbers that will make appealing reading. His first goal was pure opportunism, Eto'o charging in to block Timo Hildebrand's clearance and Chelsea's anxiety melted away as the loose ball dribbled into the empty net. By the end they had brought the Germans, so impressive in the opening exchanges, to their knees.
"We recovered the ball and played in an aggressive way, attacking the spaces with two or three players," Mourinho said. "In the end, we won quite comfortably. After the Basel defeat [in the first game] we'd put ourselves in a difficult situation, so it's fantastic that we have qualified after four matches. Oh, we haven't? Well, almost."
A point will be enough to progress and the strength in depth displayed bodes well for the latter stages. Chelsea had been waiting for Eto'o to make a proper mark for them, with the Cameroonian duly exploiting Fernando Torres' absence with an adductor muscle problem to ensure the Spaniard was not missed.
The cheekiness of his first goal conjured up memories of theembarrassment he had heaped, illegally as it should have transpired, on Cardiff City's David Marshall last month. Then the visiting goalkeeper had been bouncing the ball in front of the Shed End. Here, Hildebrand dawdled over a clearance with the ball static just outside the area, the Germany goalkeeper retreating belatedly to muster a runup only for Eto'o to pounce.
Hildebrand duly panicked and his kick thumped against the striker's right leg and trundled into the empty net. Mourinho suggested Chelsea had been well aware of Schalke's propensity to take their time before kickstarting moves from the back, with his manic celebrations with the player on the touchline a reflection of a plan executed perfectly.
"Timo made a mistake, it won't bring him down," said the visitors' crestfallen manager, Jens Keller. "He's 34 and is experienced. He'll be fine."
His team were not. The shambolic concession knocked the stuffing from them, all their early ascendancy undermined in an instant. The Germans might actually have scored three times in the opening eight minutes, so nervy were the home side with memories of the debacle at St James' Park still fresh. Julian Draxler's sidefoot just wide from Atsuto Uchida's pass set the tone, the young Germany international midfielder then marauding from just inside his own half to set up Adam Szalai at his side, only for that shot to drift beyond a post.
Christian Fuchs's wild drive completed a hat-trick of missed opportunities. Mourinho, scowling disapprovingly from his technical area, took most of his frustration out on André Schürrle, his nearest player. This was no way for the winger to celebrate his 23rd birthday.
Yet the mood would improve. Once Schalke were chasing the game, Chelsea eased themselves further ahead on the counter. Petr Cech did wonderfully well to deny Draxler but the home side's response was brutal. Willian, recently called up to the Brazil squad, darted through the centre away from Fuchs and, with Ramires acting as a decoy, his slipped pass for Eto'o left the Schalke back line in disarray. The forward's collection was calm and his finish crisply dispatched across Hildebrand and in off the far post.
There was even time for Demba Ba, a late replacement for Eto'o, to turn and shin in a first goal of the season, with Schalke forlorn and desperate.
"It was a shaky opening but we settled down and started to play from the first goal," John Terry said. "We wanted to respond. We did that. The result puts us back in the driving seat in the group but it was the way we responded that was pleasing – the manager made some changes and the ones left out will be disappointed but those who came in took their chances."

http://www.theguardian.com/football/gallery/2013/nov/06/championsleague-Chelsea

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

Telegraph:

Chelsea 3 Schalke 0

By  Henry Winter, at Stamford Bridge

When it came to a player showing sharpness, hunger and work-rate, Jose Mourinho knew he could rely on Samuel Eto’o, whose qualities he first admired at Inter Milan. Chelsea’s coach ordered his players to display more “ambition” after the limp defeat by Newcastle United. All of them responded, particularly John Terry, Willian, André Schürrle, Oscar, John Obi Mikel and, most significantly, Eto’o, as Chelsea moved closer to the last 16 of the Champions League.
This was an important result, and strong performance, an antidote to the supine effort at St James’ Park. It reminded the squad what Mourinho required: tactical selflessness, total commitment and being alive to every eventuality. Eden Hazard failed to show that by missing training on Monday and was left to languish in the stands. Eto’o delivered on Mourinho’s demands, scoring twice.
His first was what Mourinho described as a “fox” goal, a piece of real cunning, running in and blocking a clearance from Timo Hildebrand. The second was an unstoppable shot across Hildebrand, the clinical culmination of what Mourinho hailed as “a very good collective’’ goal. “My favourite players are the players who win matches for me, not the ones who lose matches for me and Samuel worked with me in the best season of my career,’’ said Mourinho. “We won everything (Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Champions League at Inter in 2009-2010). So he’s in a good position.” That position varies. Eto’o played up top here but some of his most influential performances for Mourinho came out on the right for Inter (to accommodate Diego Millito), most notably against Barcelona as the Italians progressed to the 2010 Champions League final and then against Bayern Munich.
In taking his Champions League scoring tally to 29, Eto’o seems to have shaken off the slight rust acquired while playing in Russia. “He was, for two years, playing without big motivations,’’ continued Mourinho. “When you play without big motivations, you train without big motivations, and you lose condition, sharpness and even appetite. It was not a surprise for me that he arrived here not in the best condition after two years in Anzhi. Now, step by step, he’s growing. He’s 32, but fit and slim. Not a heavy boy. He’s intelligent, of course.’’
That asset was highlighted after 32 minutes. Schalke had actually started well, going close through Julian Draxler, Adam Szalai and Christian Fuchs but gradually Chelsea settled. Schürrle’s free-kick was athletically pushed away by Hildebrand, who then suffered a moment that will appear in his nightmares and Christmas blooper compilations.
For the third home game in succession in front of the Shed end, Chelsea benefited from a goalkeeping gift. Eto’o had also been involved in the controversial goal against Cardiff City when stealing the ball off David Marshall. Then came Joe Hart’s howler when Manchester City visited, presenting the winner to Fernando Torres. Now it was the turn of Hildebrand, who briefly had a trial at City in 2011 when Roberto Mancini was looking for experienced cover for Hart.
The former German international thought he was making a routine kick downfield. Eto’o was watching like a hawk, waiting for the moment that Hildebrand dropped the ball to the floor. The Schalke keeper stepped back and then moved forward, bringing his right foot down towards the ball. Too late. Eto’o was already racing in from an angle, timing his run perfectly to block the kick which rebounded at speed into the empty net. Hildebrand looked to the heavens. He should have been looking around for Eto’o.
Having also scored for Mallorca, Barcelona and Inter, Eto’o joined Fernando Morientes, Nicolas Anelka and Arjen Robben to have found the mark for four different teams in the Champions League. Hernan Crespo has scored for five while Zlatan Ibrahimovic leads the prolific nomad’s way with six. Eto’o laughed as he ran towards the jubilant home bench, embracing Mourinho.
Poor Hildebrand was given the full “woooooh” treatment by the Chelsea fans whenever he ran in to kick the ball. Down the other end, Petr Cech needed to be at his best when saving a shot from Draxler. But Chelsea were largely in control and added a second after 54 minutes.
After Oscar advanced, Willian accelerated through the middle and slipped the ball right to Eto’o. His first touch nudged the ball into optimum shooting position and his second drilled it right-footed past Hildebrand. “Willian’s choice was fantastic, Ramires’ run to give him an extra option was fantastic, and Samuel’s movement was excellent,’’ said Mourinho.
As Chelsea fans taunted Hildebrand with “two-nil and it’s all your fault”, the Schalke hordes chorused “you only sing when you’re winning’’. Eto’o was taken off for Demba Ba, departing to the inevitable and deserved standing ovation. Ba almost scored shortly after coming on but his low shot was held by Hildebrand. Schalke’s fans kept singing but the life had gone from their team.
Mourinho removed his hard workers. Schürrle came off for Kevin de Bruyne and Oscar was replaced by Frank Lampard. Within 120 seconds, the England midfielder was involved in the third. After Gary Cahill launched the ball long down the pitch, Ba chested it to Willian. The Brazilian found Lampard, who lifted the ball over Schalke’s defence to Ba, and he hooked the ball past Hildebrand. At the final whistle, Cech went over to console Hildebrand, who then headed across to acknowledge the Schalke fans. Even then they refused to fall quiet but their team had fallen silent long before. Eto’o and Chelsea are now the big noises in Group E, reacting to their opening loss to Basel by scoring 10 and conceding none.

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Mail:
Chelsea 3 Schalke 0: Eto'o robs Hildebrand and grabs a second to leave Mourinho's men on brink of knockout stages

By Matt Barlow


Perhaps someone stirred the spirit of Peter Osgood, the legendary striker who died seven years ago and is interred beneath the penalty spot at the Shed End. Is Ossie back to help in a time of need? Certainly something is spooking out the goalkeepers in that penalty area.
First there was Cardiff's David Marshall, who was robbed of the ball by Samuel Eto'o as the goalkeeper bounced it and prepared to kick from his hands.
Then there was Joe Hart's rush of blood and communication breakdown, which presented Chelsea with a late win and cost the England goalkeeper his place in the Manchester City team.
We can add to that list Timo Hildebrand, Schalke keeper and German international, who was also out-witted by Eto'o.
Chelsea had been misfiring for half an hour when Hildebrand rolled the ball out before him and casually surveyed the 21 other players on the pitch. Or at least he surveyed some of them.
He failed to notice to Eto'o, lurking to his right, crouching, sprung and ready to explode in a sprint for the ball if Hildebrand continued to dither. And dither he did.
By the time the keeper had finally got around to swinging his boot at the ball, his kick merely slammed into Eto'o and rebounded as if remote controlled into the net.
With this turn of fortune, Chelsea were on their way to total control of Group E.
A point in their next game in Basle will take them into the last 16 and any win from the final two games and they will top the group, thus cleansing the ignominy of this time last year, when they became the first champions to go out at the group stage.
Even Roman Abramovich seemed satisfied as he strolled across the pitch and towards the dressing room after the game.
Eto'o's strange goal had soothed the anxiety generated by defeat at Newcastle. A little of the pressure lifted from what had threatened to be an awkward fixture and poor Hildebrand became a figure of fun for the crowd to toy with for the rest of the evening.
‘Whooooooaaaaaaaaah,’ they would roar whenever the ball came into his orbit and at one point, full-back Atsuto Uchida actually ushered Eto'o out of range as he threatened to ambush the goalkeeper again.
Eto'o pounced for the second, nine minutes after the break, this time a somewhat more orthodox and lethal finish - the type associated with this veteran centre forward - after neat footwork and an astute pass by Willian.
Demba Ba added a third, seven minutes from time, and there were strong performances at the back from John Terry and Gary Cahill and a fine display in goal by Petr Cech, who made one crucial save low to his right from Julian Draxler with the score at 1-0.
‘My favourite players are the players who win matches for me, not the ones who lose matches for me,’ said Jose Mourinho.
Having made six changes to avenge his fury after Newcastle, the manager needed a win. Frank Lampard, David Luiz, Ashley Cole and Juan Mata were all stuck on the bench, Fernando Torres was out injured - scans yesterday suggest he will be out for at least three weeks - and Eden Hazard sat behind the bench in his leather jacket.
Hazard, who was in France on Sunday to watch his former club Lille beat Monaco, was late back and missed an important training session, according to Mourinho. This was his punishment.
With Cole still struggling with the rib injury he first suffered in September, Cesar Azpilicueta deputised again at left back, as he did in Gelsenkirchen when Chelsea also won 3-0. Both teams had something to prove last night but the Londoners started sloppily and Schalke opened with greater intensity than they delivered in the first game.
Draxler swept a shot narrowly wide from the edge of the penalty area and then Adam Szalai, who engaged in a physical duel with Terry, was equally close to the same corner soon after.
Chelsea seemed unable to match to the tempo set by the visitors and unable to get playmaker Oscar onto the ball. Christian Fuchs darted in from the left and lashed a low drive across goal and wide on the other side.
Schalke manager Jens Keller spun on the spot in frustration. He had seen three good opportunities missed and must have realised Mourinho's team would solve their problems. Perhaps he had a feeling mistakes were lurking in his own side.
Azpilicueta caught Draxler in possession deep in his own territory and drew the foul. Draxler was booked and Andre Schurrle whipped the free-kick towards the top corner, only to see it pawed away by Hildebrand, who was then caught out by Eto'o.
The striker looks much sharper than when he first arrived from Anzhi Makhachkala in August and he ran straight to his manager to celebrate and Mourinho seemed keen to take some of the credit as they shared a joke.
‘It was not a surprise for me that he arrived here not in the best condition after two years in Anzhi,’ said Mourinho.
'Now, step by step, he's growing. He's 32, but fit and slim. Not a heavy boy. He's intelligent of course. Goals give confidence. The first one was a “fox” goal. The second goal was a very good collective goal: Willian's choice was fantastic, Ramires' run to give him an extra option was fantastic, and Samuel's movement was excellent.’
Two substitutes combined for the third with a pass from Lampard to Ba who converted it with a smart volley. It was his first goal since the FA Cup semi-final in April.

If the strikers are going to start scoring goals, Ossie can rest again.

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

Mirror:
 
Chelsea 3-0 Schalke: Samuel Eto'o double seizes control of Champions League group

By Martin Lipton

It wasn't pretty. In fact, it was pretty ordinary.
But as Jose Mourinho showed there will be no room for sentiment in his second spell at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea did what they needed to.
Three goals, three points - even Fernando Torres' two understudies both finding the net.
It means a draw in Basel in a fortnight will ensure  the Londoners do what was beyond them under Roberto Di Matteo 12 months ago and reach the knock-out phase.
Mourinho will not be misled into believing his side are, at this stage, realistic challengers to the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona or Real Madrid.
Not yet.
The Chelsea boss insisted the post-Newcastle blood-letting was not a "punishment" for those who had let him down on Tyneside.
Though it was, apparently, a penalty for Eden Hazard's poor time-keeping.
Those who cross Mourinho in haste learn to repent of their folly at leisure.
Yet omitting Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole, two of his Blues "untouchables" first time round, seemed far more significant than mere rotation.
The next few months will determine the reality and what was important in SW6 was that there was a response to the St James' Park bawling-out.
For 20 minutes or more, before the mother of all blunders by veteran keeper Timo Hildebrand gifted Samuel Eto'o the opening goal that took all the air out of the German balloon, the changes had left Chelsea even more disjointed.
With Cesar Azpilicueta exposed at left-back, Petr Cech was grateful that neither the impressive Julian Draxler nor Hungarian Adam Szalai were able to hit the target from the edge of the box.
Even so, it needed a fluke to get Chelsea going.
Veteran former Germany keeper Hildebrandhad produced a fine stop to claw away Andre Schuerrle's free-kick but his shocker on the half-hour was a horror-show moment.
Hildebrand dropped the ball at his feet, dawdling as he weighed up his clearance options, failing to notice as Eto'o first tip-toed towards him, then started to sprint.
Suddenly, panic stations - Eto'o outstretched leg blocking the ball back into the vacant net.
Hildebrand was in bits, Mourinho clenching his fist, pointing at the Cameroonian and then himself in a gesture that seemed to say "You're my man."
The truth is that the Portuguese has staked plenty of his credibility with Roman Abramovich by persuading him to meet the £150,000-a-week wage demands of a 32-year-old striker.
It was only Eto'o's second Blues goal, although making Chelsea the fourth club he has scored for in the competition.
But the third, nine minutes after the break, demonstrated why the man is a two-time Champions League winner.
Admittedly, without Cech's save to deny Draxler - where was Azpilicueta? - just before it might have been different.
Two minutes later, though, Willian galloped through the middle before passing to his right, where Eto'o picked his spot inside the bottom corner.
A quality finish, Mourinho pointing both index fingers to the heaven
The doubts were now banished, Chelsea finally finding their cohesion, conviction, penetration and the "ambition" the Portuguese had demanded.
There could have been more.
Oscar's sand-wedge chip was erased by a flag but, eight minutes from time Demba Ba, on for Eto'o, put the seal on the evening.
Lampard, with his first touch after replacing Oscar, looped forward and the Senegalese striker's mis-hit volley dribbled in.
It was his first European goal for Chelsea and first of the season too.
Enough. More than enough.
Winning well without playing well? A useful attribute.

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

Express:

Chelsea 3 - Schalke 0: Lucky Sam plays it again as Eto'o does job for Jose Mourinho
JOSE MOURINHO has come to regard Samuel Eto’o as something of a talisman.
By: Tony Banks

It was the veteran Cameroon striker who helped him win the Champions League with Inter Milan in 2010.
So the Chelsea manager went out on a limb to bring the £250,000-a-week legend to Stamford Bridge just before deadline day this summer, when many thought the 32-year-old was winding down his career at Anzhi Makhachkala.
A slow start to his Chelsea life had many doubting the wisdom of the move but last night, thanks partly to a huge slice of luck, Eto’o came alive as a Chelsea player with the two goals that put the Blues on the cusp of the knockout stages.
After Demba Ba scored the third goal to give the result a gloss it never looked like having at one nervy stage of the evening, Chelsea this morning find themselves needing just a point from their final two games to qualify from Group E.
And it was an evening and a performance that in the end totally justified Mourinho’s ruthless decision to axe five players for this game after the listless Premier League defeat by Newcastle on Saturday.
Dropped were Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, David Luiz, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard – who had missed training after celebrating with his former Lille team-mates after their win over Monaco on Sunday.
It was typical Mourinho. Bold, uncompromising and utterly ruthless. And it worked, as his reshaped side, with Eto’o leading from the front in place of the injured Fernando Torres, did the business.
Eto’o has form in sneaking up on keepers after infamously robbing David Marshall of possession
Into the team came Gary Cahill, John Obi Mikel, Andre Schurrle, Cesar Azpilicueta and Willian. The reshaped team took an age to settle and could have been 3-0 down before they even got going. Adam Szalai narrowly missed with two efforts and Christian Fuchs also came close to breaking the deadlock.
Gradually Mourinho’s team began to establish some rhythm. When Azpilicueta was felled, Schurrle curled in a great free-kick that was heading for the top corner before Timo Hildebrand brilliantly tipped it wide. Then Schalke simply handed Chelsea the break they needed.
Hildebrand had plenty of time to clear with the ball at his feet but hesitated as Eto’o closed him down. In a panic, he booted the ball against the Cameroon striker and it ricocheted past him into the empty net.
Schalke coach Jens Keller held his head in his hands. Mind you, Eto’o is making a habit of surprising goalkeepers this season. He had pounced on David Marshall to produce a crucial equaliser in the victory against Cardiff in October.
If you need a slice of luck to win the Champions League, that was probably Chelsea’s portion this year.
Schalke were far from finished and when Julian Draxler found himself free on the right, he cut inside and forced Petr Cech to turn his shot around the post.
Suddenly, though, Chelsea could relax. Willian, who had been quiet for most of the night, suddenly burst onto Oscar’s pass, surged through the middle and released Eto’o.
This one was more straightforward – a deadly low shot into the far corner from the former Barcelona and Mallorca striker, who has now scored for four different teams in the Champions League.
There was breathing space at last. Chelsea had in fact been doing most of their attacking on the break, with Schurrle, Ramires and the hard-working Oscar ever willing to do the running from deep.
samuel eto'oEto'o seems to have found his form after scoring a brace against Schalke [STUART ROBINSON]
Mourinho could be said to be turning this Chelsea into a counter-attacking side.
Schalke had plenty of the ball but, after that worrying opening spell, they had rarely tested Cech. And the Germans were made to pay for that wastefulness seven minutes from the end as Lampard set up fellow substitute Ba for his first goal of the season, an angled volley into the corner.
Mourinho said afterwards his favourite players are the ones who win matches for him – not the ones who lose them. And he grinned: “Samuel worked with me in the best season of my career at Inter. We won everything. So he is in a good position.”
And so are Chelsea right now, and so is the ‘Ruthless One’.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Mikel; Willian, Oscar (Lampard 81), Schurrle (De Bruyne 78); Eto’o (Ba 76).  Goals: Eto’o 31, 54, Ba 83.
Schalke (4-2-3-1): Hildebrand; Uchida, Howedes, Matip, Aogo; Jones, Neustadter; Boateng (Kolasinac 76), Fuchs (Meyer 66), Draxler (Clemens 61); Szalai. Booked: Draxler, Uchida.
Referee: S Oddvar Moen (Norway).

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

Star:

Chelsea 3 - Schalke 0: Doh! Samuel Eto'o cashes in on gaffe

STAND-IN striker Samuel Eto’o picked the perfect time to prove that his scoring touch has not deserted him.
By Adrian Kajumba

“It wasn’t all plain sailing for Chelsea, who had to survive an early assault from Schalke before Eto’o put them in control”
Eto’o got the nod to replace the injured Fernando Torres against Schalke last night.
And he showed he can do anything the Spaniard can by repeating Torres’s two-goal heroics against the Germans two weeks ago.
Eto’o, who was once one of Europe’s most feared marksmen, had scored just once in 10 games before last night.
But he rolled back the years to put Chelsea in charge against Schalke as he hit the net for his fourth different club in the Champions League.
Chelsea were hugely helped by a goalkeeping cock-up for the third home game running for Eto’o’s first-half opener, before he doubled his tally with a clinical finish after the break.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for Chelsea, who had to survive an early assault from Schalke before Eto’o put them in control.
But it was certainly a little more like it from the Group E leaders.
Boss Jose Mourinho admitted he made 11 mistakes and should have named an entirely different side in his fury following the defeat at Newcastle at the weekend.
In the end he settled for six last night as he brutally wielded the axe – but it was more than enough to make his point.
Eto’o’s selection was the only enforced change, while Ashley Cole, David Luiz, Frank Lampard and Juan Mata all paid the price for their part in the Newcastle nightmare and were dumped on the bench, while Eden Hazard didn’t even get that far.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill, John Obi Mikel, Andre Schurrle and Willian also came in to a side Mourinho hoped would be good enough to preserve Chelsea’s excellent home record against German sides.
The Blues were unbeaten in six games against sides from the Bundesliga.
They also had the chance to nip talk of a new November curse in the bud.
Saturday’s defeat at St James’ Park raised fears that the dreaded season-wrecking hoodoo that has plagued Chelsea in recent years was about to strike again.
samuel eto'o, eto'o chelsea, eto'o goals, chelsea FC, CFC, Jose Mourinho, Mourinho, chelsea news, chelsea Schalke goals, Torres, Fernando torres,SAM-THING SPECIAL: Eto'o celebrates with boss Jose Mourinho [STUART ROBINSON:] 
Schalke would have arrived hopeful of adding to Chelsea’s misery – despite losing their home game 3-0 a fortnight earlier – after a brilliant 2-0 win at Arsenal on their last trip to London just over a year ago.
At first Mourinho’s changes failed to produce the reaction he wanted as his side’s defending early on was already desperate and last ditch, as Schalke tore into them like their boss did after the Newcastle loss.
And as the sloppiness from St James’ continued at Stamford Bridge they were lucky not to concede the opener.
Julian Draxler, Adam Szalai and Christian Fuchs all gave Chelsea huge scares inside the first eight minutes.
But the slackness soon spread to Schalke goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand, who went from hero to villain to gift the Londoners the lead.
Hildebrand produced a brilliant flying stop to keep out Andre Schurrle’s free-kick after 20 minutes.
But he had a shocker 11 minutes later when his clearance flew back past him off Eto’o, who bagged his first Champions League goal for the Blues.
Hildebrand joined Manchester City’s Joe Hart and Cardiff’s David Marshall on the list of keepers to cock-up in front of the Shed End and gift Chelsea a goal this season.
Petr Cech denied Draxler an equaliser at the start of the second half.
And the importance of that save was there to see when Willian released Eto’o, who fired past Hildebrand.
Eto’o was replaced by Demba Ba in the 77th minute and the Senegal striker took just six minutes to make his mark, volleying acrobatically into the corner of Hildebrand’s goal after fellow sub Lampard lifted the ball over the Schalke defence.

Newcastle 0-2

Independent:

Newcastle United 0 Chelsea 2
Newcastle put Jose Mourinho’s nose out of joint

After a poor run of away form, Chelsea manager suffers a defeat he ‘smelled coming’ and implies the team he re-inherited over the summer have gone soft in his absence

By TONY BOOTH

No one does withering quite like Jose Mourinho. Asked yesterday is he had erred in his team selection, following a defeat he had ‘smelled coming’ against Newcastle, he did not waste a punch. “I made 11 mistakes,” he said. “I should pick the other 11 and not this 11. It is the feeling I have when my team plays so bad. Of course I’m exaggerating. We had some guys with some normal good performances, but the feeling is that I made 11 wrong choices.”
This has been an attack coming. Chelsea have won only one Premier League game away from Stamford Bridge this season. It was not even an inference from Mourinho. It was not even subtle. The team he inherited are no longer challengers for the Championship. The team he inherited in the summer has gone soft.
“Of course I’m worried,” he added. “I read the previous years and it happened the same. They were successful in cup competitions, not in the Premier League. They finished 20 points behind and 15 points behind. They qualified for the Champions’ League because they won it.
“Last year, in December, they were not in the race for the title because they were already 10 points behind. This season we have played five games away from home but we have one victory and two defeats. Of course it concerns me.
“We had lots of space to play where you can hurt the opponent and we were touching the ball side to side, slow, receive the ball and no sharpness to attack spaces and to try and be aggressive. We gave them 45 minutes of a friendly. I have to understand why.”
The opening 45 minutes yesterday were for Chelsea to win. Newcastle had the wounds of defeat to Sunderland and an extra-time Captial One Cup defeat to Manchester City. They were lightweight for that period. It looked men against boys but Chelsea were polite and without purpose. That stung Mourinho.
“I’m in this game for many years,” he said. “I was smelling what happened because the game was quite easy to play in the first half. We had lots of space but we were not sharp or intense with the ball. We defended quite well. Our back four was a simple easy job. We were not fast and intense and aggressive with the ball. We let the game go, waiting for a chance to score a goal or to concede a goal and lose it. That is exactly what I was talking about.
“I don’t need reminders. I don’t need to use a match to be aware of that. It is something I know. I pass it to my players every game. I know exactly how it is. It is why I was smelling it could go in this direction. The title race is there for everyone, it is open for everybody. I didn’t like my team today.”
He did not like how they could not handle Newcastle’s raw aggression after the break, when the game changed dramatically. John Terry, who had struck the crossbar in the first half, was rattled enough to be booked for dissent in the 77th minute.
By then his side trailed. Alan Pardew whispered into the ear of Yohan Cabaye as he readied to take a 69th minute free-kick to use pace and bend. Cabaye did. It was a brilliant ball and Yoan Gouffran headed past Peter Cech. The game’s dynamics had changed. A quiet crowd had life and Mourinho knew an opportunity for an easy afternoon had passed. Moussa Sissoko and Mathieu Debuchy excelled for the home side.
In the 89th minute, Gabriel Obertan and Vurnon Anita set up Loïc Rémy and he struck a fine finish past Cech. By then Krul had saved well from William and Debuchy had blocked the rebound from Samuel Eto’o. They were heroic bits of defending. There was another at the death from Mike Williamson. This is the spirit of an English team that Mourinho had feared. It was enough for a stirring victory.
“Chelsea keep the ball and if you go chasing you’re in for a difficult afternoon,” said Pardew. “I don’t think we were very good when we won it back in the first half but we had a bit more energy in the second half to put their back four under pressure.
“Because we exerted so much energy in midweek we decided to be very cautious at the start. We perhaps let them have too much possession. We knew we could exert more pressure and the crowd would get more involved. Yohan executed the free kick on the money. I’m not taking any credit for that. Gouf connected brilliantly. The crowd had just got involved before that. It was the perfect time to score. I felt confident we could win after that. We’ve got a great spirit in the group. I think we’ve played well. We’ve had moments when we’ve not been as great. We’re together. This win is for Mike Ashley and all Newcastle fans. We are all Newcastle fans.”

Newcastle (4-4-2): Krul; Debuchy, Williamson, Yanga-Mbiwa, Santon; Sissoko, Cabaye, Tiote (Anita, 53), Gouffran (Obertan, 85); Rémy, Ameobi (Cissé, 62).

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole; Ramires, Lampard (Schü–rrle, 70); Oscar, Mata (Willian, 62), Hazard; Torres (Eto’o, 62).

Referee: Lee Mason
Man of the match: Sissoko (Newcastle)
Match rating: 7/10

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

Observer:

Newcastle 2 Chelsea 0
Louise Taylor

Alan Pardew limbered up for his latest meeting with José Mourinho by issuing such a gushing ode to Chelsea's manager that he seemed in the grip of a bit of a man crush. The good news for Newcastle fans was that, on the privacy of the practice pitches, such public flattery evidently gave way to forensic detail and strategic planning as Pardew choreographed a vital win, which has offered him significantly increased job security at a juncture in his Tyneside career when he really needs it.
After spending the first half thwarting Chelsea and provoking Mourinho into the arguably questionable decisions to haul off Fernando Torres and Juan Mata shortly after the hour-mark, Newcastle inexorably gained control of the tempo, with goals from Yoan Gouffran and Loïc Rémy securing an ultimately much-deserved victory.
The less said about a first half played in swirling rain and beneath slate grey skies the better. All about containment and frustration, the nearest it got to a goal was a couple of John Terry headers – one bouncing off the bar, the other cleared off the line by Davide Santon.
Mourinho, despite his side enjoying by far the greater share of possession and half-chances, cut a damp, disgruntled figure in the technical area. The grim weather alone probably felt sufficient to vindicate the Portuguese manager's decision to reject the offer of his mentor Sir Bobby Robson to join him as his assistant at St James' Park back in the late 1990s.
If at times Mourinho seemed lost in thought, Pardew simply looked anxious and a little uneasy. For all that his players were succeeding in keeping Chelsea on a reasonably tight rein, odd little menacing cameos from a generally restrained Torres hinted at potential trouble ahead.
Equally ominously for Newcastle's manager, Yohan Cabaye's playmaking style was being cramped by Frank Lampard, whose early habit of making timely interceptions – this diminished as Lampard tired, faded and was eventually substituted – prevented the home side from establishing any sort of sustained passing rhythm.
It was all very well Pardew having clearly instructed his team to begin by standing off Chelsea and letting them have the ball in certain areas but he surely did not expect Newcastle to be quite so wasteful in possession.
Happily, such quibbles were forgotten after half-time when they adhered to their manager's instruction to start upping the tempo and putting Chelsea under pressure with considerable gusto.
Petr Cech diverted Moussa Sissoko's shot across the face of goal, after the midfielder was set free by Mathieu Debuchy, and Rémy might have done better than half-volley straight at Cech but the power balance had shifted.
Those two reprieves signalled the time for change on Mourinho's part. Despite some high-calibre movement, Chelsea's manager decided it was not Torres's day and replaced him with Samuel Eto'o before also withdrawing Mata – surprise, surprise – and sending on Willian. Within a minute, Pardew had hauled off Shola Ameobi in order to give Papiss Cissé yet another chance. If Ameobi felt slightly hard done by, Hatem Ben Arfa, dropped from the starting line-up, did not appear overjoyed as he warmed up on the touchline.
But Pardew was about to silence his critics. When Newcastle won a free-kick and Cabaye stepped forward to take it, the manager summoned the France midfielder for a quick touchline chat. Whatever was said clearly paid off because Cabaye unleashed a fabulous dead ball, whipped in at ferocious pace and headed into the bottom corner by Gouffran, with Terry eluded.
A period of prolonged, half-chance-punctuated home pressure soon had Mourinho shaking his head and muttering to himself. He may have tired of Torres but Newcastle had clearly been so terrified of the hitherto renascent Spain striker that his departure appeared to have liberated them mentally, instantly removing numerous attacking inhibitions.
Although Tim Krul repelled Willian's volley brilliantly and Debuchy did well to block Eto'o's follow-up, Pardew's players were, largely, defending well. Debuchy excelled against Eden Hazard, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa quietly impressed and Santon pulled himself together admirably after initially threatening to fall to pieces in front of Mourinho, his manager at Internazionale and a man he was desperate to impress.
By now, the only person wearing black and white without a smile on his face was Ben Arfa who endured the sight of Gabriel Obertan trotting on for Gouffran as Pardew played his final card. Once again, managerial vindication came quickly with Obertan's pass finding Vurnon Anita. On for the injured Cheik Tioté, the underrated Anita dropped a shoulder before crossing for Rémy, whose crisp first-time shot flew past Cech. Pardew's happiness was presumably completed when Mourinho greeted the final whistle by throwing his arms around Newcastle's manager and hugging him long and hard.

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

Telegraph:

Newcastle United 2 Chelsea 0

By  Luke Edwards, St James’ Park

This was not so much a defeat for Chelsea as a reality check. It was a loss that prompted Jose Mourinho to question himself as well as the mentality of his players and their suitability for a Premier League title race.
Mourinho did not hold back in his criticism, questioning his team’s title credentials, their attitude and their heart.
He was disgusted by the lack of energy and aggression, alarmed by the manner in which his side were out-played in the second half and irritated by the mentality of players who failed to appreciate how tough games at places like St James’ Park can be.
“I am worried about my team,” said Mourinho. “I look at previous years and it has happened the same. They have been successful in cup competitions but not in the Premier League. They have finished 20 points behind, 15 points behind [the title winners]. They have qualified for the Champions League because they won it, but they finished sixth in the league.
“Last year, by December they were out of the title race because they were 20 points behind. We have played five matches away from home in the league and have only one victory and two defeats. [Newcastle] have a wonderful crowd who are always behind the team and you have to come here with a certain type of mentality to win and we didn’t have that.
“I didn’t like my team today. I made 11 mistakes in picking the team. That is how I feel at the moment. Of course this is an exaggeration, we had some players who had normal performances, but I feel as though I made a mistake.”
Chelsea deserved to lose. They may have had some good chances to score both before Yoan Gouffran gave Newcastle United the lead and after, but the home side sat back in the first half and allowed them to play.
In the second, when Alan Pardew’s men threw off the defensive shackles and had the ambition to take the game to the opposition, Chelsea buckled in a manner that causes serious questions to be asked in Mourinho’s first year back as manager.
In turn, this was not so much a victory for Newcastle United as a tonic for so many ills that have gradually weakened this proud club at the heart of a football mad city.
Having lost the derby at Sunderland last Sunday and been knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Manchester City in midweek, this was a timely reminder that for all of the animosity towards Newcastle’s owner Mike Ashley, manager Alan Pardew does have a side who are capable of beating the best when they get it right.
It was a win that, for the time being at least, has given supporters depressed by Ashley’s handling of their club, enormous pride in those who represent them in black and white stripes.
“Some game plans in football don’t always come to light but we started conservatively as if you go chasing the ball from the start against Chelsea they stamp their authority,” explained Pardew.
“We put the back four under pressure in the second half and we cranked it up as the game wore on.
“I think we should really have three more points than we’ve got, but when we show that sort of work rate, we have quality players here who can win games. If we carry on playing like this, we’re going to have a good season.
“We’ve got good spirit and togetherness and we have some good players. You can’t have anyone drifting around, you have to have everyone working hard and we got that I said I thought we were playing well and should have won at Sunderland and could have beaten Manchester City, but you need a break in games and we got that today. We had just got the crowd going and we scored at the perfect time.”
Both sides were nullified as an attacking force in the first half, Chelsea’s best chances coming from a corner, while Newcastle tried their best to pounce on the counter-attack but rarely got anywhere near Chelsea’s goal.
John Terry came closest to opening the scoring, heading powerfully against the crossbar from a Juan Mata corner. Newcastle did not clear the danger and Branislav Ivanovic hooked the ball back on to the roof of the bar with the help of a deflection off Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.
Chelsea felt as though they should have been awarded a penalty when Mata tripped over the leg of the hugely impressive Mathieu Debuchy. Sometimes they are given, sometimes they are not.
The game ignited at the start of the second half and it was Newcastle who had the flame in their hand. Shola Ameobi had forced his way through the middle of the Chelsea defence but shot tamely.
Debuchy then robbed Eden Hazard just inside the Chelsea half and threaded a through ball for Moussa Sissoko who only had Loïc Rémy for support so decided to shoot, but Petr Cech made a sharp save.
St James’ Park found its voice, Newcastle rediscovered their mojo. Ameobi headed back across goal for Rémy, who should have scored, but fired too close to Cech.
Gouffran, cut inside Ivanovic and the Chelsea goalkeeper made another important save.
The momentum was black and white and when Ashley Cole fouled Sissoko, Yohan Cabaye’s delivery was sublime, the ball landing on the head of Gouffran after Frank Lampard had misjudged its flight.
Newcastle had the lead and clung on to it. Tim Krul made one important save to keep out substitute Willian and Debuchy got an equally important block in on Samuel Eto’o.
With five minutes remaining, Hazard had a wonderful chance to equalise, but dragged his shot wide of the far post.
Rémy showed him how it should be done, taking advantage of some brilliant work by Vurnon Anita, who skipped past a defender and picked him out perfectly.
The striker, on loan from QPR, scored his sixth goal of the season via the inside of the post and celebrated by kissing a small boy on the top of his head in the crowd.
They may have been soaked to the skin by incessant rain, but this was a day that gave Newcastle supporters a reason to feel warm inside again.

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Mail:

Newcastle 2 Chelsea 0: 'I made 11 mistakes!' No-one spared as Mourinho kicks up a stink after Blues' shock defeat on Tyneside

By Bob Cass

Deep in thought and, no doubt, admiration, Jose Mourinho spent 10 minutes of the half-hour before kick-off standing alone, captivated by the ghosts of Newcastle United’s glorious past.
One by one, the faded photographs hanging in the entrance corridor of the likes of Hughie Gallacher, Stan Seymour and Frank Hudspeth, players in United’s last title-winning side 86 years ago, were perused by the Chelsea manager.
The portraits of Yoan Gouffran and Loic Remy may never join such exalted company, but that does not mean Mourinho will forget their faces. Joyous scenes after the Frenchmen grabbed the 68th and 89th-minute goals which prevented Chelsea climbing, albeit briefly, to the top of the Premier League table would have long since transcended those pre-match images.
'I’ve been in this game many years and I was smelling what was going to happen. I did not like my team today. When one team is not there they normally lose and that’s what happened to us today. We lacked everything really.’
Gouffran’s opener came after the home side had weathered a torrent of pressure that matched the rain which poured on a packed St James’ Park with stoic and sometimes fortunate defending. Suddenly, though, Newcastle hit their own purple patch around the hour.
Petr Cech made superb saves from Moussa Sissoko and Remy which prompted Mourinho to reorganise his troops, Samuel Eto’o and Willian replacing Fernando Torres and Juan Mata. But to no avail.
John Terry was penalised for a foul on Papiss Cisse ten yards inside the Chelsea half, six minutes after the striker had come on for Sammy Ameobi.
Yohan Cabaye pinpointed the edge of the eight-yard box with his superbly flighted free-kick and when both Branislav Ivanovic and Frank Lampard failed to cut the ball out, Gouffran (nickname Goofy) stole in behind them to beat Cech with a diving header.
It had been all Chelsea in the first half. Terry saw a header come off the bar then had another effort cleared off the line by Davide Santon. Ivanovic’s spectacular overhead kick struck Sissoko before clipping the bar and Tim Krul made terrific saves from Eden Hazard and Oscar
The game changed when Vurnon Anita took over from skipper Cheick Tiote in the 53rd minute. As far as Alan Pardew was concerned, his ploy of staying below the parapet while the opposition fired their salvos paid off as his team suddenly came over the trenches.
‘Some game-plans in football don’t always come to light,’ said the United boss later. ‘But we did start a little bit conservative. I have seen Chelsea many, many times and they stamp their authority on the game.
‘They keep the ball and if you go chasing them at the start, you are in for a difficult afternoon, so we decided to let them have it. I don’t think we were very good when we won it back in the first half, but in the second half we knew we could put a bit more pressure on them.
‘We had a bit more energy to try to put their back four under pressure, and that cranked up as we went on.’
After going a goal down, Chelsea camped in the United penalty area and again the Magpies had to defend grimly. In the 80th minute, Krul  brilliantly stopped a Willian first-timer and, from the rebound, Mathieu Debuchy hurled himself forward to block an Eto’o effort.
Six minutes later, Hazard looked certain to equalise but pulled his left-footer wide of a post.
Chelsea’s desperation to blast through led to their undoing. Gabriel Obertan, who replaced Gouffran in the 85th minute, combined with Anita to set up the clincher. Anita wriggled past Ramires’ puny challenge and squared perfectly for Remy to strike a fierce left-footed shot on the turn, the ball going in off a post to give Cech no chance.
Pardew punched the air in celebration of what was to become his first win over Mourinho as a manager.
‘We played well and deserved to win,’ he insisted. ‘At the top, top level — and I know Jose will back me up — you can’t have anybody drifting around. You’ve got to really, really work hard. The German format is beginning to introduce itself to the Premier League. Players are beginning to understand you cannot defensively switch off.’
Pardew gave special instructions to his midfielders to negate the threat of Chelsea — before telling Yohan Cabaye how to deliver the free-kick which turned the game.
‘They get between your lines and, if they can get in front of your centre-halves, you are in trouble,’ said the Newcastle boss. ‘Our two midfield players were designed to stay there and not let that space happen.’
And Pardew had a chat with Cabaye just before the free-kick that led to the opener against Chelsea, whose boss Jose Mourinho (left) has yet to win a League game at Newcastle.
Pardew said: ‘I asked him to hit it on the back of their back four with shape and a bit of pace and he executed it on the money.’

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Mirror:
 
Newcastle United 2-0 Chelsea: Yoan Gouffran and Loic Remy second-half strikes sink Blues
       
By Jason Mellor

Chelsea's indifferent away form continues at St James' Park as Alan Pardew's side cause an upset on Tyneside

Chelsea weren’t the only shower at sodden St James’ as Jose Mourinho was forced to endure an unwanted rendition of minging in the rain.
The Special One at least avoided a slap in the face, but couldn’t escape a kick in the teeth as his side’s six-game winning streak was brought to a shuddering halt.
Mourinho had been warned by Alan Pardew that he risked a swift right-hander if he repeated his crowd surfing antics after celebrating last week’s dramatic win over Manchester City.
There was never any danger of a repeat in this damp squib from the Blues, who drew a blank to be sunk by second-half goals from Yoan Gouffran and Loic Remy.
Newcastle manager Pardew said: “We’re a working-class city and our fans love to see that from their players, all the lads putting a great shift in.
“They love flair, but what they really want to see is a hard grind from the players.
“We’ve been consistently strong in the last four games in terms of performances.
“We’ve got quality and if we can maintain the work rate we showed we’ll keep creating chances and giving ourselves a chance of winning games.”
Remy made sure of victory a minute from time, finding the bottom corner with a crisp left-foot shot from 12 yards after latching on to a Vurnon Anita cutback as Chelsea left gaps at the back in a bid to rescue a little-deserved point.
Substitutes Willian and Samuel Eto’o both came close to claiming a late leveller, the Brazilian’s shot saved by Tim Krul and Eto’o’s follow-up blocked by the excellent Mathieu Debuchy.
When Eden Hazard’s 86th-minute drive drifted wide Chelsea were left to reflect on taking just five points from five away league games this season as they paid for failing to take their chances before the interval, twice hitting the woodwork.
In a forgettable first half, chances were few and far between, and yet with a little more luck, John Terry – one of nine changes from the Capital One Cup win at Arsenal – could have gone into the interval with two goals to his name. After 13 minutes his header from Juan Mata’s corner crashed back off the bar. Fernando Torres reacted first to the loose ball, but his volley looped up off Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa before landing on the bar and bouncing to safety.
It took Newcastle half an hour to mount a threat when Yohan Cabaye managed a shot after a knockdown from Remy, but the Frenchman’s low long-range effort was easily stopped by Petr Cech.
The keeper had to show sharper reactions soon after when diving to his right at his near post to keep out a snap shot from Moussa Sissoko.
That arrived shortly after Terry’s second chance, the centre-back connecting with a Frank Lampard corner only to see his effort cleared off the line by Davide Santon.
Newcastle regrouped at half-time and carved out three chances early in the second half before taking the lead. Sissoko, put through by Debuchy’s slick pass, saw his effort blocked by Cech at his near post. From the corner, Cabaye’s cross was knocked back by Shola Ameobi for Remy and his shot was ­smothered by the keeper.
Gouffran then cut in to unleash a shot saved by Cech, but he could do nothing to prevent the Frenchman from scoring on 68 minutes.
Cabaye sent over a free-kick from the right, and Gouffran stole a march on Branislav Ivanovic to find the net with a diving header.
Mourinho was left to stand and watch, no doubt reflecting that when it rains, it pours.

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Star:

Newcastle 2 Chelsea 0: Toon topple Mourinho's boys
JOSE MOURINHO spent ten minutes before kick-off studying photographs of Newcastle players of the past.

By Paul Hetherington

Then the Chelsea boss had to watch his own players surprisingly fail to get in the picture often enough as they suffered a shock setback.
Yoan Gouffran headed a fine opener for Newcastle as Mourinho’s record of never having won a Premier League game on Tyneside continued.
And on-loan Loic Remy struck the second goal – his sixth of the season – to make it 2-0 as the French connection paid off for the Geordies.
Both Newcastle’s goals came from French players on a day when Toon boss Alan Pardew did not even need to carry out his playful threat to give Mourinho “a slap” if the Chelsea boss made any exaggerated goal celebrations.
That is because Chelsea did not manage a goal as their run of six successive wins came to an end.
Newcastle, though, bounced back after defeats at Sunderland in the Wear-Tyne derby and against Manchester City in the Capital One Cup to ease the pressure on Pardew.
The Newcastle boss said: “This result is for our owner Mike Ashley and our fans.
“We’ve been playing well without getting the breaks but this proves we are very much alive and kicking.
“After all the energy we expended against City in the Capital One Cup in midweek we decided to be cautious at the start, then come at them.
“When we got the free-kick which led to our first goal I just said to Yohan Cabaye to whip the ball to the back of their defence.
“The execution was on the money and that goal changed the game.
“But I’m not claiming any credit for that – it was down to what a top player can do.
“Gouffran also did what wide players have to do these days – work hard. That’s the way Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund play.
“We are a working class city and the fans like to see that.”
Mourinho kept faith with Juan Mata after his impressive goalscoring performance at Arsenal in the Capital One Cup.
And it was a corner delivered by the Spain midfielder, regularly left out by the Chelsea boss this season, which created the first near-miss of a rain-lashed match.
Mata’s corner was powerfully headed against the bar by John Terry and from the rebound Branislav Ivanovic’s acrobatic, overhead effort was deflected onto the top of the frame of the goal by Moussa Sissoko.
A trip by Mathieu Debuchy on Mata went undetected when it might have brought Chelsea a penalty.
And another Terry header, this time from a Frank Lampard corner, was cleared off the line by Davide Santon.
Chelsea  dominated the possession from the start but Petr Cech still had to deal with efforts from Cabaye and Sissoko in the first half. And Newcastle gained the upper hand midway through the second period with Mourinho looking far from amused.
Cech just managed, with the faintest of contacts, to turn a Sissoko effort for a corner following Debuchy’s perfect pass.
From the resultant corner, Remy shot straight at Cech after Shola Ameobi had headed down.
And Newcastle’s second-half performance was rewarded with a 68th-minute goal.
Cabaye’s well-flighted free-kick – after Terry had fouled Papiss Cisse – was met by a fine header into the corner of the net by Gouffran.
Chelsea were close to an equaliser ten minutes from time, when Tim Krul denied substitute Willian, then Debuchy blocked the follow-up effort from another sub, Samuel Eto’o.
Eden Hazard then drove across the face of the goal and just wide.
But a minute from time Remy sealed the points for the Toon, driving home via the post after good work on the left by second-half substitute Vurnon Anita.