morning papers bordeaux home 4-0

Telegraph:
Champions League: Vintage Chelsea display sinks BordeauxChelsea (2) 4 Bordeaux (0) 0 By Henry Winter at Stamford Bridge
The tears of Moscow have begun to dry, the dream returns of a Champions League triumph. Chelsea were so imperious, so decisive in their attacks, so in tune with Luiz Felipe Scolari’s instructions, that their fans will begin to believe that this could be their year.
For those in blue searching for omens, the sight of Nicolas Anelka scoring with almost the last kick here, a contrast to his disastrous final touch in Moscow, seemed significant. With Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Florent Malouda also scoring, Chelsea have got Moscow out of their system, although Laurent Blanc’s visitors offered little threat.
Blanc’s old club, Manchester United, visit at the weekend, the first meeting since the Champions League final and it promises fireworks.
It was as if a summer of pent-up frustration over Moscow had been let loose at the Bridge. This was catharsis time for Chelsea, the moment to banish the ghosts of the Luzhniki. With the memories still raw, the vanquished Champions League finalists tore into Bordeaux, with Lampard and Joe Cole scoring good first-half headers to put Chelsea in complete command.
Chelsea’s 4-1-4-1 system may have echoed Bordeaux’s but any similarity ended there, emphatically so. Chelsea were superior in every department. Scolari’s full-backs, Ashley Cole and particularly Jose Bosingwa, were soon operating as flying wingers, giving Chelsea command of midfield and soon the lead.
Before his side took the lead after 14 minutes, Scolari had been screaming at Bosingwa to push on. The message, and the venom with which it was delivered, was easily understood by Bosingwa, who responded in style. With Scolari’s exhortations ringing in his ears, Bosingwa drove down the right, nutmegging Diego Placente as Chelsea tore into the French.
That move petered out, but the next shredded Bordeaux’s defence. Blanc, such an elegant centre-half in his time, must have been aghast at the porous nature of his back-line. When Joe Cole laid the ball off to Bosingwa on the right, Lampard made his move, gliding unnoticed into the box, knowing that a fine cross was imminent.
Bosingwa delivered in every sense, placing a perfect ball on to the head of Lampard, who flicked Chelsea in front. Scolari punched the air in delight, buoyed that his advice had been taken on board so well by Bosingwa. Like Scolari’s 2002 Brazilian World Cup-winners, Chelsea rely for much of their width on their full-backs.
Bosingwa may not be Cafu but his pacy breaks have lent Chelsea a terrific outlet this season; Chelsea’s problem position of right-back has been well and truly solved. Scolari’s love of attacking full-backs may be a riskier tactic away from home but at the Bridge, against such limited opponents as the French, it worked well.
This Blanc Bordeaux were poor, anything but vintage, and Chelsea were rampant. After an Anelka shot and a Terry header threatened to beat Ulrich Rame, Chelsea secured their deserved second on the half-hour. When Lampard swung a corner across the face of an expectant Matthew Harding Stand, few predicted Joe Cole would metamorphose into a latter-day Kerry Dixon. But timing his jump well, catching out Fernando and Franck Jurietti, England’s little big man flicked an excellent header across Rame and in.
As an enjoyable half unfolded, the one disappointment was to note that the Bridge was not full, a pity as Chelsea under Scolari are well worth watching. John Obi Mikel, responding to the Brazilian’s coaching, has grown into the anchoring role, and now looks the natural successor to Claude Makelele. With Michael Essien injured, Mikel has become even more important.
The tall Nigerian made one mistake in the first half, an undercooked pass intercepted by Wendel, and Mikel was grateful that Ricardo Carvalho and Terry were their usual alert selves. Otherwise Mikel’s tackling and range of passing gave Chelsea a strong platform to perform on, allowing Deco, Lampard and Joe Cole to go and display their talents.
Lampard, in terrific form of late, should really have made it three but dragged his shot wide. No matter. Chelsea were so in control.
With Bordeaux offering such minimal threat, for all the hard running of Marouane Chamakh, Scolari was able to make substitutions with their meeting with United in mind. Michael Ballack sprinted on to warm applause, with Deco making way.
At one point the German burst like a dreadnought through the middle, knocking Alou Diarra out of the way. Ballack’s arrival was simply another reminder of why Chelsea will be such a formidable force again this season, with their strength in depth.
Similarly encouragingly for Chelsea, there seemed signs of real understanding between Ashley Cole and Florent Malouda down the left. Joe Cole’s interplay with Bosingwa was another feature of Chelsea’s play, although Cole was removed with 17 minutes left. Juliano Belletti, showing his versatility, came on in right midfield.
Without Deco and Joe Cole, Chelsea’s creativity ebbed. Scolari kept shouting, kept cajoling, and the energy emanating from the dug-out transmitted itself on the terraces.
Chelsea’s fans urged the players to raise their tempo, perhaps knowing that such a laid-back attitude will bring punishment if repeated this weekend against Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez.
Chelsea’s players responded, conjuring up a memorable goal eight minutes from the end. Mikel built up steam, breaking through a series of challenges, zigzagging through five white shirts, before laying off to Lampard.
The back-heeled return was probably intended for Mikel, but Malouda took over, firing the ball in. “We want four’’ chanted the Shed, and Carvalho almost obliged with a header that hit the bar.
The fourth did arrive with seconds left, Anelka tucking away the loose ball after Belletti’s thunderous shot had almost snapped the crossbar. After their downfall in Moscow, Chelsea are up and running again.
Match details:
Chelsea:(4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole; Mikel; J Cole (Belletti 74), Deco (Ballack 61), Lampard, Malouda (Kalou 84); Anelka. Subs: Hilario (g), Di Santo, Ferreira, Alex. Booked: Deco.Bordeaux (4-1-4-1): Rame; Jurietti, Planus, Diawara, Placente; Diarra; Gouffran (Obertan 65), Fernando (Ducasse 74), Gourcuff, Wendell; Chamakh (Cavenaghi 65). Subs: Valverde (g), Henrique, Bellion, Traore. Referee: P Vink (Netherlands). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Independent:
Chelsea 4 Bordeaux 0: Chelsea less than vintage but Bordeaux lack bottle on opening day
By Sam WallaceWednesday, 17 September 2008
Not really a vintage Bordeaux, more a crate of Laurent Blanc plonk. Chelsea, on the other hand, were sparkling as they began a new Champions League campaign after the tears and rain of Moscow in May. This year they really believe it is their turn for the big one and as opening statements go, this one will reverberate around Europe.
"We're on our way to Rome," was the introduction from one of Chelsea's pitchside announcers with the kind of modest understatement to which we have become accustomed at Stamford Bridge. You can take it as read that he meant the Champions League final in Rome on 27 May rather than the Group A game against Roma in November. At this club they have a sense of entitlement when it comes to success in this competition. Last night you could see why.
At times it was captivating to watch, although Blanc, the Bordeaux manager, may have preferred to have removed his trendy spectacles and rubbed his eyes in despair. The English, Frank Lampard and Joe Cole, led the charge with the goals in the first half; the French contingent in blue shirts, Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka, finished the visitors off after the break. It was brutal at times. And the only one who was not completely impressed was Scolari.
It was a favoured tactic of Jose Mourinho to deflate the mood after a big win and this time it was Scolari who chose that approach. From his manner it sounded as if the Brazilian had just cut short the party mood in the changing rooms with his complaints about what he said was a lack of discipline in the second half. "We didn't play very well, they made many mistakes when they had the ball," Scolari said. "You need to control the game more, and we didn't control it very well in the second half." They controlled it enough to make sure that Bordeaux did not muster a single meaningful shot on target all night.
Sometimes you had to remind yourself that this was the second-best team in France, the football nation that reached the last World Cup final. In the strange world of European club football that we inhabit, skewed by the Premier League's billions, France's league runners-up cannot even give England's equivalent a decent game. But tell us something we don't know. There was not an area of the pitch in which Chelsea did not dominate.
While the Romanian team CFR Cluj held on for a momentous win against Roma in the other group game, Chelsea showed how to deal with European football's second tier. They drove Scolari to distraction with their sloppiness in front of goal, but that was only because when it came to scoring goals it was inevitable that they would win with a few to spare. Lampard and Anelka both missed sitters in the first half. Scolari threw his arms up in disgust. And yet when they put their minds to it, Chelsea ripped Bordeaux to shreds.
"We took some punishment because we lost many balls in the middle," Scolari complained. "On another night, another team getting those positions in front of goal might have hurt us quicker. If they'd had more quality, it would have been dangerous for us." Quality, however, is in abundance in the Chelsea team and before they had even settled into the game, this young Bordeaux side found themselves two goals behind and struggling to keep pace.
First to strike was the in-form Lampard who glided into the spaces between Bordeaux's defenders to guide in with his head the third goal of his season and the 113th of his Chelsea career. It came from a cross from Jose Bosingwa who was excellent, an overlapping right-back who has given Chelsea a new dimension in attack. Bordeaux could not stop him.
The second goal was flicked in off Joe Cole's sore head from Lampard's corner. The elbow from Robert Kovac against Croatia last week does not seem to have done any permanent damage to the England midfielder who out-jumped a much bigger Bordeaux defence. There was more of the same in the second half, the blue torrent showing no sign of abating. Even Malouda was having a good game.
Just after the hour, Michael Ballack came on for his first appearance since the Wigan game on 24 August and he did so to a rapturous reception. How times have changed at Stamford Bridge for the German midfielder about whom the locals were once so distrustful. He was the driving force in Chelsea's late run last season and now Scolari must try to keep him, Deco and Lampard all happy. It will not be simple.
Under Mourinho, Chelsea would have closed this game down long before the hour but, to their credit, they kept up the impetus to go forward long after Bordeaux had given up hope. Malouda scored the third after a brilliant flick from Lampard. Anelka's goal came in injury time when goalkeeper Ulrich Rame touched Juliano Belletti's shot onto the bar and the French striker tidied up the loose ball. Chelsea took the first step on their way to Rome, although successful Champions League campaigns are not built in a day.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole; Mikel;J Cole (Belletti, 75), Deco (Ballack, 61), Lampard, Malouda (Kalou, 83); Anelka. Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Di Santo, Ferreira, Alex.
Bordeaux (4-2-3-1): Rame; Jurietti, Diawara, Planus, Placente; Diarra, Fernando (Ducasse, 75); Gouffran (Obertan, 65), Gourcuff, Wendel; Chamakh (Cavenaghi, 65). Substitutes not used: Valverde (gk), Henrique, Bellion, Abdou Traoré.
Referee: P Vink (Netherlands).
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Flair of Lampard puts Chelsea in fantasy league of their ownAmbition rises as Chelsea take first step to Rome Champions League Group AChelsea 4 Lampard 14, Cole, J 30, Malouda 82, Anelka 90 Bordeaux 0
Kevin McCarra at Stamford Bridge The Guardian, Wednesday September 17 2008
The only battle that daunted Chelsea was the struggle to maintain an interest in the match. They came out ahead in that battle with late goals. The third, in particular, was a demonstration of the verve which is becoming characteristic under the management of Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Eight minutes from the end Mikel John Obi, who was nominally a holding midfielder, set off on a weaving run and a flick of Frank Lampard's heel then put Florent Malouda in position to fire into the far corner of the net. Scolari's disgust for even minor mistakes is always displayed but that would have gladdened him.
It will have raised the Brazilian's spirits that so little was taken out of his squad before the arrival here of Manchester United on Sunday. Perhaps he will remember this occasion primarily as a useful opportunity to give Michael Ballack half an hour's practice after his foot injury. If the night lingers in the memories of the Premier League side it will be because of a disbelief that there was not an utter rout. A wasteful Nicolas Anelka will be baffled that he made so little of his openings until, at the very end, he netted after the substitute Juliano Belletti had struck the bar.
Neutrals would have felt sorrow that French football could send out a side so meek and fatalistic. They could not clear any sort of barrier, a limitation symbolised by the striker Marouane Chamakh falling over an advertising hoarding. Even the talent that Bordeaux do have was misapplied. Yoann Gourcuff, freed from his misery at Milan by a loan to Bordeaux, possesses talent but it was not used here and he sent a hapless free-kick nearly as far wide as it was high.
Although Scolari was unimpressed by Chelsea's display, it takes resistance of some sort for any team to define themselves. Their gaze, in any event, is unavoidably fixed on the final in Rome next May. Having come close under Claudio Ranieri as well as Jose Mourinho and closer still under Avram Grant, Chelsea have no option but to imagine their hands on the trophy at last. The majority of the line-up here had also started when United raised the European Cup aloft four months ago.
Scolari, managing in the Champions League for the first time, would not have suffered from beginners' nerves. It was his own midfielder Mikel who caused fleeting concern when he hit a sloppy pass in a dangerous area after 10 minutes but it had already been clear that Chelsea would have many chances.
They were well aware of the most appealing avenue. The right-back Jose Bosingwa, indeed, was so far advanced that he was offside soon after kick-off. Regular watchers of Bordeaux had predicted that Chelsea would prey on their left-back, Diego Placente, and the opener did come from that wing, in the 14th minute, as Bosingwa crossed and Lampard, undisturbed by markers, headed home with care.
Resilience was not part of the visitors' repertoire and neither was attacking. All the same, this was additional evidence of the gusto in Chelsea's play that has been fostered by Scolari. Lampard's corner from the left, shamingly for Bordeaux, was headed into the net by the diminutive Joe Cole with half an hour gone. He does not get such chances very often but everything was possible for a Chelsea line-up encountering marginal resistance.
Lampard's miscue, after a delivery from Bosingwa had broken to him, felt like light entertainment. Scolari, however, is not prone to such indulgence. It says much for his professionalism that he could find it within himself to be disgruntled. Most spectators, when not heartened by the freedom with which Chelsea play, would have been staring in disbelief at the ineptness of Laurent Blanc's men. If Chelsea were troubled it would have been by their lack of ruthlessness and by the yellow card collected by Deco for a foul on Alou Diarra. Scolari soon took off the Portugal international, although that was less a punishment than a means of allowing Ballack his match practice.
A trace of slackness in Chelsea was perhaps inevitable. When Lampard hit a crossfield pass after 69 minutes and merely picked out the opposition midfielder Wendel, there was no price to be paid. Without the suggestion of danger from Bordeaux the levels of concentration slipped in the Premier League team. It is, for all that, a gratifying evening for a side when boredom is the most severe problem with which they must wrestle.
Other result
Roma 1 CFR Cluj 2
Remaining fixtures
Oct 1 CFR v Chelsea, Bordeaux v Roma
Oct 22 Bordeaux v CFR, Chelsea v Roma
Nov 4 CFR v Bordeaux, Roma v Chelsea
Nov 26 Bordeaux v Chelsea, CFR v Roma
Dec 9 Chelsea v CFR, Roma Bordeaux
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Mail:
A drop of red: Bordeaux find Scolari's Chelsea vintage far too classy By Matt Lawton
Chelsea 4 Bordeaux 0
According to Luiz Felipe Scolari, Chelsea stunk the place out last night. They were poor in possession. Wasteful in front of goal. A waste, seemingly, of space.
It was nonsense, of course, Chelsea's manager no doubt delivering his speech with Sunday's meeting with Manchester United very much in mind.
A case of guarding against complacency, having seen his side attack with such pace that they did occasionally lose control of the ball.
The damn fools. Privately, however, Scolari is sure to reflect on this and the sight of Frank Lampard and Joe Cole scoring with two perfectly executed headers and wonder how this competition ever claimed the jobs of his three immediate predecessors.
His side made Champions League football look ridiculously easy last night, a further two goals in the second half against a lousy Bordeaux representing what would already seem to be the first steps on a long march to the final in Rome.
The competition has been cruel to Chelsea in recent years and the empty seats here at Stamford Bridge might well have been a reflection of that. John Terry has said the scars of Moscow will never heal.
Add their three semi-final losses to the heartache of defeat against Manchester United last May and there are probably those who would rather they did not bother entering.
For Scolari, though, there are no such scars and there is no such hangover. This was his first encounter with Europe's elite and his side were so in control he even had time to panic at the sight of Marouane Chamakh flying over an advertising hoarding and landing in a heap on concrete.
You have to hand it to the Brazilian. His facial expressions are wonderful. He was every bit as animated not just in the way he celebrated the four goals but in the way he cursed the few mistakes his players made.
That Joe Cole, like Lampard, scored with his head was remarkable enough. That he did so with a head full of stitches against what Laurent Blanc described as 'three big blokes' made it all the more amazing.
But the England midfielder still appeared to get a ticking-off when Scolari eventually replaced him with Juliano Belletti in the 74th minute. High standards, indeed.
Not for the first time this season, Chelsea were mightily impressive.
They appear to be thriving in the system Scolari has created as well as in the freedom their Brazilian manager has given them.
Bordeaux coach Blanc noted how Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa were 'playing like wingers' and Cole certainly seems to be enjoying life now the shackles fitted by Jose Mourinho have come off.
Bosingwa has added an extra dimension to Chelsea's attacking play and so, perhaps more significantly, has Deco.
Chelsea have become hugely enjoyable to watch, defensively disciplined but daring and direct when going forward. Never mind that Bosingwa was at times berated by Scolari for being too cavalier.
He was a major reason why Bordeaux were so comprehensively beaten. That Didier Drogba has made just one appearance as a substitute merely emphasises their considerable quality.
He was suspended last night after missing the start of the season with injury but is bound to start this weekend at the expense of Nicolas Anelka.
If it is tough on Anelka, who has now scored two goals in as many games, it will be even harder on United.
A good Bordeaux should always travel well but Blanc deserves the coaching award he received last season for guiding these chaps to second in the French league.
They were no match for a Chelsea side lifted by the news of Terry's availability for United on Sunday and never looked like responding the moment Lampard secured the lead in the 14th minute.
In 90 minutes, they did not actually managed a single shot on goal. No wonder Scolari was angry.
Chelsea might have winced when they gave Lampard a massive new contract at the age of 30 but they can hardly accuse him of failing to earn his money.
As well as providing the assists for Chelsea's second and third goals, he timed his run brilliantly to meet Bosingwa's cross with a terrific header.
An own goal very nearly followed when Fernando forced a fine save from Ulrich Rame, but there was nothing the Bordeaux goalkeeper could do to deny Joe Cole in the 30th minute.
Lampard delivered the corner and his team-mate rose above those big brutes to guide a header past the Frenchman.
Chelsea were so comfortable. So in control. Lampard squandered an opportunity to move ahead of Drogba as Chelsea's most prolific scorer on the continent but made amends by then providing the delightful back-heel that enabled Florent Malouda to add his name to the scoresheet eight minutes from time.
The finish, rather like the final ball, was a fine one. On the touchline Scoalri continued to curse.
This was garbage after all - a fourth Chelsea goal failing to appease the Brazilian perfectionist, probably because Anelka simply seized on a rebound after Rame had diverted a missile of a shot from Belletti on to his crossbar.
Up in the directors' box, Roman Abramovich appeared to be rather more impressed than his manager. 'Let's have more of this rubbish,' the Russian doubtless declared.
CHELSEA (4-3-2-1): Cech 6; Bosingwa 8, Carvalho 7, Terry 7, A Cole 7; Deco 7 (Ballack 61 7), Obi 7, Lampard 8; J Cole 8 (Belletti 74 7), Malouda 7 (Kalou 84); Anelka 6. Booked: Deco.
BORDEAUX (4-2-3-1): Rame 5; Jurietti 5, Diawara 5, Planus 5, Placente 5; Diarra 5, Fernando 5 (Ducasse 76); Gouffran 5 (Obertan 65 5), Gourcuff 6, Wendel 4; Chamakh 6 (Cavenaghi 65 5). Man of the match: Joe Cole. Referee: P Vink (Holland).
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Express:
SCOLARI SETS OFF ON EURO GRAIL QUEST
By Tony Banks
Chelsea 4 Bordeaux 0
LUIZ FELIPE SCOLARI has insisted that he will not be weighed down by the baggage of ChelseaÌs Champions League history. And he showed why last night as his team ruthlessly began their clubÌs sixth tilt at glory in this competition.
Goals from Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka began the task of burying the painful memories of that final defeat by Manchester United in Moscow last May, as Scolari saw his debut in this competition rewarded with a comfortable win at Stamford Bridge.
This Bordeaux team looked very far from a fine vintage as they crumbled before ChelseaÌs flowing football, and it was only when ScolariÌs team started to take their foot off the pedal in the second half that Laurent BlancÌs side threatened.
It was only four months ago that John TerryÌs tears after missing in the penalty shoot-out saw Chelsea troop home defeated from the final in Moscow, and it was as if the pain of that dismal night was driving on ScolariÌs team.
The Brazilian insists he has never talked to his team about that final, but it is clearly still in the bloodstream of some. Seven of last nightÌs side started in Moscow. The Champions League remains the Holy Grail of Blues owner Roman Abramovich.
And his Brazilian manager, whose team hit the top of the Premier League with SaturdayÌs win over Manchester City, has never lacked confidence and ebullience Ò as befits a man who has already won the South American equivalent of this competition, the Copa Libertadores, twice in his career with two different clubs.
No coach has ever triumphed in both competitions, and Scolari did admit before last nightÌs game that the Champions League is a far different kettle of fish, with many stronger teams involved.
Chelsea already had a victory under their belts before kick-off, with the FAÌs decision to rescind skipper TerryÌs red card for his sending-off against Manchester City.
Bordeaux coach Blanc, once of Manchester United, had taunted Chelsea during the week for spending so much money and yet failing to win the competition in five years of trying. But after a shaky start when Mikel John ObiÌs wayward pass handed Wendel the opportunity to drive narrowly over, ScolariÌs side quickly found their stride.
Jose Bosingwa picked up Joe ColeÌs square ball, and his first-time cross caught the Bordeaux defence watching the ball. Lampard stole in at the back post to nod home his second goal in four days.
BlancÌs young side were showing their rawness, goalkeeper Ulrich Rame then being forced to turn AnelkaÌs drive round the post. Terry then nodded wide when he should have scored Ò and defender Fernando Menegazzo almost scored an own-goal.
The French side were all over the place at the back, and when Lampard this time swung in a corner it was Joe Cole of all people popping up at the near post to flick in the second.
Bordeaux, like Chelsea, finished domestic runners-up last year, but there was a huge gulf between the sides last night. ScolariÌs side have been playing with markedly more freedom this season, and when Lampard and Cole combined skilfully again to carve the Bordeaux defence open, Cole sliced his shot wide.
As Chelsea eased off BlancÌs side advanced but they did not have anything like enough firepower to threaten a comeback.
And they were finished off with two more goals in the last eight minutes. First Lampard cleverly put Malouda through, and in injury-time substitute Juliano Belletti saw his shot tipped on to the bar only for Anelka to roll in the rebound.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole; Mikel; J Cole (Belletti 74), Deco (Ballack 61), Lampard, Malouda (Kalou 84); Anelka. Booked: Deco. Goals: Lampard 14, J Cole 30, Malouda 82, Anelka 90.
Bordeaux (4-2-3-1): Rame; Jurietti, Planus, Diawara, Placente; Fernando (Ducasse 74), Diarra; Gouffran (Obertan 65), Gourcoff, Wendel; Chamakh (Cavenaghi 65).
Referee: P Vink (Holland).
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Mirror:
Champion League: Chelsea 4-0 Bordeaux
Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka were all on target to give Chelsea a 4-0 win over Bordeaux in their opening Group A Champions League match.
Failure in Europe's elite competition has signalled the end for the previous three Chelsea bosses but there were no scares for Luiz Felipe Scolari at Stamford Bridge, whose debut in the competition was straightforward after the hosts established a lead.
With Didier Drogba to return from suspension, Scolari will head into the Group A matches against Cluj and Roma encouraged by their start to the campaign - they were comfortable winners but did not have to be at their vintage best to beat Bordeaux.
Although the scoreline was predictable, it was a minor suprise Scolari selected an named an unchanged starting line-up, the first time Chelsea had done so in 18 months.
More of a shock was the fact Chelsea's goals in the first half came from Lampard and Cole headers, with neither midfielders known for their aerial ability.
It would be enough to enrage Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc, the World Cup-winning defender with France who has been tipped to take charge of Les Bleus.
It was also Blanc's first match in the Champions League and his team looked like a Premier League graveyard - ex-Liverpool midfielder Alou Diarra was in midfield and Souleymane Diawara, who was relegated with Charlton, was in defence. He even had David Bellion on the bench.
Brazilian Wendel had an early shot from long range that dipped over following a sloppy pass from John Mikel Obi - but after that it was all Chelsea.
They were ahead in the 14th minute when Lampard finished off a crisp move for his third goal of the season.
Deco had moved the ball inside to midfielder Cole, who in turn fed Jose Bosingwa on the right flank.
Bosingwa drove his cross in first time and Lampard sent his header in the far corner before wheeling off in celebration.
Anelka, looking to atone for his penalty miss in the final last season, forced a save from Ulrich Rame when he cut inside from the left and drove towards the near post, and the Bordeaux goalkeeper also had to work when midfielder Cole backhealed on target.
Captain John Terry then went close when he met Lampard's free-kick with a header.
The French runners-up had no answer to Chelsea's attacks, with Fernando almost scoring an own goal trying to cut out a Bosingwa through-ball. The second goal came on the half-hour mark through Cole, with the England midfielder beating centre-backs Fernando and Franck Jurietti at the near post to nod home Lampard's corner.
Chelsea's own wastefulness kept the scoreline down - Anelka raced beyond the Bordeaux defence and passed into open space when he could have shot, then Lampard screwed a volley wide from six yards.
Bordeaux's attempts to fight back consisted of three Yoann Gourcuff free-kicks, each of which was increasingly speculative and Petr Cech was not troubled by them.
Striker Marouane Chamakh started the second half by tripping over the advertising hoardings and into the crowd, and he required treatement after the fall.
The visitors were showing ambition to get back into the game but it left them prone to Chelsea counter-attacks.
Scolari gave Michael Ballack the final half-hour as he made his comeback from a foot injury, with the Germany captain replacing Deco in midfield.
Anelka came close to adding another, latching onto Lampard's reverse ball but firing into the side-netting.
Malouda added the third after a run from Mikel that took him around three defenders. He passed to Lampard, whose backheel invited Malouda to fire into the far corner.
Ricardo Carvalho hit the crossbar with a header before the end, and a goal would not have flattered the hosts.
Then Juliano Belletti hit the crossbar and Anelka tapped in for the fourth.
Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole (Belletti 74), Obi, J Cole, Deco (Ballack 61), Lampard, Malouda (Kalou 84), Anelka. Goals: Lampard 14, J Cole 30, Malouda 82, Anelka 90
Bordeaux: Rame, Jurietti, Diawara, Planus, Placente, Diarra, Menegazzo (Ducasss 74), Gouffran (Obertan 65), Gourcuff, Wendell, Chamakh (Cavenhagi 65). Ref: P Vink
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Sun:
Chelsea 4 Bordeaux 0
From IAN McGARRY at Stamford Bridg CHELSEA went through Bordeaux like water — but Phil Scolari still had a whine.
Big Phil toasted his four-goal Champions League debut with a dose of sour grapes.
The Blues boss tore strips off his team’s magnificent performance in a thinly-disguised bid to keep them sharp ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash with Manchester United.
How the former Brazil coach could keep a straight face as he criticised his team’s poor possession and bad attitude is a mystery.
As bad as Bordeaux were, scoring four goals in Europe is still an occasion to be savoured.
So to turn the triumph into a bout of mind games with his own players seemed harsh.
Chelsea were simply dominant. First to the ball, lightning quick on the break and deadly in front of goal in this Group A opener.
Scolari should be thankful that on this evidence, he will not have to worry much about the Champions League until the knockout phase next year.
Frank Lampard shone again — running the match, scoring one goal and making two.
Among the other stand-outs were Lamps’ fellow England internationals Joe Cole and John Terry.
On the bench were two World Cup winners in Scolari and Bordeaux chief Laurent Blanc, who was in the France squad which triumphed in 1998.
On the pitch, there was only ever going to be one victor.
Even Chelsea right-back Jose Bosingwa had a free rein on the flank and the clock was only on 14 minutes when he wandered to the edge of the area. His cross perfectly picked out the unmarked Lamps, who had time to check the keeper’s position before heading neatly into the bottom corner.
Already Chelsea’s record-holder for Champions League appearances with 63, his 18th goal put him level with Didier Drogba as their top marksman.
Nicolas Anelka rifled a shot from 20 yards on the angle which made keeper Ulrich Rame more nervous.
Then Joe Cole tried a cheeky backheel which was scrambled clear.
Bosingwa’s cross was turned towards goal by Fernando but luckily for the Bordeaux defender, Rame dived back to stop the ball just before it trickled into his own net.
But, on the half-hour, Lamps launched the perfect corner to the near post and Joe Cole rose to guide in a brilliant header.
Lamps should have made it three but pulled his volley wide.
Florent Malouda added a third in the 82nd minute when Lampard found him some space with a clever reverse flick.
By this time Michael Ballack — back from a foot injury — had been brought on to warm him up for the United clash and the Blues were on cruise control.
When Anelka followed up Juliano Belletti’s long-range blast to make it four in the dying seconds, it was the port at the end of a gourmet meal.
Chelsea are still unbeaten this season and on this form they do not look likely to lose any time soon.
With every goal they scored last night the warning for United was stark.
Beware. Chelsea are coming to get you. Whatever Big Phil says.

sunday papers man city away 3-1

The Sunday Times

September 14, 2008
Rich pickings for Chelsea
David Walsh

A young man stood outside a department store in Piccadilly about three hours before this game began. He wasn't selling anything, nor looking to buy; rather he just stood there singing softly but nevertheless sweetly. “We have Robinho, we have Robinho, we have Robinho.” He wasn’t drunk, nor crazed; merely a City fan.
But his little melody did bear witness to the wonderful strangeness of the day. It was a Saturday in Manchester, football was in the autumnal and City were the story. Earlier in the month, the city’s poor relation found it had a trillionaire godfather in the Middle East and so the club moves from rags to riches, from Bianchi to Robinho.
And what better way to announce this new-found wealth but to play host to rivals that were once considered the Premier League’s richest. Along the roads to Middle Eastlands, they were selling Brazilian jerseys bearing Robinho's name and number, they had light blue T-shirts that proclaimed City the wealthiest club in the world.
Such was the expectation, the bonhomie, that hardened City fans were doffing their hats to lampposts and inside the ground, there wasn’t a spare seat. Neither was the game a disappointment and there was much to like about the richer, star-speckled City. Robinho started alongside his Brazilian compatriot Jo and so John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho kept their minds on the game.
Seven minutes in, Robinho galloped wide to take a corner and every City fan stood and applauded. Excessive perhaps but five minutes later, they had good reason to express their gratitude. Jo and Carvalho went for a ball on the edge of the penalty area, the defender seemed to get the ball before Jo fell over but Mark Halsey saw it differently.
Robinho spent ages lining up the free, Chelsea spent longer lining up the wall, the crowd had time to consider every penny of that £32.4m and, then in a flash, everything was reduced to chance. Wall member John Mikel Obi got his head to Robinho’s free kick, deflecting it wickedly past his goalkeeper, Petr Cech.
But that deflection was a detail easily ignored by an entranced crowd. In those minutes, the hype was justified, the transfer fee an irrele-vance and City were on their way. Except that Chelsea hadn’t come from London like Chelsea teams of bygone days. Even in the moment of that goal, there wasn’t a hint of doubt, nor a trace of panic in their reaction.
And in a game which ebbed and flowed with excellent football, their passing was crisper and more penetrative. Robinho may become a very fine Premier League player in time but he wasn’t that yesterday. He gave the ball away too often and we are talking about straightforward passes missing the target.
He wasn’t a patch on Frank Lampard, who was the game's best player and by quite some distance. To every good Chelsea move, he was centra: the choice of his pass, the timing, the accuracy, the weight, he had it all and it was a joy to watch. What the other Chelsea players love about Lampard is that he never takes a fraction more time to make the than is necessary.
It is clear too that Lampard likes playing with Deco, they weave patterns that look simple but because it all done quickly, it creates space and there were times yesterday when Chelsea looked a very slick side. Their equaliser came just four minutes after City’s goal, and even if that was timely for them, it wasn't that surprising.
For they picked up the pace after conceding and when Shaun Wright-Phillips conceded a corner against his former club, Lampard's delivery picked out Terry, whose header ricocheted off Joe Cole backwards into Carvalho's path and the centre-back slammed his right-foot volley high into the roof of the net. Poor City goalkeeper Joe Hart was lucky that he wasn’t in the way. Perhaps the Gods were making up to Carvalho after that free kick award.
The game continued to hum along; City were good but Chelsea were better. Florent Malouda got his head to a Joe Cole cross but the ball crashed against the bar and when Jo and later Stephen Ireland had good shooting chances, Carvalvo got back to make brilliant blocks. Ia there a central defender anywhere who makes those tackles better than the Portuguese?
By the time Ireland’s effort was blocked, Chelsea were already in front, thanks to another demonstration of Lampard’s class. He surged through from midfield, exchanged passes with Ashley Cole and, forced on to his left foot, he rifled his shot into the far corner. Brilliant. Though City kept playing and the fun continued, Chelsea were always superior.
Anelka got their third goal, after good work by Malouda and a clever final pass from Joe Cole. Fifteen the end, John Terry got a straight red card – the first of his career – when Mark Halsey deemed him the last defender when he fouled Jo. It was a slightly harsh decision as other defenders scampered back and were not far away when the Brazilian fell.
City kept trying but even with Jo, Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta all showing they can become big players for the club, there was a challenge to the nouveau riche in the performance of the team with Roman's old money and it was this: can City absorb all their new wealth and find the team spirit that make Chelsea so for-midable? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Frank Lampard cashes in on Manchester City flawsManchester City (1) 1 Chelsea (1) 3 By Duncan WhiteLast Updated: 11:11PM BST 13 Sep 2008
It will take a lot more than one brilliant Brazilian to overturn the Premier League hierarchy. Robinho may have made a thrilling debut in English football, opening the scoring with a deflected free-kick, but ultimately this game merely underlined that the team he spurned are still a marker of excellence for any incalculably rich owner.
Chelsea were outstanding and this would have been a perfect evening for Luiz Felipe Scolari had it not been for Terry’s late red card, which has ruled the England captain out of the Premier League clash with Manchester United on Sunday.
This is, like it or not, 21st century football: polyglot players performing for the super-rich in ultramodern stadiums. Amidst the minting of cliches – 'Middle-Eastlands’, the 'clash of the cash’ – and the cheerful offending of Gulf sensibilities – tea-towels– there was no disguising that this game was part of a paradigm shift in English football. Sheikh Mansour’s £210 million takeover of Manchester City means Roman Abramovich is no longer the exception.
The Russian oligarch’s new position in the financial food chain was amply demonstrated by City’s giving a debut to Robinho, the Brazilian winger that Scolari had so publicly coveted. And what a debut it proved. Rumours of the former Real Madrid man’s flakiness have been greatly exaggerated. He was bursting with enthusiasm and threat and will undoubtedly win many games for City this season.
It took him 13 minutes to bring the house down. Jo, with whom Robinho formed a £50 million plus all-Brazilian strike partnership, just managed to get a toe to the ball before Ricardo Carvalho just beyond the 'D’.
There was no debating who was going to take the free-kick. With Robinho standing expectant, referee Mark Halsey escalated the pressure by his patient insistence that the Chelsea players did not infiltrate the 10 yards. When the Brazilian finally struck the ball he curled it with his instep into the middle of the wall, the ball clipping John Obi Mikel’s forehead and diverting into the side netting.
Robinho went wheeling away into his trademark thumb-sucking celebration with jubilant team-mates haring after him.
The hysteria lasted all of three minutes. Lampard’s corner was met by a leaping Terry and the England captain’s header hit Joe Cole before sitting up for Carvalho. The Portuguese centre-back volleyed in like he was Van Basten. With that Chelsea were back in the right mindset.
Indeed Scolari’s team played with exceptional fluidity and elegance as they poured forward and would have run away with this game if they had taken their chances. Florent Malouda came ludicrously close, heading Joe Cole’s cross onto the bar only for the rebound to fly straight to the relieved Joe Hart, who had missed the cross. Malouda and Anelka spurned further headed chances and when Pablo Zabaleta cleared lamely to Anelka, the French striker could not beat Hart at the near post.
Not that City did not offer stylish glimpses themselves. Stephen Ireland shot over after a flair flick from Jo and the Brazilian striker went close himself with a left-footed curler, only for Carvalho to deflect it over. Shaun Wright-Phillips was especially lively against his former club, relishing the vocal support of the supporters on his home debut.
Yet as the game unfolded, Chelsea grew stronger, their exquisite passing pulling City apart. The second goal came from a rapier counterattack: Mikel to Joe Cole to Lampard to Malouda and back to Lampard.
The Chelsea midfield has been brilliant in these early season games and his confidence found expression in his bold finish, side-stepping Richard Dunne before shooting left-footed across Hart and into the net.
Ireland might have equalised if not for another heroic Carvalho block but with 20 minutes left Chelsea landed the decisive blow.
Joe Cole’s cute through ball with the outside of his boot was perfect for Anelka, who beat Hart easily at the near post.
The drama was not done, though. Jo pushed the ball past Terry just beyond the halfway line and Terry for some reason decided to bring the Brazilian down, wrapping an arm around his waist.
Despite Carvalho seemingly being there to cover, referee Halsey instantly produced the red card. Foolish from Terry; harsh from Halsey. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Independent:
Manchester City 1 Chelsea 3: Reality check for City after Chelsea spoil Robinho party
Scolari's men remind new rivals in money stakes that you cannot buy instant success
By Guy Hodgson at the City of Manchester Stadium
Eastlands was ready to party. Supporters were decked in Robinho shirts and arab head-dresses to mark the twin arrival at Manchester City of Britain's most expensive footballer and the wealth of the Abu Dhabi royal family. Then an icy blast of reality hit them.
Just because you are the planet's richest club, it does not mean you can catch up the elite overnight, and last night "Middle Eastlands" was quickly disabused of the theory that a Champions' League place will come as easily as the next million pounds. City did not flop their big entrance nor revert to calamitous type but they were comprehensively beaten by Chelsea who have a five-year start on collecting the world's best footballers.
City have just one, Robinho, and to be fair to the Brazilian you cannot expect even the most expensive player ever in British football to do much more than score on his debut. The £32.5m man did, with a first-half free-kick, but the problem was that Chelsea, who oozed the class of potential champions, got three goals through Ricardo Carvalho, Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka. Even the late sending-off of John Terry for a cynical foul could not derail the visitors.
"It's an important three points," Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Chelsea manager, said. "When we went 1-0 behind I saw that the team were nervous but after they equalised I think they largely controlled the game. We have some injuries and I had to change A, B and C but the players who came in did very well. I'm more happy with that than the 3-1 result."
Mark Hughes, the Manchester City manager, also found plusses beyond the scoreline. "We know where we are at the moment," he said. "It's very early in our development in terms of a squad and a team. Chelsea were well drilled and knew exactly what they were trying to do, and that comes as a consequence of playing winning football for the past five or six years.
"It's not going to happen overnight. We all realise that. People have got a little bit ahead of themselves and a little bit hysterical but as a squad we know the level we are at." Whether it was hysteria is a moot point but the mood around Eastlands before the game was of mounting, and pinch-me-am-I-dreaming, excitement.
Given the pressure to live up to his billing, it was not a surprise that Robinho's first two touches were misplaced passes but before the words "what a waste of money" could emanate from the Chelsea fans, the Brazilian had put City ahead after 13 minutes. Carvalho was harshly judged to have brought down Jo 22 yards out and there was a helping glance off John Obi Mikel's head but you could not fault the drama or the crispness of the shot as Robinho curled the free-kick past Petr Cech.
The place erupted, Robinho ran to the touchline and collapsed to the ground under a pile of team-mates, but Chelsea are not a side to accept a supporting role and within three minutes they had equalised. A corner was won by Terry, the ball rebounded off Joe Cole and Carvalho crashed a volley past Joe Hart.
That goal ushered sobriety into the party and Chelsea spent the rest of the match creating edifying patterns. Lampard was outstanding, Deco, Carvalho and Joe Cole were fractions behind him and City, who had the chance to train with Robinho for the first time on Friday, looked what they are: a team in search of understanding.
Florent Malouda hit the bar with a header and Lampard fired just over immediately after the interval so it had been coming when Chelsea took the lead after 53 minutes. Lampard passed to Malouda and with the home defenders distracted by Chelsea's strikers there was a yard of potential on the edge of their area. The England midfielder is a master at exploiting this space and when the ball was returned he swerved round Richard Dunne's challenge and hit a low shot into the opposite corner.
City needed something extraordinary to get back into the match and they went somewhere nearer to it in the 77th minute when Jo seized on a mistake by Deco and would have raced away had he not been brought down with a rugby tackle by Terry.
His sending-off was a rare discordant note for the visitors on a night when victory was relatively easily achieved. "We expect to make a better fist of it when we meet them again," Hughes warned. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------City find Lampard and co too rich for them
Manchester City 1 Robinho 13 Chelsea 3 Carvalho 16, Lampard 53, Anelka 69
Daniel Taylor The Observer, Sunday September 14 2008 Frank Lampard scored Chelsea's second goal as they beat Manchester City at Eastlands. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images
In the end, it was a reminder for the Premier League's newest billionaires not to get too far ahead of themselves. Manchester City's supporters will have enjoyed their first sight of Robinho and the swish of his right boot that brought him a debut goal. Yet, ultimately, Chelsea made it a bruising experience for all those fancy-dress 'Arabs' who had walked down Joe Mercer Way with tea-towels tied round their heads and something that looked suspiciously like Cherry Blossom smeared on their cheeks.
For that, Chelsea have to take immense credit. They were a goal down after 13 minutes, when Robinho offered the first tantalising glimpse of his talent by floating a free-kick past Petr Cech, but their response was emphatic to the point of being brutal. Ricardo Carvalho equalised within two minutes and second-half goals from Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka confirmed their superiority, the only downside for Luiz Felipe Scolari being John Terry's red card 13 minutes from the end for an alleged professional foul on Jô, City's other Brazilian recruit. It was harsh, to say the least, and television replays confirmed that Terry was not the last defender.
Strangely for someone who is usually so outspoken, Scolari refused to talk about it, but Chelsea should have a watertight case to launch an appeal and prevent their captain missing next week's match against Manchester United.
That apart, it was an evening of huge satisfaction for Chelsea, whose performance sent out a clear message that there is an established order of merit at the top of English football - and, for now at least, that City are still some way off it.
Typical City, you could say. Yet it would be unfair to pick fault with these nouveau riche wannabes. Mark Hughes's team made a significant contribution to an absorbing game,and it would be wrong for anyone to presume that the optimism that has been swirling around Eastlands will evaporate on the back of one bad result.
'I wouldn't say it's a reality check,' Hughes said. 'We know exactly where we are at this stage of our development. It's early days for us and we always knew Chelsea would be really difficult opponents.'
Perhaps, in hindsight, it was just City's misfortune to come across Chelsea in their first game since the Abu Dhabi United Group moved into power. For the past fortnight it has been constantly rammed down Chelsea's throats that they are no longer the richest club on the planet and that City are on the verge of worldwide domination. This was their opportunity to respond and, once Robinho had scored, they did so in a manner that might have left the Brazilian pondering whether, money aside, he had joined the right club, after all. 'I'm happy for him that he scored,' Scolari said. 'But I'm even happier that we scored three.'
Robinho, in fairness, seemed happy enough in his new surroundings and Hughes described himself as 'delighted' with his new signing. 'Robinho was excellent. He showed in glimpses what he can produce and he also has an excellent work ethic, which a lot of people don't realise. It was difficult because he has just come off a flight from Brazil and he has played a lot of football. But I felt it was important he was exposed to what the Premier League is about. He will be better for it.'
You wonder sometimes whether, when he is running with the ball, his step-over routine slows him down. But we can quickly forgive him because, overall, it was a debut that demonstrates this is a genuine superstar. One little pirouette to spin away from Ashley Cole was particularly enjoyable and there was something beautifully choreographed about the way he announced his introduction to English football.
It came from a free-kick, 20 yards from goal. In a central position, it was the kind of area that every dead-ball specialist cherishes and there was never any doubt about who would be given the responsibility of taking it. Cech probably knew what was coming too, but Robinho's shot flicked off Lampard in the wall and the deflection was decisive.
At that stage it looked like being a difficult evening for Chelsea, but equalising so quickly made a huge difference. Had they allowed City to get up a head of steam, the attacking trio of Robinho, Jô and Stephen Ireland looked as if their elaborate, triangular patterns could inflict more damage. Instead, Chelsea won a corner, Lampard swung the ball towards the penalty spot and the entire defence were guilty of collective ball-watching. Terry connected with the ball first, sending his header goalwards only for the ball to come back off Joe Cole. The bounce fell fortuitously for Carvalho, who thumped a volley into the roof of the net.
The remainder of the first half saw Chelsea emerge as the dominant side, with Florent Malouda striking the crossbar with one header, then sending another flashing wide. Hughes talked of his players 'losing their spark' whereas, after the interval, Chelsea produced some lovely, crisp, pass-and-move football. Lampard's goal was a case in point, with four players involved before the midfielder exchanged passes with Malouda, sidestepped Richard Dunne and fired a precise left-foot shot beyond Joe Hart.
Sporadically, City still looked dangerous, with Shaun Wright-Phillips particularly impressive against his old club. But Pablo Zabaleta had a difficult debut at right-back and, as they looked for an equaliser, they left more space at the back. Chelsea, who brought on the fit-again Didier Drogba in the second half, were in control and the game was effectively ended as a contest in the 70th minute when Cole sent Anelka running clear and the former City striker clipped his shot past Hart.
After that, there was a genuine threat it could become a rout, but Terry's sending-off changed the mood and Chelsea were happy to see out the final exchanges, content in the knowledge that there was nothing Robinho or anyone could do to stop them.
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Mail:
Blue eclipse for Robinho - Chelsea deliver reality check to City's £32.5m Brazilian debutant By PATRICK COLLINS
Manchester City 1 Chelsea 3
The evening which saw a rare and wonderful talent introduced to the English game was also the evening which witnessed the captain of England fall miserably short of the standards he ought to represent.
Robinho of Brazil, bought by Manchester City for £32.5million, scored a memorable goal and displayed the flair which has already endeared him to the blue battalions of Manchester.
Terry, with Chelsea easing to a convincing victory, tripped Robinho's compatriot Jo in the 77th minute as the forward ran on goal. He was then at the finger-jabbing fore of an extended argument as he contested the decision with referee Mark Halsey.
It made for a distasteful end to what had been a captivating occasion. And it will be fascinating to see how the Football Association reacts to the captain's antics. The City fans seemed uncertain about the turn events had taken. Before the match, they strolled in the evening sunshine and wondered what to expect.
There were a good many 'sheikhs', tea-towels around their heads but looking faintly embarrassed. The rest seemed slightly bewildered, like Lottery winners who are pleased with their fortune but reluctant to give up their day jobs.
Inevitably, there was some provocation from the Chelsea followers, for whom wad-waving has long been a way of life. It came down to sheikh versus oligarch, billions against trillions.
Chelsea could point out that their man owns Francis Bacon's Triptych, a Boeing 767, a country estate in several countries, a fleet of ocean-going yachts and more toys than Hamleys. But City could trump those boasts by commending their new patron, who owns the Al Jazeera network, five per cent of Ferrari and an awful lot of oil. Time was when a Manchester City chairman might take pride in owning a Chrysler.
This chap owns the Chrysler Building. It all seemed somehow misplaced in an English football ground, with the real world outside dreading the onset of a deep depression. But the outside world rarely intrudes into football, and this occasion continued that tradition.
City's manager Mark Hughes had struggled to express his feelings about his new acquisition. 'Whenever Robinho gets the ball, you feel that something will happen,' he said. True enough, but £32.5m tends to promote such expectations. What was genuinely surprising was the fact that the young man did not disappoint.
The omens were not encouraging, since he had played in two World Cup qualifiers this week and arrived in Manchester in the early hours of Friday morning. Moreover, after walking out to a clamorous reception, he kissed the City badge. He may well be a terrific player, but clearly he needs to work on his sense of irony. Yet soon, only the magic seemed important. His first pass was intercepted but after that, he scarcely wasted a ball.
Control at a touch, pass in an instant, moving into new and damaging space. The old managers used to say it would be an easy game, if only the players wouldn't complicate it. This player is blissfully uncomplicated. And then, in the 12th minute, he raised simplicity to a new level. Ricardo Carvalho came sweeping across to challenge Jo, 20 yards out and in the centre of the field. The free-kick may have been harsh, and certainly it was long disputed. But the execution was extraordinary.
With scarcely a stride, Robinho chipped the ball over the wall, a brush off a defender's shoulder leaving Petr Cech minimally three yards adrift. It was that killing simplicity which separates the extraordinary players from the rest, and the roar told it all. Blue Moon was bellowed, prayers were muttered and euphoria reigned for all of four minutes.
Then City remembered their oldest habits when a Frank Lampard corner was met by Carvalho. Joe Cole squeezed a rebound and Carvalho struck the scoring volley. And so it was that they attacked like Brazil, but defended like Manchester City. Slowly, inevitably, Chelsea started to dictate terms, driven vigorously from midfield by Lampard.
City continued to defend with misplaced generosity and Florent Malouda almost punished their lapses with two strong headers, the first of which bounced off the bar. At half-time, Deco and Robinho swapped shirts as they departed, and we suspected that the Brazilian's day was done. But he returned, full of running, as Chelsea went about wrapping up the result.
In 52 minutes, they broke out in numbers when a City attack broke down to leave them short at the back. John Obi Mikel began the advance, Joe Cole and Lampard carried it on, and Lampard moved into space for a successful swing of his left foot.
In 69 minutes, with Chelsea in total control, Joe Cole played a short, incisive ball through the square defence and Nicolas Anelka scored comfortably against his old colleagues.
There was time for City to fight, and time for Terry to take the gloss off his own side's victory. Terry was given a straight red by referee Mark Halsey for pulling down striker Jo just inside the Chelsea half, with fellow defender Carvalho closing in.
'I have never seen a man get sent off before for a professional foul where there were two players behind him,' said Lampard. 'I saw one this morning in the Liverpool-Manchester United game that only got a yellow card.'
Victory this time to the oligarch. But, in time, the sheikh of Manchester may have things to say.
‘We have started the season very well and we will get better,’ said Lampard. ‘It is great to have people like Didier Drogba fit again because he is the best striker in the world to me.’---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------NOTW:
MAN CITY 1, CHELSEA 3 Frank Lampard leaves Manchester City sheikhing By ANDY DUNN at Eastlands, 13/09/2008
ROMAN ABRAMOVICH could probably have dug deeper and found the £32.5million for Robinho but decided to give the money to Frank Lampard instead. And that was the finest piece of business in the maddest of transfer windows.
Robinho started by kissing the City crest after his opening goal — and ended the night crestfallen.
And Lamps showed that his new contract — valued at the price of a Robinho — boasts the most valuable signature of the summer. After Ricardo Carvalho had cancelled out the Brazilian’s storybook opener, Lampard produced the defining moment of the game and edged Chelsea ahead.
It was left to Nicolas Anelka to confirm the Londoners’ huge superiority and show the sheikhs that City are going to need an awful lot of their money if they are to fulfil the pipedreams going around Eastlands.
Not even John Terry’s harsh, late dismissal — for a tug on Jo some 40 yards out — could take the shine off a shimmering Chelsea performance. Terry now misses Sunday’s crucial clash with Manchester United
City supporters arrived with their heads swathed in towels — the type they usually throw in about now.
Had Sven still been here, he probably would have thought they were real ones.
The genuine article had, of course, provided the readies to recruit Robinho, for whom this occasion must have been extremely confusing. From Real to surreal.
And for a little while, he clearly thought he HAD signed for Chelsea. How else can you explain his insistence on passing to Carvalho, Jon Obi Mikel and just about anyone else in a black jersey?
But Robinho has some presence — and a fairly decent scriptwriter.
When ref Mark Halsey — setting the tone early for a pitiful display — mistook Carvalho’s immaculate timing for an infringement against Jo, Robinho’s official introduction somehow seemed inevitable.
If you conveniently forget that a deflection from Mikel’s spiky hair is what kept keeper Petr Cech anchored, then the free-kick was a pleasant taster of Brazilian delights to come. But Robinho will soon discover false dawns are a speciality in the land of the blue moon.
And no sooner had he finished sucking a celebratory thumb than his team fell to a sucker-punch. In an interesting departure from the defensive coaching manual, City decided to leave Terry and Carvalho unmarked for a corner.
Novel. Innovative, even. And rank amateurish.
And even though Joe Cole got in the way of Terry’s header — that bang on the head still obviously taking its toll — the Portuguese defender sent the rebound home.
He is some player, Carvalho.
In his civvies, he looks like a mature student. But what he reads is the game. Better than most. And his intervention to lift Jo’s left-footed curler clear of the bar was a typical example of his work.
Terry was crowned the Champions League Defender of the Year.
Bedrock
Many would argue not only is the England skipper not the best defender in Europe, he is not the best in south west London. The type of partnership which has been the bedrock of Chelsea success for so long is one which Micah Richards and Richard Dunne have occasionally threatened to emulate.
And I put the emphasis on occasionally.
They looked like a couple on a blind date. You speak, no you speak.
Which all made Chelsea’s failure to secure a half-time lead bemusing. Anelka, maybe not having emerged from the fantastic sulk with France last week, headed straight at a photographer from Position A and Florent Malouda — showing a verve under Big Phil that had previously been very well-hidden — put his sitter against the angle of bar and post and back into the arms of Joe Hart.
Anelka’s reception was indifferent. From both sets of fans. Unlike the one afforded to Shaun Wright-Phillips. From both sets of fans. The irksome aspect of watching Wright-Phillips buzz as effectively as this is to remember all that wasted time at Stamford Bridge.
Plughole
He chased the fast buck all the way down the plughole. But Chelsea’s midfield is a tough club to get into.
And its king is still Lampard, who is possibly the most consistent performer in the history of the Premier League. It is the England midfielder’s directness that impresses. And his runs are not physically quick, they are mentally quick.
His half-a-yard advantage over rivals is entirely between the ears.
After laying out a simple pass to Malouda, he anticipated its return, in an instant created a favourable angle and then rolled a superbly-controlled left-footed shot into the bottom corner to make it 2-1. Deco is the perfect foil for Lamps: the intricacy to complement the incisiveness.
The £8million paid out for Deco — and the £32.5m saved on Robinho — might just mean Chelsea, after all, enjoyed the shrewdest summer.
Robinho had certainly faded into obscurity by the time Anelka converted Joe Cole’s cute 69th-minute pass, and confirmed it will take an awful lot of oil money to turn this City into slickers.
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morning papers spurs home 1-1

The Times

September 1, 2008
Chelsea run out of gas

Chelsea 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Martin Samuel

One chance, one goal, one point: slim pickings for Tottenham Hotspur, but in the circumstances, enough is as good as a feast. Juande Ramos got the draw he came for and avoided replicating the worst start at the club in 29 years. A previous Chelsea manager might have sneered that the opposition merely parked a bus in front of the goal, but Luiz Felipe Scolari is more generous.
“Sometimes a team plays very well and it is impossible to win,” he said. “They had five, sometimes nine, players back in front of goal in the last 30 minutes, but this is the game. We had chances, but when you make mistakes with the final shot, a draw is the normal result.”
Normality is not what is expected of Chelsea, however, and, having started the season against Portsmouth as if powered by rocket fuel, the past two matches have been a bungled splash landing. Chelsea got away with it against Wigan Athletic eight days ago, when a moment of brilliance from Deco turned the game, but Scolari’s little magician had his first quiet afternoon yesterday and the performance dipped accordingly. If it were not for Frank Lampard, there would have been barely a scoring threat, although that applied at both ends, unfortunately.
It was a well-intentioned but misdirected clearing up job by Lampard that set up Tottenham’s equalising goal. Stealing the ball off Luka Modric midway in the Chelsea half, Lampard’s interception bisected Ricar-do Carvalho and José Bosingwa in the back four, but not Darren Bent, the striker bereft of goals since preseason ended, who was suddenly left with only Petr Cech to beat. Bent’s first touch was poor, but by knocking the ball some way in front of him he drew the goalkeeper from his lair and stuck the ball smartly under his body.
It sent Tottenham in at half-time with a parity that was scarcely deserved but confidence-boosting. The first 45 minutes would have shown them that Chelsea are a weakened force without Didier Drogba and in the second half, the odd speculative effort from Lampard aside, Scolari’s team barely created a chance. Jonathan Woodgate, in particular, and Ledley King were outstanding for Tottenham, watched by Fabio Capello, the England manager, who is in a predicament recognisable to many predecessors, with an embarrassment of riches in one position – in this case centre half – and a shortage elsewhere.
Woodgate and King were aided by Chelsea’s self-limiting decision to attempt to win by lobbing high balls into the area for the final 20 minutes; potentially effective when Drogba is leading the line, but a tactic that rendered Nicolas Anelka even more redundant than he has rendered himself in recent matches.
Once, in the 78th minute, a long clearance from Carvalho found Anelka, who passed the ball on to Florent Malouda, on as substitute for the ineffectual Joe Cole, but he panicked and shot pitifully wide. The rest of the time Tottenham’s back-line treated Chelsea’s route-one approach like a training-ground exercise before a visit to Stoke City and the tactics brought out the Brazilian in Scolari, who was gesticulating ever more furiously on the touchline but clearly did not know the sign language for “keep it on the damn floor”. “We made a mistake with too much long ball,” he said. “The problem with hitting it high is that you win that way one time, but lose eight times. I understand, though, because when the players feel the pressure it becomes difficult to think.”
And the pressure is on Chelsea, certainly to take advantage of Manchester United’s traditional slow start to the season, the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and the brief period before the arrival of Dimitar Berbatov or a run of form for Wayne Rooney. Dropping points at home against opponents who have lost matches to Middlesbrough and Sunderland is not part of the plan, even if Tottenham are in a false position.
The most worrying aspect for Scolari will be that his players found it hard to break through the defensive screen of Didier Zokora and Jermaine Jenas and their best chances came from range, usually from Lampard, who went close with two fantastic dinked chips at the start of each half. The first caught Heurelho Gomes, the Tottenham goalkeeper, off his line, but he recovered to tip over; the second beat him but dropped just the wrong side of the bar.
Between that Michael Essien had a shot from 25 yards that struck the bar, although Chelsea did get a reward from the resulting corner. Lampard curled it in, Bent missed his kick with an attempted clearance and Juliano Belletti glanced the ball past Gomes at the near post.
The match was a tiny triumph for Belletti, a reserve full back, who was given the job of holding midfield with John Obi Mikel injured. In addition to scoring from a set-piece, he shut Modric out of the game. It is amazing that English football finds it so hard to fill this position in the national team when foreign players respond instantly to its code of discipline and self-sacrifice. These are worrying times for English football all round, with injuries mounting in key roles, a void where a world-class striker should be and a series of failed auditions for David Beckham’s role. Nothing David Bentley did here would have impressed Capello going into his first competitive international; mainly, because he did nothing.
“We deserved a point for what we did in the second half,” Ramos, the Tottenham head coach, said.
About right. Both teams looked as if they could do with an injection of sorts. The arrival of Roman Pavlyuchenko at Tottenham and, perhaps, Robinho at Chelsea cannot come soon enough.
Chelsea ratings
4-1-3-1-1
P Cech 6 J Bosingwa 6 R Carvalho 6 J Terry 7 A Cole 7 J Belletti 7 F Lampard 7 M Essien 6 Deco 6 J Cole 5 N Anelka 5 Substitutes: F Malouda 5 (for J Cole, 65min), S Kalou (for Belletti, 75), F Di Santo (for Anelka, 88) Not used: C Cudicini, W Bridge, P Ferreira, Alex Next: Man City (a)
Tottenham ratings
4-5-1
H Gomes 7 C Gunter 7 J Woodgate 9 L King 8 G Bale 8 D Bentley 5 J Jenas 7 D Zokora 7 L Modric 6 G Dos Santos 5 D Bent 7 Substitutes: T Huddlestone 7 (for Gunter, 62min), A Lennon 5 (for Dos Santos, 59), J O’Hara (for Bentley, 72) Not used: C Sánchez, Gilberto, M Dawson, B Assou-Ekotto Next: Aston Villa (h)
Referee: H Webb Attendance: 41,790

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Chelsea long for Drogba as Spurs seize the initiative

Chelsea 1 Belletti 28 Tottenham Hotspur 1 Bent 45
Kevin McCarra at Stamford Bridge

The Guardian, Monday September 1 2008

The transfer window is an invitation to peer into an enticing and elusive future, but Tottenham Hotspur's supporters could not peel their gaze from the joys of the present. There was no inclination to start wondering what Roman Pavlyuchenko or signings yet to come might achieve when the existing line-up was conducting itself with such care and competitiveness. While the equaliser from Darren Bent had its element of luck, there was an organised resilience to the visitors that merited yesterday's draw.
When Juliano Belletti gave Chelsea the lead Tottenham looked bound for a third consecutive loss. It was proof of the recovery by Juande Ramos's team that much of what ensued raised questions about Chelsea. Sharing the points is no fiasco, but the hosts' dullness was unexpected.
Nicolas Anelka must have been dismayed. There are sound reasons for using a single outright striker. Chelsea themselves were devastating in the rout of Portsmouth with precisely that system. Here, by contrast, the weaknesses of the approach were highlighted. Tottenham, for whom Didier Zokora was significant, snipped the connection between the midfield and the forward.
Anelka is not equipped to be a lone battler. In the wake of the match there were immediate inquiries about the return of the injured Didier Drogba. He assuredly has the height, weight, speed and skill to harry an entire defence by himself, but the Ivorian's knee problem had been an issue for a long time before it became acute early this year. The 30-year-old cannot be confident that the aches and pains will ever leave him entirely.
The outcome of Chelsea's bid for Real Madrid's Robinho was still inscrutable in the late afternoon yesterday, but the Brazilian bears no resemblance to the sort of centre-forward whom Anelka needed badly as a partner in this game.
Of course, there were also some mundane reasons for Chelsea's mechanical football. With Michael Ballack injured, Michael Essien took a more advanced midfield position to which he is not really suited and Belletti, who is considered a full-back, was placed in the holding role. The outcome was that Luiz Felipe Scolari's team did not move fluently and Deco, in particular, seemed frustrated.
For all that there were omens of a standard win for Chelsea. Belletti, for instance, split the defence with a devastating pass in the 26th minute and Anelka tamed it with his first touch, only to bash the finish over the bar. Two minutes later Scolari's team took the lead. Tottenham were aggrieved that Joe Cole was not ruled offside before a corner was awarded, but they should have coped with the set-piece. Deco took it and Bent failed to clear before Belletti diverted the ball into the net.
The leveller came peculiarly in first-half stoppage time. Bent headed down and Frank Lampard, tackling Luka Modric, inadvertently fed the ball back to the Tottenham striker. He finished with a shot through the legs of Petr Cech. Were it not for the transfer market machinations that kept Dimitar Berbatov away from Stamford Bridge, there might have been minor involvement for the scorer yesterday.
The part Bent will play in the longer term is still in doubt, but that goal could be seen as a telling episode in Tottenham's season. Ramos's team did not put Chelsea in all that many difficulties and Modric, specifically, was unable to show the zest expected of him. A share of the points, nonetheless, will make Tottenham feel they can return to normal business with fewer accusations of instability at White Hart Lane.
The team, after all, was far from brittle. After the unfortunate decline and sale of Paul Robinson it would have been a comfort for Ramos that Heurelho Gomes was commanding in goal. His handling of crosses was adhesive and while a couple of Lampard attempts to chip him were entertaining the tall Brazilian dealt with them.
Tottenham, of course, may not have taken as much credit if they had been under any obligation to attack. Berbatov's subtlety would have been missed in a different type of match, where this side was supposed to hold the initiative. Equally, it was apparent why Tottenham have been so keen to buy Andrei Arshavin, considering how he links midfield to attack.
For Chelsea there was a reminder that Scolari is not the guarantor of verve. The efforts here were highly reminiscent of lacklustre afternoons under Avram Grant and, indeed, Jose Mourinho. Both clubs will have left with a sense of the long haul ahead. For once, Tottenham must have been feeling cheerful about it.
Man of the match Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham)

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Indy:
Chelsea 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1: Scolari lets slip Kalou bid as a diversion
By Sam WallaceMonday, 1 September 2008

Now we know that Luiz Felipe Scolari is not just a shrewd coach. He has also read that chapter in the manager's handbook that tells you what to do in the event of your team tossing away two points at home to Tottenham. The answer? Tell everyone who Arsenal's transfer target was earlier in the summer and hope they forget about the result.
It turns out Arsène Wenger made an offer for Salomon Kalou. It was casually mentioned by Scolari yesterday as he discussed his striking options in the absence of Didier Drogba. Arsenal made the enquiry when they thought that Emmanuel Adebayor might leave them – possibly even to Chelsea – and you suspect Wenger asked Chelsea to keep it to themselves.
Asked why he considered Kalou as a central striker, Scolari cited Wenger's opinion. "If you ask Arsène Wenger, he wants him [Kalou] as a No 9 so why shouldn't I play him there?" Scolari said. "Arsène's an intelligent man, so maybe he knows something."
No doubt his friend will be delighted to have his transfer business made public but it served a purpose for Scolari. The Chelsea manager is evidently not averse to being political when it suits him – he is learning fast in the Premier League.
Nevertheless, it was difficult to dispel the notion that Juande Ramos had the measure of another Chelsea manager yesterday, especially in the way he changed his team after a fortuitous equaliser for Darren Bent just before half-time. Before then Chelsea had run the game, taken the lead through Juliano Belletti and generally looked like they were about to extend Spurs' run of two defeats.
There are undoubtedly problems in Ramos's team. There is no Dimitar Berbatov and too little Premier League experience in Luka Modric and Giovani Dos Santos, who looked like autumn leaves in the slipstream of the Chelsea juggernaut in the first half. But Ramos withdrew Dos Santos and kept faith with Modric and Tottenham withstood the onslaught.
With Tom Huddlestone on as the holding midfielder and Jermaine Jenas as right-back, Ramos gave Spurs a touch of stability. He is adept at thinking on his feet and is not afraid to make bold decisions – rather like Jose Mourinho. Chelsea have not forgotten that he showed Avram Grant how it was done in the Carling Cup final in February.
There were no Mourinho-style accusations of Spurs coming to Stamford Bridge to "park the bus" in front of their own goal. Instead Scolari was lyrical about the quality of Spurs' players and how difficult his side found it to break them down. He must have been disappointed by Deco, who was overly cautious after an early booking. Nicolas Anelka did not suggest Drogba will have any trouble getting back in this team after the international break.
Whether even Robinho would have made a difference was debatable because without Drogba Chelsea do not have a target man in case of emergency. In midfield, Didier Zokora had one of his best games for Spurs, snapping around the heels of Frank Lampard and Michael Essien. Gareth Bale excelled at left-back.
Chelsea's goal came on 27 minutes, when Bent moved to clear a corner from Lampard at the near post and missed the ball. Belletti nipped ahead of Zokora and toed the ball in from close range. Earlier Lampard's chip had been touched over the bar by Heurelho Gomes but Chelsea had precious few good chances.
They were punished just before half-time when Lampard and Modric challenged and the ball rebounded into the path of Bent. His first touch was dire and caught out everyone, including Petr Cech, making the angle right for the striker to slip the ball into the net. Tottenham were due a bit of luck but you would not bet on Bent keeping his place ahead of Roman Pavlyuchenko for the match against Aston Villa on 15 September.
Goals: Belletti (27) 1-0; Bent (45) 1-1.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Terry, Carvalho, A Cole; Belletti (Kalou, 76); J Cole (Malouda, 66), Lampard, Essien, Deco; Anelka (Di Santo, 89). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Bridge, Ferreira, Alex.
Tottenham Hotspur (4-1-4-1): Gomes; Gunter (Huddlestone, 62), Woodgate, King, Bale; Zokora; Bentley (O'Hara, 72), Jenas, Modric, Dos Santos (Lennon, 59); Bent. Substitutes not used: Cesar (gk), Gilberto, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto.
Referee: H Webb (South Yorkshire).
Booked: Chelsea Deco, J Cole, Bosingwa.
Man of the match: Zokora.
Attendance: 41,790.

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Telegraph:
Luka Modric tireless for Tottenham Hotspur as Chelsea stars fade

Chelsea (1) 1 Tottenham Hotspur (1) 1 By Henry Winter at Stamford Bridge

Luka Modric, his flaxen locks darkened by sweat, ran himself into the ground so fully at the Bridge that his socks soon flopped around his ankles. Ledley King, the man of the match, stretched out a leg to nick the ball away from Michael Essien. Jonathan Woodgate, similarly impressive, threw himself in the way of a Frank Lampard shot. Collected together, such snapshots formed the big picture of Tottenham Hotspur’s ceaseless endeavour.
Spurs did not park their bus in front of their goal, as Jose Mourinho once complained, nor even their Bentley; defending with organisation and determination, Spurs were also committed to attack, particularly in the second period. With the cloud called Dimitar Berbatov disappearing north, the sun appears to be warming Tottenham, and there was a real togetherness about them here.
If Spurs players are beginning to find their stride, certainly after two false starts, further detail of the promising bigger picture was provided by Juande Ramos’ impact. His pursuit of Roman Pavlyuchenko is inspired. Darren Bent scored for Spurs, equalising Juliano Belletti’s effort, but Ramos’ 4-2-3-1 formation will carry even greater threat when the lively Russian starts.
There is real substance to Ramos. When Giovani dos Santos looked frustrated at being substituted, Spurs’ manager gave him a blood-chilling glare that brooked no arguments. Ramos’ second-half tactical switches also worked.
Tom Huddlestone brought some control to central midfield, Aaron Lennon injected energy down the right and Jamie O’Hara arrived on the left and combined well with Gareth Bale. Chelsea could not pour forward completely because of the danger of a Spurs counter-attack.
Two dropped points should not alarm Chelsea unduly, particularly with Manchester United slow out of the traps, and particularly if their own reinforcements arrive soon. For all the talk of Robinho’s little bit of magic being needed to unlock the door, Chelsea could really have done with Didier Drogba. Still recovering from injury, the Ivory Coast battering-ram allows Chelsea an extra option, the direct ball. When Luiz Felipe Scolari’s men played it high towards Nicolas Anelka, he was too often outmuscled by King and Woodgate.
What should worry Scolari was the way some of his players faded. Deco, kept in reserve by Barcelona last season, needs to work on his core fitness. Florent Malouda had no excuse, tiring after coming off the bench. One of Chelsea’s strengths, their ability to overpower teams, will be enhanced when Michael Ballack and John Obi Mikel are fit.
Belletti may have scored Chelsea’s goal but he is not an anchor man. The right-back’s presence in central midfield was partly to keep an eye on Modric in what was loosely a 4-1-4-1 formation with Deco and Joe Cole out wide, although often interchanging. This constant movement afforded some early space for Lampard, whose wonderful chip drew an equally superb tip-over save from Heurelho Gomes.
Spurs were far from daunted. With Didier Zokora and Jermaine Jenas holding, and Zokora earning rich applause from the visiting contingent with one lovely turn away from Deco, there was plenty of movement in Tottenham’s midfield.
Modric sought to support the initially isolated Bent through the middle while Dos Santos and the right-sided David Bentley worked the flanks. Giovani soon glided inside Belletti and cut the ball back to Bent, whose shot deflected wide.
Chelsea fans were quick to find their voice, serenading the noisy visitors with chants of “Berbatov’’ and “going down’’. Anelka should have scored, controlling Belletti’s neat pass expertly, but shooting wide.
Sometimes it takes a tackle to stir a team to real life, and when the excellent Essien thundered through 50-50s against Jenas and Zokora, crashing a shot against the bar, Chelsea hopes were lifted. Woodgate conceded the corner, which Deco swirled into the box, and Bent missed badly. The ball continued to Belletti, who had lost Zokora, and a touch took it past Gomes.
Spurs never gave up, levelling just before the break. When Bent’s nod-down found Modric, the Croatian’s pass hit Lampard and deflected back into Bent’s path. His first touch was poor, carrying it slightly to the left, but it served to entice Petr Cech from his line, allowing Bent to slide the ball under the onrushing keeper and in.
Chelsea raised themselves briefly in the second half, Ashley Cole shooting wide, Lampard firing just over and Ricardo Carvalho heading into the Shed. Enlivened by Ramos’ changes, Spurs responded. One sinewy Bale run took him past Deco, and required the combined strengths of Jose Bosingwa and Carvalho to bring him down. The Welshman stood up, dusted himself down but swept his free-kick into the wall.
Now it was Chelsea with sweat beads glistening. John Terry was desperately fortunate to escape sanction for blocking off Modric, an offence that may not be forgotten when the pair run into each other in Zagreb next week. Scolari sought to influence the game, sending on Salomon Kalou, who wasted a decent flick-on from Anelka, and the promising Franco Di Santo, a prolific force in the reserves. Spurs stood firm and held on to a deserved point.
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Mail;
Spurs hold out for a point despite Chelsea's Brazil trick

Chelsea 1 Tottenham 1
By Matt Lawton

Until Darren Bent followed a terrible first touch with a terrific finish, Luiz Felipe Scolari once again looked like something of a genius at Stamford Bridge.
The deployment of a Brazilian full back with no apparent ability to defend in the midfield holding role would have baffled a watching Claude Makelele as much as anybody.
But Juliano Belletti not only performed admirably in the position but scored the goal that even Juande Ramos probably suspected would secure a third successive League win for Chelsea and condemn Tottenham to a third successive defeat.
Then, however, came three more surprises: Frank Lampard gave the ball away, Bent seized on the opportunity with the same predatory instincts he showed regularly prior to moving to White Hart Lane, and Tottenham's defending excelled for the remaining 45 minutes.
A draw leaves Tottenham second from bottom of the Barclays Premier League, but the importance of the point will not be lost on Ramos when his side have lacked confidence as much as Bent has lacked support in attack.
Ramos owed much to Didier Zokora at the base of a midfield five as well as Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King at the heart of his defence.
All three were outstanding. Zokora was a destructive force in the middle, Woodgate and King inspirational at the back. They were brilliant and Scolari recognised as much, rejecting an invitation to echo former boss Jose Mourinho in accusing them of 'parking the bus' in front of their goal.
They parked three buses on this occasion, all at once.
As well as adding Roman Pavlyuchenko to a forward line who have struggled in the absence of Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov, Ramos needs to do everything he can he keep Woodgate and King on the field.
This match was as memorable for the fact that it represented King's second appearance on the bounce, and relying on two centre halves who have suffered so badly from injuries remains a problem for a club with ambitions to break into the Champions League.
Judging by this, the Champions League is still a long way off. But Spurs will return from the international break lifted by their success in at least stopping Chelsea build on an impressive start to their campaign.
If Scolari was frustrated, he did a fine job of disguising his true feelings. Just as he did, it has to be said, when mention of the controversy surrounding Robinho was made.
So Real Madrid are branding the conduct of Chelsea's directors as deplorable? Sir Alex Ferguson will see the funny side of that one.
It's a bit like Woodgate accusing Dimitar Berbatov of giving professional footballers a bad name.
Clearly, Scolari could use Robinho if only to increase the competition for places in the Chelsea attack.
The Stamford Bridge team are not the same when Didier Drogba is missing but the arrival of Robinho would lessen the chance of Deco and Joe Cole performing as they did yesterday.
They were both poor, as was Nicolas Anelka. The France striker really should have scored in the 26th minute.
It was a super ball forward from Belletti, dropping between Woodgate and King and at the feet of Anelka. But a fine first touch was followed by an awful finish and Anelka and Belletti both cursed the sight of the half-volley flying over the crossbar.
Michael Essien struck the crossbar seconds later with a beautifully struck shot and it was from the corner which followed that Belletti scored his goal.
Deco's delivery may have been decent, but it was Bent's failure to clear that enabled Belletti to turn the ball past Heurelho Gomes with what looked like his left thigh.
Belletti ran immediately to Scolari to celebrate and the manager responded by urging his countryman-to push further forward.
Turns out Scolari's knowledge of Brazilian football benefited Chelsea yesterday, because he knew Belletti had played in the position during his time at Sao Paulo.
The demeanour of Ramos suggested he was almost resigned to a third defeat on the bounce.
But when Lampard tracked back to regain possession from Luka Modric, he succeeded only in knocking the ball into the path of Bent.
One rather fortuitous touch then took Bent away from Ricardo Carvalho before his finish was driven through the legs of an advancing Petr Cech.
Chelsea did create opportunities after the break. Ashley Cole dragged an effort across the face of Tottenham's goal and Lampard threatened with a clever chip, having forced a fine save from Gomes with a similar effort in the first half.
For all their dominance, though, Chelsea could not break through that determined Tottenham triumvirate and in the end they were a little lucky not to lose their captain for what looked like a cynical elbow in the face of Modric.
Ramos was not amused.
Fabio Capello will be equally unamused if he now discovers that the sight of Lampard limping away from Stamford Bridge last night amounts to bad news for England.
But withdraw him Scolari no doubt will if there is any danger of losing him when the Premier League resumes for Chelsea at Manchester City on September 13.
Not even a manager with the international experience of Scolari is going to worry about England after dropping two points here.

morning papers wigan away 1-0

The Times

August 25, 2008

Deco makes a difference for Chelsea

Wigan Athletic 0 Chelsea 1
Martin Samuel

Scant consolation, maybe, but it is not only English-born footballers who look better for their club than country. Petr Cech did not have the happiest time in goal for the Czech Republic during the European Championship this summer, but he was the reason Chelsea took three points and a place at the top of the Barclays Premier League table yesterday.
After the euphoria of the opening-day demolition of Portsmouth, this was very much business as usual, a slender victory ground out against opposition who were, for large periods, superior but simply lack the financial clout to buy the players who make the difference.
Deco, in this case, whose third-minute free kick was still all that separated the teams some 93 minutes later when Alan Wiley, the referee, brought the contest to a frustrating end for the home side. Beyond the one moment of magic, then, the difference was Cech, who made four excellent saves to deny Wigan Athletic, while at the other end Mike Pollitt, the stand-in goalkeeper after Chris Kirkland suffered a back injury in the warm-up, was largely untroubled.
Cech saved at the near post in the fifth minute after Wilson Palacios – who had an outstanding first half but could not sustain it – cut inside José Bosingwa, then again two minutes later after Jason Koumas had played the ball through to Amr Zaki, a hugely promising forward from Egypt.
In the 25th minute, the move of the match, involving Emile Heskey and Emmerson Boyce, was finished by another shot from Zaki, this time from the edge of the area, which Cech kept out, and with three minutes remaining, near the end of a dire second half, he moved quickly to tip round a shot by Olivier Kapo, a Wigan substitute.
It was a performance that revived memories of Cech at his best, before misfortune left him vulnerable physically, and perhaps mentally. If uncharacteristic mistakes had blighted his summer tournament, here was a goalkeeper at the top of his game, bravely off his line to any cross that strayed within his range, completely in command on a day when his defence looked surprisingly vulnerable.
“If you were listing the greatest goalkeepers in the world, you would say Cech and Gianluigi Buffon, and maybe one other,” Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Chelsea manager, said. “In training, if we are doing one hour, he wants to do two – he has not let us down in any game since I have been here.”
Steve Bruce, the Wigan manager, knew that his team had missed an opportunity. Chelsea’s form against Portsmouth last week was terrifying but Bruce and his players refused to be intimidated, put an extra body in midfield to match Chelsea’s small army and were by far the better team in the first half. John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho were challenged in a way that eluded last week’s strikers, Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe, and the full backs were not allowed the space to operate as wingers.
Understandably, this level of commitment was tough to maintain and Wigan seemed to hit a wall after an hour, while still producing the only noteworthy chance of the second half. In all, they did enough to win and Scolari knew as much. His team were not inconsistent, he said, Wigan were simply stronger opponents than Portsmouth. “They had good ability, power and they put pressure on us,” he said. “In England, sometimes, to win 1-0 is like winning 10-0, because last can beat first.”
He said that several players are not entirely fit, including Michael Essien, Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack. Bruce saw it differently. “It is getting harder to beat the top teams with each new season,” he said. “Chelsea had a bad day today, but then Deco comes along and changes everything with one kick. If it isn’t Deco it will be Nicolas Anelka, or Joe Cole, or Florent Malouda, one of them is going to do something special – and all big clubs have that string of talent.
“When we first won the Premier League at Manchester United, the team to beat that season was Norwich City. That is never going to happen again. The gap is huge now. A team wins the league and buys four players. Chelsea got to the European Cup final and lost, so they bought two more. We used to laugh at the situation in Scotland with Rangers and Celtic. Not any more.”
It was tough on Bruce, who ended last season by losing at home to Manchester United, another match in which his team had the edge. Wigan have yet to gain a point this season, but impressed with the way they hustled Chelsea, without resorting to roughhouse tactics or the long ball. Palacios was outstanding early on, while Zaki and Luis Antonio Valencia were tirelessly energetic.
What Wigan do not have, and will never have unless football’s finances undergo a radical transformation, is a master like Deco, a player who got one chance all game, and a difficult one at that, and needed no more.
Lee Cattermole handled the ball on the edge of the area, Ballack voiced the sort of appeal that would have rattled even the most flint-hearted taekwondo judge, and the free kick was duly awarded. Deco, with his right foot, lifted the ball over the wall and into the top left-hand corner of Pollitt’s net. If Wigan had only known, the three points were gone.
“Deco is such an intelligent player,” Scolari said. “He waited for one little mistake from the goalkeeper, moving just too far in one direction, and then he adjusted his angle and scored. He thinks about the game. I have watched him in training all week, and he puts them in the other corner – but this is why he is one of the best players in the world.”
Scolari will meet board members at Chelsea tomorrow to discuss the last seven days of the transfer window, which should bring a move to Everton for Shaun Wright-Phillips and the completion of the £28 million deal for Robinho, of Real Madrid.
John Benson, the Wigan general manager, meanwhile, is in Seoul checking on Park Chu Young, the winger, and a £4 million purchase. Park was the Asian player of the year four years ago but has been in and out of the national side. Wigan accomplished a feat to only lose 1-0, really, all things considered.
Wigan ratings
4-2-3-1
M Pollitt 6 M Melchiot 6 E Boyce 6 T Bramble 6 M Figueroa 6 L Cattermole 7 W Palacios 7 L A Valencia 7 J Koumas 5 A Zaki 7 E Heskey 6
Substitutes: D de Ridder 5 (for Koumas, 46min), O Kapo (for Palacios, 79), H Camara (for Melchiot, 84). Not used: C Nash, M Brown, K Kilbane, A Sibierski. Next: Hull City (a).
Chelsea ratings
4-1-3-1-1
P Cech 9 J Bosingwa 5 J Terry 5 R Carvalho 5 A Cole 7 M Essien 7 M Ballack 7 F Lampard 6 Deco 7 J Cole 6 N Anelka 5
Substitutes: S Kalou 5 (for J Cole, 57), W Bridge (for A Cole, 82), F Malouda (for Anelka, 88). Not used: Hilário, B Ivanovic, Alex, J Belletti. Next: Tottenham (h).
Referee: A Wiley.
Attendance: 18,139

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Telegraph

Deco brilliance shades Wigan resolve as steely Chelsea excelWigan Athletic (0) 0 Chelsea (1) 1

By Henry Winter at the JJB Stadium

For Chelsea followers, it was just like watching Germany rather than Brazil this week. After their silky opening-day vanquishing of Portsmouth, Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side showed their steely trait, grinding out victory to frustrate lively opponents in Wigan Athletic.
As in the 4-0 defeat of Pompey, the Brazilian-born Deco was again to the fore, embarrassing another goalkeeper, but his breathtaking free-kick was as far as Chelsea’s advertisement for the Beautiful Game went. Withstanding relentless pressure from Wigan, for whom Amr Zaki excelled, Chelsea tackled and harried, intercepted and cleared and made sure they returned south unscathed. Never mind the quality, feel the quantity of points.
Petr Cech, looking back to his best, pulled off some good saves. Michael Essien anchored diligently. Ashley Cole put in some important tackles. John Terry kept cajoling, ensuring commitment levels never dipped. When Didier Drogba regains enough fitness and sharpness to replace Nicolas Anelka, Chelsea’s 4-1-4-1 shape under Scolari will exude even greater balance and menace.
Chelsea’s character was embodied in Michael Ballack’s willingness to start despite a slight niggle. Frank Lampard, also feeling a small injury, endured a brief battering from the raw but promising Lee Cattermole, even catcalls from Wigan fans, but never wilted. Essien hardly trained for 10 days but returned hungrily to the fray.
“They gave everything and they won,’’ enthused Scolari. “It’s fantastic for Chelsea, for us as a group, because we now have more confidence. It was more difficult than Portsmouth. Wigan played better than Portsmouth. This is the first time I have been to the north of England, so now I know what to expect. In English football, no game is easy.’’
Refusing to comment on Robinho’s seemingly imminent arrival and the prospect of Shaun Wright-Phillips departing to Everton, Scolari was more keen to expound on the mind-set he expects from his players. “It’s not important whether Lampard or Deco scores,’’ the Brazilian said. “This is my philosophy. Chelsea is more important than us [as individuals].’’
Deco symbolises what Scolari craves from his team, technique and character. As well as stirring admiration for the effortless way he guided the ball around Cattermole in the first half, and then nut-megging him for good measure in the second, Deco also impressed with his relish for the physical side of the game. No shrinking violet, the Portuguese international put in a stiff tackle on Antonio Valencia and bulldozed into a challenge on Cattermole. But it was his clever free-kick after four minutes that inevitably guaranteed him the headlines. When Cattermole handled just outside the hosts’ box, Deco stood with Ashley Cole and watched Wigan arrange their wall. In training, Deco has apparently been placing every free-kick to the right. He changed tack here, sweeping it over the wall and in to the left.
“Deco is a very intelligent boy,’’ Scolari explained. “As he ran up to the ball, he saw the keeper made a mistake, move a metre, which left room for Deco. So he went for the other side from what he has been taking in training. That’s why he is one of the best in the world.’’
Wigan were unfortunate that they had lost their first-choice goalkeeper moments before the start, Chris Kirkland aggravating a back problem, but little blame could really be attached to his stand-in, Mike Pollitt. Few keepers would have saved Deco’s free-kick.
“It was another bit of magic, but he does it in training every day,’’ said Ashley Cole, who limped off with a dead leg but will return to training tomorrow, according to Chelsea. Until he departed, Cole experienced a busy afternoon with Valencia and Mario Melchiot constantly running at him.
Jason Koumas and Wilson Palacios also carried the ball deep into Chelsea’s half. Emile Heskey, watched by Fabio Capello, kept showing for the ball long and short, pressuring Terry into a foul and a caution. Zaki, Heskey’s attacking accomplice, twice demanded saves from Cech as Wigan controlled the first half for substantial periods.
Zaki’s deployment by Bruce was interesting. “Chelsea get their width from their full-backs who like to get forward,’’ said the Wigan manager, who told Zaki to drift wide to peg back Jose Bosingwa while Valencia kept Ashley Cole deep. With a little more craft at set-pieces, Bruce’s tactics and his players’ work-rate would have been rewarded with a deserved point. Wigan were far from overawed, Palacios elegantly spiriting the ball away from Bosingwa and Anelka, drawing admiring gasps from the crowd.
As the second half unfolded, Chelsea raised their game. Lampard lifted a superb pass to Anelka, but Emmerson Boyce intercepted. Essien let fly with a long-ranger but Pollitt was equal to the task. Cattermole then slid in to dispossess Lampard in the area.
Bruce’s side finished the stronger. Cattermole shot over. Then Zaki, the striker on loan from Zamalek, embarked on a terrific run, passing Essien and Bosingwa before Ricardo Carvalho intervened. Zaki then set up Olivier Kapo, who was denied by Cech, Chelsea’s best player yesterday. “If you have three goalkeepers in the world, it is Cech, Buffon and another,’’ Scolari said. “He trains for an hour but then wants to train for two hours.’’
Bruce sighed in frustration afterwards. “Chelsea had a bad day at the office but a piece of brilliance won it for them,’’ he said. “We have missed an opportunity. The top two lose only once or twice a season.’’
Wigan’s manager also bemoaned the gulf between the elite four and the rest. “When I won the Premier League with Manchester United [in 1993], Norwich City were the only team we had to beat,’’ added Bruce. “That would never happen now. Smaller teams cannot mount a challenge. We used to mock Celtic and Rangers in Scotland but the gap is enormous in England now. It’s been the [same] top four for some time now.
“It will continue because they can go out and buy two or more players. United haven’t bought this season but they bought four last year for £70 million.’’
Bruce pursues less illustrious players, revealing that Wigan are in negotiation for the FC Seoul striker, Park-joo Young. Chelsea, meanwhile, await Robinho.
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Indy:
Wigan Athletic 0 Chelsea 1:

Art of Deco lifts Chelsea to top as Scolari paints picture of new world

Luiz Felipe Scolari has managed in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, he has won a World Cup in Japan and he comes from the remote Rio Grande do Sul in the southern Brazil, but he admitted that, until yesterday, he had never been to that distant, exotic kingdom known as the north of England. Chelsea will have play better on their further visits if they are to win the Premier League this season.
A moment of brilliance from Deco four minutes into the match decided it, a free-kick that swooped into the top corner of Mike Pollitt's goal before he had barely picked out its flight. The rest of the game was not so beautiful although it was never easy for Chelsea, whose second win of the season leaves them top of the Premier League after two games. So far, so good, even if Roman Abramovich chose not spend to his August bank holiday in Lancashire.
Scolari explained how this was the first time that he had ventured north of London but that his grip of geography was improving. "Yes, it's my first time in the north," he said, "and I know that I will have to come here to play Bolton, Manchester United, Manchester City. Here in the north. I understand that now."
Gritty, physical, relentless: Scolari got a view of the other side of football in England that was in stark contrast to the opening weekend when Chelsea passed the ball around Portsmouth in the sunshine at Stamford Bridge. Only the marble-hearted would have begrudged Wigan a point from this game, in which they ran themselves silly in the first half closing down the opposition. Wilson Palacios and Amr Zaki were outstanding but it all felt futile against superstars who need just one chance to pick opponents off.
It will be curious to see how Scolari's teams play away from home this season, especially in the North-West – which Sir Alex Ferguson has often referred to as if it were one rebellious tribe desperate to wreak havoc on any London sides with pretensions to winning the League. Yesterday Scolari paid tribute to the strength of the competition when he said that a 1-0 away win was equivalent to "10-0" in other leagues around the world. "In England," he said, "you always say that first [placed team] playing against the last is not easy."
Up to a point, Felipe, but when you have players in the side like Deco, they can, at times, make the whole thing look as simple as lacing their boots. For the goal, Lee Cattermole handled the ball about 25 yards out and Pollitt, a late replacement for Chris Kirkland who aggravated his back injury in the warm-up, never got close to Deco's resulting free-kick. "Another piece of Deco magic," said Ashley Cole. "He does it all the time in training."
That was the assumption, given that the Portuguese international was even allowed to take the shot – the queue for free-kick status at Chelsea is long and distinguished. But soon Wigan were back in the game, snapping at the heels of Chelsea's midfield, which looked stretched at times with Joe Cole in a more forward position. Palacios and Antonio Valencia, Steve Bruce later noted, played in Mexico for Honduras in midweek, while Zaki represented Egypt in Sudan, and none of them looked rusty.
Two defeats into the season, Bruce talked wearily of beating any one of the big four and the lengths he has gone to source players – he made his trip to Cairo to persuade Zaki to sign sound like he had been asked to find the source of the Nile single-handed. Now he is looking at the Korean striker Park Chu-Young, from FC Seoul. "Chelsea didn't look at any stage like they would rip us apart like they did with Portsmouth," Bruce said. "Chelsea have had a bad day but a piece of brilliance from Deco has saved them. That's why they are at the highest level. If it hadn't been him, they have others who can do that."
Fabio Capello was in attendance and, as usual, he will have left thinking about the non-English players on the pitch. Cattermole was determined for Wigan and Emile Heskey contributed to the move that saw Zaki's shot stopped by Petr Cech at close range, but they struggled to put Chelsea's defence on the back foot. Cech was excellent – that save from Zaki and another from substitute Olivier Kapo were decisive in winning the game.
With Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Michael Essien all playing with injuries, and John Obi Mikel out of the game, Scolari declared himself delighted with the performance. "It doesn't mean that much to be top after just two games," he said, "but it's good for the group to have six points." They will, after all, face some tougher tests in this part of the world.
Goal: Deco (4) 0-1.
Wigan Athletic (4-5-1): Pollitt; Melchiot (Camara, 85), Boyce, Bramble, Figueroa; Valencia, Cattermole, Palacios (Kapo, 80), Koumas (De Ridder, h-t), Zaki; Heskey. Substitutes not used: Nash (gk), Brown, Kilbane, Sibierski.
Chelsea (4-1-3-2): Cech; Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole (Bridge, 83); Essien; Ballack, Lampard, Deco; J Cole (Kalou, 58), Anelka (Malouda, 89). Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Ivanovic, Alex, Belletti.
Referee: A Wiley (Staffordshire).
Booked: Wigan Cattermole; Chelsea Terry, Carvalho.
Man of the match: Cech.
Attendance: 18,139.
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Deco's gifts leave lumbering Wigan wishing for more

Premier League

Wigan Athletic 0 Chelsea 1 Deco 4
Dominic Fifield at the JJB Stadium

The Guardian, Monday August 25 2008

Luiz Felipe Scolari had known this was coming. Back in the build-up to his Premier League debut, his comments lost amid what appeared to be outlandish suggestions that Manchester City and Portsmouth would challenge for the title, the Brazilian had warned that Wigan Athletic would cause his team "big problems" in his second game in charge. The sight of Chelsea's manager punching the air at the final whistle here was a telling indication that a horribly awkward hurdle had been vaulted.
Where Pompey had been dismissed with scintillating ease, Wigan were held at arm's bay, though never with any sense of comfort. Deco had conjured the game's decisive goal but that free-kick, curled gloriously in from distance after only four minutes, was as swashbuckling as Chelsea could muster. Thereafter, this became a test of resilience. Sir Alex Ferguson has often claimed London sides - apparently as showy as they are flaky - find life difficult in the wilds of the north-west. That may be an urban myth but this was Scolari's first time north of the capital and, even early in his reign, a small psychological blow has been inflicted.
Nothing, as yet, has fazed him about the English game. "I've never been 'north' but I'm at Chelsea for two seasons, so I must get used to Bolton, Manchester United, Manchester City..." said Scolari in the aftermath. "What I expected, I saw today. It was difficult. Winning 1-0 away from home in England is the same as winning 10-0 elsewhere. Wigan played better than Portsmouth and had players who are healthy, have power and pressured us. I know we didn't play as well as we did last week, but I understand the reasons why."
The visitors pointed to the lack of fitness of Michael Essien, Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard, and to the absence of the injured Mikel John Obi. He also lost Ashley Cole to a dead leg but, in truth, the visitors were winded less by their own ailments and more by Wigan's aggressive energy. Steve Bruce had seen his own fan out to various corners of the globe for midweek internationals - his Hondurans Wilson Palacios and Maynor Figueroa were in Mexico, his Egyptian Amr Zaki in Sudan - but they tore into this contest unperturbed. Zaki, outstanding throughout, twice forced Petr Cech to claw away rasping drives. The substitute Olivier Kapo did likewise in the final exchanges.
This team are far better than their current lack of a points' tally suggests. Dominant for long periods while succumbing at West Ham the previous week, they unsettled the title challengers here. They remain without reward but there will be an air of anxiety around this club, but more productive times surely lie ahead. This was actually transformed into the latest lesson on the Premier League's cruel hierarchy. Chelsea rode their luck and scored a blistering goal from an individual flash of brilliance. Wigan merited more but were sloppy from their own dead-ball delivery. "Appalling," said Steve Bruce of his side's free-kicks. "It didn't matter who took them, they kept doing the same frigging thing."
Deco had spent the week practising free-kicks into the right-hand corner only to spot Mike Pollitt - handed an opportunity after Chris Kirkland was ruled out with a back injury in the warm-up - slightly out of position after Lee Cattermole had handled. The shot curled beyond the goalkeeper's dive and Chelsea had their lead on which to cling.
"We've missed an outstanding chance to beat them," added Bruce, who hopes to sign FC Seoul's South Korea forward Park Chu-Young this week. "They've had a bad day, but the piece of brilliance in the game came from Deco. If it wasn't him it might have been from Nicolas Anelka. If not him, Joe Cole. Florent Malouda. They've got a string of talent, and how do you compete? To think that we used to mock Rangers and Celtic being so dominant [in Scotland], didn't we."
Chelsea are likely to become better in the final week of the transfer window. Their chief executive, Peter Kenyon, was present here but will expect to resume talks with Real Madrid over the potential £28m signing of the Brazilian forward Robinho as a resolution edges ever closer. Andriy Shevchenko is due in Milan this morning to undertake a medical ahead of completing a long-term loan move, with a view to a permanent transfer, while Shaun Wright-Phillips is attracting interest from Everton.
The England winger, like the Ukrainian, is surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge and Scolari will meet Kenyon at Cobham to discuss who will be coming and going. His has been a satisfying start to his career in England. Tottenham Hotspur - pointless to date - will hardly be relishing their trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Man of the Match Amir Zaki (Wigan)The Egyptian left John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho bruised and battered, and bent Petr Cech's fingers back with two battered first-half attempts. He appears made for this leagueBest moment The slick turn away from Jose Bosingwa tight at his back, as the game lurched towards stoppage time------------------------------------------------------------

Mail:
Travel slickness - Away days prove a joy as Chelsea manager Scolari wins again

By Matt Lawton

This was Luiz Felipe Scolari's first trip to the north west of England and it proved something of an education.
Not only did he learn that his Chelsea team have retained that ability for grinding out results but he was also given an useful geography lesson.
'I now know that Bolton is here, that Manchester United is here and that Manchester City is here,' he proudly declared. Sat-nav might still be an idea but the Stamford Bridge manager can at least plan ahead in the knowledge that his players continue to travel well.
Wigan made it immensely difficult for their illustrious visitors on Sunday and still Chelsea emerged with all three points.
It was not what Scolari would call pretty. If the previous weekend's game was just like watching Brazil, so much so that Frank Lampard considered it the perfect performance, this was more akin to the Chelsea of a previous era.
Jose Mourinho might be long gone but the discipline and spirit he instilled very much remains.
They beat Wigan with their only decent effort. An absolute beauty of a fourth-minute free-kick from Deco that once again underlined his value to his new club and invited praise from both managers.
While Steve Bruce described it as 'the one moment of brilliance in the entire game', Scolari explained why it was worthy of such a compliment.
Deco is intelligent,' he said. 'He saw the goalkeeper make one mistake, in moving one metre, and changed where he was going to put the ball. That's why he is one of the best in the world.'
Scolari refused to get too excited about the result or the fact that Chelsea already have a five-point lead over United.
'We are only two games into the season and United play tomorrow night,' he said. 'But we can be pleased to have six points. Wigan played better than Portsmouth did last week. They have players with good ability and power and they put pressure on us.
'It also helped them that they are playing at home. But we overcame some problems we have had this week with injury and that will give the players confidence.'
Bruce could only complain about how difficult it has become for clubs like Wigan to beat the very best teams. This was Chelsea's 300 t h game of the Roman Abramovich era and former United man Bruce says the gap has never looked greater thanks to the investment of men like the Russian billionaire.
'When Manchester United first won the Premier League the team we had to beat was Norwich,' he said. 'Norwich.
'That will never happen again. We used to mock Rangers and Celtic but the gap is enormous here as well now. My lads delivered today and it just didn't happen for us. And Chelsea had a bad day. It just shows how difficult it is for us to win these kind of games.
'We had an outstanding chance to beat them but they've taken the points with one free-kick.'
A back injury that forced Chris Kirkland to withdraw shortly before kick-off did not exactly help Wigan. Kirkland might not have presented Deco with the opportunity he so cleverly seized after Lee Cattermole handled the ball.
But they were the better team for much of this match and probably deserved the equaliser that never quite came. Even if Bruce bemoaned the fact that he had to go to Cairo to find him, Amr Zaki nevertheless looks a most useful loan signing.
Full of running and blessed with a combination of flair and finesse, he tested a Chelsea back four that at times appeared surprisingly shaky. Zaki worked well with both Jason Koumas and Emile Heskey, who was subjected to one of the more amusing chants.
'He used to be s***e, but now he's all right,' cried Wigan's adoring fans. Had it not been for Petr Cech, who rivalled the Egyptian for man of the match, Zaki might well have scored.
As it was, he succeeded only in forcing a succession of fine saves from the Chelsea goalkeeper that in turn reminded us why he is considered alongside Gianluigi Buffon as the best in the world.
Cech also excelled in denying Olivier Kapo with only a few minutes remaining. By then, Ashley Cole had limped off with what looked like a hamstring injury that will worry England manager Fabio Capello as much as it does Scolari.
And afterwards Scolari admitted that a possible move for Shaun Wright- Phillips to Everton would be discussed along with a number of other topics - the pursuit of Robinho being another - at Stamford Bridge on Monday.
Add that to the fact that Scolari discovered that, no, the coffee in the Wigan press room is not 'Brazilian', and it amounted to a useful day's work.

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Sun:

From SHAUN CUSTIS at the JJB Stadium

IT is the small things which can make the big difference in a title race.
And they do not come much smaller than Deco.
Phil Scolari’s Chelsea escaped with three points against tigerish Wigan thanks to a brilliant fourth-minute free-kick from the 5ft 8in midfielder, who could turn out to be bargain of the season.
When Scolari invested £8million on the Portugeezer — who turns 31 on Wednesday — questions were asked about why the Blues were buying an ageing player deemed past his best by Barcelona.
How would he fit in with the likes of Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard and Michael Essien? The answer appears to be easily.
Former Portugal boss Scolari had been around Deco long enough to know exactly what he was getting.
For a club which barely blinks at bidding £30m for a player like Real Madrid’s Robinho, Deco was bought for loose change.
But he is proving invaluable. Deco complements those around him rather than gets in their way. He is always available but equally allows his team-mates to play, too.
That said, he is not about to give ground when it comes to taking the free-kicks.
Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack had a famous spat last season arguing over a set-piece.
And with Frank Lampard and now Deco also in the mix, there is plenty of competition for the job.
But Deco pulled rank and his 20-yard strike proved the difference on a day when Wigan put the wind right up Chelsea — as they do on a regular basis.
The Blues needed a late winner three years ago at the JJB and Wigan ended their title hopes last season with a late equaliser at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea were so pleased to have got away with this there were backslaps and high fives all round at full-time — not least in keeper Petr Cech’s direction after he made three excellent saves.
Scolari’s men were acutely aware they had nicked this one. Those who predicted after the first weekend that the title returning to Stamford Bridge was a formality might have another look at it.
One week it was like watching Brazil, the next it was almost like watching England.
Chelsea played to the samba beat when they thrashed Portsmouth 4-0 at home on the opening weekend, with Deco scoring another cracker.
But here it was as if they had mislaid their drumsticks and drum.
Wigan boss Steve Bruce, who has lost his first two games, observed: “Most people who witnessed this would have said we did enough to get a point.
“Our keeper didn’t have a save to make but Cech had a few. We have missed an outstanding chance.”
Bruce’s disappointment was understandable as Wigan got in Chelsea’s faces and didn’t give them any peace — unlike Pompey, who allowed them acres last week.
Things started badly before kick- off when Wigan lost injury-prone keeper Chris Kirkland to a bad back in the warm-up.
Bruce then watched as back-up keeper Mike Pollitt picked out Deco’s effort from the net following a handball by Lee Cattermole.
That was about the only mistake by the impressive Cattermole, who more than held his own against such an illustrious midfield group.
Bruce has also discovered a diamond in Amr Zaki.
The Egyptian is rated the No 1 striker in the world according to FIFA’s rankings.
After breaking clear on eight minutes, Zaki was denied by Cech’s outstretched boot.
Strike partner Emile Heskey, watched by England boss Fabio Capello, started well by turning John Terry, who hauled him back and rightly got a yellow card.
But the Chelsea skipper recovered his poise and — apart from the occasional lost header — prevented Heskey doing too much damage.
Cech was fortunate ref Alan Wiley missed his shove on Emmerson Boyce in the penalty area, which might have earned a spot-kick.
But he was alert to push out Zaki’s shot from Boyce’s lay-off
Cech’s dreadful mistake against Turkey at Euro 2008 led to the Czech Republic’s elimination from the competition.
But he has put the disappointment behind him and will again be a key figure in Chelsea’s push for silverware. Scolari is lacking up front and he will be hoping Drogba gets fit soon and that the club can complete the Robinho deal.
Frenchman Nicolas Anelka struggles as the main focal point of attack and his dive as he cut into the box just before half-time smacked of desperation.
Scolari said: “Deco is very intelligent — he is one of the best in the world.”
Bruce agreed: “Chelsea have had a bad day and the difference was Deco. That is why he has played at the highest level.”

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