The TimesAugust 16, 2007
Bold moves by Mourinho help Chelsea to get the upper hand Reading 1 Chelsea 2Martin Samuel, Chief Football Correspondent
With one player sent off and nine booked, those fans who came expecting a grudge match will not have left the Madejski Stadium disappointed. In reality, though, this was a healing process, of sorts. Stephen Hunt and Petr Cech embraced after the game and the Reading man even left the field clutching a Chelsea shirt as a souvenir. This hard-fought victory may also have gone some way to soothing festering resentment in the Portuguese enclave of West London.
The previous time these teams met here, two Chelsea goalkeepers finished the day in hospital, with one receiving a permanent reminder of his stay. Last night, the only casualty was local pride; Reading must have been greatly buoyed by a deserved half-time lead and will have felt crushed that Chelsea should turn it on its head in the space of five minutes at the start of the second half.
As last year, Chelsea’s slender victory owed more to grit than polish, but when the league table shows maximum return from two matches and a four-point lead over Manchester United, who is complaining?
It was Frank Lampard who got Chelsea back into the game and Didier Drogba who won it for them, a familiar combination and a potent one. Equally recognisable is the boldness of José Mourinho, who responded to a poor first half, in which Chelsea threatened only through Lampard’s corners, by making changes that placed the emphasis on attack, with Shaun Wright-Phillips employed as an unlikely right back.
Suddenly Chelsea came alive. Lampard equalised in the 47th minute, Drogba scored in the 50th and there was barely a squeak out of Reading after that, save for the sending-off of Kalifa Cissé for what Mike Dean, the referee, perceived as a stamp on Claudio Pizarro but probably was not. At their best, Chelsea’s bloody-mindedness breaks hearts and minds, and that is what it did to Reading.
There are many that will never see the beauty in Lampard, but, fortunately, Mourinho is not among them. He picks him just about every week and the logic behind this loyalty was made plain last night. While also sticking to his team duties, Lampard contrives to get into scoring positions like no other central midfield player in England and his charge into the Reading penalty area – almost to the edge of the six-yard box – changed the match.
Pizarro, a substitute, won the first header, Drogba the second, but it was Lampard who followed the loose ball to journey’s end, slipping it past Mar-cus Hahnemann, the Reading goalkeeper, to give Chelsea an equality they scarcely deserved. The winner was more a work of art. Drogba won the ball, fed Kalou, got it back and then struck a shot from 25 yards that was goalbound from the moment it left his foot.
Preceding this reversal of fortune was a superb first-half display by Reading and it would not have flattered them had the scoreline read 3-0, capped by an out-of-character mistake by Cech, which led to the goal. None of these events was expected before kick-off.
Much of the acclaim for Reading’s superiority over 45 minutes should go to Hunt. In testing circumstances, he was outstanding, creating mayhem all over the pitch, most of it of the legal kind (he was booked in the 37th minute for a foul on Paulo Ferreira). He did not even shirk when, after 15 seconds, a loose ball on the slippery surface set up the chance of a challenge on Cech that would have mirrored their fateful coming together ten months ago. Hunt took it as far as he could go, but as the ball ran into touch, so he backed off. A lesser player would not even have gone there.
At other times he was involved in Reading’s best football and some of the most bone-shuddering challenges. He even took corners in front of the hostile away end, and were it not for excellent covering work by Tal Ben Haim in the seventeenth minute, could have marked the night with a goal. His battle with Steve Sidwell, his former teammate, was particularly wholehearted and helped to give Reading a deserved lead.
Sidwell’s 29th-minute foul on Hunt afforded the break in play that Steve Coppell, the Reading manager, needed to replace the injured Michael Duberry with Andre Bikey, sent off when these teams previously met at the Madejski Stadium. He made quite an impression on this occasion, too.
Nicky Shorey launched a free kick that was won in the air by Ivar Ingima-rsson, the central defender, forcing an uncharacteristic moment of misjudgment from Cech. The giant goalkeeper launched himself at the ball, attempting to punch, and took out two of his defenders instead, under pressure from Kevin Doyle, the Reading striker. The ball ran loose to Bikey, who had the easy task of tapping it into an empty net, from three yards, if that.
There was a suspicion that Doyle had put Cech off with a raised hand but it was hard to begrudge Reading the lead. What surprised was the weakness of their reaction when Chelsea hit back. Maybe they blew themselves out with the high tempo early on. Maybe the challenge of getting a point at Old Trafford with ten men, followed by a match against the league’s most physically punishing team, was too much. The fixtures secretary cannot like Reading for next up are curmudgeonly Everton. After this, though, they represent welcome respite.
Reading (4-4-2): M Hahnemann — G Murty, M Duberry (sub: A Bikey, 29min), I Ingimarsson, N Shorey — J Oster, J Harper, K Cissé, S Hunt — K Doyle, S Long. Substitutes not used: B Gunnarsson, Seol Ki Hyeon, U De la Cruz, A Federici. Booked: Long, Cissé, Hunt, Ingimarsson. Sent off: Cissé.
Chelsea (4-4-2): P Cech — P Ferreira (sub: J O Mikel, 46), T Ben Haim, R Carvalho (sub: G Johnson, 31), A Cole — S Wright-Phillips, S Sidwell (sub: C Pizarro, 46), F Lampard, F Malouda — S Kalou, D Drogba. Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, J Cole. Booked: Carvalho, Sidwell, A Cole, Wright-Phillips, Mikel.
Referee: M Dean. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Chelsea profit as Mourinho's tactics pay off By Oliver Brown
Reading (1) 1 Chelsea (0) 2
At a stroke, Jose Mourinho ensured that Chelsea's return to Reading would be remembered not for Petr Cech or Stephen Hunt, but for his own tactical inspiration.
Enmities were simmering at the Madejski Stadium last night, with Chelsea supporters well recalling Hunt's skull-breaking challenge on the Czech goalkeeper 10 months ago, but Mourinho brushed aside the sub-plots as he transformed an unlikely first-half deficit into a galvanising win.
It was on another dank night in strange surrounds last season when Chelsea's vulnerabilities had emerged in defeat to Middlesbrough in only their second game. Mourinho was not about to commit the same error twice. Ascribing an early goal for Reading defender Andre Bikey to a brief aberration, he replied by allowing Claudio Pizarro to join the attack in an irresistible three-striker system - the clearest evidence yet of his "beautiful blueprint" and fully justified by two goals in three minutes for Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.
Explaining this ingenuity, the manager said: "We made the changes and I explained the objectives. The players were brave to accept some difficult situations."
The changes were stark, as Shaun Wright-Phillips switched to right-back while Florent Malouda anchored midfield. But when the rethink enabled Chelsea to build a four-point lead over Manchester United just five days into the season, few were arguing.
Such was the aplomb shown by Wright-Phillips in an alien position, Mourinho might have been tempted to call off the quest for Sevilla's Daniel Alves. The Brazilian full-back, who was left out of the Spanish club's Champions League qualifying round tie against AEK Athens last night, has been linked with a £21.5 million move to Stamford Bridge, but Chelsea claim there is still no agreement. Mourinho acknowledged: "We try to buy him, but the situation is not done."
Mourinho had tried, abortively, to throw three strikers forward in an FA Cup defeat to Newcastle in his first season and was roundly questioned. On last night's more successful experiment, he said: "I knew it was a big gamble, but if one day it doesn't work, I'm criticised. I accept the criticism, but I sleep well because I tried."
The defining incident of this fixture last season - or, more accurately, Mourinho's histrionic reaction to it - had stirred up an animosity between the teams, with Reading supporters perversely barracking Cech's every clearance. Judging by Steve Sidwell's reception, the midfielder's defection to Chelsea was also seen as a betrayal.
Ironically, it was Hunt, the pariah of the evening, who gave Chelsea cause for concern with his lively surges into the box. In the early exchanges, only the muscular intervention of Tal Ben Haim prevented him from scoring.
There was a raggedness about Chelsea's play, and after 29 minutes Nicky Shorey's free kick, nudged into the box by Ivar Ingimarsson, left Cech floundering. There were few players more surprised than substitute Bikey, who took one touch - his first of the game - to steer Reading into the lead.
But Mourinho then engineered his half-time changes and the dividends were immediate. Lampard, not content to lie deep, profited from Drogba's deft header to surge through Reading's scattered back line with ease. Holding off Shorey, the England midfielder showed consummate control to angle his shot beyond Marcus Hahnemann.
With Reading at their most vulnerable, it was Drogba's turn to pounce. Again, Shorey was the unfortunate victim of some irresistible play as the Ivorian cut in to unleash a superb strike from 22 yards past Hahnemann.
"At 2-1, all the energy we had in the first half evaporated very quickly," Steve Coppell, the Reading manager, said.
Stunned, Reading lapsed all too easily into impatience, and Kalif Cisse was sent off for a second yellow card as he challenged Pizarro heavily. The decision looked dubious, but Chelsea's damage had already been done.
Man of the match: Didier Drogba (Chelsea)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Reading 1 Chelsea 2: Drogba's neat finish rewards Mourinho gamble By Conrad Leach
There was an FA Cup match that Chelsea played at Newcastle in February 2005 when Jose Mourinho used all his substitutes at half-time and ended up losing the game, with an injury then reducing his team to 10 men before the end.
It was a tactical move the Blues' manager promised not to repeat, but here at the Madejski Stadium the Portuguese had once more made all his changes before the second half. However, five minutes after half-time, unlike at St James' Park, a deficit had been turned into an advantage and a repeat of history was averted. It was an advantage they held on to for their second win of the season and true to their manager's pre-season word, Chelsea are good to watch again.
However, history of an even more recent vintage was very much on the agenda in Berkshire. It usually takes decades to build up an enmity on the scale that now exists between these two teams, but in their case it only took one match. That was last October, when Stephen Hunt accidentally collided with Petr Cech, his knee hitting the Chelsea goalkeeper in the head. It left Cech with a fractured skull and led to lingering recriminations. Cech was also out for three months and returned with the skull cap he wears in every game. To show what this victory meant for Mourinho, you only had to see him pump his fist at the final whistle to realise memories of the Cech incident are still fresh.
From the outset Chelsea were indifferent and outplayed. In the second half, they ripped into Steve Coppell's men with the result that Frank Lampard levelled Andre Bikey's goal after 47 minutes. A Claudio Pizarro header was nudged on by Didier Drogba to the midfielder and he steered his shot around Marcus Hahnemann.
Three minutes later and the Londoners had the advantage when Nicky Shorey poked the ball to Drogba, who, from 22 yards, curled his shot past Hahnemann for the winner. Reading's cause was not helped when, with 18 minutes left, their debutant Kalifa Cissé was sent off for his second yellow card – a foul on Pizarro.
The game had changed with Mourinho's alterations and he explained: "At half-time I asked if there were any unfit players as I wanted to make two changes. They said no, so I made my changes. The players were brave and accepted what they had to do on the pitch."
With Ricardo Carvalho's early injury, the changes included Shaun Wright-Phillips playing well at right-back and Glen Johnson adapting to playing centre-back. Mourinho also revealed that John Terry is fit enough to play at Liverpool this weekend, adding: "Steve McClaren can drink some champagne."
Mourinho was not in the mood for celebrating when Reading took a deserved lead after 29 minutes. From a long punt by Shorey, Ivar Ingimarsson knocked the ball down, Cech missed his punch and the ball ran to Bikey who tapped into the net, 20 seconds after coming on to the pitch. It could have been worse for Chelsea when John Oster hit the post five minutes later. They survived that and have now come from behind in both games so far.
Goals: Bikey (30) 1-0; Lampard (47) 1-1; Drogba (50) 1-2.
Reading (4-4-2): Hahnemann; Murty, Ingimarsson, Duberry (Bikey, 29), Shorey; Oster (Seol, 79), Cissé, Harper, Hunt; Long, Doyle. Substitutes not used: Federici (gk), Gunnarsson, De la Cruz
Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Ferreira (Pizarro, h-t), Carvalho (Johnson, 31), Ben Haim, A Cole; Wright-Phillips, Sidwell (Mikel, h-t), Lampard, Malouda; Drogba, Kalou. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), J Cole.
Referee: M Dean (Wirral).
Booked: Reading Cissé, Hunt, Long, Ingimarsson; Chelsea A Cole, Carvalho, Mikel, Sidwell, Wright-Phillips.
Sent off: Cissé (72).
Man of the match: Drogba.
Attendance: 24,031.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Drogba digs Chelsea out of trouble after Mourinho reshuffle
Dominic Fifield at the Madejski StadiumThursday August 16, 2007The Guardian
There was a period last night when Petr Cech must have felt condemned only to suffer in this corner of Berkshire, yet by the end there was redemption to be had in victory. Chelsea, outplayed through the first period, recovered breathlessly courtesy of the sheer boldness of their manager. With the goalkeeper relieved and Jose Mourinho triumphant, last year's traumas in this arena can truly be forgotten now. Mourinho's reaction at the final whistle, punching the air as he roared his approval, was a demonstration both of the resistance encountered against a slick Reading side and of the scars that were inflicted here 10 months ago. Cech had been carried off on that occasion, his skull fractured following an inadvertent clash with Stephen Hunt in the opening 20 seconds. The fall-out from that incident, and the subsequent departure of the reserve goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini on a stretcher that night, had tarnished the build-up.
Yet while this game was played with a real edge and punctuated with yellow cards and a late red for Kalifa Cissé, it ended with a hug between Cech and the excellent Hunt. The goalkeeper had been culpable for the home side's goal. The visitors needed the manager's tactical re-invention at the interval, with Shaun Wright-Phillips and Florent Malouda switched to wing-backs and an extra striker thrust on. Mourinho, however mellow, will always be a risk taker."I knew it was a big gamble but, if one day it doesn't work, like it didn't in my first season at Newcastle [in an FA Cup tie], I'll accept the criticism," said the Portuguese. "I'll sleep well because I tried. The worst thing in life is when you don't try. That's the message I give to my kids all the time and, in my job, I do the same. If, in the second minute of the second half, somebody was injured and we'd have to play with 10 men for 43 minutes, fair enough. That's a risk that's part of the job."
Chelsea had needed his radical overhaul. They had been becalmed throughout a first half dominated by Reading but, from nowhere, generated such blistering momentum in the moments after the interval as to re-establish their class. Within two minutes of the re-start, Claudio Pizarro and Didier Drogba had combined for Frank Lampard to burst beyond Nicky Shorey's lunge and spear the visitors level. With Reading still dazed, Drogba exchanged passes with Salomon Kalou and curled a stunning second beyond the despairing Marcus Hahnemann from 20 yards to thrust them ahead.
"The players were brave," added Mourinho. "It's not easy for Shaun to play right-back, for Glen Johnson to play centre-half or for attacking players to have defensive tasks." The manager had already lost Ricardo Carvalho to a thigh problem, though his likely absence will be tempered by the return of John Terry from knee-ligament damage. The England captain trained with the reserves yesterday and will be available for England's qualifiers against Israel and Russia next month.
For Reading there was no disgrace in this defeat, even if theirs was a sense of deflation at the end. Steve Coppell's side had been dignified in the fall-out from last year's clash but they tore into this rematch so breathlessly that Chelsea were initially forced into retreat. The hosts were scintillating in the first half, hitting the post through John Oster from Hunt's fine cross and gaining a lead they merited through the substitute André Bikey after Cech's rare mistake.
Shorey's free-kick had been pumped into the area from distance on the half-hour, with Ivar Ingimarsson jumping to loop a header into the six-yard box. The goalkeeper came to claim but, perhaps distracted by the arm thrust up inadvisedly by Kevin Doyle or by the presence of Steve Sidwell and Tal Ben Haim immediately in front of him, missed his punch. The loose ball bounced through the panicked clutter for Bikey to convert with his first touch. Other chances were passed up, Cech claiming Doyle's shot on the turn, and, while the locals rejoiced in their lead, Coppell implied the home side's ultimate frustration had its roots in profligacy.
"We might have been further ahead at half-time but we knew they'd change it," he said. "We just didn't know how they'd change it. Jose was brave but it's easier to be brave when you've got £70m worth of talent on the bench. He's a terrific manager but all the big teams have got bigger guns than everyone else, more toys, more options. But consistently he has done it and it's been effective. Today was the same."
The Reading manager was disappointed with Cissé's dismissal on his home debut, the Frenchman booked for a second time when he ran his studs down Pizarro's shin 16 minutes from time, even if the Peruvian's reaction was somewhat dramatic. "His sock was laddered so it must have been a bad injury given that it was over his shin pad," added Coppell with a wry smile. "Chelsea knew they were in a game here. The way Jose celebrated at the end shows how important this victory was."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mail:
Bikey puts pedal down but Drogba overtakesReading 1 Chelsea 2
By NEIL ASHTON
Jose Mourinho fielded a string of highprofile summer signings at Reading last night, but the names on the scoresheet remain the same.
While the rest of this Chelsea team still need some fine-tuning as they settle into their Premiership stride, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba did what they do best.
Like reliable old motors, they never stopped running and secured Chelsea's second successive victory in a devastating three-minute spell.
They scored 31 times in the Premiership last season and underlined their importance to Chelsea with the clinical strikes that took them level with Everton and Manchester City at the top of the table.
To do it, Mourinho had to make sweeping half-time changes, but he was rewarded for his bravery. He sacrificed Steven Sidwell and Paulo Ferreira, sent Shaun Wright-Phillips to right back and added Claudio Pizarro to his attack. Until then, Reading had been rampant. Steve Coppell's side set the tone with a vibrant first-half performance and they took advantage of a rare mistake by Petr Cech to claim a deserved lead in 30th minute.
It took the Chelsea keeper 100 days to recover from the fractured skull he suffered in this stadium last season and it may take another 100 to put this performance to bed.
Stephen Hunt, cast as the villain by Mourinho last October after his collision with Cech, was the centre of attention again when they took the lead.
Sidwell marked his Madejski Stadium return with the foul on Hunt that led to Reading's goal. Nicky Shorey, improving with each game, launched a long free-kick and Chelsea's defence did the rest.
Ivar Ingimarsson rose unmarked to steer a header towards the sixyard box and when Cech failed to connect with a punch, Andre Bikey tapped the gift into an empty net.
It was the Reading defender's first touch after coming on as a substitute for Michael Duberry and it was fitting reward for a remarkable first half performance. But then, with the scent of a famous victory filling the air, they wilted under the weight of expectation.
As Coppell confessed, they should have scored a second when John Oster hit a post and James Harper sent an inviting rebound flying over Cech's crossbar.
Impressive as they were, one goal was never likely to be enough against a team with heavy artillery in reserve. Playing four up front in the second half was as desperate as it was daring, but it paid dividends for Mourinho. Reading missed Duberry after the break and the former Chelsea defender certainly would not have allowed Lampard to bulldoze his way into the box.
Coppell was unhappy with his team's defending for the equaliser. Lampard left them like sitting ducks when he ran through their defence unopposed before sending a sweet left-foot strike beyond Marcus Hahnemann.
And before Reading could even dust themselves down and find a way to restore the advantage, Chelsea were in front. Drogba came on as a substitute during their 3-2 victory over Birmingham last Sunday and narrowly failed to open his account against Steve Bruce's side with a 50-yard strike.
Not a problem. The Chelsea striker scored 33 goals in all competitions last season and that kind of quality does not disappear.
One touch is all it takes and his winning goal was a beauty. He exchanged passes with Wright- Phillips, who has played his way into Chelsea's team with two colossal performances, before sweeping a curled effort beyond the Reading keeper from just outside the box.
That broke Reading's resistance and there was no way back after Kalifa Cisse was harshly sent off for a second yellow card. Cisse and Harper were behind Reading's firsthalf blitzkrieg, but they were down to 10 men when the Frenchman, signed from Boavista in the summer, was sent off in the 74th minute.
He had already been booked in the first half — one of 10 entries in Mike Dean's notebook — when Pizarro upset the Premiership's purists by collapsing in a heap after Cisse nipped his ankle.
It barely merited a free-kick, but Reading were unable to respond. If there is one team in the Premier League well-versed in protecting a lead it is Chelsea and they did just that by running down the clock.
They even repelled the efforts of Hahnemann, who came out of his goal in the final minutes to act as an auxiliary defender, when he launched one final missile into Chelsea's penalty area.
Cech came to claim the ball, missed his chance, and as the ball set up kindly for Hunt, the Reading midfielder miscued horribly.
Within seconds, they were locked in an emotional embrace, but there was more to that than just his miss. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mirror:
GAMBLER JOSE GOES 4WARDS BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUEReading 1 Chelsea 2Mourinho's masterstroke helps to spare blushes of dud Cech Martin Lipton 16/08/2007 The special One conjured a turnaround of champions last night and delivered another spectacular example of what sets Jose Mourinho apart from the ordinary mortals.
On a night when Petr Cech returned to the ground where he cannot remember how close he came to losing his life and experienced a evening he will want to forget, Mourinho pulled a stunning rabbit out of the hat to see Chelsea end the first week of the new season four points clear of Manchester United.
Goals from Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba came within five minutes of the Blues boss going for broke and playing four up front after they trailed when Andre Bikey cashed in on a staggering blunder by Cech.
And while Mourinho praised his "brave" players for responding to adversity, the Chelsea boss pledged he will always be faithful to his instincts.
"Yes, it was a big gamble," said Mourinho. "But I will always sleep well because the worst thing is life is not to try. If you fail, you fail, and if it hadn't worked, like at Newcastle in the FA Cup in my first season, I knew I would be criticised.
"But that's part of being a manager. You have to try all the time. That is what I tell my kids and it's the same in my job."
Chelsea needed a manager who dares to think the unthinkable after a desperate opening display, capped when Cech clattered into Kevin Doyle and punched fresh air rather than the ball to let Bikey score with his first touch after jogging on to the pitch to replace injured Michael Duberry.
While Bikey's goal owed everything to Cech's horrible aberration - it was no more than Coppell's side deserved.
Stephen Hunt is destined to spend his career with pariah status among Chelsea fans after the events of last October but last night he was a fizz-ball of energy.
He caused sheer chaos as Mourinho's decision to give Steve Sidwell a debut start against his former club backfired horribly.
And Hunt's effervescence rubbed off on his team-mates, none more so than John Oster, who gave Ashley Cole a torrid time. Even after Bikey netted, Chelsea were no more organised, especially after limping Ricardo Carvalho was replaced by Glen Johnson.
Surely even Mourinho could not have envisaged the impact his bravery would have.
He pushed Shaun Wright-Phillips to right back and went with four up front as Claudio Pizarro and John Obi Mikel came on. And two minutes after the interval, Pizarro rose to nod on and when Drogba read his intentions and did similarly, Lampard rampaged through, shrugging aside Nicky Shorey and firing past Marcus Hahnemann.
Three minutes later Drogba showed the instincts that earned him last season's 31-goal Golden Boot, keeping hold of the ball under pressure from Ivar Ingimarsson, spreading out wide right to Salomon Kalou and smashing home the return from 20 yards.
"It's easy to be brave when you have £70million worth of players on the bench," sighed a disappointed Coppell, who had debutant Kalifa Cisse sent off for a second yellow card.
"He's got more toys than everybody else, but he's a terrific manager.
Reading: Hahnemann 7, Murty 6, Duberry 6 (Bikey 29, 6), Ingimarsson 7, Shorey 6, Oster 7 (Seol 79), Harper 7, Cisse 6, Hunt 7, Long 7 (Gunnarsson 74, 6), Doyle 7.
Chelsea: Cech 5, Ferreira 6 (Pizarro, 46, 6), Ben Haim 6, Carvalho 6 (Johnson 31, 5), A Cole 6, Wright-Phillips 7, Sidwell 5 (Mikel 46, 6), Lampard 6, Malouda 6, Drogba 8, Kalou 6.
36% POSSESSION 64%
5 SHOTS ON TARGET 5
6 SHOTS OFF TARGET 8
2 OFFSIDES 3
4 CORNERS 5
16 FOULS 22
3 YELLOW CARDS 5
1 RED CARDS 0
ATTENDANCE: 24,031
Man Of The Match: Drogba ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sun:
Reading 1 Chelsea 2 By SHAUN CUSTISAugust 16, 2007 IF you talk the talk by calling yourself the Special One you have to able to walk the walk. Jose Mourinho’s bold gamble to change tactics and use all his three subs by the start of the second half could have blown up in his face.
But it paid off spectacularly — turning disaster into triumph.
Petr Cech had opened the door to Reading with a howler as he missed his punch and gifted Andre Bikey a 30th- minute goal only 10 seconds after coming on. But Grand Master Mourinho produced check-mate at the break and got his normally reliable keeper off the hook.
With Glen Johnson already on for the injured Ricardo Carvalho, Mourinho introduced Claudio Pizarro and Mikel John Obi as well.
He also switched winger Shaun Wright-Phillips to right-back, went with four up front and won the game within five minutes of the re-start thanks to goals by captain Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.
It was a stroke of genius but Mourinho was honest enough to admit such moves do not always come off.
Two-and-a-half years ago in the FA Cup at Newcastle he put on three subs at half-time only for Wayne Bridge to get injured, reducing his team to 10 men and they were KO’d.
But if you don’t by a ticket you cannot win the raffle and Mourinho’s boldness has given Chelsea a four-point lead over champions Manchester United with only two games gone.
It is a crucial early lead in a campaign which is expected to be one of the most fiercely contested for years.
Yet up to half-time, Chelsea looked anything but title contenders. The bitter memories of last season’s clash at The Madejski — which saw Cech suffer a serious head injury in a collision with Stephen Hunt — seemed to have left the Blues with a collective hangover.
They struggled to get going and Reading old boy Steve Sidwell, given his full Chelsea debut, was overwhelmed in midfield.
The impressive Ivar Ingimarsson headed wide from six yards before the Royals took the lead after Bikey replaced the injured Michael Duberry.
Big defender Bikey ambled into the opposition penalty area for Nicky Shorey’s free-kick and could not believe his luck as Ingimarsson headed across, Cech flapped at fresh air and an empty net loomed.
The shellshocked Blues then lost Carvalho and were almost two down by the 33rd minute.
Kevin Doyle’s cross found John Oster and the winger’s volley rebounded back off the post. Chelsea were all over the place.
The Reading fans were enjoying the moment of glory chanting “Sidwell, Sidwell what’s the score.”
Cech, meanwhile, got the predictable “dodgy keeper” taunts every time the ball came near him. Mourinho, sat po-faced on the bench, not amused.
Drastic action was called for and the manager conjured up his tactical magic.
The result saw Pizarro flicking the ball on then Drogba followed suit and Lampard, anonymous in the first half, powered into the box.
He controlled the ball with his head, knocked it on and was too strong for England’s new full-back Shorey as he slid a shot under Marcus Hahnemann to register a 47th- minute equaliser.
The American keeper, hero of Reading’s hard-fought draw at Old Trafford last Sunday, was picking the ball out of the net again three minutes later.
This time Drogba was both creator and finisher.
Playing his first full game of the season having recovered from a knee injury, the Ivory Coast ace held the ball up the way he does best before feeding Salomon Kalou.
The youngster took a touch, played it back into the striker’s path and Drog smacked a curling 20-yard shot beyond the despairing Hahnemann.
Lampard and Drogba are absolute goal-machines. They bagged over 30 League goals between them last season and are off and running once more.
Chelsea fans were not slow to take the mickey. Now it was their turn to chant ‘Sidwell, Sidwell what’s the score.’
Highly amusing but it did not augur well for the Blues new signing that his withdrawal from the action prompted the Chelsea revival.
Kalifa Cisse’s dismissal for a second yellow, when he was late on Pizarro, meant there was no hope of a Reading comeback and Chelsea comfortably held on.
Nice to see Hunt and Cech exchanging a hug at the end — hopefully that is the end of the feud.
Reading boss Steve Coppell reckoned Pizarro milked the foul which saw Cisse dismissed and was disappointed his side did not make their first-half dominance count.
Mourinho showed by the way he punched the air at the end that this was a well won three points.
He said: “I know what I did was a big gamble but if one day it doesn’t work like that time at Newcastle you have to accept the criticism.
“But the worst thing in life is not to try. That’s what I tell my kids. If you fail, you fail, but you have to try.”
It has not been plain sailing by any means but Chelsea have that look about them of a couple of seasons ago when they could pull wins out of the fire when the heat was on.
So have they got United in a stranglehold already? “Give me a couple of months and we will see,” observed Mourinho.
He may be playing a straight-bat publicly — but Chelsea are on the front foot.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Monday, August 13, 2007
morning papers birmingham home
The TimesAugust 13, 2007
Mourinho unleashes his entertainersChelsea 3 Birmingham 2
Russell Kempson at Stamford Bridge
A brave new era dawned at Stamford Bridge yesterday. José Mourinho, tired of the constant sniping from the style police, unveiled his plan for entertainment instead of containment and the result was not only a Chelsea victory but also, more surprisingly, an all-action goalfest.
It was not quite thrill-a-minute — Mourinho could never be accused of throwing caution completely to the wind — and Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, was pictured gloomily resting his chin in his hands near the end. Yet if this is the way forward for Chelsea, with Mourinho’s midfield diamond abandoned in favour of marauding wingers and will-o’-the-wisp forwards, the chase for the Barclays Premier League title could take on a more vibrant tone this season. A less predictable Chelsea could prove an exceptionally dangerous Chelsea.
Praised afterwards for his fresh and attractive approach, the Chelsea manager introduced a note of caution. “It was too much, too much,” Mourinho said, laughing. Maybe his players had taken him too literally and will be advised to ease back on the pedal when they make the short trip to Reading on Wednesday night.
Whatever the instructions, it made for an absorbing spectacle. Birmingham City did their bit, too, showing little fear on their return from the Coca-Cola Championship and contributing significantly to the thrust and counter-thrust.
Colin Doyle, the Birmingham goalkeeper, played a role he would rather forget, conceding Chelsea’s first and third goals when stronger hands might have kept out the efforts of Claudio Pizarro and Michael Essien. Still, it all added to the colourful mix, a welcome change from some of the sterile offerings at the Bridge last season.
“I would have preferred it if we had scored five or six goals and won in a different way,” Mourinho said. “But we played great attacking football and Birmingham were good as well. They came with spirit, they came to play. They scored two and could have had three or four – we scored three and could have had six or seven. And the wingers produced incredible football.”
Those wingers held the key. Shaun Wright-Phillips, reborn after two in-and-out seasons, sped along the right flank and Florent Malouda, the £13.5 million buy from Lyons, did the same on the left. With Pizarro — on his debut, like Malouda — and Salomon Kalou flitting everywhere up front, the effect was mesmerising.
Not that Chelsea were perfect and nor will they be until John Terry, their captain and rock, returns to the heart of their defence. Had Terry been on hand in the fifteenth minute, Liam Ridgewell might not have been allowed to flick on Gary McSheffrey’s free kick or Mikael Forssell, the former Chelsea striker, given space to glance in a header.
Pizarro equalised three minutes later, with help from Doyle, while Malouda started and finished the move that led to Chelsea going ahead. The first half reached an explosive conclusion when Olivier Kapo almost burst the net with his equaliser.
“We gave it a go,” Steve Bruce, the Birmingham manager, said. “We were determined to do that. I was just disappointed at conceding some soft goals. You need your goalkeeper to be your best player when you come here but, unfortunately, Colin had one of those days.” Doyle erred again shortly after half-time, failing to palm away Essien’s drive, and Chelsea had chances to increase their winning margin.
For Mourinho, not only plaudits but also another record. It was Chelsea’s 64th successive league match at home without defeat, beating the sequence set by Bob Paisley’s Liverpool from February 1978 to December 1980. With Chelsea and FC Porto, his previous club, Mourinho has gone 96 home league games without defeat, although the Portuguese was getting a little ahead of himself when wrongly adding three to the figure in his programme notes.
Bring on the century? “I would love to arrive on 100,” Mourinho said. More to the point, bring on fancy football. Welcome to the new Pleasuredome of the Premier League. At this rate, Chelsea could get themselves a good reputation.
How they rated
Chelsea 4-1-3-2
P Cech 5 G Johnson 3 T Ben Haim 4 R Carvalho Y 5 A Cole 5 M Essien Y 7 S Wright-Phillips 8 F Lampard 6 F Malouda 8 C Pizarro 6 S Kalou 6
Substitutes D Drogba 6 (for Pizarro, 64min), J O Mikel 6 (Essien, 69), S Sidwell (Malouda, 82) Not used C Cudicini, J Cole
Birmingham 4-4-1-1
C Doyle 3 S Kelly 5 J Djourou 5 L Ridgewell 5 F Queudrue 3 S Larsson Y 6 F Muamba 5 M Nafti 6 G McSheffrey 6 O Kapo 7 M Forssell 6
Substitutes S Parnaby 4 (for Queudrue, 51min), C Jerome 5 (McSheffrey, 69), D de Ridder (Nafti, 75) Not used Maik Taylor, G O’Connor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Jose Mourinho's Chelsea make history in styleBy Henry Winter at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (2) 3 Birmingham (2) 2
Chelsea yesterday re-wrote the record books, and filled more than a few scrap-books with images and reports of scintillating football. How fitting that in a thrilling game that was a throwback to a more expressive era, Chelsea set a new league record of 64 games unbeaten, breaking the mark set between 1978 and 1981 by those fine Liverpool sides containing Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Alan Hansen.
"Everyone knows the record belonged to all those great Liverpool players,'' a delighted Jose Mourinho said afterwards. "Now it belongs to [John] Terry, [Frank] Lampard and [Eidur] Gudjohnsen, and all the guys who contributed. This was a very good way to celebrate.''
Now that's entertainment. Roman Abramovich has apparently been hoping for more style and Chelsea's owner cannot have been disappointed here. With Shaun Wright-Phillips, that high-speed spinning top, topping the bill, Mourinho's players put on a west London show that could have graced the West End.
Chelsea were terrific, switching between 4-4-2 and 4-2-4 with blue shirts swamping Birmingham at times. Claudio Pizarro struck an excellent first for Chelsea; the Peruvian's father was a naval officer, so taking responsibility at the Bridge clearly runs in the family. Florent Malouda and Michael Essien also found the mark and Chelsea could easily have had more.
"There was too much entertainment,'' Mourinho smiled. "We could have scored six or seven. The wingers produced incredible football, and the strikers played with great dynamic.''
Excitement levels were also heightened by the positive input of Steve Bruce's visitors. Mikael Forssell and the skilful Olivier Kapo both scored and troubled Chelsea throughout. "We looked a threat,'' Bruce said. "I have been here before and played 1-9-1 and it didn't work. If you sit back, Chelsea will eventually roll over you. We had a go.''
They certainly did, seizing the lead after 15 minutes. The Bridge afforded Forssell a good reception, and their old boy soon reminded them of his talent. When Liam Ridgewell helped on Gary McSheffrey's free-kick, Forssell flicked the ball past Petr Cech.
"Forssell is like signing a new player,'' said Bruce of a striker bedevilled by injuries. "To have a natural goalscorer will be invaluable for us.'' Commendably, the Finn refused to celebrate his goal out of respect to Chelsea fans.
Birmingham's own cheers soon died in their throats, as Chelsea came storming back with a magnificent move. Essien drilled the ball at the lively Wright-Phillips, who exchanged passes with Malouda. The England winger sped on and cut the ball back perfectly for Pizarro, who scored from 12 yards. Colin Doyle was rooted to his line, and failed to keep the ball out.
The entertainment was really only just beginning. Just after the half-hour, Chelsea took the lead with another quickfire attack. Malouda found Lampard, who dragged the ball towards Salomon Kalou. He teased the ball into the box for Malouda, who had continued his run to score with a firm strike past the exposed Doyle.
The switchback fortunes continued, now highlighting exactly why Chelsea are pursuing Sevilla's right-back, Daniel Alves. Glen Johnson was caught out on several occasions, most damagingly after 36 minutes by Kapo, who manoeuvred the ball around the Chelsea defender before firing an unstoppable left-footed shot past Cech.
"Kapo gave a terrific performance,'' enthused Bruce of the recruit from Juventus who was on loan at Levante last season. "I saw him play four years ago for Auxerre against Arsenal and he was brilliant. He got his big-money move to Juventus, but it didn't work out. He's only 26. He's a natural footballer and will enhance the Premier League.''
This match certainly did, Chelsea regaining the lead after 50 minutes. Malouda, Lampard and Wright-Phillips were involved before Essien bent in a 20-yarder that Doyle should really have stopped. "When you come to Chelsea you need your goalkeeper to be your best player but he's had one of those days,'' Bruce said. "But he was instrumental in us being in the Premier League so he deserved to be in the team.''
Victory still came at a cost to Chelsea as Essien limped away with what Mourinho described as "knee ligament pain''. At least Mourinho promised that Claude Makelele and Paulo Ferreira would return to training today. After one record yesterday, Chelsea's coach now sets his sight on a personal landmark, reaching 100 games unbeaten at home by avoiding a reverse against Portsmouth on Aug 25. "I'm on 99 and I hope Harry Redknapp doesn't kill my record because I would love to reach 100,'' said Mourinho, who last experienced defeat at home in 2002 when his Porto side lost to Beira Mar.
www.telegraph.co.uk/winter
Match details
Chelsea: Cech, Johnson, Carvalho, Ben Haim, Ashley Cole, Wright-Phillips, Essien (Mikel 69), Lampard, Malouda (Sidwell 83), Kalou, Pizarro (Drogba 64). Subs: Cudicini, Joe Cole. Booked: Essien, Carvalho. Goals: Pizarro 17, Malouda 31, Essien 50. Birmingham: Doyle, Kelly, Djourou, Ridgewell, Queudrue (Parnaby 51), Larsson, Muamba, Nafti (De Ridder 75), McSheffrey (Jerome 69), Kapo, Forssell. Subs: Maik Taylor, O'Connor.Booked: Larsson. Goals: Forssell 15, Kapo 36. Ref: Steve Bennett (Kent).
Man of the Match: Michael Essien (Chelsea) 9 (Scored a superb winner , 81 per cent of his passes accurate, 25 per cent of Chelsea's shots on target) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 3, Birmingham City 2: Chelsea charm offensive is up and running By Sam Wallace The new Chelsea marketing campaign around Stamford Bridge declares that loyalty to the club is "in the blood" and pictures the players with their veins glowing electric blue. Jose Mourinho's team may well have something unique in their DNA but, when it came to football that quickened the pulse last season, there was greater entertainment to be found elsewhere.
That could be changing. Mourinho spent the summer promising daring raids from the wing and football on the break; against Birmingham City, he traded five goals and a few defensive errors with newcomers from the Championship. This was not Mourinho football as we know it but, for an unusually noisy Stamford Bridge, it was a welcome change from the occasionally charmless progress of the big blue machine.
There were impressive debuts from Claudio Pizarro and Florent Malouda, who both scored, as well as the eye-catching Olivier Kapo for Birmingham. But it was Shaun Wright-Phillips and Salomon Kalou, two free spirits hitherto restrained by Mourinho's tactical rigour, who at last stood out in a team committed to attack.
It is early days yet for Wright-Phillips, who has waited two years for a game like this, but he was crucial to two goals, including Michael Essien's winner on 50 minutes. "Shaun started very well this pre-season," Mourinho said, "and the players know I am honest: I choose the players who deserve to play. The first season coming from a club without ambition is always hard; last season he improved."
Those two years have cost Wright-Phillips a place in England's World Cup squad and just about all the credibility he accumulated at Manchester City – a price most would find hard to bear. But in Kalou and Malouda he found kindred spirits yesterday; the Frenchman looks an immediate crowd favourite: brave, direct and fast.
So too Kapo, 26, a £3m signing from Juventus who has spent two years on loan at Monaco and cracked a thunderous shot past Petr Cech for Birmingham's second goal. It is a measure of the wealth of the Premier League that newly promoted teams are signing Juventus' cast-offs, and this one, Steve Bruce said, was "arguably the best player on the pitch".
Only four sides scored two goals at Stamford Bridge last season, across all domestic competitions, and Birmingham achieved that in the first half. Atrocious marking from Tal Ben Haim allowed Mikael Forssell the chance to nod in Liam Ridgewell's flick from Gary McSheffrey's free-kick – a goal that the former Chelsea striker graciously refused to celebrate.
At stake was Chelsea's run of home league games unbeaten which, with yesterday's result, is now 64 and surpasses Liverpool's record. Mourinho said that he was going to go home "to think about" all the players, past and present, who had helped achieve it. Presumably, he will not be thinking too much about Claudio Ranieri, the predecessor with whom he had an uneasy relationship, who contributed six of those games at the end of his reign.
Mourinho has his own record to think about – he now stands on 99 home league games undefeated as a manager with Porto and Chelsea, although this is a statistic that is yet to be verified independently. It would be a brave man who would challenge him on it and a very unlucky player who found himself responsible for defeat at home to Portsmouth on 25 August.
Within two minutes of Birmingham's goal, Wright-Phillips exchanged passes with Malouda to square the ball for Pizarro to score. The ball dribbled into Colin Doyle's goal rather too easily and the Irish goalkeeper also found himself at fault for Essien's winner. There was not much he could do about Chelsea's second, in which Malouda started a move that involved Frank Lampard and Kalou before he was returned the ball to flick past Doyle.
This was a glimpse of how Chelsea's owner, Roman Abramovich, must have imagined his team playing before Mourinho introduced him to the mundane realities of winning titles. The Russian is back in love with Chelsea, it seems, and he left the stadium with Avram Grant – another indication of how close the new director of football is to the club's power base.
Just when Chelsea looked set to destroy Birmingham, Kapo dragged the visitors back into it, shuffling past Glen Johnson and smashing the ball past Cech for 2-2. It was a glorious finish and it did nothing to further Johnson's case that this second chance at Chelsea will be permanent. Daniel Alves' attacking ability would add another devastating aspect to this team, provided he can defend as well.
The winner from Essien was not struck as savagely as his goal against Arsenal last December, and Doyle allowed it go through his hands. As for the entertainment value, it was, in Mourinho's words, "too much". Those who have sat through some of the more forgettable games of the last three years would disagree.
Goals: Forssell (15) 0-1; Pizarro (17) 1-1; Malouda (30) 2-1; Kapo (36) 2-2; Essien (50) 3-2.
Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Johnson, Carvalho, Ben Haim, A Cole; Wright-Phillips, Essien (Mikel, 69), Lampard, Malouda (Sidwell, 82); Kalou, Pizarro (Drogba, 51). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), J Cole.
Birmingham City (4-4-1-1): Doyle; Kelly, Ridgewell, Djourou, Queudrue (Parnaby, 51); Larsson, Nafti (De Ridder, 75), Muamba, McSheffrey (Jerome, 69); Kapo; Forssell. Substitutes not used: Taylor (gk), O'Connor.
Referee: S Bennett (Kent).
Booked: Chelsea Carvalho; Birmingham Larsson.
Man of the match: Wright-Phillips
Attendance: 41,590.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Guardian:
New, carefree Chelsea enjoy living on the edge
Kevin McCarra at Stamford BridgeMonday August 13, 2007
It was a little harder than expected to tell the Blues from the Blues. Inside the last 10 minutes Tal Ben Haim was hoofing the ball over his own crossbar to avert a Birmingham City equaliser and such harum-scarum moments did not go down well with every Stamford Bridge regular. The television producers were soon cutting to the pensive countenance of the owner Roman Abramovich, who had his hands pressed to his face.
He was getting a first meaningful look at the consequences of his new manifesto of exuberance for Chelsea. With two wingers and a pair of strikers the side made space for itself at the price of allowing scope for the visitors. While the victory was deserved, Birmingham must have left London wondering what might have been had their goalkeeper Colin Doyle not been culpable when Claudio Pizarro and then Michael Essien scored.The free and easy approach does have benefits for Chelsea none the less. It might have had something to do with the transformation of Shaun Wright-Phillips. Never before has he been so eager and, simultaneously, poised in this jersey. As with any winger the level of his confidence can be seen in the quality of the crossing. After Birmingham had hit the opener, it was his exact cut-back that set up Pizarro's equaliser.
Franck Queudrue was helpless before him and had to be replaced as Steve Bruce switched Stephen Kelly to left-back. The distress in such matters was not, however, confined to Birmingham. Glen Johnson had as miserable a time for Chelsea. Nothing appears to have altered since he was an exciting youngster at West Ham who had still to learn how to defend.
The need to have Paulo Ferreira fit again can only have been topped in Jose Mourinho's wish list by the yearning to see John Terry return soon from his knee injury. The back four is not so organised without him, even if the signing of Ben Haim and Alex means that the squad has strength in depth at centre-half.
Birmingham took the lead after a quarter of an hour by winning two headers from a Gary McSheffrey free-kick, the debutant and captain for the day Liam Ridgewell helping the ball on before Mikael Forssell nodded beyond Petr Cech. The scorer has been besieged by injury since he left Chelsea but he played with freedom here despite being a lone striker.
The pickings came more easily for the person currently turning out at centre- forward in the Stamford Bridge line-up. With 18 minutes gone, Essien swept an imperious pass to the right and Wright-Phillips exchanged passes with Florent Malouda before locating Pizarro. The Peruvian's low finish was not kept out by the palms of Doyle.
There was sustenance in this for the fans' hope that Chelsea now have an appropriately ample squad. With Andriy Shevchenko absent and Didier Drogba not introduced until the 64th minute, the team was still suitably staffed in the middle of the attack, where Salomon Kalou is continuing to improve.
The latter was the key to the goal that put Chelsea ahead after 31 minutes. Once a Malouda through-ball had been helped on by Frank Lampard it was Kalou who slipped the pass that let Malouda re-enter the move by scoring. He had already found the net in the Community Shield against Manchester United and the Frenchman's transition to Chelsea has been instantaneous.
It could be called effortless, but that is scarcely the correct adjective for a winger who pours so much endeavour and ability into his displays. At £13.5m, the purchase is looking inspired. Even so, there was meagre opportunity for anyone at Chelsea to bask in self-satisfaction.
Olivier Kapo could keep a lot of opponents on their toes this campaign. Birmingham's acquisition from Juventus had been on loan to Levante, suggesting a career deflected from its proper course, but he was not diverted here. Coming in from the left, he got the break of the ball as he ran at Johnson and unleashed a savage shot beyond Cech in the 36th minute.
The openings were more numerous for Chelsea, but Bruce will have misgivings about the winner. Wright-Phillips pulled the ball back after 50 minutes, but although Essien's drive was powerful it also had a trajectory beneficial to a goalkeeper. Doyle, celebrating his 22nd birthday and widely appreciated as possessing great potential, should have done better than to help it home.
If it is any consolation to the Irishman, Chelsea oozed creativity, merited the win and might have enjoyed a greater margin. There was festiveness about them as they set a new league record of 64 unbeaten home matches in the top flight. While Mourinho took no coaxing to comment on that achievement, such records are not the sort to satisfy him.
Wednesday's trip to Reading intrigues since it will show just how much risk-taking Mourinho deems appropriate in a tricky away fixture as he plots to reclaim the Premier League title for Chelsea.
Man of the match Shaun Wright-Phillips
The Chelsea winger can always be counted on for vitality but there was a judiciousness here that has seldom been associated with him
Best Moment The low cross with which he set up Pizarro's goal in the 18th minute--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
A false start - Mourinho's blue crew eclipse the Red legends
Chelsea 3 Birmingham 2
By NEIL ASHTON
The Premier League remains the long-term objective but Jose Mourinho was in the mood for reminiscing after Chelsea eclipsed Liverpool's run of 63 League matches unbeaten at home.
That landmark, which had stood since Bob Paisley's legendary side swept all before them in the late Seventies, was passed when Claudio Pizarro, Florent Malouda and Michael Essien etched their names into the history books with the goals that secured Chelsea's opening victory of the season.
The last time Chelsea's supporters traipsed home from the Bridge and kicked the cat was in February 2004, when Arsenal celebrated a 2-1 victory over their London rivals. They have led a charmed life ever since.
Class acts such as Gianfranco Zola, Marcel Desailly and Eidur Gudjohnsen were still at the club when this exceptional run began under Claudio Ranieri but Mourinho must take the credit for protecting it over the past three seasons.
Birmingham arrived with their tails up after winning promotion but Chelsea seem impregnable at Stamford Bridge.
"The record is more for Chelsea than for me," claimed Mourinho. Everyone knows that it was held by Liverpool and some top, top players — Hansen, Neal and Dalglish.
"Now this moment belongs to John Terry and Frank Lampard and some of the others who have played their part in it such as Gudjohnsen, Geremi and Duff.
"I am pleased because this also brings me to 99 games unbeaten at home in the league [including Porto] and if my friend Harry Redknapp does not wreck it I will achieve 100 against Portsmouth."
Despite Birmingham's refreshing approach, Chelsea were always capable of creating chances. With Shaun Wright-Phillips on one flank and Florent Malouda on the other, this is a team that can attack at will.
That pairing were relentless whenever they were in possession and they showed their teeth after Mikael Forssell's deflected effort in the 15th minute had beaten the unsighted Petr Cech to give Birmingham the lead.
Within two minutes Chelsea were level. Wright-Phillips' wall pass with Malouda was adroitly steered back into his path and Pizarro, who was signed on a free transfer from Bayern Munich, swept the ball beyond Colin Doyle.
The young Birmingham goalkeeper, capped by the Republic of Ireland in the summer, took Maik Taylor's place in the promotion run-in but Steve Bruce already has a decision to make when they face Sunderland in midweek.
Doyle allowed Pizarro's shot to bounce under his body and he was again at fault when he failed to turn Essien's long-range shot over the bar in the second half.
Bruce said: "Of course, he is disappointed because you need your goalkeeper to be your best player when you come to places like Chelsea. But he is the reason we are in the Premiership. He saved a penalty against Wolves last season that helped us get promoted but we gave away two soft goals. It's a shame because we came to attack and that's what we did.
"It's great to be back in the Premiership — even the smell of the hot dogs is great — and I was up at 6.30am with all the usual nerves that you get on the first day of the season.
"Chelsea's record underlines what a good side they are but I saw enough from my team to suggest we can give this a real go."
There was little Birmingham could do about Malouda's strike in the 31st minute. The France winger began and ended the move that involved a clever backheel by Lampard and a neat flick on the edge of the area by the rapidly improving Salomon Kalou.
Malouda dispatched it with a crisp half-volley but Birmingham refused to throw in the towel. Bruce has laced his side with brutes — Johan Djourou, Fabrice Muamba and Olivier Kapo are all man mountains — but they can also play a bit and it was Kapo's brilliance that brought them back into the game.
Glen Johnson, who spent last season on loan at Portsmouth, was given another chance at right back but if this performance was a measure of his progress then Dani Alves' phone will be in meltdown this morning.
Johnson was left floundering by Kapo's trickery inside the area and there was nothing Petr Cech could do to prevent the former Juventus midfielder's left-footed strike heading for the top corner.
That goal gave Birmingham's vocal supporters hope that they could escape with a point but Essien's 50th-minute strike restored order.
The Ghanaian eventually made way for Mikel John Obi, with a knee injury that could rule him out of Wednesday's trip to Reading, but there is no doubting his class.
Mourinho added: "I like the way Birmingham played because they wanted to attack. It is normal for teams who come up from the Championship to attack and they could have scored three or four. I would have been able to breathe a bit better if we had won 4-2 but I told the players at half-time that we could not be playing much better. The day does not belong to me."
After three years as the centre of attention, that certainly makes a change. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mirror:
NO PLACE LIKE HOME Chelsea 3 Birmingham 2 ..and Blues go 64 games unbeaten at Bridge Chelsea wide boys finally beat Liverpool's 27-year record Oliver Holt
The sign on the giant scoreboard at Stamford Bridge suggested a cricket score.
It read 64 Not Out after the final whistle blew on yet another home league match negotiated without defeat.
It would have been good enough to make Chelsea top scorer in England's first innings down the road at The Oval.
tAnd it took Frank Lampard, Petr Cech, Michael Essien and the absent colossus John Terry beyond the great Liverpool side of the late 1970s and into the history books.
Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Mark Lawrenson, Alan Hansen and Co went 63 league games at Anfield without a loss. Now Chelsea have gone one better.
It was as good a way as any for Jose Mourinho's side to mark the opening day of their new season and their attempt to regain the title.
And even though their 3-2 win over newly-promoted Birmingham was not as authoritative as they might have wished, it held out the prospect of a dashing duel with Manchester United for the Premier League crown.
Last season, Chelsea were often damned as the dull boys plodding in the wake of Sir Alex Ferguson's dynamic, swashbuckling band of entertainers.
But yesterday Shaun Wright-Phillips and Florent Malouda ripped Birmingham to shreds down the flanks and recalled the days when Arjen Robben and Damien Duff twisted opponents out of shape.
Chelsea also looked immeasurably more comfortable without the jarring presence of Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack. They missed them, sure, but only in the way a healthy complexion misses a couple of yellow-headed zits.
Without them, they looked almost back to their fluent best going forward, happy to feed the pace of Wright-Phillips and the cunning of Malouda and let Salomon Kalou and Claudio Pizarro take advantage of the havoc they caused.
In central midfield, too, it was a joy to see Lampard and Essien paired together without the need to contort the formation to accommodate Ballack.
In the first half in particular, Lampard produced the kind of sweet touches, clever passes and surging runs that have made him such a cornerstone of Chelsea's invincibility at the Bridge.
And the sight of Essien alongside him was a reminder of what Chelsea were lacking there last season when they were forced to use him as emergency cover in defence.
The surprise was that Wright-Phillips was the pick of the bunch. A surprise because he has so often been a disappointment since his move from Manchester City two summers ago.
Yesterday, once more, he looked like the flying winger who destroyed opponents with his pace but could also pick them apart with a clever final ball. He nearly scored after a quarter of an hour when he won the ball midway inside the Birmingham half, took a return from Pizarro and scorched a shot across goal and just wide. Two minutes after Chelsea old boy Mikael Forssell put Birmingham ahead, Wright-Phillips helped Chelsea draw level, racing to the byline and pulling back a cross that Pizarro slotted under Colin Doyle.
And after Malouda had started and finished the move for Chelsea's second and Olivier Kapo had scored the goal of the game to bring Birmingham an equaliser, Wright-Phillips popped up again five minutes after the interval to provide Chelsea's winner.
It was only a simple pass, a short lay back to Essien who curled in another shot that Doyle should have saved but didn't. But in the last two years, it's been the simple things that seemed to be beyond Wright-Phillips, a man who was trying too hard but now appears to be feeling right at home.
"To be quick is one thing," former Chelsea boss Ruud Gullit said on TV after the match, "but to be in control of the ball as well is much more difficult. I watched Wright-Phillips today and I thought 'hey, you've improved'."
The same thought applied to Chelsea as a whole. They still sorely missed Terry at the heart of defence but at least Tal Ban Haim is there as cover and Alex will soon provide further reinforcement. Glen Johnson looked like a weak link at right-back but, still, being exposed by Kapo has got to beat eyeing up toilet seats in Ikea or wherever it was that Johnson chose to get creative in his Portsmouth days.
After the game, Mourinho paid tribute to the players, past and present, who had helped Chelsea to their record-breaking total.
He talked about Eidur Gudjohnsen, Geremi and Duff as well as survivors like Lampard and Terry. He sounded almost wistful. That was why the performance of Wright-Phillips was particularly timely.
On a day that bracketed them with a great Liverpool side, the little winger transported them back to a time when they were kings.
A few minutes from the end, Mourinho even climbed off the bench, bottle in hand, and ran to the touchline to give Wright-Phillips a drink of water.
It was as clear sign of approval and appreciation.
His team might have just turned 64, but it's looking young again.
CHELSEA BIRMINGHAM CITY
58% POSSESSION 42%
8 SHOTS ON TARGET 4
12 SHOTS OFF TARGET 3
4 OFFSIDES 0
5 CORNERS 3
9 FOULS 13
2 YELLOW CARDS 1
0 RED CARDS 0
ATTENDANCE: 41,590
Man Of The Match: W-Phillips
TEAMS AND RATINGS
Chelsea: Cech 7, Johnson 5, Carvalho 6, Ben Haim 7, Ashley Cole 7, Wright-Phillips 9, Essien 7 (Mikel 69, 6), Lampard 8, Malouda 8 (Sidwell 83, 6), Kalou 7, Pizarro 6 (Drogba 64, 6).
Birmingham: Doyle 4, Kelly 6, Djourou 6, Ridgewell 7, Queudrue 6 (Parnaby 51, 6), Larsson 7, Muamba 5, Nafti 6 (De Ridder 75, 5), McSheffrey 7 (Jerome 69, 6), Kapo 8, Forssell 7. Ref: S Bennett
Mourinho unleashes his entertainersChelsea 3 Birmingham 2
Russell Kempson at Stamford Bridge
A brave new era dawned at Stamford Bridge yesterday. José Mourinho, tired of the constant sniping from the style police, unveiled his plan for entertainment instead of containment and the result was not only a Chelsea victory but also, more surprisingly, an all-action goalfest.
It was not quite thrill-a-minute — Mourinho could never be accused of throwing caution completely to the wind — and Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, was pictured gloomily resting his chin in his hands near the end. Yet if this is the way forward for Chelsea, with Mourinho’s midfield diamond abandoned in favour of marauding wingers and will-o’-the-wisp forwards, the chase for the Barclays Premier League title could take on a more vibrant tone this season. A less predictable Chelsea could prove an exceptionally dangerous Chelsea.
Praised afterwards for his fresh and attractive approach, the Chelsea manager introduced a note of caution. “It was too much, too much,” Mourinho said, laughing. Maybe his players had taken him too literally and will be advised to ease back on the pedal when they make the short trip to Reading on Wednesday night.
Whatever the instructions, it made for an absorbing spectacle. Birmingham City did their bit, too, showing little fear on their return from the Coca-Cola Championship and contributing significantly to the thrust and counter-thrust.
Colin Doyle, the Birmingham goalkeeper, played a role he would rather forget, conceding Chelsea’s first and third goals when stronger hands might have kept out the efforts of Claudio Pizarro and Michael Essien. Still, it all added to the colourful mix, a welcome change from some of the sterile offerings at the Bridge last season.
“I would have preferred it if we had scored five or six goals and won in a different way,” Mourinho said. “But we played great attacking football and Birmingham were good as well. They came with spirit, they came to play. They scored two and could have had three or four – we scored three and could have had six or seven. And the wingers produced incredible football.”
Those wingers held the key. Shaun Wright-Phillips, reborn after two in-and-out seasons, sped along the right flank and Florent Malouda, the £13.5 million buy from Lyons, did the same on the left. With Pizarro — on his debut, like Malouda — and Salomon Kalou flitting everywhere up front, the effect was mesmerising.
Not that Chelsea were perfect and nor will they be until John Terry, their captain and rock, returns to the heart of their defence. Had Terry been on hand in the fifteenth minute, Liam Ridgewell might not have been allowed to flick on Gary McSheffrey’s free kick or Mikael Forssell, the former Chelsea striker, given space to glance in a header.
Pizarro equalised three minutes later, with help from Doyle, while Malouda started and finished the move that led to Chelsea going ahead. The first half reached an explosive conclusion when Olivier Kapo almost burst the net with his equaliser.
“We gave it a go,” Steve Bruce, the Birmingham manager, said. “We were determined to do that. I was just disappointed at conceding some soft goals. You need your goalkeeper to be your best player when you come here but, unfortunately, Colin had one of those days.” Doyle erred again shortly after half-time, failing to palm away Essien’s drive, and Chelsea had chances to increase their winning margin.
For Mourinho, not only plaudits but also another record. It was Chelsea’s 64th successive league match at home without defeat, beating the sequence set by Bob Paisley’s Liverpool from February 1978 to December 1980. With Chelsea and FC Porto, his previous club, Mourinho has gone 96 home league games without defeat, although the Portuguese was getting a little ahead of himself when wrongly adding three to the figure in his programme notes.
Bring on the century? “I would love to arrive on 100,” Mourinho said. More to the point, bring on fancy football. Welcome to the new Pleasuredome of the Premier League. At this rate, Chelsea could get themselves a good reputation.
How they rated
Chelsea 4-1-3-2
P Cech 5 G Johnson 3 T Ben Haim 4 R Carvalho Y 5 A Cole 5 M Essien Y 7 S Wright-Phillips 8 F Lampard 6 F Malouda 8 C Pizarro 6 S Kalou 6
Substitutes D Drogba 6 (for Pizarro, 64min), J O Mikel 6 (Essien, 69), S Sidwell (Malouda, 82) Not used C Cudicini, J Cole
Birmingham 4-4-1-1
C Doyle 3 S Kelly 5 J Djourou 5 L Ridgewell 5 F Queudrue 3 S Larsson Y 6 F Muamba 5 M Nafti 6 G McSheffrey 6 O Kapo 7 M Forssell 6
Substitutes S Parnaby 4 (for Queudrue, 51min), C Jerome 5 (McSheffrey, 69), D de Ridder (Nafti, 75) Not used Maik Taylor, G O’Connor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Jose Mourinho's Chelsea make history in styleBy Henry Winter at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (2) 3 Birmingham (2) 2
Chelsea yesterday re-wrote the record books, and filled more than a few scrap-books with images and reports of scintillating football. How fitting that in a thrilling game that was a throwback to a more expressive era, Chelsea set a new league record of 64 games unbeaten, breaking the mark set between 1978 and 1981 by those fine Liverpool sides containing Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Alan Hansen.
"Everyone knows the record belonged to all those great Liverpool players,'' a delighted Jose Mourinho said afterwards. "Now it belongs to [John] Terry, [Frank] Lampard and [Eidur] Gudjohnsen, and all the guys who contributed. This was a very good way to celebrate.''
Now that's entertainment. Roman Abramovich has apparently been hoping for more style and Chelsea's owner cannot have been disappointed here. With Shaun Wright-Phillips, that high-speed spinning top, topping the bill, Mourinho's players put on a west London show that could have graced the West End.
Chelsea were terrific, switching between 4-4-2 and 4-2-4 with blue shirts swamping Birmingham at times. Claudio Pizarro struck an excellent first for Chelsea; the Peruvian's father was a naval officer, so taking responsibility at the Bridge clearly runs in the family. Florent Malouda and Michael Essien also found the mark and Chelsea could easily have had more.
"There was too much entertainment,'' Mourinho smiled. "We could have scored six or seven. The wingers produced incredible football, and the strikers played with great dynamic.''
Excitement levels were also heightened by the positive input of Steve Bruce's visitors. Mikael Forssell and the skilful Olivier Kapo both scored and troubled Chelsea throughout. "We looked a threat,'' Bruce said. "I have been here before and played 1-9-1 and it didn't work. If you sit back, Chelsea will eventually roll over you. We had a go.''
They certainly did, seizing the lead after 15 minutes. The Bridge afforded Forssell a good reception, and their old boy soon reminded them of his talent. When Liam Ridgewell helped on Gary McSheffrey's free-kick, Forssell flicked the ball past Petr Cech.
"Forssell is like signing a new player,'' said Bruce of a striker bedevilled by injuries. "To have a natural goalscorer will be invaluable for us.'' Commendably, the Finn refused to celebrate his goal out of respect to Chelsea fans.
Birmingham's own cheers soon died in their throats, as Chelsea came storming back with a magnificent move. Essien drilled the ball at the lively Wright-Phillips, who exchanged passes with Malouda. The England winger sped on and cut the ball back perfectly for Pizarro, who scored from 12 yards. Colin Doyle was rooted to his line, and failed to keep the ball out.
The entertainment was really only just beginning. Just after the half-hour, Chelsea took the lead with another quickfire attack. Malouda found Lampard, who dragged the ball towards Salomon Kalou. He teased the ball into the box for Malouda, who had continued his run to score with a firm strike past the exposed Doyle.
The switchback fortunes continued, now highlighting exactly why Chelsea are pursuing Sevilla's right-back, Daniel Alves. Glen Johnson was caught out on several occasions, most damagingly after 36 minutes by Kapo, who manoeuvred the ball around the Chelsea defender before firing an unstoppable left-footed shot past Cech.
"Kapo gave a terrific performance,'' enthused Bruce of the recruit from Juventus who was on loan at Levante last season. "I saw him play four years ago for Auxerre against Arsenal and he was brilliant. He got his big-money move to Juventus, but it didn't work out. He's only 26. He's a natural footballer and will enhance the Premier League.''
This match certainly did, Chelsea regaining the lead after 50 minutes. Malouda, Lampard and Wright-Phillips were involved before Essien bent in a 20-yarder that Doyle should really have stopped. "When you come to Chelsea you need your goalkeeper to be your best player but he's had one of those days,'' Bruce said. "But he was instrumental in us being in the Premier League so he deserved to be in the team.''
Victory still came at a cost to Chelsea as Essien limped away with what Mourinho described as "knee ligament pain''. At least Mourinho promised that Claude Makelele and Paulo Ferreira would return to training today. After one record yesterday, Chelsea's coach now sets his sight on a personal landmark, reaching 100 games unbeaten at home by avoiding a reverse against Portsmouth on Aug 25. "I'm on 99 and I hope Harry Redknapp doesn't kill my record because I would love to reach 100,'' said Mourinho, who last experienced defeat at home in 2002 when his Porto side lost to Beira Mar.
www.telegraph.co.uk/winter
Match details
Chelsea: Cech, Johnson, Carvalho, Ben Haim, Ashley Cole, Wright-Phillips, Essien (Mikel 69), Lampard, Malouda (Sidwell 83), Kalou, Pizarro (Drogba 64). Subs: Cudicini, Joe Cole. Booked: Essien, Carvalho. Goals: Pizarro 17, Malouda 31, Essien 50. Birmingham: Doyle, Kelly, Djourou, Ridgewell, Queudrue (Parnaby 51), Larsson, Muamba, Nafti (De Ridder 75), McSheffrey (Jerome 69), Kapo, Forssell. Subs: Maik Taylor, O'Connor.Booked: Larsson. Goals: Forssell 15, Kapo 36. Ref: Steve Bennett (Kent).
Man of the Match: Michael Essien (Chelsea) 9 (Scored a superb winner , 81 per cent of his passes accurate, 25 per cent of Chelsea's shots on target) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 3, Birmingham City 2: Chelsea charm offensive is up and running By Sam Wallace The new Chelsea marketing campaign around Stamford Bridge declares that loyalty to the club is "in the blood" and pictures the players with their veins glowing electric blue. Jose Mourinho's team may well have something unique in their DNA but, when it came to football that quickened the pulse last season, there was greater entertainment to be found elsewhere.
That could be changing. Mourinho spent the summer promising daring raids from the wing and football on the break; against Birmingham City, he traded five goals and a few defensive errors with newcomers from the Championship. This was not Mourinho football as we know it but, for an unusually noisy Stamford Bridge, it was a welcome change from the occasionally charmless progress of the big blue machine.
There were impressive debuts from Claudio Pizarro and Florent Malouda, who both scored, as well as the eye-catching Olivier Kapo for Birmingham. But it was Shaun Wright-Phillips and Salomon Kalou, two free spirits hitherto restrained by Mourinho's tactical rigour, who at last stood out in a team committed to attack.
It is early days yet for Wright-Phillips, who has waited two years for a game like this, but he was crucial to two goals, including Michael Essien's winner on 50 minutes. "Shaun started very well this pre-season," Mourinho said, "and the players know I am honest: I choose the players who deserve to play. The first season coming from a club without ambition is always hard; last season he improved."
Those two years have cost Wright-Phillips a place in England's World Cup squad and just about all the credibility he accumulated at Manchester City – a price most would find hard to bear. But in Kalou and Malouda he found kindred spirits yesterday; the Frenchman looks an immediate crowd favourite: brave, direct and fast.
So too Kapo, 26, a £3m signing from Juventus who has spent two years on loan at Monaco and cracked a thunderous shot past Petr Cech for Birmingham's second goal. It is a measure of the wealth of the Premier League that newly promoted teams are signing Juventus' cast-offs, and this one, Steve Bruce said, was "arguably the best player on the pitch".
Only four sides scored two goals at Stamford Bridge last season, across all domestic competitions, and Birmingham achieved that in the first half. Atrocious marking from Tal Ben Haim allowed Mikael Forssell the chance to nod in Liam Ridgewell's flick from Gary McSheffrey's free-kick – a goal that the former Chelsea striker graciously refused to celebrate.
At stake was Chelsea's run of home league games unbeaten which, with yesterday's result, is now 64 and surpasses Liverpool's record. Mourinho said that he was going to go home "to think about" all the players, past and present, who had helped achieve it. Presumably, he will not be thinking too much about Claudio Ranieri, the predecessor with whom he had an uneasy relationship, who contributed six of those games at the end of his reign.
Mourinho has his own record to think about – he now stands on 99 home league games undefeated as a manager with Porto and Chelsea, although this is a statistic that is yet to be verified independently. It would be a brave man who would challenge him on it and a very unlucky player who found himself responsible for defeat at home to Portsmouth on 25 August.
Within two minutes of Birmingham's goal, Wright-Phillips exchanged passes with Malouda to square the ball for Pizarro to score. The ball dribbled into Colin Doyle's goal rather too easily and the Irish goalkeeper also found himself at fault for Essien's winner. There was not much he could do about Chelsea's second, in which Malouda started a move that involved Frank Lampard and Kalou before he was returned the ball to flick past Doyle.
This was a glimpse of how Chelsea's owner, Roman Abramovich, must have imagined his team playing before Mourinho introduced him to the mundane realities of winning titles. The Russian is back in love with Chelsea, it seems, and he left the stadium with Avram Grant – another indication of how close the new director of football is to the club's power base.
Just when Chelsea looked set to destroy Birmingham, Kapo dragged the visitors back into it, shuffling past Glen Johnson and smashing the ball past Cech for 2-2. It was a glorious finish and it did nothing to further Johnson's case that this second chance at Chelsea will be permanent. Daniel Alves' attacking ability would add another devastating aspect to this team, provided he can defend as well.
The winner from Essien was not struck as savagely as his goal against Arsenal last December, and Doyle allowed it go through his hands. As for the entertainment value, it was, in Mourinho's words, "too much". Those who have sat through some of the more forgettable games of the last three years would disagree.
Goals: Forssell (15) 0-1; Pizarro (17) 1-1; Malouda (30) 2-1; Kapo (36) 2-2; Essien (50) 3-2.
Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Johnson, Carvalho, Ben Haim, A Cole; Wright-Phillips, Essien (Mikel, 69), Lampard, Malouda (Sidwell, 82); Kalou, Pizarro (Drogba, 51). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), J Cole.
Birmingham City (4-4-1-1): Doyle; Kelly, Ridgewell, Djourou, Queudrue (Parnaby, 51); Larsson, Nafti (De Ridder, 75), Muamba, McSheffrey (Jerome, 69); Kapo; Forssell. Substitutes not used: Taylor (gk), O'Connor.
Referee: S Bennett (Kent).
Booked: Chelsea Carvalho; Birmingham Larsson.
Man of the match: Wright-Phillips
Attendance: 41,590.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Guardian:
New, carefree Chelsea enjoy living on the edge
Kevin McCarra at Stamford BridgeMonday August 13, 2007
It was a little harder than expected to tell the Blues from the Blues. Inside the last 10 minutes Tal Ben Haim was hoofing the ball over his own crossbar to avert a Birmingham City equaliser and such harum-scarum moments did not go down well with every Stamford Bridge regular. The television producers were soon cutting to the pensive countenance of the owner Roman Abramovich, who had his hands pressed to his face.
He was getting a first meaningful look at the consequences of his new manifesto of exuberance for Chelsea. With two wingers and a pair of strikers the side made space for itself at the price of allowing scope for the visitors. While the victory was deserved, Birmingham must have left London wondering what might have been had their goalkeeper Colin Doyle not been culpable when Claudio Pizarro and then Michael Essien scored.The free and easy approach does have benefits for Chelsea none the less. It might have had something to do with the transformation of Shaun Wright-Phillips. Never before has he been so eager and, simultaneously, poised in this jersey. As with any winger the level of his confidence can be seen in the quality of the crossing. After Birmingham had hit the opener, it was his exact cut-back that set up Pizarro's equaliser.
Franck Queudrue was helpless before him and had to be replaced as Steve Bruce switched Stephen Kelly to left-back. The distress in such matters was not, however, confined to Birmingham. Glen Johnson had as miserable a time for Chelsea. Nothing appears to have altered since he was an exciting youngster at West Ham who had still to learn how to defend.
The need to have Paulo Ferreira fit again can only have been topped in Jose Mourinho's wish list by the yearning to see John Terry return soon from his knee injury. The back four is not so organised without him, even if the signing of Ben Haim and Alex means that the squad has strength in depth at centre-half.
Birmingham took the lead after a quarter of an hour by winning two headers from a Gary McSheffrey free-kick, the debutant and captain for the day Liam Ridgewell helping the ball on before Mikael Forssell nodded beyond Petr Cech. The scorer has been besieged by injury since he left Chelsea but he played with freedom here despite being a lone striker.
The pickings came more easily for the person currently turning out at centre- forward in the Stamford Bridge line-up. With 18 minutes gone, Essien swept an imperious pass to the right and Wright-Phillips exchanged passes with Florent Malouda before locating Pizarro. The Peruvian's low finish was not kept out by the palms of Doyle.
There was sustenance in this for the fans' hope that Chelsea now have an appropriately ample squad. With Andriy Shevchenko absent and Didier Drogba not introduced until the 64th minute, the team was still suitably staffed in the middle of the attack, where Salomon Kalou is continuing to improve.
The latter was the key to the goal that put Chelsea ahead after 31 minutes. Once a Malouda through-ball had been helped on by Frank Lampard it was Kalou who slipped the pass that let Malouda re-enter the move by scoring. He had already found the net in the Community Shield against Manchester United and the Frenchman's transition to Chelsea has been instantaneous.
It could be called effortless, but that is scarcely the correct adjective for a winger who pours so much endeavour and ability into his displays. At £13.5m, the purchase is looking inspired. Even so, there was meagre opportunity for anyone at Chelsea to bask in self-satisfaction.
Olivier Kapo could keep a lot of opponents on their toes this campaign. Birmingham's acquisition from Juventus had been on loan to Levante, suggesting a career deflected from its proper course, but he was not diverted here. Coming in from the left, he got the break of the ball as he ran at Johnson and unleashed a savage shot beyond Cech in the 36th minute.
The openings were more numerous for Chelsea, but Bruce will have misgivings about the winner. Wright-Phillips pulled the ball back after 50 minutes, but although Essien's drive was powerful it also had a trajectory beneficial to a goalkeeper. Doyle, celebrating his 22nd birthday and widely appreciated as possessing great potential, should have done better than to help it home.
If it is any consolation to the Irishman, Chelsea oozed creativity, merited the win and might have enjoyed a greater margin. There was festiveness about them as they set a new league record of 64 unbeaten home matches in the top flight. While Mourinho took no coaxing to comment on that achievement, such records are not the sort to satisfy him.
Wednesday's trip to Reading intrigues since it will show just how much risk-taking Mourinho deems appropriate in a tricky away fixture as he plots to reclaim the Premier League title for Chelsea.
Man of the match Shaun Wright-Phillips
The Chelsea winger can always be counted on for vitality but there was a judiciousness here that has seldom been associated with him
Best Moment The low cross with which he set up Pizarro's goal in the 18th minute--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
A false start - Mourinho's blue crew eclipse the Red legends
Chelsea 3 Birmingham 2
By NEIL ASHTON
The Premier League remains the long-term objective but Jose Mourinho was in the mood for reminiscing after Chelsea eclipsed Liverpool's run of 63 League matches unbeaten at home.
That landmark, which had stood since Bob Paisley's legendary side swept all before them in the late Seventies, was passed when Claudio Pizarro, Florent Malouda and Michael Essien etched their names into the history books with the goals that secured Chelsea's opening victory of the season.
The last time Chelsea's supporters traipsed home from the Bridge and kicked the cat was in February 2004, when Arsenal celebrated a 2-1 victory over their London rivals. They have led a charmed life ever since.
Class acts such as Gianfranco Zola, Marcel Desailly and Eidur Gudjohnsen were still at the club when this exceptional run began under Claudio Ranieri but Mourinho must take the credit for protecting it over the past three seasons.
Birmingham arrived with their tails up after winning promotion but Chelsea seem impregnable at Stamford Bridge.
"The record is more for Chelsea than for me," claimed Mourinho. Everyone knows that it was held by Liverpool and some top, top players — Hansen, Neal and Dalglish.
"Now this moment belongs to John Terry and Frank Lampard and some of the others who have played their part in it such as Gudjohnsen, Geremi and Duff.
"I am pleased because this also brings me to 99 games unbeaten at home in the league [including Porto] and if my friend Harry Redknapp does not wreck it I will achieve 100 against Portsmouth."
Despite Birmingham's refreshing approach, Chelsea were always capable of creating chances. With Shaun Wright-Phillips on one flank and Florent Malouda on the other, this is a team that can attack at will.
That pairing were relentless whenever they were in possession and they showed their teeth after Mikael Forssell's deflected effort in the 15th minute had beaten the unsighted Petr Cech to give Birmingham the lead.
Within two minutes Chelsea were level. Wright-Phillips' wall pass with Malouda was adroitly steered back into his path and Pizarro, who was signed on a free transfer from Bayern Munich, swept the ball beyond Colin Doyle.
The young Birmingham goalkeeper, capped by the Republic of Ireland in the summer, took Maik Taylor's place in the promotion run-in but Steve Bruce already has a decision to make when they face Sunderland in midweek.
Doyle allowed Pizarro's shot to bounce under his body and he was again at fault when he failed to turn Essien's long-range shot over the bar in the second half.
Bruce said: "Of course, he is disappointed because you need your goalkeeper to be your best player when you come to places like Chelsea. But he is the reason we are in the Premiership. He saved a penalty against Wolves last season that helped us get promoted but we gave away two soft goals. It's a shame because we came to attack and that's what we did.
"It's great to be back in the Premiership — even the smell of the hot dogs is great — and I was up at 6.30am with all the usual nerves that you get on the first day of the season.
"Chelsea's record underlines what a good side they are but I saw enough from my team to suggest we can give this a real go."
There was little Birmingham could do about Malouda's strike in the 31st minute. The France winger began and ended the move that involved a clever backheel by Lampard and a neat flick on the edge of the area by the rapidly improving Salomon Kalou.
Malouda dispatched it with a crisp half-volley but Birmingham refused to throw in the towel. Bruce has laced his side with brutes — Johan Djourou, Fabrice Muamba and Olivier Kapo are all man mountains — but they can also play a bit and it was Kapo's brilliance that brought them back into the game.
Glen Johnson, who spent last season on loan at Portsmouth, was given another chance at right back but if this performance was a measure of his progress then Dani Alves' phone will be in meltdown this morning.
Johnson was left floundering by Kapo's trickery inside the area and there was nothing Petr Cech could do to prevent the former Juventus midfielder's left-footed strike heading for the top corner.
That goal gave Birmingham's vocal supporters hope that they could escape with a point but Essien's 50th-minute strike restored order.
The Ghanaian eventually made way for Mikel John Obi, with a knee injury that could rule him out of Wednesday's trip to Reading, but there is no doubting his class.
Mourinho added: "I like the way Birmingham played because they wanted to attack. It is normal for teams who come up from the Championship to attack and they could have scored three or four. I would have been able to breathe a bit better if we had won 4-2 but I told the players at half-time that we could not be playing much better. The day does not belong to me."
After three years as the centre of attention, that certainly makes a change. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mirror:
NO PLACE LIKE HOME Chelsea 3 Birmingham 2 ..and Blues go 64 games unbeaten at Bridge Chelsea wide boys finally beat Liverpool's 27-year record Oliver Holt
The sign on the giant scoreboard at Stamford Bridge suggested a cricket score.
It read 64 Not Out after the final whistle blew on yet another home league match negotiated without defeat.
It would have been good enough to make Chelsea top scorer in England's first innings down the road at The Oval.
tAnd it took Frank Lampard, Petr Cech, Michael Essien and the absent colossus John Terry beyond the great Liverpool side of the late 1970s and into the history books.
Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Mark Lawrenson, Alan Hansen and Co went 63 league games at Anfield without a loss. Now Chelsea have gone one better.
It was as good a way as any for Jose Mourinho's side to mark the opening day of their new season and their attempt to regain the title.
And even though their 3-2 win over newly-promoted Birmingham was not as authoritative as they might have wished, it held out the prospect of a dashing duel with Manchester United for the Premier League crown.
Last season, Chelsea were often damned as the dull boys plodding in the wake of Sir Alex Ferguson's dynamic, swashbuckling band of entertainers.
But yesterday Shaun Wright-Phillips and Florent Malouda ripped Birmingham to shreds down the flanks and recalled the days when Arjen Robben and Damien Duff twisted opponents out of shape.
Chelsea also looked immeasurably more comfortable without the jarring presence of Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack. They missed them, sure, but only in the way a healthy complexion misses a couple of yellow-headed zits.
Without them, they looked almost back to their fluent best going forward, happy to feed the pace of Wright-Phillips and the cunning of Malouda and let Salomon Kalou and Claudio Pizarro take advantage of the havoc they caused.
In central midfield, too, it was a joy to see Lampard and Essien paired together without the need to contort the formation to accommodate Ballack.
In the first half in particular, Lampard produced the kind of sweet touches, clever passes and surging runs that have made him such a cornerstone of Chelsea's invincibility at the Bridge.
And the sight of Essien alongside him was a reminder of what Chelsea were lacking there last season when they were forced to use him as emergency cover in defence.
The surprise was that Wright-Phillips was the pick of the bunch. A surprise because he has so often been a disappointment since his move from Manchester City two summers ago.
Yesterday, once more, he looked like the flying winger who destroyed opponents with his pace but could also pick them apart with a clever final ball. He nearly scored after a quarter of an hour when he won the ball midway inside the Birmingham half, took a return from Pizarro and scorched a shot across goal and just wide. Two minutes after Chelsea old boy Mikael Forssell put Birmingham ahead, Wright-Phillips helped Chelsea draw level, racing to the byline and pulling back a cross that Pizarro slotted under Colin Doyle.
And after Malouda had started and finished the move for Chelsea's second and Olivier Kapo had scored the goal of the game to bring Birmingham an equaliser, Wright-Phillips popped up again five minutes after the interval to provide Chelsea's winner.
It was only a simple pass, a short lay back to Essien who curled in another shot that Doyle should have saved but didn't. But in the last two years, it's been the simple things that seemed to be beyond Wright-Phillips, a man who was trying too hard but now appears to be feeling right at home.
"To be quick is one thing," former Chelsea boss Ruud Gullit said on TV after the match, "but to be in control of the ball as well is much more difficult. I watched Wright-Phillips today and I thought 'hey, you've improved'."
The same thought applied to Chelsea as a whole. They still sorely missed Terry at the heart of defence but at least Tal Ban Haim is there as cover and Alex will soon provide further reinforcement. Glen Johnson looked like a weak link at right-back but, still, being exposed by Kapo has got to beat eyeing up toilet seats in Ikea or wherever it was that Johnson chose to get creative in his Portsmouth days.
After the game, Mourinho paid tribute to the players, past and present, who had helped Chelsea to their record-breaking total.
He talked about Eidur Gudjohnsen, Geremi and Duff as well as survivors like Lampard and Terry. He sounded almost wistful. That was why the performance of Wright-Phillips was particularly timely.
On a day that bracketed them with a great Liverpool side, the little winger transported them back to a time when they were kings.
A few minutes from the end, Mourinho even climbed off the bench, bottle in hand, and ran to the touchline to give Wright-Phillips a drink of water.
It was as clear sign of approval and appreciation.
His team might have just turned 64, but it's looking young again.
CHELSEA BIRMINGHAM CITY
58% POSSESSION 42%
8 SHOTS ON TARGET 4
12 SHOTS OFF TARGET 3
4 OFFSIDES 0
5 CORNERS 3
9 FOULS 13
2 YELLOW CARDS 1
0 RED CARDS 0
ATTENDANCE: 41,590
Man Of The Match: W-Phillips
TEAMS AND RATINGS
Chelsea: Cech 7, Johnson 5, Carvalho 6, Ben Haim 7, Ashley Cole 7, Wright-Phillips 9, Essien 7 (Mikel 69, 6), Lampard 8, Malouda 8 (Sidwell 83, 6), Kalou 7, Pizarro 6 (Drogba 64, 6).
Birmingham: Doyle 4, Kelly 6, Djourou 6, Ridgewell 7, Queudrue 6 (Parnaby 51, 6), Larsson 7, Muamba 5, Nafti 6 (De Ridder 75, 5), McSheffrey 7 (Jerome 69, 6), Kapo 8, Forssell 7. Ref: S Bennett
Monday, August 06, 2007
charity shield
The TimesAugust 6, 2007
Ferguson celebrates as Van de Sar saves dayChelsea 1 Manchester United 1Oliver Kay at Wembley Stadium
The season’s first piece of silverware is barely worth its weight in scrap metal, but try telling that to the Manchester United players who cavorted around the new Wembley Stadium with the FA Community Shield while their Chelsea counterparts were contemplating an injury crisis that will consume José Mourinho during the final countdown to the new Barclays Premier League campaign.
A man with Mourinho’s competitive instincts would not readily concede a game of tiddlywinks - not to mention chess, as Sir Alex Ferguson did in a somewhat withering pre-match assessment of Chelsea’s entertainment value - but, as Wayne Rooney’s kick condemned them to the most perfunctory of penalty shoot-out defeats yesterday, the rueful smile across the face of the Portuguese seemed less to do with the loss of a trophy than with the potential absence of up to ten players when the new season starts for real this weekend.
Nor would United claim to be in rude health just yet, but Ferguson was happy to report afterwards that the cavalry is on its way, with confidence that Carlos Tévez will be on board in time to appear in a friendly match against either Dunfermline Athletic or Glentoran on Wednesday, when Owen Hargreaves, Anderson and Nani also expect to be involved after featuring only sporadically in pre-season. Contrast that with the absence of John Terry, Claude Makelele, Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba, to name but four, and it was easy to see why Mourinho’s smile had cracked by the time he entered the post-match press conference.
Ferguson suggested that there were few meaningful conclusions to be drawn from the exercise, but if, as he said, the fixture represents a “stepping stone” towards the new season, it was United who crossed it with greater purpose. Mourinho dismissed such talk, claiming that a depleted Chelsea had “controlled the game for 90 minutes” against the league champions, but it was one of those days on which his attempts at defiance fell short.
United won the day thanks largely to Edwin van der Sar, who saved penalties from Claudio Pizarro, Frank Lampard and Shaun Wright-Phillips while Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Rooney all beat Petr Cech, but they were also marginally the better team over 90 minutes. Ryan Giggs’s expertly taken goal gave them a lead that was more than deserved on the balance of play, while they will also reflect that Chelsea barely mounted a serious attack either side of Florent Malouda’s equalising goal on the stroke of half-time.
“We’re happy with the trophy,” Ferguson said. “This kind of match is not a great gauge because both teams were missing some players, but it was good for them anyway. It was a very warm day, but it will bring players on to the required pace of our game. There wasn’t much in it between either side, in terms of possession, but we did make the clearer chances. We deserved it for that reason.” United always looked the livelier team in a match that succeeded in whetting the appetite for next weekend. There is no such thing as a friendly match, let alone a meaningless one, where these two teams are concerned and, as Malouda introduced himself to English football by barging into the back of Cristiano Ronaldo with just ten seconds on the clock, it was apparent that this would be more than an exhibition match.
Rooney, perhaps unsurprisingly, was the player who was most eager to carry the fight to the opposition. A generous judge would give the young United forward the benefit of the doubt over a twelfth-minute incident when his studs landed on the thigh of Ashley Cole, but Mark Halsey saw fit to show him the yellow card in first-half stoppage time when he caught Cech, having overcommitted himself in his latest running battle with Tal Ben Haim.
Ben Haim, along with Malouda, was one of just two new faces on view of the 22 who started the game and, with United taking the initiative, he was to endure a difficult first 45 minutes in the Chelsea defence. Even more uncomfortable was Glen Johnson, recalled at right back after a season-long loan at Portsmouth but quickly identified by United - and, no doubt, by the notoriously unforgiving Mourinho - as a rare chink in Chelsea’s armour. Expect the Chelsea coach’s interest in Daniel Alves, the Seville right back, to be heightened before the transfer window closes on August 31.
It was a slick move down the United left that ended with Giggs putting them ahead in the 35th minute. Patrice Evra exchanged passes with Ronaldo to get behind Johnson before pulling the ball back towards Giggs, who steered a perfect shot beyond Cech and Ashley Cole, who was covering on the goal-line. Remarkably, it was his first goal in 17 appearances at Wembley at senior level, his only previous strike way back in the days that he represented England Schoolboys under the name of Ryan Wilson.
Unsurprisingly, given the lack of a recognised centre forward in their starting lineup, with Pizarro not yet match-fit, Chelsea were struggling to make any headway in attack, but Malouda equalised with a show of the strength and skill that would seem to make him perfectly equipped to adapt to English football. It is a goal that Ferdinand will not look back on with any fondness, as the Chelsea player beat him to Ashley Cole’s flighted ball down the inside-left channel, but Malouda showed considerable enterprise and determination in beating the United defender before shooting past the hesitant Van der Sar.
After a flat second period, Van der Sar emerged as the match-winner, a redemption of sorts after he blamed himself for Drogba’s winning goal in the FA Cup Final in May. This time it was the Chelsea players who left Wembley with heads bowed. For United, even the slightest psychological advantage is to be welcomed in advance of the challenge ahead, even if it is likely to be forgotten long before they resume hostilities in the Premier League at Old Trafford on September 23.
PENALTY FLOPS
CLAUDIO PIZARRO
Van der Sar dives to his right, but the goalkeeper manages to stretch out his left arm and block the Peruvian’s effort with a hand
FRANK LAMPARD
The England midfield player struggled to impose himself on the game and his strike lacked the power to beat Van der Sar
SHAUN WRIGHT-PHILLIPS
Van der Sar is quick off his line again as Wright-Phillips adds to Chelsea’s woes with another weak strike from 12 yards
Chelsea 1 Malouda 45
Manchester United 1 Giggs 35
How they rated
Chelsea
4-3-3 P Cech 7 G Johnson 4 T Ben Haim 5 R Carvalho 6 A Cole 8 F Lampard 5 M Essien 7 J O Mikel 7 S Wright-Phillips 5 F Malouda 7 J Cole 5
Subsitutes S Sidwell (for Johnson, 78min), L Diarra 5 (A Cole, 68), C Pizarro 5 (Malouda, 52), S Sinclair (J Cole, 82) Not used C Cudicini, Hilario, H Worley
Manchester United
4-4-1-1 E van der Sar 7 W Brown 6 R Ferdinand 6 N Vidic 6 M Silvestre 5 C Ronaldo 7 M Carrick 7 J O’Shea 6 P Evra 7 R Giggs 7 W Rooney 7
Subsitutes Nani 5 (Silvestre, 68min), D Fletcher (Giggs, 81) Not used T Kuszczak, G Pique, P Bardsley, C Eagles, L Martin.
Referee M Halsey Attendance 80,731 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Ryan Giggs an ageless inspiration for UnitedBy Henry Winter
Chelsea 1(1) Manchester United 1 (1) (United win 3-0 on penalties)
Football, the sport that never sleeps, hardly seems to have had a lie-down this summer, and events here yesterday maintained familiar themes from last season. All the talk was of Chelsea's injury travails, Jose Mourinho's quixotic streak, Manchester United's rich attacking potential, and the enduring excellence of Ryan Giggs, who continues to give Old Father Time the runaround.
Giggs' manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, keeps expanding United's creative department as if fearful of some flair famine stalking the land. Such an intelligent frontrunner as Carlos Tevez, who makes his debut on Wednesday, will doubtless link instinctively and prolifically with Wayne Rooney while Nani showed glimpses of his gifts against Chelsea. Like Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani can operate on either flank. Paul Scholes returns from injury soon. Marvellous options abound. Ferguson can play fantasy football for real.
Yet there was Giggs, 33 years of age but with the enthusiasm of a teenager, gliding through to score a superb 35th-minute goal to shake a clammy Community Shield into life. Florent Malouda subsequently conjured up a terrific equaliser, and Edwin van der Sar proved unbeatable in the penalty shoot-out, but the main memory was of Giggs, of a class that never ages.
When Patrice Evra crossed from the left, and Rooney cleverly dragged blue shirts out of position, Giggs calmly stroked the ball from 15 yards into Petr Cech's goal. "Ryan placed it,'' said Ferguson, his eyes lighting up at the recollection. "Ryan could see Ashley Cole on the line with the keeper looking after the other side of the goal, so he placed it.''
If the goal was exceptional, it certainly produced an extraordinary statistic. It was so long ago that Giggs last scored at Wembley that he had a different name. Then known as Ryan Wilson and captain of England Schoolboys, this special player last found the mark at Wembley 18 years ago.
Rooney was three at the time, and sometimes does not have appear to have matured much. The England international disclosed the shortness of his fuse as well as the depth of his talent yesterday, and the fear is that his conduct will continue to vex officials. Yet his booking yesterday was unwarranted: Rooney accidentally caught Cech while chasing a loose ball and knocked off balance by Tal Ben Haim.
Chelsea fans, some sporting T-shirts declaring that the title was only "on loan to United'', were enraged, and loudly questioned everything from Rooney's weight to his parentage. United's No 10 responded by holding up a solitary finger to signal who were the No 1 team in the land.
The Community Shield is rarely a good form-guide, but few would question that United are favourites to claim the Premiership. For all his "mellow'' intent, Mourinho remains a one-man debating society and he sent eyebrows rising faster than the mercury with his comment that "Chelsea controlled the game for 90 minutes in quite an easy way''.
Nonsense. Ashley Cole, who again dealt well with Ronaldo, and the purposeful Malouda certainly impressed for Mourinho's side, but they were hamstrung by the absence of John Terry and Didier Drogba with knee problems. Drogba aims to be back within 10 days but Terry's anticipated month on the sidelines is desperate news.
Such a committed leader and shrewd defensive organiser would have engineered more resistance to United's goal. Ben Haim, otherwise all right, played Evra onside while Ricardo Carvalho clearly missed Terry. Such were Chelsea's injury woes (with Michael Ballack, Arjen Robben, Wayne Bridge, Andrei Shevchenko and Salomon Kalou also unavailable) that Mourinho was forced to field Joe Cole at centre-forward in a 4-3-3 and name two keepers among the subs to make up the numbers.
Also on the bench was Avram Grant, Chelsea's new director of football, and the chemistry between him and Mourinho will be much scrutinised this season. Mourinho is not the type to accept interference in his first-team domain, but those who know Grant insist that he is far too savvy and diplomatic to engage in power struggles. Maybe it was the heat yesterday but there appeared a thaw in Chelsea's Cold War with Roman Abramovich consoling Mourinho and the players in the dressing room afterwards.
Chelsea will play better than this, and Mourinho looks to have invested smartly in Malouda, who showed courage, speed and technique to cancel out Giggs' strike on the cusp of half-time. Ashley Cole, uneasy on his right foot, used the outside of his left to bend a fine ball into the path of Malouda and United were exposed. Rio Ferdinand was left trailing, Van der Sar's attempt to close Malouda down was half-hearted and Chelsea's £13 million signing clipped the ball expertly home.
Van der Sar made amends spectacularly in the shoot-out, saving from Claudio Pizarro, Frank Lampard and Shaun Wright-Phillips. Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick both calmly converted their kicks, leaving Rooney to apply the coup de grace, and then repeat his No 1 signal to the departing Chelsea fans. Rooney, Giggs et al are again the team to beat.
Match details
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Johnson (Sidwell 77), Ben Haim, Carvalho, A Cole (Diarra 67); Essien, Mikel, Lampard; Wright-Phillips, J Cole (Sinclair 81), Malouda (Pizarro 51). Subs: Cudicini (g), Hilario (g), Worley. Goal: Malouda (45). Booked: Ben Haim, Carvalho, Mikel. Manchester Utd (4-4-1-1): Van der Sar; Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre (Nani 67); Ronaldo, Carrick, O'Shea, Evra; Giggs (Fletcher 80); Rooney. Subs: Kuszczak (g), Pique, Bardsley, Martin, Eagles. Goal: (Giggs 35). Booked: Rooney.Referee: M Halsey (Lancashire). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 1, Man United 1: Mourinho's new mood blighted by loss and looming injury crisis By Sam Wallace Published: 06 August 2007 From his place on the bench even Jose Mourinho found it hard to suppress a smile at the appaling success his team endured from the penalty spot – and he is not known for making light of failure. On the English football season's great irrelevant opening day, Edwin van der Sar was the hero but the atmosphere was soon a good deal chillier around the Chelsea manager as the start of his campaign threatened to disintegrate.
While Manchester United walked off with the Community Shield, polished even brighter than the alloys on a Premiership footballer's Hummer, Sir Alex Ferguson could talk optimistically about Carlos Tevez's debut this week. For Mourinho there was only more injury misery; he now has 11 players out injured, and already the siege mentality was descending upon the Chelsea manager.
The mellow attitude he has claimed to have adopted looks like it will be severely tested in the next few weeks. Ferguson waits only upon Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in terms of injuries – Mourinho has a much more serious problem. John Terry's absence will be for a month at the very least, while Didier Drogba will find out today how serious the problem with his knee has become.
Days like yesterday may be the opportunity for experimentation but Mourinho admitted that he had never before been forced to pick a side that did not include an orthodox striker. With Claudio Pizarro not yet fit enough to play a full game, he started with Joe Cole as a makeshift centre-forward. It was far from a disastrous Chelsea performance but the implications for the start of their season could be much more dramatic.
Andrei Shevchenko, Claude Makelele, Paulo Ferreira, Salomon Kalou and Arjen Robben were the other absentees, as well as the long-term injured, Wayne Bridge and Michael Ballack. It was reflected in Mourinho's mood as he first refused even to take questions on the seriousness of his players' injuries, only brightening later to say he was not worried. "I'm ready for the fight and I'm happy with the team," he said.
At pitchside, temperatures crept past 35C and while the match never approached the intensity of last season's FA Cup final less than three months ago, it was not for lack of effort on the part of some individuals. Wayne Rooney discovered that it was not just the referee who can book him now, the linesman can have a say, too. Via his headset, Darren Cann advised the referee, Mark Halsey, of a kick at Tal Ben Haim from Rooney that earned the England striker a booking.
It was Rooney who looked among the sharpest on the pitch and Cristiano Ronaldo, too, but not before the latter mistakenly backheeled the ball mid-stepover and in doing so effectively tackled himself. United were blessed with pace in attack, especially with Patrice Evra promoted to a left-wing position where he excelled and was integral in the creation of the United goal for Ryan Giggs.
On 35 minutes, Evra's exchange with Ronaldo allowed him to cross to Giggs and United's 33-year-old captain struck the ball up into the roof of Petr Cech's goal. The Chelsea goalkeeper had made a brilliant save from Giggs in the 21st minute and Cech remains one of the very few whom Mourinho simply cannot afford to be without.
From his seat in the sunshine at Wembley, Steve McClaren will already have been worrying about the state of his England team's defence against Germany next week when Florent Malouda embarrassed the only fit first-choice centre-back the national-team manager has left. Chelsea's £13.5m signing did extremely well to out-muscle Rio Ferdinand as he ran on to a long ball from Ashley Cole and, with his last touch, steered the ball past Van der Sar. Just Mourinho's luck then that Malouda would later limp off with the injury he picked up in the act of scoring and later Glen Johnson was also forced to withdraw.
Pizarro gave Chelsea more presence in attack in the second half, but as a player who spent eight years in Germany, Mourinho might have expected him to be better at penalties. The Peruvian had his spot-kick saved by Van der Sar, as did Lampard and Shaun Wright-Phillips. When Rooney smashed in the third United penalty it was all over
Tevez will make his debut on Wednesday in one of two friendlies United play that day against Dunfermline Athletic and Glentoran in Belfast. Ferguson had clearly read the theories that his new Argentine is too similar to Rooney for the two to be compatible and was not of the same mind.
"I don't think they're identical at all, other than that they're both of a similar physique," he said. "Both are two-footed, both are quickish, both can beat their man. I don't think those similarities are a bad thing. When they get playing with each other, they'll hopefully get an understanding."
On the Premier League title race he was more cryptic. "Everyone in the country knows we're the two best sides, but Arsenal and Liverpool will play a bigger hand this season."
The United manager still claims that there is not much to be deduced from days like these but as a guide to the next month, the form favours the champions.
Chelsea (4-3-3) Cech; Johnson (Sidwell, 78), Carvalho, Ben Haim, A Cole (Diarra, 67); Essien, Mikel, Lampard; Wright-Phillips, J Cole (Sinclair, 82), Malouda (Pizarro, 51). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Hilario (gk), Worley.
Manchester United (4-4-2): Van der Sar; Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre (Nani, 68); Ronaldo, Carrick, O'Shea, Evra; Rooney, Giggs (Fletcher, 81). Substitutes not used: Kuszczak (gk), Pique, Bardsley, Martin, Eagles.
Referee: M Halsey (Lancashire).
Booked: Chelsea Ben Haim, Carvalho, Mikel; Manchester United Rooney.
Man of the match: Evra.
Stamford Bridge sick list
* John Terry
(knee, one month)
* Wayne Bridge
(hip, three months)
* Frank Lampard
(broken toe, still playing)
* Didier Drogba
(doubtful for opener)
* Andrei Shevchenko
(back, doubtful for opener)
* Florent Malouda (right)
(doubtful for opener)
* Glen Johnson
(muscle, doubtful)
* Michael Ballack
(ankle, two to three
weeks)
* Salomon Kalou
(muscle, doubtful)
* Arjen Robben
(knee, doubtful)
* Claude Makelele
(knee, should be fit for opener)
* Paulo Ferreira
(muscle, doubtful)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Van der Sar spots weak point to claim first trophy
Kevin McCarra at WembleyMonday August 6, 2007The Guardian
Given enough talent, a man can distil potent memories out of even a Community Shield match. Holland have had angst-ridden days when it comes to taking penalties but Edwin van der Sar has no inhibitions about facing them.The Manchester United goalkeeper threw himself lithely to his right, denying Claudio Pizarro and then Frank Lampard in the shoot-out. It was understandable that Chelsea's third effort would be downcast, as Shaun Wright-Phillips allowed Van der Sar an elementary save. Wayne Rooney then ended the contest by converting his penalty as methodically as Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick had done.
Van der Sar, who turns 37 in October, was troubled by his lapses towards the close of last season and very conscious that little time might be left to him in an Old Trafford contract that ends next summer.His pre-season had not been convincing but United can barely afford to let him retreat into the shadows. Tomasz Kuszczak is not regarded as his natural heir and Ben Foster's cruciate ligament injury will rule him out until the end of this year at the earliest. Even then he will have to build on the impression made at Watford.
For Sir Alex Ferguson the principal benefit of the afternoon at Wembley could be the fillip it gives Van der Sar. It would be rash to come up with larger deductions. The fact that each club can make six substitutions is the Community Shield's confession to being a jumped-up friendly, although neither manager was shameless enough to make full use of that facility.
While United, busier in attack, deserved to be victors, they will be conscious, too, that Chelsea's line-up was a distorted reflection of the prowess that Jose Mourinho can call on when there are fewer problems. Didier Drogba has hurt his knee and, though a scan should confirm that he will be back in 10 days, Mourinho was not confident enough of Andriy Shevchenko's fitness to use the Ukrainian here. If it was peculiar to witness Joe Cole give his own interpretation of centre-forward play, it is likely that Mourinho wanted to protect Pizarro, who eventually took part for 38 minutes, since he has no other fit strikers remaining.
The Peruvian was released from the dug-out to take over from Florent Malouda, who would have been feeling the effects of the knock he had taken while scoring a determined equaliser at the end of the first half. That moment of purpose and craft identified the Frenchman as the epitome of the sort of footballer who can capture Jose Mourinho's heart. Malouda has even played full-back trenchantly on occasion.
In the 45th minute the excellent Ashley Cole swerved a pass down the left and the £13.5m acquisition from Lyon had more resolve than Ferdinand, forcing himself free of the centre-back to clip an impressive finish past Van der Sar. The goal rounded off a first half in which the sides had striven to play in earnest.
There was even a sprinkling of spite to add flavour. A pointing Wayne Rooney, having been booked for a late challenge on Petr Cech, seemed to be in dispute with a section of Chelsea fans who had been demanding a red card. Even when there was no animus, United, with superior means at Wembley, were livelier in attack and Cech needed to block Ryan Giggs's effort following a Cristiano Ronaldo run in the 21st minute.
While Michael Essien and Mikel John Obi both failed to head home a Malouda free-kick shortly afterwards there was more of a flourish to United's display. The opening goal had thinking and technique that were both sharp. With 35 minutes gone, Patrice Evra took a crossfield ball on his chest, touched it to Ronaldo and raced after the return pass.
His low cross was probing and a lunge by Carvalho could not distract Ryan Giggs from recording his first goal at Wembley since his schoolboy days with a sweeping drive high into the net. By and large Chelsea showed that they retained the knack of stifling United all the same and Tal Ben Haim in defence seemed to be as reasonable a deputy for John Terry as Mourinho could have landed on a free transfer this summer.
So far as the flamboyant football now required of him is concerned, the manager can expect patience from his employers until genuine attackers are present. The main lesson of the afternoon may be that Chelsea, so well rehearsed in most areas, are not at all adept at shoot-outs, having previously been vanquished on penalties by Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final.
Ferguson celebrates as Van de Sar saves dayChelsea 1 Manchester United 1Oliver Kay at Wembley Stadium
The season’s first piece of silverware is barely worth its weight in scrap metal, but try telling that to the Manchester United players who cavorted around the new Wembley Stadium with the FA Community Shield while their Chelsea counterparts were contemplating an injury crisis that will consume José Mourinho during the final countdown to the new Barclays Premier League campaign.
A man with Mourinho’s competitive instincts would not readily concede a game of tiddlywinks - not to mention chess, as Sir Alex Ferguson did in a somewhat withering pre-match assessment of Chelsea’s entertainment value - but, as Wayne Rooney’s kick condemned them to the most perfunctory of penalty shoot-out defeats yesterday, the rueful smile across the face of the Portuguese seemed less to do with the loss of a trophy than with the potential absence of up to ten players when the new season starts for real this weekend.
Nor would United claim to be in rude health just yet, but Ferguson was happy to report afterwards that the cavalry is on its way, with confidence that Carlos Tévez will be on board in time to appear in a friendly match against either Dunfermline Athletic or Glentoran on Wednesday, when Owen Hargreaves, Anderson and Nani also expect to be involved after featuring only sporadically in pre-season. Contrast that with the absence of John Terry, Claude Makelele, Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba, to name but four, and it was easy to see why Mourinho’s smile had cracked by the time he entered the post-match press conference.
Ferguson suggested that there were few meaningful conclusions to be drawn from the exercise, but if, as he said, the fixture represents a “stepping stone” towards the new season, it was United who crossed it with greater purpose. Mourinho dismissed such talk, claiming that a depleted Chelsea had “controlled the game for 90 minutes” against the league champions, but it was one of those days on which his attempts at defiance fell short.
United won the day thanks largely to Edwin van der Sar, who saved penalties from Claudio Pizarro, Frank Lampard and Shaun Wright-Phillips while Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Rooney all beat Petr Cech, but they were also marginally the better team over 90 minutes. Ryan Giggs’s expertly taken goal gave them a lead that was more than deserved on the balance of play, while they will also reflect that Chelsea barely mounted a serious attack either side of Florent Malouda’s equalising goal on the stroke of half-time.
“We’re happy with the trophy,” Ferguson said. “This kind of match is not a great gauge because both teams were missing some players, but it was good for them anyway. It was a very warm day, but it will bring players on to the required pace of our game. There wasn’t much in it between either side, in terms of possession, but we did make the clearer chances. We deserved it for that reason.” United always looked the livelier team in a match that succeeded in whetting the appetite for next weekend. There is no such thing as a friendly match, let alone a meaningless one, where these two teams are concerned and, as Malouda introduced himself to English football by barging into the back of Cristiano Ronaldo with just ten seconds on the clock, it was apparent that this would be more than an exhibition match.
Rooney, perhaps unsurprisingly, was the player who was most eager to carry the fight to the opposition. A generous judge would give the young United forward the benefit of the doubt over a twelfth-minute incident when his studs landed on the thigh of Ashley Cole, but Mark Halsey saw fit to show him the yellow card in first-half stoppage time when he caught Cech, having overcommitted himself in his latest running battle with Tal Ben Haim.
Ben Haim, along with Malouda, was one of just two new faces on view of the 22 who started the game and, with United taking the initiative, he was to endure a difficult first 45 minutes in the Chelsea defence. Even more uncomfortable was Glen Johnson, recalled at right back after a season-long loan at Portsmouth but quickly identified by United - and, no doubt, by the notoriously unforgiving Mourinho - as a rare chink in Chelsea’s armour. Expect the Chelsea coach’s interest in Daniel Alves, the Seville right back, to be heightened before the transfer window closes on August 31.
It was a slick move down the United left that ended with Giggs putting them ahead in the 35th minute. Patrice Evra exchanged passes with Ronaldo to get behind Johnson before pulling the ball back towards Giggs, who steered a perfect shot beyond Cech and Ashley Cole, who was covering on the goal-line. Remarkably, it was his first goal in 17 appearances at Wembley at senior level, his only previous strike way back in the days that he represented England Schoolboys under the name of Ryan Wilson.
Unsurprisingly, given the lack of a recognised centre forward in their starting lineup, with Pizarro not yet match-fit, Chelsea were struggling to make any headway in attack, but Malouda equalised with a show of the strength and skill that would seem to make him perfectly equipped to adapt to English football. It is a goal that Ferdinand will not look back on with any fondness, as the Chelsea player beat him to Ashley Cole’s flighted ball down the inside-left channel, but Malouda showed considerable enterprise and determination in beating the United defender before shooting past the hesitant Van der Sar.
After a flat second period, Van der Sar emerged as the match-winner, a redemption of sorts after he blamed himself for Drogba’s winning goal in the FA Cup Final in May. This time it was the Chelsea players who left Wembley with heads bowed. For United, even the slightest psychological advantage is to be welcomed in advance of the challenge ahead, even if it is likely to be forgotten long before they resume hostilities in the Premier League at Old Trafford on September 23.
PENALTY FLOPS
CLAUDIO PIZARRO
Van der Sar dives to his right, but the goalkeeper manages to stretch out his left arm and block the Peruvian’s effort with a hand
FRANK LAMPARD
The England midfield player struggled to impose himself on the game and his strike lacked the power to beat Van der Sar
SHAUN WRIGHT-PHILLIPS
Van der Sar is quick off his line again as Wright-Phillips adds to Chelsea’s woes with another weak strike from 12 yards
Chelsea 1 Malouda 45
Manchester United 1 Giggs 35
How they rated
Chelsea
4-3-3 P Cech 7 G Johnson 4 T Ben Haim 5 R Carvalho 6 A Cole 8 F Lampard 5 M Essien 7 J O Mikel 7 S Wright-Phillips 5 F Malouda 7 J Cole 5
Subsitutes S Sidwell (for Johnson, 78min), L Diarra 5 (A Cole, 68), C Pizarro 5 (Malouda, 52), S Sinclair (J Cole, 82) Not used C Cudicini, Hilario, H Worley
Manchester United
4-4-1-1 E van der Sar 7 W Brown 6 R Ferdinand 6 N Vidic 6 M Silvestre 5 C Ronaldo 7 M Carrick 7 J O’Shea 6 P Evra 7 R Giggs 7 W Rooney 7
Subsitutes Nani 5 (Silvestre, 68min), D Fletcher (Giggs, 81) Not used T Kuszczak, G Pique, P Bardsley, C Eagles, L Martin.
Referee M Halsey Attendance 80,731 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Ryan Giggs an ageless inspiration for UnitedBy Henry Winter
Chelsea 1(1) Manchester United 1 (1) (United win 3-0 on penalties)
Football, the sport that never sleeps, hardly seems to have had a lie-down this summer, and events here yesterday maintained familiar themes from last season. All the talk was of Chelsea's injury travails, Jose Mourinho's quixotic streak, Manchester United's rich attacking potential, and the enduring excellence of Ryan Giggs, who continues to give Old Father Time the runaround.
Giggs' manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, keeps expanding United's creative department as if fearful of some flair famine stalking the land. Such an intelligent frontrunner as Carlos Tevez, who makes his debut on Wednesday, will doubtless link instinctively and prolifically with Wayne Rooney while Nani showed glimpses of his gifts against Chelsea. Like Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani can operate on either flank. Paul Scholes returns from injury soon. Marvellous options abound. Ferguson can play fantasy football for real.
Yet there was Giggs, 33 years of age but with the enthusiasm of a teenager, gliding through to score a superb 35th-minute goal to shake a clammy Community Shield into life. Florent Malouda subsequently conjured up a terrific equaliser, and Edwin van der Sar proved unbeatable in the penalty shoot-out, but the main memory was of Giggs, of a class that never ages.
When Patrice Evra crossed from the left, and Rooney cleverly dragged blue shirts out of position, Giggs calmly stroked the ball from 15 yards into Petr Cech's goal. "Ryan placed it,'' said Ferguson, his eyes lighting up at the recollection. "Ryan could see Ashley Cole on the line with the keeper looking after the other side of the goal, so he placed it.''
If the goal was exceptional, it certainly produced an extraordinary statistic. It was so long ago that Giggs last scored at Wembley that he had a different name. Then known as Ryan Wilson and captain of England Schoolboys, this special player last found the mark at Wembley 18 years ago.
Rooney was three at the time, and sometimes does not have appear to have matured much. The England international disclosed the shortness of his fuse as well as the depth of his talent yesterday, and the fear is that his conduct will continue to vex officials. Yet his booking yesterday was unwarranted: Rooney accidentally caught Cech while chasing a loose ball and knocked off balance by Tal Ben Haim.
Chelsea fans, some sporting T-shirts declaring that the title was only "on loan to United'', were enraged, and loudly questioned everything from Rooney's weight to his parentage. United's No 10 responded by holding up a solitary finger to signal who were the No 1 team in the land.
The Community Shield is rarely a good form-guide, but few would question that United are favourites to claim the Premiership. For all his "mellow'' intent, Mourinho remains a one-man debating society and he sent eyebrows rising faster than the mercury with his comment that "Chelsea controlled the game for 90 minutes in quite an easy way''.
Nonsense. Ashley Cole, who again dealt well with Ronaldo, and the purposeful Malouda certainly impressed for Mourinho's side, but they were hamstrung by the absence of John Terry and Didier Drogba with knee problems. Drogba aims to be back within 10 days but Terry's anticipated month on the sidelines is desperate news.
Such a committed leader and shrewd defensive organiser would have engineered more resistance to United's goal. Ben Haim, otherwise all right, played Evra onside while Ricardo Carvalho clearly missed Terry. Such were Chelsea's injury woes (with Michael Ballack, Arjen Robben, Wayne Bridge, Andrei Shevchenko and Salomon Kalou also unavailable) that Mourinho was forced to field Joe Cole at centre-forward in a 4-3-3 and name two keepers among the subs to make up the numbers.
Also on the bench was Avram Grant, Chelsea's new director of football, and the chemistry between him and Mourinho will be much scrutinised this season. Mourinho is not the type to accept interference in his first-team domain, but those who know Grant insist that he is far too savvy and diplomatic to engage in power struggles. Maybe it was the heat yesterday but there appeared a thaw in Chelsea's Cold War with Roman Abramovich consoling Mourinho and the players in the dressing room afterwards.
Chelsea will play better than this, and Mourinho looks to have invested smartly in Malouda, who showed courage, speed and technique to cancel out Giggs' strike on the cusp of half-time. Ashley Cole, uneasy on his right foot, used the outside of his left to bend a fine ball into the path of Malouda and United were exposed. Rio Ferdinand was left trailing, Van der Sar's attempt to close Malouda down was half-hearted and Chelsea's £13 million signing clipped the ball expertly home.
Van der Sar made amends spectacularly in the shoot-out, saving from Claudio Pizarro, Frank Lampard and Shaun Wright-Phillips. Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick both calmly converted their kicks, leaving Rooney to apply the coup de grace, and then repeat his No 1 signal to the departing Chelsea fans. Rooney, Giggs et al are again the team to beat.
Match details
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Johnson (Sidwell 77), Ben Haim, Carvalho, A Cole (Diarra 67); Essien, Mikel, Lampard; Wright-Phillips, J Cole (Sinclair 81), Malouda (Pizarro 51). Subs: Cudicini (g), Hilario (g), Worley. Goal: Malouda (45). Booked: Ben Haim, Carvalho, Mikel. Manchester Utd (4-4-1-1): Van der Sar; Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre (Nani 67); Ronaldo, Carrick, O'Shea, Evra; Giggs (Fletcher 80); Rooney. Subs: Kuszczak (g), Pique, Bardsley, Martin, Eagles. Goal: (Giggs 35). Booked: Rooney.Referee: M Halsey (Lancashire). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 1, Man United 1: Mourinho's new mood blighted by loss and looming injury crisis By Sam Wallace Published: 06 August 2007 From his place on the bench even Jose Mourinho found it hard to suppress a smile at the appaling success his team endured from the penalty spot – and he is not known for making light of failure. On the English football season's great irrelevant opening day, Edwin van der Sar was the hero but the atmosphere was soon a good deal chillier around the Chelsea manager as the start of his campaign threatened to disintegrate.
While Manchester United walked off with the Community Shield, polished even brighter than the alloys on a Premiership footballer's Hummer, Sir Alex Ferguson could talk optimistically about Carlos Tevez's debut this week. For Mourinho there was only more injury misery; he now has 11 players out injured, and already the siege mentality was descending upon the Chelsea manager.
The mellow attitude he has claimed to have adopted looks like it will be severely tested in the next few weeks. Ferguson waits only upon Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in terms of injuries – Mourinho has a much more serious problem. John Terry's absence will be for a month at the very least, while Didier Drogba will find out today how serious the problem with his knee has become.
Days like yesterday may be the opportunity for experimentation but Mourinho admitted that he had never before been forced to pick a side that did not include an orthodox striker. With Claudio Pizarro not yet fit enough to play a full game, he started with Joe Cole as a makeshift centre-forward. It was far from a disastrous Chelsea performance but the implications for the start of their season could be much more dramatic.
Andrei Shevchenko, Claude Makelele, Paulo Ferreira, Salomon Kalou and Arjen Robben were the other absentees, as well as the long-term injured, Wayne Bridge and Michael Ballack. It was reflected in Mourinho's mood as he first refused even to take questions on the seriousness of his players' injuries, only brightening later to say he was not worried. "I'm ready for the fight and I'm happy with the team," he said.
At pitchside, temperatures crept past 35C and while the match never approached the intensity of last season's FA Cup final less than three months ago, it was not for lack of effort on the part of some individuals. Wayne Rooney discovered that it was not just the referee who can book him now, the linesman can have a say, too. Via his headset, Darren Cann advised the referee, Mark Halsey, of a kick at Tal Ben Haim from Rooney that earned the England striker a booking.
It was Rooney who looked among the sharpest on the pitch and Cristiano Ronaldo, too, but not before the latter mistakenly backheeled the ball mid-stepover and in doing so effectively tackled himself. United were blessed with pace in attack, especially with Patrice Evra promoted to a left-wing position where he excelled and was integral in the creation of the United goal for Ryan Giggs.
On 35 minutes, Evra's exchange with Ronaldo allowed him to cross to Giggs and United's 33-year-old captain struck the ball up into the roof of Petr Cech's goal. The Chelsea goalkeeper had made a brilliant save from Giggs in the 21st minute and Cech remains one of the very few whom Mourinho simply cannot afford to be without.
From his seat in the sunshine at Wembley, Steve McClaren will already have been worrying about the state of his England team's defence against Germany next week when Florent Malouda embarrassed the only fit first-choice centre-back the national-team manager has left. Chelsea's £13.5m signing did extremely well to out-muscle Rio Ferdinand as he ran on to a long ball from Ashley Cole and, with his last touch, steered the ball past Van der Sar. Just Mourinho's luck then that Malouda would later limp off with the injury he picked up in the act of scoring and later Glen Johnson was also forced to withdraw.
Pizarro gave Chelsea more presence in attack in the second half, but as a player who spent eight years in Germany, Mourinho might have expected him to be better at penalties. The Peruvian had his spot-kick saved by Van der Sar, as did Lampard and Shaun Wright-Phillips. When Rooney smashed in the third United penalty it was all over
Tevez will make his debut on Wednesday in one of two friendlies United play that day against Dunfermline Athletic and Glentoran in Belfast. Ferguson had clearly read the theories that his new Argentine is too similar to Rooney for the two to be compatible and was not of the same mind.
"I don't think they're identical at all, other than that they're both of a similar physique," he said. "Both are two-footed, both are quickish, both can beat their man. I don't think those similarities are a bad thing. When they get playing with each other, they'll hopefully get an understanding."
On the Premier League title race he was more cryptic. "Everyone in the country knows we're the two best sides, but Arsenal and Liverpool will play a bigger hand this season."
The United manager still claims that there is not much to be deduced from days like these but as a guide to the next month, the form favours the champions.
Chelsea (4-3-3) Cech; Johnson (Sidwell, 78), Carvalho, Ben Haim, A Cole (Diarra, 67); Essien, Mikel, Lampard; Wright-Phillips, J Cole (Sinclair, 82), Malouda (Pizarro, 51). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Hilario (gk), Worley.
Manchester United (4-4-2): Van der Sar; Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre (Nani, 68); Ronaldo, Carrick, O'Shea, Evra; Rooney, Giggs (Fletcher, 81). Substitutes not used: Kuszczak (gk), Pique, Bardsley, Martin, Eagles.
Referee: M Halsey (Lancashire).
Booked: Chelsea Ben Haim, Carvalho, Mikel; Manchester United Rooney.
Man of the match: Evra.
Stamford Bridge sick list
* John Terry
(knee, one month)
* Wayne Bridge
(hip, three months)
* Frank Lampard
(broken toe, still playing)
* Didier Drogba
(doubtful for opener)
* Andrei Shevchenko
(back, doubtful for opener)
* Florent Malouda (right)
(doubtful for opener)
* Glen Johnson
(muscle, doubtful)
* Michael Ballack
(ankle, two to three
weeks)
* Salomon Kalou
(muscle, doubtful)
* Arjen Robben
(knee, doubtful)
* Claude Makelele
(knee, should be fit for opener)
* Paulo Ferreira
(muscle, doubtful)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Van der Sar spots weak point to claim first trophy
Kevin McCarra at WembleyMonday August 6, 2007The Guardian
Given enough talent, a man can distil potent memories out of even a Community Shield match. Holland have had angst-ridden days when it comes to taking penalties but Edwin van der Sar has no inhibitions about facing them.The Manchester United goalkeeper threw himself lithely to his right, denying Claudio Pizarro and then Frank Lampard in the shoot-out. It was understandable that Chelsea's third effort would be downcast, as Shaun Wright-Phillips allowed Van der Sar an elementary save. Wayne Rooney then ended the contest by converting his penalty as methodically as Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick had done.
Van der Sar, who turns 37 in October, was troubled by his lapses towards the close of last season and very conscious that little time might be left to him in an Old Trafford contract that ends next summer.His pre-season had not been convincing but United can barely afford to let him retreat into the shadows. Tomasz Kuszczak is not regarded as his natural heir and Ben Foster's cruciate ligament injury will rule him out until the end of this year at the earliest. Even then he will have to build on the impression made at Watford.
For Sir Alex Ferguson the principal benefit of the afternoon at Wembley could be the fillip it gives Van der Sar. It would be rash to come up with larger deductions. The fact that each club can make six substitutions is the Community Shield's confession to being a jumped-up friendly, although neither manager was shameless enough to make full use of that facility.
While United, busier in attack, deserved to be victors, they will be conscious, too, that Chelsea's line-up was a distorted reflection of the prowess that Jose Mourinho can call on when there are fewer problems. Didier Drogba has hurt his knee and, though a scan should confirm that he will be back in 10 days, Mourinho was not confident enough of Andriy Shevchenko's fitness to use the Ukrainian here. If it was peculiar to witness Joe Cole give his own interpretation of centre-forward play, it is likely that Mourinho wanted to protect Pizarro, who eventually took part for 38 minutes, since he has no other fit strikers remaining.
The Peruvian was released from the dug-out to take over from Florent Malouda, who would have been feeling the effects of the knock he had taken while scoring a determined equaliser at the end of the first half. That moment of purpose and craft identified the Frenchman as the epitome of the sort of footballer who can capture Jose Mourinho's heart. Malouda has even played full-back trenchantly on occasion.
In the 45th minute the excellent Ashley Cole swerved a pass down the left and the £13.5m acquisition from Lyon had more resolve than Ferdinand, forcing himself free of the centre-back to clip an impressive finish past Van der Sar. The goal rounded off a first half in which the sides had striven to play in earnest.
There was even a sprinkling of spite to add flavour. A pointing Wayne Rooney, having been booked for a late challenge on Petr Cech, seemed to be in dispute with a section of Chelsea fans who had been demanding a red card. Even when there was no animus, United, with superior means at Wembley, were livelier in attack and Cech needed to block Ryan Giggs's effort following a Cristiano Ronaldo run in the 21st minute.
While Michael Essien and Mikel John Obi both failed to head home a Malouda free-kick shortly afterwards there was more of a flourish to United's display. The opening goal had thinking and technique that were both sharp. With 35 minutes gone, Patrice Evra took a crossfield ball on his chest, touched it to Ronaldo and raced after the return pass.
His low cross was probing and a lunge by Carvalho could not distract Ryan Giggs from recording his first goal at Wembley since his schoolboy days with a sweeping drive high into the net. By and large Chelsea showed that they retained the knack of stifling United all the same and Tal Ben Haim in defence seemed to be as reasonable a deputy for John Terry as Mourinho could have landed on a free transfer this summer.
So far as the flamboyant football now required of him is concerned, the manager can expect patience from his employers until genuine attackers are present. The main lesson of the afternoon may be that Chelsea, so well rehearsed in most areas, are not at all adept at shoot-outs, having previously been vanquished on penalties by Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
sunday papers rangers friendly
The Sunday Times July 29, 2007
Chelsea slip up at Rangers
Rangers 2 Chelsea 0
Douglas Alexander at Ibrox
SO much for the new mellow Jose Mourinho. By the closing stages ofthis match, after some slipshod play by his own team and a few refereeing decisions going Rangers' way, he was on the edge of his technical area screaming instructions to his players and arguing with the fourth official. When he digests it, the Portuguese will considersome problems which persist from last season. The lack of a trulypenetrating passer in his midfield and a tendency to be too narrow inhis midfield when compared to Manchester United. Having said that hegot a decent cameo from Florent Malouda in a first half which showedthe Frenchman has dig in his left foot and some devil in his make-up.Tal Ben-Haim spent the match flitting across roles in the back four,something that he may also spend the season doing, although SteveSidwell was easily outclassed by Barry Ferguson when they cametogether in midfield.It was a good test for Chelsea as Rangers were definitely up for it,their players seeking places in the lineup for Tuesday's ChampionsLeague qualifier against FK Zeta of Montenegro, and won the game withtwo goals in the last five minutes. First, Nacho Novo picked his spotsweetly into the bottom corner after Chris Burke burst down the rightand found him on the edge of the box. Then, Ibrox rubbed its eyes indelirious disbelief as a right-foot effort from Filip Sebo, the Paulle Guen misfit, deflected off Ben Haim and flew over Hilario into thetop corner. The stadium spent the remaining seconds chorusing "easy,easy" which cannot have helped Mourinho's mood.His assistant, Steve Clarke, believes the match was a good exercisefor his Chelsea troops and thought pitting their wits against teams ofthe calibre of Rangers is the best way to start the season. "We don'tselect easy preseason games," he said. "If we want to win 3-0, 4-0,5-0 we can go to other places and find easy games. The matches we playare difficult games. Ibrox is a difficult place to play and we allknew that when we selected them."Chelsea were arrayed in luminous yellow and the 4-4-2 he plans toemploy more frequently this season. Sidwell kept Frank Lampard companyin the central midfield and got forward to pull an early shot past thepost, while Ben Haim slotted in beside John Terry and Malouda providedthe width on the left with Joe Cole on the right. The Scotland vEngland aspect of the game meant it was not quite your usual tepidpreseason friendly and when Ferguson nailed Malouda with a flailingtackle as the Frenchman sped through midfield, Drogba was immediatelyin his face. Malouda didn't need his pal's assistance, waiting 10minutes for the revenge tackle on Ferguson which brought a booking.He also sent a drive flying narrowly past just before half-time, aftera first period which generally lacked fluency. Rangers had theirmoments, Ferguson lured Sidwell in and then sparked a one-two beforealmost playing Jean-Claude Darcheville in. The striker was halted by adubious linesman's flag but Boyd didn't have this excuse when drivingan earlier opportunity against Petr Cech after David Weir's passsnaked through Chelsea's defence. Terry's new lucrative contract didnot stop him missing a routine cross from Alan Hutton but Boyd, again,could not capitalise on his slip.At the other end, Drogba met a Lassane Diarra cross with a headerwhich dropped just wide and left Hutton, who had the temerity tochallenge him for it, writhing on the turf. Diarra had been drafted inat the last minute, when Paulo Ferriera was injured in the warm-up,while Glen Johnson played left-back with Ashley Cole in the finalstages of convalescence.The feeling of square pegs in round holes was accentuated after ahalf-time of Sven-Göran Eriksson style substitutions. Now Ben Haim andSidwell, the new boys, constituted the left flank of Chelsea's team asCarvalho came in at Terry's side and John Obi Mikel at Lampard's. Theversatile Israeli then went to right-back when Cole was introducedshortly after the hour."I thought Ben-Haim was excellent today," added Clarke. "He made a fewmistakes towards the end but that's fatigue, and don't forget heplayed three positions."Perhaps the most impressive newcomer on either side was CarlosCuellar, who Rangers paid Osasuna £2.2m for. He generally handledDrogba's physicality well and was also quick enough to cover acrossfor his colleagues. Terry, in contrast, again looked rusty when heslipped and had to foul Sebo to prevent him getting a run on goal.It was almost as if Chelsea were intent on providing succour to themuch-derided striker, signed by Paul le Guen last summer, when Mikelpresented the ball to Nacho Novo and the Spaniard played Sebo inperfectly only for him to fluff the chance with an incredibly poorconnection. No wonder, one report yesterday suggested that the man whosold him to Le Guen for £1.8m on behalf of Austria Vienna foundhimself being slapped heartily on the back everywhere he went in theAustrian capital subsequently. Now, belatedly, the match came to lifeand Cuellar had to block Lampard's shot on the line after allowingDrogba to escape down the left and provide a cross which caused panicin Rangers' box.Another Rangers' break then ended with Ashley Cole making a superbtackle to deny Ferguson as he prepared to score from Novo's pass. Yetthe goals, finally, came for Rangers as Sebo had the last laugh toleave Mourinho scowling. Chelsea now turn their attention to Tuesday'sgame against Brondby, their last game before Sunday's Community Shieldclash against champions Manchester United. Clarke added: "Hopefully wewill win the match and go into the Community Shield in a positiveframe of mind."Star man: Carlos Cueller (Rangers)Rangers:McGregor (Carrol ht), Hutton (Murray ht), Weir (Webster ht),Cuellar, Papac (Broadfoot ht), McColloch (Sebo 62min), Hemdani,Ferguson, Adam (Burke 82min), Darcheville (Beasley 46min), Boyd (Novoht)Chelsea:Cech (Hilario ht), Diarra (Carvalho ht), Terry, Ben-Haim,Johnson (A Cole 63min), J Cole (Wright-Phillips ht), Sidwell, Lampard,Malouda (Obi Mikel 46ht), Shevchenko (Pizarro 46ht), Drogba (Sinclair71min)Scorers: Rangers:Novo 86, Sebo 88Referee: Stuart DougalAttendance: 50,380----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:Rangers beat Chelsea in friendly at IbroxBy Bruce Maxwell at Ibrox, Sunday TelegraphRangers (0) 2 Chelsea (0) 0A Blues Brothers reunion, but the gap between the siblings has neverbeen wider than now. On a day when chairman David Murray announced hisintention to spend the thick end of £6 million on new players beforethe transfer window closes, Rangers still managed to look like thedistant poor relations of their illustrious and eye-wateringlywell-heeled opponents.That much could also be calculated from the fact that the John Terrywho sipped his bedtime cocoa last night was almost £19,000 better offthan the John Terry who had tucked into his breakfast cornflakes justa few hours earlier. The previous day, the Chelsea captain had signedthe £6.8 million deal that made him the Premiership's highest-paidplayer, but it would be pushing it to say his workrate wasconspicuously heightened as he returned to action in this tepid Ibroxfriendly.Murray is expected to announce shortly that Rangers' debt burden is inthe region of £15 million, the sort of figure he considers manageable,but the sort his Chelsea counterpart Roman Abramovich would probablyconsider good value for a decent tin of beluga. While Abramovichcontinues to add his personal twists to football's inflation spiral,Murray is obliged to count the pennies in the Govan poorhouse. Yet theman behind Rangers was in bullish mood yesterday as he refused toincrease his bid for Kilmarnock's Steven Naismith. Many in football,and almost everyone in Kilmarnock, consider the Glasgow club's mostrecent offer of around £1.5 million for the forward to be a tadmiserly, but Murray emphasised that it was the last he would make. "Ithink they should go and accept one of those other offers," he smiledwhen reminded that Kilmarnock claim to have found interest elsewhere.Murray was also confident that Rangers would be found to be in theclear when the investigation into transfer dealings that resulted in apolice raid on the club recently reaches its conclusion. However, theaffair has clearly angered him, as he described the suggestion thatRangers had something to hide as "a slur".A packed Ibrox will have done no harm to Rangers' cash-flow situationyesterday, but their finances would be better served by a decentresult on the same ground on Tuesday, when they takes on FK Zeta inthe first leg of their Champions League qualifying tie. Murrayestimated the net value of overcoming the Montenegrans to be in theregion of £10 million, the sort of money that not even Terry wouldsneeze at.advertisementAs for the game itself, Rangers looked markedly moreanimated than their English counterparts, displaying an industry thatwas eventually rewarded when Nacho Novo finished off a move ignited byChris Burke's spearing run down the right side with a lashing shotfrom the edge of the box after 85 minutes.Two minutes later, as Rangers pressed confidently, Filip Seboswivelled beautifully and arced an unstoppable strike into the topright corner of Henrique Hilario's goal.The margin may have flattered Rangers, but it was a fitting riposte toChelsea's rather languid approach. The Londoners impressed in themanner they dealt with Rangers' sporadic intrusions into the dangerarea, but they seemed worryingly uninterested in doing anything withthe ball once they had confiscated the thing from their Scottishhosts.Indeed, the closest Chelsea came to raising any head of steam was inthose moments when the friendly nature of the contest eluded them asthey clattered Rangers players.Florent Malouda earned a yellow card for the first-half challenge onBarry Ferguson that almost chopped the Rangers captain in half, whileTerry collected a caution with his equally fierce, if almost comicallyclumsy, tackle on Sebo. Perhaps Terry sensed a danger about Sebo thattends to elude more regular Ibrox attendees. When the Slovenianprovided the second goal, however, his threat was obvious to all.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The ObserverRangers are Novo richRangers 2 - 0 Chelsea (friendly)Novo 86, Sebo 87Patrick GlennSunday July 29, 2007Assessments made on the basis of pre-season friendlies tend to beabout as reliable as sweating dynamite. On the evidence availablehere, it is safest to conclude that Chelsea are still short of agallop and Rangers, under Walter Smith, are experiencing a resurgenceof spirit and self-belief. The two late goals from substitutes NachoNovo and Filip Sebo that gave the Ibrox side victory were wellexecuted, but tended to emphasise the lack of stamina in the visitor.Novo's powerful right-foot drive, low to the right of substitutegoalkeeper Hilario, from the edge of the penalty area, was followed bySebo's shot from an angle on the left, which sent the ball high intothe far corner.As well as the victory, Rangers also satisfied their desire for acompetitive outing in advance of the first leg of their ChampionsLeague qualifier against FK Zeta of Montenegro on Tuesday. Theopportunity to achieve further match sharpness was, as Smith said, theone aspect of Chelsea's visit that could be beneficial, in terms ofthe European assignment.Nor did the Premiership club come to Ibrox to insult their hosts, JoseMourinho fielding a starting line-up that included some of the tallestreputations in the game. Not surprising since they face ManchesterUnited in the Community Shield on Sunday.John Terry and Frank Lampard were in their usual places, but, for thehome crowd, the most appetising news would be of the frontlinepartnership consisting of Didier Drogba and Andriy Schevchenko.The powerful, often irrepressible Ivorian and the expensive Ukrainian,who has been something of an enigma since his move from Milan toStamford Bridge, might have made the quickest possible impact bygiving their team the lead straight from kick-off. It was Lampard'sbeautifully controlled flick with the outside of his right foot thatreleased Schevchenko down the left, allowing the striker all manner ofoptions for his delivery into the goal area. These included Drogba,yelling for service at the back post.Schevchenko chose to wait for Steve Sidwell to stroll unattended tothe edge of the box and roll the ball straight to the former Readingmidfielder. The attempted drive, perhaps the result of rustiness, wasa miscue, Sidwell wrapping his right foot around the ball and pullingit yards wide.It was the kind of slick, instant movement the Rangers fans would havefeared, but it was rarely reproduced by the visitors for the remainderof a first half that was robustly contested without being dazzling.Rangers, to their credit, shrugged off the early scare to demand somerespect of their own with one or two forward pushes that threatened tobring them a lead. This seemed especially likely when David Weir, fromhis own defence, sent a precision pass through the inside-left channelthat gave the striker the chance to run, untracked, towards Petr Cech,in the Chelsea goal.Boyd's touch was not particularly heavy, but pushing the ball threeyards ahead of himself was enough to give a goalkeeper as alert and asquick as the big Czech the edge - and he was at Boyd's feet, snafflingthe ball, before the latter had the chance to make the scoringattempt.The extensive changes made by both managers at half time - six fromSmith, five from Mourinho - amounted to the standard reminder of theexperimental nature of pre-season friendlies, although they certainlyprovided Tal Ben Haim with an opportunity to demonstrate hisversatility.Having started as Terry's partner in central defence - and then beingmoved to left-back when Ricardo Carvalho came off the bench - theIsrael defender moved to right-back when Ashley Cole replaced GlenJohnson.Before those late flourishes from Rangers, Chelsea were denied twicewhen Drogba swept past Carlos Cuellar on the left and cut the ballback to Lampard. The England midfielder's low drive was cleanlystruck, but Cuellar recovered well to block on the line, while MikelJohn Obi's follow-up drive was saved by substitute goalkeeper RoyCarroll.Ibrox 50,380Rangers McGregor; Hutton, Weir, Cuellar, Papac; McCulloch, Ferguson,Hamdani, Adam; Darcheville, Boyd Subs used Carroll, Novo, Burke,Murray, Beasley, Broadfoot, Webster, SeboChelseaCech; Diarra, Terry, Ben Haim, Johnson; J Cole, Sidwell,Lampard, Malouda; Drogba, Schevchenko Subs used Hilario, A Cole,Carvalho, Mikel, Pizarro, Sinclair, Wright-PhillipsReferee S Dougal--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:Malouda can be a jewel in Jose's crownRangers 2 Chelsea 0By PETER HIGGSFlorent Malouda is promising to become a Stamford Bridge favourite onthe evidence of a lively 45-minute performance, despite Chelseasuffering the first defeat of their pre-season campaign.With Arjen Robben almost certainly on his way to Real Madrid, JoseMourinho appears to have found the ideal replacement in the Francewinger.Fast and tricky, the yellow-booted Malouda was involved in most ofChelsea's bright moments in an otherwise uninspired display — and evenmanaged to get himself booked in one of the game's two unsavourymoments.Malouda, a £13.5 million signing from Lyon, signalled his threat inthe opening minutes as he burst clear of the Rangers defence to set upSteve Sidwell. But the former Reading midfielder, with the opportunityto score his first goal since moving to the double domestic Cupwinners, dragged his shot wide from 20 yards.Malouda's elusive running led to the first flare-up of an afternoonthat was mostly as tame as any pre-season friendly. As he burst awayfrom Barry Ferguson, the Rangers captain scythed him down, incurring astern lecture from referee Stuart Dougal and an angry reaction fromDidier Drogba.When Malouda took revenge with a crude lunge at Ferguson momentslater, he became the first booking of the afternoon. Two furtherimpressive contributions from Malouda, a cross which Drogba headedwide and a fizzing 25-yard shot which went inches wide, came beforeMourinho took him off at halftime, having done enough to suggest thathe will play an important role in Chelsea's bid to regain thePremiership title.With Mourinho making seven changes in the second half, Rangers tookadvantage to send their fans home happy with two goals in the lastseven minutes.From Chris Burke's surging run down the right, Nacho Novo collectedthe pass before drilling a 20-yarder in off a post, with substitutegoalkeeper Henrique Hilario helpless.Four minutes later, Filip Sebo added a second with a curling shot intothe far corner which appeared to catch Hilario out of position.Earlier, John Terry was yellow-carded when he brought down Sebo, whowas clean through.Hemight have been sent off in a League game,provingthat even a salary of £135,000 a week is no guarantee againstmistakes.Although the defeat may cause diehard Chelsea fans cause for concern,Mourinho will have been satisfied with a good work-out two weeksbefore the season and the chance to run the rule over his newsignings.Sidwell was busy and competitive in midfield, defender Tal Ben Haimshowed his versatility by playing in three different positions overthe course of the match,and Peruvian centre forward Claudio Pizarro,at6ft 1in,looked more like a typical old-fashioned English striker thansomeone blessed with Latin American skills. But from his one goodchance midway through the second half, Pizarro wastefully headedwide,although a linesman's flag had ruled him offside.The return of Ashley Cole after injury was another bonus for Mourinho.The England leftback came on for Glen Johnson in the 63rd minute andalthough short of match fitness, he showed he had lost none of hisdefensive nous with a goalsaving tackle to deny Novo after a midfieldmisunderstanding between Sidwell and Shaun Wright-Phillips.Mourinho will have gained some useful pointers as he establishes hisstrongest side for battles ahead. In Malouda, he appears to have founda gem.
Chelsea slip up at Rangers
Rangers 2 Chelsea 0
Douglas Alexander at Ibrox
SO much for the new mellow Jose Mourinho. By the closing stages ofthis match, after some slipshod play by his own team and a few refereeing decisions going Rangers' way, he was on the edge of his technical area screaming instructions to his players and arguing with the fourth official. When he digests it, the Portuguese will considersome problems which persist from last season. The lack of a trulypenetrating passer in his midfield and a tendency to be too narrow inhis midfield when compared to Manchester United. Having said that hegot a decent cameo from Florent Malouda in a first half which showedthe Frenchman has dig in his left foot and some devil in his make-up.Tal Ben-Haim spent the match flitting across roles in the back four,something that he may also spend the season doing, although SteveSidwell was easily outclassed by Barry Ferguson when they cametogether in midfield.It was a good test for Chelsea as Rangers were definitely up for it,their players seeking places in the lineup for Tuesday's ChampionsLeague qualifier against FK Zeta of Montenegro, and won the game withtwo goals in the last five minutes. First, Nacho Novo picked his spotsweetly into the bottom corner after Chris Burke burst down the rightand found him on the edge of the box. Then, Ibrox rubbed its eyes indelirious disbelief as a right-foot effort from Filip Sebo, the Paulle Guen misfit, deflected off Ben Haim and flew over Hilario into thetop corner. The stadium spent the remaining seconds chorusing "easy,easy" which cannot have helped Mourinho's mood.His assistant, Steve Clarke, believes the match was a good exercisefor his Chelsea troops and thought pitting their wits against teams ofthe calibre of Rangers is the best way to start the season. "We don'tselect easy preseason games," he said. "If we want to win 3-0, 4-0,5-0 we can go to other places and find easy games. The matches we playare difficult games. Ibrox is a difficult place to play and we allknew that when we selected them."Chelsea were arrayed in luminous yellow and the 4-4-2 he plans toemploy more frequently this season. Sidwell kept Frank Lampard companyin the central midfield and got forward to pull an early shot past thepost, while Ben Haim slotted in beside John Terry and Malouda providedthe width on the left with Joe Cole on the right. The Scotland vEngland aspect of the game meant it was not quite your usual tepidpreseason friendly and when Ferguson nailed Malouda with a flailingtackle as the Frenchman sped through midfield, Drogba was immediatelyin his face. Malouda didn't need his pal's assistance, waiting 10minutes for the revenge tackle on Ferguson which brought a booking.He also sent a drive flying narrowly past just before half-time, aftera first period which generally lacked fluency. Rangers had theirmoments, Ferguson lured Sidwell in and then sparked a one-two beforealmost playing Jean-Claude Darcheville in. The striker was halted by adubious linesman's flag but Boyd didn't have this excuse when drivingan earlier opportunity against Petr Cech after David Weir's passsnaked through Chelsea's defence. Terry's new lucrative contract didnot stop him missing a routine cross from Alan Hutton but Boyd, again,could not capitalise on his slip.At the other end, Drogba met a Lassane Diarra cross with a headerwhich dropped just wide and left Hutton, who had the temerity tochallenge him for it, writhing on the turf. Diarra had been drafted inat the last minute, when Paulo Ferriera was injured in the warm-up,while Glen Johnson played left-back with Ashley Cole in the finalstages of convalescence.The feeling of square pegs in round holes was accentuated after ahalf-time of Sven-Göran Eriksson style substitutions. Now Ben Haim andSidwell, the new boys, constituted the left flank of Chelsea's team asCarvalho came in at Terry's side and John Obi Mikel at Lampard's. Theversatile Israeli then went to right-back when Cole was introducedshortly after the hour."I thought Ben-Haim was excellent today," added Clarke. "He made a fewmistakes towards the end but that's fatigue, and don't forget heplayed three positions."Perhaps the most impressive newcomer on either side was CarlosCuellar, who Rangers paid Osasuna £2.2m for. He generally handledDrogba's physicality well and was also quick enough to cover acrossfor his colleagues. Terry, in contrast, again looked rusty when heslipped and had to foul Sebo to prevent him getting a run on goal.It was almost as if Chelsea were intent on providing succour to themuch-derided striker, signed by Paul le Guen last summer, when Mikelpresented the ball to Nacho Novo and the Spaniard played Sebo inperfectly only for him to fluff the chance with an incredibly poorconnection. No wonder, one report yesterday suggested that the man whosold him to Le Guen for £1.8m on behalf of Austria Vienna foundhimself being slapped heartily on the back everywhere he went in theAustrian capital subsequently. Now, belatedly, the match came to lifeand Cuellar had to block Lampard's shot on the line after allowingDrogba to escape down the left and provide a cross which caused panicin Rangers' box.Another Rangers' break then ended with Ashley Cole making a superbtackle to deny Ferguson as he prepared to score from Novo's pass. Yetthe goals, finally, came for Rangers as Sebo had the last laugh toleave Mourinho scowling. Chelsea now turn their attention to Tuesday'sgame against Brondby, their last game before Sunday's Community Shieldclash against champions Manchester United. Clarke added: "Hopefully wewill win the match and go into the Community Shield in a positiveframe of mind."Star man: Carlos Cueller (Rangers)Rangers:McGregor (Carrol ht), Hutton (Murray ht), Weir (Webster ht),Cuellar, Papac (Broadfoot ht), McColloch (Sebo 62min), Hemdani,Ferguson, Adam (Burke 82min), Darcheville (Beasley 46min), Boyd (Novoht)Chelsea:Cech (Hilario ht), Diarra (Carvalho ht), Terry, Ben-Haim,Johnson (A Cole 63min), J Cole (Wright-Phillips ht), Sidwell, Lampard,Malouda (Obi Mikel 46ht), Shevchenko (Pizarro 46ht), Drogba (Sinclair71min)Scorers: Rangers:Novo 86, Sebo 88Referee: Stuart DougalAttendance: 50,380----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:Rangers beat Chelsea in friendly at IbroxBy Bruce Maxwell at Ibrox, Sunday TelegraphRangers (0) 2 Chelsea (0) 0A Blues Brothers reunion, but the gap between the siblings has neverbeen wider than now. On a day when chairman David Murray announced hisintention to spend the thick end of £6 million on new players beforethe transfer window closes, Rangers still managed to look like thedistant poor relations of their illustrious and eye-wateringlywell-heeled opponents.That much could also be calculated from the fact that the John Terrywho sipped his bedtime cocoa last night was almost £19,000 better offthan the John Terry who had tucked into his breakfast cornflakes justa few hours earlier. The previous day, the Chelsea captain had signedthe £6.8 million deal that made him the Premiership's highest-paidplayer, but it would be pushing it to say his workrate wasconspicuously heightened as he returned to action in this tepid Ibroxfriendly.Murray is expected to announce shortly that Rangers' debt burden is inthe region of £15 million, the sort of figure he considers manageable,but the sort his Chelsea counterpart Roman Abramovich would probablyconsider good value for a decent tin of beluga. While Abramovichcontinues to add his personal twists to football's inflation spiral,Murray is obliged to count the pennies in the Govan poorhouse. Yet theman behind Rangers was in bullish mood yesterday as he refused toincrease his bid for Kilmarnock's Steven Naismith. Many in football,and almost everyone in Kilmarnock, consider the Glasgow club's mostrecent offer of around £1.5 million for the forward to be a tadmiserly, but Murray emphasised that it was the last he would make. "Ithink they should go and accept one of those other offers," he smiledwhen reminded that Kilmarnock claim to have found interest elsewhere.Murray was also confident that Rangers would be found to be in theclear when the investigation into transfer dealings that resulted in apolice raid on the club recently reaches its conclusion. However, theaffair has clearly angered him, as he described the suggestion thatRangers had something to hide as "a slur".A packed Ibrox will have done no harm to Rangers' cash-flow situationyesterday, but their finances would be better served by a decentresult on the same ground on Tuesday, when they takes on FK Zeta inthe first leg of their Champions League qualifying tie. Murrayestimated the net value of overcoming the Montenegrans to be in theregion of £10 million, the sort of money that not even Terry wouldsneeze at.advertisementAs for the game itself, Rangers looked markedly moreanimated than their English counterparts, displaying an industry thatwas eventually rewarded when Nacho Novo finished off a move ignited byChris Burke's spearing run down the right side with a lashing shotfrom the edge of the box after 85 minutes.Two minutes later, as Rangers pressed confidently, Filip Seboswivelled beautifully and arced an unstoppable strike into the topright corner of Henrique Hilario's goal.The margin may have flattered Rangers, but it was a fitting riposte toChelsea's rather languid approach. The Londoners impressed in themanner they dealt with Rangers' sporadic intrusions into the dangerarea, but they seemed worryingly uninterested in doing anything withthe ball once they had confiscated the thing from their Scottishhosts.Indeed, the closest Chelsea came to raising any head of steam was inthose moments when the friendly nature of the contest eluded them asthey clattered Rangers players.Florent Malouda earned a yellow card for the first-half challenge onBarry Ferguson that almost chopped the Rangers captain in half, whileTerry collected a caution with his equally fierce, if almost comicallyclumsy, tackle on Sebo. Perhaps Terry sensed a danger about Sebo thattends to elude more regular Ibrox attendees. When the Slovenianprovided the second goal, however, his threat was obvious to all.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The ObserverRangers are Novo richRangers 2 - 0 Chelsea (friendly)Novo 86, Sebo 87Patrick GlennSunday July 29, 2007Assessments made on the basis of pre-season friendlies tend to beabout as reliable as sweating dynamite. On the evidence availablehere, it is safest to conclude that Chelsea are still short of agallop and Rangers, under Walter Smith, are experiencing a resurgenceof spirit and self-belief. The two late goals from substitutes NachoNovo and Filip Sebo that gave the Ibrox side victory were wellexecuted, but tended to emphasise the lack of stamina in the visitor.Novo's powerful right-foot drive, low to the right of substitutegoalkeeper Hilario, from the edge of the penalty area, was followed bySebo's shot from an angle on the left, which sent the ball high intothe far corner.As well as the victory, Rangers also satisfied their desire for acompetitive outing in advance of the first leg of their ChampionsLeague qualifier against FK Zeta of Montenegro on Tuesday. Theopportunity to achieve further match sharpness was, as Smith said, theone aspect of Chelsea's visit that could be beneficial, in terms ofthe European assignment.Nor did the Premiership club come to Ibrox to insult their hosts, JoseMourinho fielding a starting line-up that included some of the tallestreputations in the game. Not surprising since they face ManchesterUnited in the Community Shield on Sunday.John Terry and Frank Lampard were in their usual places, but, for thehome crowd, the most appetising news would be of the frontlinepartnership consisting of Didier Drogba and Andriy Schevchenko.The powerful, often irrepressible Ivorian and the expensive Ukrainian,who has been something of an enigma since his move from Milan toStamford Bridge, might have made the quickest possible impact bygiving their team the lead straight from kick-off. It was Lampard'sbeautifully controlled flick with the outside of his right foot thatreleased Schevchenko down the left, allowing the striker all manner ofoptions for his delivery into the goal area. These included Drogba,yelling for service at the back post.Schevchenko chose to wait for Steve Sidwell to stroll unattended tothe edge of the box and roll the ball straight to the former Readingmidfielder. The attempted drive, perhaps the result of rustiness, wasa miscue, Sidwell wrapping his right foot around the ball and pullingit yards wide.It was the kind of slick, instant movement the Rangers fans would havefeared, but it was rarely reproduced by the visitors for the remainderof a first half that was robustly contested without being dazzling.Rangers, to their credit, shrugged off the early scare to demand somerespect of their own with one or two forward pushes that threatened tobring them a lead. This seemed especially likely when David Weir, fromhis own defence, sent a precision pass through the inside-left channelthat gave the striker the chance to run, untracked, towards Petr Cech,in the Chelsea goal.Boyd's touch was not particularly heavy, but pushing the ball threeyards ahead of himself was enough to give a goalkeeper as alert and asquick as the big Czech the edge - and he was at Boyd's feet, snafflingthe ball, before the latter had the chance to make the scoringattempt.The extensive changes made by both managers at half time - six fromSmith, five from Mourinho - amounted to the standard reminder of theexperimental nature of pre-season friendlies, although they certainlyprovided Tal Ben Haim with an opportunity to demonstrate hisversatility.Having started as Terry's partner in central defence - and then beingmoved to left-back when Ricardo Carvalho came off the bench - theIsrael defender moved to right-back when Ashley Cole replaced GlenJohnson.Before those late flourishes from Rangers, Chelsea were denied twicewhen Drogba swept past Carlos Cuellar on the left and cut the ballback to Lampard. The England midfielder's low drive was cleanlystruck, but Cuellar recovered well to block on the line, while MikelJohn Obi's follow-up drive was saved by substitute goalkeeper RoyCarroll.Ibrox 50,380Rangers McGregor; Hutton, Weir, Cuellar, Papac; McCulloch, Ferguson,Hamdani, Adam; Darcheville, Boyd Subs used Carroll, Novo, Burke,Murray, Beasley, Broadfoot, Webster, SeboChelseaCech; Diarra, Terry, Ben Haim, Johnson; J Cole, Sidwell,Lampard, Malouda; Drogba, Schevchenko Subs used Hilario, A Cole,Carvalho, Mikel, Pizarro, Sinclair, Wright-PhillipsReferee S Dougal--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:Malouda can be a jewel in Jose's crownRangers 2 Chelsea 0By PETER HIGGSFlorent Malouda is promising to become a Stamford Bridge favourite onthe evidence of a lively 45-minute performance, despite Chelseasuffering the first defeat of their pre-season campaign.With Arjen Robben almost certainly on his way to Real Madrid, JoseMourinho appears to have found the ideal replacement in the Francewinger.Fast and tricky, the yellow-booted Malouda was involved in most ofChelsea's bright moments in an otherwise uninspired display — and evenmanaged to get himself booked in one of the game's two unsavourymoments.Malouda, a £13.5 million signing from Lyon, signalled his threat inthe opening minutes as he burst clear of the Rangers defence to set upSteve Sidwell. But the former Reading midfielder, with the opportunityto score his first goal since moving to the double domestic Cupwinners, dragged his shot wide from 20 yards.Malouda's elusive running led to the first flare-up of an afternoonthat was mostly as tame as any pre-season friendly. As he burst awayfrom Barry Ferguson, the Rangers captain scythed him down, incurring astern lecture from referee Stuart Dougal and an angry reaction fromDidier Drogba.When Malouda took revenge with a crude lunge at Ferguson momentslater, he became the first booking of the afternoon. Two furtherimpressive contributions from Malouda, a cross which Drogba headedwide and a fizzing 25-yard shot which went inches wide, came beforeMourinho took him off at halftime, having done enough to suggest thathe will play an important role in Chelsea's bid to regain thePremiership title.With Mourinho making seven changes in the second half, Rangers tookadvantage to send their fans home happy with two goals in the lastseven minutes.From Chris Burke's surging run down the right, Nacho Novo collectedthe pass before drilling a 20-yarder in off a post, with substitutegoalkeeper Henrique Hilario helpless.Four minutes later, Filip Sebo added a second with a curling shot intothe far corner which appeared to catch Hilario out of position.Earlier, John Terry was yellow-carded when he brought down Sebo, whowas clean through.Hemight have been sent off in a League game,provingthat even a salary of £135,000 a week is no guarantee againstmistakes.Although the defeat may cause diehard Chelsea fans cause for concern,Mourinho will have been satisfied with a good work-out two weeksbefore the season and the chance to run the rule over his newsignings.Sidwell was busy and competitive in midfield, defender Tal Ben Haimshowed his versatility by playing in three different positions overthe course of the match,and Peruvian centre forward Claudio Pizarro,at6ft 1in,looked more like a typical old-fashioned English striker thansomeone blessed with Latin American skills. But from his one goodchance midway through the second half, Pizarro wastefully headedwide,although a linesman's flag had ruled him offside.The return of Ashley Cole after injury was another bonus for Mourinho.The England leftback came on for Glen Johnson in the 63rd minute andalthough short of match fitness, he showed he had lost none of hisdefensive nous with a goalsaving tackle to deny Novo after a midfieldmisunderstanding between Sidwell and Shaun Wright-Phillips.Mourinho will have gained some useful pointers as he establishes hisstrongest side for battles ahead. In Malouda, he appears to have founda gem.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)