marseille 0-1

Independent:

Ancelotti insists he is ‘strong’ despite latest loss for sorry Chelsea

Marseilles 1 Chelsea 0

By Mark Fleming at Stade Vélodrome

Roman Abramovich has been preoccupied of late, busy helping out Russia's successful bid to host the 2018 World Cup. Sooner rather than later, however, the ruthless Russian oligarch is going to decide the time has come to act as Chelsea's season limps from one disaster to another.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti was visibly upset after this defeat in Marseilles, Chelsea's fourth loss in eight games in all competitions. His normal humour and optimism had evaporated, and somehow he looked older, as if carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, when he emerged for a press conference half an hour after the final whistle. Ancelotti has not looked this troubled and gloomy in his 18 months at Chelsea. It was as if he knew his fate hangs in the balance.
Chelsea began and ended the game poorly. For an hour sandwiched in the middle of the contest they more than matched the French champions, and could have had two penalties after fouls on Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou that were incorrectly called by referee Vladislav Bezborodov.
However, by the end of the contest their frailties were once again exposed as Marseilles' bustling Brazilian striker Brandao was left unmarked in the six-yard box to score a late winner.
Ancelotti had put out a strong team against Marseilles in a bid to rebuild some confidence ahead of a testing run of games against Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Bolton Wanderers and Arsenal, but it was not to be.
Ancelotti said: "The bad moment continues, but we have to keep going. We've lost some confidence in our play. I'm not low. I'm strong. I want to resolve this problem quickly. I'm focused on my job. This is normal. I think my players have that same focus. I'm sure of this.
"We have a great opportunity against Tottenham, a difficult game away against a top team. But we must consider that a good opportunity. Now everyone thinks we will lose that game. For this, we need to prepare for that game well and try to win it."
Ancelotti is certainly living on borrowed time, for Abramovich is not known for his patience. He sacked Luiz Felipe Scolari in 2008 after three wins in nine games; Avram Grant got the boot a few months later despite being a penalty kick away from winning the Champions League; and Jose Mourinho was fired despite a record haul of six trophies in three years.
The ray of hope for Chelsea came not in Marseilles but in Cobham, where Frank Lampard continued his rehabilitation after nearly four months out following hernia surgery, and he could be fit to face Spurs on Sunday.
"Frank trained today and had a good session. We'll take a decision in the next two days," Ancelotti said. With Lampard and the captain John Terry on the pitch, Chelsea have a chance of turning this slump around; without them, they look doomed.
Terry managed 71 minutes here before he was forced to leave the pitch with an ankle injury that is not expected to keep him out of the weekend's game at White Hart Lane. It was no coincidence that within 10 minutes of Terry leaving the pitch, Chelsea conceded the game's only goal. Marseilles left-back Taye Taiwo was allowed time and space to cross from the wing, the pass took a deflection off the ineffective Ramires and Brandao was free to score from close range.
Chelsea were unfortunate to lose this game, not that it will help Ancelotti in the final analysis when he has to explain the club's loss of form. They started poorly, and almost went behind when Mathieu Valbuena hit the bar with a shot from distance, but should by rights have had two penalties in the first half.
The first, a foul by Souleymane Diawara on Malouda, was initially given by the Russian referee but he changed his mind after receiving advice from his linesman on his headset. The second, when Diawara clattered into Kalou, occurred yards from the assistant referee standing beside the goal, but no penalty was given.
Chelsea had their moments, and the performance of 17-year-old Josh McEachran in only his second start was full of promise. Didier Drogba, however, was a major disappointment on his return to his former club, and the standing ovation he received when he was substituted with half an hour to go was markedly out of sync with his lacklustre performance.
With Ancelotti in the doldrums, it was left to Terry to deliver the rallying cry ahead of Sunday's game at Spurs where Chelsea will be without Jose Bosingwa who limped off with a hamstring injury.
"There is no point us panicking," Terry said. "We realise we are not playing as well as we can, the players realise there is a lot more to give and to come. Sunday is a massive derby for us and for the fans. We're hoping to kickstart an important time for us."

Marseilles (4-3-3): Mandanda; Kaboure, Diawara, Heinze, Taiwo; Abriel (A Ayew, 63), N'Diaye (J Ayew, 86), Cheyrou; Valbuena (Lucho, 62), Brandao, Remy. Substitutes not used Andrade (gk), Cissé, Sabo.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Bosingwa (Van Aanholt, 80), Ivanovic, Terry (Bruma, 72), Ferreira; Essien, McEachran, Ramires; Kalou, Drogba (Sturridge, 62), Malouda. Substitutes not used Turnbull (gk), Mikel, Kakuta, Sala.

Referee: V Bezborodov (Russia).
Booked: Marseilles A Ayew.
Attendance: 57,650.
Man of the match: Valbuena.

Group F

Results so far: Marseilles 0-1 Spartak, Zilina 1-4 Chelsea; Spartak 3-0 Zilina, Chelsea 2-0 Marseilles; Spartak 0-2 Chelsea, Marseilles 1-0 Zilina; Chelsea 4-1 Spartak, Zilina 0-7 Marseilles; Chelsea 2-1 Zilina, Moscow 0-3 Marseilles; Marseilles 1-0 Chelsea, Zilina 1-2 Spartak Moscow.
MSK Zilina 1-2 Spartak Moscow
Spartak beat Zilina 2-1 in a dead rubber hit by crowd trouble. Fans launched a fire cracker on to the pitch and the sides briefly went off after three minutes.


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Guardian:

Brandão leaves Carlo Ancelotti feeling blue as Marseille beat Chelsea

Marseille 1 Brandao 81 Chelsea 0

Dominic Fifield at Stade Vélodrome


Chelsea's conviction continues to wilt. This may have been the least significant of the four defeats suffered in their past eight matches, with the result long since meaningless in the context of qualification, but the sense that this season is veering away from them has been maintained. Confidence has taken another pounding.
Carlo Ancelotti, ashen-faced and desperately downbeat in the immediate aftermath, bemoaned sloppiness up front, had cause to complain over the rejection of two clear penalties but admitted his side will travel to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday with the world expecting them to lose. That is an unfamiliar scenario. "They [Tottenham] are very close to the top of the table and doing well," he said. "They're fit. It will be difficult. Everyone thinks we will lose that game. But we have to consider this a great opportunity, not a problem.
"The bad moment continues but we have to keep going. We've lost some confidence in our play. Now we have to come back and keep going. This is football. You don't always get what you deserve. We mustn't lose composure, character, our ability. We have to maintain confidence for the future. Am I low? No, not low. I'm strong. I want to resolve this problem quickly. I'm focused on my job. I'm sure my players have that same focus."
His monotone suggested even he may be losing faith. This team, once so prolific, have mustered five goals in eight matches, only two of which have been won. Previous managers have been dismissed for less by Roman Abramovich, who seems to crave attacking football, flair and the hoarding of silverware. At present this team suggest they will struggle to provide any of the above.
At the other end there is vulnerability where, only recently, they felt impregnable. José Bosingwa had endured a harrowing evening with Taye Taiwo surging beyond him. Bosingwa's departure before the end clutching his left hamstring will spare him potentially trying afternoons ahead against Gareth Bale and Patrice Evra but Paulo Ferreira, restored to right-back, was immediately skinned in the build-up to the only goal.
That was scored with John Terry already substituted after taking a knock to an ankle, – he should be fit for White Hart Lane – though Ancelotti will have been just as disturbed at his team's inability to retain possession or break slickly, as once they did, with real pace.
"There is no point us panicking," said Terry. "We realise we are not playing as well as we can. The players realise there is a lot more to give and to come."
The public message remains the same, from players and management, after each new setback. Behind the façade, though, concern has long since set in. It should be acknowledged that this defeat arguably owed much to erratic refereeing. Souleymane Diawara, once of Charlton Athletic, twice clearly felled Chelsea players though neither foul prompted the award of a penalty. The official, Vladislav Bezborodov, had pointed to the spot after the centre-half's crude challenge on Florent Malouda, only for an assistant referee to persuade him to change his mind. The award, instead, was a corner. "He gave a penalty, then said Florent dived. But, if that's the case, you have to give him [Malouda] a yellow card," said Didier Drogba. "It changed the game."
The second foul, a trip on the slippery Salomon Kalou, occurred right in front of the additional assistant referee, though again no foul was given. Had Drogba been sharper, or at least not as overcome by emotion at his first return to the Stade Vélodrome since his departure six years ago, then Chelsea might still have prospered. But the Ivorian seemed distracted. "Obviously it was not a good performance from him," added Ancelotti. "Maybe the emotion ... could be, I don't know."
His only effort of note sailed high and wide with his opposite number,Brandão, sharper when his clearest opportunity arrived. Taiwo's cross flicked off Ramires – who continues to labour, sometimes painfully –and both centre-halves, Branislav Ivanovic and the substitute Jeffrey Bruma, were wrong-footed in the six-yard box. The Brazilian was free to steer the shot into the corner.
Defeat was hardly calamitous. Chelsea had claimed Group F by winning their first five fixtures. Yet each time an opportunity to haul themselves out of their nosedive is passed up, the sense of doom and gloom deepens. At present all hope is increasingly being pinned on Frank Lampard making a seamless return to the first team either at Spurs or against Manchester United, having been absent since August. That, surely, is unrealistic with the England midfielder likely to need time to find rhythm but any hint of hope must be seized upon at present. These are troubled times.


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Mail:

Marseille 1 Chelsea 0: Brandao strikes as problems pile up for Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti
By Matt Barlow

Beyond the emotion of Didier Drogba’s return to Marseille came another defeat and another of those misfiring Chelsea performances which must be driving Carlo Ancelotti to the brink of tears.
The Chelsea manager admits his sleep is disturbed by his team’s terrible dip in form and he sent a strong side into this dead rubber in the hope they might stumble upon some rhythm. They didn’t.
This was a long way from fluent and, although defeat does not stop them qualifying for the Champions League’s last 16 as winners of Group F, the worrying trend continues.
They were second best in the Stade Velodrome, unable to inject any zip into their passing and only fitfully threatening in attack. They were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty or two but at the back they continued to look vulnerable.
It did not help that Drogba was awful. ‘You say you love L’OM, prove it,’ said a banner held by Marseille fans, and he did nothing to hurt the club where he remains a hero more than six years after leaving for London. Seemingly incapable of holding anything up or linking play, and perhaps still suffering the after-effects of malaria, Drogba also flicked Chelsea’s best chance over in the first half with the outside of his boot and was replaced by Daniel Sturridge after an hour.
‘Maybe the emotion got to him, I don’t know,’ shrugged Ancelotti.
John Terry had also been substituted by the time Brandao forced in the only goal of the game nine minutes from time. Taye Taiwo’s cross deflected off Ramires and fell for the Brazilian striker, who escaped Branislav Ivanovic to score.
To make matters worse, Jose Bosingwa then hobbled off with a hamstring injury which will rule him out of Sunday’s derby at Tottenham. Ancelotti’s squad cannot afford to take many more hits. Luck is running low for the manager.
On another night, Chelsea might have had a couple of penalties before half-time. Florent Malouda appeared offside as he broke clear of the Marseille back four but the linesman’s flag stayed down and Souleymane Diawara chased back to slide clumsily into the striker as he prepared to shoot.
It looked a penalty and referee Vladislav Bezborodov, in charge of his first Champions League game, pointed to the spot, only to change his mind after a frantic conversation with his linesman, after which he signalled a corner. Chelsea were furious and Terry, captain of the team for the 350th time, charged to discuss the issue forcefully with the Russian referee. It was to no avail.
They had another decent penalty shout rejected before the break, when Diawara tripped Salomon Kalou from behind. In between, however, they were fortunate to escape when Gabriel Heinze glanced Benoit Cheyrou’s free-kick into Petr Cech’s net. It was ruled out for offside but television replays proved the former Manchester United full back was probably level.
Marseille dominated from the start, with Fabrice Abriel tormenting stand-in left back Paulo Ferreira and Mathieu Valbuena causing problems in the hole behind Brandao.
Valbuena was impressive for France against England at Wembley last month and revelled in the early positional uncertainty of Josh McEachran, rattling the bar from 25 yards and flashing a diving header narrowly wide.
McEachran, anchoring the midfield trio with John Mikel Obi on the bench to avoid collecting a booking which would mean a ban, slowly adjusted to his defensive duties but Ancelotti made a change at half-time, releasing the teenager into a more advanced position and dropping Michael Essien back.
The change almost paid off immediately, with McEachran sliding a wonderful pass behind right back Charles Kabore to release Malouda, who cut inside but could muster no power in his shot.
Steve Mandanda in the Marseille goal was rarely extended and, once Brandao struck, there was only one outcome.
Defeat means Chelsea failed in their bid to become the first English team to win all six group games in the Champions League but they had already won Group F and go into next week’s draw for the first knock-out round as a seeded team.
Holders Inter Milan, who beat Chelsea last season, are among those they could face in the last 16. Ancelotti’s former club AC Milan and Valencia are other dangers lurking in the pot of runners-up.
Chelsea can hide behind the fact that they have finished top of the group and are in touch with Premier League leaders United but the trends are disturbing for Ancelotti - and they must be altered soon.

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Mirror:

Marseille 1 Chelsea 0

By Martin Lipton

No excuses, Carlo. They don't wash any more.
Even if you were denied two stone-wall penalties, nobody wants to listen.
Not when it is four without a win, not after the worst league run in a decade, not when you are likely to be in fourth by the time you kick off at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
And as Chelsea's slump threatened to spiral totally out of control at the Stade Velodrome, Ancelotti had to realise that it was he himself who had turned a dead Champions League rubber into a must-not-lose game that he promptly went and lost.
It is a fundamental truth of football that when things turn against you, Dame Fortune kicks you in the guts.
The capricious old lady certainly has it in for Chelsea in this "difficult moment", not only with the two spot-kicks that any other Russian officials would certainly have given to the club owned by Roman Abramovich, but the latest injury blow as Jose Bosingwa's hamstring twanged, ruling him out of the trip to Spurs.
But at Chelsea, there is no margin for error, no leeway.
The reality is that Ancelotti's side look utterly bereft of self-belief and self-expression, that they are more vulnerable now than at any time since the dark days that brought the demise of Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Ancelotti, ashen-faced, knows it too. "Tottenham is a difficult game away against a top team," said the Italian. "Now everyone thinks we will lose that game.
"I don't understand the term 'underdogs' but they're very close to the top of the table and doing well at this moment. They're fit. For us, it will be difficult."
Hardly the mood of a man happy with his life and Ancelotto was as gloomy last night as at any point in his reign, hoping that Spurs can be the turning point and not further evidence of what is going wrong.
Ancelotti added; "We're not doing our best. This is the problem. We have to do better and move on quickly.
"Sometimes in football you don't get what you deserve. This is normal but we mustn't lose our composure, character, our ability. We have to maintain confidence for the future.
"So I'm not low. I'm strong. I want to resolve this problem quickly. I'm focused on my job. This is normal. I think my players have that same focus. I'm sure of this."
Yet Ancelotti is in a diminishing club, the doubts intensifying with every game, every draw or defeat.
Last night, admittedly not helped by Didier Drogba being far too overwrought by the emotions of his return to the Stade Velodrome to be even a pale shadow of his normal self, Chelsea appeared to be falling further into the crisis of confidence.
Defensively, even if they were eventually breached via a deflection, off Ramires and straight into the path of a grateful Brandao, Chelsea were a shambles.
Both full-backs, Bosingwa and the horribly out of position Paulo Ferreira, were terrible, while only youngster Josh McEachran looked up for the fight in the midfield battleground.
Too few of Ancelotti's players look like they really wanted it, ignoring the need for a morale-boosting win.
Indeed, by the time they were robbed of a spot-kick that referee Vladislav Bezborodov initially gave, as former Charlton man Souleymane Diawara blatantly clipped Florent Malouda's heels, they could have been four down.
Loic Remy, unmarked, mis-kicked completely just eight yards out, Mathieu Valbuena smashed against the bar and then headed inches wide, Remy and Brandao were both close.
Even so, the penalty decision might have changed everything, only for Marseille to persuade the referee to consult his linesman and give a corner instead.
If that was a shocker, Diawara's subsequent and similar foul on Salomon Kalou, two minutes before the break, was even more clear-cut, more than evening out the luck when Gabriel Heinze - again all alone - had his header wrongly chalked off by the flag.
But the second half saw Chelsea get even worse, dropping deeper and deeper and allowing Marseille to call the shots, the withdrawal of ankle victim John Terry - "not a problem" insisted Ancelotti - preceding that of Bosingwa.
They looked as if they might hang on, until Ferreira failed to close down Teye Taiwo and the lightweight Ramires' efforts to block turned into a perfect set-up as Brandao swept home.
The last thing Ancelotti needed and he seemed genuinely shaken in the immediate aftermath.
Spurs, United and Arsenal look like three mountains when he is struggling to climb any small hill.
It is serious. Very serious. And unless it changes soon, it could be fatal.


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Star:

MARSEILLE 1 CHELSEA 0: CARLO ANCELOTTI BRANDED BY NEW MISERY

By Scott Coleman

CARLO ANCELOTTI was hit by a hammer blow last night, as the pressure cranked up on the Italian following another dismal defeat.
Ancelotti has seen his side plunge to three defeats in six games and score just once in their last seven.
Chelsea looked like they had ridden the storm in Marseille against a determined side, but Brandao’s goal nine minutes from time sank them and piled more misery on the Italian.
Chelsea had been nervous and edgy all the way through, with Didier Drogba having a ­miserable night on his return to his old club.
But they were denied two ­blatant penalties, when Salomon ­Kalou was twice brought down.
Chelsea’s grim winter goes on and it is beginning to be a matter of how long owner Roman Abramovich’s patience lasts.
With both teams qualified for the knockout stages, and with Chelsea having already won the group, this game should have been a no-interest dead rubber.
Instead, with Chelsea’s current wretched run of form, it meant considerably more to Ancelotti.
Chelsea’s worst run of results in the Premier League in a decade had seen them squander a five point lead at the top of the table and drop to third place.
For the locals last night, it was all about the return of Drogba, their former hero.
He rattled in 19 goals for Marseille in 2003-04 before they sold him for a huge profit to Chelsea.
In the build-up to the game, the Ivorian told how he had been in tears when he left, and how much he wanted to perform for the fans of a club he still holds dear.
The Chelsea striker, though, needed a performance for a far more urgent reason.
One goal in open play since the beginning of October tells the story of how he has struggled to shake off his bout of malaria. Ancelotti gave youngster Josh McEachran only his second start, but otherwise it was the strongest side he had available.
Midfielder John Obi Mikel, who had one yellow card going into the game, was the only other change, being left on the bench.
Drogba got a standing ovation from the home fans as he ran out.
But it was – as it has been so ­often lately – a nervous start from Chelsea.
Benoit Cheyrou fired over when he should have done better and the dangerous Mathieu Valbonne got clear and slammed a shot from 25 yards against the bar.
A minute later the same player flashed a diving header just wide as Chelsea, looking horribly low on confidence, dithered. Luc Remy then fired a foot wide, ­before Brandao was allowed too much room to turn and shoot wide.
Out of the blue and against the run of play Chelsea thought they had the opportunity to snatch the lead as Souleymane Diawara brought down Florent Malouda.
Russian ref Vladislav Bezborodov gave the spot kick, but then to Chelsea’s fury was overruled by the linesman, and changed his mind to award a corner.
Drogba then flicked wide after a neat move as Chelsea began to get a grip.
They were fortunate when Gabriel Heinze’s header was ruled out for offside, but should have had another penalty when Kalou was again brought down.
Marseille, apart from the odd free kick, did not look as dangerous as they had in the opening stages.
If any team looked like ­breaking the deadlock, it was Chelsea.
McEachran in midfield was proving the one bright spark of the evening, with another ­assured and cool performance.
The 17-year-old’s passing was accurate and unhurried, and his positioning good, unlike Drogba, whose performance in front of the fans he so wanted to impress was woeful.
Why he got another standing ovation when he was subbed just after the hour was a mystery. Ancelotti, though, was looking to Sunday’s critical clash at ­Tottenham.
Andre Ayew missed from only eight yards out as Marseille found a second wind, but it was beginning to peter out.
Then disaster as Taye Taiwo crossed from the left, and Brandao was all alone to stab in from six yards out.


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Sun:

Marseille 1 Chelsea 0

By MARK IRWIN

CARLO ANCELOTTI look away now. And pray that Roman Abramovich is still celebrating Russia's World Cup win.
Because the bare facts behind Chelsea's alarming fall from grace make for bleak reading.
Four defeats in eight games, no clean sheet in six and Chelsea's worst run of results since Abramovich bought them in 2003.
Ancelotti does not need any reminding that previous Chelsea managers have been sacked for much, much less.
And he knows that even last season's League and FA Cup double will not save him if he does not stop the rot immediately.
It is no exaggeration to say his fate will be decided by his team's next three games against Spurs, Manchester United and Arsenal.
Win those three and it will be back to the top of the Premier League and crisis over. But right now there is little about Chelsea's play to suggest things are going to turn around any time soon.
And if the worst should happen and they lose the forthcoming terrible trio, Ancelotti could well be back with his old mate Ray Wilkins looking for a job.
The pressure weighing down the amiable Italian right now is almost unbearable. It showed in his demeanour as he reflected on yet another setback last night.
Brandao's 81st-minute strike was no more than Marseille deserved as Chelsea's dreams of becoming the first ever English team to win all six of their Champions League group games were dashed.
The Brazilian pounced from close range after Taye Taiwo's shot was deflected into his path by Ramires.
Maybe things would have been different if skipper John Terry had still been on but he had been subbed to protect an ankle injury.
Fortunately for Ancelotti, Terry will be back for Sunday's make-or-break trip to White Hart Lane.
The prognosis on full-back Jose Bosingwa is not so good and he will definitely miss the Tottenham game after suffering a recurrence of his old hamstring problems. So everything that could go wrong for Ancelotti is going wrong.
His team were denied two clear penalties and even with his strongest available side out, they were still unable to turn things around.
Many of Chelsea's superstars thought they were going to be spared the flight to the South of France after securing qualification for the last 16 in double quick time.
But that was before Ancelotti ruled no one would get time off until they have seen off this crisis. John Obi Mikel was the only one allowed to sit this out - to protect him from a booking which would rule him out of the next round.
So it was left to 17-year-old Josh McEachran to protect the defence in the holding midfield role. And his assured performance was one of the very few positives to emerge from last night's game.
Not that it looked good early on as Marseille threatened to overrun Chelsea with the intensity of their attacking.
The French champions could have been out of sight in 15 minutes as Mathieu Valbuena hit the bar while Benoit Cheyrou, Loic Remy and Brandao shot just wide.
It was Chelsea, though, who should have led on 16 minutes.
Florent Malouda sprung the offside only to have his legs taken away by Souleymane Diawara. Ref Vladislav Bezborodov pointed to the penalty spot but then allowed himself to be overruled by one of his many assistants, who pointed for a corner.
It was a dreadful decision by the Russian officials as TV replays clearly confirmed.
The ex-Charlton defender could have conceded another penalty just before half-time when he caught Salomon Kalou but escaped again.
The linesmen at the other end were just as inept and Marseille will argue Gabriel Heinze's 34th-minute header was incorrectly ruled out for offside.
But while they continued to live dangerously, Chelsea did make chances and Kalou worked a good position but shot wide, then soon after fired over.
Didier Drogba was just as wasteful when his chance arrived to score a first goal from open play for two months.
The ex-Marseille striker got a hero's welcome on his first return since his £24million move to London in 2004.
But there was nothing for Chelsea fans to cheer in his showing here.
Drogba has not been the same since a bout of malaria last month and the swagger which accompanied so many of his early-season performances has completely evaporated.
He is by no means the only player to have lost his aura of invincibility.
No one can fault their commitment but if they do not rediscover their bite soon, there might be yet another manager coming in with the New Year.


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