norwich 3-1

Independent:

Mata gives Villas-Boas hope of future fluency
Chelsea 3 Norwich City 1:

New signing justifies price tag as Chelsea struggle until Norwich are reduced to 10 men
By Steve Tongue at Stamford Bridge

As Norwich City's chirpy challenge was finally quashed yesterday, there was a glimpse of the new Chelsea but also a strong suggestion that the transition will not be as smooth as anyone at the club would like.
Juan Mata and Romelu Lukaka, some £40 million worth of substitutes, were on the pitch as the former's goal on debut ended the visitors' resistance during 11 minutes of added time caused by a nasty injury to one of the old guard, Didier Drogba. He had crashed to the ground in an aerial collision with the goalkeeper and lost consciousness before being revived and taken to hospital. He was allowed home last night.
"We wanted a full examination but he is showing signs of recovery," Chelsea's manager, Andre Villas-Boas, said later. "I'm very grateful to the players of both sides and many medical staff for reacting so quickly to a dangerous situation."
Both before and after that incident, Chelsea had made the hardest of work of inflicting a first defeat on the Norfolk side, who provided convincing evidence that their successive promotions need not come to be regarded as too much too soon.
A level playing field? Having spent something in the region of £8m this summer, compared with Chelsea's £58m – they announced the signing of Mexican midfielder Ulises Davila last night on a five-year contract – Norwich will be playing uphill for most of the season but can take much heart from their efforts to date. This fixture apart, the League's computer has been kind to them, and after draws with Wigan and Stoke they need not fear facing West Bromwich Albion, Bolton and Sunderland following the international break.
They may not have won an away game at this level since 2004, but even ending that run was briefly a possibility, despite having conceded an early goal to Jose Bosingwa. The vigorous Grant Holt, who had 53 goals to his name in those last two seasons, took advantage of a horrible defensive mix-up to equalise and Norwich were pressing before their goalkeeper John Ruddy was sent off for conceding the penalty from which Frank Lampard regained the lead. Mata's late goal sent them home on the wrong end of a harsh scoreline.
"I thought we were excellent," their manager, Paul Lambert, said. "The penalty turned the game and we could have been 2-1 up then. I can't fault the performance against a club that could win the Premier League." Chelsea have not looked like that team in two laboured home wins and a draw at Stoke, although their manager seemed surprisingly pleased with their work. "We had a solid 90-minute performance," he insisted. "I'm very happy that the team showed commitment and desire in fighting back."
Changing formation for this game to a 4-1-3-2, he paired Drogba with Fernando Torres from the start in a partnership that once more looked flawed. The £50m man was the one who tended to pull wide more but apart from one pass slipped through the middle there was little sign of a growing understanding.
Lambert had opted for wing-backs on either side of three centre-halves, although the earliest stages suggested that they might be in for a torrid afternoon. Ruddy had to push a shot from Ramires round the post and in only the sixth minute Florent Malouda and then Lampard worked the ball square for Bosingwa, who struck an even better shot than Ramires, flying across Ruddy and in off the far post.
If that presented a test of character, Norwich passed it. They passed the ball too, in the manner Lambert likes, and three times before half-time infiltrated the home defence with some ease. First Wes Hoolahan, playing just behind the front two, clipped a ball forward for Holt, who could not quite control it. Next Hoolahan put Chris Martin through – is it a Coldplay when Norwich do that? – and Henrique Hilario had to block the shot, chase him round the penalty area and then scramble back to stop the follow-up by Kyle Naughton. Finally, Naughton hoisted a cross over the central defenders for Holt, whose powerful header was held low down by Hilario.
For a long time only set pieces offered Chelsea the opportunities they craved. Drogba, having hit one free-kick into the top section of the Shed, which takes some doing, kept his next one much lower and close to Ruddy's post. Two corners early in the second half were equally promising, John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic getting good headers in, but the latter's next aerial intervention was catastrophic. Just past the hour he went for a long cross by Naughton that the goalkeeper wanted and merely headed it up into the air, from where Holt was able to hook it into a net that Hilario had rashly left unguarded.
Nicolas Anelka replaced Drogba, Mata came on and Lukaku was preparing to join them as replacement for Torres, who had been booked for a high kick, when Chelsea broke away to dramatic effect. Anelka sent Ramires through and Ruddy brought him down with a challenge that cost a red card and penalty. Declan Rudd came on to face it and had he stood still might have stopped Lampard's kick straight down the middle.
Lambert lost his cool, pushing Chelsea's fitness coach Jose Mario Rocha in the chest becaused he "flew right into our technical area". As a long period of added time in the rain left both managers soaked, Ivanovic somehow missed with a header from five yards and Mata capitalised on Ritchie de Laet's misplaced pass with the third goal.
"When the midweek games come round, it will help the fluency of our game improve," Villas-Boas claimed. Chelsea followers must hope so.

Chelsea (4-1-3-2): Hilario; Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole; Mikel; Ramires, Lampard, Malouda (Mata, 67); Torres (Lukaku, 83), Drogba (Anelka, 67).

Norwich City (3-4-1-2): Ruddy; De Laet, Barnett, Whitbread (Pilkington, 30); Naughton, Crofts, Johnson, Tierney; Hoolahan (Morison, 60); Holt, Martin (Rudd, 81).

Referee Mike Jones
Man of the match Holt
Match rating 7/10

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Observer:

Juan Mata scores on debut as Chelsea sink spirited Norwich
David Lacey at Stamford Bridge

Another easy win for Chelsea against the sort of opposition they should be taking in their stride at Stamford Bridge if their seasonal challenge in the Premier League is to be maintained. Having struggled to find blend and fluency against West Bromwich Albion, they looked like dropping points against Norwich City until a late penalty from Frank Lampard restored some sense of order to their football.In the end the afternoon ended satisfactorily for André Villas-Boas's side when Juan Mata, newly arrived from Valencia for £23.5m, scored a third goal in the 10th of the 11 minutes of stoppage time which were largely due to the prolonged treatment Didier Drogba needed before he could be taken off on a stretcher following a collision with John Ruddy, the Norwich goalkeeper.Norwich, retaining the momentum which had seen them leap two divisions to restore Premier League football to Carrow Road, had already stunned Chelsea by drawing level early in the second half after appearing in danger of being swamped at the start of the game.
Saturday was not so much a meeting of haves and have-nots as a conflict of contrasting ambitions. For Chelsea, the season will be a failure if they do not make significant progress in the Champions League, which means winning it as far as Roman Abramovich is concerned. For Norwich, finishing 17th would bring out the bunting.Shortcomings in defence had ensured the brevity of Norwich's previous visit to the Premier League, and they faced opponents who had gorged themselves on goals in the previous four encounters, scoring 15 times in all competitions.Fifteen and counting, at least that was the way it seemed when Chelsea scored after only six minutes and looked in the mood for another routine rout against opponents who were allowing them too much space within shooting range. José Bosingwa had already drawn a stretching save from Ruddy, and now the full-back moved on to Lampard's pass to beat the goalkeeper from 30 yards with a shot into the far left-hand corner of the net.

With Bosingwa regularly turning Norwich's defence on the right, and Drogba only just failing to make contact with a shrewd through-ball from Fernando Torres, Norwich appeared to be in for an afternoon of damage limitation.The visitors, however, have leapt two divisions playing quick, intelligent, intuitive football, and when they started to get men forward in numbers to support Grant Holt, Chelsea's defence looked almost equally ill at ease. Holt had scored 45 goals in Norwich's two promotion seasons, now he began brushing past John Terry as if the Chelsea captain wasn't there. At times he wasn't.Twice in the first half, timely passes from Wesley Hoolahan found Chelsea's defenders moving up too late for offside. On the first occasion Holt could not reach the cross as it dropped behind him, on the second Chris Martin could only lay the ball back to Kyle Naughton, whose rising shot was pushed over the bar by Henrique Hilário.
The portents were not false. Terry began the second half by meeting a corner with a header which Ruddy managed to push wide, but Norwich now believed they were worth a goal and it was no surprise when they drew level just past the hour, even if the goal owed something to freakish circumstances.There appeared to be no immediate threat in Naughton's lob from the right, but a breakdown in communication between Hilário and Branislav Ivanovic found goalkeeper and defender both going for it. Following the inevitable collision, Holt hooked the ball in under the bar.

Collision-wise, Chelsea had a bad day. A few minutes later Ruddy left his goalline to punch away a centre and inadvertently laid out Drogba instead. Drogba took an age to come round, and although Chelsea quickly introduced Mata and Romelu Lukaku to their attack, Norwich still looked capable of holding out for a point, or something better.
There was no doubt about the penalty which undid them. Ruddy clearly brought Ramires down and had to go, and Lampard's firmly struck kick eased his team's anxieties.A man down and required to slog on for an extra 11 minutes, Norwich were going to do well to get something from the match. Perhaps they did not deserve to lose another goal, neatly taken by Mata from a narrow angle after he had intercepted an aberrant pass from Ritchie De Laet.

Paul Lambert, the Norwich manager, felt the penalty had been the turning point and was angry with the Chelsea fitness coach, José Mário Rocha, who he felt had invaded the technical area after the penalty had been awarded. "You don't do that," he said. "It's disrespectful. I don't speak Portuguese but if he understands Glaswegian he'll know what I said."Villas-Boas said Drogba had "lost consciousness completely" and was grateful to the medical staff for reacting quickly to "a potentially dangerous situation"."However, there is natural physical contact in any game and things like that can happen," the Chelsea manager added.

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 3 Norwich City 1: match report
By Dunacn White, Stamford Bridge

What with Juan Mata scoring on his debut andChelsea briefly going top of the table, this should have been a day of unalloyed positives for Andre Villas-Boas and his team but with Didier Drogba rushed to hospital with suspected concussion and another stuttering performance against a defiantNorwich City, celebrations were subdued.
He was, to Chelsea’s relief, released from hospital last night after scans gave him the all-clear.
The decisive moment, though, came with eight minutes left, after Norwich had played and fought their way back into the game. Villas-Boas was preparing to send on Romelu Lukaku as his last effort to squeeze out a winning goal when Chelsea, with Norwich pushing forward, had the chance for a counter.
Nicolas Anelka, who had replaced Drogba, received the ball near the halfway line and, instead of pushing forward held it and held it. Suddenly his logic became clear as he hit an excellent angled pass into the path of Ramires, who had come surging from deep.
The Brazilian had to drag the ball from slightly behind him and in doing so tempted John Ruddy from his line. Ramires got to the ball first and, while he appeared to be going down before contact was made, won the penalty. There was a bit of melodrama between the two benches and Ruddy was sent off before Frank Lampard converted the penalty, beating Ruddy’s replacement, Declan Rudd.
Against 10 men, Chelsea could add some gloss to the result. Branislav Ivanovic missed header from a Lampard cross and then Lampard himself could not convert after Rudd spilled Lukaku’s shot. In stoppage time they finally got the third. Richie De Laet tried to pass to Anthony Pilkington but overhit it and let Mata scurry in. The Spain winger rolled the ball around Rudd and into the net.
Norwich had started the game playing a Germanic 3-5-2 formation, no doubt influenced by manager Paul Lambert’s time under Ottmar Hitzfeld’s Borussia Dortmund. The idea was to crowd the central areas and prevent Chelsea getting an attacking rhythm together.
Yet with six minutes played, Chelsea had the lead. Just a couple of minutes in, Ramires had been left in space 25 yards out and hit a decent shot towards the bottom corner which Ruddy did well to save. Norwich did not heed the warning and when Lampard squared to José Bosingwa, the Portugal right-back hit a shot across Ruddy which dipped in flight before hitting the net.
Norwich were not about to be rolled over and appeared to take it in their stride, even when Zak Whitbread pulled up with a hamstring injury, Pilkington coming on as they switched to a back four. By then Norwich could have been level. The lively Wes Hoolahan anticipated Grant Holt’s run but the Norwich striker missed the ball as he tried to flick it round Hilario.
In the 28th minute Hoolahan was at the heart of it again, putting Chris Martin through. Hilario did well to block the shot but then, crab-like, strangely shepherded Martin to the edge of the area from the rebound. Martin fed the ball to Kyle Naughton and Hilario pushed the ball behind.
Naughton, a threat coming forward, set up the equaliser in the second half. He sent in a deep cross to the edge of the box and Hilario came out, even though Ivanovic was looking to head the ball clear. The pair collided and Holt hooked the ball into an empty net.
Drogba went down moments later and the hiatus in the game subdued the atmosphere. Fortunately his injury was not as serious as it looked when he was taken from the field in a neck brace. With half an hour to play, it looked as if Norwich could even edge it. Steve Morison, on as a substitute, could not get his shot off after being sent clear by Holt. “I though we were excellent,” Lambert said. “The penalty has turned the game. We could have been up 2-1 and I can’t ask any more from my lads.”
Villas-Boas admitted that his said lacked “fluidity” and hoped the arrival of midweek Champions League games would allow his side to get into a rhythm.
Whether Fernando Torres will still be in the team is another matter. He started alongside Drogba here and, after another frustrating performance has gone 22 games scoring just one goal.
Torres can only recover his confidence by playing but how much longer can the team be expected to carry a player so clearly out of form?


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Mirror:

Frank Lampard and new boy Juan Mata spared Chelsea’s blushes after Norwich threatened to embarrass the Blues on their own turf.

Drogba suffers concussion but "hopefully nothing is wrong" confirms Villas-Boas
Lampard struck from the spot after Ramires was brought down by keeper John Ruddy, who was sent off.
And Mata, on his debut after last week’s £25million move from Valencia, scored in the 11th minute of stoppage time to make it 3-1.

Yet Norwich deserved better, and had held their own for most of the match. When Grant Holt equalised Jose Bosingwa’s goal, it was no less than the visitors deserved.
Their modestly assembled side coped comfortably with Chelsea’s multimillion-pound strikeforce, and once again Fernando Torres had an afternoon to forget, failing to scored and getting booked.
His partner Didier Drogba fared even worse, being carried off on a stretcher after landing awkwardly following a collision with Ruddy.
There were debut appearances for Romelu Lukaku as well as Mata, and a touchline fracas between Norwich manager Paul Lambert and the Chelsea coaching staff, as the Blues ended with three points but no great pride in their performance.
It looked like a slaughter was on the cards as Bosingwa put Chelsea ahead with a screamer after five minutes.
Ramires had already tested Ruddy from 25 yards, the keeper doing well to tip the Brazilian’s shot wide.
Andre Villas-Boas had told his players to shoot on sight, and when Lampard rolled the ball into Bosingwa’s path moments later, the Portuguese full-back had absolutely no hesitation.
But Norwich were not in the mood to roll over and die. For a small fraction of the fee Chelsea paid Liverpool for Torres, Lambert has fashioned a side that is hard-working and well organised. They scored plenty of goals as they won promotion last season, with skipper Holt helping himself to a hatful.
The burly striker was not fazed by facing John Terry, pushing the England skipper into Hilario in the opening minutes and then just failing to convert a clever pass from Wes Hoolahan.
Torres almost put in Drogba, who then skied a free-kick high into the Shed End, before Hilario came to Chelsea’s rescue with a string of fine saves.
Kyle Naughton tried his luck from long range, before putting Chris Martin in on goal. Hilario was off his line quickly to smother the shot, and then tipped over the follow-up from Naughton.
Moments later, Naughton whipped in a cross, Holt rose above Terry to thump a firm header towards goal, but Hilario got down well to save.
Lampard fired a free-kick over and then Drogba went closer with another effort five minutes before half-time, as Chelsea trudged off to a muted reception.
After the break, Terry had a chance with a header from Florent Malouda’s corner, but Anthony Pilkington diverted the ball over.
Then came the moment that sent the yellow and green hordes into raptures.
Naughton crossed from deep and as Branislav Ivanovic headed clear 15 yards out, Hilario crashed into him leaving an empty goal. Holt still had work to do and hooked the ball expertly over his shoulder, his volley dipping under the bar.
Holt almost sent Norwich into dreamland when he put substitute Steve Morison clear in the 73rd minute, only for Terry to save Chelsea with a last-ditch tackle.
Drogba, meanwhile, was on his way to hospital after being carried off when he landed flat on his front after an aerial collision with Ruddy. He was replaced by Nicolas Anelka, who went on with Mata.
The drama went up a notch in the 80th minute when Ruddy was sent off for bringing down Ramires. Lambert was furious and got involved in a pushing match with the Chelsea staff, and they had to be separated by the fourth official Phil Dowd, before Lampard smashed the penalty past substitute keeper Declan Rudd.
Torres was replaced by Lukaku, but it was Norwich who went closest to scoring again, with Morison putting the ball over the bar from close range.
A full 11 minutes of stoppage time was added for the injury to Drogba, and in the final minute Mata seized on a poor back-pass to make it 3-1.


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Mail:

Chelsea 3 Norwich 1: Drogba-Torres combination fails again but it's no Mata for Blues in late show at the Bridge

By Rob Draper

Come the final whistle it was hard to find fault with Chelsea. Juan Mata had scored a fine debut goal, Romelu Lukaku had looked a vibrant, muscular addition to the side and manager Andre Villas-Boas had secured another home win.
Indeed, for 20 minutes yesterday, Chelsea looked like a side in control.
That was the final 20 minutes, when Norwich has been reduced to 10 men and Didier Drogba, who suffered a serious head injury in a collision with John Ruddy, and Fernando Torres, one goal in 22 games and counting, had been withdrawn.
Given the potential gravity of Drogba's concussion it would be churlish to dwell once again on the incompatibility of his partnership with Torres.
Better to focus on how good Lukaku, Mata and Nicolas Anelka looked as a front line. That told the story.
When Mata snaffled up the third goal, smashing the ball past substitute goalkeeper Declan Rudd in the 10th minute of injury time, it epitomised the difference.
True, it took a loose ball by a tired Ritchie De Laet to allow Mata in.
He seized the ball deep on the right-hand side of the area and the energy with which he pursued it was in stark contrast to that of Drogba and Torres earlier in the game.
Equally, Lukaku, a heavyweight boxer of a player, looked athletic and spritely, complementing Mata and Anelka with well-timed runs and a desire to please.
Villas-Boas attempted to speak up for the seemingly doomed partnership but ended up also conceding their weakness.
'They showed some quality and some of the technical actions were chipped balls, which were not very precise technically,' he said.
'Mata found some good spaces today for a player with only two training sessions. He showed some quickness and the team helped him find the spaces. Lukaku and Nico (Anelka) coming on helped the fluency of our team. In the first-half we had technical mistakes in passing and control, which didn't give us the correct fluency.'
The requirement for a midfield creator in the mould of Luka Modric looks ever more pressing.
Anelka was outstanding, the highlight being the delightful through ball for Ramires to run on to, which exposed Norwich's defence and led to the decisive penalty in the 81st minute.
At that stage of the game, Chelsea were playing on the break. It was Norwich who were on the offensive, buoyed by a superbly-executed volleyed goal by Grant Holt.
Steve Morison might have given them the lead 13 minutes later, had he not delayed his strike and allowed John Terry to make a saving tackle.
'We could have been 2-1 up,' said manager Paul Lambert. 'I thought we were excellent and I couldn't have asked for anything more. The penalty changed the game.'
When Chelsea opened the scoring on six minutes, with a Jose Boswinga strike from 25 yards, it seemed a comfortable afternoon was ahead.
Norwich's back five, a formation inspired by Lambert's days in the Bundesliga, were allowing Chelsea space in midfield and Boswinga simply exploited their inability to close down the ball.
Yet Norwich began to threaten even before they changed formation after half an-hour because of a hamstring injury to Zak Whitbread.
Holt got in behind the defence but could only flick the ball at Hilario and Wesley Hoolahan played in Chris Martin who was denied by the keeper.
When Kyle Naughton swung in a cross in the 63rd minute, Hilario came but never collected and Branislav Ivanovic, colliding with his keeper, headed out weakly and Holt turned the ball in with exquisite skill.
Shortly afterwards came the collision between Ruddy and Drogba, which looked accidental but saw the Ivorian crash to the ground, unconscious.
Norwich continued to press until that quick Chelsea breakaway on 81 minutes.
Anelka played in Ramires, who, racing towards goal, was felled by Ruddy.
It was a clear red card, though it didn't require Chelsea fitness coach Jose-Mario Rocha to stride into the opposition's technical area in a frenzy, provoking a shoving match with Lambert and his staff.
Lampard drove the penalty home and Norwich couldn't recover, although Morison did have one decent chance.
Ivanovic missed an open goal and it was left to Mata to apply the dream finish.
Chelsea got there eventually. It was, however, a struggle.

MATCH FACTS

Chelsea: Hilario, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Mikel, Lampard, Drogba (Anelka 67), Torres (Lukaku 83), Malouda (Mata 67). Subs not used: Turnbull, Ferreira, McEachran, Alex.Yellow cards: Bosingwa, Torres Scorers: Bosingwa (6), Lampard (82), Mata (90+11)

Norwich: Ruddy, Barnett, De Laet, Whitbread (Pilkington 30), Naughton, Hoolahan, Bradley Johnson, Crofts, Tierney, Holt, Chris Martin.Subs not used: Rudd, Russell Martin, Morison, Jackson, Pilkington, Fox, Bennett.Yellow cards: Crofts, Naughton Red cards: Ruddy Scorers: Holt (63)
Referee: Mike Jones.

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