wolves 2-0

Independent:

Kalou's killer instinct cures Chelsea blues

Chelsea 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0: Ancelotti blames trip to Moscow for lacklustre display as only poor finishing lets down Wolves

By Steve Tongue at Stamford Bridge

Anyone investing even a modest sum on Wolverhampton Wanderers to win here at something around 20-1 would have received an unexpectedly good run for their money. It was tighter than many a fixture between League leaders and those down among the dead men at the bottom, without in the end even denting Chelsea's extraordinary home record. Like all Premier League visitors since Aston Villa last March, Wolves failed to score, but few if any can have had more opportunities to do so. A finish was simply not there, bringing to mind last season's feeble total of 32 goals, the worst of any team.
Steven Fletcher, bought from Burnley in the summer, has been hired to help Kevin Doyle in attack but Fletcher and the heavyweight – in every sense – Sylvan Ebanks-Blake did not appear until the last four minutes, when Salomon Kalou's goal had made the game safe for Chelsea, sending them five points clear of Manchester City who meet Arsenal today. Florent Malouda had scored the first, although even that was bookmarked by half-chances, and sometimes better at the other end.
Matt Jarvis, a young winger highly regarded and watched by Fabio Capello's lieutenant Franco Baldini, found Ashley Cole a meaner opponent than most he normally meets, and was replaced before the end. Meanwhile, the danger of pushing forward, Wolves discovered, was exposure to counter-attacks of pace and verve, which nevertheless tended to break down despite the return of Didier Drogba to the home attack.
"It is important to win when you are not 100 per cent," Chelsea's manager Carlo Ancelotti said, acknowledging that his team were a good few percentage points below that. "It was a difficult week because of the travelto Moscow. Our position is good, but tomorrow Manchester City can be two points behind."
For Wolves, Mick McCarthy had reason to be pleased with the performance against the side he rates as "the best in the League", while bemoaning a lack of "devilment" in front of goal. The visitors managed half a dozen reasonable chances in the first half alone. Almost all, however, were directed at Petr Cech and too many were weak headers, notably by Dave Edwards, Doyle and Jelle van Damme. The last of those, midway through the half, was heavily punished when Chelsea immediately broke to score. Nicolas Anelka led the counter, feeding Yuri Zhirkov, who from the byline cut the ball back across goal for Malouda to drive in his seventh goal of the season.
Other than that, and Anelka's shot into the side-netting after an equallyquick break out of defence, the most likely Chelsea scorer for a long time was the improbable figure of Jose Bosingwa. Returning to start a game for the first time in a year since his serious knee injury at Villa Park, the Portuguese full-back forced two good low saves from Marcus Hahnemann, the goalkeeper using his foot each time to concede a corner.
Hahnemann, an extrovert American, is clearly proud of his footwork; later he would tackle Drogba outside the penalty area when the striker was clean through on to Branislav Ivanovic's immaculate pass. Stephen Hunt, still reviled here for the incident at Reading four years ago that caused Cech a nasty head injury, appeared as a substitute and pantomime villain for the second half and almost stunned his abusers with a goal inside two minutes. One of the numerous Wolves corners fell nicelyfor him to aim a diving header which would have crept inside the far post had Michael Essien not blocked it.
Kalou, in gloves for autumn, replaced Malouda and when Chelsea used his flank for a more coherent move a fine goal resulted. The substitute started it all with a pass inside to Drogba and kept running as the Ivorian fed Essien, whose pass was perfectly placed and weighted for Kalou to slip past the goalkeeper.

Attendance: 41,752
Referee: Lee Probert
Man of the match: Bosingwa
Match rating: 6/10

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Observer:

Chelsea make hard work of Wolves but go five points clear at the top

Chelsea 2 Malouda 23, Kalou 81 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0

Paul Doyle at Stamford Bridge

From Russia without oomph. Chelsea tackled this domestic chore as if drained by their midweek trek to Moscow and, although they eventually stretched their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points and extended their 100% record at Stamford Bridge for the campaign, this was a far-from-perfect performance.
"We didn't play so well," admitted Carlo Ancelotti, who at times winced from the sideline. "We did not play as clearly as we have done at times this season but it was a difficult week with the travelling to Moscow. It is important to win when you're not at your best."
The sight of Steven Fletcher, Wolves' joint top-scorer, on the bench before kick-off may have indicated that Mick McCarthy had abandoned the adventurous formation with which he has been experimenting in recent weeks but it quickly transpired that his team had not come solely to defend.
The visitors began boldly and monopolised possession for the first five minutes, which were played entirely in the hosts' half. However, Chelsea, who have yet to concede a goal at home this term, remained unruffled throughout that brazen start by the visitors and soon, with minimal effort, gained a degree of control. At no point, however, could they be considered dominant, and slovenliness was often apparent. That, as well as neat play by McCarthy's men, meant their victory was at times in jeopardy.
The home team did produce the game's first shot on target, in the 11th minute, but Marcus Hahnemann saved well from José Bosingwa, the right-back who looked sprightly during his first start after almost a year out with torn knee ligaments. Yet too many of his team-mates were guilty of occasional negligence as Wolves, always tidy and thoughtful if a little too predictable, were able to forge intermittent chances.
The conception of the one in the 19th minute was especially artful, as an intricate move culminated with a Kevin Foley cross from the right and a powerful downward header from an unmarked Dave Edwards was saved by Petr Cech . Wolves replicated that manoeuvre a couple of minutes later and Cech was again forced to intervene.
Within seconds Chelsea made Wolves rue those misses. With Yuri Zhirkov responsible for raiding down the left, Florent Malouda was deployed in a more central role than usual and he frequently found space in the middle, most tellingly for the opening goal. Nicolas Anelka combined neatly with Zhirkov before the latter picked out Malouda unmarked near the penalty spot, and the Frenchman sidefooted nonchalantly past Hahnemann.
Anelka fired into the side-netting from the edge of the area after a flowing move in the 26th minute and Drogba went close after a short free-kick from Malouda ten minutes later.
Between those two efforts Nenad Milijas kept Cech on his toes with a couple of shots from long range. Wolves' best chance came just before the break, when Doyle eluded his marker but mistimed his header after a dainty chip from Matthew Jarvis.
Those opportunities were enough to further embolden McCarthy, who rejigged his team during the break to make it more attacking. Withdrawing the left-back Jelle Van Damme also enabled the winger Stephen Hunt to make his injury-delayed debut for Wolves following his summer move from Hull. The Irish winger was greeted with boos by the locals, who still hold him responsible for the fractured skull suffered by Cech in a collision with him in his Reading days, in 2006.
Hunt nearly made himself even more unpopular with the home crowd by scoring within moments of his entrance, but Michael Essien cleared his diving header off the line in the 47th minute.
Typically, it was Essien who led the attempts to rouse Chelsea from their lethargy. He embarked on a trademark charge through midfield in the 58th minute, only for his shot from the edge of the area to be inadvertently blocked by Malouda. Just after the hour he ventured forward again, and this time fed Anelka, who rifled over from 20 yards.
The most substandard Chelsea player was Didier Drogba, who was returning to the team after a virus. The 64th minute brought an indication that his recuperation is not complete, as he raced on to a long pass from Branislav Ivanovic and then, with Hahnemann stranded outside the box, dawdled uncharacteristically, allowing the goalkeeper to scramble the ball away.
"He [Drogba] was not precise in his play, he lost a lot of balls," Ancelotti said. "But after the illness he needed to play with the team and get comfortable on the pitch."
Ancelotti introduced Salomon Kalou late on in a bid to kill Wolves off and, in the 81st minute, the Ivorian obliged. Drogba linked slickly with Essien before the Ghanaian slipped the ball into the path of Kalou, who slotted calmly under Hahnemann from eight yards. Relief for Ancelotti, regrets for McCarthy.
"It was a very good performance, we just lacked a bit of devilment in front of goal," the Wolves manager said.

THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT

KAREN CHILDS Observer reader

We've got used to steamrollering sides at home in the league but this was different. It felt very lukewarm: we coasted throughout but we got the job done. Wolves played very well and Cech had to make a couple of decent saves before we scored. But I was surprised they didn't put on Ebanks-Blake earlier as he looked very dangerous. Once we scored, we seemed to be in the comfort zone. We had a touch of the Arsenals - lots of touches but no final product. However, young McEachran got the crowd buzzing when he came on and he showed a lot of promise again. But it was just good to get the points.

RATINGS Cech 7; Bosingwa 8 (Ferreira 78 6), Ivanovic 7, Terry 7, Cole 7; Essien 7, Mikel 6, Zhirkov 7 (McEachran 82 8); Malouda 7 (Kalou 72 7), Drogba 7, Anelka 8 Subs not used Turnbull, Bruma, Sturridge, Kakuta

LOUIE SILVANI MyWolvesblog.com
We might have lost but we played the best football I've seen from us for a while. We played the ball to feet right from the back and we had most of the play. The only difference was that Chelsea had the clinical touch that we didn't. I think the fact Milijas played made us more creative but Jarvis was our best player – he gave Ashley Cole a very hard time. We've got three more tough games against the top clubs but if we carry on playing like this I can see us getting a lot of points after those matches. It was very promising and I came away feeling quite positive, even though Chelsea weren't at their best.

RATINGS Hahnemann 7; Foley 8, Stearman 7, Berra 8, Van Damme 7 (Hunt ht 7); Jones 8, Milijas 7; Jarvis 9 (Fletcher 87 n/a), Edwards 6, Ward 6; Doyle 7 (Ebanks-Blake 86 n/a) Subs not used Hennessey, Elokobi, Mouyokolo, Davis

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Mail:

Chelsea 2 Wolves 0: Blues stride clear, but Carlo Ancelotti's playing it cool

By Rob Draper

While Chelsea’s immediate rivals in Manchester have allowed themselves to be distracted by the Wayne Rooney saga, it may have escaped their notice that the Blues are quietly accumulating a significant lead in the title race.
Yesterday, though not without its troublesome moments, was eventually an entirely routine victory, even if its outcome remained in doubt until Salomon Kalou’s late strike finally put the game beyond Wolves.
While the result would have been expected, for now Chelsea’s defence of their Premier League title continues unabated. With a relatively benign run of fixtures to come for the Londoners — Liverpool away from home having lost its potency of late — Manchester United may find themselves some way adrift by the time they visit Stamford Bridge just before Christmas.
Carlo Ancelotti, however, is buying none of this at present. ‘The difficult moment will arrive,’ the Chelsea manager cautioned yesterday. ‘When it does, we have to be ready. We have a good advantage at the moment but Manchester City can be within two points if they win, so it’s too early to say we have enough points. We’ve started the season well, that is all.’
And, as Ancelotti went on to point out, there were times when this game threatened to diverge from the script. ‘It was a tough game and we didn’t play so well,’ he said.
Indeed, Wolves were something of a revelation yesterday. It is true that at times they fulfilled their villainous role as the league’s dirtiest team, notably when Richard Stearman produced an agricultural challenge on Didier Drogba which had neither the slightest intention nor hope of playing the ball. Yet for long periods, they also passed the ball crisply and caused Chelsea some discontent.
For manager Mick McCarthy, pitted against the team he believes will win the league, that remained a source of both pride and frustration.
‘I think Chelsea are the best team, no question,’ he said. ‘They have loads of ability, they are toughphysically and clever with the runs they make. They look one way and pass the other. They are a fantastic team ... and we should have scored against them!’
Yes, they should have. Throughout they produced chances, from the 20th minute, when Dave Edwards headed a Kevin Foley cross goalwards only for Petr Cech to save smartly, to the 71st, when Chelsea’s goalkeeper was again alert, plucking Kevin Doyle’s glancing header from a David Jones corner.
‘It was a good performance but we probably needed a bit more devilment in front of goal,’ said McCarthy.
They did have a serial irritant in Stephen Hunt, still a bête noire to Chelsea fans for his challenge on Cech while at Reading four years ago. He came on at half-time to predictable rhyming obscenities.
‘He relishes that,’ said McCarthy. ‘I was glad anyway, because if they were going to give anyone abuse it was going to be him and not me.’
He was a thorn in his opponents’ side and had almost scored within three minutes, stooping low with a diving header that Michael Essien was forced to clear off the line.
Doyle then forced a smart save on 52 minutes before the Czech keeper collected well from a Nenad Milijas effort on 63 minutes.
Nevertheless, this was ultimately a day of general good news for Chelsea. Not only did they extend that lead at the top of the table to five points but Jose Bosingwa, who sustained a knee ligament injury against Aston Villa almost a year previous to the day, made his first start since then.
Incredibly, he looked as fresh and inventive as ever, his attacking intent complementing Ashley Cole on the opposite flank. And within 13 minutes, he had all but completed a heroic comeback when a delightful exchange of passes with Drogba saw him unleash a tremendous shot from range, which Marcus Hahnemann did well to tip wide.
‘He played really well,’ said Ancelotti. ‘I think he was one of our best players. To be out that long is very difficult and he was very excited before the game. He’s an important player for us.’
With Frank Lampard scheduled to resume training on Monday and possibly in contention to play at Blackburn next Saturday, Chelsea are strengthening by the week.
And good though Wolves were yesterday, they could not live with Chelsea in their finest moments, the opening goal ample demonstration of the champions’ attacking prowess.
Nicolas Anelka darted down the right, played a lovely inside ball for Yury Zhirkov, who, in turn, pulled it back first time for Florent Malouda.
From eight yards out, the Frenchman struck firmly home.
The decider was just as slick and impressive. Substitute Kalou found Drogba, who then fed Essien.He slipped the ball back to Kalou, who had continued his run and finished the move with a firm strike to seal the points.

MATCH FACTS

CHELSEA (4-3-3): Cech; Bosingwa (Ferreira 78min), Ivanovic, Terry, Cole; Essien, Mikel, Zhirkov (McEachran 82); Anelka, Drogba, Malouda (Kalou 72). Subs (not used): Turnbull, Sturridge, Bruma, Kakuta. Booked: Mikel.

WOLVES (4-5-1): Hahnemann; Foley, Stearman, Berra, Ward; Jarvis (Fletcher 87), Milijas, Jones, Edwards, Van Damme (Hunt 46); Doyle (Ebanks-Blake 86). Subs (not used): Hennessey, Elokobi, Mouyokolo, Davis. Booked: Stearman, Berra.

Referee: L Probert (Wiltshire).

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Star:

CHELSEA 2 WOLVES 0:
A STROLLO FOR CARLO
By Paul Hetherington

Chelsea 2 Wolves 0:

MANCHESTER UNITED closed ranks to kill off any Chelsea hopes of landing Wayne Rooney last week.
But ­United’s hopes of beating the champions in the race to the Premier League title is another matter entirely.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men weren’t at their fluent best against struggling Wolves, who played better than their league position suggested they would.
And the Blues needed keeper Petr Cech to be sharp and alert to preserve their record of not c­onceding a league goal at home this season.
But Chelsea still stretched their points advantage to eight over United, who play at Stoke today. Goals from Florent Malouda and substitute Salomon Kalou sealed another Chelsea victory.
But their Italian boss was ­unusually agitated in the early stages as Wolves made much the better start. The champions weren’t their usual assured selves and Mick McCarthy’s enterprising side could have taken the lead through Dave Edwards, whose header from Kevin Foley’s cross was smartly saved by Cech.
Earlier, Jose Bosingwa had brought Chelsea to life in his first start for a year after a serious knee injury.
The right-back surged forward, worked a one-two with Didier Drogba and struck an effort which keeper Marcus Hahnemann did well to turn round the post.
But Chelsea eventually stepped up the pace and cruised ahead in the 23rd minute.
Nicolas Anelka found Yury Zhirkov, whose low cross set up Malouda for a comfortable right-foot finish.
Then Anelka could have put Chelsea further ahead before the break but hit the side-netting.
Wolves, though, never looked likle caving in and Kevin Doyle had a chance with his head but could only glance the ball wide.
And McCarthy’s battlers also made the better start to the second half with sub Stephen Hunt soon having a diving header superbly saved on the line by Cech.
Chelsea’s keeper then denied Doyle at the expense of a corner before Drogba missed a chance to increase his side’s lead in the 66th minute.
Drogba was sent clear by Branislav Ivanovic before Hahnemann raced out of his box to save at the striker’s feet.
But Chelsea sealed the points nine minutes from time with a neat finish by Kalou after his chance had been cleverly created by Drogba and Michael Essien.
Ancelotti said: “It was a tough game and we didn’t play so well.
“We had to play in Moscow ­during the week and we weren’t 100 per cent so it was an important result and we are in a good position.
“We have a good advantage at the top but if Manchester City beat ­Arsenal they will be only two points behind us.
“The difficult moments are still to arrive and we have to be ready when that happens.”
Wolves have now gone eight league games without a win but McCarthy said: “It was certainly a good performance and we should have scored.
“But we were playing the best team in the league in my opinion and they have one of the best ­keepers in the world.”

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0

Chelsea moved five points clear at the top of the Premier League thanks to goals from Florent Malouda and substitute Salomon Kalou. Wolverhampton Wanderers wasted a number of chances to equalise before Kalou completed a move he began by slipping Michael Essien's pass under Wolves goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann 10 minutes from time.
The defeat left Wolves still looking for their first win since the opening day of the season and second from bottom.
Mick McCarthy's visiting side earned a corner as early as the second minute but Nenad Milijas' flag-kick was punched clear by Petr Cech.
Their bright start continued but another corner from Matthew Jarvis was headed straight at John Terry by Christophe Berra.
Chelsea struggled to find any kind of continuity in midfield and John Obi Mikel twice gave the ball away in dangerous positions. Fortunately for Chelsea, Ashley Cole managed to recover the situation before any damage could be done.
But Chelsea almost went in front in the 13th minute when Jose Bosingwa, playing his first game for over a year at home, burst into the penalty area but saw his angled drive tipped around the post by Hahnemann.
Wolves responded with a chance of their own in the 19th minute. Kevin Foley crossed from the right wing but a header from Dave Edwards was safely gathered by Cech.
Chelsea opened the scoring with a fine three-man counter-attack in the 23rd minute. Nicolas Anelka fed Zhirkov inside the penalty area and the Russian's pull-back was sidefooted home by Malouda.
Chelsea should have increased their lead in the 27th minute when Jarvis gave the ball away to Zhirkov.
He quickly fed Didier Drogba who in turn passed the ball on to Anelka inside the penalty area but the Chelsea striker fired his effort into the sidenetting.
Wolves tried to get back into the game but two long-range efforts from Milijas were easily dealt with by Cech.
Richard Stearman then became the first man in referee Lee Probert's notebook when he showed him the yellow card for a crude challenge on Drogba.
Bosingwa was determined to crown his return to action with a goal and he was only inches away from achieving that feat with a 25-yard shot in the 38th minute.
Kevin Doyle was unlucky not to equalise in the 42nd minute when he got on the end of a cross from Foley but could not direct the ball beyond Cech.
Bosingwa was then put clear by Malouda and the Chelsea right-back was thwarted by the feet of Hahnemann.
Stephen Hunt was introduced for Wolves at half-time for his debut for the club.
Hunt, who was involved in the collision that left Cech with a fractured skull when he was with Reading, was roundly booed by the home fans.
Hunt almost equalised in the 48th minute but his low header was cleared off the line by Michael Essien.
Doyle then forced Cech into a fine save at the near post as Wolves continued to press forward.
In the 56th minute Anelka got clear of the Wolves midfield and cleverly laid the ball through to Drogba but the Ivory Coast striker sent his shot wide of the target.
Milijas continued to try his luck from range but another 20-yard effort went straight into the midriff of Cech.
Drogba squandered another gilt-edged chance in the 65th minute when Branislav Ivanovic sent him racing clear.
But he failed to take the ball around the onrushing Hahnemann and the chance was gone.
Doyle forced Cech into a save at his near post in the 71st minute when he met a corner from David Jones.
Chelsea replaced goalscorer Malouda with Kalou moments later as they looked for a second.
They duly made it 2-0 in the 80th minute when Kalou slotted past Hahnemann, opening up their substantial points lead over Manchester City who face Arsenal tomorrow.


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