portsmouth 2-1

The Times
More stagger than swagger as Chelsea restore three-point lead

Chelsea 2 Portsmouth 1
Matt Hughes, Deputy Football Correspondent

Chelsea remembered how to win but Portsmouth showed even the lowliest of Barclays Premier League teams that the leaders can be beaten. The aura of invincibility that John Terry boasted about a few weeks ago has disappeared along with the mild winter.
Chelsea deserved to take three points as they dominated throughout, but they demonstrated enough vulnerability to give hope to Manchester United, who will see this scrappy performance as a sign of things to come when the African Cup of Nations begins next month.
Didier Drogba was out with a back injury last night, Michael Essien is still nursing a torn hamstring and John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou were both missing in action.
Thank heavens then for Nicolas Anelka and Frank Lampard, who scored goals in each half to edge Chelsea towards a first victory in five matches, which looked like eluding them during a panic-strewn second half, particularly after Frédéric Piquionne’s 50th-minute equaliser.
Anelka will have taken great pleasure from proving a point to Avram Grant, the Portsmouth manager. Grant signed Anelka for Chelsea when he was in charge at Stamford Bridge two years ago, but barely played the French striker.
Lampard’s winner will have brought some cheer to his father, Frank Lampard Senior, who lost his job as a coach at Reading yesterday with the departure of manager Brendan Rodgers.
Chelsea’s reliance on this pair of natural goal-scorers will only increase over the coming weeks.
Carlo Ancelotti acknowledged earlier this week that he could be sacked if he fails to win the Premier League or Champions League this season, though even if the club’s resident executioner is called into action for the fifth time in three years the Italian would hope for a better reception in the afterlife than Grant.
The Portsmouth manager’s welcome on his first return to the club was as warm as the weather, with a handful of boos piercing the half-hearted round of applause. Some Chelsea fans are clearly labouring under the delusion that they reach the Champions League final on a regular basis, rather than once in 104 years.
Grant’s status at Fratton Park is similarly ambiguous at present, though he has clearly stiffened Portsmouth’s resolve in just four matches in charge, despite the south coast club remaining bottom of the table.
His defensive tactics in selecting a side featuring five central midfield players, no wingers and just one striker, succeeded in stifling Chelsea for long spells, while the visitors occasionally threatened on the counter-attack.
Chelsea’s frustration at the wall of white shirts in front of them was growing before they took the lead through Anelka in the 23rd minute.
Alex was clearly determined to make an impact on his return from a groin injury, somehow skipping his way to the right by-line and crossing accurately for Anelka to sidefoot his eighth goal of the season.
The 29-year-old was played out of position on the right wing on the rare occasions he was selected by Grant and scored just one league goal for him, ironically against Portsmouth, so will have enjoyed providing a timely reminder of his finishing ability.
Chelsea’s relatively early goal exposed the one flaw in Grant’s plan, as with only one attacking player on the pitch and few others on the bench Portsmouth were left with nowhere to go. The siege of the Shed End continued for the rest of the first half, with Alex blasting a free-kick wide and Ashley Cole hitting the post.
But Portsmouth survived and fought their way back into the game. Piquionne had brought a good save from Petr Cech — who remains rather too eager to rush off his line at the first opportunity — before he was gifted a goal at the start of the second half. Ancelotti has attributed Chelsea’s ongoing defensive weaknesses to a mixture of poor concentration and rank bad luck rather than technical problems and, judging by Portsmouth’s equaliser, he may have a point.
Jamie O’Hara’s free-kick was fired straight at Kalou before taking a deflection off Cole’s back into the path of Piquionne, who could not miss from six yards out. Not for the first time this season Cech was helpless, although on this occasion he was utterly blameless.
Ancelotti responded by bringing on Joe Cole for the ineffectual Deco and replacing Mikel with Florent Malouda, though the initial impact was to spread panic amongst his players. Chelsea became unnecessarily anxious, not the best way to combat a packed defence.
The best they could muster for a long period was shots from distance, with goalkeeper Asmir Begovic making good saves from Branislav Ivanovic and Lampard from outside the penalty area. Just when it seemed Chelsea’s winless streak would extend to five matches for the first time in three years, Mark Wilson fouled Ivanovic in the penalty area in the 79th minute.
Following a rare miss from the spot against Manchester City 11 days ago Lampard made no mistake this time, firing his seventh goal of the season.
The previous occasion Lampard scored a penalty in front of Grant was in Chelsea’s thrilling 3-2 Champions League semi-final win over Liverpool, the high point of the Israeli’s reign. But the only certainty on an unpredictable night was that the former manager would fulfil his habitual role as a plucky loser.

Chelsea (4-1-3-2): P Cech — B Ivanovic, Alex, J Terry, A Cole — J Obi Mikel (sub: F Malouda, 64min) — M Ballack, Deco (sub: J Cole, 58), F Lampard — N Anelka, S Kalou (sub: F Borini, 72). Substitutes not used: Hilário, R Carvalho, Y Zhirkov, P Ferreira.

Portsmouth (4-1-4-1): A Begovic — S Finnan, T Ben-Haim, M Wilson, H Hreidarsson — A Mokoena (sub: J Utaka, 85) — K-P Boateng, P Bouba Diop (sub: R Hughes, 60), H Mullins, J O’Hara — F Piquionne (sub: A Dindane, 71). Substitutes not used: J Ashdown, A Vanden Borre, H Yebda, N Belhadj.

Referee: M Clattenburg.

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Independent:
Lampard gets Blues off hook
Chelsea 2 Portsmouth 1
By Mark Fleming

A point made, if not quite a point taken. Avram Grant returned to his former club and saw his Portsmouth team give Chelsea a terrible fright, although in the end they were unable to hold on for an unlikely draw.
Grant still feels aggrieved that he was sacked as manager by Chelsea's owner, Roman Abramovich, after losing the Champions League final in a penalty shoot-out. He was given a lukewarm welcome from the Chelsea supporters before the game, but he could leave with his head held high.
Chelsea's defending was once again worse than shambolic. They conceded a soft goal in the 51st minute from Frédéric Piquionne that put the scores level, and were fortunate not to let in two more in the following 10 minutes as hesitation and panic became the order of the day.
As frustration grew among the fans in the blue seats, it was Frank Lampard who kept a cool head, putting his penalty miss at Manchester City behind him with a thumping finish from the spot that gives Chelsea their first win in five games and reinstates their three-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
Carlo Ancelotti was a relieved man, despite Chelsea's shaky moments. "The only important thing was to win," the Chelsea manager said. "After four games without a victory, and when Portsmouth equalised, we didn't have confidence that we would win the game. We did a good job, but not a beautiful job."
Chelsea were missing Didier Drogba, who has a back injury, and had their leading scorer been fit to start, the game could have been dead and buried by half-time. Lampard, Nicolas Anelka, Salomon Kalou and Michael Ballack all went close before Anelka put Chelsea ahead in the 23rd minute. Alex was recalled to the side in place of Ricardo Carvalho in the hope he would bring greater defensive composure. But the Brazilian made his presence felt in attack, popping up on the right wing to centre for the unmarked Anelka to score.
It was a poignant moment for Anelka, who had been brought to Chelsea by Grant but then was rarely picked by a manager who admitted he did not rate him. Anelka is due to open talks on a new contract with Chelsea in the coming days, and two goals in his last two games can only strengthen his bargaining position.
The Portsmouth goalkeeper Asmir Begovic saved well from Lampard as Chelsea continued their steady pounding of the visitors' goal. But that all ended abruptly when Portsmouth snatched an equaliser.
Chelsea's crisis of confidence in defence was exposed six minutes into the second half. John Terry conceded a free-kick 25 yards from goal, which Jamie O'Hara fired into the Chelsea wall. The ball then ricocheted off Kalou and hit Ashley Cole before dropping kindly to Piquionne, who smashed the ball past Petr Cech with glee for his fifth goal of the season.
The goal sparked a remarkable spell for Chelsea, who became nervy and could have conceded two more in the next 10 minutes. O'Hara slipped past Terry and crossed for Kevin-Prince Boateng who dwelled too long on the ball, allowing Ashley Cole to tackle. Then Boateng got away from Terry but, with only Cech to beat, he lost his footing on the sodden turf and spooned his shot into the crowd.
Ancelotti rang the changes to try to wrest back the initiative, and it worked. Chelsea managed to pin Portsmouth back, and after 79 minutes the pressure told, with the right-back Branislav Ivanovic tearing into the Portsmouth penalty area only to be upended by Marc Wilson for a clear penalty.
Lampard stepped up, having missed his most recent attempt from 12 yards in the club's 2-1 defeat at Manchester City. If Lampard felt the pressure, he did not show it as he blasted his kick high into the middle of the goal.
"It was a pity because I didn't see how Chelsea were going to score," Grant said. He was, however, pleased with his side's overall performance. "We played well. We played against a team who are very strong at home. But they didn't create many chances and in the second half we had two big chances. But they scored a goal from no chance really. The result is disappointing but the performance was good."
Of the penalty, Grant said: "Of course it was a penalty. Marc is a very good young player but sometimes inexperience costs. He made a mistake but he is a very good player."
The goal meant that Grant lost a game at Stamford Bridge for the first time, as Chelsea never lost a home game during his eight-month reign at the club. Yet it also confirmed the club's perception that he is one of the game's nearly men.

Chelsea (4-1-2-1-2): Cech; Ivanovic, Terry, Alex, A Cole; Mikel (Malouda, 64); Ballack, Lampard; Deco (J Cole, 58); Anelka, Kalou (Borini, 72). Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Carvalho, Zhirkov, Ferreira.

Portsmouth (4-5-1): Begovic; Finnan, Ben Haim, Wilson, Hreidarsson; Boateng, Diop (Hughes, 60), Mokoena (Utaka, 85), Mullins, O'Hara; Piquionne (Dindane, 71). Substitutes not used: Ashdown (gk), Vanden Borre, Yebda, Belhadj

Referee: M Clattenburg (Co Durham).
Man of the match: Anelka.
Attendance: 40,137.

Meanwhile for Mrs Terry... Mrs T trots off
As husband John Terry was getting ready to tackle Portsmouth last night, down the road at Olympia his wife, Toni, was facing a test of her own, performing dressage in front of a demanding capacity crowd at the London International Horse Show.


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Telegraph:
Chelsea 2 Portsmouth 1

By Jason Burt at Stamford Bridge

Avram Grant last presided over an evening of deep frustration for Chelsea in the pouring rain a year and a half ago in Moscow. He nearly witnessed another on Wednesday night.
Only this time he was in the opposing dug-out. What a return of infinite satisfaction it almost was for the man sacked after Russia.
Instead a late penalty from Frank Lampard restored Chelsea’s three-point advantage at the head of the Premier League and secured a first victory in five matches.
Not that Carlo Ancelotti’s side were convincing. This was not the stuff of champions as they needlessly turned a would-be procession into a night of frayed nerves. In heavy weather they made heavy weather of it
There were seven changes for Portsmouth but not a whiff of a Wolves whimper.
Most of the alterations were enforced — illness and suspension — while some players were brought back having recovered from the virus that has swept the club.
Surely, anyway, Grant would not capitulate after being given such an obvious chance to show Chelsea they were wrong to dismiss him?
The reception afforded was polite enough even if it was peppered with a couple of boos — extraordinary in a way given this is the man who did, whatever the debate over his questionable input, take them to their first and, so far, only Champions League Final.
If that response was muted then Ancelotti certainly gained the reaction he wanted from his team. From the start at least.
They tore out of the blocks and seized the initiative. An early Nicolas Anelka shot fizzed narrowly wide before Salomon Kalou — included in place of Didier Drogba who was nursing a sore back — met Michael Ballack’s flick-on from a corner only to get under the ball and head over from just four yards out.
It forced Portsmouth back. Not that they showed much ambition. Grant had packed his team with toilers and asked them to defend the edge of the penalty area — or even deeper — and with little, or no, width.
Still Chelsea found it difficult or did until Anelka broke through. The goal followed a powerful run by Alex, fit and restored to central defence in place of Ricardo Carvalho, who forced his way into the area down the right and pulled the ball back.
The cross took a slight deflection but Anelka swept it into the net in one smooth movement, the effort glancing in off the near post. It was richly satisfying for Anelka who was signed by Grant, of course, for £15 million but felt misused by the then manager, often relegated to the wing and deprived of opportunities.
When Portsmouth did break and Frederic Piquionne fired in a low shot from outside the area, Petr Cech spilled it, albeit the conditions were wet and greasy, and the rebound fell to Hermann Hreidarsson as the defence froze.
The left-back should have scored, but was unable to get his foot around the ball and the chance was lost.
For Chelsea, Alex struck a free-kick, fierce enough, but wide and Lampard, making a 300th league appearance fot the club, almost squeezed a shot beyond Asmir Begovic — in for David James who was ill - as they again failed to exploit their clear superiority.
Ashley Cole went closer, collecting Lampard’s back-heel, checking back onto his left foot and striking a low shot across goal and just beyond the far post.
Ancelotti’s frustration grew. Chelsea’s pace lessened. And Portsmouth scored. A free-kick was conceded by John Terry and Jamie O’Hara struck it into the wall — it deflected off Kalou and then Ashley Cole and straight to Piquionne who drove his shot beyond Cech. It was outrageously fortuitous.
But it was also the 12th goal — out of 14 — in the league conceded by Chelsea from a set-piece.
Back came Chelsea. Begovic beat out Branislav Ivanovic’s drive and Ballack headed onto the roof of the net, but only Ashley Cole’s desperate tackle stopped Kevin-Prince Boateng.
The game had been turned on its head and Chelsea suddenly appeared panicky. They needed a slice of fortune and Marc Wilson gave it to them, sliding in rashly to bring down Ivanovic just inside the area.
Lampard smashed the penalty high beyond the goalkeeper and the relief was palpable.

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Guardian:

Frank Lampard on spot to spoil Avram Grant's Chelsea return

Chelsea 2 Anelka 23, Lampard (pen) 79 Portsmouth 1 Piquionne 51
Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge

Some things never change. Avram Grant left Chelsea tonight with nothing other than sympathy to cling to and another Chelsea penalty to curse. The league leaders had re-established their advantage at the top here somewhat fortuitously at his Portsmouth side's expense. At least the last time the Israeli was dismissed from these parts there had been the promise of a pay-off to sweeten his exit.
It is almost 19 months since Grant took the Londoners to within one penalty kick of their first Champions League trophy in Moscow and, where that one was fluffed by John Terry, here the Israeli was left deflated by a conversion. Frustration had been welling in home ranks at Pompey's rugged resistance when, 11 minutes from time, Marc Wilson panicked and slid in crudely on Branislav Ivanovic to puncture his own team's chances of an unlikely point by sending the Serb plunging.
The spot kick was clear, and converted emphatically by Frank Lampard. The last time Grant witnessed the England midfielder scoring a penalty at Stamford Bridge had been in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Liverpool in the spring of 2008. He had sunk to his knees in delirious celebration on that occasion, with passage to Moscow beckoning. This time the 54-year-old was left with head hung and the potential ignominy of the Championship, rather than Champions League spoils, to come.
He took what positives he could from defeat: a warm reception in the most part from the home fans, a valiant team performance from his new side and, almost, an unexpected point. "We closed them down, made sure they didn't create too many chances, and if the result was disappointing then the performance was good," said Grant. "The reception was touching. It made my heart warm that people respect the great year we had at this club (in 2007-08 under his leadership). But we are bottom, they are top, and you couldn't see a big difference."
Chelsea were aware of how uncomfortable it all felt. This victory may have curtailed a four-match sequence without a win, but it was a stodgy and, at times, desperate display. Denied Didier Drogba by a back injury, their forward line lacked muscle despite Nicolas Anelka's menace. At the back, they remain uncharacteristically fragile. The goal shipped to Frédéric Piquionne six minutes after the interval was outrageous, Jamie O'Hara's free-kick deflecting first from Salomon Kalou and then from Ashley Cole into the Frenchman's path, but it was the 12th goal from a set-piece among the 14 conceded this term.
Terry had admitted in his programme notes that the set-piece defending in Saturday's 3-3 draw with Everton had been "unacceptable". Pompey, too, might have prospered here in the driving sleet had they retained more composure in front of goal, with Carlo Ancelotti bemoaning a lack of communication between his own charges at times. On the break the visitors' threat was sporadic, Hermann Hreidarsson failing to convert from close-range after Petr Cech had parried Piquionne's attempt, and Tal Ben Haim flicking over the bar, but a combination of occasional vulnerability at the back and profligacy at the other end might have cost the hosts yet more points.
This was messy, but the inquest has been staved off with a chance to impose themselves – most likely with Drogba fit and fresh – at West Ham on Sunday. "We did a good job, not a beautiful job," said Ancelotti. "There were 15 minutes in the second half after they had equalised when we lost our composure. We were afraid of drawing the game and lost our idea to play. But we reacted well and, in the end, deserved to win. That was the most important thing: to win after four games without a victory."
The hosts might have capitalised more comfortably against a re-shaped Pompey line-up, with injuries and illness prompting seven changes from the draw at Sunderland, but Anelka's was the only reward taken from the early pressure. Kalou had nodded awkwardly over an empty net, unnerved by Steve Finnan's presence, by the time Alex barged his way beyond Wilson to the by-line and pulled back for Anelka to convert.
The Frenchman had scored only one league goal for Grant following a £15m move from Bolton, also against Portsmouth, and had ended up missing the last penalty in the Champions League final. Asmir Begovic's excellence kept him at bay thereafter, and might have earned the visitors their draw, until Grant endured his cruel finale.

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Mail:

Chelsea 2 Portsmouth 1:

Frank Lampard's late penalty spoils Avram Grant's return

Neil Moxley

Not for the first time in his career, Avram Grant had reason to rue the outcome of a Chelsea penalty as Frank Lampard proved he really is a man for all seasons.The manager who saw his finest hour snatched away in Moscow, when John Terry's slip cost Chelsea the 2008 Champions League final, was once again put through a spot-kick nightmare as cracks continued to appear in Carlo Ancelotti's masterplan.
This time, with Grant sat in the visitors' dug-out, there were no fluffed lines from Chelsea at the death. Lampard's winning penalty, 11 minutes from time, won't rank as a highlight of Ancelotti's first season in charge, but it could turn out to be hugely significant.Against the backdrop of a winless four-match streak, another set-piece equaliser conceded and the clock ticking down against the division's bottom team, Lampard's latest intervention could have an enormous bearing.Remember, too, that the England midfielder - the man who never misses - blotted his copybook recently when last asked a question from 12 yards at the City of Manchester Stadium.
So, all things considered, a victory without the talismanic Didier Drogba should not be scoffed at, particularly as Ancelotti's side left it late, without totally convincing anyone that they could land the killer blow.
However, cometh the hour, cometh Lampard. He has played through barbs for club and country.No hiding place for Frank when Mark Clattenburg pointed to the spot after an horrendous error of judgment by Marc Wilson. The Chelsea man stepped up and the points were counted.'We lost our composure for 15 minutes after their goal,' said Ancelotti. 'It became a difficult game for us. After that, we did OK. After four games without a win, the confidence was not there.
'But we showed a good reaction and closed the game down well. In the end, it was an important game to win. We did a good job, not a beautiful one.'It was possible to feel a shred of sympathy for Grant. Dumped unceremoniously after taking Chelsea to within a kick of being crowned the champions of Europe, revenge was on the cards here. It would have been all the sweeter, too, for the manner of the Pompey goal. It was a major fluke.A free-kick 30 yards out, after Terry had fouled Kevin-Prince Boateng, was taken by Jamie O'Hara. It did not have sufficient power to beat Cech, but deflected off Kalou's hand, into Ashley Cole's face and on to Piquionne.
The bounce favoured the forward and he lashed the ball into the roof of the net with relish. Twelve out of the last 14 goals conceded by Chelsea have now come as a result of set pieces.What started out as an uncomfortable blip now looks like turning into a nasty habit that is threatening to undermine Ancelotti's title chances.
Until then, however, Chelsea had been heading for a routine victory. After a few near misses, the opener arrived via an unorthodox source, although it was scored by an orthodox one.
For some reason, centre back Alex had loitered out to the right and he was near the corner flag when he worked the ball out of that tight spot.
Wilson had been dragged there by the Brazilian and was soon left trailing as the defender ran along the by-line. Anelka pulled away from the near post and the defender's pass ended at the Frenchman's feet thanks to a deflection off Tal Ben Haim.Soon, the trademark doves were flying as Anelka celebrated sweeping the ball into the bottom corner for his eighth goal of the season.Piquionne had forced Petr Cech into a smart stop 10 minutes before the interval in Pompey's only real attack of note until that point. But the pattern changed five minutes into the second half when the visitors' lone forward struck.It brought a stinging response. Joe Cole was thrown on, as was Florent Malouda. Still no breakthrough came for an increasingly agitated home crowd. Branislav Ivanovic stung Asmir Begovic's fingers with a fierce drive, but his next contribution was to have a lasting effect.He pushed the ball forwards, inviting the tackle on a horribly slippery turf. Wilson needed only to be a fraction out with the timing of his lunge. He was more than a little late and the big defender was sent sprawling.Grant said: 'Marc is a young player and a very good one. But it costs to get that experience. It was a mistake and a pity for us because I couldn't see how Chelsea would score. The result was disappointing but the performance wasn't. It was top versus bottom but I couldn't see a big difference.'This was Grant's first time on the losing side at Stamford Bridge. For half-an-hour, there seemed every chance his record would stay intact. Then the nerveless Lampard stepped forward.
Match facts and stats Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech 6; Ivanovic 6, Alex 6, Terry 5, Cole 6; Mikel 5 (Malouda 64, 6), Deco 5 (Cole 58, 6), Lampard 6, Ballack 7; Anelka 6, Kalou 5 (Borini 71, 5).
Portsmouth (4-5-1): Begovic 8; Finnan 6, Ben Haim 6, Wilson 6, Hreidarsson 6; Boateng 6, Mokoena 7, Diop 6 (Hughes 60, 6), Mullins 7, O’Hara 8; Piquionne 6 (Dindane 71, 6).
Man of the match: Asmir Begovic.

Referee: Mark Clattenburg.

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Sun:

Chelsea 2 Portsmouth 1

MARK IRWIN at Stamford Bridge

IF Wolves' reserve team losing at Old Trafford merits a letter from the Premier League, this result deserves a whole book.
But this time it is the WINNERS who should be the subject of an inquiry.
For how the hell can the side leading the so-called strongest league in the world struggle so miserably against the team propping up the table?
At least Mick McCarthy's shadow side surrendered tamely against Manchester United.
Avram Grant also rested the majority of his team from the weekend, yet still had nearly enough to get a result.
For Grant, making his first return to the club who sacked him 19 months ago, this was the ultimate vindication of his managerial abilities.
For Carlo Ancelotti, who for almost half an hour was staring down the barrel of his fifth successive game without a win, it was confirmation of his growing concerns.
The Chelsea boss promised after Saturday's 3-3 draw with Everton that he would give his under-performing superstars the electric shock treatment and an order to get lost if they did not stop the rot soon.
Time to get out the cattle prod, Carlo, and tell a few of them to 'F*** off!'
For even Frank Lampard's 79th-minute penalty winner could not paper over the cracks starting to open all over Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea might still lead the table by three points from United but they look anything but champions right now.
This was as unconvincing a victory as it is possible to imagine against a team in such dire straits as Portsmouth.
Grant rested seven of the team which pinched a draw at Sunderland at the weekend, yet still gave his former club the mother of all scares.
Chelsea were again all over the place at the back and a bundle of nerves at every set-piece.
So it was hardly a shock that Portsmouth's 51st-minute equaliser came as a direct consequence of the Blues' failure to deal with a dead ball.
Jamie O'Hara's free-kick flew straight into the defensive wall, catching Ashley Cole by surprise as the ball cannoned off his head straight to the unmarked Frederic Piquionne. The grateful Frenchman could hardly believe his luck as he smashed his shot past Petr Cech.
Ancelotti hauled off the unconvincing Deco, Jon Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou in quick succession. And this time the changes had the desired effect, as poor old Pompey finally cracked under the late pressure.
Branislav Ivanovic's charge into the danger area was halted by an ill-timed challenge from Marc Wilson. Lampard converted from the spot.
The England midfielder had missed his last effort from 12 yards in the defeat at Manchester City but held his nerve this time to get his team back on track.
And, at long last, Chelsea were able to hold on to their lead long enough to claim all three points.
They had already surrendered the advantage once after Nicolas Anelka had fired them ahead in the 23rd minute.
Grant always knew the Frenchman would score goals for Chelsea. What a pity he did not start a bit sooner.
It was Grant who brought Anelka to the Bridge in a £15million deal from Bolton in January 2008. But in his first season at the club the moody Frenchman managed just two goals for the man who signed him.
To make matters worse, it was Anelka's miss in the penalty shootout which helped condemn Chelsea to defeat by Manchester United in the Champions League final - and sealed Grant's fate.
Three days after the retreat from Moscow, Grant was sacked.
You could have put your house on Anelka scoring a goal to keep poor Pompey rooted to the foot of the Premier League table - and he did not disappoint.
Peeling off in a crowded area, he was perfectly placed to sidefoot home from Alex's pull-back for his eighth goal of the season.
What a way to mark his 100th appearance for Chelsea. What a way to show his gratitude to Grant.

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everton 3-3

Independent :
Drogba double makes point for leaky leaders
Chelsea 3 Everton 3: Everton cash in as Chelsea offer little defence from set-pieces and Cech's nightmare spell continues
By Steve Tongue at Stamford Bridge

Roman Abramovich wanted more entertainment, but this was surely not quite what he had in mind. The blue meanies who went 10 home games without conceding a goal have suddenly become blue Santas, surrendering five in two games at Stamford Bridge and 10 in four overall.
None of those matches have been won, which offered Manchester United the chance to draw level on points at the top of the Premier League last night, only for them to blow the chance against Aston Villa.
The other significant statistic is the number of goals being conceded from set-pieces, which has reached ridiculous proportions: well over 80 per cent in the League this season. Yesterday, Everton's severely depleted side scored from two free-kicks and a throw-in from the five chances they created all afternoon. David Moyes claimed not to have targeted Chelsea in that area, which raised the question of what would have happened if he had. Everton's manager preferred to dwell on the "great resilience and endeavour" that had earned "a great draw", and the outstanding performance of his centre-forward Louis Saha.
Carlo Ancelotti was surprisingly relaxed, claiming his team were unlucky and that he had not lost trust in players he had earlier said were in the last-chance saloon. "I don't think we are in a crisis," he insisted, blaming the set-piece calamities on defenders dropping too deep and hindering Petr Cech – a classic symptom of not trusting a goalkeeper to come and claim the ball.
"We had the same problem against Aston Villa and worked on it and improved, and we must do the same again," Ancelotti said. "We have the same possibility to win the title. It will be a long race."
For those who had been at the Champions' League game against Apoel Nicosia on Tuesday, it was déjà vu all over again. Once more the visitors started unexpectedly well and scored an early goal, only for Chelsea to negate it and then go ahead themselves with only a quarter of the game played. Again, the defending was inadequate to protect the lead; where it took the Cypriot champions until the final knockings to draw level, Everton did so right at the end of an eventful first half, with the substitute Yakubu Aiyegbeni's first touch. The twist was that even after moving in front once more, Chelsea could stay there for no longer than four minutes.
Every time the ball went in the air, they looked likely to concede. Leighton Baines' free-kicks were a particular source of danger, which made it all the more foolish to keep conceding them. After 12 minutes, Saha headed on, the ball bouncing on to a post and then into the net off Cech, who is enduring a horrible run. Ricardo Carvalho burst forward to set up the equaliser within six minutes. He forced the ball to Frank Lampard, whose deft touch allowed Didier Drogba to hammer past Tim Howard.
Six minutes more and it was Everton caught out at a set-piece. Saha, back defending, miskicked at a corner and Branislav Ivanovic found Nicolas Anelka lurking just beyond the far post for a smart chip into the top of the net.
A minute from the interval Everton, already without the suspended Tim Cahill and nearly a dozen others, lost the Brazilian striker Jo, forced off with a hip injury. His replacement, Yakubu, was barely on the pitch when they won a throw deep on the left that Marouane Fellaini flicked on for John Terry to miskick, the ball striking Carvalho and falling to Yakubu's feet for a tap-in.
For the second half there were enough black shirts protecting Everton's goal for a 1930s rally. Yet they were penetrated within quarter of an hour, Ivanovic crossing for Drogba to volley his 18th goal of the season. Within a few minutes there was another shambolic response to a free-kick. John Heitinga hoisted it over and Drogba's header out hit Saha and looped back over the stranded Cech, who berated his team-mate for not giving him sufficient room. It was Everton's only threat of the half, but they smothered Chelsea for the remaining half an hour until Michael Ballack, given an opportunity in added time, drove wide.
Ancelotti had thrown on three substitutes, removing Joe Cole, who was again unable to offer incontrovertible evidence that he should be the man to play in his favoured position just behind the strikers. Drogba and Anelka – 25 goals between them so far – must be wondering how many they need to score to ensure a victory. Others drinking in Ancelotti's last-chance saloon were staggering away from Stamford Bridge with an uncertain gait yesterday evening.
Attendance: 41,579
Referee: Phil Dowd
Man of the match: Drogba
Match rating: 7/10

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Sunday Times
Chelsea feel the heat against EvertonChelsea 3 Everton 3
Nick Townsend at Stamford Bridge
IN FOOTBALL, as in politics, nothing quite concentrates the mind like a diminishing lead. Be it the polls or title leadership, the blue party have recently began to feel the heat.
The pre-match reaction had appeared a little extreme from Chelsea HQ. They still headed their Champions League group, were still Premier League leaders and until Tuesday’s draw against Apoel Nicosia, with a weakened side, they had mustered 12 straight home wins in all competitions. Yet, if Carlo Ancelotti’s rebuke to his men, “this is your last chance”, sounded more like a headmaster admonishing his boys for breaking into the tuck shop than a serious telling-off, there should have been a definite twitching of the metaphorical cane after this performance, which was farcical at times, with some of the country’s finest players incapable of clearing the ball. Chelsea have now failed to win their past four matches and conceded 10 goals.
A period immediately before half-time, with Chelsea looking comfortable at 2-1, only to allow Yakubu, who had just appeared as substitute for the injured Jo and then proceeded to score, reflected the malaise in the home defence.
Ancelotti was sanguine afterwards and denied the situation was reaching crisis proportions. “We deserved to win and I’m happy. Unhappy with the result, but happy with the performance,” said the Chelsea manager. “My players did the maximum, and I haven’t lost trust in my team. I was angry after the match against Nicosia, but not today.”
Everton had not won here in the Premier League since 1994, yet, from the early moments, when the Toffees eased ahead a little fortuitously, there was a sense they could reverse that trend. Goalkeeper Cech, somewhat maligned after his performance at Eastlands last week, denied Jo early on, but after 11 minutes, Leighton Baines’ teasing free kick produced mayhem among the home rearguard, and it was John Terry, leaping with Louis Saha and Marouane Fellaini, who back-headed the ball against a post. Cech merely contrived to touch the ball off his near post into the net.
How would the Londoners react? As potential champions should, one imagined at the time. They duly turned the game round within 11 minutes.
With Ancelotti motioning for a composed reaction to the setback, it was Ricardo Carvalho whose persistence took him deep into the Everton area before passing to Frank Lampard, who set up Didier Drogba to curl a delicious effort past Tim Howard.
Everton didn’t help their own cause in that spell. Within minutes Louis Saha failed to clear a Chelsea attack in his own area, and Branislav Ivanovic pounced, slipping the ball to Nicolas Anelka, who almost nonchantly drilled the ball high into the visitors’ net, with Howard stranded.
David Moyes replaced the injured Jo with Yakubu in a lengthy stoppage time, most of it because of the striker’s earlier injury. But with the hosts evidently contemplating thoughts of a half-time breather, nearly five minutes of added time had elapsed when Fellaini headed on a throw-in. This time Terry was at fault, allowing Baines to prod the ball forward. He struck the prone Carvalho in the process and that allowed Yakubu to beat Cech with ease.
Everton, without the suspended Tim Cahill, had looked, as the interval approached, as though the height of their ambition was to get out of town without a hiding, suddenly realised that there were rewards to be had. But just before the hour, they again failed to clear Lampard’s initial cross, and Ivanovic dinked the ball over for Drogba to volley cleverly past Howard.
Yet again, though, Chelsea were undone at a set-piece. This time, Drogba attempted to head away Johnny Heitinga’s free kick, but succeeded only in clearing the ball into the back of Saha’s head. The ball looped back into an unguarded net with Cech unable to contain his fury.
Chelsea peppered Howard’s goal thereafter, but without real menace, before, in the final seconds Michael Ballack drove wide. It left Moyes claiming: “It was a great draw for us. I would have taken that before the game. Chelsea are in the top two or three in this country and probably the same in Europe. They have very few weaknesses. When we were 2-1 behind, I was really worried how it would end up, but, I tell you what, we showed great resilience and endeavour.”
He added: “We came here today without 10 or 12 players who may all have started in our team, but considering that, we were terrific.” The Everton manager hopes that his injured contingent “will start trickling back in the next three or four weeks.” His counterpart Ancelotti must hope that his team can complete a refresher course on the art of defending.
Star man: Lucas Neill (Everton) Yellow card: Everton: Heitinga Referee: P Dowd Attendance: 41,579
CHELSEA: Cech 5, Ivanovic 6, Carvalho 7 (Belletti 85min), Terry 5, A Cole 7, Mikel 6, Ballack 5 (Borini 88min), J Cole 6 (Malouda 76min), Lampard 6, Anelka 7, Drogba 7
EVERTON: Howard 6, Hibbert 6, Neill 8, Heitinga 6, Baines 7, Pienaar 6, Rodwell 6, Fellaini 6, Bilyaletdinov 6, Saha 7 (Agard 90+4min), Jo 5 (Yakubu 45+3min, 7)

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 3 Everton 3
By Jeremy Wilson at Stamford Bridge

Even the stadium announcer at Stamford Bridge managed to joke about Tiger Woods but, to borrow a golfing phrase, it is Chelsea who are currently suffering an attack of the yips.
After defeats last week against Blackburn and Manchester City, as well as a midweek draw in the Champions League against Apoel Nicosia, Chelsea’s usually reliable defending was undermined by moments of panic, uncertainty and even some internal bickering as Everton scraped their way to an unlikely draw.
Chelsea had gone into the match having conceded just one home league goal in 630 minutes all season. Yesterday, though, their defence was breached three times in 51 minutes as the entire team seemed to suffer a collective nervous breakdown from set-pieces.
Some booing also rang out around Stamford Bridge on the final whistle as Everton ended Chelsea’s perfect home league record. The sight of Petr Cech remonstrating with his team-mates – most notably Didier Drogba – underlined the collective frustration.
“We didn’t win because we made mistakes at set-pieces,” said manager Carlo Ancelotti. “We stayed too close to the goal and Cech was not in a position to catch the ball. We conceded three goals from the same situation and had the same problem against Aston Villa.”
More worrying, a festive curse is again threatening to undermine Chelsea’s season. Last year, of course, they made a similarly promising start under Luiz-Felipe Scolari, yet saw their season unravel with a run of only four wins in 10 league matches prior to the Brazilian’s sacking.
With the African Cup of Nations looming, the extent to which Chelsea are currently reliant upon Didier Drogba, who has now scored 18 goals this season, was again evident. Talk of crisis just now would be an over-reaction, but this is certainly the first real blip of Ancelotti’s reign.
“You can say we are in crisis – I don’t think so,” said Ancelotti, “we have the same possibility to win the title. I don’t lose the trust in my players.”
Recurring questions, however, remain. Chelsea have proved at various stages of the last three seasons that when all fit, focussed and fresh, their best 11 is probably the most powerful and formidable in the country.
Less certain is whether an ageing squad can maintain that level over an entire season, particularly if the team is depleted by injuries as well as the African Cup of Nations.
Chelsea’s African players are due to depart after the game against Fulham on Dec 28 but, even without Drogba, Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou and John-Obi Mikel, Ancelotti remains adamant he will not be buying new players in January. “I would like to say for the last time, we don’t buy anybody – 100 per cent,” he said.
David Moyes had never previously managed Everton to a win against Chelsea but, boosted by the momentum of their unlikely point against Tottenham last week, his team were rewarded for some early adventure.
Frank Lampard had conceded a foul midway inside his own half from which Leighton Baines floated an inviting cross into the penalty area. Not for the first time this season, Chelsea seemed to collectively freeze at a set-piece as Louis Saha’s header cannoned rather fortuitously off the post and into the net via the back of Cech.
The goal, though, seemed to awaken Ancelotti’s team and they responded with a devastating double counter-punch. Ricardo Carvalho skilfully carried the ball out of defence and passed incisively to Lampard, who simply cushioned his pass into the path of Didier Drogba. Without breaking stride, Drogba shot beyond Tim Howard.
Branislav Ivanovic then out-muscled Saha from a Chelsea corner and was able to guide the ball towards Nicolas Anelka, whose finish through a crowded penalty area was both emphatic and precise. It appeared that Chelsea may assume full command but, within seconds of replacing the injured Jo, Yakubu capitalised on further defensive confusion from a set-piece. John Terry had been dispossessed by Baines following a throw-in and the ball then bounced off Carvalho to provide Yakubu with a simple finish.
With Jack Rodwell and Marouane Fellaini providing a muscular presence for Everton in central midfield, Chelsea were struggled to assert their usual physical advantages.
Their superiority, however, was largely evident from open play and they restored their lead in the 59th minute when Drogba converted Branislav Ivanovic’s cross. Yet that lasted only four minutes following more defensive lapses. Cech seemed to hesitate and then Drogba’s attempted clearance bounced off the back of Saha’s head and beyond his own goalkeeper.
Chelsea did pile on the pressure in the closing minutes but, with the exception of an excellent late opportunity for Michael Ballack, they struggled to create clear chances.
“We were without 10 or 12 players who might have been in the first team – I was really worried about how it would end with the team we had out,” said Moyes. “I thought we were immense. It felt like a win and has to be out best result of the season.”

----------------------------------------------------

Observer:
Chelsea held by Everton, despite Didier Drogba's doubleChelsea 3 Drogba 18, Anelka 23, Drogba 59 Everton 3 Cech (og) 12, Yakubu 45, Saha 63
Amy Lawrence at Stamford Bridge

José Mourinho once sneered that matches of this nature produced a "hockey score". The inference was simple. If you want a game with such an absurd see-saw scoreline, with such disrespect for the fine art of stubborn defending, then go and watch another sport.
This was football, but not as Mourinho ever designed it here. The presence of one makeshift back four, and another that was neurotic and error-strewn, made for a contest that was far more open than it should have been. Once upon a time, the classy finishing of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka would have been more than enough to ensure a comfortable three points. But the astonishing vulnerability of Chelsea's rearguard presented Everton with gift after gift. Parking a bus? This was more like a clapped out old Mini Metro in front of the goal.
Since looking so imperious as they crushed Arsenal 3-0 two weeks ago, Carlo Ancelotti's team have now conceded 10 in their last four games, a sequence without a win. Their fear of the set play struck again. On this evidence Chelsea couldn't even catch swine flu in the air.
One of the causes of Chelsea's defensive problems appears to be an inability to win crucial challenges in the penalty area, particularly in the air. The top chalkboard shows the headers they failed to win, including three in key areas inside the box. They won just one aerial duel in their penalty area. The second chalkboard shows the times Chelsea failed to clear the ball both in the air and on the ground. Worryingly, that happened more often than not in their own penalty area. Ancelotti tried to put on a brave face, insisting he was happier with the overall performance than he was last time out against Apoel Nicosia. But he admitted it was back to the drawing board regarding set pieces. "It was the same problem we had at Aston Villa with set plays. We worked the day after and improved. Now we have to do the same."
Even though Chelsea are not in the business of leaking goals at home in the league – the last one came on the opening day of the season – when Everton took an 11th-minute lead the decisive blow was delivered by Chelsea themselves in what was effectively a double own goal.
Leighton Baines's lofted free-kick dipped into the heart of the penalty area, and under pressure from the excellent Louis Saha, John Terry's glancing header bounced off a post, ricocheted off the back of a confused Petr Cech, and fell inside the goal to Everton's great surprise. Bonus time.
Everton unravelled almost immediately. Two goals in a five-minute spell appeared to put Chelsea's universe back in order. First Frank Lampard dinked a pass into the path of Drogba, who curled the ball exquisitely past Tim Howard. Then Branislav Ivanovic found Anelka, and the Frenchman found the perfect angle to poke Chelsea's second through a flurry of fraught defenders.
Saha ensured Everton would not cave in by winning the aerial battle all afternoon. The striker was duly praised by David Moyes, as being "in a class of his own". Saha's sidekick Jô limped off just before the break, but it was a blessing in disguise as his replacement, Yakubu, produced an instinctive finish to equalise in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Chelsea responded with a period of pressing that had Everton pinned back. A goal felt inevitable, and just before the hour mark Drogba pounced again, volleying in Ivanovic's long cross with a thrash of his right boot.
But back came Everton with another freakish goal. Drogba attacked John Heitinga's free-kick but his attempted clearance rebounded off the back of Saha's head and looped over an increasingly bewildered Cech.
Everton held out for a creditable, if slightly extraordinary, point to cherish all the way home. "It was our best result of the season," said Moyes, who for the second consecutive weekend salvaged a difficult circumstances. "In a way both felt like wins. For what we have to play with they are terrific results. I was really worried about the team we had out before the game. We came without 10 or 12 players that might play, and the boys deserve great credit. Immense."
Ancelotti refused to blink regarding the title race. "You can say we are in a crisis but I don't think so. I don't lose the trust in my players and my team."
He confirmed that he does not intend to spend in January, stressing, "we buy nobody, 100 per cent". After what he saw, he could do with his defenders repaying that trust.
THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT
Karen Childs, Observer reader After the goals we have conceded recently, I did wonder how we would cope with Saha and Fellaini... and we didn't. Everton are tough and very resistant and they exploited a weakness down our right, taking advantage of Ivanovic's tendency to push forward. The Cech own goal was a joke. He didn't play well at all and neither did Lampard. Our form is mixed and the injury to Essien has had a big impact. Six or seven weeks is a long time to be out. Even though we dropped two points, I was disgusted with some of our fans, who booed the team at the end.
The fan's player ratings Cech 4; Ivanovic 6, Carvalho 7 (Belletti 85 n/a), Terry 7, A Cole 6; Ballack 6, Mikel 5 (Borini 88 n/a), Lampard 5; J Cole 6 (Malouda 75 6); Anelka 7, Drogba 8
Steve Jones, BlueKipper.com Father Christmas is an Evertonian. What more can I say. We were fearing the worst, with all the injuries we have. Some of the names on the Everton bench we didn't know. Chelsea's back four seem to have become very hesitant and we were throwing in crosses and looking dangerous. Taking the lead with a lucky goal was great, but then Chelsea overran us. But the injury to Jo proved a blessing. Yakubu came on and within two minutes he'd made it 2-2. We deserved to get something and this performance might kick-start our season.
The fan's player ratings Howard 7; Hibbert 7, Neill 8, Heitinga 7, Baines 7; Pienaar 6, Rodwell 6, Fellaini 6, Bilyaletdinov 5; Jô 4 (Yakubu 45 7), Saha 8 (Agard 90)

apoel 2-2

Independent:

Apoel add to Ancelotti jitters
Chelsea 2 Apoel Nicosia 2

By Mark Fleming

Carlo Ancelotti is rapidly finding out that managing Chelsea is not quite so easy after all. The Italian had a face like fury after his team conceded a late equaliser to Cypriot side Apoel Nicosia. He didn't mince his words either after seeing his Chelsea team follow defeats to Blackburn and Manchester City with a tame draw against possibly the worst team in this season's Champions League.
"Too soft," he said. "It's a psychological thing," he added. This describing the team that only nine days earlier had been hailed as virtual champions after they bullied poor Arsenal and came away from the Emirates with an emphatic 3-0 victory.
Ancelotti's fury was understandable. Chelsea dominated the game, scored twice, had two goals struck off by the referee Matteo Trefoloni and hit the bar, yet they still allowed the substitute Nenad Mirosavljevic to sneak a late equaliser to send the 3,000 Cypriot fans inside Stamford Bridge into wild celebration.
The Italian said: "This was the poorest we have played this season. It was not a good evening. In the second half we lost intensity, we lost concentration, we played too slowly and too soft. For this, I'm not happy. I'm unhappy because we have to play 90 minutes with intensity and concentration. It's not important about the result. It's important to play our best every game. Tonight was not like you want. It's right that Apoel drew the game."
Ancelotti, however, has to take his share of the blame, as his policy of rotating his players had some part to play in the disappointing result. He made seven changes from the side that lost 2-1 to Manchester City on Saturday, giving starting debuts to the midfield prodigy Gaël Kakuta and goalkeeper Ross Turnbull.
The Italian's rotation policy has seen him use 29 players this season. It was little wonder, then, that Chelsea began the match playing like strangers.
In recent weeks Ancelotti has been likened to his predecessors as manager – Luiz Felipe Scolari when Chelsea lose and Special One Jose Mourinho when they win. But increasingly he is coming to resemble his fellow countryman Claudio Ranieri with his desire to chop and change his side from one game to the next.
The performance of Kakuta, who was bright and inventive throughout, shone on a disappointing night for Chelsea. His touch was superb, and his confidence had clearly survived the embarrassment of missing the vital penalty in last week's shootout at Blackburn in the Carling Cup quarter-final.
It was his vision that was the most impressive component of his game, far greater than would perhaps be expected of one so young. Kakuta has the happy knack of making the right decision, playing the right ball, even when in the tightest of situations.
"Kakuta is the only one good thing for tonight," Ancelotti said. "He played well. He showed his talent, did some fantastic passes and one for the second goal. We have to look at him, stay calm, but I think he will be the future of Chelsea."
Chelsea started poorly. The back four were guilty of ball-watching in the sixth minute when Marcin Zewlakow received a cross from Constantinos Charalambides and scored at Turnbull's near post. The travelling fans, decked out in luminous orange shirts, went mad. In contrast the home supporters were silent, it being the first goal Chelsea had conceded at Stamford Bridge for a remarkable 968 minutes, since Hull's Stephen Hunt scored on the opening day of the season.
Apoel's strike served only to rouse Chelsea from their slumber. Joe Cole's header was ruled offside, but Michael Essien's strike from nearly 30 yards pulled them level.
Sadly for Essien, the Ghanaian was forced to limp out of the contest four minutes later with a hamstring injury which will rule him out of Saturday's match with Everton. Yuri Zhirkov then set up Didier Drogba to put Chelsea ahead in the 26th minute and the Premier League leaders should have gone on to score a couple more.
But it never quite happened. Joe Cole hit the bar with a speculative effort and John Terry had a goal disallowed for offside, but by and large Chelsea failed to threaten the Apoel goal. Their punishment came with three minutes left. John Obi Mikel tried to pass to Terry and substitute Mirosavljevic intercepted the ball before firing it past Turnbull in the Chelsea goal. Mikel hung his head in shame as Apoel players celebrated in front of their joyous supporters. Chelsea must show a vast improvement come on Saturday.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Turnbull; Belletti, Carvalho, Terry, Zhirkov; Essien (Lampard, 26), Mikel; Kakuta (Borini, 73), J Cole, Malouda; Drogba. Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Ivanovic, Anelka, Bruma, Philliskirk

Apoel Nicosia (4-5-1): Chiotis; Poursaitides, Paulo Jorge, Broerse, Haxhi (Elia, 34); Kosowski (Mirosavljevic, 71), Michail, Pinto, Morais, Charalambides; Zewlakow (Breska, 82). Substitutes not used: Kissas (gk), Papathanasiou, Satsias, Elia, Paulista.
Referee: M Trefoloni (Italy).

Group D
Results: Chelsea 1 Porto 0, Atletico Madrid 0 Apoel Nicosia 0; Porto 2 Atletico Madrid 0, Apoel Nicosia 0 Chelsea 1; Porto 2 Apoel Nicosia 1, Chelsea 4 Atletico Madrid 0; Apoel Nicosia 0 Porto 1, Atletico Madrid 2 Chelsea 2; Apoel Nicosia 1 Atletico Madrid 1, Porto 0 Chelsea 1; Atletico Madrid 0 Porto 3, Chelsea 2 Apoel Nicosia 2.

Chelsea's possible round of 16 opponents: Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow, Milan, Fiorentina/Lyons, Barcelona/Internazionale/Rubin Kazan/Dynamo Kiev, Seville/Unirea Urziceni/Stuttgart, Olympiakos/Standard Liège.

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The Times

Gaël Kakuta shines but defensive lapses a worry for Chelsea and Carlo Ancelotti

Chelsea 2 Apoel 2

Matt Hughes, Deputy Football Correspondent

In his programme notes, John Terry described Saturday’s defeat by Manchester City as a wake-up call, but it went unheeded.
A particularly dozy piece of defending by John Obi Mikel enabled Nenad Mirosavljevic to score a late equalising goal that took Apoel into the Europa League. However, of greater significance was another poor performance from Chelsea that led Carlo Ancelotti to question their professionalism and mental strength.
The manager was brought to Chelsea to get his hands on the Champions League trophy, having won the competition twice as the coach of AC Milan, but on this evidence his side would have been better off dropping into the Europa League themselves.
The Italian admitted as much, launching an uncharacteristically strong attack on his players for a performance he derided as soft and the worst of his tenure. Given the looks on their faces as they stormed off the pitch in the driving rain at the final whistle, it appeared as if they did not need telling.
Chelsea remain top of the Barclays Premier League and have qualified for the next stage of the Champions League as group winners — to put this in context, Juventus went out last night and Inter Milan could join them this evening — so this blip cannot yet be characterised as the type of crisis that grips Stamford Bridge on an annual basis, but something is not right. In the past seven days Chelsea have conceded seven goals in failing to win three matches in three different competitions, a level of performance that will not be rewarded with silverware at the end of the season.
Ancelotti claimed that the praise lavished on his players after they demolished Arsenal ten days ago had not gone to their heads, although he was on surer ground when conceding that last night’s problem was psychological. Complacency has crept in. How else to explain the loss of two goals at each end of a game in which otherwise their dominance was manifest?
The tone for the evening was set by the club’s preening pre-match announcer, who, in a show of hubris that rebounded in his face, declared that Chelsea were going for a club-record eleventh successive home clean sheet.
Terry had also claimed in the programme that defeat by City was “not what Chelsea are about” — a description that could be aptly applied to Apoel’s opening goal, particularly because the captain was culpable. Constantinos Charalambides’s ball down the left caught Terry out of position, with Marcin Zewlakow beating the onrushing Ross Turnbull. It was the first goal Chelsea have conceded at Stamford Bridge since the opening day of the season.
Turnbull was deserving of considerable sympathy on his full debut for the club and he could not be blamed for Apoel’s 87th-minute equalising goal, either. Mikel lingered too long in possession after receiving the ball from Terry, with Mirosavljevic nicking it off his toes and calmly beating the former Middlesbrough goalkeeper from close range.
Chelsea dominated as well they should against such minnows in between those defensive lapses, without showing the killer instinct expected of potential champions. Michael Essien brought them back into the game with a stunning 25-yard drive in the nineteenth minute before limping off with a hamstring injury, but much of their best play was inspired by Gaël Kakuta. For better or worse, Kakuta appears to be attracted to the limelight like a moth to a flame, and he took advantage of a rare chance to impress before the club’s appeal against his four-month ban is heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport next year.
The 18-year-old possesses impressive vision for one so young and he used it to telling effect as Chelsea took the lead in the 26th minute. Playing just off Didier Drogba, Kakuta dropped deep to receive the ball, spraying it out to Yuri Zhirkov, whose cross from the left was clinically converted by the Ivory Coast striker for his sixteenth goal of the season. Kakuta was impressive on both flanks in the second half, creating several further chances that were spurned by Joe Cole and Florent Malouda, much to Ancelotti’s annoyance.
Alarm clock vendors in West London can expect some brisk trade.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): R Turnbull — J Belletti, J Terry, R Carvalho, Y Zhirkov — J O Mikel, M Essien (sub: F Lampard, 26min) — J Cole, G Kakuta (sub: F Borini, 73), F Malouda — D Drogba. Substitutes not used: Hilário, B Ivanovic, N Anelka, J Bruma, D Philliskirk. Booked: Zhirkov.
Apoel (4-4-1-1): D Chiotis — S Poursaitides, J Broerse, P Jorge, A Haxhi (sub: M Elia, 35) — C Charalambides, N Morais, C Michail, K Kosowski (sub: N Mirosavljevic, 70) — H Pinto — M Zewlakow (sub: M Breska, 82). Substitutes not used: T Kissas, A Papathanasiou, M Satsias, J Paulista. Booked: Poursaitides.
Referee: M Trefoloni (Italy).

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 2 Apoel Nicosia 2
By Henry Winter at Stamford Bridge

Lapses in concentration continue to cost Chelsea dear. An under-hit back-pass by John Obi Mikel allowed Nenad Mirosavljevic to equalise in the last minute. The damage was only superficial, as Chelsea had already qualified, but they need to cut out such mistakes and quickly.
After Marcin Zewlakow had given Apoel an early lead, Chelsea dominated, scoring through Michael Essien, who then damaged his hamstring, and Didier Drogba. For all the eventual disappointment, Chelsea can still take heart from promising displays by Gaël Kakuta and Fabio Borini.
Unlike Chelsea, Apoel Nicosia had everything to play for, notably a shot at the Europa League, and their noisy fans quickly conveyed the early update that rivals Atletico Madrid were trailing to Porto, a situation that allowed the men from Nicosia to dream.
Their hopes grew as the rain fell. Chelsea were caught cold, stunned by a sudden Apoel break down the left after seven minutes. When Constantinos Charalambides, briefly on trial with Cardiff City, darted towards the box, space opened invitingly between Ricardo Carvalho and John Terry.
Charalambides slid the ball across and there was Zewlakow, the Polish international with ice in his veins, beating Ross Turnbull with the coolest of low finishes.
Perhaps it was the shock at conceding a first goal at home in 16 hours eight minutes that stirred Chelsea. Perhaps it was the angry vibes emanating from Ancelotti, whose mood momentarily matched his pall-bearer’s coat, that made his players their game. The desire to avoid a third defeat on the spin also coloured Chelsea’s thoughts and movements.
Some of Ancelotti’s players had reputations to make. Gaël Kakuta, small and sinewy, looked lively on the right side behind Drogba. Yuri Zhirkov is an established Russian international, one of the stars of euro 2008, but his immersion in Chelsea life has been slow.
If the jury had been out, they returned last night, smoking cigars and raising large glasses of vodka in toast to the excellent Russian. Zhirkov looks another highly polished cog in the Chelsea machine.
Starting in the absence of Ashley Cole, Zhirkov defended assiduously, tackling nimbly and dealing firmly with any aerial threat that fell his way.
Moving down the left, the Russian’s quick feet were a constant delight as he supplied real width and penetration, dovetailing well with Florent Malouda.
When Zhirkov managed to poke the ball back to Malouda, the Frenchman whipped in a great cross that was met by an equally fine header from Joe Cole. The ball sped into the back of the net but Cole’s celebrations were cut short by a linesman flagging for offside. He was – just.
Chelsea maintained their assault on the Cypriots’ jugular and deservedly turned around ahead. Their 19th-minute equaliser was a bolt from the blue in every sense.
When Malouda rolled the ball to Essien 25 yards out, the danger appeared modest. Drifting to the right of Chrysostomos Michail, Essien suddenly brought his right foot down into the ball, beating Dionisios Chiotis with an unstoppable shot that sped at the keeper and then moved away, deceiving him utterly.
If Essien ever turns his hand to cricket, Ghana could have a useful swing bowler.
Unfortunately for Chelsea, Essien then limped away, having extended his hamstring stretching for a ball in that usual committed way of his. As he hobbled towards the tunnel, Essien’s face bore a mixture of pain and frustration.
As Frank Lampard quickly stripped for action, Chelsea made light of being down to 10 men, seizing the lead with a magnificent move. When Carvalho stroked the ball through the middle to Kakuta, there was still so much for the young Frenchman to do.
Kakuta impressed with not only his imaginative response but also his neat execution of a clever idea. Spotting Zhirkov running down the inside-left channel, Kakuta slid a superb pass through Apoel’s defence.
Zhirkov immediately drilled the ball into the box for Drogba to score with a terrific first-time strike.
Chelsea remained in total control. Drogba went close with a free kick. Juliano Belletti, charging down the right, sent a low shot angling across Apoel’s goal. Joe Cole was full of good movement much to the delight of the Chelsea fans, who clearly prefer the Englishman to Deco.
When Cole lifted over a cross that drifted on to the bar, the Matthew Harding Stand serenaded the ball all the way, sighing when it clipped the woodwork and fell away. With 19 minutes remaining, Cole then slid in to win the ball, setting up Malouda, whose shot skimmed wide.
Having shown genuine promise, Kakuta was tiring. Sensibly, Ancelotti removed him, greeting his arrival in the dugout with a paternal smile.
Another of Chelsea’s prospects, Fabio Borini, raced on. Prolific for the reserves last season, the teenaged Italian has impressed Ancelotti’s coaching staff by his hunger for extra shooting practice, regularly staying behind after training to work with Ray Wilkins. Borini almost scored with an adroit turn and shot.
If Tuesday night reflected the enduring importance of senior players like Essien and Drogba, and outstanding new recruits like Zhirkov, then it was impossible to ignore the young ones pushing for contention.
Apoel brought on Mario Breska, who resembled Tomas Brolin in his cheesecake-eating prime, and most significantly Mirosavljevic, who seized on Mikel’s gift, sprinted through and placed the ball through Turnbull’s legs.

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Guardian:

Michael Essien injury and Mikel John Obi error mar Chelsea show
Chelsea 2 Essien 19, Drogba 26 Apoel Nicosia 2 Zewlakow 6, Mirosavljevic 87
Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge

A defensive lapse by Mikel John Obi, above, let in substitute Nenad Mirosavljevic to score for Apoel Nicosia late in the game. Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP
Chelsea's breeze through their Champions League group campaign has culminated with something of a shudder. Sloppiness has replaced stinginess in the last week to offer rivals hope that Carlo Ancelotti's team are far from unstoppable. This should have been a walkover, so many chances did Chelsea create in a one-sided first period, though it ended feeling more like a minor embarrassment.
The grand send-off for a side that had strolled through this qualifying section was drowned out by the defiant celebrations of the considerable contingent from Cyprus at the final whistle. The visiting Apoel Nicosia players linked hands and saluted their supporters in the Shed end having been denied progress into the Europa League only by an inferior head-to-head record against Atlético Madrid. Their fans roared their approval at the substitute Nenad Mirosavljevic's equaliser three minutes from time, the visiting coach, Ivan Jovanovic, eulogising a "magnificent result against one of the best teams in Europe".
Chelsea's players slunk from the scene. This game had meant little to them, attentions fixed on their diminished lead in the Premier League. This was an opportunity to give the likes of Gaël Kakuta and Ross Turnbull valuable time on the pitch. Yet the mistakes made will now be painstakingly, and painfully dissected by Ancelotti and his staff. What was of real concern was that it was senior players who committed the errors that wrecked Chelsea's staggering defensive record in this arena. This selection, albeit far from a first-choice line-up, looked anything but watertight.
The slackness was summed up by Mirosavljevic's goal. Chelsea meandered through the second half and failed to add to their slender advantage. Even so, there seemed little threat when John Terry played a short pass to Mikel John Obi with the clock ticking towards full-time, only for Mirosavljevic, sensing complacency, to seize upon the return. Mikel could only look on aghast as the Serb sprang forward and slipped his shot through Turnbull's legs to hoist the Cypriots level. Terry, like his manager, was apoplectic.
Chelsea were unrecognisable from the rearguard that suffocated the life from all-comers for months here. They had gone 968 minutes without being breached, a run stretching back to Stephen Hunt's goal for Hull on the opening day, before Apoel caught them cold some six minutes in. They might have scored with their first attack when Joost Broerse forced Turnbull to block but they did with their second. Constantinos Charalambides wriggled free down the left and slipped his pass beyond Terry for Marcin Zewlakow to collect and poke home.
By the end Ancelotti had seen his team — albeit only once his first-choice selection — concede seven times in less than a week. None of those matches has yielded a victory and, while Chelsea are far from gripped with a sense of foreboding at the challenges ahead, they will be desperate to return to their imposing best when Everton visit on Saturday. At least their forward play purred while their game still boasted first-half intensity.
They should have buried the visitors by the break – the shot tally read 27 to six on the final whistle – but managed only two beautifully taken goals. Against Apoel they did not prove enough. There were injury concerns, too, with which to contend. Michael Essien limped away with a hamstring strain sustained in a tackle moments after he levelled for Chelsea from distance with a rasping attemptthat fizzed beyond Dionisios Chiotis into the corner. The Ghanaian will require a scan at Cobham today and will be absent against Everton. This team will miss his energy.
The second goal was slicker, born of Kakuta's beautiful pass inside Savvas Poursaitides for Yuri Zhirkov to collect. The Russian claimed the assist by pulling back for Didier Drogba to convert, though it was the 18-year-old Frenchman who took the plaudits. This was a remarkably mature display, marked by flashes of wonderful quality – the passes slipped through to Zhirkov and, later, Joe Cole caught the breath – to prompt Ancelotti's assessment that Kakuta was the "one good thing" to come out of the experience. Sterner tests than this await after Christmas. Such sloppiness will not be permitted again.

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Mail:

Chelsea 2 APOEL Nicosia 2:
Michael Essien's hamstring injury is agony to the Blues
By Matt Barlow

Carlo Ancelotti stood in the rain, hands sunk deep in his pockets, and scowled as Michael Essien first underlined his immense value to Chelsea, then limped off clutching his hamstring.Is there any wonder managers send out the youth players for these games at the fag end of the Champions League group stage?In a game which barely mattered, Chelsea were nowhere near their best and narrowly avoided the ignominy of a third defeat in seven days. But there were enough things to irritate Ancelotti.His team were complacent at the start, surrendering an early lead to APOEL, and sloppy in the closing minutes when John Mikel Obi’s mistake presented Nenad Mirosavljevic with an equaliser.
In between, there were wonderful goals for Essien and Didier Drogba but Essien’s injury will be the greatest concern. He definitely misses Saturday’s game against Everton.Chelsea’s squad may not yet look quite as depleted as Manchester United’s but the weight of fixtures is taking its toll and players will be lost to the Africa Cup of Nations at the end of this month. Salomon Kalou is out for two weeks with a thigh injury and Ancelotti rested Michael Ballack, Ashley Cole and Alex, who were all nursing slight aches and strains.Petr Cech was replaced by Ross Turnbull, making his full debut and picking the ball out of the net after only six minutes. John Terry declared himself fit despite a cut on his knee but his back four started shakily.Turnbull had already been forced into one save before Constantinos Charalambides darted down APOEL’s left and crossed low for Marcin Zewlakow to score.
After 10 successive clean sheets at Stamford Bridge, it was the first goal conceded by Chelsea at home in 968 minutes. The previous one was scored by Stephen Hunt for Hull in August.Ancelotti’s team, who won Group D with a victory in Porto two weeks ago, woke up once they went behind. Joe Cole thought he had levelled within five minutes, leaping at the near post to head in Florent Malouda’s cross, but it was disallowed for offside.The decision looked marginal but Essien stepped forward to smash in the equaliser. The Ghanaian collected a short pass in midfield, side-stepped a defender and unleashed a 25-yarder which took a slight deflection and swerved past Dionisios Chiotis.
Unfortunately, it was Essien’s last significant contribution. He injured his hamstring moments later and hobbled off in pain.Chelsea went ahead with 10 men as the bench hurriedly prepared to send on Frank Lampard. Drogba finished a slick passing move involving Gael Kakuta and Yuri Zhirkov with his 16th goal in 20 games this season. Not bad for a player who doesn’t do a lot, according to Arsene Wenger.
Kakuta, also making his full debut, impressed with his footwork and vision. Chelsea are being careful not to over-expose the French 18-year-old, who has found himself at the centre of controversy since FIFA imposed a transfer ban on Chelsea for recruiting him illegally.The ban has been suspended pending an appeal next year but Kakuta’s talent commands attention.He was eventually replaced by Italian teenager Fabio Borini, who also looked sharp. Cole and Malouda went close as Chelsea wasted chances for a third and slowly the momentum swung back to APOEL, who needed a win to qualify for the Europa League.Mikel must take the blame for the late equaliser. He controlled a short pass from Terry and tried to return the ball to his captain, only to leave it short.Mirosavljevic burst on to the error, charging into the penalty area before driving a shot under Turnbull’s dive.APOEL’s noisy supporters tried to cheer their team on to a winner and Zhirkov had to make a desperate clearance in stoppage time to prevent another defeat.

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Sun:

Chelsea 2 APOEL Nic 2
MARK IRWIN at Stamford Bridge

OK CHELSEA, time to stop the rot.

To surrender the lead once is bad enough. To do it three times in a week is unforgivable.
Going out of the Carling Cup on penalties at Blackburn was one they could shrug off.
But defeat in the Premier League at Manchester City suggested that Chelsea might not be quite as good as they think they are.
Those suspicions were confirmed last night as they were denied victory yet again by a late APOEL equaliser.
In the grand scheme of things, the loss of two points is no real handicap to Chelsea's European ambitions.
They still finished top of Group D and remain unbeaten at Stamford Bridge in their last 30 games.
Yet Carlo Ancelotti fears a disturbing complacency has crept into his team's play since they crushed Arsenal at the Emirates at the end of last month. And the Italian knows he must get to grips with the malaise - before it finishes him off.
The Chelsea boss does not need reminding Phil Scolari was given the boot after a not dissimilar run of results earlier this year.
And a £6.5million-a-year contract will be no insurance against the elbow if things do not improve dramatically.
Qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League is the bare minimum for Ancelotti. But Roman Abramovich is not paying top dollar just to get through to the last 16.
He expects the biggest trophy in European football - and he is not a man who tolerates failure.
It was Ancelotti's success in lifting the Champions League twice with AC Milan which landed him the highest-paid manager's job in the world.
But he can forget those lofty ambitions if this week's dismal efforts are anything to go by.
And now the real hard work starts as Chelsea prepare for next week's second-round draw in Switzerland.
Any illusions that Ancelotti might have harboured about the strength of his squad were shattered as they struggled and failed to see off the Cypriot champions.
Never in his worst nightmares would he have imagined any team of his being put through the wringer by APOEL Nicosia.
Yet those fears were realised after just six minutes last night when skipper John Terry was unable to deal with a low cross before Marcin Zewlakow fired past keeper Ross Turnbull.
For Turnbull, making his first start for Chelsea, it was a dismal way to begin his Stamford Bridge career even though he was not to blame.
It was the first goal Chelsea had conceded at home in 968 minutes of action since Stephen Hunt netted for Hull on the opening day of the season
At least Ancelotti could have no complaints about his team's response.
They should have been level after 12 minutes when Joe Cole headed in Florent Malouda's cross to the near post but was harshly ruled offside.
But they equalised on 19 minutes thanks to Michael Essien. Accepting a short pass from Malouda, the powerful Ghanaian shrugged off Michail's challenge and rifled in a ferocious 25-yard drive.
But that was to prove Essien's final contribution as he limped off with a damaged hamstring.
Chelsea went ahead as Gael Kakuta's perfectly-weighted pass into the channel found Yuri Zhirkov.
The Russian put the ball into the danger zone and Drogba applied an emphatic finish for his 16th goal of the season.
But the noisy Cypriot fans had something to sing about three minutes from the end when Jon Obi Mikel sold Terry short with a sloppy pass and sub Nenad Mirosavljevic struck.
Seven goals conceded in the space of seven days by a team which prides itself on its rock-solid defence.
Not good enough Carlo. Must do better Chelsea.

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man city 1-2

Sunday Times

Carlos Tevez and Shay Given justify City's lofty ambitions

Man City 2 Chelsea 1

Duncan Castles at City of Manchester stadium

THERE are some things even Mark Hughes has not been able to buy, such as John Terry and a Premier League win, but Terry and company swaggered up to Eastlands yesterday to put the second of those right for their opponents by having one of their flaky away days.
Like their losses at Wigan and Aston Villa, this match started well, Chelsea ahead early and looking comfortable. Without a league win since September and fragile at the back, you feared for City. Instead, they presented their embattled manager and a record Eastlands crowd with a performance of bullish resolve. There was good fortune to the equaliser — the ball rebounding off Micah Richards’ arms into the path of Emmanuel Adebayor — and debate over their winner, with Ricardo Carvalho bemused that his sneaky foul on the buzzing Carlos Tevez had been detected. It even needed an immaculate penalty save from Shay Given to keep Chelsea at bay, yet this, City’s first victory over the Premier League’s original billionaires since 2004, may mark a turning point for their coach.
“I thought our performance was excellent from start to finish,” said Hughes. “Sometimes when teams go up against Chelsea they give them too much respect and that allows Chelsea to win games. We didn’t allow them to do that today. We want to make the most of this. We know what it takes to win against the bigger sides, once we get the knowledge of how to beat the lesser sides we’ll be okay.”
Those who know Hughes well describe a man under pressure; a manager conscious that a succession of draws against mid to low-ranking Premier League opposition is unlikely to be tolerated by an ownership that has backed him far longer and further than he expected.
Hughes feared for his position upon Sheikh Mansour’s takeover last year. As he waged internecine war with significant elements of his playing staff, the Welshman wondered if he would make it into a second season.
Ultimately, the sheikh decided not only to give Hughes another campaign, but to grant him close to carte blanche in the summer transfer market. Problems, though, remain. Some of the manager’s signings have failed to achieve the expected standard. Wayne Bridge, Joleon Lescott and Kolo Toure have not knitted into a defence worthy of their £53m combined transfer fees, while Vincent Kompany has failed to convince either as midfielder or defender.
Last night City were eager to strike early. In the opening minutes Tevez left Terry on his backside as he sprinted to the touchline then hooked the ball back and agonisingly above Adebayor. On the opposite side of the area, Robinho was crudely halted by Branislav Ivanovic and Michael Ballack, winning a free kick from w hich Nigel de Jong span a shot wide. Less emphatic was their defending. There was a rough moment when Deco’s inventiveness sent Didier Drogba into a hole where Bridge should have been only for Given to rescue him. Sixty seconds later Shaun Wright-Phillips was chasing back to concede a corner that the Irish goalkeeper protested angrily about.
Perhaps Given sensed impending doom. Although Frank Lampard’s corner was cleared as far as Ballack, the midfielder dribbled the ball back to the far touchline and wrong-footed Barry before returning it to the danger area. There, both Ivanovic’s initial strike and Anelka’s follow-up were parried by Given, only for the final save to bounce off Adebayor’s back and trickle in.
Stung but not paralysed, City swiftly gathered themselves. With Wright-Phillips causing consistent problems, the home side won a series of set pieces. Micah Richards headed over when well placed, Adebayor turned a Barry cutback off target, the midfielder had a shot of his own deflected over, and Wright-Phillips almost caught Petr Cech out at the near post.
Carvalho then spared his keeper by turning a netbound Richards header out for a corner, yet the equaliser was simply delayed. From City’s half-cleared corner, Wright-Phillips fired into the area, the ball cannoning off Richards to Adebayor, who shot against Terry then into the net. Chelsea’s captain protested that the ball had reached the centre forward via Richards’ elbows. Referee Howard Webb ignored the complaint, then booked the complainant for crudely bodychecking Tevez.
After the interval Wright-Phillips once more outdid Ashley Cole before teeing Adebayor up for a shot that Ivanovic stopped in the six-yard box. Chelsea, though, could not clear their lines and when Carvalho craftily put his studs against Tevez’s back Webb blew for a foul just outside the area. Tevez sent the free kick low around a poorly-placed and past Cech.
Carlo Ancelotti’s response was to bring Juliano Belletti on as an attacking right back and push Essien further up the field. In the Brazilian’s first challenge he inadvertently caught Bridge heavily enough to have the left back stretchered off. Soon, Terry joined him, leaving the stadium on crutches with an injury Ancelotti categorised as minor.
Drogba drew Bridge’s replacement, Nedum Onouha, into a late tackle, but Given saved Lampard’s penalty to his right.
“We are disappointed because I think the referee made two important mistakes,” said Ancelotti. “Micah Richards did a handball and the second situation was not clear for me because I think that Carvalho cleared the ball cleanly. I’m surprised because I consider Webb a fantastic referee with good experience. But I don’t want to speak about this because I want to look forward.”
City’s grand day won’t win them a League title. But it might cost Chelsea one.

Star man: Shaun Wright-Phillips (Man City) Yellow cards: Man City: Barry Chelsea: Terry, Carvalho, Ivanovic, A Cole, Belletti Referee: H Webb Attendance: 47,348

MAN CITY: Given 7, Richards 7 (Onuoha 69min), Toure 7, Lescott 6, Bridge 5 (Kompany 76min), De Jong 6, Wright-Phillips 8, Barry 5, Robinho 6 (Zabaleta 90min), Tevez 7, Adebayor 6.

CHELSEA: Cech 6, Ivanovic 5, Terry 5 (Malouda 88min), Carvalho 7 (Belletti 63min), A Cole 6, Essien 7, Ballack 7 (Mikel 64min), Lampard 7, Deco 7, Drogba 7, Anelka 6

World Cup watchEngland: Richards (Man City): Excellent attacking, questionable in defence. Lescott (Man City): Plenty still to do to start. Barry (Man City): Badly at fault for opener. Wright-Phillips (Man City): Persistent threat. Ashley Cole (Chelsea): Was better at Arsenal. Terry (Chelsea): Increasingly dependent on the tactical foul. Limped off near the end. Lampard (Chelsea): Has come to terms with Ancelotti’s system.

The rest: Ivory Coast: Toure (Man City): Relentless in his defending, Drogba (Chelsea): Finest in Premier League. Holland: De Jong (Man City): One of his better games. Argentina: Tevez (Man City): More energetic than most. Brazil: Robinho (Man City): Discontented. Portugal: Carvalho (Chelsea): Still classy. Germany: Ballack (Chelsea): Sublime in making opener. France: Anelka (Chelsea): Best season in this country.

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Independent:

Given heroics make the most of Tevez's dead-ball mastery

Manchester City 2 Chelsea 1: Goalkeeper's late penalty save delights whole of Manchester as Chelsea lead at top is cut to two points

By Steve Tongue at Eastlands

Draws in the Premier League, according to Mark Hughes's bête noire Arsène Wenger, are like defeats, by which he meant that serious challengers cannot afford to lose two points at a time.
Manchester City, after seven in a row, interrupted only by a Carling Cup victory over Wenger's youngsters on Wednesday, finally added a League victory to make up lost ground thanks to Shay Given's late penalty save from the normally deadly Frank Lampard. They have lost only one game out of 18 all season, and that to a brutally late goal at Old Trafford over two months ago.
For once their success will have been celebrated all over Manchester, enabling United as it did to cut Chelsea's lead at the top of the table from five points to two following their own canter at West Ham. There will be more to this title race than the London side running away with it as has recently been suggested. In terms of chances, with Didier Drogba spurning one even after Lampard's miss, they could easily have left with a point, but instead this goes down as a third defeat on the road to follow those at Wigan and Aston Villa.
By the end there was a touch of desperation about them, with Ricardo Carvalho and a hobbling John Terry both withdrawn after collecting two of the side's six yellow cards. The fact that every defender received one illustrated how much pressure City had been able to exert. Carlos Tevez worked as hard as ever in harrying them and Shaun Wright-Phillips, never quite offered sufficient opportunities at Stamford Bridge, made his point with a vivacious performance down the right. There was vindication too for Emmanuel Adebayor, scorer of an unfortunate own goal to give Chelsea the lead, but then equalising before half-time.
This being the Premier League, controversy abounded as well, with questions asked about all three goals by the team conceding them. "The referee made two mistakes," said Chelsea's manager Carlo Ancelotti, who unlike Wenger nevertheless had a handshake for his victorious opposite number. For Hughes, thrilled by the comeback, it was "all in all a perfect performance".
The drama was played out in stereotypical Manchester weather – driving rain – with much of the football as slick as the way the ball fizzed off the sodden surface. City had to do without the hard graft of both Stephen Ireland and Craig Bellamy, each having suffered a knock in the Arsenal game, and needing extra mileage from other players to make good that double loss, they will have found it dismaying that Wright-Phillips and Adebayor should have been involved in conceding the early goal.
The winger covered for Micah Richards in chasing Ashley Cole down the touchline and should have been given a goal kick. To City's annoyance, Howard Webb's decision was a corner, retrieved by Michael Ballack on the right and crossed beyond the far post to Drogba. His header was met by Branislav Ivanovic, Given blocking that shot and then the follow-up by Nicolas Anelka, only for the ball to rebound off Adebayor, almost on the line, into the net.
It was hard on the home side, above all on their goalkeeper, who had already made a fine save from Drogba, homing in unmarked on Deco's clever flick. His team responded vigorously and made a number of chances before equalising. Micah Richards headed too high when escaping at a corner; Adebayor shot wide; Petr Cech saved from Wright-Phillips and Gareth Barry's drive was deflected away.
Reward came after another Richards header brought a corner, Cech having completely missed a cross and been saved by Carvalho's vigilance. The goalkeeper did not distinguish himself either from the corner kick, pushing out to Wright-Phillips for a shot that Chelsea claimed was helped on by Richards' hand for Adebayor to knock in. This defence takes such things as a personal insult: it was the first League goal they had conceded for almost nine hours. It did look as though Richards had been attempting to withdraw his arm rather than deliberately handling the ball; which did not prevent the referee, as he left at half-time, being harangued by first Terry and then Given, who was still fuming about the corner that should have been a goal kick.
Chelsea might have regained the lead, too, before the interval after Drogba's dipping free-kick, identical to his goal at the Emirates last Sunday, except that it was a whisker wide. But come the second half, a record crowd for this ground did not have long to wait for a third controversial goal. Carvalho was furious at joining Terry in the referee's notebook after catching Tevez in the back with his follow-through and conceding a free-kick 25 yards out. Three City players stood alongside Chelsea's wall, then moved away, inviting Tevez to shoot through the gap, which he did with a low drive, straight and true, as Cech took one fatal step the wrong way.
When Chelsea responded, Cole finally escaped from Wright-Phillips for a cross-shot that caught Richards such a blow on the knee that he had to be replaced by Nedum Onuoha. Onuoha it was who tripped Drogba with nine minutes to play, offering Chelsea the chance of redemption. Given confirmed his status as hero of the day by beating out Lampard's kick and Drogba, odds on to score, pulled an even later chance wide.

Attendance: 47,348
Referee: Howard Webb
Man of the match: Given
Match rating: 7/10

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Observer:

Emmanuel Adebayor atones as Chelsea pay the penalty
Manchester City 2 Adebayor 37, Tevez 56 Chelsea 1 Adebayor (og) 8

Joe Lovejoy at Eastlands

Typical city, as the old-timers will tell you. After seven successive draws, against the likes of Burnley, Fulham and Hull, along come back-to-back victories over Arsenal and Chelsea. Lift-off for the richest club in the world? It is still early days, the team still very much a work in progress, but this first league win since September has at least got them moving in the right direction again.
Not so, Chelsea. Eliminated from the Carling Cup in midweek, they now find their lead at the top of the table down from five points to two after Manchester United's demolition of West Ham earlier in the day. Carlo Ancelotti had the good grace to shake Mark Hughes's hand at the final whistle, when he probably felt more like throttling Didier Drogba, who spurned a straightforward chance from six yards just before the end.
The biggest crowd City have had at Eastlands were in raucous, celebratory mood as they left the stadium, but there were 40,000 hearts in mouths after 81 minutes, when Nedum Onuoha brought down Drogba inside the area and Frank Lampard stepped up to take the penalty. The England man is usually deadly from 12 yards, but this time he shot too straight and too close to Shay Given, who brought the house down with a save low, to his right.
Justice was served by the result, which came courtesy of goals by the strikers Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos Tevez. Ancelotti thought his team deserved a draw, but then, as someone once said, he would, wouldn't he? When pressed, he was honest enough to admit that City did "a good job" on the Chelsea midfield, pressuring them into making more mistakes than is their custom.
The match had seemed destined to take an altogether different course when Chelsea took the lead in the eighth minute, with a daft goal of the sort that has restricted City to one clean sheet in their past 11 league games. Given saved a shot from Branislav Ivanovic, and kept out, but was unable to hold, the follow-up by Nicolas Anelka. The ball bounced out to Adebayor and went in off his back, for an embarrassing own goal.
To their credit, City took this latest blow on the chin, regrouped and hit back hard. Gareth Barry had a shot from 20 yards deflected wide by Michael Essien and Adebayor saw a goalbound header cleared off the line by Ricardo Carvalho. The breakthrough that City's high-tempo, high-morale efforts warranted came after 37 minutes, when Petr Cech punched the ball only as far as Shaun Wright-Phillips, whose crisp drive hit Micah Richards and flew to Adebayor, who scored close in at the second attempt. Drogba was within inches of restoring Chelsea's lead just before half time, with a curling free-kick.
City were full of vim and vigour in the second half. They have had a habit of throwing away promising positions, but this time Chelsea were worried. Drogba's demeanour is a barometer of his team's angst, and he was bleating in overdrive. Cech, under pressure from Adebayor, booted the ball nervily into touch and Carvalho was booked for a rash challenge that was the product of City's pressure. Wright-Phillips got away from Ashley Cole for once to create a shooting chance for Adebayor, who was thwarted by Ivanovic's last-ditch clearance.
Then after 56 minutes City were ahead. A free-kick from inside the D by Tevez went through Chelsea's defensive wall, leaving Cech unsighted and embarrassed as the ball flew past him. Cue celebratory songs of "Fergie, Fergie sign him up".
Drogba, climbing above Kolo Touré, headed wide at close range, fuelling the impression that it was not Chelsea's day. Ancelotti sent on Juliano Belletti and John Obi Mikel to rescue a point, but City were in no mood to oblige. Ivanovic headed over from six yards from a Deco corner. Suddenly, it was Chelsea who were wasting scoring opportunities. Drogba should have equalised at the death, but justice was served by the result. The richest club in the world have shown what they can do.
Manchester City had the exact same number of shots (16) in their home game against Chelsea last season (which they lost 1-3) but this time they were able to get more on target to secure a crucial win.

THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT

Danny Pugsley, BitterandBlue.blogspot.com This was a fantastic game of football. Both sides were very good today. The one-touch football on a greasy pitch was great. Mark Hughes went for an attacking line-up from the off. That is the reason why we got points today. In recent weeks, with all the draws, we have been hesitant and cautious, but today we were constantly pressurising. It was one the best team performances from City that I have seen in a long time. There have been grumblings about Hughes, but this result will have quelled that for the time being, but there is a minority who will never accept him.

The fan's player ratings Given 8; Richards 8 (Onuoha 69 6), Touré 7, Lescott 7, Bridge 7 (Kompany 76 6), Wright-Phillips 9, De Jong 8, Barry 8, Robinho 7(Zabaleta 90); Tevez 8, Adebayor 7

Lucio Marinelli, Observer reader It was one of those bad days that all top teams have. We had a couple chances even before we scored, then we took our foot off the pedal thinking it was going to be like Arsenal. But City fought for everything. Every 50-50 tackle, they won. It was the worst performance from our midfield that I have seen. Cech was nervy and our full-backs were poor; it was one of Cole's worst games, and that starved the front two. I'm not superstitious but that kit has got to go. We have never won while wearing it. Having said all that I still think we'll win the league.

The fan's player ratings Cech 4; Ivanovic 5, Carvalho 5 (Belletti 63 6), Terry 6 (Malouda 88), A Cole 4; Essien 5; Ballack 3 (Mikel 64 5), Lampard 4; Deco 3; Drogba 6, Anelka 5

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Telegraph:

Manchester City 2 Chelsea 1

By Oliver Brown at the City of Manchester Stadium

Remember that poster, Welcome to Manchester? It was sky-blue, and dominated by the face of Carlos Tévez, the City summer signing grinning as if in mockery of his United past.
A record crowd of over 48,000 at the City of Manchester Stadium watched the tireless Argentinian direct all his derision at Chelsea with a winning free kick that arrested Man City’s run of seven straight draws and stopped their opponents’ title charge, however briefly, in its tracks.
Chelsea had not conceded a league goal for nearly nine hours until this collision with Mark Hughes’ well-drilled, well-equipped team, which seemed to treat the loss of 14 points in seven games as a trifling irritation. All that has changed for City with this priceless scalp.
Hughes has worked a familiar trick, acting with supreme patience under the scrutiny that he was about to be sacked by Sheikh Mansour, before delivering the emphatic reply on the pitch.
He had a lot to thank Shay Given for, after the Irishman pulled off the rarity of a penalty save from Frank Lampard.
It has not been the best week for Carlo Ancelotti, humbled in the Carling Cup by Blackburn as a result of an under-strength selection and found out again here, even when he had fielded his strongest side. But even Didier Drogba could produce qualities to match the energy and determination of Tévez. The worry for City arrived late, when Wayne Bridge had to be carried off on a stretcher after a bad tackle by Juliano Belletti.
There were saving graces for Chelsea. Nicolas Anelka, too often eclipsed by Drogba, illustrated last night how subtly his abilities dovetailed with those of the Ivorian, timing his movement to perfection and hounding Joleon Lescott with invariable success. Deco, too, was ceaselessly creative in his lone role behind the front two, at one stage producing a back-heel in expectation of a final touch from Drogba that did not come.
Chelsea’s breakthrough, though, sprang more from luck than good judgment as an unmarked Drogba floated a ball across goal for Branislav Ivanovic, who shot straight at Shay Given. The rebound also fell fortuitously at Given’s feet but at that point the Ireland goalkeeper was out of reprieves, as another parry hit only the back of Adebayor before looping in.
Lescott was plainly at fault, a point sure to invite further debate as to whether he has been any kind of replacement at centre-back for Richard Dunne. Robinho was characteristically anonymous throughout this game, supporting the notion put about by German great Franz Beckenbauer that the Brazilian would be more at home in a circus, so patently do his talents not conform to a team ethic.
But City did not lose heart. Micah Richards rose high in an effort to dispatch a fine corner from Gareth Barry, while Wayne Bridge was even emboldened to try a long shot against his former employers.
Chelsea, to give them their due, defied assumptions that they were mere automata, with Frank Lampard, Deco and Ashley Cole displaying the neatest interplay, which helped form a seamless supply chain down the left. The problem was at the back, where Ricardo Carvalho was being outwitted by Barry and Shaun Wright-Phillips given licence to make plenty of inroads.
Conditions were treacherous in the steady rain, and one shove by Anelka sent Richards sprawling several yards across the slippery surface. Petr Cech’s instincts were similarly all over the place in the build-up to City’s equaliser. Coming to make an extravagant punch, the Chelsea goalkeeper was nowhere near it, leaving Carvalho to put the ball out for the telling corner.
Wright-Phillips, rushing in, angled a pass brilliantly into the path of Adebayor, who pounced to convert from close range. Hughes threw a jubilant punch on the touchline, but Chelsea’s complaint was that Richards had handled. Replays suggested that it was hardly an infringement on the scale of Thierry Henry’s.
Chelsea were in the unusual position of finding themselves physically outmuscled, as a crunching tackle by Nigel de Jong on Deco proved. John Terry sought to respond in kind with a flagrant body-check on Carlos Tévez and received a yellow card for his trouble. Carvalho soon went the same way into Howard Webb’s book for too meaty a follow-up on a Tévez challenge, scraping his studs down the striker’s back.
This lapse, however, was to be far more costly. Tévez lined up the resulting free kick and relished the spectacle of it swerving around the outside of the wall and in. Cech moved far too slowly to his right, but Tévez’s reaction, sliding on his knees in front of the crowing City supporters, was no less ecstatic for that.
Given’s subsequent heroics, scrambling low to his left to deny Lampard after City substitute Nedum Onuoha had been penalised for hauling down Drogba, magnified the moment.

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Mail:

Manchester City 2 Chelsea 1:

Rich pickings as Manchester United old boy Carlos Tevez jolts Carlo Ancelotti's league leaders

By Malcolm Folley

Frank Lampard’s uncharacteristic failure from the penalty spot caused jubilation to spread across the city of Manchester.
At the moment City goalkeeper Shay Given correctly dived to his right to block Lampard’s 82nd-minute spot-kick, Chelsea were condemnedto defeat. And as rain fell over the City of Manchester Stadium, a rainbow could be seen forming in the sky above Old Trafford, just a handful of miles away.
Having beaten West Ham with embarrassing ease earlier in the afternoon, Manchester United ended the night two points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea.
And Carlos Tevez, once of the parish of Old Trafford but deemed too costly to retain last summer, transpired to be City’s match-winner on a night Mark Hughes’s team deserved to take a rapturous ovation from a record crowd of 47,388.
Chelsea’s usually composed team had a night to forget, and the yellow cards collected by John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Branislav Ivanovic, Juliano Belletti and Deco, assuring the club of a fine from the FA, were illustrative of an uncommonlyragged performance.
Lampard’s unconvincing penalty compounded an unhappy evening. As the crowd whistled and jeered, with no justification as Didier Drogba had been clearly brought down by substitute Nedum Onuoha, Lampard waited for referee Howard Webb to blow his whistle. Given stood tall, and spread his arms.
He was a man still bleeding internally from the wound inflicted on the Rrepublic of Ireland team by Thierry Henry’s hand-ball that ushered them out of the World Cup, and Given was in no mood to absorb further misery. As Lampard shot, Given dived in unison with the ball and delirium broke out in the stadium, as well as in the bars of the city.
As statisticians searched to unearth the date when Lampard last failed with a penalty, widely believed to have been the day England were knocked out of the last World Cup by Portugal in 2006, Given graciously afforded much of the credit to City goalkeeping coach Kevin Hitchcock, who played for Chelsea.
‘Kevin had done his homework on the way Frank takes his penalties,’ said Given.
But with the exception of Chelsea fans, surely there was no one who begrudged Given a moment to cherish.
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti, who, after a lifetime in football, claimed that his team had been victims of two poor pieces of refereeing.
He felt Micah Richards had handled before Emmanuel Adebayor equalised for City, and he was similarly disappointed that Carvalho was adjudged to have fouled Tevez, creating the free-kick from which the little Argentine scored.
In truth, Chelsea’s troubles ran much deeper. Lampard, Michael Ballack and Deco were largely ineffectual in midfield, while it was hard to recall when Terry and his fellow defenders had spent a match so deep on the back foot. Goalkeeper Petr Cech also delivered an unconvincing performance. At least Ancelotti conceded: ‘It was not a good day for us. It was a tough game and Manchester were very strong, and they did a good game.’
If money is the most potent force in the Premier League, we were in the company of the unrivalled powerbrokers in the market place of the game.
For once, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich understood what it is like to feel inadequate at the bank. In comparison to the inestimable billions that City’s proprietors from Abu Dhabi can lay their hands on should they feel underwhelmed by Hughes’s team, Abramovich will demand that Ancelotti shows restraint when the transfer window is thrown open next month.
But money is not necessarily the root of all evil when teams play with this sort of passion and ambition. When Chelsea took the lead, City’s defence were in disarray from the moment Drogba met a cross at the far post and headed the ball back into the six-yard area.
Given kicked away Ivanovic’s shot with his right foot and also Nicolas Anelka’s follow-up. But the ball struck the back of City striker Emmanuel Adebayor and rebounded slowly into City’s net.
Adebayor had better luck in the 37th minute, after the impressive Shaun Wright-Phillips drove a shot against the arms of Richards, and swept home the equaliser.
The winner arrived 10 minutes after the interval, when Carvalho’s tackle on Tevez was concluded with his foot hitting the Argentine in the back. Tevez drove the free-kick through the Chelsea wall as Cech sold himself in the wrong direction.
At least Ancelotti, unlike Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger after defeat on this ground three days earlier, had the good grace to shake Hughes’s hand at the final whistle.

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NOTW:

POSTER-BOY TEVEZ IS SO WELCOME IN MANCHESTER

Manchester City 2 Chelsea 1

Neil Ashton

SOMEHOW they survived a penalty scare, staring up at the scoreboard in disbelief at the final whistle.
Yes, Manchester City really did win.
It has taken them the best part of two months and yet - at the eighth attempt - they have finally won a Premier League game.
What a landmark, chasing down league leaders Chelsea with this sensational performance.
It has to be a special occasion for both sets of the city's supporters to celebrate on the same night.
Well, they were spilling out of the pubs and clubs of Manchester arm-in-arm after Shay Given's penalty save.
Frank Lampard is usually so reliable from 12 yards, so ruthless whenever he is presented with a free shot on goal.
This time he appeared to change his mind, opting for placement instead of power. Uh oh.
It was an exceptional moment for City, full of exuberance after this absorbing clash between two single-minded teams.
They both sensed victory and yet it was Chelsea who were over-run, finally tripped up by the magic of Carlos Tevez.
The fall-out will no doubt continue between the tiny Argentinian terror and Sir Alex Ferguson in the build up to the two-legged Carling Cup semi-final.
After this, the Manchester United manager owes his former striker an almighty favour.
United, 4-0 winners at West Ham, are just two points off the top following a dramatic day in the Premier League.
Tevez's strike was a delicious 56th-minute free-kick, bent beyond Chelsea's wall and beyond the reach of Petr Cech.
Now the top four is within City's reach again, back among the chasing pack after two miserable months for Mark Hughes.
They thoroughly deserved this victory, easing the pressure on City's manager after the club began making contingency plans.
Guus Hiddink knocked them back, yet former Inter coach Roberto Mancini was prepared to take it on until the end of the season.
Mancini can forget about being parachuted in now, putting his potential appointment at City firmly on the back-burner.
Misty-eyed
This kind of performance keeps managers in jobs and the team are suddenly on a roll after their 3-0 victory over Arsenal in the Carling Cup.
This was far more impressive, dismantling Chelsea in front of more than 40,000 misty-eyed supporters.
If their Carling Cup defeat at Blackburn was a blip, then this was a real slip by Carlo Ancelotti's Blues.
They have been charging towards a third Premier League title, powering their way past teams with their abrasive style.
Yesterday, they met their match, unable to find an answer when Emmanuel Adebayor equalised and Tevez finally turned them over.
What a battle between Tevez and John Terry, chasing each other all over the pitch in a captivating sideshow. They could so easily have been team-mates, with Terry part of City's masterplan last summer.
Now they are the best of enemies - Tevez providing the trickery and Terry the thunderous tackles.
Tevez turned him early, wriggling clear of the Chelsea and England captain with embarrassing ease.
Terry was riled, booked just before the break when he slid across the rain-soaked surface to upend the striker with a mistimed challenge.
By then, City were matching the leaders stride for stride, battering them with relentless attacks. Who says Ancelotti's team cannot be stopped? Wigan took no notice and neither did City, taking the game to Chelsea and making them aware they wanted the points.
But it's all about the final ball, the piercing pass that can finish teams off in front of their own supporters.
They needed a break, the kind of touch that gave Adebayor the chance to stab an equaliser beyond Cech just before the break.
Foxed
Chelsea's keeper had been exceptional, punching clear the danger and getting his body behind the ball to keep out efforts from Nigel de Jong and Tevez.
He was foxed by Shaun Wright-Phillips' shot from the edge of the area, unable to stop Adebayor getting to the ball before Terry. Adebayor finally prodded it beyond Cech, setting off for City's adoring supporters stationed high up in the stands.
They will be thinking even higher after this victory, top four and beyond.
Those are the aspirations of everyone connected with City as they prepare to strike for home in the second half of the season.
They have some ground to make up after seven successive draws.
At times they lived on their nerves, with Given the security blanket behind the shakiest defence in the Premier League.
He was beaten by Didier Drogba's delicious free-kick that went narrowly wide of the post but then blocked the Chelsea striker from close range. However, Micah Richards could barely cope with the surging runs of Ashley Cole.
Cole loves his football right now, having picked off his old team Arsenal at the Emirates last weekend with those curved balls into opposition territory.
The left-back was Chelsea's best player in the first half, working overtime as his side sensed a second goal.
The Blues had already struck lucky with their opener, cashing in when Adebayor deflected the ball beyond Given after just eight minutes.
The move was decisive, with Gareth Barry embarrassed out on the touchline when Michael Ballack dragged the midfielder away from the box.
He finally crossed and after Branislav Ivanovic's shot had been saved by Given, Nicolas Anelka's effort was deflected into the net off the back of Adebayor. Tough to take, especially after his own goal against Liverpool last month and yet City responded.
At times they were cavalier, opening the game up against the team with the best defensive record in the Premier League.
Exceptional
It was brave, especially when Chelsea have players of Ricardo Carvalho's class to count on. He brilliantly diverted the ball over the crossbar after Cech had misjudged.
But Tevez was exceptional throughout as he darted between defenders.
He is rarely subdued, setting an example with his selfless running and exceptional appetite.
The little man deserved his goal, a fitting reward after finally settling into City's system. He can be the main man, good enough to lead the line and take this team to greater heights.
Cech should have read the intentions, a free-kick that was bent low beyond the four figures in Chelsea's wall. But the keeper saw it too late and was beaten by the pace and the precision of Tevez's winner.
Ballack was immediately sacrificed and so was Carvalho, with Chelsea throwing men forward in search of an equaliser.
They got their chance when Drogba was upended by Nedum Onuoha's clumsy challenge in the 82nd minute, with Howard Webb instantly pointing to the spot.
Given read it, brilliantly diving to his right to prevent Chelsea taking a point.
It was a world-class save, the kind that saves managers their jobs.

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