birmingham city 3-1

Independent:


Ancelotti refuses to give up on the title after Drogba rolls back years

Chelsea 3 Birmingham City 1

By Mark Fleming at Stamford Bridge



After two months of chopping and changing, of prevaricating and doing his best to please the boss, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has rediscovered the confidence to pick his best team come what may.

The results may be following too late in the season to realistically prevent Manchester United closing out what would be an historic 19th title, but this was much more like the Chelsea side of old, full of bullish bravado capped off by a consummate centre-forward's performance from Didier Drogba.

Ancelotti left £50m striker Fernando Torres on the bench for the second game running, and was rewarded by a classic display from Drogba. The Ivorian did not score as Chelsea brushed aside the challenge of Birmingham City to move up to second in the Premier League, but he was the game's dominant figure.

Drogba's vibrant second-half display in Chelsea's Champions League defeat a week ago to Manchester United has convinced Ancelotti to leave Torres for another day. With Ramires out injured, Ancelotti's side was virtually the same one that wrapped up the Premier League and FA Cup Double a year ago; the only addition being David Luiz, who had possibly his least convincing display in a Chelsea shirt and conceded a late penalty which was converted by Sebastian Larsson.

Ancelotti also turned back the clock with his 4-3-3 formation, the one that has served Chelsea well ever since Jose Mourinho kicked it off almost seven years ago. The Italian said after the game that he might change it all again for West Ham United's visit on Saturday but the comfortable way his side combined suggested that would be a dangerously unwise move.

With Drogba at the helm, Torres on the bench, and the team lining up as they have done for years, it was like Chelsea from the 2010 vintage. Drogba scored 37 goals last season, but this campaign has been hit by a dose of malaria, followed by a spell playing second fiddle to Torres, and his tally stands at 13.

Rarely however has he done as well as this without scoring. Drogba had one of those nights when he is virtually unplayable, and City struggled to cope. He may be 33 but on this kind of form Chelsea would be foolish to let him leave at the end of the season.

Drogba played a part in Chelsea's first two goals. In the third minute John Terry played a fine pass out to the right wing where Paulo Ferreira controlled the ball at the second attempt before crossing. Drogba flicked a header on to Florent Malouda and the France international finished with a volley having nipped ahead of the Birmingham captain Stephen Carr.

The visitors regrouped admirably and passed the ball around well but went 2-0 down in the 26th minute when Drogba slipped the ball to Salomon Kalou, who was allowed to run unchallenged to the edge of the penalty area before curling a low shot inside Ben Foster's left-hand post.

With 11 minutes of the second half gone, Carlo Ancelotti gave 21-year-old left-back Ryan Bertrand his Chelsea debut, and the youngster made an immediate impact, setting up Malouda for Chelsea's third goal. Bertrand made the run on the overlap and whipped in a cross which an unmarked Malouda headed in from close range.

With the points in the bag it was clearly safe now for Ancelotti to give Torres a run out with 23 minutes to go. The £50m man replaced Kalou but scarcely had a kick as he took his scoreless run to 725 minutes in 13 appearances. Instead, it was Birmingham who scored when Larsson fired in a penalty after Luiz's rash challenge on substitute Matt Derbyshire.

Chelsea now entertain West Ham United on Saturday having won 19 points from a possible 21 in their last seven league games, and are the form team going into the final weeks of the season. The club's aim must now be to keep the season alive until what could be a title-deciding game at Old Trafford on 8 May.

For Ancelotti, there is still a glimmer of hope. The Italian said: "In football, I learned that everything can happen in the game right up to the final whistle. You can win the title in the last minute, and you can lose the title in the last minute."


Man of the match Drogba.

Match rating 7/10.

Referee M Jones (Cheshire).

Attendance 40,848.



=======================================================



Guardian:


Florent Malouda keeps Chelsea's title hopes alive against Birmingham



Manchester United will not be quaking in their boots just yet but Chelsea, largely unnoticed and utterly devoid of fanfare, are creeping back into contention. The defending champions strolled to victory here, the ease with which they brushed Birmingham City aside even reflected in passages of sloppiness after the interval that had Carlo Ancelotti pacing his technical area in frustration. Complacency will not be tolerated but, privately, the Italian will be buoyed. He might even allow himself some optimism.

This win, and Arsenal's inability to retain a two-goal lead at Tottenham Hotspur, meant the champions rose to second place for the first time since November having claimed 19 points from the last 21 available. The implications of that sequence had rather been lost amid the gloomy deflation of their elimination from Europe and the repercussions that could still have on the manager's long-term future. Yet confidence has been seeping back into this side's league form; momentum may be with them.

"If we'd thought that, one month ago, we'd have a little chance to come back to fight for the title, everyone would have said we were crazy," admitted Ancelotti. "Now we are second and I've learned that anything can happen in this game until the referee blows his final whistle. You can win the title in the last minute. You can lose the title in the last minute. Obviously I would like to be in United's position, six points ahead with five games to play. But everything is still open."

There is good reason for cautious confidence, and the possibility remains that the top three could end the campaign on 79 points. United must play an in-form Everton on Saturday before potentially critical collisions with Arsenal and, a week later on 8 May, Chelsea at Old Trafford. Their Champions League tie against Schalke sandwiches that contest at the Emirates. For those in pursuit, and Chelsea in particular, there is little clutter and plenty of clarity. They can curse the mid-season slump that left them playing catch-up but a chance of redemption remains. What is most encouraging is that the management appears to have reinvigorated this side, albeit by returning to the system and, largely, the personnel that produced such a scintillating run-in last season.

Fernando Torres was granted only a substitute's appearance, extending his goal drought to 725 minutes in the process. Didier Drogba, in contrast, was a throwback to the rampaging forward who plundered 37 goals last season and left defenders as blubbering wrecks and their reputations battered and bruised.

His return to form is timely if only because his contract will have 12 months to run at the end of the season. When he plays like this, softening up centre-halves and delivering dead balls with venom, the prospect of losing him seems unthinkable. "He has a strong personality," said Ancelotti of the 33-year-old. "He knew that, when he had malaria [over the winter], he didn't play at his best. Now he's fit and he's showing fantastic quality."

The Ivorian played a part in all three goals, just as he had at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. The first had been pilfered early while Birmingham wheezed to keep up with the hosts' blistering start. John Terry's raking pass to the right had found Paulo Ferreira unmarked and granted so much time that he could recover from stepping on the ball to reposition his body and fling over a centre that prompted panic. Drogba leapt to flick on at the near post with Florent Malouda bursting ahead of Stephen Carr to convert with relish. "A shocking start," moaned Alex McLeish.

The French midfielder would add his 13th goal of the season before the end, nodding in the substitute Ryan Bertrand's cross five minutes into the 21-year-old's first-team debut for Chelsea. Salomon Kalou's rasping shot, the Ivorian veering away from Roger Johnson and Stuart Parnaby, was squeezed in between with Chelsea's dominance threatened only by carelessness.

David Luiz's needless challenge on Matt Derbyshire – reminiscent of his last-minute error at Fulham in February – allowed Sebastian Larsson his consolation from the penalty spot but Birmingham will have to wait for the victory their manager believes will be enough to keep them up. City's run-in is daunting, with trips to Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle to come. They will be encouraged they did not suffer a rout here, with the damage sustained on their goal difference far from critical.

Yet Chelsea will feel they have thrashings still to inflict. The manager will want Torres to find his feet – he suggested Drogba could be rested on Saturday, which would offer the £50m Spaniard a route back in – and will be wary that any slip could ruin their chances for good. But where they had despaired now they might just dare to dream again.





========================================================




Telegraph:


Chelsea 3 Birmingham City 1

By Jason Burt, at Stamford Bridge



It was almost like the last five and a half months didn’t happen at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea brushed aside Birmingham City with the kind of swagger that has not been witnessed since late autumn, since they were pulling apart all-comers, since before Roman Abramovich started his meddling. Again.

Carlo Ancelotti may well have mulled over all of this and also the fear that his team have left it all a bit too late. Five games to go and can they overhaul Manchester United, having taken second place from Arsenal?

Improbable but possible. “Everything is open,” the Chelsea manager said.

“Obviously I would like to be in United’s position, six points ahead. That’s a lot at this stage of the season. [But] In football I learned that everything can happen in the game right up to the final whistle. You can win the title in the last minute, and you can lose the title in the last minute.

"If you thought that one month ago we’d have the chance to come back to fight for the title, I think that everyone could have said we were crazy.”

Crazy would be to ditch Ancelotti now. But crazy is what Chelsea have done in the past and are heading towards again. Plain crazy. But can Ancelotti make a mockery of the pressure that has been put on him? Make a mockery of the sense that here, after another Italian, Claudio Ranieri, the first manager to be sacked by Abramovich, is another 'dead man walking’. He appears to be a man who can and then, who knows?

It helps that he has Didier Drogba in this kind of form, form that has not been seen since he contracted malaria. This was Drogba at his frightening best summed up by a first-half moment in which he challenged for a routine goal-kick, bounced off the defenders and struck a fierce low shot which almost resulted in another goal.

Maybe it’s the knowledge that he can leave this summer, if the right offer is made, because he no longer represents the club’s future. Maybe it’s the freedom of finally being fully fit.

Either way it was, again, £50 million Fernando Torres on the bench until the points were secure and the attacking axis of Drogba, Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou, back in a 4-3-3 is the way ahead for Ancelotti until the season’s end. Then he has promised a “strong and tough press conference” to discuss this season and exactly what has gone on, and where he goes from here. Let’s see. For now this is a team in prime league form even if there were the fragilities, at times, which have dogged them.

They were liberated by an early goal which vindicated the team selection. It owed much to a superb raking pass from John Terry, out to Paulo Ferreira on the right and although the full-back trod on the ball, no Birmingham defender — Stuart Parnaby was culpable – had tracked across. Ferreira swung in a centre, Drogba headed on and there was Malouda to volley it home.

If that was a resounding piece of evidence then, 23 minutes later, there was another. Again Drogba was involved. This time he collected possession and played a simple pass into Kalou’s feet. The striker spun away from Roger Johnson and set off across the edge of the penalty area, pulling away from Parnaby also. With a sight at goal, Kalou struck a curling, right-footed shot that nestled in the net with Ben Foster rooted.

It was over. “Chelsea were in a different gear tonight,” lamented Birmingham manager Alex McLeish, and the home side shifted through them again with Drogba almost catching out Foster with a swerving shot and a first-time effort from 35 yards. This felt like a Chelsea side unshackled, free of baggage.

Not that they were utterly dominant. There were still mistakes. Terry gave Alexander Hleb a glimpse of goal, only to recover, and Cameron Jerome’s speed caught out the defenders, only for Petr Cech to finger tip his drive into the side-netting. Birmingham had beaten Chelsea, of course, back in November as the crisis started to envelop Ancelotti but Malouda eradicated any slight doubt of a repeat with his second goal. Substitute Ryan Bertrand, the England under-21 left-back making his debut as a replacement for Ashley Cole, swung in a wonderful deep cross from the left which Malouda guided in with his head for the third.

There came a flicker of resistance, courtesy of two Chelsea errors. Firstly, David Luiz, as is his wont, had another moment of rashness and was guilty in bringing down substitute Matt Derbyshire as he twisted into the area. Sebastian Larsson, after a face-off with his team-mate Craig Gardner, drove the penalty high to Cech’s right.

By now Chelsea had Drogba, Torres and Nicolas Anelka on the pitch but it was another striker, Derbyshire, who was gifted another chance as Gardner tackled Mikel. But Derbyshire, clear on goal, dragged his shot wide.

Chelsea, meanwhile, earned an indirect free-kick 10 yards out and, interestingly, Drogba took it ahead of Torres. He drove it high over the bar but, having won the game, he’d earned the right to dictate who was Chelsea’s main striker. For now, at least.





==================================================




Sun:


Chelsea 3 Birmingham 1

By MARK IRWIN



MAYBE, just maybe, we have all written off Carlo Ancelotti a bit too soon.

The odds are still stacked against the Italian saving his job with another Chelsea trophy.

But he is not going without a fight and is now threatening the greatest comeback since Lazarus.

Ancelotti, of course, is refusing to even contemplate an against-all-logic title triumph after allowing Manchester United to open a seemingly-unassailable lead.

But that gap at the top is now down to just six points.

And with United facing the fixture list from hell in the next couple of weeks, that deficit could be even narrower by the time Chelsea rock up at Old Trafford on May 8. The Blues have now taken 29 points from their last 12 Premier League games and are entering the home straight at a sprint.

And it would take a brave man to bet against them continuing their red-hot streak right to the end of this most unpredictable of seasons.

Two goals from Florent Malouda and another from Salomon Kalou were more than enough to dismiss nervous Birmingham at the Bridge. And this comprehensive victory was achieved without the assistance of £50million Fernando Torres, once more consigned to the bench until the result was in the bag.

Chelsea have been totally revitalised since Ancelotti reverted to the 4-3-3 system which served them so well during last season's Double.

Didier Drogba is revelling in the responsibility of leading the line while Malouda and Kalou are supplying the attacking support which Torres has been unable to provide.

What a pity that Ancelotti only came to his senses after his team had been dismissed from the Champions League. If only he had found the courage of his convictions before their European exit, he might not be contemplating such an uncertain future right now.

Any ideas that this might prove a tense, nervy affair were dismissed within three minutes of the kick-off when Drogba flicked on Paulo Ferreira's centre for Malouda's emphatic finish.

Birmingham, still not free of relegation fears despite a recent mini-revival, did not help their cause.

Full-back Stuart Parnaby was so far off his man that Ferreira was able to trip over the ball and still have time to get his cross off in the build-up to that early strike.

And Alex McLeish's defence was just as culpable for Chelsea's second goal in the 25th minute, when Kalou ran past Roger Johnson and Parnaby before dispatching a beautiful low shot beyond Ben Foster.

Birmingham, with less than one goal per game, were never going to come back from that and spent the last hour just trying to keep the scoreline respectable.

But Chelsea increased their lead in the 62nd minute when Malouda headed in unchallenged from a cross by debutant Ryan Bertrand.

With the visitors in such a generous mood and the result assured, it was no surprise when Torres was sent on for the final 25 minutes.

If ever the most expensive footballer in Britain was going to break his three-month duck, surely it was going to be against opponents as accommodating as Birmingham. Yet even with the crowd willing the out-of-sorts Spaniard to find his shooting boots, Torres could not respond.

Instead, it was Birmingham who claimed the next goal after David Luiz brought down Matt Derbyshire in the 76th minute.

Seb Larsson, after a row with Craig Gardner over who was taking the penalty, fired past Petr Cech.

It was still not enough to prevent Birmingham from falling below Sunderland on goal difference and one place closer to the drop zone.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are back up to second. And they might not be finished yet.




============================================




Mirror:


Chelsea 3-1 Birmingham: Ancelotti finds new role for Torres - Drogba's understudy

By Martin Lipton


Two months, 13 appearances, 725 minutes - and finally Carlo Ancelotti has found the right role for Fernando Torres.

Unfortunately for the £50million man, that role is on the bench, watching Didier Drogba show the world what a line-leading centre-forward really looks like.

Tweet my Goal! The funniest comments from Wednesday's Premier League games

Last night, as Chelsea slipped back into the old routine a week too late for Ancelotti's hopes of being at the Bridge next season, Torres was facing up to his new reality.

He might be the most expensive player in British football, might be Roman Abramovich's most ludicrous vanity purchase, might, indeed, be the "future" of Chelsea.

But he is not the present. Not even close to it.

Drogba is. As he always should have been, as he certainly should have been at Old Trafford last Tuesday.

Last night the African king was simply irresistible, a force of nature, destroying Alex McLeish's men with his sheer zest and desire as Chelsea took advantage of Arsenal's latest implosion to move up to second for the first time since November.

It may not be enough to get the champions back into the title race. Six points looks a huge gap with only five games to go, although they do have to go to United again next month, with a chance to put the record straight.

After all, in the world of Abramovich, second is simply the first loser. Not good enough, as they said around these parts when Jose Mourinho only delivered a domestic cup double in 2007.

But even so, this was recognisably the Chelsea that scored more than 100 goals in winning the Double.

Same shape, same sense of purpose, basically the same players - only David Luiz, still an accident waiting to happen at times as he showed by giving away a stupid late penalty, was not here last term.

And, surprise, surprise, with Torres not emerging from the bench until Chelsea were three up and able to go through the motions, they looked like Chelsea too.

Of course, it helps when Drogba is in this sort of mood. Justifying Ancelotti's belief that his bout of malaria, and the four-month absence of Frank Lampard, represent the two most pressing reasons this season is destined to finish in frustrated under-achievement.

From the outset he terrorised Roger Johnson and Liam Ridgewell, not players who are scared of physical contact.

Drogba wanted the ball, all game. Knew he was going to do something with it, with his physical threat acting as a magnet, drawing the Birmingham defenders towards him and opening up the holes elsewhere.

That was proved, perfectly, when Chelsea went in front with their first real attack inside three minutes.

John Terry began the move with a glorious cross-field delivery to Paulo Ferreira. The Portuguese tripped over the ball but Stuart Parnaby did not close him down and when Ferreira had time to cross, Drogba's flick was turned home by Florent Malouda from a couple of yards.

Birmingham briefly flickered, Alex Hleb wasting one chance after a rare Terry error, Cameron Jerome foiled by Petr Cech as Luiz went walkabout and gave the ball away.

But all the real chances came at the other end, with Drogba doing everything except get the goal his superb display deserved.

And it was no shock when the Ivorian played his part in the second, although Salomon Kalou did all the real hard work himself.

Receiving from Drogba, Kalou ran away from Johnson and left Parnaby looking a dummy before unleashing a swerving right-footer Ben Foster simply watched fly an inch or two inside his left-hand upright from 20 yards.

Game over, it seemed, although Foster did at least prevent it becoming a rout, although there was an inevitability about the third, which came just after the hour.

England under-21 full-back Ryan Bertrand has played 144 games on loan at Reading and Norwich, but this was his Blues debut and within minutes of replacing Ashley Cole he showed the value of his left foot with a beautiful centre that Malouda flicked past the stranded Foster.

Enter Torres but there was not even a shot from the Spaniard as Chelsea took their foot off the gas.

Luiz' stupid foul on replacement Matt Derbyshire saw Seb Larsson - after a public spat with Craig Gardner - blast home and the substitute then wasted a glorious chance to score a second.

Not that it mattered. Then again, that's how it all feels at the Bridge now.





=================================================




Mail:


Chelsea 3 Birmingham 1: Malouda points way for Blues as Torres is benched again

By Laura Williamson



Chelsea showed they will not relinquish their Barclays Premier League title without a fight.

Two goals from Florent Malouda and a dazzling individual effort from Salomon Kalou took Carlo Ancelotti’s side above Arsenal into second place on goal difference.

Birmingham pulled a goal back through a Sebastian Larsson penalty but Chelsea are now six points behind Manchester United with a trip to Old Trafford to come on May 8.

Ancelotti said: ‘It was a good result. Closing a six-point gap with just five matches to go will not be easy, but our aim is to stay focused and close the season well.

‘Everything is open (but) I would like to be in Manchester United’s place at this moment.

‘If we thought one month ago we had a little chance to come back and fight for the title, everyone could say we were crazy.’

Fernando Torres might even score one day. Ancelotti left his £50million signing on the bench again for over an hour but said he is ‘the present and future’ of Chelsea. However, he would do well to copy Kalou after the Ivory Coast forward’s sensational effort.

With Chelsea back to playing a 4-3-3 formation, and Kalou, Malouda and Didier Drogba in attack, Ancelotti’s side showed some of the ruthless, machine-like qualities they exhibited in August. They moved the ball from defence to attack with pace and power, particularly in the first hour.

Remember when it seemed like a second successive Premier League title was a formality, having scored 12 goals against West Bromwich Albion and Wigan without reply?

Last night’s match pitched the league champions and FA Cup holders against the winners of this season’s Carling Cup and, with Torres barely settled on the bench, it took Chelsea just three minutes to score.

John Terry played a long pass to Paulo Ferreira, who delivered a cross into the six-yard area. Drogba flicked it on and Malouda nipped in front of Stephen Carr to prod the ball home.

Drogba, in particular, looked like a man with a point to prove as he whipped a swerving, right-foot shot in Ben Foster’s direction after four minutes. The Birmingham goalkeeper parried the vicious effort, but the way he puffed out his cheeks said it all.

Foster was a relieved man again 20 minutes later, when Drogba attempted to chip him from 35 yards with a right-foot effort. There was another right-foot effort, this time stinging its way past the far post, which had the goalkeeper scampering across his goal-line later in the half.

Drogba played the provider again for Chelsea’s second goal after 26 minutes, sending compatriot Kalou off on a dizzying run across Birmingham’s penalty area with a pass he hoped to receive back.

But Kalou had only one thing on his mind, eluding Roger Johnson and tucking a brilliant right-foot shot into the bottom corner of the net. His second goal in as many games brought deserved applause from his manager. It really was exceptional.

Birmingham’s best two first-half chances fell to Cameron Jerome. If you think Torres has got problems, having failed to score in 725 minutes in a Chelsea shirt, spare a thought for the 24-year-old Birmingham striker. Jerome has not scored in the Premier League since November, a run stretching 19 games.

He forced a save from Petr Cech after 20 minutes and was denied by an Ashley Cole block later in the half but Birmingham, for the most part, looked shell-shocked.

Poor defending, particularly from set-pieces, didn’t help their cause. The way Michael Essien was allowed to meet Drogba’s free-kick just after the restart was a case in point.

Alex McLeish’s side are five points and three places above the relegation zone, but with five matches to play and away fixtures at Liverpool, Newcastle and a final-day trip to Tottenham to come, it will be a nervous run-in.

Johnson looked rueful as he jogged back from a corner having fired a header over. Goal difference could be important come May 22.

Birmingham boss McLeish said: ‘We got off to a shocking start, and you give yourself a mountain to climb.

‘Chelsea are in decent form, but we hung in there and never gave up.

‘Anything could happen the way this Premier League has gone this season. I would say we’re in a good position (to stay up), with five games to go.’

Torres was applauded as he warmed up, Ryan Bertrand, 21, was introduced first. The England Under 21 defender, who has been on loan at Nottingham Forest, slotted in at left back for his Chelsea debut.

It took him only five minutes to make an impact as he delivered a beautiful cross for Malouda to score his second goal of the evening and his 13th of the season after 62 minutes.

Torres, the record signing between two British teams, was introduced to the action in the 67th minute with Nicolas Anelka to cries of ‘attack, attack, attack’ from the home fans.

Chelsea duly reverted to a 4-3-1-2 formation, with Torres alongside Drogba and Anelka just behind the pair of strikers, but it was the new Chelsea signing at the other end who played a more influential role.

David Luiz, a £25m signing from Benfica, brought down Birmingham substitute Matt Derbyshire to give away his second penalty since joining Chelsea in January. Larsson duly converted with a fine spot-kick.




==============================================