fulham 0-0 aet 4-3 pens

Independent:



Chelsea 0 Fulham 0 (aet; Chelsea win 4-3 on penalties)

By Jack Pitt-Brooke at Stamford Bridge



For all of Andre Villas-Boas's insistence that he wants to impose a new philosophy at Chelsea, it was the strength of the old virtues which carried them past Fulham in the Carling Cup third round last night. Despite playing for 73 minutes with 10 men, their resilience and athleticism – an effort described by Villas-Boas as "super-human" – allowed them to have the better of two hours of goalless football, before their ruthlessness rewarded them with a penalty shoot-out success.

While Fulham had the game's best chance – Pajtim Kasami's penalty which struck the bar early in the second half – Chelsea created more, attacking with verve and daring even after Alex's dismissal. "To be with 10 men for 70 minutes and to create the most amount of opportunities and the best opportunities is something that's out of this world," said Villas-Boas afterwards. "It was very, very gratifying."

It was not until Fulham struck the bar from the spot a second time that Chelsea were delivered into the fourth round. Bryan Ruiz took the 10th kick of the shoot-out, needing to score to force an 11th, but his shot bounced off the bar, off the line, and then to safety.

Martin Jol, the Fulham manager, was not too downhearted, though. "A couple of months ago, I wouldn't have thought that my second XI could play a game like this against Chelsea," he said.

Villas-Boas's team selection reflected his mission of rejuvenation at Stamford Bridge. He has taken it upon himself to build a post-Jose Mourinho Chelsea, and last night he gave full debuts to Oriol Romeu, Romelu Lukaku and Ryan Bertrand, while Josh McEachran made his first start of the season.

While the opening spell did not exactly suggest that the pride of SW6 was at stake (there was barely a single tackle worthy of a derby), Chelsea's football was imaginative and enterprising. Romeu rewarded the trust put in him, looking utterly like a product of his Barcelona education. "He had an amazing game," said Villas-Boas. "His ability to receive the ball is something out of this world, his comfort with it is extraordinary."

Romeu, who started most of Chelsea's attacks while ending most of Fulham's, was stationed just in front of a well-advanced defensive line, so high up the pitch that the visitors' Orlando Sa twice nearly exploited it, but was denied both times.

Chelsea created enough good chances of their own, most of them down a left flank dominated by Betrand. The best, though, came when McEachran burst from midfield, only to have his shot turned in by the obliviously offside Daniel Sturridge, who immediately went off injured.

Goalkeeper Petr Cech did not emerge for the second half, having gone to hospital for a scan following a head collision, which revealed no injury. He was replaced by Ross Turnbull, who was immediately confronted by the drama which the first half lacked. Two minutes after the re-start Alex felled Kerim Frei in the box, and referee Chris Foy was compelled both to award a penalty and to send him off. Kasami could not convert.

In response, Villas-Boas introduced John Terry for McEachran. He switched to 4-4-1, and the first half pattern of play was reversed. Chelsea had to rely on counter-attacks, their most threatening weapon being the fearlessly charging Lukaku. Fulham, in contrast, started to play the delicate, precise football.

With neither team keen on adding 30 extra minutes to their schedules, the game opened up. First Turnbull tipped over brilliantly from close range before Zdenek Grygera had to scramble Lukaku's header from off the line.

As had been the case all night, though, the finishing did not live up to the approach play. Chelsea, powerfully improving as the game went on despite their disadvantage, had chances but could not save themselves the exertions of another short-handed half an hour.


Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech (Turnbull, h-t) ; Ferreira, Luiz, Alex, Bertrand; McEachran (Terry, 52), Romeu, Malouda; Sturridge (Lampard, 44), Lukaku, Kalou.Substitutes not used Mata, Drogba, Mikel, Bosingwa.

Fulham (4-4-1-1): Schwarzer; Kelly, Grygera, Senderos, Briggs; Kasami (Zamora, 79), Baird, Gecov (Sidwell, 90), Frei; Ruiz; Sa (Dembélé, 59).Substitutes not used Etheridge (gk), Riise, Kacaniklic, Halliche.


Referee C Foy (Merseyside).




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Telegraph:


Chelsea 0 Fulham 0 (After extra time Chelsea win 4-3 on penalties)

By Jason Burt, at Stamford Bridge



Third-round Carling Cup ties with second-string teams are not supposed to be as dramatic as this, nor call on “super-human effort”. And they are not supposed to have the Chelsea manager talking about exorcising two ghosts for his new club so early in the campaign.

There was also the most arresting of finishes with a penalty shoot-out after the players had run themselves to a standstill through the 90 minutes and 30 minutes of extra-time, with Fulham's new £10.5 million striker Bryan Ruiz crashing his decisive spot-kick against the crossbar only for the ball to then bounce down and land flush on the goal-line. Did it cross? It didn’t appear to but in the confusion nobody was sure apart from referee Chris Foy and his assistants.

There was more drama. Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech was taken to hospital for a scan at half-time after complaining of dizziness following a collision during the first period of the game. That was all the more alarming given Cech’s history of head injuries, having suffered that stress fracture to the skull five years ago, but Andre Villas-Boas confirmed afterwards that the player had been given the all-clear and would be able to play this weekend.

There was a further scare with Daniel Sturridge limping off and fearing ligament damage to his knee but it is hoped that he is also not as severely injured as first feared.

Chelsea were also dealt a blow when Alex was sent off with a straight red card by Foy, having brought down the impressive Kerim Frei to concede a penalty. As if to act as a taste of things to come Pajtim Kassani’s kick struck the cross-bar.

The dismissal meant that Chelsea were forced to play for 70 minutes with 10-men but they pushed and probed and admirably kept trying to go forward with a courageous performance by teenager Romelu Lukaku, on his full debut.

Later there were superlatives — and a barb — from Villas-Boas. When asked about the fateful miss by Ruiz, and whether it had crossed the line, he said: “We (on the bench) just looked at each other and waited for the celebrations. The linesman was there so maybe this time the decision was right.”

That was in reference to his continuing irritation over the failure to pull up Manchester United for an offside first goal in Sunday’s 3-1 Premier League defeat and despite claiming that this competition was of far less importance to Chelsea he also knew that he did not want to experience back-to-back losses this early in his career at the club.

In addition to changes in personnel, there was another surprise on the Chelsea team-sheet — with Carlo Ancelotti named as the manager before a second version was hastily produced. There had been much talk of young players, and giving youth its head, and as well as Lukaku and Oriol Romeu and, in particular, Josh McEachran — before he was sacrificed — Chelsea still had Frank Lampard and John Terry on the field by the end.

Lampard missed his penalty in the shoot-out, Terry scored his and Chelsea won only their second such contest in their last nine attempts. Villas-Boas also pointed out that it was another Carling Cup tie that Chelsea had competed in with 10-men. That was the two ghosts laid to rest.

“You have had to put back your headlines and deadlines,” Villas-Boas said to reporters afterwards referring to the late finish. “Ten brave individuals played for 120 minutes there.” But Fulham were brave also. Jol fielded an even more altered line-up and said: “A couple of months ago I would not have thought my second XI would play this way against Chelsea.”

And play they did. This game offered fine build-up play and a whole host of chances for both teams. Sturridge eked out the first opportunity before his shot struck the side-netting and others followed.

Stephen Kelly recovered superbly to hook the ball away as Florent Malouda was picked out and shaped to shoot close to the penalty spot. Malouda then provided for Salomon Kalou who sent a header wide before Lukaku out-muscled Matthew Briggs. Schwarzer parried.

Not that Chelsea were invulnerable. Twice Ruiz wonderfully provided for his strike partner, Sa.

Kalou should have opened the scoring, with Lampard feeding him only for another effort to slam into the side-netting and then Fulham broke for Frei to earn the penalty. Chances continued with Lukaku setting off on two barnstorming runs, Schwarzer saving from his header and then Chelsea substitute goalkeeper Ross Turnbull blocking spectacularly from Terry’s deflection. Somehow it remained scoreless. And then came the penalties.


Match Details

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech (Turnbull h-t); Ferreira, Alex, Luiz, Bertrand; Romeu; Sturridge (Lampard 44), McEachran (Terry 52), Malouda, Kalou; Lukaku. Subs: Mata, Drogba, Mikel, Bosingwa.Sent off: Alex. Booked: Lampard.

Fulham (4-4-2): Schwarzer; Kelly, Grygera, Senderos, Briggs; Kasami (Zamora 79) Baird, Gecov (Sidwell 90), Frei; Ruiz, Sa (Dembele 59). Subs: Etheridge (g), Riise, Kacaniklic, Halliche.Booked: Frei.

Referee: C Foy (Merseyside).




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Guardian:


Ten-man Chelsea beat Fulham in Carling Cup shoot-out


Jamie Jackson at Stamford Bridge

André Villas-Boas's selection may suggest the Carling Cup is of minor importance but after his 10-man team won this entertaining tie on the penalty shoot-out, courtesy of Bryan Ruiz's missed fifth kick that smacked the crossbar and bounced close to the goalline, he will be content.
The 33-year-old knows that the greater his collection of silverware the more enhanced his prospects of stalling Roman Abramovich, the club's owner, from the moment that eventually comes to all Chelsea managers.

Regarding the result, the beaming Portuguese said: "I am very happy with the display. It was a super-human effort and very gratifying as Fulham just didn't lump it forward, and to be with 10 men for 70 minutes and to create the most and best chances is, for me, out of this world."
In a match that gradually caught fire Villa-Boas's team dominated as it moved into extra-time, but continued their frustrating dance of normal play when chances could not be finished. Then, after Frank Lampard and Moussa Dembélé had their penalties saved, the count finished at 4-3 to Chelsea, following Ruiz's skewed attempt, and despite the visitors' claim that this had crossed the line (it appeared not), Villas-Boas had a invaluable win.
This was achieved after Alex was sent off just after the break, when the Brazilian central defender was judged by Chris Foy to have fouled Kerim Frei, and Daniel Sturridge and Petr Cech were replaced because of injuries.

Regarding Alex, after the referee pointed to the spot and Pajtim Kasami crashed the first of the evening's penalties against Ross Turnbull's bar, Villas-Boas said: "He got a bit of the ball but most of the player," before giving the medical bulletin on Sturridge and Cech.
Sturridge, injured before the break after scoring a goal disallowed for offside, has a "strain in the knee ligaments but no pain", and could be available for selection on Saturday against Swansea. Cech, who brought back unwanted memories of the serious head injury he suffered when playing at Reading in October 2006, was taken off at half-time. "He went to the hospital for a scan and feels alright – he felt some dizziness but should be OK for Saturday," Villas-Boas said.

From the side that were beaten 3-1 at Manchester United on Sunday, the Portuguese had retained only Cech and Sturridge. Oriol Romeu, Romelu Lukaku and Ryan Bertrand were handed full debuts, with Cech asked to lead a team that had Lampard, John Terry, Didier Drogba and Juan Mata on the bench in case the tie veered off-message.
In the 18-year-old Lukaku Chelsea have acquired a 6ft 3in chunk of a young man who Villas-Boas admits is as an £18m "gamble". The hope is that he will show an ability to batter defences a la Drogba while powering home 15 to 20 league goals a season to continue the Ivorian's work when he finally leaves west London.
Lukaku suggested he can certainly do the first part with nonchalance in an appearance in which he barged over Matthew Briggs down the left, moved forward, then unloaded shot that Mark Schwarzer did well to save low down.
Preceding this had been a quiet opening in which the Belgian received scant service from colleagues who dominated but were only gradually stuttering into gear.

The first real opportunity fell to Florent Malouda, who surged from his midfield role into the area, where on controlling a high ball he fell to the grass under a challenge by Stephen Kelly, the visiting right-back. Foy, though, failed to be tempted by the Chelsea penalty claims.
After Cech did not emerge for the second half Turnbull was able to add a sixth Chelsea appearance to his CV, and the 26-year-old had barely drifted into position when he was welcomed to the game by having to face Kasami's penalty.
In his own weakened XI, Martin Jol selected Bobby Zamora, Steve Sidwell, John Arne Riise and Dembélé, of his usual starters, as replacements, probably minded that Europa League commitments mean there is only energy enough at the club for one cup run. And with Fulham third-bottom in the league, probably not even this.
The Dutchman introduced the first of these, Dembélé, on the hour, perhaps sensing that he might yet steal the win that would go down a treat with the Fulham support, from whom he requires goodwill.
He said: "A couple of months ago I didn't think a second XI could play a game like this." But Chelsea's second string still prevailed.




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Mirror:



Chelsea 0-0 Fulham (aet, 4-3 pens):
Ruiz miss puts 10-man Blues through

By Darren Lewis



Third round ties in the Carling Cup are not supposed to be this pulsating.

What should have been a routine fixture between the might of Chelsea’s second XI and Fulham’s rag-tag and bob tails turned into a thrill-a-minute contest packed with drama.

"Superhuman" Chelsea earn gushing AVB praise after they win a thriller



The climax symbolised the closeness between the two sides as Bryan Ruiz’s decisive, missed penalty smacked the bar, fell plumb on the line and bounced away to safety.

And, yet again, Andre Villas Boas, the King of the cup competitions, had come out on top.

He’d had no right to do so, given that he had lost striker Daniel Sturridge just before half-time and keeper Petr Cech at the break, both to injury.

Villas Boas was then robbed of defender Alex just three minutes into the second half when Chris Foy produced a straight red for a foul on midfielder Kerim Frei.

It was then left to the 10 remaining Blues to keep out on a Fulham side that had grown in confidence throughout the match.

They were helped massively by the lack of composure shown by 19-year-old Swiss midfielder Patjim Kasami, who would surely have won this match had he scored with his 48th-minute penalty.

Instead, he smashed it impulsively against the bar to help Chelsea out of a huge hole and, once Villas-Boas had replaced young Josh McEachran with battle-hardened John Terry, that was that.

Both sides had had their chances in the first half. Florent Malouda dithered when he should have scored on 15 minutes and allowed Stephen Kelly to nick the ball of him.

Salomon Kalou missed with a free header three minutes later. Romelu Lukaku shot weakly at Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer when he should have squared it to Sturridge on the edge of the box on 21 minutes.

And Kalou was guilty of yet another miss shortly after that, firing wide when he should have tested Schwarzer.

The irony of Ruiz’s decisive penalty miss was that he’d had a very good game having flopped on his debut against Blackburn.

Here, he was both inventive and inspirational with his two passes to set strike partner Orlando Sa free among the moves of the match.

Cech was at his quick-thinking best to prevent Sa scoring with his first opportunity while the former Porto frontman, who signed for Fulham on a free this month, shot into the side netting with his second chance as Cech closed down the space at his near post.

Sturridge appeared to put Chelsea ahead when he turned in McEachran’s cross six minutes before half time. But the effort was ruled out for offside and it appeared the striker had injured himself for his troubles, tangling with Kelly.

Worse was to follow as Cech and Sa collided as they went for a cross from midfielder Matthew Briggs. Cech was replaced at half-time by third-choice Ross Turnbull.

Former Middlesbrough man Turnbull was fortunate enough not to have to make a save from Kasami’s poor penalty. But he did pull off two stunning stops to keep his side in it.

The first was on 73 minutes from Moussa Dembele and the second, a reaction stop from a Kasami header, was equally as impressive.

Schwarzer topped them both, however, late on as he plunged to his left to keep out Lukaku’s header.

And during extra time Fulham enjoyed a large slice of luck as referee Foy failed to spot Philippe Senderos’ handball from Lukaku’s cross on 116 minutes.

It sent the contest into penalties and Chelsea hearts in mouths as Schwarzer saved brilliantly from Frank Lampard’s effort.

Especially with the Blues’ wretched run of losing seven of their last eight appearances in shoot-outs.

Bobby Zamora netted to put Fulham ahead. And the two sides then traded spot-kicks before Moussa Dembele missed at 2-2.

Kalou and Malouda responded to Baird’s effort to make it 4-3 before Ruiz’s effort ended the match.

Chelsea breathe again in this competition.

And, having lifted the Portuguese Cup and the Europa League title with Porto, Villas-Boas clearly takes EVERY competition he enters seriously.

Judging by the way he and his staff celebrated at the end, he wants to win this one as well.



Chelsea: Cech 7 (Turnbull 46, 7), Ferreira 6, Luiz 7, Alex 5, Bertrand 6, McEachran 7 (Terry 52, 5), Romeu 7, Malouda 6, Sturridge 6(Lampard 44, 6), Lukaku 7, Kalou 6.

Fulham: Schwarzer 9, Kelly 7, Baird 7, Senderos 7, Grygera 7, Gecov 6 (Sidwell 90+2), Kasami 5 (Zamora 78), Frei 6, Briggs 7, Orlando Sa 6 (Dembele 60, 6), Ruiz 7.


Man of the Match: Schwarzer

Referee: Chris Foy (Merseyside)




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Sun:


Chelsea 0 Fulham 0
(aet, 90 mins 0-0, Chelsea win 4-3 on pens)

By MARK IRWIN


SO much for the brave new world of Andre Villas-Boas.

Chelsea's boss had promised that the Carling Cup would be all about the bright young kids knocking on the first-team door at Stamford Bridge.

But this heart-stopping victory was down to those familiar old virtues of grit, sweat and sheer bloody-mindedness.

And once again it was those dependable old stalwarts John Terry and Frank Lampard who provided the inspiration to see their team over the winning line.

In the end it came down to the width of the goal-line in a nerve-shredding penalty shootout.

Bryan Ruiz's spot-kick crashed down off the crossbar, on to the line and bounced back up to hit the bar AGAIN before flying to safety — settling the shootout 4-3 in Chelsea's favour.

But it was the home team's stubborn refusal to give way during the previous 75 minutes when reduced to 10 men which was the deciding factor.

Fulham should have settled the match long before extra-time.

Pajtim Kasami had already missed from 12 yards just two minutes into the second half, drilling his penalty against the bar after Alex had been sent off for tripping Kerim Frei.

The Brazilian's departure proved a blessing in disguise for Chelsea as it heralded the introduction of Terry.

And it was the captain, along with fellow veteran Lampard, who gave Chelsea the leadership to defy Fulham's numerical advantage. Villas-Boas had promised to use the Carling Cup to blood Chelsea's rich vein of young talent.

But only three teenagers made the starting line-up — and two of them were bought for £25million.

And by the final whistle the average age of the 'Boas Babes' was a far from youthful 26 years and four months!

Romelu Lukaku, Oriol Romeu and Josh McEachran were all handed their first starts of the season.

Frei, Orlando Sa, Chris Baird, Moussa Dembele and Steve Sidwell all had decent opportunities to break the deadlock for the visitors.

But it was Chelsea who first had the ball in the net after 39 minutes. McEachran's shot was heading in before Daniel Sturridge dived in to prod the ball over the line from an offside position.

That was to be Sturridge's final contribution as he limped off to be replaced by 33-year-old Lampard.

Just before half-time Petr Cech was involved in a collision with Sa.

For a brief moment it looked as though the Chelsea keeper had suffered another blow to the skull he fractured five years ago.

To everyone's relief, Cech was up on his feet and smiling after a few minutes of treatment. But he still failed to appear for the second half.

And two minutes after the interval Chelsea were down to 10 when Alex received a straight red card for tripping Frei in the area.

Sub keeper Ross Turnbull had not even touched the ball when Kasami took the penalty. And he did not get involved as the Swiss midfielder's kick cannoned off the bar.

AVB immediately sent on skipper Terry, 30, for McEachran to steady things at the back.

Lukaku, the Blues' Incredible Hulk, was denied by a magnificent reaction save from Mark Schwarzer and Florent Malouda ran himself into the ground as Chelsea found the physical resources to take the tie to penalties.

The very first spot-kick from Lamps was saved by Schwarzer, but Dembele was denied by Turnbull.

With sudden-death looming, up stepped Fulham's £10.6million Costa Rican international Ruiz to take the final penalty — and Chelsea were through.

Ruiz was convinced his effort had crossed the line but referee Chris Foy got it absolutely right.


DREAM TEAM

STAR MAN - ZDENEK GRYGERA

CHELSEA: Cech 6 (Turnbull 6), Ferreira 5, Alex 5, Luiz 5, Bertrand 6, McEachran 6 (Terry 6), Romeu 7, Malouda 6, Sturridge 5 (Lampard 6), Lukaku 7, Kalou 5. Not used: Bosingwa, Mikel, Mata, Drogba. Booked: Lampard. Sent-off: Alex.

FULHAM: Schwarzer 7, Kelly 6, Grygera 8, Senderos 6, Briggs 6, Kasami 5 (Zamora 6), Baird 7, Gecov 6 (Swidwell 5), Frei 6, Ruiz 7, Sa 6 (Dembele 6). Not used: Etheridge, JA Riise, Halliche, Kacaniklic. Booked: Frei.




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Mail:


Chelsea 0 Fulham 0 (AET, 4-3 on pens):
10-man Blues through after ending penalty hoodoo

By SAMI MOKBEL


According to Wednesday night's team-sheet Carlo Ancelotti is still in charge at Stamford Bridge.

But that misprint was the last thing on Andre Villas-Boas’ mind as Chelsea ended their penalty shoot-out hoodoo — but were pushed to the limit by Fulham before Bryan Ruiz’s miss handed their west London rivals a place in the Carling Cup fourth round.

The Costa Rican’s spot-kick crashed on to the underside of the bar but the ball did not fully cross the line.

The striker was not the only Fulham player to endure penalty agony as Patjim Kasami missed from 12 yards in normal time before Moussa Dembele fluffed his shoot-out effort.

It was only Chelsea’s second penalty shoot-out win in nine and Villas-Boas said: ‘I was made aware of our record before the game by one of our players, so it’s nice to be able to break that. The fact we were down to 10 men makes that win very gratifying.’

Villas-Boas took his first proper look at £18million striker Romelu Lukaku, giving the teenage striker his first start since last month’s move from Anderlecht.

In addition to Lukaku, Josh McEachran, Oriol Romeu and Ryan Bertrand all started at Stamford Bridge.

Lukaku’s strike-partner, Daniel Sturridge, carved out the first chance of the night, his low strike from a tight angle ruffling the side netting.

Chelsea did not have it all their own way and they were indebted to Alex for an excellent challenge on Karim Frei two minutes later as the youngster burst though.

Three minutes later, everyone at Stamford Bridge caught a glimpse of why Chelsea spent two years chasing Lukaku.

McEachran stroked a beautiful pass to set his fellow teenager away down the right. Confronted with Fulham left-back Matthew Briggs, Lukaku bundled the young defender to the floor before hitting a low rasping drive that Mark Schwarzer did well to parry.

The whole landscape of the clash changed in the 48th minute. Kerim Frei was about to pull the trigger when Alex came through the back of him, resulting in a penalty to Fulham and a red card for the defender.No chance: Alex remonstrates with Peter Walton in vain after receiving his red card

No chance: Alex remonstrates with Peter Walton in vain after receiving his red card

However, any joy the noisy travelling support felt quickly ended when Kasami blasted his kick on to the bar.

Even with 10 men, Chelsea dominated possession and John Terry, on for McEachran, thought he had snatched victory 12 minutes from time when his header was cleared off the line by Chris Baird.

The extra 30 minutes were predictably cagey, with no one wanting to make the mistake that could their side the game. David Luiz and Florent Malouda both had half-chances before Steve Sidwell volleyed Stephen Kelly’s cross just over the bar in the 118th minute as the game went to penalties.

Lampard missed the first but Terry, David Luiz, Kalou and Malouda all converted as Chelsea edged through.



MATCH FACTS

Chelsea: Cech 6 (Turnbull 46, 7); Ferreira 7, Luiz 7, Alex 6, Bertrand 7; McEachran 6 (Terry 52, 7), Romeu 7, Malouda 6; Sturridge 6 (Lampard 44, 6), Lukaku 8, Kalou 6.
Subs not used: Mata, Drogba, Mikel, Bosingwa.

Red card: Alex

Fulham: Schwarzer 6; Kelly 6, Grygera 7, Senderos 6, Briggs 7; Gecov 6 (Sidwell 90), Kasami 6 (Zamora 79), Baird 7, Frei 7; Sa 6 (Dembele 59, 6), Ruiz 6.
Subs: Etheridge, John Arne Riise, Kacaniklic, Halliche.

Yellow card: Frei.

Man of the match: Romelu Lukaku

Attendance: 37,632.

Referee: Chris Foy 6.




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Star:


CHELSEA 0 FULHAM 0: (CHELSEA WIN 4-3):
CHELSEA BOSS ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS SPOT OF LUCK


By David Woods



CHELSEA finally broke their penalty shoot-out hoodoo in dramatic circumstances last night.

Fulham’s £10m signing Bryan Ruiz smashed the final spot-kick against the bar – but was convinced the ball had crossed the line as Chelsea players mobbed stand-in keeper Ross Turnbull.

It was only their second shoot-out victory in their last NINE attempts – including their Champions League Final heartbreak against Manchester United in 2008.

Frank Lampard missed Chelsea’s first penalty but David Luiz, John Terry, Salomon Kalou and Florent Malouda all netted.

Bobby Zamora, Steve Sidwell and Chris Baird scored for Fulham but Moussa Dembele and Ruiz missed giving Chelsea a 4-3 victory.

But Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas could be on his phone again today to have another rant about a ref.

Chelsea had Alex sent off in the 47th minute by Chris Foy, who awarded Fulham a penalty for his challenge on Karim Frei.

Replays showed the Brazilian centre-back got a slight touch on the ball as he slid in from behind after Ruiz teed up Kerim Frei.

Alex argued long and hard with Foy and also had a few sharp words for fourth official James Linnington as he left the pitch. Pajtim Kasami failed to take advantage though, sending his spot-kick against the bar.

Foy’s decision came a day after Villas-Boas revealed he had made an official complaint about the officiating during Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat at Manchester United on Sunday.

It added some fire to a west London derby – which also saw keeper Petr Cech pick up an injury after an accidental clash.

Both managers made sweeping changes from their weekend line-ups.

Chelsea started with just Cech and Daniel Sturridge from the team who took to the field at Old Trafford.

Martin Jol kept Mark Schwarzer, Chris Baird and Stephen Kelly from his side who fought back so well to draw with Manchester City on the same day.

But any Blues fan expecting a side full of kids was wrong with the only youngsters being Oriol Romeu, 19, Romelu Lukaku and Josh McEachran – both 18 – and Ryan Bertrand, who at 22 is hardly a rookie.

Alex showed all his first-team experience to produce a perfect slide tackle to dispossess Orlando Sa after the striker darted clear following a stylish pass from Ruiz in the 27th minute. An even better Ruiz ball, this time a lovely dinked chip, set up Sa again but this time he shot into the side-netting.

Lukaku showed good hold-up play to put in Malouda but he fired wide too.

Chelsea looked to have scored when McEachran surged through and cut a shot past Schwarzer.

It was not the cleanest of connections but looked sure to evade Kelly chasing back.

But Sturridge opted to prod in from close range, doing it from an offside position, and so denying his team-mate a first senior goal. He was also hurt by Kelly in the process.

He was replaced by Frank Lampard, who is certainly no kid at 33.

In the 43rd minute there was further worry for Villas-Boas when Cech and Sa clashed accidentally as the keeper dived full-stretch to claim a Briggs cross.

Cech, who fractured his skull at Reading five years ago, and Sa were soon up after treatment.

But Chelsea took no chances replacing their star keeper with Ross Turnbull at the break so they could make sure Cech was okay.

Then came the Alex controversy, with his sending-off forcing Villas-Boas to replace the luckless McEachran with Chelsea skipper Terry.

Fulham quickly had another appeal for a penalty when Frei went down in the box but it was turned down by Foy.




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Express:


CHELSEA O FULHAM 0: TURNBULL SAVES CHELSEA HOPES

By Tony Banks



ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS is known as a man who pays phenomenal attention to detail. But even he could not have planned to win this tie by the mere width of a goal-line.

When Bryan Ruiz’s last penalty of the shoot-out slammed against the bar and then bounced down on to the line, Chelsea’s 10 men had ground out a battling, courageous victory on a night when it could so easily have all gone very wrong – indeed, they had lost seven of their previous eight spot-kick contests.

The Chelsea manager saw his team forced to play for 70 minutes last night with 10 men after Alex was sent off just two minutes into the second half. Fulham failed to make them pay as Pajtim Kasami missed from the spot – and it was more agony in the shoot-out.

Though Frank Lampard for once missed as a gripping tie reached its climax with the spot-kick contest, Mousa Dembele then saw his effort saved and Florent Malouda finally put Chelsea ahead before Ruiz, the £10.5million Costa Rican striker, fluffed his big moment.

Villas-Boas said: “That was a superhuman effort from 10 men for 70 minutes. I am very happy with my players.

“To be with 10 men for that long in a match and to create so many chances was phenomenal. We have broken two hoodoos. Chelsea never usually win shoot-outs and we always previously seemed to go out of the Carling Cup having a man sent off. That’s why this was special.”

In fact, the only worry of a gripping night for Chelsea was the head injury suffered by goalkeeper Petr Cech just before half-time. Cech, who still plays in protective headgear after fracturing his skull in 2006, was immediately rushed to hospital for scans, but given the all clear.

It was that kind of night. A game that started out as largely an experiment for both sides, each playing makeshift teams packed full of youngsters and fringe players, gradually turned into a gripping cup tie.

Villas-Boas gave new youngsters Romelu Lukaku and Oriol Romeu, who both joined in the summer, their first starts and also in his side were Josh McEachran and Ryan Bertrand.

That was not the only surprise on the team sheet – which still listed Carlo Ancelotti as the Chelsea manager. Four years to the week since Jose Mourinho left Chelsea, the latest incumbent of one of the hottest seat in football saw his team set about Fulham from the start.

Daniel Sturridge hit the side netting and then only a superb last-ditch challenge from Stephen Kelly denied Malouda.

Salomon Kalou guided a header wide and Lukaku showed his power as his fierce shot was pushed out.

Sturridge had the ball in the net but was ruled offside as McEachran carved open the Fulham defence again. And then the game changed. Karim Frei burst into the area and Alex chopped him down. The Brazilian was instantly sent off, but Kasami slammed the penalty against the crossbar.

A minute later, Fulham should have had another penalty, as Sa was pushed over in the area by Romeu, but this time referee Chris Foy waved away their claims.

So much for bouncing back quickly from the 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford last Sunday. Now it was a salvage job.

Fulham took charge, as Chelsea left Lukaku on his own up front. Malouda wasted a chance as he shot straight at Mark Schwarzer, but Fulham were sensing their moment and Turnbull had to be at his acrobatic best to deny first Dembele then Kasami.

Further chances came at either end and Steve Sidwell could have punished his old team in extra time but volleyed over. Then came the shoot-out and Ruiz’s moment of agony.

Fulham manager Martin Jol said: “We came so close to winning here for the first time in 32 years with our second team.”




Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech (Turnbull 46); Ferreira, Luiz, Alex, Bertrand; Romeu, McEachran (Terry 52), Malouda; Sturridge (Lampard 39), Lukaku, Kalou. Sent off: Alex 46. Booked: Lampard

Fulham (4-4-2): Schwarzer; Kelly, Grygera, Senderos, Briggs; Kasami (Zamora 60), Baird, Gecov (Sidwell 90), Frei; Ruiz, Sa (Dembele 59). Booked: Frei

Referee: C Foy (Lancashire).