Cardiff City 4-1

Independent:

Chelsea 4 Cardiff 1
Eden Hazard’s luck of the bounce sees Blues home
By PATRICK BARCLAY

As David Marshall was left helpless by Chelsea’s points-clinching third goal, majestically struck by the substitute Oscar, the home support rose as one – and among them was a dapper 50-year-old once dubbed an “enemy of football”.
Yes, Jose Mourinho was in trouble again, banished to the stands – he eventually chose a vacant seat in the fifth row, directly behind the Chelsea dugout – for troubling the referee, Anthony Taylor, and fourth official Trevor Kettle on questions of time-wasting. But it was how his team extricated themselves from difficulty that carried more significance, even if this, too, involved controversy.
They, nevertheless, moved above Liverpool on goal difference and stayed nicely tucked behind the Premier League leaders, Arsenal, by coming from behind to beat Cardiff, Samuel Eto’o scoring his first for the club and Eden Hazard, challenged only by Oscar’s cameo for man-of-the-match honours, collecting a double.
It was a clinical, efficient and ultimately handsome prelude to the visit of Manchester City to Stamford Bridge on Sunday (after a trip to meet Schalke in the Champions’ League). But Mourinho declined to talk about it, preferring a League fine. He might also have been relieved not to face questions about David Luiz’s role in the Cardiff goal.
Malky Mackay was less reticent, powerfully arguing that Taylor had erred in allowing the equaliser. The Cardiff manager said he had spoken to the officials, who had told him they believed Marshall had dropped rather than bounced the ball before having it flicked away from him by Eto’o.
According to the law, a bounced ball is under the control of the goalkeeper and therefore Eto’o committed a foul, Mackay continued. “The explanation leaves us really disappointed.” Asked if the incident had been crucial, he replied: “It certainly was at that point.”
Overall, the score was indeed unkind to a solid Cardiff. They lived in real hope for a time thanks to Luiz. Almost as soon as you come to the conclusion that the Brazilian might be maturing into the high-quality defender his talent renders feasible, he seems to do something stupid. And so it came once more to pass.
The Chelsea defender, John Terry, failed to deal with a long, high ball. That did not matter because it was deflected to Ramires, 25 yards out and under little pressure. Ramires chose to pass back towards Luiz, who ran past the ball, mane tossing, in what can only have been an elaborate attempt at a dummy.
Had Petr Cech called for it? The goalkeeper’s body-language suggested otherwise and he was late to the ball as Jordon Mutch, who had gambled on Luiz’s folly, dashed forward to dink it into the net.
Cardiff’s reaction did involve much wasting of time. Chelsea, meanwhile, moved the ball as quickly as possible and constantly switched attacking midfielders. With Oscar omitted from the starting line-up, Juan Mata might have been disappointed to find Willian in the No. 10 role and himself on the right. But this proved temporary.
When Chelsea equalised, Mata had moved into the central role. Hazard remained generally on the left and it was from there that he got the goal. Another bizarre one, it was.
Marshall had collected the ball and was bouncing it when Eto’o stole in. Hazard took a couple of steps and squared to Eto’o, who tried to go round Gary Medel before scoring but was brought down by the Chilean. The referee held his whistle while Hazard stroked the ball into an unguarded net.
Luiz was yellow-carded after getting too tight on Aron Gunnarsson as Cardiff tried to break out. But generally the tide continued to wash over the visitors, who were broken almost as soon as Oscar had taken over from Mata.
First the fresh arrival fed Hazard, who in turn played the ball through to Eto’o, and now the veteran rolled back the years.
Said to have lacked sharpness since his arrival from Anzhi Makhachkala, he skipped into space, danced round the challenge of Steven Caulker and shot low past Marshall before wildly celebrating at the Matthew Harding end.
Mourinho’s last act was to replace Eto’o with the defender Cesar Azpilicueta. A minute later, according to assistant coach Steve Holland, he encountered “a huge frustration” with the referee’s request to Bransilav Ivanovic to hurry with a throw – making liberal reference to Cardiff’s earlier delays – and was despatched to the stands.
He is unlikely to face serious disciplinary action – certainly no repeat of the Uefa ban that caused him once to exert remote control over a Champions’ League tie with Bayern Munich.
Anyway, the players seemed to fare well enough without Mourinho for the final quarter of the match yesterday, Oscar emphasising Chelsea’s superiority with that glorious dipper from just outside the penalty area and Hazard cutting in from the left to drive under Marshall. 

Line-ups:
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic , Luiz, Terry, Bertrand  (Torres, 63); Ramires, Lampard; Mata (Oscar, 58), Willian, Hazard; Eto’o (Azpilicueta, 68).

Cardiff City (4-1-4-1): Marshall; Theophile-Catherine, Caulker, Turner, Taylor;  Medel (Kim, 55); Cowie, Mutch, Gunnarsson (Gestede, 80), Whittingham, Odemwingie  (Campbell, 53).
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Man of the match: Eden Hazard

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Observer:

Chelsea hammer Cardiff as Eden Hazard and Samuel Eto'o shine

Sachin Nakrani at Stamford Bridge

It has been said that José Mourinho's return to Chelsea has given the club fresh box-office appeal, and after this contest it would be hard to argue with that assertion. In 90 engrossing minutes came comedy, controversy, drama, breathtaking moments and an eye-catching turn from the star protagonist himself. This was a show, all right.
Where to start? Well, perhaps near the end and the moment on 69 minutes when Mourinho was sent to the stands by the referee, Anthony Taylor, for dissent. Chelsea were 2-1 up, having recovered from the shock of going behind to Jordon Mutch's avoidable opener after 10 minutes and, Mourinho being Mourinho, now was the time to make a meal of the dismissal. Instead of heading to the directors' box or dressing room, the manager took a seat eight rows above the dug-out among home supporters. Soon after came a chorus of "José Mourinho, he sits where he wants" from Chelsea fans and two more goals, a stunning edge-of-the area drive from Oscar and a second from the outstanding Eden Hazard on 82 minutes, to seal the win for the hosts. With that, Mourinho did depart down the tunnel, his joy tempered somewhat by the prospect of a touchline ban for Manchester City's visit here next Sunday.
Mourinho did not attend the post-match press conference, instead sending his assistant coach Steve Holland, who explained that the Portuguese's burst of anger was caused by his feeling that Taylor was not dealing with time-wasting by Cardiff's players while coming down strongly on those in blue for supposedly doing the same thing.
"José's very frustrated and that stems from the time-wasting of the opposition," said Holland. "We mentioned it on several occasions to the fourth official but he didn't do anything about it. And then when Ivanovic had the ball in his hands for no more than two seconds the referee started pointing to his watch. So there is huge frustration and to be sent off for showing that is harsh."
The anger may well have been justified but Mourinho owes the referee a debt of gratitude for allowing Chelsea's equaliser on 33 minutes. The goal, after all, should not have stood.
In the process of launching possession upfield, David Marshall, the Cardiff goalkeeper, bounced the ball, only for Samuel Eto'o to kick it away from the keeper's reach while stood by his right shoulder and into the path of Hazard. A scramble ensued before the Belgian eventually passed the ball into the net. Marshall aside, no one in the visitors' ranks made a great fuss, yet according to Fifa's Laws of the Game – 12.16, a goalkeeper is considered to be in control of the ball even while bouncing it and any attempt by an opposition player to take it away from him should be "punished by a direct free-kick".
"I asked for clarification of the ruling and what the referee and linesman saw," said Malky Mackay, the Cardiff manager. "The explanation leaves me disappointed. They felt that the goalkeeper dropped the ball. My goalkeeper bounced the ball, and they thought he had dropped the ball and said if he had bounced the ball that would have been a foul. So obviously that is a mistake."
Taylor can expect to be punished for the aberration while for the culprit, the moment was one to savour. Eto'o has struggled to impress since arriving from Anzhi Makhachkala in August, with his performances for Chelsea increasing the sense that the 34-year-old is no longer the feared striker of old. Here, though, was undoubtedly his best performance for the club, with his dubious, yet cunning assist followed by a delightful goal on 66 minutes. Collecting Hazard's pass, the veteran quickly moved across the Cardiff area and, having jinked past Steven Caulker, hit a vicious strike past Marshall his first goal for Chelsea and, incredibly, the first by one of their strikers in the league this season.
"It's always difficult when you change clubs and country," said Holland. "Samuel has scored goals at the top level throughout Europe but I'm sure he will still feel happy at having that first one [for Chelsea]. It's something the staff and players have seen on many days in training. Physically you can change but quality is permanent and hopefully we'll see more finishing like that from Samuel in the future."
Despite the preceding controversy, Chelsea deserved their lead, having shown persistence and drive after falling behind in somewhat slapstick circumstances. David Luiz was at fault, misjudging the pace of Ramires's back-pass and, having turned his back on the ball, was left to look on in horror as Mutch ran through on the blindside and struck the ball past Petr Cech, making his 300th league appearance for Chelsea.
Cardiff had chances to increase their lead, most notably through Peter Odemwingie's 21st-minute header, and they soon paid the price, albeit incorrectly, bringing to an end a difficult fortnight for the Welsh club following the sacking of the head of recruitment, Iain Moody, by the owner, Vincent Tan. For Chelsea, now up to second place, comes a Champions League tie with Schalke and, no doubt, more drama.

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 4 Cardiff City 1
By Ben Findon

Chelsea overcame a defensive mix-up to cash in on a controversial goalkeeping incident and a fine display of finishing, eventually subduing Cardiff City to move into second place.
Perhaps it was all too much for Jose Mourinho, sent to the stands by referee Anthony Taylor for dissent after stepping beyond his technical area to harangue the official who had appeared to warn Branislav Ivanovic for time-wasting. Mourinho could, at least, admire his side’s newly-acquired predatory instincts alongside some delighted fans in the East Stand as Oscar and Eden Hazard applied a blue sheen to the score.
It all seemed a long time after Jordan Mutch had stunned Stamford Bridge with a 10th-minute opener. Hazard levelled before half-time but the lively Welsh side were giving as good as they got until Mourinho’s second-half tactical rejig was followed by Samuel Eto’s first goal for the club.
Chelsea’s embarrassment had come when Ramires directed a firmly struck but nevertheless routine back-pass at David Luiz. He allowed the ball to roll past him and into the path of Mutch, who lifted a neat finish over Petr Cech. Hardly the way for him to celebrate his 300th Premier League appearance.
At the start of a testing week that brings a Champions League visit to Schalke and a league meeting with Manchester City back at the Bridge next Sunday, this was hardly the type of defensive solidity that Mourinho is looking for. Chelsea had been toiling for a breakthrough when it arrived, in controversial fashion, in the 33rd minute. Cardiff goalkeeper David Marshall was bouncing the ball, prior to making a clearance, but found Eto’o nipping in to steal it away. Eto’o sidestepped the keeper before being bundled over by Gary Medel.
That would surely have been a penalty but the question was academic as Hazard steered home. Marshall, who had escaped when appearing to handle Frank Lampard’s long through-ball outside his penalty area two minutes earlier, had his head in his hands. Malky Mackay stood flummoxed on the touchline.
Chelsea lived dangerously at times. Peter Odemwingie would have had a second but for a clawing save by Cech. An uncomfortable looking Luiz received a yellow card for blocking Aron Gunnarsson in full flight just before the interval. Chelsea, however, had rich options on the bench and Mourinho acted decisively around the hour, sending on Oscar and Fernando Torres, and switching briefly to a three-man defence. It was enough to unlock Cardiff, with three well-struck goals following in a devastating 16-minute spell. Cardiff continued to press but were cut apart when Chelsea launched rapid counter-attacks.
Eto’o was first, taking a pass from Hazard and stepping away from Steven Caulker to finish with a powerful, low shot in the 66th minute. Oscar gave Chelsea breathing space with a superb rising effort that flicked in off the underside of the bar 12 minutes later, and four minutes after that, the outstanding Hazard cut in from the left to fire in low.
Mackay, whose preparations had been overshadowed by the controversial replacement of his head of recruitment, Iain Moody, with Alisher Apsalyamov, who is believed to have no football experience, by owner Vincent Tan, said: “I’m proud of the players today. I am pleased with the way we have settled into the Premier League. Today we showed tactical nous and a real competitive edge.”

Match details:

Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Cech 6; Ivanovic 6, Luiz 5, Terry 6, Bertrand 6 (Torres 64); Ramires 7, Lampard 6; Mata 6 (Oscar 59), Willian 6, Hazard 8; Eto’o 7 (Azpilicueta 69).
Subs: Schwarzer (g), Essien, De Bruyne, Cahill. Booked Luiz.
Cardiff City (4-4-1-1) Marshall 4: Theophile-Catherine 5, Caulker 5, Turner 5, Taylor 5; Cowie 5, Gunnarsson 6 (Gestede 80), Medel 5 (Bo-Kyung 56), Whittingham 5; Mutch 6; Odemwingie 5 (Campbell 67).
Subs: Lewis (g), Hudson, Noone, Maynard. Booked Cowie, Marshall.
Referee A Taylor (Manchester).

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Mail:

Chelsea 4 Cardiff 1: Hazard's controversial goal overshadows win as battling Bluebirds are ripped apart (and Jose is even sent off!)

By Ian Stafford

Just another quiet afternoon at  Stamford Bridge then. Chelsea ran out convincing winners over promoted Cardiff City but not before an equaliser for the west Londoners that should never have been allowed and the later sight of Jose Mourinho sent off and  sitting with the fans.
It is fair to say it was a day referee Anthony Taylor may not forget in a hurry, nor indeed his assessors. It is also fair to say Taylor may find himself officiating at Championship games for the foreseeable future.
It would seem churlish to suggest Eden Hazard’s controversial equaliser in the first half settled a game that ended in a thrashing, but there is no doubt it proved to be the catalyst.
Until the 33rd minute Cardiff, facing Chelsea for the first time in the top flight in 52 years, had held an uncomfortable lead after Jordon Mutch had seized on David Luiz’s misguided leave from Ramires’s back-pass and chipped the ball over Peter Cech into the empty net after 10 minutes.
It was an extraordinary goal in its own right because Luiz ran away from the ball assuming there was not a  Cardiff player anywhere near him.
In most games this would be the major talking point, especially as the accident-prone Luiz was in the thick of it.

But all this would change 12 minutes from the break when David Marshall collected the ball.

As the Cardiff goalkeeper quite clearly bounced it on the turf, Samuel Eto’o crept up from behind, stole it and fed Hazard.
The midfielder then squared the ball to Eto’o, who was tackled in shooting, but when the loose ball rolled to Hazard, the Belgian made no mistake.
It prompted memories of George Best’s disallowed effort against England’s Gordon Banks in 1971, Gary Crosby’s goal for Nottingham Forest against Manchester City’s Andy Dibble in 1991, Dion Dublin’s cheeky steal off Shay Given in 1997 while playing for Coventry against Newcastle and Thierry Henry’s disallowed goal against Brad Friedel’s Blackburn.
If the referee had studied Law 12 of the Fifa regulations, he might have made a different decision.
It states: ‘When a goalkeeper has gained possession of the ball with his hands, he cannot be challenged by an opponent.
'A goalkeeper is considered to be in control of the ball while the ball is between his hands and any surface (e.g. ground) and while in the act of bouncing it on the ground.’
Afterwards Taylor told incredulous Cardiff manager Malky Mackay he believed Marshall had dropped the ball, which is why the goal was awarded. He was probably the only one of the 41,475 crowd inside the ground who saw it that way.
Despite this, Cardiff, with their new, 23-year-old Kazakh head of recruitment Alisher Apsalyamov, watching from, the directors’ box, were good value to be on level terms at the interval. But after such a lucky break there was a ring of inevitability about Chelsea’s second-half performance.
The Hazard-Eto’o combination worked to good effect again in the 66th minute, this time legally, as the Belgian fed the Cameroon striker, who cut inside Cardiff captain Steven Caulker before firing a low shot past Marshall to score his first goal for his new club.
All eyes were diverted three minutes later to the touchline. Mourinho, not for the first time, had wandered way out of his technical area to complain when referee Taylor had accused  Branislav Ivanovic of time-wasting, the same offence that earlier saw Cardiff keeper Marshall booked.
When the manager first remonstrated then refused to go quietly, Taylor pointed to the stands, prompting the most colourful boss in the Premier League to sit eight rows back from his dugout. 
He was punching the air in the 78th minute when substitute Oscar, after collecting the ball from Ramires, fired a swerving, rising shot into the net.
There was still time for a fourth goal for Chelsea when Hazard cut inside and sent a low shot just to the left of Marshall from a tight angle. On most other days the beleaguered keeper would have undoubtedly saved the modest effort … but not on a day like this.
Cardiff will not stay up or go down because of a bizarre afternoon at the Bridge, however, and Mourinho will not become a shrinking violet, either.
But it was a day neither Cardiff nor Chelsea will forget for a while.

CHELSEA: Cech 6; Ivanovic 6, Terry 7, Luiz 5, Bertrand 7 (Torres 64 min, 5); Ramires 5, Lampard 6; Mata 5 (Oscar 59, 7), WiIlian 5, Hazard 7; Eto’o 6 (Azpilicueta, 69, 5).
SUBS: Schwarzer, Essien, Cahill, De Bruyne.
MANAGER: Jose Mourinho 6.
GOALS: Hazard 34 & 82, Eto’o 66, Oscar 78.
BOOKINGS: Luiz.
SENT OFF: Mourinho.

CARDIFF: Marshall 5; Theophile-Catherine 6, Caulker 5, Turner 5, Taylor 5; Cowie 6, Gunnarsson 6 (Gestede 81), Medel 5 (Kim 56, 6), Whittingham 5; Mutch 7; Odemwingie 6 (Campbell 68, 5).
SUBS: Lewis, Hudson, Noone, Maynard.
MANAGER: Malky Mackay 5.
GOALS: Mutch 10.
BOOKINGS: Cowie, Marshall.
MOM: Oscar
REFEREE: Anthony Taylor 4.
ATT: 41.475.

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Mirror:

Chelsea 4-1 Cardiff City: Eden Hazard's brace sends Blues back into second as Jose Mourinho sees red
By Matt Law

Jordon Mutch's early goal had given the visitors hope of causing an upset, but Hazard, Samuel Eto'o and Oscar helped Blues complete victory

Two goals from Eden Hazard ensured Chelsea took home three points, despite Jose Mourinho being sent to the stands.
It has been easy to wonder where the real Samuel Eto’o has been during a slow start to his Chelsea career.
But he finally turned up at Stamford Bridge yesterday – much to the annoyance of Cardiff and keeper David Marshall.
Marshall claims he knew the striker was hiding behind him as he bounced the ball in his area.
Eto’o, though, nipped in to poke the ball away from Marshall and Eden Hazard took advantage to score a vital first-half equaliser.
The Eto’o intervention provoked immediate memories of Gary Crosby for Nottingham Forest and Dion Dublin for Coventry.
But a look at the FIFA rule book revealed the goal should not have stood, just as Thierry Henry’s 2003 effort was ruled out after he had stolen the ball from Brad Friedel.
Referee Anthony Taylor’s explanation that he thought Marshall had dropped the ball, rather than bounced it, is unlikely to prevent him being relegated to Championship duty.
As Cardiff’s afternoon got steadily worse from that point, Eto’o’s day just got better.
The Cameroon striker scored his first Chelsea goal in the second half to set them on their way to what eventually proved to be a comfortable victory.
Jose Mourinho had to watch the final two goals alongside the home fans following an argument with Taylor and fourth official Trevor Kettle over time-wasting.
Mourinho was ordered to leave the touchline and first sat with Chelsea staff just behind the dug-out, then moved further back to join delighted supporters.
He high-fived a young fan after seeing substitute Oscar net a wonderful third from the edge of the area, before Hazard sealed a brilliant personal performance in the 82nd minute.
It all would have been a relief to Chelsea defender David Luiz, whose terrible defending allowed Cardiff to take a shock 10th-minute lead. Ramires played a poor back-pass, but Luiz simply let the ball drift past him and Jordon Mutch nipped in to score.
Chelsea keeper Petr Cech was forced to make a wonderful save from a Peter Odemwingie header, before the drama really started.
There were few arguments when Eto’o picked Marshall’s pocket in the 33rd minute. He toed the ball to Hazard, who attempted to tee up the striker.
Eto’o made a mess of trying to score but Hazard made no mistake and Taylor allowed the goal to stand.
It later became clear he had got the decision badly wrong and it proved to be the turning point as Chelsea pulled away in the second half.
Hazard slipped Eto’o into the penalty area and the 32-year-old rounded Steven Caulker before smashing a shot past Marshall.
“Samuel will feel a lot happier to have got off the mark,” said Chelsea’s assistant first-team coach Steve Holland
“We’ve seen him do it in training on plenty of occasions and, hopefully, we will see more of it in games. Quality is permanent.”
The Chelsea fans chanted “Jose Mourinho, he sits where he wants” after the Portuguese was sent to the stands in the 70th minute. The banishment did not adversely affect his players, as Oscar beat Marshall from the edge of the area and then Hazard netted his second from a tight angle.
But it was Eto’o who was both hero and villain. Chelsea will just be delighted he has finally come to the fore.

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Express:

A game of bad refereeing crazy defending and a sending off for Jose Mourinho
THERE was no refuge from the absurd for Cardiff manager Malky Mackay as his side lost a match of crazy goals, dodgy refereeing and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho being sent off for moaning on the touchline.

By: Jim Holden

Mackay has suffered horribly in recent days with controversial upheavals at his club – and the torment only intensified at Stamford Bridge yesterday afternoon.
His counterpart, Mourinho, was not much happier even though his team climbed into second place in the Premier League table with an ultimately emphatic victory.
The game turned on a moment in the 33rd minute that will haunt referee Anthony Taylor – allowing an equalising goal for Chelsea that was clearly illegal. It is the most parlous kind of error for an official.
Cardiff were 1-0 ahead at the time thanks to an amazingly daft goal of their own. It came when Chelsea midfielder Ramires thought he had dealt with a routine long ball forward by sending a pass back to the safety of team-mate David Luiz and goalkeeper Petr Cech. Instead, Luiz strolled casually away from the ball, Cech was confused into coming out too slowly and Cardiff striker Jordon Mutch nipped in to score.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was almost too astonished to be angry.
His team responded with almost total domination of the play. An equaliser seemed inevitable, but its method was madness.
Cardiff keeper David Marshall had the ball in his own penalty area in the 33rd minute and bounced the ball just before he was going to aim a boot up-field.
Lurking just behind him, as a penalty area pickpocket, was Samuel Eto’o – and just as the ball bounced the Chelsea striker flicked it away with his boot. In a trice, Eden Hazard had scored into an empty net.

I asked the referee for an explanation and he told me thought our keeper had dropped the ball and it was out of his control
Referee Taylor ruled it was a fair goal, but he was haplessly wrong. Law 12 of the rules of football states: “When a goalkeeper has gained possession of the ball with his hands he cannot be challenged by an opponent. A goalkeeper is considered to be in control of the ball if it is between his hands and any surface (eg the ground) and while in the act of bouncing it on the ground.”
Mackay said: “The law is quite clear that a keeper can’t be challenged when he bounces the ball.
‘‘I asked the referee for an explanation and he told me thought our keeper had dropped the ball and it was out of his control. It was a crucial moment in the game and played a large part in the result.”
The goal gave Chelsea momentum to cruise towards victory with three second half goals.
Hazard made the second in the 66th minute with a pass to Eto’o inside the box, and the striker shot fiercely into the net.
Chelsea were finally in the lead, but Mourinho was still in severe Mr Angry mode. He strode out of his technical area and down the touchline in the 70th minute, gesticulating furiously at the referee when Mr Taylor was trying to hurry up a Chelsea throw-in.
The dissent from Mourinho was too long and too visible for the ref’s liking and he sent off the Chelsea manager who went and sat among the fans 10 rows back while his team scored two quick goals.
Oscar scored with a superb 20-yard drive in the 78th minute and Hazard struck home the fourth with a shot that should have been saved by Marshall.
That was enough for Mourinho, who retreated to the calm and peace of the dressing room.
It was far too much for Mackay, as well, whose team had played well and seen Chelsea keeper Cech make excellent saves to deny Peter Odemwingie and then substitute Kim Bo-Kyung. The scoreline could, and should, have been much closer.
But, as Malky Mackay knows only too well right now, football can be a cruel and unforgiving game played in the make-believe world of Alice-in-Wonderland.


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Star:

Chelsea 4 - Cardiff 1: Triumph at Stamford Bridge as Jose Mourinho looks on from terrace
JOSE MOURINHO was sent off but still triumphed from the terraces.
By Adrian Stiles

The Special One sat among the fans and soaked up the adulation as Chelsea came back from a goal down to see off plucky Cardiff.
After a crazy couple of weeks, Malky Mackay knows to expect the unexpected.
But even the Red Dragons boss would have raised an eyebrow at the sight of Mourinho in the crowd.
He was also left bewildered when referee Anthony Taylor let a dodgy equaliser stand.
The official waved play on when Samuel Eto'o nipped in to stab the ball away as Cardiff keeper David Marshall bounced it. Eto'o then worked the ball to Eden Hazard who scored.
Mackay said: "I went to see the referee for clarification of the ruling and his explanation was they all thought he had dropped the ball.
"They said it would be a foul if he had bounced the ball, so it's very disappointing.
"They thought the ball wasn't in his control but David saw Eto'o and bounced the ball so that is a mistake.
"It would have made a different team-talk if we had gone in ahead at half-time."
Hazard's goal set up the hosts' recovery after Jordon Mutch had fired the visitors ahead early on. The Blues then cruised to a win thanks to another from Hazard and Eto'o's first goal for his new club.
For Mourinho, though, this deserved win could come with an FA ban as the Portuguese boss contested a number of decisions.
Chelsea assistant-coach Steve Holland said: "Jose's very frustrated indeed. It all stemmed from their time wasting in the first three or four minutes.
"We made our feelings known to officials in a professional manner but it didn't make any difference.
"Then when we were 2-1 up, we had a throw and the ref was pointing at his watch straight away.
"It wasn't consistent and for Jose to be sent off was very harsh.
"Samuel's been doing very well in training. It takes time to settle but class is permanent."
The visitors had a huge helping hand from Chelsea, who engineered a huge cock-up in defence that will have Mourinho raging when he sees the replays.
A goal-kick from Marshall should have been dealt with easily but Ramires's back-pass was underhit and David Luiz failed to help it on its way, leaving Mutch to nip in and score easily.
That was just what Cardiff needed but it also acted as a wake-up call to Chelsea.
Mourinho picked Eto'o ahead of the fit-again Fernando Torres and the Cameroon striker showed he is finally coming to terms with the pace of the Premier League.
But it took a Marshall moment of madness to serve up the 33rd-minute equaliser.
The keeper casually bounced the ball to clear but Eto'o nipped in to stab the ball away and into the path of Hazard.
Eto'o was tackled and relieved to see Hazard pounce from close in to score.
Once Chelsea were level, it was hard to see Cardiff hanging on for a point.
Eto'o then struck in the 66th minute, running on to Hazard's ball before unleashing a cracker. Oscar made it three in the 78th minute with a superb 25-yard effort.
And Hazard wrapped it up, squirming a ball under Marshall with eight minutes to go.