Guardian:
Carling Cup final
Mourinho the scene stealer claims his first English prize
Kevin McCarra at the Millenium Stadium Monday February 28, 2005 The Guardian
This final was bigger than the tournament itself. A season that was swirling away from Chelsea is once more sweeping them towards honours. At the end of a week pitted by the defeats to Newcastle United and Barcelona there is the sheen of Jose Mourinho's first trophy in England, with the League Cup lodged at Stamford Bridge. There was, for once, nothing efficient about success under the Portuguese and the win will be all the more cathartic for that. It is galvanising to be close to a defeat so undeserved that it would have been ludicrous and still win. Who can tell, in particular, what effect it can have on the hitherto hapless Mateja Kezman that the substitute should hit what proved to be the winner?
The invigorating effect on Chelsea comes at the expense of a man who could join them in the summer. Liverpool led 1-0 until Dietmar Hamann brought down Frank Lampard. Paulo Ferreira hit the free-kick from the right and Steven Gerrard, leaping in the midst of a group of team-mates, got merely the glancing contact with his head that put the ball into his own net via the inside of the post.
The captain, who has so often willed Liverpool to a win, had doomed his club here. Four minutes earlier, he had spurned the invitation to guarantee victory when from six yards, the midfielder bumped a left-footed finish wide afer a precise cross from the substitute Antonio Nunez.
Chelsea's overtures during Euro 2004 now hang over him and it is especially uncomfortable that, through sheer ill-luck, he turns out to have served his would-be employers so handsomely. Gerrard, of course, was guilty only of being hugely unfortunate at the Millennium Stadium, but it will be better for everyone when there is a definitive answer to questions about a potential move to London.
From the broadest of perspectives, there is no cause for the midfielder to berate himself over the outcome in Cardiff. Liverpool scored the fastest goal in League Cup final history when John Arne Riise struck after 45 seconds, but that allowed far too much time for Chelsea to collect themselves and Mourinho's side could even afford to spend half-an-hour in shock.
Thereafter, Chelsea were much superior and held possession with a confidence that made it even more embarrassing that Liverpool should regularly lose the ball with such carelessness. They thereby added to the mounting pressure and Lampard, who had been going through a muted spell, was an incessant danger with his range of passing.
Liverpool had to capitalise on their increasingly fleeting moments of cohesion, but Petr Cech thwarted them. Carlo Cudicini, the back-up goalkeeper who would have been allowed to play in this match had he not been suspended, was granted the honour of leading out Chelsea. For all his merits, it is as well that he was confined to a ceremonial role.
Hamann worked a move with Luis Garcia after 64 minutes and shot vigorously from the edge of the area. The 6ft 5in Czech had the reflexes and reach to dive to his right and block with a strong hand. Cudicini may not have been capable of that.
The accent could have been on goalkeeping, so impressive was Jerzy Dudek for Liverpool until very near the end. He was the principal obstacle to an equaliser after Riise had scored. With the game barely begun, Fernando Morientes, in the 17th final of his career, took a Gerrard cross to turn away from Claude Makelele on the right and hit a lethal cross towards the far post. The Chelsea defence, including the right-back Ferreira, had bunched in the middle of the goalmouth and the ball eluded them all so that Riise could smash a volley beyond Cech from the corner of the six-yard box.
That shock scrambled Chelsea's form for a while and Makelele, who would eventually return to being his relentlessly reliable self, toiled through an error-ridden patch. None the less, it was obvious that Liverpool could not stop Lampard's prompting or be sure of checking the use of it made by the increasingly incisive Damien Duff and Didier Drogba.
With 29 minutes gone, the Ivory Coast forward had been clear but his prodded finish broke off Dudek for a corner. Ten minutes after the interval, Lampard sent him through on the left but as Drogba gathered himself Steve Finnan nailed him with an excellent, unexpected challenge.
Riise was soon heading over his own bar a swerving cross by William Gallas that could have landed in the net and Liverpool's dependence on Dudek, who hurt a knee in a double save from Duff, was marked. The Pole also parried a Eidur Gudjohnsen header and thwarted Gallas from the rebound. The Icelander had been brought on with Kezman in a frenzy of risk-taking.
Once they were level, however, Mourinho introduced Glen Johnson and reverted to having a sedate back four to protect Chelsea's interests. He knew, with Liverpool disconsolate and wearying, that he needed only to wait for victory.
Johnson hurled a throw-in that cleared Sami Hyppia at the near post in the 17th minute of extra-time and Drogba pushed the ball home from close range. Five minutes later, Dudek merely brushed a cross away and Gudjohnsen turned the ball back so that Kezman could record his fourth goal of the season. It did not matter that Nunez would then head home a throw-in by Riise, with Cech failing to find a route to attack the ball with conviction.
Neither the goalkeeper nor his team will have their sense of purpose doubted after coming through an overwrought week with a trophy.
Mourinho sent off by police but cup win silences Chelsea's critics
Kevin McCarra Monday February 28, 2005 The Guardian
Chelsea won their first trophy under the management of Jose Mourinho by beating Liverpool 3-2 after extra-time in the Carling Cup final in Cardiff. The intriguing Portuguese coach almost upstaged the drama of his club's success with histrionics of his own. When Chelsea scored to level the score at 1-1 in the 79th minute he turned to the previously mocking Liverpool supporters behind him and put a finger to his lips, apparently to command their silence.
It was a provocative gesture, although he claimed later he had been telling the press to calm down.
Fearing disorder among the fans, the police told the referee's assistant that Mourinho had to go inside.
He watched the remainder of the game on television in a broadcasters' area.
"I have to adapt to your culture," Mourinho said later. "For me it is unusual to be sent off by the police. I am happy I am not going to jail."
"I have a lot of respect for Liverpool fans," he told Sky Sports. "And what I did, the sign of silence, 'shut your mouth', was not for them it was for the English press." He also denied that he had provoked Liverpool fans at the end and explained that he had, in fact, been waving to his wife in the stand.
Officials have preoccupied the manager of late. During Chelsea's 2-1 defeat by Barcelona last Wednesday, he believed that his opposite number, Frank Rijkaard, might have exercised undue influence on the Swedish referee, Anders Frisk.
He lurched towards conspiracy theorising then, but few managers have Mourinho's control of reality.
Roman Abramovich, Chelsea's billionaire owner, gave him the job because he had won the Uefa Cup and the Champions League itself in two consecutive seasons with the relatively underfunded Porto.
Not until last week were there clear signs that football matches could escape his control.
But Chelsea's attempt to win the four honours open to them ended when Newcastle United knocked them out of the FA Cup last week. They then lost to Barcelona in the first leg of a Champions League tie.
Yesterday's victory, however, gave Mr Abramovich the first return on the investment he began pouring into the the club when he took over in July 2003. It also means that his side is back on course and Chelsea, six points ahead of Manchester United in the Premiership, should become League champions for the first time in 50 years.
Mourinho will remain indifferent to the reaction. "I was asked, 'Do you want to be loved by the football world or just win trophies?' I just want to win trophies."
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Telegraph:
Chelsea dig deep to open account for Mourinho By Henry Winter (Filed: 28/02/2005)
Match details
Liverpool (1) 2 Chelsea (0) 3 (aet: 1-1 after 90 mins)
The first cup is the deepest and the inaugural trophy of Jose Mourinho's firework-filled Chelsea career was celebrated wildly by the Londoners here last night. The charismatic Portuguese coach promised silverware and he has delivered, intensifying the love affair between him and Chelsea. "Mourinho for Prime Minister" read one banner in the blue corner of a raucous Millennium Stadium. The Special One doubtless has grander plans.
Lift-off: John Terry and Chelsea's first trophy of the season "Money can't buy history, heart, soul," declared one condemnatory sign in the red corner but Russian roubles can buy the services of a coach as talented and inspirational as Mourinho. Roman Abramovich, as nervous as any fan yesterday, has invested wisely.
Mourinho being Mourinho, a technical-area impresario with a taste for the dramatic, he missed the concluding acts to this wonderful show after being banished back-stage for inciting Liverpool fans.
He claimed his gesture, placing a silencing finger on his lips, was meant to belittle newspaper critics, but it was too close to the Liverpool supporters and another fine awaits. Chelsea and their controversial leader are now the subject of seven separate investigations.
Only NASA are involved in more probes. Pity. Mourinho deserves cherishing for his impact as a manager, not castigating for the myriad noises that accompany him. Anyway, he will ignore the pinprick of another disciplinary charge. His Cardiff mission was accomplished. He came, he saw red, but he conquered. And that is what drives a coach fabled for his little grey cells and long grey coat. "Trophies are more important to me than popularity" remains his mantra.
And he deserved this Carling Cup. His substitutions kept varying the angles of attack to trouble a resolute Liverpool. His captain, John Terry, was outstanding, leading through word and deed, while Frank Lampard eclipsed Steven Gerrard in the duel of the England midfield kings.
Yet the heart went out to Gerrard, whose own goal negated John Arne Riise's stunning opener and brought extra time when Mourinho's men seized real control through Didier Drogba and Mateja Kezman. Coveted by Mourinho, Gerrard may score more for Chelsea one day. Cruelly taunted by the Londoners' fans, who mockingly celebrated his presence when he came near, Gerrard deserved better than to depart a crestfallen figure.
Gerrard's team had enjoyed the perfect start. After 45 seconds Fernando Morientes glided around the outside of Terry and lifted the ball to the far-post. Riise was racing in, arriving ahead of the diving, despairing Paulo Ferreira to volley the ball with brutal force past Petr Cech. A goal for the underdogs was just what the game required and an absorbing drama then unfolded.
Chelsea enjoyed endless possession, but their moves kept foundering on the determination of Liverpool's defence. Jamie Carragher was magnificent, winning the ball on the ground and in the air, blocking from Joe Cole, nipping in to clear as Drogba threatened. Sami Hyypia was cautioned early for impeding Drogba but then stood firm, organising the back-line well. Steve Finnan was the model of the modern full-back, defending zealously and attacking at the slightest invitation.
Behind Rafael Benitez's defence stood Jerzy Dudek, an oft-derided figure but a source of sustained defiance here. He saved from Drogba, Eidur Gudjohnsen and William Gallas. Liverpool kept defying, kept believing. As the red-and-white banner draped over one railing declared: "Our faith is the weapon most feared by our enemies."
The cold winds of frustration began to sweep through Chelsea. Mourinho was prowling his technical area, barking out orders and signaling messages. "Come on, come on," he kept shouting at his players. When Carragher ventured close to the touchline, Mourinho even gave him a mouthful.
Mourinho's men had the ball, but Liverpool had the lead. Occasionally, Benitez's players sought to break out. Dietmar Hamann drew a fine save from Cech. Mourinho began ringing the changes. After 73 minutes, he removed his ersatz left-back, Gallas, introduced Kezman and went 3-1-2-4.
Almost immediately, Lampard was driving through the middle, heading confidently over the halfway line until cynically brought down by Hamann. Paulo Ferreira swung in the free-kick that poor Gerrard diverted past Dudek. As Chelsea celebrated, Mourinho put his finger to his lips, triggering his expulsion down the tunnel.
Extra-time loomed. Liverpool fans strove to reinvigorate players still reeling from Gerrard's accidental intervention. The Kop's famous anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone", reverberated around the Millennium. Lampard clapped his hands, exhorting colleagues and followers alike.
Abramovich almost could not bear to watch, holding his hands up to his head at times, but the momentum was clearly with his expensive employees. Drogba headed against a post, but still there was life in Liverpool. Garcia and Hamann went close, Igor Biscan headed over as the "Fields of Anfield Road" provided a haunting back-drop to the drama.
The second half of extra-time dragged the auidence's emotions this way and that. Drogba pounced to force in a long Glen Johnson throw. Hamann, already cautioned, should than have walked for piling into Lampard. Gudjohnsen then shot goalwards, Dudek parried and there was Kezman poaching Chelsea's third.
Still the pulses refused to stop racing. With seven minutes remaining, Antonio Nunez headed in a Gerrard free-kick. But it was merely the coldest of consolations. Liverpool players collapsed. Terry and Lampard ran to their supporters. The Age of Mourinho has begun in earnest.
Match details
Chelsea (4-3-2-1): Cech; Ferreira, Carvalho, Terry, Gallas (Kezman, 73); Jarosik (Gudjohnsen, h-t), Makelele, Lampard; J Cole (Johnson, 80), Duff; Drogba. Subs: Pidgeley (g), Tiago. Goals: Gerrard (79og), Drogba (107), Kezman (112). Booked: Lampard, Duff, Drogba, Kezman. Liverpool (4-4-1-1): Dudek; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore (Biscan, 66); Kewell (Nunez, 56), Gerrard, Hamann, Riise; Garcia; Morientes (Baros, 73). Subs: Pellegrino, Carson (g). Goals: Riise (1), Nunez (113). Booked: Hyypia, Hamann, Traore, Carragher. Referee: S Bennett (Orpington, Kent).
'I'll fight media if they are not cool' By Christopher Davies (Filed: 28/02/2005)
In pictures: Chelsea win Carling Cup
Jose Mourinho says his finger-over-the-mouth gesture which saw the Chelsea manager removed from the technical area in the 82nd minute was directed at the English media - not at Liverpool supporters.
It was the second time in five days that Mourinho was involved in a controversy with match officials - Chelsea are to send UEFA a report of an alleged half-time conversation between Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard and referee Anders Frisk in Wednesday's Champions League tie.
When Mourinho arrived in English football last summer he mounted a charm offensive, but recent events have seen him more offensive and less charming.
Last night he said he was willing to "fight" the English media and his gesture to them was because they "talk too much after we lost two games and tried to do everything to take confidence from us".
Shortly after Steven Gerrard's own-goal equaliser, Mourinho put a finger over his mouth and turned - inadvertently, he claimed - to Liverpool fans. "I didn't know where you were [the press box]," said Mourinho, who added that his gesture was merely to say "be cool".
A police officer believed Mourinho's actions could incite the crowd and instructed fourth official Phil Crossley to dismiss the manager from the technical area for "public order purposes". A touchline ban seems likely.
In football law only the referee has the power to "send off" a manager but Steve Bennett was "aware of the situation" and "happy it was dealt with". The incident will be in the Orpington official's report to the Football Association and a spokesman said: "We shall wait until we receive the report before deciding what action to take."
Mourinho watched the rest of the final on television in the small Sky Sports interview room with the sound turned down, yelling in Portuguese.
Not quite but almost yelling in English at the media, Mourinho said: "I have to adapt to you but you have to adapt to me - if you don't you come to my press conference and we will have a fight.
"I want to win trophies, I don't want to love you. But I have to adapt to your culture because it's the country where I live. It's unusual to be sent off by a policeman who told the fourth official 'Mr Mourinho has to go out'. The police guy is not a football man but if I made a mistake I apologise. I'm glad I'm not going to jail and I can enjoy a nice dinner with my players."
Initially, Mourinho was not going back out to receive his winners' medal but was persuaded to return by Didier Drogba.
Liverpool captain Gerrard said: "It's very hard to take. Credit to Chelsea, they deserved to win. We have to pick ourselves up now, we have other things to play for but it's a tough night. The own goal was very painful, losing any game is painful but to lose a cup final and score an own goal is a bad day for me. I have to be strong and pick myself up."
Mourinho's men steal the real glory By Paul Hayward (Filed: 28/02/2005)
In pictures: Chelsea win Carling Cup
Jose Mourinho's expulsion from the dug-out here yesterday was the best thing to happen to Chelsea all season. Why? Because the 11 men in blue were the real story in Cardiff, not their manager. In Mourinho's absence it was possible to see that players win trophies rather than people in overcoats.
One down and two to go: Chelsea celebrate their cup victory in Cardiff
The Russian Revolution at Stamford Bridge has too often been portrayed as the Jose Mourinho show: one long round of eruptions and provocations. But top billing really belongs to Frank Lampard, John Terry and the rest of the blue hardcore. If Chelsea's volatile boss fled England tomorrow, the soul of the Premiership champions elect would still appear on the pitch. It would be there in Terry's stylish defending and Lampard's knifing runs; in Petr Cech's acrobatic goalkeeping and Arjen Robben's zesty dribbling - which was much missed during Chelsea's 3-2 victory over Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium.
Mourinho's eccentricities - his stormy moods, his manic edge - have been the season's best theme: a separate narrative, fresh and invigorating. Here, supposedly, is a manager with two brains and several characters. Part of the pleasure of watching Chelsea this season has been in wondering what Mourinho might do next.
Whose reputation would he impugn? Which sacred cow would he flay? Great theatre, but it's not the main production. A manager should not be the dominant personality in a cup final any more than a referee.
For 39 minutes at the end of a turbulent contest, Terry and company took care of business while their manager was confined to a TV control room, to which he retreated after being expelled for provoking the Liverpool supporters behind his dug-out (Mourinho claims his finger-to-the-mouth gesture was intended for the press).
Nine minutes of regulation time plus two extra 15-minute spells: thirty nine-minutes of Mourinho being out of the picture, irrelevant, silent, for the first time this season. The outcome? Chelsea score twice through Didier Drogba and and Mateja Kezman to secure the first silverware of Mourinho's eventful reign.
At last the gaze was fixed on Roman Abramovich's expensive ensemble of talent and not the grey-coated, brooding, stubble-chinned puppeteer the club brought over from Portugal after his Porto team had won the European Cup. A corollary of the Premiership's mutation into a vast daily soap has been an obsession with chairmen, owners and managers, who have been cast by television in a gladiatorial light.
How many forests have been cleared by the chronicling of the Arsene Wenger-Sir Alex Ferguson feud? When Mourinho arrived to break up this duopoly the jackpot was struck. This season, Mourinho has been the story as much as - if not, more than - his team, which, for many of us, induces a mild sense of regret.
The point is that yesterday's triumph belongs to Cech, Ferreira, Carvalho, Gallas, Makelele, Drogba, Duff, Gudjohnsen and the English yeomanry of Lampard, Terry and Joe Cole. They are the foreground. Mourinho is the background. In theory. Mourinho's main tactical contribution was to replace the malfunctioning Jari Jarosik with Gudjohnsen at half-time. Beyond that, the role he chose for himself was agent provocateur on the touchline. If this is a device, a way of transmitting intent to his players, Chelsea were eminently capable of carrying on without him when he was escorted away.
As a former school teacher, Mourinho can at least understand the shame that comes with being told to stand outside. Not that he showed much contrition after the match. "I don't regret it," he said. "The thing I have to understand is that I'm in England. I have to adapt." The pattern is well established. He exploits the power of surprise. He attacks and retreats. He knows that we're not quite sure what to make of him. But he has no compunction about questioning a colleague's integrity, as he did when claiming - falsely, as far as anyone can tell - that Barcelona's Frank Rijkaard tried to influence the referee in Wednesday's Champions League tie.
To be sent off in your first English cup final is not a badge of honour, especially as no one can recall a manager being sent to the stands in any previous showpiece event. Mourinho will not care. It is plain that he calculates each act on the basis of what it will do for his team. Yet for 39 minutes, at the sharp end of a tight encounter, he surrendered control over his players.
Could the neutral cheer for Chelsea in their hour of triumph? At the Liverpool end there was no doubt about the depth of resentment some supporters feel towards Abramovich. Their hostility was daubed all over their banners: 'Our nationality is Liverpool, our language is football,' and 'Money can't buy history, heart, soul.' Their frustration is understandable, especially as the Chelsea hook seems to be permanently in the water for Steven Gerrard to bite. Yet nobody can fairly portray these Chelsea players as dilettantes or executive toys.
Their response to Liverpool's early opening goal was to wrap their less wealthy opponents in an ever tightening-embrace. The Russian bear was squeezing the life out of the Liver bird. To do that, Chelsea required discipline, talent, appetite. They are not Mourinho's overnight creation. They reached a Champions League semi-final and finished second in the Premiership before Mourinho arrived. His achievement has been to improve an already excellent squad. That will be his medal.
Mourinho's brilliance has its place in yesterday's story. But by sending him off, the match officials allowed the real stars to reclaim the stage.
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Times:
Chelsea start out on road to destiny By Rick Broadbent
John Terry lifts Chelsea's first trophy of the year in Cardiff after goals from Drogba and Kezman secured Carling Cup victory in extra time for the league favourites
AFTER SEEING THE CHELSEA revolution yield its first prize, Jose Mourinho must have felt that he could walk across Cardiff Bay at high tide were it not for fear of getting his designer brogues soggy. The Portuguese manager watched the denouement of the Carling Cup final on television after being banished from the touchline for supposedly inciting Liverpool fans, but nothing could dampen the cathartic satisfaction of getting a trophy in the moth-eaten cabinet. It was a game of broad scope and raw drama, with three goals in the second period of extra time, more Mourinho mayhem off stage and the personal trauma of Steven Gerrard. The caprices of football are unforgiving but, on Oscar weekend, the way this game blew up in Gerrard's face was something to shame the most florid of Hollywood scriptwriters. Billed as a contest between the club in his heart and the one in his future, the Liverpool captain had been at the hub of his side's efforts to fend off the kitchen sink, only inadvertently to score an own goal with the clock ticking down to a resilient Liverpool triumph.
That cancelled out John Arne Riise's delicious first-minute volley and set up an extra period that ebbed and flowed with the unpredictability of a Mourinho monologue. Ultimately, Chelsea merited a richly entertaining win. The decisive goals from Didier Drogba and Mateja Kezman in extra time were far from pretty, but Mourinho has never been one to worry about winning ugly.
In victory he was irritable, talking of fighting and labelling the policeman who banished him from the sidelines with eight minutes left as "not a football guy". He said he had merely been making a gesture to the English media, whom he feels are awaiting his fall, and blowing a kiss to his wife. Either way, Mourinho has the curious habit of making the headlines in the same papers he holds in such dim regard.
History will surely mark this down as the start of something big for Chelsea. For the likes of Frank Lampard and John Terry, excellent throughout, and Joe Cole, not far behind, this was something tangible to go with all the promise. "They (Liverpool) fought a lot, they were very well organised, they did their best," Mourinho said. "But the attitude of my players was magnificent; we deserved to win the cup."
The start was every bit as dramatic as the end. The aura in which Chelsea have basked this season has dulled of late and if the events of the past week had dented their belief, Liverpool could scarcely have arrived in Cardiff in ruder health. The Rafael Bentez revolution has been more of a slow-burner, but in Cardiff the progress was instant. Forty-three seconds had gone when Fernando Morientes turned Claude Makelele on the right and flighted a teasing ball across the area. Riise's volley was pure and true. It was the fastest goal in a League Cup final.
So much for the impervious defence. At the other end, Jerzy Dudek put the fallibility of recent times behind him to enjoy a redemptive game, making one wonderful save down to his right from Eidur Gudjohnsen's cushioned header. If Chelsea's midweek excursion in Barcelona had been a high-profile rerun of the training ground game of attack and defence, this match offered an even more blatant contrast of approaches.
Liverpool receded faster than Bentez's hairline as Chelsea dominated. The arrival of Gudjohnsen gave Chelsea a formation that was 4-2-4 in their most ambitious moments, which debunked the myth that Mourinho is a remorselessly defensive man. Yet for all Chelsea's forward momentum, Liverpool should have wrapped up the win when Antonio Nez galloped into the space vacated by the Chelsea midfield and rolled a ball across the six-yard box. Gerrard was steaming in but somehow Paulo Ferreira managed to get a foot in. It was not the only chance. The subdued Morientes sent Luis Garca tip-toeing into an oasis of green on the left. He caressed a pass to Dietmar Hamann, whose prod drew an agile stop from Petr Cech.
Then, with 11 minutes left and Liverpool backs taking chunks out of the wall, Ferreira floated a hopeful free kick into the Liverpool area. The ball glanced off Gerrard's head, against a post and in. The crestfallen look on a man who rarely emerges from a permafrown said it all.
Mourinho was banished from the touchline for holding a finger to his lips after the goal, but he did not go quietly. He was probably more voluble still when Milan Baros wasted a chance to win the game in the last minute, but that would have been incredibly harsh on Chelsea. In extra time, Drogba struck a post with a diving header and then, with 13 minutes left, a long throw from Glen Johnson was prodded in by the Ivory Coast striker as the hitherto superb Jamie Carragher was finally discarded.
Two minutes later Kezman stabbed the ball home when Dudek failed to hold Gudjohnsen's fizzer. Almost immediately, Nez found a rare fault with Cech and headed a soft reply, but the win was secured. "We were in control," Bentez claimed. He would not talk of Gerrard's emotions but merely said: "It is a pity for the players, the fans and everyone." Mourinho's indiscretion, meanwhile, meant he was inside the dressing-room at the end, but the man who was not there still made his mark.
Gerrard's pain heightened by own goal and cup final defeat By Oliver Kay
IT WAS ONLY A HANDSHAKE, but, as Jose Mourinho went through the painstaking process of commiserating with the Liverpool players one by one, you somehow knew that he would reach their captain last. Steven Gerrard was a reluctant participant in the scene, barely managing to hold eye contact as the Chelsea manager lingered over him a couple of seconds too long, yet there was no escape as that awkward clinch was caught on camera, simultaneously appearing on the big screen at the Millennium Stadium and in homes across the country. Gerrard did not need that. Nor did he need what had preceded it, his unfortunate own goal allowing Chelsea back into the game and exposing him to the type of ridicule that even a less earnest professional sportsman would find grating. But nor, in the greater scheme of things, is he likely to have needed an experience as chastening as this to persuade him that his long-term future lies away from Anfield and, in all likelihood, in the blue shirt of Chelsea. Those oh-so-subtle hints from the football gods were really not necessary.
This will be portrayed in some quarters as the day that Gerrard's mind was made up once and for all but, even had Liverpool clung on to victory yesterday, his departure at the end of the season would have remained a probability. He has acknowledged that winning trophies with his home-town club would be preferable to doing so elsewhere but, even had he ended the day by lifting the Carling Cup, he would have been unlikely to regard it as the start of a new golden era for a club who trail Chelsea by 25 points in the Barclays Premiership. What will have heightened his sense of resignation is the way that the game unfolded. Liverpool's performance, cautious to an extreme after John Arne Riise's goal, was not one that would have filled him with glorious optimism. The longer it went on, the more it seemed that Gerrard and his team-mates were in danger of overextending themselves with their defensive efforts. So it proved in the 79th minute as, jumping to clear a free kick that Sami Hyypia was better placed to deal with, he succeeded only in glancing the ball past his own goalkeeper.
Chelsea's supporters found it very funny as you would singing "there's only one Steven Gerrard" and offering a standing ovation as he went to take a corner in front of them during extra time, but the man himself looked mortified. No player has done more for a single club over the past 18 months and, while Rafael Bentez is right to be concerned by his captain's public utterances and by the number of times he glares at less talented team-mates, no player seemed more devastated than Gerrard by Liverpool's defeat yesterday.
Gerrard, to his credit, mustered the energy to talk to a Sky Sports reporter as the Chelsea players were conducting their post-match celebrations, but the words were hard to find. "It's very painful," he said. "We have to pick ourselves up now and I have to pick myself up."
At the final whistle, having struggled to recapture the confidence that drained from him after the own goal, Gerrard had shaken hands with Frank Lampard. This was the first medal of Lampard's career (compared with the six won by his England team-mate, five of them in six months in 2001), but Gerrard knows that only one of them is likely to add substantially to that tally over the coming seasons as things stand. And, for all the Liverpudlian talk of love weighing more than money in Gerrard's mind, they know that, for their ambitious captain, silver is the most precious currency of all. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Independent:
Chelsea 'heroes' break down Reds' resistance in epic siege Liverpool 2 - Chelsea 3 By Sam Wallace at Millennium Stadium 28 February 2005
He has dared to lay down the law to Barcelona in their own stadium and then walked out on them in controversy after defeat. He has proclaimed his Chelsea side the best in Europe and challenged the rest of the Premiership to catch them. This counts as a regular week in the life of Jose Mourinho and perhaps we should not be surprised that this remarkable coach found himself at the centre of controversy again.
A game that smouldered for 79 minutes exploded into life here yesterday when Steven Gerrard headed into his own net to level matters after Liverpool's goal after just 45 seconds. By the end of extra time, Chelsea had their first trophy of the Roman Abramovich era. But it came in remarkable circumstances, with Mourinho ordered down the tunnel on advice of the police who claimed he was taunting Liverpool supporters.
In the latest Mourinho chapter, it is difficult to know where to start. At the beginning, when his side went a goal down after 45 seconds and fought their way back via an own goal from the English player Mourinho covets most. Or at the end, when Mourinho claimed that he was waving to his wife, Tami, in the stand not taunting Liverpool fans and warned a reporter who suggested otherwise that he could expect a "fight".
In the end, however, this was a heroic Chelsea fightback that suggested they are not yet the sitting target in the Premiership that Manchester United might hope. Goals from Mateja Kezman and Didier Drogba, on top of Gerrard's own goal, forced them back into the contest. Then they had to hang on at the very end when Antonio Nunez, Rafael Benitez's weakest summer signing, scored an unlikely goal to bring the score back to 3-2 for the closing stages.
There was a shocking quality to the speed of Liverpool's first goal, timed at 45 seconds from the whistle of the referee, Steve Bennett, to the moment that John Arne Riise's volley billowed the net behind Petr Cech. It was created by the vision of Fernando Morientes, who collected the ball in an unpromising position on the right side of the area, turned away from William Gallas and clipped a measured cross to Cech's far post.
Waiting to connect with his left foot was Riise who had advanced without attracting Paulo Ferreira's attention. Somewhere in the hours of Mourinho preparation, Chelsea had overlooked the possibility of Liverpool summoning up the courage to take the game to them, and they were made to pay in their exhausting pursuit of an equaliser.
For a while it felt like this might be Gerrard's final a thunderous tackle that echoed back off the roof of the stadium suggested so but eventually the tide of blue shirts overwhelmed even the best Liverpool efforts to emerge from their own half. It was one of the most remorseless cup-final sieges, although Chelsea's best clear chance of the first half was Didier Drogba's drilled shot from the edge of the area which Dudek touched wide.
Their dominance had been unrelenting but the second half brought a greater intensity to Chelsea's purpose and within 10 minutes of the break, Drogba should have done better with a through ball to which he seemed unable to react. Within seconds, Dudek dropped brilliantly to his right to push away Eidur Gudjohnsen's shot and then scrambled up to block Gallas's effort.
Still Chelsea came. Amid the ferocity of their attack there was, against all odds, a chance for Gerrard to settle the game on 75 minutes when he closed in on a right-wing cross from substitute Nunez, but was denied from just yards out by Ferreira's challenge. Dietmar Hamann had also had a shot pushed wide by Cech, but when the equaliser came it was more galling for Liverpool than they could ever have imagined.
With 11 minutes left, Hamann checked Lampard's run down Chelsea's right and Joe Cole reacted furiously when referee Bennett decided against playing advantage. Ferreira's drifting, unthreatening free-kick skimmed a group of Liverpool defenders, but disastrously did not quite clear the head of their captain, Gerrard, whose touch was enough to direct the ball out of the reach of Dudek.
Framed on the Millennium Stadium's giant screens, Gerrard looked like he had not made his mind up between the conflicting emotions of anger and embarrassment. There was a pause following the bedlam of excitement that ran through the blue side of the stadium before they processed the delicious irony of the goal and the man who had scored it. From all around the Chelsea end rang out the name of the man who had come so close to joining them in the summer.
On the touchline, Mourinho had been unable to contain himself. Surrounded by Liverpool supporters, the Chelsea coach celebrated his side's equaliser with a finger pressed to his lips that provoked the nearest thing to a riot Cardiff had witnessed all afternoon. The police ordered the fourth official, Phil Crossley, to take him away. Banished and furious, he was unable to come out to deliver the team-talk before extra time.
Because it was to extra time that the game was heading despite chances for Duff and Lampard in a frantic attempt by Chelsea to spare themselves another half an hour's toil. Within two minutes of the game re-starting, Drogba had hit the post, but Chelsea had to wait until the second period to take the lead finally. Substitute Glen Johnson's throw drifted over the head of John Terry and fell right at the feet of Drogba on the near post to turn it in.
What seemed like the final blow for Liverpool came seconds later when Dudek pushed out a free-kick that fell to Gudjohnsen on the touchline to the right of Liverpool's goal. He threaded a cross in at the near post and substitute Kezman forced the ball just inches over Dudek's line from close range for the third. Chelsea celebrated as if they had won the Carling Cup.
With seven minutes left in extra time, however, Nunez rose higher than Cech to force home Liverpool's second. The red end exploded in hope, but substitute Igor Biscan could not convert their last chance of the closing stages. When Terry lifted his first trophy as the Chelsea captain the big screens caught a certain Russian billionaire clapping in his seat. It was a reminder that Abramovich will regard this as just the beginning.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Ferreira, Carvalho, Terry, Gallas (Kezman, 74); Makelele; Cole (Johnson, 81), Jarosik (Gudjohnsen, h-t), Lampard, Duff; Drogba. Substitutes not used: Pidgley (gk) Tiago.
Liverpool (4-4-1-1): Dudek; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore (Biscan, 67); Kewell (Nunez, 56), Hamann, Gerrard, Riise; Garcia; Morientes (Baros, 74). Substitutes not used: Pellegrino, Carson (gk).
Referee: S Bennett (Kent).
Booked: Chelsea: Lampard, Drogba, Duff. Liverpool: Traore, Hyypia, Hamann, Carragher.
Man of the match: Terry.
Attendance: 78,000.
Gerrard's calamity signals the beginning of the end By Ken Jones in Cardiff 28 February 2005
Events of the past week, both on and off the field, clearly suggested to some people that the rug was beginning to move ever so slightly beneath Jose Mourinho's feet, but Chelsea's response was a convincing reminder that spirit is the most valuable commodity fostered by their manager.
Of course, the Carling Cup, presented colourfully to Chelsea after a hard-fought final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, was not at the forefront of Mourinho's priorities when he set off on the great adventure in English football.
However, he has broken the ice; now there is renewed confidence to go on and consolidate their thrust at the top of the Premiership and advance in the Champions' League when they renew their encounter with Barcelona in 10 days' time.
Maintaining his reputation for controversy, Mourinho was required to watch the victory unfold on a television monitor after being sent from the touchline for placing a finger on his lips in the direction of Liverpool supporters. Dignity is not one of Mourinho's strong points, but banishment would have taken nothing away from his satisfaction.
Make no mistake, this was a hard-won victory; carrying for more than an hour the possibility that Chelsea, for all their possession, would be unable to break down Liverpool's stubborn resistance after going a goal down with only 45 seconds on the clock, when John Arne Riise volleyed home a cross from Fernando Morientes.
Liverpool's policy of playing five men in midfield served to suffocate Chelsea's providers, their failed efforts underlining the value of Arjen Robben, whose injury at Blackburn caused him to miss last week's FA Cup defeat at Newcastle and the midweek loss in Barcelona.
Some of the midfield challenges, particularly by Steven Gerrard, were completely in the traditional context of a cup tie, and much depended on the involvement of a player who could easily leave Liverpool in the summer to join yesterday's conquerors.
Chelsea were failing to find a way through the heart of Liverpool's defence, where Sami Hyypia stepped up with a commanding presence whenever Chelsea moved in on his penalty area. As a consequence, Mourinho's side reached half-time still struggling to find their rhythm.
The interval saw the introduction of Eidur Gudjohnsen; and he was immediately involved, forcing Jerzy Dudek in the Liverpool goal to make a near-post save, then blocking a follow-up shot from William Gallas.
Liverpool were now conceding so much space - leaving Morientes to toil on his own up front - that the game took on the nature of a siege as Chelsea poured on attack after attack, with Damien Duff at last finding the room to manoeuvre beyond Liverpool's flanks.
It seemed that Liverpool simply could not find a way out of their own half and they had to repel incessant attacks as the game drew into the closing stages of normal time; then, finally, Liverpool's goal fell. Frank Lampard sent in a free-kick, awarded against Dietmar Hamann, and the ball flicked off the top of Gerrard's head for a calamitous own goal that would extend the match into extra time.
Immediately after the restart Didier Drogba struck the foot of a post, while at the other end Igor Biscan headed over.
It was still anybody's match, but Liverpool, despite Gerrard's urging and the willingness of Luis Garcia, could not adequately break out of the defensive mode into which they had settled for most of the game.
Then, after 107 minutes of play, Chelsea began to exert the grip that would bring a first trophy for, among others, their captain, John Terry, and Frank Lampard. Neither had anything to show from their careers so far, so it was fitting they should both emerge as influential figures.
The goal, however, was manufactured by one of Chelsea's three substitutes, Glen Johnson, whose long throw from the right was forced in at the near post by Drogba.
Liverpool's legs were now beginning to go. The tactics shaped by their manager, Rafael Benitez, had carried them to within 11 minutes of victory - a victory that would have brought with it the conviction that Liverpool are progressing along the right lines under their Spanish manager.
Seven-times winners of the League Cup in its various forms, Liverpool brought plenty to the occasion - not least their stubbornness when under heavy pressure. It was not enough, however, to keep Chelsea from their first prize under Mourinho's command.
One of Chelsea's summer signings, Mateja Kezman, has had a lean time this season, failing to build on his reputation as a goalscorer, yet it was he who finally put the game beyond Liverpool's reach with a third goal for the Londoners.
Still, Liverpool refused to surrender, and a goal from Antonio Nunez brought fleeting hope that they could take the proceedings into the lottery of a penalty shoot-out.
Chelsea were nervous enough to protest vigorously when the ball entered their net; but Liverpool simply did not have enough to take events any further.
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Sun:
JOSE MOURINHO celebrated his first silverware in England by tipping Chelsea to stroll to the Premiership title.
HEADS YOU LOSE ... Gerrard nods the own goal that turned the game for Chelsea Picture: MARK ROBINSON
The Blues, trailing to John Arne Riise's sensational volley after just 43 seconds - increasingly dominated the Carling Cup final, especially once Steven Gerrard's 79th minute own goal took the tie to extra time.
Didier Drogba and Mateja Kezman scrambled Chelsea 3-1 up, before Antonio Nunez headed Liverpool's consolation.
Mourinho said: "We have the first title and almost for sure we will have the second one - the big one.
"I'm very happy not just for me. For me it is not so important but for the fans, the club and the players - especially for the players who were in the squad for a few years without silverware.
"It is very difficult to win for the first time."
Chelsea's pressure finally told after Riise's shock opener persuaded Liverpool that defence was the best option.
And Kop skipper Gerrard - a regular Blues' target - admitted: "It's very painful, losing any game is painful but especially cup finals and an own goal.
"It has been a bad day for me but I've got to pick myself up.
"Credit to Chelsea. They deserved the win and we have got to pick ourselves up - we've got other things to play for.
"But it is tough to take. We scored early on - maybe a bit too early - but we were happy with the goal and tried to see the clock out.
"But they got a lovely own goal by myself, when we were 15 minutes away from lifting the cup."
Liverpool chief Rafael Benitez even insisted his side should have won.
He said: "If you have clear chances at 1-0, if you get a second goal you finish the game.
"We made mistakes and in the end we conceded a goal.
"I said to the players we must be proud, we have had a good game.
"They controlled the game but we were organised as a team and had opportunities.
TOP DROG ... Didier Drogba rams in the second
"It is difficult to play against Chelsea, but we scored two goals and worked hard."
The start no-one had anticipated, given Chelsea's superb defensive record, arrived inside the first minute.
The Blues' backline looked sluggish as the ball finally came across to Fernando Morientes.
He twisted outside William Gallas for a far-post cross that Riise swivelled in classic style to rocket a left-foot volley across Petr Cech and into the corner.
Gerrard responded to the boost by winning his first full-blooded 50-50 tackle with Frank Lampard.
And with Luis Garcia in behind Morientes, Liverpool were able to pressurise Chelsea's three-man central midfield, with Lampard's influence curtailed.
It was left to Joe Cole to provide Chelsea's impetus.
But there was little of that as Jerzy Dudek did well to divert Drogba's shot around the post from the midfielder's through-ball.
Jamie Carragher was otherwise commanding, even if central defensive colleague Sami Hyypia came close to being sent off just after the break.
Hyypia, who had already been booked, saw Cole tumble far too easily under his lightweight challenge.
And referee Steve Bennett appeared to consider a yellow card before realising what this would mean for Hyypia.
Mourinho, meanwhile, started to lose his temper as he berated both Luis Garcia and Carragher from the touchline as the match hotted up.
The Chelsea chief had nevertheless already influenced the outcome by bringing on Eidur Gudjohnsen at half-time for the subdued Jiri Jarosik.
Gudjohnsen re-energised his team as the Blues surged forward, notably when Steve Finnan denied Drogba and Dudek conjured a fantastic double save from Gudjohnsen and Gallas.
Liverpool were sitting deep and defending hard, although Cech still needed to foil Dietmar Hamann on a rare counter-attack.
Yet, just moments after Milan Baros came on for Liverpool, Gerrard almost doubled his side's lead, diverting Nunez's cross inches wide.
The excellent John Terry also just thwarted Baros, but it was Chelsea who broke away next.
And, after Hamann had brought down Lampard in full flight, the Blues levelled.
Gerrard jumped highest to meet Paulo Ferreira's flighted delivery near the penalty spot, but he merely guided it into the top corner.
Mourinho could not contain his celebrations and was dismissed from the touchline.
Still Chelsea pressed, however, and Dudek needed to performed further miracles to keep Duff at bay.
The Poland international was injured in the process and, with his side's three substitutes already on, it was a nervous wait for Benitez before he carried on.
Lampard shot wide, but so too did Baros, as the match went into extra-time.
SEALED WITH A KEZ ... Mateja Kezman nets number three
Both sides traded blows thereafter, Drogba striking the post with a header, while Biscan nodded an effort just over the top.
Just a minute into the second period of extra-time, Hyypia failed to cut out substitute Glen Johnson's long throw and Drogba bundled the ball over the goal-line from close range.
Tensions threatened to boil over as Hamann and Claude Makelele were warned after a shoving match, but Chelsea struck again.
Dudek failed to hold Gudjohnsen's fierce cross and Kezman succeeded in prodding the ball just over the line before the keeper could react in time.
Liverpool rallied immediately, Nunez rising to just beat Cech and back-flick the ball in.
But Chelsea held out - and Mourinho received a hero's reception from Blues' players and fans when he finally reappeared after the final whistle.
DREAM TEAM STAR MAN: JOHN TERRY (Chelsea). Solid as ever.
Dream Team ratings Liverpool: Dudek 7, Finnan 7, Carragher 7, Hyypia 7, Traore 6 (Biscan 6), Luis Garcia 6, Gerrard 7, Hamann 7, Riise 7, Kewell 5 (Nunez 6), Morientes 6 (Baros 5). Subs not used: Pellegrino, Carson. Booked: Hyypia, Traore, Hamann, Carragher.
Chelsea: Cech 6, Paulo Ferreira 6, Ricardo Carvalho 7, Terry 8, Gallas 6 (Kezman 7), Jarosik 5 (Gudjohnsen 7), Lampard 7, Makelele 7, Cole 6 (Johnson 6), Drogba 7, Duff 6. Subs not used: Pidgeley, Tiago. Booked: Lampard, Kezman, Drogba, Duff.

Newcastle 0-1

Guardian:

Chelsea are caught cold by Kluivert and injuries

Mourinho counts the cost with Bridge carried off and Cudicini sent off as Blues wobble ahead of vital Champions League encounter in Barcelona on Wednesday

Kevin McCarra at St James' Park

Monday February 21, 2005

The fates got their own back on Jose Mourinho. This manager of destiny was so bombarded with problems that even he ran short of solutions. Chelsea's hope of a quadruple vanished in the FA Cup tie and several players may have been plucked from them as they prepare for Wednesday's Champions League game in Barcelona. Wayne Bridge, in particular, is believed to have a broken ankle.Chelsea came to so much harm at St James' Park that the merits of a tight-knit Newcastle United may wrongly be overlooked. There was a ghoulish drama to swamp normal events. Mourinho, with his makeshift team 1-0 down, employed all three substitutions at the start of the second half but, within two minutes, Bridge was injured by a legitimate challenge from Alan Shearer. The left-back was borne away on a stretcher and Chelsea had to make do with 10 men.
Damien Duff, one of the players introduced at half-time, stayed on the field only because the visitors needed to maintain their numbers. He was hurt while making a desperate tackle when Stephen Carr looked ready to score in the 73rd minute, and the Irishman was afterwards reduced to half-pace by a knee problem. He thinks, though, that he can recover quickly. William Gallas was also in difficulties before the end with a muscle strain.
There was one further casualty but his is a personal misery. Carlo Cudicini would have been chosen for Sunday's League Cup final with Liverpool had he not been dismissed here for bringing down the substitute Shola Ameobi just outside the penalty area. Chelsea will be happy to have their first-choice goalkeeper Petr Cech between the posts at the Millennium Stadium.
Little else comforted Mourinho here but he is not a man for half-measures or regrets. "My life is a risk," the manager said, standing by his decision to commit all his substitutes simultaneously. This time the force was not with the Portuguese.
Chelsea competed proudly when outnumbered but the Newcastle manager Graeme Souness was right to state that his goalkeeper Shay Given had little to do. The loss of Arjen Robben was a blow to Mourinho and his team have scored only once in 355 minutes since the Dutchman left the pitch at Blackburn Rovers. Only a handicap could check Chelsea's gallop through the fixture list and now there is a weight in the saddle bags that could bring the side to their knees.
Newcastle might have applied serious stress even in normal circumstances. Some managers dream of routs but Souness, as he had suggested in his programme notes, pines after 1-0 victories. This was the first occasion since he came to the club that his side have won through by the single goal of the game against Premiership opposition.
"We became a bit nervous after we scored because we're not used to holding a 1-0 lead," Souness said in a merrily indulgent tone afterwards. He credited half his happiness to the success of his former club Rangers in the Old Firm derby but, no matter what factors came to his aid, it is the defeat of Chelsea that will benefit the manager most.
Mourinho's side were beaten at Manchester City and also lost to Porto in the Champions League but this was the first game to do irrevocable damage to Chelsea this season. When there is so much scepticism and budding dissent in the St James' Park crowd, a result like this provides the endorsement Souness needs so badly.
His judgment was vindi cated in one particular area. Souness did not allow his faith in Titus Bramble to be sapped by the centre-half's miserable display in Thursday's Uefa Cup tie. "Titus had a stinker in Heerenveen," said the manager. "He knew it but he had been arguably our best player in the previous six games. He's got everything. He's big, he's powerful, he can pass it and he's got pace."
Souness was confident enough in the defender even to visualise a future for him in the England team. There could be no better indication of the euphoria that swept through St James' Park. With Bramble so commanding, only Newcastle had a centre-forward who will treasure the tie.
With four minutes gone, the influential Nicky Butt played the ball to the left and Laurent Robert flighted the searching cross that saw Patrick Kluivert getting the better of Gallas to score with a strong header. There were only two occasions when Chelsea suggested they would equalise.
Jiri Jarosik hit a well-directed drive that Given put behind for a corner-kick in the 34th minute but the side had come closer still nine minutes earlier. Tiago's cross was deflected and Mateja Kezman applied an artful touch that lifted the ball over the goalkeeper. It then clipped the underside of the bar and declined to bounce over the line.
The Serb's misfortune is becoming famous but he went on to play very poorly here and, when possession came to him, the threat to Newcastle was blunted. In a period where Chelsea's long injury list includes Didier Drogba, Kezman's struggles are far more than a private woe. Mourinho, too, will be dismayed.
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Telegraph:

Kluivert puts Chelsea dream in deep freeze By Henry Winter (Filed: 21/02/2005)
Match details

Newcastle (1) 1 Chelsea (0) 0

Chelsea were gripped by the Big Chill at Ice Station St James' yesterday, suffering far more than the frosty indignity of ejection from the FA Cup by a magnificently spirited Newcastle United side. Jose Mourinho's erstwhile quadruple-chasers finished this compelling tie with their right-back, Glen Johnson, in goal and only six outfield players capable of meaningful movement. How the financially mighty were fallen yesterday.
Pain game: Wayne Bridge of Chelsea is stretchered off with a suspected broken ankle
The season's songs of praise were replaced by alarm bells and the concerned chatter of medical staff. William Gallas and Damien Duff were hobbling around at the final whistle, unable to contribute after sustaining knocks – groin and knee respectively – that make them highly doubtful for Wednesday's Champions League examination by Barcelona.
Wayne Bridge was already in hospital, undergoing tests on a suspected broken ankle that definitely precludes the left-back's participation at the Nou Camp. With Mourinho having boldly sent on three substitutes at half-time to find an equaliser to Patrick Kluivert's imperious header, Bridge's 47th-minute accident following a blameless challenge by Alan Shearer was desperately unfortunate. Lady Luck refused to flirt with Mourinho on Tyneside.
The mishaps continued. Down to 10 men, Chelsea ended with nine as Carlo Cudicini was banished to the dug-out, his face as red as the card he received for upending Shola Ameobi. Cudicini misses next Sunday's Carling Cup final, though Petr Cech will simply step in.
Weaker managers might have bemoaned their ill-fortune. Not Mourinho. The self-annointed `Special One' was in defiant mood afterwards, rallying his players with typically inspirational rhetoric. He ordered them to focus on the current players of Barcelona, rather than wallow in the disappointment of damage inflicted by a former resident of Catalonia. Kluivert's third-minute goal shredded the pre-match script and tossed the little pieces into the blizzard swirling around St James'. Fittingly, the move was begun by another determined act of ball-reclaiming by Titus Bramble, comfortably the man of the match.
After dispossessing Joe Cole on the left-hand touchline, Bramble triggered a move which saw the ball worked swiftly to the right flank. This was a regular ploy of Newcastle's yesterday, switching wings quickly to unsettle a Chelsea defence patently lacking the aerial and organisational gifts of the suspended John Terry.
The tactic paid off spectacularly. Stephen Carr found Kieron Dyer, who re-directed play back inside to Nicky Butt. Newcastle's anchorman, returning confidently from injury, promptly whipped the ball out to Laurent Robert on the left. Chelsea's defenders and midfielders resembled spectators at a tennis duel, heads twisting this way and that to follow the ball.
Few back-lines could have dealt with Robert's cross towards Kluivert. Here was the Dutchman at his best, rolling back the years, eluding Gallas and rising high to meet Robert's cross with the meatiest of headers. It could have been Shearer.
The desire seizing countless Geordie hearts is for Shearer to lift the Cup in his final season. For those obsessed with portents, Newcastle's last FA Cup glory came 50 years ago – and they defeated Chelsea in the fifth round that season as well. A decent quarter-final draw at lunch-time today will convince them that Cardiff awaits.
Newcastle were assisted by Mourinho starting with his second-string – he even rested his famous charcoal-grey overcoat, preferring an insulated wind-cheater – but nothing should detract from Newcastle's admirable effort. Bramble was not the only one excelling. At left-back, Celestine Babayaro reminded Mourinho what he had let go, painfully so given Bridge's incapacitation. One Babayaro tackle on Jiri Jarosik had the Toon Army on its feet, revelling in this show of agile resistance from their beloved side against such vaunted visitors.
Newcastle's defence was helped by another hapless display by the lightweight Mateja Kezman, whose only moment of note came with a flick against the crossbar. In midfield for Newcastle, Butt was busily effective alongside Jermaine Jenas while Robert, the mercurial Frenchman, was so in the mood that he even won a tackle.
Chelsea proved a more threatening force after the break, despite the loss of Bridge. Frank Lampard arrived to bring passing and enterprise to the middle. Duff menaced until he collided with Carr and Cudicini and hurt a knee. Cudicini then departed with three minutes remaining, handing his shirt to Johnson, who immediately saved a powerful free kick from Kluivert.
As well as bringing a smile to the lips of bookmakers faced with £10 million pay-outs if Chelsea had lifted all four trophies, this victory for Newcastle inevitably thrilled Graeme Souness. The Newcastle manager has enjoyed an uneasy relationship with the club's fans but he certainly came in from the cold yesterday.

Match details
Newcastle United (4-4-2): Given; Carr, Boumsong, Bramble, Babayaro; Dyer (Milner 67), Jenas, Butt, Robert; Shearer (Ameobi 64), Kluivert. Subs: N'Zogbia, Hughes, Caig (g). Goal: Kluivert (3). Chelsea (4-1-2-1-2): Cudicini; Johnson, Gallas, Carvalho, Bridge; Smertin; Geremi (Lampard, h-t), Tiago (Gudjohnsen h-t); Jarosik; J Cole (Duff h-t), Kezman. Subs: Cech (g), Ferreira. Booked: Tiago, Carvalho. Sent off: Cudicini. Referee: M Halsey (Herts).
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Sun:

Newcastle 1 Chelsea 0
DUTCH OF CLASH ... Patrick Kluivert beats William Gallas to head a stunning winner By SUN ONLINE REPORTER
PATRICK KLUIVERT'S bullet-header left Chelsea's quadruple hopes in tatters.

The former Barcelona frontman netted after just four minutes to decide a tie which turned into a total disaster for Jose Mourinho's side.
It's bad enough that the Blues' air of invincibility has been shattered on the eve of one of the most important weeks in their history.
Barcelona away in Europe on Wednesday is followed by Liverpool in Sunday's Carling Cup final.
But Chelsea had to play the last 43 minutes of this tie with 10 men after Wayne Bridge was carried off on a stretcher with a serious leg injury.
The England full-back was rushed to Newcastle General Hospital with a suspected broken ankle which could rule him out for the rest of the season.
To add to Chelsea's woes Damien Duff and William Gallas were limping badly in the closing stages of this clash.
Then Carlo Cudicini was sent off in injury time - which means he misses the Carling Cup final, a match where he was due to captain the side.
Even so, Blues boss Mourinho refused to bemoan his side's luck.
He said: "A lot of things were against us today, but I thought we were magnificent.
"I am not happy we lost, of course I'm not. We care greatly about the FA Cup.
"But the most important thing for us is the Premiership. Newcastle was not the best team out there, but at Stamford Bridge they were the better side for 45 minutes and we ended up beating them 4-0.
"Good luck to them, they are a big team and I hope they go on and win it."
Mourinho added: "Today's message was of a very proud team that is together.
"Sometimes you are proud of your team when you win and sometimes you lose and you are even more proud of them.
"We were magnificent, our mentality was fantastic.
"Today is not a good moment for us, but it is not a drama.
"I have never been one to cry over injuries. If we have 11 players to play in the upcoming big games then we will go into them with the same mentalilty. Toon boss Graeme Souness was relieved to still be in the hunt for two cups.
He said: "If you're a manager of a big club you are always under pressure, but there are different degrees. It's either intense or very intense.
"But we have got a result today against a very good side.
"We scored a goal and became nervous. They are a top team and were playing with all the confidence in the world."
BRIDGE OF SIGHS ... Wayne Bridge is carried off with a suspected broken ankle
Souness paid tribute to Laurent Robert, who set up the winning goal with a fantastic cross.
He said: "We know he can do that. We keep trying to make him work a bit harder when we don't have the ball.
"He delivered a great ball and Patrick dispatched it very well."
Everything Blues boss Mourinho has touched this season has turned to gold - until now.
This match could hardly have turned out any worse.
The former Porto manager put out a weakened side with Frank Lampard, Damien Duff and Eidur Gudjohnsen on the bench.
Mourinho was hoping the players on the pitch would get a result, allowing him the luxury of resting his big stars for Wednesday's massive Champions League clash in Barca.
With his side in danger of going out he made a triple subsitution at half-time - bringing all three big names on - which meant when Bridge was injured two minutes into the second half Chelsea had to play the rest of the game with 10 men.
Keeping the quadruple dream alive was always going to an uphill task - even for a team with as big a heart as Chelsea - and so it proved.
Newcastle were quickly into their stride on a difficult pitch which had to be cleared of snow in the morning.
Toon fans saw Robert at his worst in the second minute when he sellfishly blasted over the bar from an impossible angle with men queuing up in the box.
Two minutes later the Frenchman showed the other side of his game. Robert curled a delightful left-foot cross into the box and Kluivert rose majestically to thump a header past the helpless Cudicini.
Butt slashed a shot high and wide before Chelsea finally got into their stride midway through the half.
Kezman was caught off-balance from a Geremi cross and headed over from a good position on 23 minutes.
A minute later Tiago and Joe Cole combined before the Portuguese international put a wickedly-deflected cross into the box.
Titus Bramble and Celestine Babayaro looked at each other while the alert Kezman nipped in to flick the ball over Given. The goal-shy Serbian looked at the heavens as the ball crashed back off the bar.
Jarosik then saw his low shot parried away by Given after Kezman's lay-off from a throw-in.
KEEPER WEEPER ... ref Halsey sends off Carlo CudiciniPicture: MARK ROBINSOn
Mourinho made his triple change at the break and within two minutes was regretting it.
Shearer made an innocuous-looking challenge on Bridge but the Chelsea man stayed down for ages. Medical staff put a brace on his leg before carrying him off.
Lampard's 25-yard shot went under Bramble's foot but the shot was straight at Given.
Shearer - who had passed a late fitness test on a hamstring strain - made way for Shola Ameobi and James Milner replaced Kieron Dyer.
Kezman volleyed wide but not surprisingly the best chances fell to the team with the extra man.
Carr looked certain to extend the Toon's lead when he got away down the left, but he was denied by a combined last-gasp tackle by Duff and Cudicini.
More bad news for Mourinho has that the Irish international was left limping for the last 20 minutes - and must be a doubt for midweek.
Then Cudicini felled Ameobi as the striker tried to take the ball around him and was shown red.
Fullback Glen Johnson had to take the goalkeeper's jersey and made a superb save with his feet from Kluivert's free-kick.
DREAM TEAM STAR MAN: STEPHEN CARR (Newcastle). Brighter and more confident with every game back from a hamstring injury.
NEWCASTLE: Given 6, Carr 8, Bramble 6, Boumsong 6, Babayaro 6, Dyer 6 (Milner 4), Jenas 5, Butt 6, Robert 7, Kluivert 6, Shearer 6 (Ameobi 5). Subs not used: Caig, Hughes, N’Zogbia.
CHELSEA: Cudicini 6, Johnson 6, Carvalho 6, Gallas 6, Bridge 6, Smertin 6, Jarosik 7, Tiago 6 (Lampard 7), Geremi 5 (Gudjohnsen 6), Cole 5 (Duff 6), Kezman 5. Subs not used: Cech, Ferreira. Booked: Tiago, Carvalho. Sent off: Cudicini.
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Independent:

Chelsea disarray after Cup fiasco in the snow

By Sam Wallace

21 February 2005

Jose Mourinho's dream of winning an unprecedented four trophies this season was ended by defeat to Newcastle in the FA Cup yesterday, and now the Chelsea manager faces a serious injury crisis ahead of Wednesday's game against Barcelona, after injuries to Wayne Bridge, Damien Duff and William Gallas.
The Chelsea team touched down in Barcelona in the early hours of this morning still waiting to find out whether Duff will recover from a knee injury in time for the first leg of the Champions' League first knock-out round match. Gallas has a groin problem and is doubtful but Bridge is definitely out of the game with a suspected broken ankle.
After an extraordinary game at St James' Park which Chelsea finished with just nine men - following Bridge's injury and a red card for the goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini - Mourinho said that he would not "cry about injuries".
"I never like to cry on injuries. I don't think it's the best way to look at it. I will see when I get on to the plane tonight, I will think about the team I will put out in Barcelona because it's time to think about that and not time to think or to cry about injuries."
The Chelsea manager, who is also without Didier Drogba and Arjen Robben, also insisted that winning the Premiership, the Champions' League, the FA Cup and the Carling Cup in one season was not impossible.
"It's possible because I did it in Portugal when we won the League, the Uefa Cup, the Portuguese Cup and the Portuguese Super Cup," he said. "I know it is difficult in England when you have no control over the fixtures and you have to play like we did today without our best team. We had to play against a team who were competing for their only chance of silverware."
Mourinho held good to his promise to play a weakened team in order to prepare for the match against Barcelona. With John Terry suspended he put Frank Lampard, Duff and Eidur Gudjohnsen on the substitutes' bench but, after falling behind to a fourth-minute headed goal from Patrick Kluivert, the Chelsea manager controversially decided to send on all three players at half-time.
In blizzard conditions that had put the 4pm kick-off in doubt for much of the day, Chelsea were reduced to 10 men when they lost Bridge just two minutes into the second-half after a challenge with Alan Shearer. "I don't know what happened," said the Newcastle captain. "We clashed and he got his foot stuck in the ground."
Cudicini was sent off in injury time after he tripped Shola Ameobi outside the area and Glen Johnson was forced to deputise in goal. "It was a big risk," Mourinho said of his triple substitution. "I am the manager, I make the decisions and I am responsible for the defeats, not the victories. I felt it was the best thing for the team at the time. Even though we only had 10 men for much of the second half it seemed like we had 11." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Times:

Tinkerman Mourinho pays the price

By Matt Dickenson

Newcastle United 1 Chelsea 0

FOR A MANAGER WHO THRIVES ON meticulous planning, there was far too much chaos yesterday. José Mourinho could stomach defeat in the FA Cup fifth round — his selection of a weakened team said as much — but there was mayhem in the driving snow at St James’ Park that he must hope did not pursue him on last night’s flight to Barcelona. Chelsea finished with nine men, including Glen Johnson in goal, and it might as well have been eight, given the injury to Damien Duff. Misfortune played its part, particularly in the bad break suffered by Wayne Bridge in the 47th minute, but Mourinho had invited trouble by making three half-time substitutions.
The Portuguese’s boldness is one of the traits that has made him such a welcome and refreshing addition to the English game, but he must know that his triple change backfired. First Bridge departed to hospital, with a suspected broken ankle. His manager would only confirm that “for sure it is something big”.
Duff’s knee injury was a direct consequence, because it was covering for the full back that he injured himself in a collision with Carlo Cudicini. The Ireland winger limped on to the plane last night, but should he miss Wednesday’s European Cup tie in the Nou Camp, the impact would be massive given Arjen Robben’s absence with a broken foot.
William Gallas also departed from Tyneside with a sore groin and was declared a doubt for Barcelona. “I am not going to cry over injuries,” Mourinho said, but he had picked a weakened starting XI precisely so that he would not have to take a sackful of worries to Catalunya. It was only Chelsea’s third loss under their Portuguese manager — after Manchester City in the Premiership and FC Porto in the European Cup — but it still seemed a very un-Mourinho like defeat.
The disorder was compounded when Cudicini was dismissed in the five minutes added on for stoppages for felling Shola Ameobi just outside the penalty area. Johnson borrowed the goalkeeper’s shirt and gloves, presumably sent between the posts because of his erratic play in defence. He blocked a fizzing Laurent Robert free kick and, seconds later, St James’ Park erupted in celebration at the final whistle.
Newcastle were through to the quarter-finals, their quest for a first trophy in 36 years surviving an anxious second half, while Chelsea’s hunt for four in one season will have to wait for another campaign. “There is no time for dramas,” Mourinho said, “especially when you are in a fantastic position to win what is most important for us — the Premiership.
Newcastle had begun brightly enough, buoyed by a goal after only four minutes when the ball was fed wide to Laurent Robert. The winger picked out Patrick Kluivert, who soared above Gallas to head past Cudicini.
Tyneside’s mounting despair at the Graeme Souness regime eased for the next 20 minutes, until Mateja Kezman met Tiago’s deflected cross and glanced the ball past Shay Given. To the striker’s despair, the ball bounced down from the underside of the crossbar and away from goal. “The boy is really, really unlucky,” Mourinho said. On most of this season’s evidence, that is a kind analysis.
Kezman, rather than Joe Cole, should have made way at the interval, when Mourinho threw on Duff, Frank Lampard and Eidur Gudjohnsen. Newcastle had already begun to retreat and even when Bridge departed on a stretcher after a seemingly harmless challenge by Alan Shearer to make it ten against 11, Souness’s players reverted to bad habits.
Kluivert and Kieron Dyer disappeared and Newcastle’s midfield suddenly looked desperately ordinary compared with the running and touches of Lampard. Nicky Butt could claim rustiness. The big disappointment was Jermaine Jenas, a bright young talent who does not appear to be progressing. Still, Newcastle could temporarily forget their troubles. Titus Bramble had one of his less jittery afternoons, while Stephen Carr was unlucky not to be declared man of the match. A home draw against anyone other than Manchester United in the next round would allow Shearer, who came off early with a tight hamstring, to dream of retiring in Cardiff.
For Chelsea, it was off to Barcelona with Mourinho admitting that it was “a big risk” to make three substitutions at half-time, but he was touchy when it was suggested that he might have regrets. “Of course,” he said with a sneer, “I am responsible for the defeats and not for the victories. You can have your headline. Mourinho is guilty.”
The Portuguese wished Newcastle luck as they attempt to win the game’s oldest knockout competition for the first time since 1955. He has bigger prizes to chase. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

man city 0-0

Times:

Chelsea's stumble gives hope to rivals
By Russell Kempson
Chelsea 0 Manchester City 0

THERE IS LIFE IN THE BARCLAYS Premiership title race after all. Just when Arsenal thought that their crown had gone and Manchester United believed that the game might be up, too, Chelsea showed their human frailties by dropping their first points in nine matches. It was Manchester City who lowered Chelsea’s colours at the City of Manchester Stadium in October — the only time that José Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, has experienced a Premiership defeat since he arrived in England last summer — and it was City who again offered a glimmer of hope to Arsenal and United at Stamford Bridge yesterday. Mourinho has done all the calculations. In his programme notes, he said: “We need nine wins and a draw to make the title ours”. Having failed to score for the first time since losing 1-0 to City, 17 league matches ago, the Portuguese did a quick recount. “OK, now we need just the nine wins,” he said wryly.
Defensively sound, as always, and keeping a ninth successive clean sheet, a top-flight record, Chelsea were unable to break down a City side showing similarly stubborn qualities. An unusually tetchy Mourinho found it difficult to accept, his praise of City little more than grudging. “It was an undeserved result for us,” he said, “because only one side had chances to score. We tried everything but City fought a lot and were a bit lucky.

“The championship is over 38 matches and some you win, some you lose, some you draw. Every point is a point gained and we are still nine ahead. I don’t know of any other club in Europe who has that lead. It was not a result that we wanted, but a point is better than zero.”
Kevin Keegan, the City manager, was not enamoured. “We came here with a plan and we knew we had to work very hard,” he said. “We did the little things well that made the big things happen for us. When you’re top and have lost only once, Chelsea are not going to get teams coming here and taking them on. José has got to give a bit more credit to opponents sometimes.”

Respectful in the tunnel beforehand, with not a hint of the ugly antics at Highbury on Tuesday night, Chelsea and City showed a healthy respect for each other throughout. Too much really. Apart from a blatant dive from Mateja Kezman as he brushed past Richard Dunne, which Dunne paid him back for soon after with a crunching challenge, there was little to commend the early period.

Keegan had done his homework, his fluent and forceful midfield formation smothering the forward thrusts of Jiri Jarosik and Frank Lampard. City had already drawn against United at Old Trafford and Arsenal at Highbury and were ready for the equally daunting trip to West London. It was a chance, too, for Shaun Wright-Phillips, the City midfield player, to impress the watching Sven-Göran Eriksson, the England head coach, before the friendly match against Holland at Villa Park on Wednesday night.

Wright-Phillips did not disappoint, making a series of jinking runs on the right wing. That Eriksson is more likely to use him on the left, keeping David Beckham on the right, should not blunt his instincts. Wright-Phillips would play anywhere for England and Wayne Bridge, the England and Chelsea left back, will not have faced many trickier opponents this season.
The first half improved, with Chelsea launching a sustained assault on David James, the City goalkeeper. England’s former No 1 was up to it, saving from Damien Duff, Jarosik and Kezman in quick succession. Not quite good enough for him to get the nod ahead of Paul Robinson at Villa Park, but encouraging nonetheless. Eriksson has an in-form No 2 and even when James was beaten, by a header from William Gallas, Paul Bosvelt scrambled the ball away. “Robinson still knows that he’s got a fight on his hands,” Keegan said.

Chelsea’s defensive excellence was not without its occasional lapse. When Robbie Fowler stooped to meet a cross from Wright-Phillips, he guided it past a post with Petr Cech stranded. Joey Barton and Wright-Phillips had opportunities also but, having made room for their shots, they failed to trouble Cech.
Without Arjen Robben, their injured sorcerer, Chelsea grew frustrated. There was no one to pick the City lock, no one to capitalise on their smart approach work. “Arjen is a magnificent player,” Mourinho said. “When a magnificent player is not playing, you miss him.”
Eidur Gudjohnsen raged at the apparent injustice of it all, collecting a booking for kicking the ball away in disgust, and was denied in stoppage time by a marvellous last-ditch tackle from Dunne. Again, he shook his head in despair, much as Lampard did minutes later when James battered away his volley.
The “Colegate Affair”, the alleged illegal courting of Ashley Cole, the Arsenal left back, may have unsettled Chelsea, but the loss of two points against City was not quite as scandalous as Mourinho made out.

Chelsea extend the great divide
By Bill Edgar

MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND but it makes the football world go pear-shaped. At least it does to domestic competition in England, where gaps in standards are becoming so vast that the Barclays Premiership is a Promised Land that has split into two countries. This season the top flight is on course to provide the greatest distance between the top three and the bottom three since league football began in 1888. Not only are Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal on the way to producing the best performance of a top three — as measured by the points total of the third-placed team — but West Bromwich Albion, Southampton and Norwich City are on course to be the second-worst bottom three — as gauged by the points tally of the third-last side.

We have compared the 106 seasons of league football by assuming three points for a win throughout (a victory earned two points until 1981) and adjusted tallies proportionately as if each campaign had contained 38 games, which is the present length. The results show that while the top three are powering away, fuelled by regular income from the Champions League, the bottom three, who often include newly promoted clubs who are relatively impoverished, are increasingly prone to struggle.

At their present rate, Chelsea will accrue 95 points, Manchester United 82 and Arsenal 79. Even though Arsène Wenger’s side would trail José Mourinho’s by 16 points, they would have recorded the highest number of points, proportionately, by a third-placed team. Of the next six best returns by a side finishing third, three occurred in the past six seasons, twice by United, last term and in 2001-02, and once by Chelsea, in 1998-99.
The big three have played a combined 78 Premiership matches this season, losing only seven, but, since three of those defeats came against each other (United did the double over Arsenal and Chelsea beat United, while Arsenal and Chelsea drew at Highbury), the record of the trio against the rest is four losses in 74 games. Take into account FA Cup and Carling Cup ties (again not including those involving two of the big three), and their overall record is four defeats in 87 domestic matches, or one in every 22 fixtures.

Matters are almost as extreme at the other end of the Premiership table. At the present rate, West Bromwich will finish with 25 points, Southampton 28 and Norwich 29. Nigel Worthington’s men are on course to record the second-lowest number of points among third-bottom teams, proportionately, in history, with only Queens Park Rangers faring worse with their tally (adjusted from two to three points for a win and from 42 to 38 games) of 28 in 1978-79, when Birmingham City and Chelsea were below them.

Given the positions of the top three and bottom three, it is no surprise that the gap between third and third bottom is on course to be the largest ever, with 50 points separating Arsenal and Norwich. Two of the four previous greatest such distances in history have come in the past three seasons, underlining the recent decrease in competitiveness. Last term, third-placed United and third-bottom Leicester City were 42 points apart, while two years earlier, the gulf between United and Ipswich Town, who filled those positions, was 41 points.
This season, the gap will almost certainly be more than 34 points for the sixth year in seven, whereas such a large difference occurred only seven times in the previous 99 years. The smallest gap was the ten points (allowing for adjustment) between Newcastle United, in third, and Stoke City in 1901-02.

As for the supremacy of Chelsea, their projected points total of 95 would constitute comfortably the best top-flight season ever statistically had Preston North End not managed an outstanding opening league campaign in 1888-89, when only 22 games were played. Unbeaten after 18 wins and four draws, their adjusted total will be beaten only if Chelsea win their remaining 12 Premiership fixtures.

Chelsea’s remarkable defensive record has prompted comparisons to the great Liverpool side of 1978-79, but the latter’s adjusted points total was 89, six fewer than the number that Mourinho’s team are on course to achieve. Manchester United totalled 91 in 1999-2000, the season after their treble, and Arsenal managed 90 when remaining undefeated last season. With Chelsea seemingly set to better that, it is remarkable to think that Arsenal’s feat, for all the tributes they received, may be only the third best in the past six years. Given the increasing quality gap, teams newly promoted to the Premiership should be supplied with passports so they can travel to the other side of the Promised Land.

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

Guardian:

Jaded Chelsea lose lustre to stubborn City
James to the fore as inspiration evades home side
Kevin McCarra

Manchester City are a bunch of eccentrics, but do not ask Jose Mourinho to find them lovable. A side beaten by Oldham in the FA Cup have somehow found a way to draw away fixtures with all three of England's leading clubs in the Premiership. Yesterday, Chelsea lost their knack of rolling on where Manchester United and Arsenal have stalled. They still hold a lead of nine points in the table and the Premier League may have to confiscate a few from them over the alleged tapping of Ashley Cole if Mourinho's palms are to start sweating. None the less, Sir Alex Ferguson's observation that Chelsea are no longer playing so well may be a fact as well as a ploy on United's part.

The Stamford Bridge team put down a marker here which they will feel like crumpling and tossing in the bin. With Petr Cech in goal, they have set a record for the top division in England of nine consecutive clean sheets. It was, however, the feats of the opposing goalkeeper which resonated yesterday.
David James generally did well and, for instance, got his legs in the way of a Frank Lampard free-kick that flew through the defensive wall after 72 minutes, but it was in stoppage-time that he gave the game its defining moment.

Paulo Ferreira delivered a free-kick which was eventually knocked back across goal by John Terry, and Lampard cracked a volley which James, showing uncanny reflexes, palmed away with enough strength of hand to push it to safety. The Chelsea midfielder, who could be proud of his technique, must have wished he had come up with a mis-hit to wrongfoot the goalkeeper.
All the same, it was not the fates who conspired against Chelsea. Mourinho's side had not failed to score in the Premiership since their sole defeat, away to City in October. If they were stifled again, it must be because Kevin Keegan's players are capable, at their best and most motivated, of composed resistance.

Just before James made his save a vigilant Richard Dunne came across to clear from a corner when, for a second, the substitute Tiago seemed to have presented Eidur Gudjohnsen with an opening to score. The alertness of the centre-back, though, was echoed throughout the line-up.
There were chances but no sieges from Chelsea because City scrambled their build-up in midfield. Players such as Joey Barton produced strong tackles but they were also inclined to be capable in their passing just when the Stamford Bridge team thought they were about to assume control.

It was the visitors who had the simplest invitation to score. On a counter-attack six minutes prior to half-time, Barton flighted a good ball to the wing. Shaun Wright-Phillips then supplied the England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson with evidence that he can play on the left of midfield by beating Claude Makelele and steering over a cross. Terry slipped, but a lunging Robbie Fowler sent his header wide.

There was no indication that Chelsea would have mustered the verve to shake off a goal then. Two principal factors brought a jaded tone to their display: they were leg-weary after a harsh contest on Blackburn's pitch and they were without influential figures.
The absence of Arjen Robben is ominous and Chelsea are still not sure how badly his ligaments have been damaged or whether the Dutchman has broken a bone in his foot. It hampered Mourinho that the injured Didier Drogba was also unavailable to pit his power against that of Dunne and Sylvain Distin.

Worse still, others did not really compensate for the disadvantages. All the images of Mateja Kezman were unhappy ones until he was taken off. It felt like a manifestation of his lack of confidence that he seemed to prefer to go down early in the game, when Dunne had actually avoided touching him, instead of surging for the penalty area.

Despite his incessant scoring in the Netherlands he has only one Premiership goal on his record and even that was notched from the penalty spot, against Newcastle United. Misfortune seems to stay on the trail of such men as they go through a wearisome period.
In the 34th minute, for instance, he could not convert after a Damien Duff attempt had broken back off James. Most of the 42,093 crowd groaned as the replay of the miss was shown but the ball had flown sharply and inconveniently to Kezman. If Robben will be missing for a while, though, Mourinho needs someone better or luckier than the Serb in attack.
As it was, set pieces were Chelsea's most productive device. William Gallas, slackly marked, directed a downward header from Duff's corner after 38 minutes, but it was blocked by the efforts of Paul Bosvelt and James on the goalline.

The mayhem was intermittent for Chelsea. Kezman, fortunate for once, enjoyed the break of the ball to set up Duff for an attempt after 54 minutes which James tipped away from the on-rushing Gudjohnsen, but a lull followed instead of an onslaught.
It is no tragedy for Chelsea that they could not win their ninth Premiership match in a row but they would have preferred to keep their lustre as they approach a difficult spell which begins with a trip to Everton on Saturday. They then go to Newcastle in the FA Cup and Barcelona in the Champions League before the League Cup final with Liverpool.

"That coat's from Matalan," the gleeful City fans chanted at Mourinho. Implausible, but Chelsea did not look sharp.
---------------------------------------------------

Independent:

James halts Chelsea to give United fresh hope
Chelsea 0 Manchester City 0
By Sam Wallace

Suddenly there is the faintest glimmer of hope in the title race for Manchester United, and it has been delivered from the unlikeliest of sources. It was with some self-deprecation that Kevin Keegan joked yesterday that tactics were not his "strongest point", but no one in the Premiership has a better record this season against the virtuoso football strategies of Jose Mourinho than the former England coach.

The lead Chelsea hold over United at the top of the Premiership still stands at nine points, but the psychological implications of the two they have dropped may yet be more widespread. Mourinho pointed out tartly that there is not a club in any of the top leagues in Europe who hold such an advantage at this stage of the season, but the end of a run of eight wins in a row had plunged the Portuguese coach into a dark mood.

He snapped back at questions over the Premier League's inquiry into the "tapping up" of Ashley Cole and refused to discuss the injuries to Arjen Robben and Didier Drogba that now seem more significant than ever. When it came to City's display, he acknowledged the outstanding contribution of David James, but despaired at the defensive tactics of the opposition.

In October, City became the only team to beat Chelsea in the Premiership this season with a victory in east Manchester. With the achievements of Mourinho's side since then, yesterday's result was greeted with incredulity by an away support who taunted the Portuguese manager with the most inventive chant of the season. As he rose from the dug-out in his trademark grey overcoat they sang "Your coat's from Matalan".

But there was nothing cut-price about the team that Mourinho selected, with Damien Duff their chief threat in the absence of Robben. He led the way in a spell of Chelsea pressure at the end of the first half that James dealt with superbly. He saved the Irishman's near-post shot on 33 minutes and then tipped Frank Lampard's effort over the bar. William Gallas' header from a corner was scooped off the line by Paul Bosvelt.

For all their pressure, Chelsea could not prevent Shaun Wright-Phillips escaping down the left wing and beating Claude Makelele just before half-time. He picked out Robbie Fowler at the near post and, as John Terry slipped, the City striker put his header wide. But Mourinho would not accept his opponents were serious about attacking.
"It's an undeserved result in my opinion because only one team had real chances," he said. "But we couldn't score and they fought a lot, defended a lot and had a great goalkeeper. They were lucky and they got a point. Before the win we needed nine wins and a draw to win the title and now we only need nine wins."

It was not luck, however, that kept out Lampard's volley from eight yards deep into added time. Terry won a header in the area and the ball dropped nicely for his England colleague with just James to beat. He struck the ball low and hard to the goalkeeper's right, but James' hand deflected the shot away from a busy area full of Chelsea attackers.
Mourinho did not repeat the accusation he lodged against Tottenham, that their defending was no more subtle than the proverbial bus parked in front of a goal, but he was reminded by Keegan that teams would not come to Chelsea to attack. "I don't know what it is like in Portugal, but in England when you play teams like Chelsea you have to be sensible," he said. "What he [Mourinho] has to learn to do is to give credit to other teams - there are two in every game."

In defence for City, Richard Dunne and Sylvain Distin were outstanding, but they were still not as crucial as James. Before the City area was inundated with shots at the very end of the match, James kept out another stinging free-kick from Lampard after 72 minutes.
It might not be enough to earn him a place in the England team this week, but he and his City team-mates did at least give the rest of the Premiership a small clue as to how Mourinho's points-gobbling blue machine might be stopped in the future.

Chelsea (4-5-1): Cech; Ferreira, Gallas, Terry, Bridge; Gudjohnsen, Jarosik (Tiago, 56), Makelele, Lampard, Duff; Kezman (Cole, 62). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Johnson, Smertin.
Manchester City (4-4-2): James; Mills, Dunne, Distin, Thatcher; Wright-Phillips, Barton, Bosvelt, Musampa; Fowler, Sibierski (McManaman, 86). Substitutes not used: Weaver (gk), Macken, Onuoha, Jordan.

Referee: H Webb (South Yorkshire).
Booked: Chelsea Makelele, Gudjohnsen; Manchester City Bosvelt.
Man of the match: James.
Attendance: 42,093.----------------------------------------------------------------------------


Telegraph:

Chelsea frustrated by defiant James
By Henry Winter

Chelsea (0) 0 Man City (0) 0

Chelsea drop points once in a Blue Moon, yet they were again frustrated by Manchester City yesterday. Having lost at Eastlands earlier in the season, Jose Mourinho's Premiership pacesetters were held at Stamford Bridge by Kevin Keegan's well-organised, well-motivated side, for whom David James was the model of athletic defiance in goal.
Going nowhere: Danny Mills stands up to Damien Duff Mourinho was slightly dismissive of City's sweat-stained efforts, unfairly so as Keegan's visitors brimmed with resilience and intelligence, particularly in central midfield, central defence and between the posts. "One team tried to win and couldn't while the other tried for a point and got one," reflected Mourinho, whose team now lie nine points ahead of Manchester United.

"This was an undeserved result. City fought a lot, defended a lot, had a great keeper, were lucky and got a point. But we still have a nine-point lead and I don't know any team in Europe with a nine-point lead. Not in Spain, Italy or Germany." Do not mention throwing away nine-point leads too loudly in front of Keegan.
City's manager did observe that "Chelsea will probably win the championship," but urged Mourinho to adopt a touch of humility. "Jose Mourinho has been great for English football," Keegan said. "Manchester United and Arsenal winning everything was getting boring - for me. What Mourinho has to learn to do is to give credit to other teams."

The arrogance that can grip parts of the Bridge - caution after years of title disappointment colours others - was reflected on the back of the shirt of a Chelsea fan standing close to Mourinho in the dug-out. "Champions - it's only a matter of time," read the shirt. Meanwhile, City supporters close to Mourinho were castigating the Portuguese for his fashion sense. "That coat's from Matalan," chanted the visitors.

What Mourinho most lacked yesterday was the pacy, prolific Arjen Robben, who was hobbling around the Bridge on crutches. The statistics speak - make that scream - volumes. In 16 games with the Dutchman, Chelsea have scored 41 times. In 10 matches without him, Mourinho's men have netted only eight times. "Robben is a magnificent player and you always miss that," said Mourinho, who is still waiting to find out whether the Dutchman has broken his foot.
Robben's understudy, Mateja Kezman, should have been cautioned for a dive in the opening minutes. James then began displaying his enduring excellence, saving superbly from Kezman and Frank Lampard. As the game wore on, James grew even greater in stature, brilliantly blocking a low Lampard free-kick with his legs. Then, to the disbelief of the Bridge, James somehow flung himself to his right to claw away a meaty Lampard strike. "When I saw it was Lampard pulling the trigger, I thought "Oh no," Keegan said. "Lampard can't miss at the moment but for a big man like James to get down so quickly was fantastic."

James was marvellous, yet he was well protected by the outstanding Richard Dunne and Sylvain Distin. "We have taken a lot more pride in our defending this season," said Dunne, who has taken a lot more pride in his career. Danny Mills and Ben Thatcher were the models of commitment at full-back, while Joey Barton and Paul Bosvelt completely disrupted Chelsea's usual central creative sources. Lampard probably arrived home last night to find Barton waiting in his front garden.

Mourinho dismissed City's occasional attacking threat. "Robbie Fowler fought a lot but I don't remember a shot from him," Mourinho said. "I didn't see Shaun Wright-Phillips."
Admittedly, the diminutive City winger did sometimes disappear behind huge divots, but the could be spotted racing behind Mourinho's full-backs. The England international even popped up on the left, which will have interested the watching Sven-Goran Eriksson, and whipped in a low ball that Fowler headed wide. "We didn't just come here and park our bus in front of our goal," smiled Keegan.

Match details

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Ferreira, Gallas, Terry, Bridge; Jarosik (Tiago, 56), Makelele, Lampard; Gudjohnsen, Kezman (J Cole, 62), Duff. Subs: Cudicini (g), Johnson, Smertin. Booked: Makelele, Gudjohnsen.

Manchester City (4-4-1-1): James; Mills, Dunne, Distin, Thatcher; Wright-Phillips, Barton, Bosvelt, Musampa; Sibierski (McManaman, 85); Fowler. Subs: Weaver (g), Macken, Onuoha, Jordan. Booked: Bosvelt. Referee: H Webb (S Yorkshire).www.telegraph.co.uk/winter

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Sun:

By SUN ONLINE REPORTER

JOSE MOURINHO'S Chelsea were unable to break down a resolute City side at Stamford Bridge. The scoreless draw leaves Chelsea with a nine point lead at the top of the Premiership and City unbeaten against Chelsea. The crucial moment came in the last minute when City keeper David James somehow kept out Frank Lampard's close range volley. That amazing save must rekindle James' England hopes. He said: "I’m in the squad so I’m happy at the moment, and if I get the chance to reproduce that sort of form for England I’m ready."

But Mourinho - who claimed he was untroubled by a probe into Chelsea's alleged approach for Ashley Cole - felt the Blues clearly deserved victory. He said: "I prefer to say my players in finishing situations weren’t lucky and they had in David James a goalkeeper who made incredible saves to get them the point." "Only one team had chances to score goals, but we couldn’t score and they fought a lot, defended a lot and had a good goalkeeper.

They were lucky. "We tried everything, had unbelievable chances. "Before this game we needed nine victories and a draw - now we need nine victories." Mourinho confessed Chelsea missed the influence of striker Didier Drogba and especially winger Arjen Robben. He added: "When you have more players, you have more options and more chances to win. "I think we did enough to win the game but we have a lead of nine points - still very good for us."

Early on Mateja Kezman almost created an opening for himself when latching onto a poor headed clearance 25 yards out. But after knocking the ball past outstanding centre-back Richard Dunne, the Chelsea striker then theatrically went to ground - and could count himself fortunate not to be cautioned by referee Howard Webb. City were not without their attacking threat, particularly through England man Shaun Wright-Phillips, the tenacious midfielder causing plenty of concern for the home backline with his turn of pace. As the quarter-hour mark approached, the match was still devoid of a clear-cut chance at either end of the pitch.

John Terry was busy, though, when twice making telling blocks in the 17th minute. First the England centre-half charged down Sibierski’s pot-shot at point-blank range on the edge of the box, before then cutting out Wright-Phillips’ low centre after the City midfielder had twisted past two markers on the right flank. Visiting captain Sylvain Distin then out-paced Kezman as the Serbia and Montenegro forward chased a long ball down the Chelsea left, tapping back to keeper David James, who made no mistake with the clearance. In the 22nd minute, Webb kept his cards in his pocket again as Danny Mills clattered into Terry, a manoeuvre which looked like retaliation for the Chelsea captain’s strong aerial challenge on Wright-Phillips moments earlier. Sibierski was floored following a clash of heads with Terry but the City player was, thankfully, soon back on his feet and in the action again following some quick treatment.

With 32 minutes gone Fowler tried his luck with a snap-shot from just outside the penalty area, but Chelsea number Petr Cech - who had not conceded a goal for a record 781 minutes before this afternoon’s match - collected comfortably low at his near post. Duff found enough space in the left-hand side of the area to test David James with a low drive. The England keeper got down well to parry, but spilled the ball. However, Kezman could not turn it in from no more than a yard out, haplessly stabbing his shot. James then tipped Jarosik’s header over from Frank Lampard’s corner and stood up to block Kezman’s angled drive as the Premiership leaders stepped up the pace.

The City goal was leading a charmed life, as in the 38th minute Paul Bosvelt somehow scrambled William Gallas’ header off the line. On the break, the visitors then had a gilt-edged chance themselves when Wright-Phillips chased a long punt across field into the left channel. The England winger turned Gallas, before pulling the ball back along the six-yard box. Terry slipped at the vital moment, handing Fowler a free header. But with the whole goal to aim at, the former Liverpool striker sent his diving header wide. With five minutes to go before the break, Claude Makelele was cautioned for going in from behind on Sibierski. Neither side made any changes after the break, and Kezman quickly tested James with a low shot on the turn from the edge of the penalty area. There was a scare for the hosts, though, in the 50th minute.

A long punt towards the Chelsea box was not dealt with and Joey Barton seized on the loose ball, drilling a shot across Cech’s goal and only a few feet wide of the far post. In the 54th minute Chelsea went close again. Kezman fed Duff into the left edge of the box. His low centre flew across the six-yard line and a touch from James meant the ball just eluded Gudjohnsen’s outstretched boot at the far post. Wright-Phillips then drove the ball wide after another strong run from midfield, before the Chelsea physio had to contend with two cut lips, Terry needing treatment following a clash with Barton and Cech after collecting the ball at Fowler’s feet. In the 57th minute, Tiago replaced Jarosik, with Cole then coming on for Kezman just after the hour mark. Gudjohnsen lost his temper after a free-kick was awarded against him on the edge of the City box - and earned a needless caution when kicking the ball away in frustration.

Kevin Keegan’s men were soaking up immense pressure now as Chelsea pressed hard to try to break the deadlock. But they continued to look dangerous on the break, with Wright-Phillips ensuring the home defence remained focused as the game entered the final 20 minutes. Dunne said: "It’s just the way we are this season - we’ve done well against the good teams so it wasn’t much of a surprise that we could do that sort of performance. "There were tackles flying in everywhere and everyone did their part to keep the point. "We’ve improved on the defensive part of our game this season and today was one of those days where we all dug in and defended well."

And keeper James insists mid-table City can still earn a top-six finish. He said: "The thing that has let us down has been our consistency. We play well against the decent sides - Chelsea haven’t scored against us this season. "We’ve got some tough games to come, it’s Manchester United next, and we need to win against the lower sides. But I think we’re quite capable of finishing sixth or seventh."

DREAM TEAM STAR MAN: DAVID JAMES (Man City). Spoiled Chelsea’s day with a series of truly stunning saves.

Dream Team ratings

Chelsea:Cech 6, Makelele 6, Lampard 7, Kezman 6 (Cole 6), Duff 7, Gallas 6, Bridge 6, Ferreira 6, Gudjohnsen 6, Terry 7, Jarosik 6 (Tiago 6). Subs not used: Cudicini, Johnson, Smertin. Booked: Makelele, Gudjohnsen.

Man City:James 9, Thatcher 6, Distin 7, Fowler 6, Sibierski 6 (McManaman 5), Musampa 6, Mills 7, Dunne 7, Barton 6, Bosvelt 6, Wright-Phillips 8. Subs not used: Weaver, Macken, Onuoha, Jordan. Booked: Bosvelt.