sunday papers watford fa cup 3-1

Sunday Times

Nicolas Anelka lifts Chelsea spiritsWatford 1 Chelsea 3
Joe Lovejoy at Vicarage Road

HE HAD only one match in charge but Ray Wilkins showed the tactical appreciation that Luiz Felipe Scolari was deemed to have lacked to turn around this FA Cup tie and instal Chelsea safely in the quarter-finals. Watford were leading through Tamas Priskin and a bad week was turning worse for their Premier League opponents until Wilkins switched to a 4-4-2 formation and Nicolas Anelka rattled in a hat-trick in the space of 15 second-half minutes.
Scolari, sacked last Monday, said Chelsea lacked the playing resources for the Plan B used here. Top tactical marks then to Wilkins, then, for moving Anelka from the right into the middle, alongside Didier Drogba, where the Frenchman’s technical skills and finishing expertise proved devastating against Championship defenders.
Chelsea were much the better side and deserved their win, but for a long time they made hard work of it. Guus Hiddink, the new coach, watched, stone-faced, flanked by Roman Abramovich and Peter Kenyon. What will the Dutchman have made of it all?
Before yesterday he knew the worst. The briefing he sought from his predecessor will have told him that the squad is not as “special” as some would have us believe. He will have heard that Petr Cech had dropped well below the form that once made him the world’s best goalkeeper, that John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho were missing more games than they once did — both were absent again here — that John Obi Mikel had been found wanting as Claude Makelele’s replacement and that Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou were not up to the standard required. There was no Arjen Robben to unlock defences with a pacy dribble and the most potent weapon, Drogba, was sulking instead of scoring these days.
Enough bad news? Not quite. The club’s newly published accounts revealed that they lost another £65m in the financial year. There will be no money for new players at the end of the season if Hiddink does stay on beyond the summer.
Welcome to the Roman empire. It is his unenviable, if well-remunerated, task to halt its fall. Wilkins was left in charge yesterday, a decision that prompted cynics to suggest that Chelsea couldn’t risk having their knight in shining armour embarrassed by Watford’s Brendan Rodgers, who was reserve team coach at Stamford Bridge until November.
Hiddink starts officially tomorrow and his first match is the Premier League tussle for third place at Aston Villa on Saturday. Given the respective form of the two teams, it promises to be a baptism of fire. It will certainly be a lot tougher than this.
Watford were without Jack Cork, their England under-21 midfielder, who is on loan from Chelsea and unable to play against his parent club. Michael Mancienne, the young centre-half who got into the England squad before he had played first-team football for Chelsea, was finally given his debut last night, but at right-back, with Branislav Ivanovic preferred as Alex’s partner in central defence. Mancienne had a curate’s egg of a match, giving the ball away too easily at times, but showing good pace in recovery. Whether Hiddink will risk his inexperience against Villa, and Ashley Young, remains to be seen.
Rodgers’ team hover precariously above the Championship’s bottom three. They are a pretty ordinary bunch, as that position would suggest and, given the quality of the opposition, Chelsea were again disappointing, their passing telegraphed, their attacking play for a long time too predictable.
They started in promising fashion, Drogba bringing a save from Scott Loach with a rasping 25-yarder and Alex threatening with a header from Lampard’s corner, but then became laboured. Kalou misdirected a header to waste an inviting chance set up by Lampard.
The best chance of an undistinguished first half saw Anelka exchange passes with Drogba before firing in a shot from the right that bounced off the far post, with Loach stranded.
After the interval, Drogba demanded a flying save from Loach and Lampard was only a foot or so away with a shot from distance. Chelsea again had the initiative, but needed to make better use of their overwhelming territorial advantage. Fairly typical of their work was Drogba’s failure from close range after another cross from Lampard.
They ought to have had the goal they needed after 61 minutes, when Anelka nodded the ball down to Drogba, whose shot was goalbound until it hit Ashley Cole. The rebound fell for Ballack, who shot over from three yards out. Hiddink looked on, horrified. Abramovich, at whose behest Chelsea are paying the German £130,000 a week, laughed.
Anelka shot wide, Ballack was similarly inaccurate with his head. Watford were hanging on when substitute Priskin accelerated away from Ballack and beat Cech, who was unable to keep out a shot that hit him on the head before looping up and under the bar.
Chelsea were in danger of humiliation but turned deficit into profit in the space of seven minutes. Wilkins took off Mikel and went 4-4-2. Eureka! Equality was restored when Lampard’s corner from the left was flicked goalwards by Ivanovic for Anelka to score with an overhead kick from three yards. Then Ballack delivered a long crossfield ball to Drogba, who controlled it on his chest before backheeling to Cole, on the overlap. The England full-back’s clever, dinked pass was met Anelka, ghosting in front of his marker to make it 2-1 with a deliberately placed downward header. He completed his hat-trick with a neat turn and shot from 16 yards. Hiddink left without a word but there is one name, at least, on his first teamsheet.
WATFORD: Loach 8, Hoyte 6, Mariappa 7, DeMerit 6, Doyley 6, Smith 6, Jenkins 6, L Williamson 6 (Cowie 67min), McAnuff 7, Rasiak 6 (Priskin 66min), Hoskins 6 (O’Toole 76min)
CHELSEA: Cech 6, Mancienne 6, Alex 6, Ivanovic 6, A Cole 6, Lampard 7, Ballack 6 (Belletti 83min), Mikel 5 (Stoch 73min), Kalou 5, Anelka 8, Drogba 6

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Telegraph:
Nicolas Anelka to the rescue as Chelsea labour to victoryWatford (0) 1 Chelsea (0) 3 By Duncan White at Vicarage Road
It was impossible to watch this game without imagining how it must look through the gold-rimmed spectacles of Guus Hiddink. The Dutchman, perched in the stands, remained inscrutable behind the glint of those glasses, but he cannot have failed to pass harsh judgement on his new charges.
It’s going to be a tough week at Chelsea’ Cobham training ground and Hiddink must draw deep on his well of football wisdom if he is to turn this Chelsea side into a team capable of securing silverware. Nicolas Anelka scored twice within a minute to save Chelsea an embarrassing elimination in front of their new coach.
Having gone one down with just over 20 minutes left it was looking grim for Chelsea before the Frenchman scored with an acrobatic overhead kick to equalise, and then squeezed a glancing downward header in at the near post to secure progress into the next round.
Ray Wilkins was in charge of picking the team and decided to try and find the width that Chelsea have so desperately lacked all season by switching to a 4-3-3. That meant Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou playing as wingers with Didier Drogba as the spearhead.
Luiz Felipe Scolari had largely refused to play Anelka and Drogba together, claiming incompatibility. On this evidence the Brazilian was in the right – although the French striker did hit the post in the first half when Drogba played him in.
That was one of the few highlights in an uninspired first half from Chelsea. Frank Lampard did have Scott Loach, the Watford goalkeeper, in a fluster with a swerving free kick and Kalou inexplicably headed the ball away from his waiting team-mates when the home offside trap failed. To be fair to Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack, their attempts to play crisp passing football were undermined by a pitch worthy of an Antiguan outfield.
Brendan Rogers, the Watford coach who was part of the Chelsea coaching staff last season, was evidently targeting setpieces, seeking to exploit the visitors’ vulnerability to the cross. Both Adrian Mariappa and Grzegorz Rasiak forced Petr Cech to save from firm far post headers, while Jobi McAnuff came close to winning a penalty, luring Alex into a foul on the very edge pf the area.
Pleasingly, Wilkins had decided to give a debut to Michael Mancienne at right back. The 21-year-old has been with the club since the age of nine and got into Fabio Capello’s England squad before even making an appearance for his club so it was about time he got his chance. His dynamic, penetrative runs from deep cannot but have impressed Hiddink, especially when one of those bursts was punctuated by a crisply struck left-footer that went just over the bar. The jaded Bosingwa might well fear for his place.
Drogba, while not quite the brutal bully he used to be, was certainly sharper than of late. Early in the second half he rolled his man and shot left-footed and powerfully across the goal, Loach saving well. It was the kind of undefendable effort he thrived on two years ago. The embarrassing air kick, from Lamaprd’s cross moments, later, was a reminder of his more recent form, though.
Ballack, another of the supposed architects of Scolari’s sacking (Cech was the other who apparently briefed Roman Abramovich about the Brazilian’s failings), had a dreadful afternoon, culminating in the miss of the game. When Drogba’s snapshot was saved, the German hooked the rebound way over the empty goal.
It was the same old story for Chelsea – huge amounts of possession but an inability to kill off mediocre opposition. Watford worked tremendously hard and kept their shape in the face of wave on wave of attacks but their attacking contribution was negligible until Priskin’s remarkable intervention.
The Hungarian had only been on the field a few minutes when Lloyd Doyley sent him scampering down the left channel. Cech came hurtling out and Priskin bravely took on the chip, his clever effort clipping the advancing goalkeeper and looping into the net.
The delirium of the Watford fans did not last. Anelka’s cobra-quick finishing undid all the home side’s valiant defensive work in two rapid strikes. His third, in added time, from Kalou’s pass, put further gloss on the result.
Anelka’s goalmouth expertise could not deflect the wider problems of his team though. Hiddink will go into start work tomorrow knowing this is no sinecure.

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Mirror:
Rudderless Chelsea still too good for Watford Watford 1 - 3 Chelsea
Nicolas Anelka put Chelsea into the last eight of the FA Cup with a superb hat-trick after struggling Watford had given them a massive fright.
The Coca-Cola Championship side stung the Blues in the 69th minute when substitute Tamas Priskin raced clear to put them ahead.
But with Chelsea's domestic season on the brink of collapse, Anelka hooked home the equaliser in the 75th minute and nodded them in front two minutes later.
Petr Cech then denied Jobi McAnuff an equaliser in stoppage time and Watford's hopes were finished off seconds later when Anelka claimed his 20th of the season.
Assistant boss Ray Wilkins had challenged his side to prove their spirit was still intact following last Monday's sacking of Luiz Felipe Scolari.
The club's new interim coach Guus Hiddink takes charge on Monday and he watched from a seat in the main stand at Vicarage Road as Chelsea were made to fight all the way by the home side.
The Blues began tentatively but in the seventh minute Didier Drogba brought a fine save from Scott Loach with a 30-yard half-volley that looked destined for the top corner.
Chelsea goalkeeper Cech was largely untroubled until the 11th minute when he was forced to collect a header from Adrian Mariappa.
Chelsea's Ashley Cole was booked for a foul on Tommy Smith in the 18th minute but Watford could not punish the Premier League side from the resultant free-kick.
Moments later Grzegorz Rasiak held back John Obi Mikel but Frank Lampard's 20-yard free-kick was kept out by Watford's defensive wall.
The Coca-Cola Championship side were matching Chelsea in every department and when Michael Mancienne hopefully despatched a cross into the Watford penalty area, Loach was quick to see the danger and deal with it.
Loach then pulled off another super save from Lampard's free-kick after Drogba had been fouled 25-yards from goal.
Drogba was beginning to find space and time among the Watford rearguard and in the 28th minute he tested Loach again with a low 20-yard drive.
In the 33rd minute Alex brought down McAnuff on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area but Watford wasted the resultant free-kick when McAnuff's effort was blocked by Mikel.
Chelsea almost broke the deadlock in the 35th minute when Drogba set up Anelka.
The France striker's shot eluded the outstretched hands of Loach in the Watford goal but the ball bounced off the outside of his right-hand post.
It was a real let-off for the home side who had previously restricted Chelsea to long-range efforts.
Smith gave Chelsea's defence some anxious moments when he weaved his way into the penalty area but the Watford striker was eventually crowded out.
Chelsea had the lion's share of possession but apart from Anelka's shot against the post, the home side had managed to hold them at bay quite comfortably.
In the 43rd minute, Watford almost went ahead when a cross from McAnuff was met at the far post by Rasiak.
But the Watford striker was thwarted by a fine save from Cech who managed to keep the ball out at the second attempt.
Watford immediately set about Chelsea from the restart and Will Hoskins brought Cech into action with an angled drive which the goalkeeper held comfortably.
Loach denied Drogba again in the 49th minute with a fine save at his near post. Branislav Ivanovic had put the Ivorian clear and his left-foot shot was heading for the net until Loach intervened with a one-handed stop.
Moments later, Lampard was a foot wide with a trademark 25-yard drive.
The Championship strugglers were now having to defend in numbers as Chelsea increased the tempo.
In the 55th minute, Drogba just failed to get on the end of a delightfully chipped cross from Lampard.
Mancienne, who had enjoyed a fine debut for Chelsea at right-back, decided to try his luck in the 60th minute but his 20-yard effort was just too high to trouble Loach.
In the 62nd minute, Chelsea wasted another chance to go in front. Anelka nodded a long cross from Salomon Kalou back to Drogba but his shot was blocked by Ashley Cole.
However, the ball fell into the path of Germany international Michael Ballack who somehow contrived to send the ball high over the crossbar from point-blank range.
But Watford stunned Chelsea when substitute Tamas Priskin, on for Rasiak in the 65th minute, put them in front four minutes later. The striker ran clear of the visitors' defence to lift the ball over the advancing Cech.
But Anelka then sealed an amazing Chelsea comeback with a hat-trick. He levelled the scores in the 75th minute by hooking the ball home from close range.
Two minutes the France international headed home a cross from Cole and then, after Cech had saved superbly from McAnuff in stoppage time, he drove Kalou's pass beyond Loach for his 20th of the season

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Mail:
Watford 1 Chelsea 3: Anelka treble steals it as Hornets are denied famous victoryBy Rob Draper
Roman Abramovich sat in the stands with his pet manager Guus Hiddink on one side and girlfriend Daria Zhukova on the other and looked to be happy in love again.Why, he even laughed when Michael Ballack missed from three yards out, grinned when Didier Drogba struck a shot and cheered when Nicolas Anelka rescued his side from ignominy with a 15-minute, match-saving hat-trick.In short, it was a thumbs-up from The Emperor this week as Chelsea progressed to the FA Cup quarterfinals, eventually running out comfortable winners against an impressively workmanlike Watford side.
But alongside the Chelsea owner, Hiddink, a man with a lifetime's experience in football, struggled to raise a smile. Called in from Moscow like International Rescue to salvage the season after Luiz Felipe Scolari was judged to have failed, the Dutchman sat grim-faced as he absorbed all before him.Perhaps he knows better than his paymaster the size of the task ahead and probably he is aware that changing the manager every six months is no way to run a football club.Doubtless, these are thoughts he will keep to himself for the moment as, for now, The Emperor is happy and another bright, new era is under way; the third in 18 months. This one may even last beyond the summer.Yesterday, Hiddink confined himself to a brief visit to the dressing room before and after the game to wish his new players well and then congratulate them. Tomorrow, he will begin planning for season defining games against Aston Villa and Juventus.At least he will do so with a victory on which to build, for a poor season looked to have taken a turn for the worse when Watford substitute Tamas Priskin sprinted past a flat Chelsea defensive line on 69 minutes and lifted the ball over Petr Cech and into the net.
Lloyd Doyley provided the decisive pass and Praskin looked suspiciously offside, but that would have been a footnote had Watford managed to hang on to their lead and further dismantle the expensively assembled Chelsea machine.Another year, another £66million subsidy from the owner and still Chelsea look like they are going backwards.
Perhaps Hiddink will regain the momentum, but they possess a fragility about them at present, and the invincible aura of Jose Mourinho is long gone, even if it did require some minor heroics from 20-year-old Scott Loach in goal to keep Watford in the game.'People say it's been a difficult season, but we're through to the next round of the FA Cup, we're in the hunt in the league and and still in the Champions League,' said coach Ray Wilkins. 'And we haven't seen our best yet. I think we'll get better.'
The manager for the day had left his mark on the side. Jose Bosingwa was 'rested' and Michael Mancienne was given a start, as was Drogba, who curiously seems to have thrown off the fatigue which bedevilled him when Luiz Felipe Scolari was at the helm.'I had no doubts about him,' said Wilkins, who went on to laud Drogba as a great influence in the dressing room. 'I had a little one-to-one with Didier in the week,' he said.'He's had a difficult season and been in and out, but I felt he was the type of guy who will do better from the start than coming off the bench and it was nice to see the big man back.'
Brendan Rogers, the Watford manager, was mildly upset that in the six minutes in which his side held the lead he had been unable to bring on substitute John-Joe O'Toole because the earpiece of referee Mike Dean was not working.But the former Chelsea man acknowledged that with players of the quality of Anelka on the pitch it probably would have made little difference. The Frenchman scored his 18th, 19th and 20th goals of the season in a 15-minute spell which underlined the quality gap between the sides.The pick was the first, on 75 minutes, an overhead kick which he managed to collect from a loose header with his back to goal and a crowd of players around him. Few could have executed such skill.
His second, two minutes later, was a more routine header from an Ashley Cole cross and the third, in injury-time, came after good work from Salomon Kalou allowed him to guide the ball into the net from just inside the area.It was an emphatic display and Anelka has been a rare bright spark in a dark season for Chelsea. Alongside Drogba and playing as a front two for the final 15 minutes, Anelka may well have resolved the endless debate over whether the two strikers can be paired together.
Watford persevered despite having allowed their lead to slip. Indeed, with 90 minutes up and the score still at 2-1, Jobi McAnuff was clean through on goal.Cech was off his line smartly this time and managed to save when, really, the Watford winger should have equalised. It was to be Watford's last stand.Seconds later, Anelka added the third and the natural order had been restored.
WATFORD (4-4-2): Loach; Hoyte, DeMerit, Mariappa, Doyley; Smith, Williamson (Cowie 67min), Jenkins, McAnuff; Rasiak (Priskin 66), Hoskins (O'Toole 76).Subs: Lee, Sadler, Harley, Parkes. Booked: O'Toole.CHELSEA (4-3-3): Cech; Mancienne, Alex, Ivanovic, A Cole; Lampard, Mikel (Stoch 73), Ballack (Belletti 83); Anelka, Drogba, Kalou.Subs: Hilario, Di Santo, Quaresma, Ferreira, Deco.Booked: A Cole.Referee: M Dean (Wirral).
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Indy:
Anelka papers over cracks in front of Hiddink
Watford 1 Chelsea 3: French forward's hat-trick strikes positive note but Dutchman has work cut out to turn around Chelsea
By Steve Tongue at Vicarage Road
A Watford side in danger of relegation to League One gave Chelsea's temporary manager Guus Hiddink plenty to ponder before a hat-trick in 15 minutes from Nicolas Anelka guided his team into the FA Cup quarter final for a fourth successive season. Watching from the directors' box alongside his patron Roman Abramovich, Hiddink saw the home side take an unlikely lead with only 21 minutes to play before the Frenchman's dramatic intervention.
Three clinical strikes, taking Anelka's total to 20 this season, were in contrast to many of their previously profligate efforts. The turnaround also came after little Miroslav Stoch was brought on with Chelsea one-nil down, changing the formation to the 4-4-2 that Luiz Felipe Scolari believed was impractical because their wide players lack of defensive nous.
Before that Anelka and Didier Drogba had alternated between their best position in the centre and a berth wide on the right that suits neither. There is still much for Hiddink to sort out and he will presumably believe that the FA Cup offers a more realistic prospect of a trophy than either the Premier League or European Cup. Hiddink visited Chelsea's dressing room before and after the game but Ray Wilkins picked the team, as well as making the crucial tactical change when Watford scored.
"I thought we were outstanding against a world-class squad," said Brendan Rodgers, who has made a good impression since leaving his position as Chelsea's reserve-team manager to succeed Aidy Boothroyd at Watford. "I'm very proud of the club tonight. With 20 minutes left, I thought, 'Here we go', but I should have known better because I've worked with these guys." So it proved.
Losing to a struggling Championship side (Barnsley) in the FA Cup last season effectively cost Avram Grant his job, even though he was allowed to carry on all the way to the Champions' League final. Scolari was not allowed either opportunity and his goose might have been cooked even earlier had Petr Cech not brought off a stunning save to prevent Chelsea falling two goals behind in the third-round replay at Southend.
The London side survived that day and Cech was back from injury here to take his place behind an unfamiliar back four. Michael Mancienne was at right-back – where he was caught out for the goal – with Branislav Ivanovic partnering Alex in the centre because of John Terry's suspension. Frank Lampard was outstanding in front of a father who as a Watford consultant was in the rare position of wanting his son to lose. Further forward, it took Drogba and Anelka 35 minutes to link up effectively but when they did, Anelka struck a post.
Before that Watford's goalkeeper Scott Loach twice had to fist away fierce drives by Drogba and Lampard, and Alex headed a corner just over the bar. Rodgers might have been forgiven for packing his midfield to combat the players he knows so well but to his credit he went with two forwards, pushing Will Hoskins up alongside Grzegorz Rasiak. Watford were pleased to reach the interval on level terms, having competed well but found it difficult to put the makeshift visiting defence under pressure. Their best moments until the goal were headers by Adrian Mariappa and then Rasiak.
For 25 minutes in the second half Chelsea camped in opposition territory, so that it was all the more of a shock when Watford scored. Drogba, latching on to Ivanovic's long pass, drew a fine one-handed save from Loach, and then Lampard flashed a shot just past the post. In the nextattack Ashley Cole of all people blocked a shot by Drogba, the ball rebounding to the ineffective Michael Ballack, who from six yards hit it too high.
In the 69th minute, however, Vicarage Road was given reason to dream. It was just about their team's first serious attack since the interval when the Hungarian striker Tamas Priskin, only just on as a substitute, raced on to a pass down the left from Lloyd Doyley and dinked it over Cech.
The dream lasted only six minutes. From Chelsea's 15th corner, the substitute Stoch flicked on and Anelka produced an equalising overhead kick and within 90 seconds he headed in a cross from Cole, who had been set up by Drogba. Still Watford were not done and Jobi McAnuff would have brought the score level again but for Cech's save at close-range. It was added time before Anelka completed hishat-trick from Salomon Kalou's pass.
Attendance: 16,851
Referee: Mike Dean
Man of the match: Anelka
Match rating: 7/10
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Observer:
Anelka keeps Chelsea fighting in the FA Cup after sinking WatfordWatford 1 Priskin 69 Chelsea 3 Anelka 75, Anelka 77, Anelka 90
Paul Wilson at Vicarage Road There was no St Valentine's Day ­massacre, either of Watford's Cup hopes or in Chelsea's attempts to reinvent themselves under the gaze of a new boss, though there was a Sapphic proposal of marriage at half-time. To Linda from Jackie: "You make me complete." Exactly what a manager sent from Russia with love is supposed to do for the Blues.
A second-half hat-trick from Nicolas Anelka helped Chelsea progress easily enough in the end, as they ought to have done against opponents from the ­bottom three of the Championship, though it took the Premier League side over an hour to make their class tell. Guus ­Hiddink will have observed that Anelka and Didier Drogba can play together after all and he will also have formed a fair impression of what has been going wrong with Chelsea. It took an opening goal from the home side to force any urgency into Chelsea and while Frank Lampard was his usual industrious self Michael Ballack and Salomon Kalou once again had a game to forget.
"I don't think you've seen the best of us yet," Ray Wilkins said, rather missing the point of the week's upheavals. "People keep saying we've had a difficult season, but we are now in the FA Cup quarter-finals and still in the hunt for the league and the Champions League. All we need is a bit more luck in front of goal."
A promising Cup tie when it came out of the hat, this game had already been overshadowed by all the managerial machinations of the preceding week, and that was before José Mourinho announced today in Milan his intention one day to be manager of Chelsea again. That would be popular with ­supporters, most of whom are of the opinion he should never have been removed in the first place, though whether he gets the chance possibly depends on what sort of job Hiddink does in the next four months.
The Dutchman watched the proceedings from the stands in the company of Roman Abramovich, Peter Kenyon and Bruce Buck, the club chairman – some sort of three-line whip obviously having been applied for the welcoming committee. While Wilkins enjoyed a relatively low profile in the dugout, he did claim sole responsibility to rest the "tired" José Bosingwa in favour of Michael Mancienne.
The most noticeable difference in Chelsea on the pitch was that Drogba looked far more interested than of late. Played on his own at the point of the attack with Anelka and Kalou just behind, Drogba brought a save from Scott Loach as early as the eighth minute. Kalou should have done better than that when Lampard's free-kick found him for a free header in front of goal six minutes later, yet inexplicably he opted to knock the ball down to a non-existent colleague rather than give Loach anything to worry about. As Watford had little to offer in attack and were not making much progress down the flanks, it was inexplicable when ­Ashley Cole picked up a needless booking midway through the first half for kicking Tommy Smith up in the air.
Lampard livened up matters just before the half-hour with a powerfully struck free-kick that Loach had to leap to punch away. But while Chelsea were applying most of the pressure there was a marked lack of excitement or end product. Watford's best hope of scoring for most of the first half, apart from a Smith dribble into the box that promised much yet came to nothing, was when Alex tripped Jobi McAnuff on the edge of the area. It was clearly outside the area, but it still amounted to Watford's best attacking position and McAnuff wasted it with a feeble free-kick.
Happily there was a flurry of excitement at either end just before the interval. Drogba and Anelka combined effectively for once, only for the Frenchman to see his shot rebound off an upright, then McAnuff, who at least remained Watford's liveliest attacker, looped a diagonal ball to the far post, where Grzegorz Rasiak tested Petr Cech with a header.
Chelsea stepped up their efforts in the second half. Drogba brought a sharp save from Loach, while Lampard found only the side netting with a 25-yard drive that most people thought had gone in. When Drogba next received the ball, he was unlucky enough to see his shot blocked by Cole, which gives a good indication of how many men the visitors were getting forward. The rebound fell to Ballack, who managed to scoop over the bar from two or three yards. It was knockabout stuff for a while, with Chelsea doing everything except force the ball over the line. At one point, even Abramovich was laughing, though beside him Hiddink maintained a straight face.
It must have turned even straighter when Tamas Priskin came on with 23 minutes remaining and scored with his first touch. Even though there was a suggestion of offside, it was far from convincing defending by a Chelsea side caught hopelessly on the break. Alex was out of position to deal with Lloyd Doyley's ball forward from half-way and while Priskin gleefully ran on to it in the absence of any flag, Ballack did not even offer the pretence of a chase. Priskin ended up with only Cech to beat and although the goalkeeper got a hand to the shot he could not keep it out of the net.
It turned out to be exactly what Chelsea needed to wake them up. They were level inside five minutes, when Branislav Ivanovic got his head to a Lampard corner and Anelka hooked the ball in despite having his back to goal, and in the lead just seconds later when Drogba and Cole combined to give Anelka his second. After the huffing and puffing that had gone before, the striker made scoring look ridiculously easy, his downward header bouncing before going past Loach. If Anelka's third in stoppage time made the whole afternoon look like a breeze, it was never quite that. Just seconds earlier Cech had made an outstanding save to deny McAnuff an equaliser.
"We had a chance for 2-2, but they showed a wee bit of quality at the end," the Watford manager Brendan Rodgers said. "I'm still proud of the technical discipline we showed against world-class players, though. We showed we can play with our brain. Football's not all about heart – that's one of the things I learned at Chelsea." (He was Chelsea reserve coach from 2006-08.)
Chelsea were not flattered when Anelka made it three from Kalou's run into the box, just relieved. Wilkins ­completely blew his air of studied indifference on the touchline to punch the air in delight – and he will not even be manager this time next week. "Guus was delighted," Wilkins was able to confirm. "He came into the dressing room afterwards and he knows he's got a wonderful group of players to work with."
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NOTW:
WATFORD 1, CHELSEA 3 It's love at first sight thanks to Nicolas Anelka
From ANDY DUNN/ROB BEASLEY
ON Valentine’s Day Nicolas Anelka at least guaranteed there was some love at first sight for Guus Hiddink. Whether it will turn into a fully-blown affair is anybody’s guess.
At times, Hiddink looked like he was on a date from Hell. But as he strolled purposefully around the perimeter of this homely stadium after the match — Roman Abramovich and a posse of flunkies trailing in his wake — he had the cut of a man who means business. Business made easier by Anelka.
Relationships are normally fleeting for Nicolas. Nine clubs in the career of a 29-year-old are testament to that.
Hiddink would earn his eye-watering amount of corn if he keeps Anelka happy and in this form. And he will go the way of Big Phil Scolari if he doesn’t use the Frenchman in a conventional central striking role.
With Salomon Kalou employed as a left-sided attacking midfielder, Anelka often found himself isolated on the right flank. Coaches too clever for their own good — that’s what formations like this are all about.
You might have thought Ray Wilkins would know better. He was the temporary boss and his one-night stand looked to be heading for a million regrets when substitute Tamas Priskin put Watford ahead.
But to be fair to Wilkins, wide-eyed bemusement turned into tactical genius when he sent on Miroslav Stoch and moved Anelka into a more central role.
Even he might not have guessed it would turn into a 15-minute hat-trick. But credit to Wilkins should be tempered by the fact that he started with a holding midfielder, Jon Obi Mikel, against a mediocre Watford side in the first place.
Boasts
At least he has handed on the FA Cup baton to Hiddink, who will have plenty of raw material to work on when he rolls his sleeves up at the Cobham training complex today. And no one boasts more raw material than Didier Drogba.
He went through the full repertoire yesterday — a fizzing 25-yard shot that stretched impressive Watford keeper Scott Loach to the limit, a Beckham-esque Hollywood pass to Kalou and a bullying header — all inside the opening half-hour.
And, of course, a good old whinge — at Kalou, after he misguided a free header from formality territory.
Oh, nearly forgot — there was also the obligatory dive as he almost screwed himself into the ground when Jobi McAnuff brushed his sleeve.
Thankfully, in the interests of justice, Loach just about managed to keep out Frank Lampard’s dipping free-kick. But Drogba also looked more comfortable in a regulation attacking pairing and Hiddink will surely keep this pair in harness for as long as they remain fit in body and mind. And on recent evidence, the latter could be more prone to injury.
Michael Ballack certainly needs to get his head right. One passage in the second half was particularly illustrative of the task facing Hiddink’s man-management skills.
Sloppy
First he was sloppy, then he was slovenly. In a farcical few seconds, Ashley Cole contrived to block a goal-bound shot from Drogba and the loose ball was an embossed goal invitation. Ballack turned it down, instead sending it into the rafters.
The reaction in the posh seats was intriguing. Abramovich laughed heartily, Hiddink stared coldly ahead.
And coldly became icily when Priskin made the most of Ballack’s abject refusal to track back and raced on to a Lloyd Doyley pass.
Petr Cech was quickly and bravely out but his helmet only helped guide Priskin’s dink into the net. Ballack was the culpable figure until Anelka dug his German friend out of very dark hole.
Anelka’s natural predatory instincts saw him turn a Branislav Ivanovic back-header into an equaliser courtesy of an overhead kick and then steal between two static defenders to head in Cole’s cross.
It was enough to have Blues owner Roman chuckling again but still Hiddink wore a grim look.
At least the stone features cracked into something resembling a smile when Kalou’s injury-time pass found Anelka in the box and his turn and shot was Premier League class against Championship mediocrity.
There was plenty of chat of the score being unflattering to Brendan Rodgers’ Hornets. But, quite honestly, it wasn’t. Loach had to be outstanding to keep out Drogba on three occasions and Lampard on two while, going forward, they offered precious little.
McAnuff was their most inventive player and actually had a chance to level the scores before Chelsea’s third but Cech denied him.
And the fact that a Blues defence — albeit a very makeshift one — allowed a sluggish Watford to break through on a handful of occasions will seriously worry new boss Hiddink.
John Terry will be back from suspension but there remains a new, hitherto uncertainty in the Blues’ rearguard. Cech is still not back to his authoritative best.
But the spring in his step on that walk around the cinder track and his grinning entrance into the post-match dressing room reflected a man who knows that there is still plenty of talent at Stamford Bridge.
That talent has become lazy, sulky, moody. The sort of words that you used to associate with Anelka.
Not any more. And if he can become diligent, determined and dedicated, then there’s no reason why Hiddink cannot get a few more to convert to the cause.
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sunday papers hull home 0-0

Sunday Times
Phil Scolari booed as Blues flop
Chelsea 0 Hull City 0
Joe Lovejoy at Stamford Bridge
THEY were not about to admit it, but Chelsea tumbled out of the title race with this bankrupt performance against a team without a win in nine Premier League matches. Hull had some outstanding chances, especially in the second half, and with decent finishing would have won against more celebrated opponents, whose increasingly disillusioned supporters chorused “You don’t know what you’re doing” at Luiz Felipe Scolari as their team stumbled from bad to worse.
Ominously for the Chelsea manager, there was a banner unfurled bearing the legend “Scolari out, Zola/Di Matteo Chelsea Legends.” Against this background, Chelsea dropped to fourth in the table, behind Aston Villa, who are their next opponents in the Premier League.
Before that they travel to play Watford in the FA Cup on Saturday and on this evidence the Championship side cannot be written off.
Hull, without a win since December 6, travelled as no-hopers after sliding into free-fall, but defended assiduously when required to do so, then hit back hard and fully deserved their point.
Chelsea fans were left shaking their heads, unable to come to terms with their team’s decline since coming so close to a clean sweep of honours last season. Scolari swerved to avoid the customary postmatch press conference, leaving it to assistant Ray Wilkins to admit that paying spectators were entitled to express their disapproval.
“Second best is never good enough for Chelsea”, he said. “Whenever someone manages a side like ours, there will always be pressure on them, but it wasn’t very pleasant to hear the booing. It came from a minority. Phil clearly does know what he’s doing, having won a lot of trophies, and it was a tad out of order. I don’t think he understood what was being said, and I won’t be telling him.”
Chelsea gave a debut to Ricardo Quaresma, signed on loan from Jose Mourinho’s Interna-zionale, but played him on the left where, as a right-footer, he was never likely to be at his best. He was more effective than Salomon Kalou, on the opposite flank, but most are.
Kalou had two decent opportunities in the first half, but made a hash of both. Frank Lampard, Quaresma and Michael Ballack also threatened, but Michael Turner and Kamil Zayatte were rock-solid in central defence for Hull, who had the best chance before the interval, when Kevin Kilbane’s header shaved Henrique Hilario’s left-hand upright. In the second half Hull’s artisans were the better team.
They might have scored when Geovanni’s header was blocked and should have done so when the Brazilian broke away and exchanged passes with Craig Fagan, who chose to chip and lofted the ball straight at Hilario when Geovanni was free, in a much better position. Scolari ran through the gamut of substitutions – Belletti, Drogba and Deco – to no avail, and midway through the second half Dean Marney, set up by Geovanni, was tantalisingly close with a shot from left to right.
Kalou tested Matt Duke in the closing stages, but in the 90th minute Ian Ashbee might have won it with a volley after Marney’s corner.
After six successive defeats and a draw with West Brom last week, Phil Brown was “ecstatic”, and praised his players for their “outstanding” work rate. He said: “We could have won it after turning the tide with sheer hard work in the second half. On a good day, Craig Fagan might have had a hat-trick. I thought Geovanni was excellent. I don’t worry about his football, it’s his all-round effort that impressed me today.”
Wilkins tried to sound defiant but was unconvincing when he said: “Every game now is going to be a challenge. We won’t give up the fight for the title until it’s mathematically impossible.”
Booed Phil was conspicuous by his absence. Yesterday, it was Hull’s Brown who was the “Big Phil” at Stamford Bridge.
CHELSEA:Hilario 6, Bosingwa 6, Alex 6, Terry 6,A Cole 6, Mikel 5 (Belletti 57min, 5), Ballack 5 (Deco 73min), Lampard 7, Kalou 5, Anelka 5, Quaresma 6 (Drogba 63min)
HULL:Duke 6, Ricketts 6, Turner 8, Zayatte 8, Daw-son 7, Garcia 6, Ashbee 6, Marney 6, Kilbane 6, Geovanni 7 (France 81min), Fagan 5
MOURINHO TEAM SCORED MORE
If ever there was a game that guaranteed goals then it was this one between the Premier League’s top scorers, Chelsea, and its worst defence, Hull City. Ooops! Despite their so-called more expansive football, Chelsea twice under Jose Mourinho had more goals at this stage of the season than they have at the moment. In his first campaign, 2004-05, they had 49 goals, while in 2005-06 they had scored 52 goals after 25 matches. In 2006-07, his only other full season, they had hit 44 goals, the same as now

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Telegraph:
Chelsea's title hopes left in tatters as fans taunt Luiz Felipe ScolariChelsea (0) 0 Hull City (0) 0 By Jonathan Wilson at Stamford Bridge
Their title hopes are surely gone, and the challenge for Chelsea now is to finish in the top four this season and secure Champions League qualification. There may not have been a fire, but as a rogue alarm drowned out the majority of Ray Wilkins’s post-match press conference, the sense of emergency at Stamford Bridge was real enough. Arsenal will be just three points behind if they win at Tottenham, and with Aston Villa two clear in third, Chelsea’s match at Villa Park in a fortnight is looking increasingly vital.
"You’ll see second, third and fourth change a lot,” said Wilkins - a tacit admission, perhaps, that the title has gone, although he did his best to cover for the slip. “Second is not at any time good enough for Chelsea, and you can’t give up on the title when you look at the quality we have.”
Chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” rang around Stamford Bridge for much of the second half and if, as Wilkins said, such claims are “a tad out of order” when Luiz Felipe Scolari has a record of success, a certain frustration is readily understandable. Chelsea have dropped 16 points at home this season, and even the usual excuse about opponents who park the bus — as though good defending were somehow a faux pas — didn’t wash.
"When the fans are chanting things like that, I’m not sure managers from foreign countries understand,” Wilkins said. “I won’t tell him.
It’s unnecessary and I don’t think it should be heard round our stands. It’s a minority who start it and others join in. People pay a lot of money and they want to boo that’s up to them.” Dissent may be limited, but it is growing. “Scolari out,” shrieked one banner. “Zola - Di Matteo Chelsea legends.”
Hull have gone nine league games without a victory, and yet by the end they looked the likelier to score. Perhaps they would have folded had John Terry stabbed in from three yards after the Hull goalkeeper Matt Duke had fumbled a Frank Lampard free-kick in the second minute, but he didn’t and they didn’t, instead looking increasingly like the vibrant Hull of the early part of the season. Phil Brown, their manager, even felt confident enough to exchange a joke with Didier Drogba before he went on for his customary ineffectual cameo midway through the second half. “I asked him to take it easy,” Brown said.
These days, you probably don’t have to ask.
Ricardo Quaresma, brought in on loan from Internazionale to add width and creative flair, was fleetingly impressive, although his obvious preference for his right foot — even to the extent of awkwardly scooping in crosses with the outside of his boot — was baffling for a player deployed on the left.
Still, it took a stretching, fingertip save from Matt Duke to deny him a debut goal as he capitalised on Salomon Kalou’s rapid break. It was Quaresma, though, who was withdrawn after 64 minutes for Drogba, in the familiar switch to 4-4-2 that only seems to make Chelsea ;look more disjointed. It’s not just that he and Anelka show little sign of striking up an understanding; they barely seem to acknowledge they’re wearing the same colour shirt.
Wilkins insisted that Chelsea’s problems are to do with anxiety in front of goal, but other flaws are all too obvious. The crossed ball causes Chelsea palpitations, and Kevin Kilbane was unfortunate, having met a Sam Ricketts cross five minutes before half-time, to see his header clip the outside of the post. And then there were the unforced errors — passes carelessly misplaced and possession cheaply squandered.
Individual errors, perhaps, can be attributed to a dearth of confidence, but there systemic failings in Chelsea’s back four as well. The onus Scolari places on his full-backs to provide attacking width is clearly a contributory factor, but with passing game credence is added to the theory that the departure of Steve Clarke, the assistant coach, for West Ham has had a deleterious effect. Chelsea may talk about missed chances, but the truth is that Craig Fagan, Dean Marney and Ian Ashbee all went home last night thinking they had wasted chances to win it.
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Mirror:
Chelsea fans boo off the Blues as title hopes suffer blow from Hull
Chelsea 0 - 0 Hull
Chelsea's fading title aspirations sustained another massive blow as they failed to overcome hard-working Hull and were booed off by their own fans at Stamford Bridge.
Luiz Felipe Scolari's side have now dropped 16 points at home this season and after Aston Villa's win at Blackburn, they slipped into fourth place in the Barclays Premier League.
Hull, without a win in nine league games, became the latest side to frustrate Chelsea on their home turf and with some more composed finishing in front of goal, City may well have taken all three points.
Perhaps the omens were there for Chelsea as early as the second minute when a free-kick from Frank Lampard found John Terry inside the six-yard box.
The Chelsea captain's first instinctive effort was saved by Matt Duke but when the ball rebounded back to him just two yards out, he somehow contrived to send his second shot over the bar.
New boy Ricardo Quaresma, on loan from Inter Milan for the remainder of the season, showed some nice early touches.
Hull were kept relatively quiet in the opening moments but Geovanni was just off target with an angled volley from 20 yards in the 10th minute.
Eight minutes later another quick Hull break allowed Geovanni to try his luck again from 20 yards but his shot was deflected off Terry for a corner.
But the resultant free-kick was cleared and Quaresma almost opened the scoring when Chelsea broke on the counter.
The home side's quick attack had been led by the galloping Salomon Kalou and his pass allowed Quaresma to try and curl the ball around Duke, but the winger's shot was tipped round the post by the Hull goalkeeper.
It was all Chelsea and Michael Ballack was narrowly wide with an angled drive as the Blues stepped up the pace.
Hull were defending valiantly as another Chelsea attack saw a shot from Kalou cleared superbly by Kevin Kilbane.
But Hull responded bravely and John Obi Mikel was booked for a bringing down Geovanni after the City striker had made him look quite pedestrian.
Geovanni could not punish Chelsea from the free-kick which he sent over Hilario's crossbar from 20 yards.
On the half-hour mark, Ballack was sent sprawling by Kamil Zayatte 20 yards from the Hull goal but referee Lee Mason did not produced a card to the fury of the home fans.
Ballack almost made the visitors pay with his free-kick which he curled around the City wall only for it to hit the side netting.
It was the spark for another sustained spell of Chelsea pressure. First Kalou caused panic in the Hull defence when he danced into the area only to see his pass to Anelka intercepted by Michael Turner.
Then a corner from Lampard found the head of Terry but his effort was well saved by Duke.
Another free-kick from Lampard in the 34th minute smashed straight into the groin of the unfortunate Zayatte, who was unsurprisingly left pole axed on the ground.
The Hull player returned to the fray after a spell of treatment and the visitors almost stunned the home side in the 40th minute when Kilbane headed a cross from Samuel Ricketts just inches wide of an upright.
Hull captain Ian Ashbee was booked in the 47th minute for his latest niggling foul on Ballack.
A free-kick by Hull's Dean Marney four minutes later had Chelsea's defence in trouble until Alex managed to clear the danger.
Moments later Craig Fagan beat Mikel to the ball and sped clear of the Chelsea defence but the City midfielder's attempted chip was caught easily by Hilario.
There was little to indicate that Chelsea had the guile to break the deadlock and the home fans were beginning to vent their frustration.
Scolari replaced the ineffective Mikel with Juliano Belletti in the 56th minute, but the initial change did nothing to spark Chelsea and so Scolari opted to replace Quaresma with Didier Drogba in the 63rd minute.
In the 67th minute Hull wasted a gilt-edged chance to open the scoring when Geovanni carved open the Chelsea defence with a perfect through ball for Marney.
The Hull player probably did not realise how much time he had as he screwed his shot just beyond the far post.
Referee Mason waved away penalty appeals from Chelsea when Andy Dawson appeared to handle the ball inside the penalty area.
Chelsea's last change of the afternoon was to replace Ballack with Deco in the 72nd minute.
In the 78th minute, Duke dived low to his left to keep out a shot from Kalou.
Four minutes from time Drogba sent a free-kick wide of the target to complete a miserable afternoon for the Blues.
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Mail:
Chelsea 0 Hull City 0: Scolari in the firing line as Chelsea flop again
By IAN RIDLEY
The mood is turning at Stamford Bridge. For most of the season so far, Luiz Felipe Scolari has received the backing of the home support through some transitional times, but on Saturday he was forced to endure a chorus from a corner of the ground that insisted he did not know what he was doing and, at the final whistle, the jeers of more.The Brazilian could hardly be blamed, though, for the wayward finishing of his labouring side, nor the liveliness of a Hull City side beginning to recapture their inspiring form of early season. Still, Chelsea's title challenge is fading, a debut for the Portuguese loan signing Ricardo Quaresma from Inter Milan failing to add the immediate width and cutting edge they were seeking.Hull will care little. With Geovanni showing neat touches ahead of a resolute defence, they prised a precious point and might even have taken all three had they hit the target, with Hilario looking unsure in the home goal in the absence of the injured Petr Cech.
Who would have thought it - the team with the best goals-for record against the one with the worst goals-against record before kickoff producing a goalless draw!Certainly it looked a foregone conclusion on paper. Prior to last Sunday's defeat at Liverpool, Chelsea had won four in a row while Hull's point against West Bromwich last weekend was their first in seven games, a run that saw them bottom of the form table and in the bottom half of the real table for the first time this season. That win at Arsenal in early season was beginning to look a long time ago.It looked as if it would be even more remote as Chelsea tore at them in seeking to restore quickly any confidence that had drained after Anfield. They should have had a lead inside 90 seconds, indeed, when Frank Lampard swung in a corner from the left which eluded all and forced Hull goalkeeper Matt Duke into a hasty save. From the rebound, John Terry fired the ball over the bar from no more than three yards.
For a while it looked as if it would not matter, that it was only a matter of time before Chelsea took the lead. Quaresma was showing some neat touches, notably in crossing from the left with the outside of his right boot, and saw a curling shot tipped just wide by Duke.Gradually, having survived an early onslaught, Hull became emboldened. In the absence of the injured Daniel Cousin, Craig Fagan was holding the ball well up front and supplying Geovanni, who was replacing the suspended Bernard Mendy, with some decent opportunities. On one occasion the Brazilian flashed a cross-shot just wide before seeing another deflected.Hull also looked dangerous in the air and from set-pieces, with Chelsea still uncertain about their marking system at the back.
Michael Turner got in a header from Dean Marney's corner that was scrambled away before Kevin Kilbane went even closer, his downward header from Sam Ricketts' cross finishing narrowly wide. Chelsea were close when Michael Ballack curled a free-kick into the side-netting but they grew edgier, less composed in front of goal as the half progressed. They needed a goal to quell an anxiety going around Stamford Bridge.It was Hull, though, who went the closer early in the second half.Breaking from a Chelsea corner, Geovanni sent Fagan racing clear but, instead of playing in Marney at the far post, he tried a chip that merely sailed into Hilario's hands.
Marney did get the ball at his feet soon after with just Hilario to beat, from a piercing through-ball by Geovanni. He dragged it across goal, however, with the goalkeeper stranded.Scolari's response to the growing tension had been to send on Didier Drogba for Quaresma to prompt the home support's discontent and then he introduced Deco for Ballack. Nothing was doing, though. Scolari was left shaking his head, the home support shouting the odds.CHELSEA (4-3-3): Hilario; Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, A Cole; Ballack (Deco 73min), Mikel (Belletti 57), Lampard; Quaresma (Drogba 63), Anelka, Kalou. Subs (not used): Taylor, Ivanovic, Di Santo, Stoch. Booked: Ashbee, Garcia.HULL (4-4-1-1): Duke; Ricketts, Turner, Zayatte, Dawson; Garcia, Ashbee, Marney, Kilbane; Geovanni (France 81); Fagan. Subs (not used): Myhill, Doyle, Barmby, Hughes, Halmosi, Manucho. Booked: Ashbee, Garcia. Referee: L Mason (Lancashire).
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Indy:
Fans turn on Scolari as Chelsea settle for less
Chelsea 0 Hull City 0
By Glenn Moore at Stamford Bridge
An hour into this match, with Chelsea labouring against the team with the worst defensive record in the Premier League, a team who had won one point in 21, Luiz Felipe Scolari made a substitution. When it became clear that Ricardo Quaresma was going to have his debut curtailed, the mutiny began.
"You don't know what you're doing," came the accusation from the Matthew Harding Stand, where Chelsea's most dedicated fans sit.
Whether he saw the match on television, or simply reads the result in Pravda, the again-absent Roman Abramovich may himself ask the same question. Unless West Ham do them a rare favour at Upton Park today Chelsea's title challenge must be regarded as all but over. Their failure to beat a Hull team who arrived on an apparently unstoppable downward spiral leaves them four points adrift of Manchester United, who have two games in hand. The issue now is ensuring that they qualify for one of the three automatic Champions' League places, for Chelsea now trail third-placed Aston Villa.
Does Scolari know what he is doing? As it happens, he did in the case in point. Quaresma has hardly played in recent months, having been estranged at Internazionale, from whom he is loaned, and after a bright start had faded. It was risking injury to keep him on.
However, the continued omission of Didier Drogba, and the refusal to adapt his system, invites the question. Scolari refused to answer himself but Ray Wilkins, his assistant, mounted a vigorous defence.
"He does know what he is doing," said Wilkins. "He has been in the game a long time and when you look at what he has won [World Cup, World Club Championship, etc] it is a tad out of order. It is unnecessary and not very pleasant to hear. I don't think it should be heard in our stadium."
All through Wilkins' press conference the fire alarm was ringing. "Is it an emergency, Ray?" he was asked. Acknowledging the question referred to the prospect of Chelsea's season going up in flames rather than the ground, he insisted it was not.
But then he added, in reference to Chelsea dropping to fourth: "You will see a lot of changes between positions two, three and four between now and the end of the season."
What about first? "It will be tough to catch [Manchester United] – but we will give it a go. Second is never good enough for a club of Chelsea's standing. There is no way we will give up with the talent we have in the club."
That talent, however, is not performing. Chelsea have taken 17 points from 12 matches. Mid-table form, at best. Inevitably confidence is fragile, Wilkins admitted the team looked "anxious". They needed a good start, and should have had one.
In the first minute Frank Lampard curled in a free-kick, Michael Ballack flicked on, and Matt Duke parried. The ball fell to John Terry, unchallenged, three yards from goal. Somehow he scooped it over.
"Had that gone in I'm sure we would have gone on and won comfortably," said Wilkins. "We would have come back and won 2-1," said Phil Brown, tongue rather more in cheek.
Hull could have easily won their first match here in more than a century of trying – they were Chelsea's first visitors in 1905 – having made and missed the best chances. Five minutes before the break Kevin Kilbane rose to head a Sam Ricketts cross against the outside of the post. Five minutes after the interval Alex cleared a goalbound header from Geovanni after a Dean Marney free-kick.
Next, from a breakaway, the busy Craig Fagan beat John Obi Mikel to the ball, but, withonly Hilario to beat, chipped weakly into the keeper's arms. Then Marney, after a flowing move between himself and Geovanni, shot just wide.
And what of Chelsea? Quaresma, having unveiled his trademark outside-of-the-foot cross early on, drew a fine save from Duke after 19 minutes following a counterattack.
Ballack hit the side-netting with a free-kick then JohnTerry had a dangerous headerblocked. There was also a penalty appeal after Salomon Kalou's thumping shot had struck Andy Dawson's arm. Finally, with fans making an early exit, Chelsea won a well-placed free-kick.
Drogba and Lampard stood over it, then Drogba thumped well wide. Lampard looked pensive. So too, when the final whistle went soon after to a crescendo of boos and he headed sharpish for the tunnel, did Scolari.
Attendance: 41,802
Referee: Lee Mason
Man of the match: Zayatte
Match rating: 5/10
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NOTW:
CHELSEA 0, HULL CITY 0 BRIDGE TOO FAR - Phil Scolari is under increasing pressure at Chelsea From ROB SHEPHERD
WHEN supporters start taunting the manager with chants of “You don’t know what you are doing”, then he is on a slippery slope.
Luis Felipe Scolari most certainly is — even if the snow has cleared from West London. Chelsea’s title hopes have now disappeared from the landscape, too.
This dire display has surely all but ended their championship challenge. And, once again this season, Big Phil looked on from the sidelines seemingly unable to influence the game in the way Stamford Bridge had become accustomed to under Jose Mourinho.
When Scolari decided in the 63rd minute it should have been Ricardo Quaresma rather than Salomon Kalou, Michael Ballack or even Nicolas Anelka to make way for Didier Drogba, a hard core cluster of fans in the Matthew Harding Stand let rip.
Someone had obviously anticipated another afternoon of angst for Chelsea and had even brought along a “Scolari Out . . . Zola/ Di Matteo Chelsea legends” banner.
It may all seem a bit previous and another sign of the almost impossible impatience of fans who have gorged on success in recent years.
Do real fans turn on a manager quite so soon in his first season?
Or do the taunts — there was also a brief round of boos all around the stadium at the final whistle — come from those supporters who glaze over when you talk about the pre- Abramovich cash-rich era and are totally ignorant of the days when old Second Division leaders Chelsea’s home meeting with Hull in 1989 attracted just 11,289.
Maybe but it will not be long before the protests really start to snowball if there is more of this — especially over the next three games which really will define Chelsea’s season.
The FA Cup trip to Watford, a Premier League journey to Aston Villa then Juventus here in the Champions League. If any of those results go badly wrong then the pressure from the stands on Scolari will be just like it was on predecessor Avram Grant.
Too much for the board to withstand, especially as the owner no longer seems that keen to pump in any more money.
The clamour will grow for Gianfranco Zola and Roberto di Matteo to take over, even if the more experienced Roberto Mancini is a more likely appointment. That is if Chelsea could still afford a manager of his stature . . .
Scolari ducked the post-match Press conference so it was left for assistant Ray Wilkins to face the music.
He said: “Fans pay their money so they have a right to boo but to say ‘You don’t know what you are doing’ given all what he has achieved as a manager is a tad out of order.”
Given Wilkins’ genial demeanour, “a tad out of order” amounts to him blasting the crowd. But this goalless draw means Chelsea have now dropped 16 points.
Big Phil still has not come up with a plan when things don’t go right. The time has come to change the system and go with 4-4-2 but Scolari will not make the switch. Yes, he won the World Cup with Brazil but he has never managed a club side in Europe — and it is starting to show.
His vendetta against Drogba, starting on the bench again, is self-defeating. When you are up against it, Anelka cannot operate as a lone striker and the team cannot afford for Ballack to keep prancing around.
If Frank Lampard is not pulling out all the stops — he was nowhere near his best yesterday — then Chelsea become pretty ordinary as an attacking force and are increasingly suspect at the back.
Even if Hull were on the back foot for a lot of the game, their striker Craig Fagan had two decent chances to have picked the home side’s pockets.
Blues had plenty of possession in the first half and created a string of chances but a lack of conviction around the box and some stoic defending kept them at bay.
After just two minutes, John Terry posted a miss of the season contender when he scooped over after Hull keeper Matt Duke had beaten down a deflected Lampard free-kick.
Soon after, Quaresma cut in stylishly enough from the left but his curled shot to the far post was tame and predictable and Duke pushed the ball around the far post. After that Quaresma, who flitted from flank to flank, showed a few decent touches and a poor final ball but had sufficient charisma to warm the Blues fans.
Hull, who ended a run of six straight defeats with a point against West Brom last week, were understandably in cautious mode.
But it was not merely a case of parking a bus in front of their 18-yard box. With Geovanni tucked in behind lively lone striker Fagan, they offered a threat on the break. Just before the interval, Hull’s Kevin Kilbane went close with a header that shaved a post.
As the game wore on, the Tigers looked the likelier to score but Fagan pulled a shot wide then chipped weakly at Henrique Hilario.
Chelsea made a desperate shout for a penalty late on when a Kalou shot hit Andy Dawson’s arm. But it would have been harsh.
Three weeks ago, Chelsea came from behind to beat Stoke 2-1 in the final few minutes in a spirited fightback. But the towel was thrown in far too early yesterday.
The Blues have dropped to fourth and now face a battle to secure Champions League qualification. Such failure really will be a sacking offence for Scolari.
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Observer:
Chelsea held at home by resistant HullChelsea 0 Hull City 0
Jamie Jackson at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea's debutant Ricardo Quaresma battles with Hull City's Dean Marney during the scrappy goalless draw at Stamford Bridge. Photograph: Rebecca Naden/PA
In the end, Chelsea were a touch fortunate not to lose. Their problem is the one which has arrived this season of finding themselves incapable of alchemising dominance into the scintillating stuff which leads to swaggering or indeed regulation victory.
They went into the break having had nearly all the half their way. And they came off at the end having again enjoyed the better 45 minutes, yet with only a point added to their title challenge.
In fact, to listen to Ray Wilkins in the ensuing press conference it was easy to gain an impression that the league might have already, privately at least, been ­conceded. "I think you'll find 4th, 3rd and 2nd will change places a lot," he said, when asked about the fact that Chelsea now occupy only the final Champions League spot.
The assistant coach went into a swift about-turn when asked if this was an acknowledgement that they cannot be champions come May. "It's difficult to catch Manchester United, but we'll be trying – though they do have a game in hand and points in hand. But we'll give it a damn good go," he insisted.
Until 4pm this afternoon, when they visit West Ham, United actually have two matches in hand. These could yield six points to place sweetly on top of the four they are already ahead of Chelsea. "We have been a power in the Premier League and so we strive to be number one," Wilkins said.
Publicly, of course, that is always a given. But Luiz Felipe Scolari's decision to allow his assistant to do the explaining placed an extra layer on the perception that Chelsea are in serious ­disarray. Again, Wilkins denied there was anything conclusive in a no-show. But whether it showed strong leadership is one for a bar-room argument.
Clearer was a moment that arrived after 63 minutes. "You don't know what you're doing," came the sing-song abuse thrown at the manager when Scolari swapped debutant Ricardo Quaresma – there were flashes of promise, nothing else – for the one-time ultimate golden boy, Didier Drogba.
What did Wilkins think of that? "It's never very pleasant. It was a minority. They pay their money and if they want to boo they can, but given the manager's record, it was a tad out of order."
Also in disorder are the on-field issues facing Scolari. These would include an increasingly hesitant John Terry, who let Kevin Kilbane in after 18 minutes when the winger might have scored; a midfield in which only Frank ­Lampard is ­producing and which had Scolari yanking a half-hearted John Obi Mikel off after the break; and that most troubling of all maladies, an ever-decreasing return of goals.
The head coach, it seems, can no longer rely on his men consistently to play Nicolas Anelka into the areas where before the year's turn he was enjoying his own, private free-for-all. Nearly two months have passed since the Frenchman struck in the Premier League.
Instead, he was starved. And it was the visitors who might have gobbled the three points. "We could've indeed," their manager, Phil Brown, said. While Craig Fagan and Dean Marney both came close for Hull, Salomon Kalou had his own stab at glory 11 minutes from time. But his shot was straight and had City's fans singing deliriously that "This is the best trip I've ever been on".
Scolari might now be wondering about what is fast becoming a depressing sojourn. The boos at the end will echo across the rest of his weekend.

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Express:
SCRAPPING TIGERS PUT THE BITE ON BIG PHIL
By Tony Stenson at Stamford Bridge Chelsea 0 Hull City 0
CHELSEA fans finally turned on manager Felipe Scolari last night.
They chanted ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’ after he took off new signing Ricardo Quaresma and replaced him with Didier Drogba.
They vented their anger on the Brazilian after once again watching their world class players fail to produce. Enough was enough.
How come, they asked, was there no Plan B after long periods of their side dictating the game without result?
Why didn’t their stars come to the rescue? Why was controversial striker Didier Drogba not introduced much earlier as again Nicolas Anelka showed he can only produce when the river flows in his direction?
The bitter chants from Chelsea supporters will no doubt be heard on owner Roman Abramovich’s floating palace.
He has lost billions in the credit crunch and he doesn’t want to lose face, but his side are going nowhere fast.
Scolari has won a World Cup, but we all have sell-by dates.
Chelsea dominated all the game, yet Hull were unlucky not to win when former Spurs player Dean Marney went close near the end.
Scolari stalked the touchline and looked a sorrowful soul sending on A-list players to try to break down a workmanlike side.
Skipper John Terry’s pre-match Churchillian speech fell on deaf ears.
He sounded like Winston in the dressing room in his pre-match talk, telling his failing team-mates: “We need a result, we need a performance, we need a clean sheet – we need a lot of things today.”
Clearly, no one listened.
Chelsea should have had a hatful, restoring pride and showing new boy Quaresma what they were all about.
Instead, we saw the same old fare with long periods of possession but little to show for it.
Mikel is not a midfield creator, while Michael Ballack – good at free kicks but performing only when he wants to – continues to nose-dive.
Frank Lampard can only do so much.
Chelsea are missing a direct, dominant striker. Anelka heads the ball mostly in his own half.
When they attack and cross, there usually aren’t many players in the opposition’s box.
They haven’t learnt the Manchester United lesson – release Cristiano Ronaldo and then thunder forward.
Instead, they have talented stars who simply do not possess the ability to break down a group of decent journeymen.
Chelsea insiders claim the club has not been the same since long-serving No 2 Steve Clarke was allowed to leave to join Gianfranco Zola at West Ham. Hull, meanwhile, were like annoying gnats – buzzing, stinging and refusing to give up lost causes. They could well have won it.
You had to admire the Tigers. They arrived knowing they had been the opposition in the first-ever competitive game at Stamford Bridge way back in 1905. They lost that encounter 5-1 in front of 6,000 supporters. Crowds change. So do results.
Hull gave hope of a new dawn, a former lower league club ready to wrestle with the big boys and bite the noses of distinguished opposition.
They started the season by taking points when they were not expected to do so, and encouraging headlines were written. Then reality kicked in. Now they seem to have turned the corner once more.
Quaresma marked his debut with a 20th minute 18-yard curler, then Lampard’s 25th minute shot was deflected after Hull failed to clear Quaresma’s corner.
But it was a tale of what might have been for Chelsea and Scolari.

morning papers liverpool away 0-2

The Times Liverpool eliminate Chelsea challenge Liverpool 2 Chelsea 0 Oliver Kay As the dust settled and the snow began to stick on the streets around Anfield, only one story truly mattered last night. There had been anguish for Frank Lampard, more humiliation for Robbie Keane, the rebirth of Fernando Torres and the slightest encouragement for Rafael Bentez in his contract negotiations, but, fairly or otherwise, this was the afternoon when Liverpool shrugged off the self-doubt and established themselves once and for all as the only threat to Manchester Uniteds hopes of a third successive Premier League title. Chelsea? Do not bet on it. They left Merseyside cursing Mike Rileys decision to send off Lampard for a challenge on Xabi Alonso on the hour, when they were on course for a goalless draw, but Luiz Felipe Scolari cannot allow that incident to cloud his perception of a team who again came up short when it mattered against one of their main rivals in the Premier League. Beaten by Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, they have taken one point from two matches against Manchester United this season and have now allowed Liverpool to beat them at home and away. It is a damning statistic that, irrespective of the minutiae of this latest setback, will raise questions about the direction that the Scolari regime is taking. In some senses, Chelsea were unfortunate. Lampards red card looked harsh in the extreme - the more so given that Steven Gerrard, the opposing captain, escaped without so much as a yellow card for a similar challenge on John Obi Mikel two minutes earlier - while, even without him, his teammates were able to keep Liverpool at bay until the final moments. Then Torres struck, casting aside the frustrations of the previous few months to give Liverpool the lead with a soaring header in the 89th minute and twisting the knife with a second goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time. When Liverpool won at Stamford Bridge in September, Sir Alex Ferguson said quite pointedly that it was the result he had been hoping for. Recent draws notwithstanding, it is a mark of how far Liverpool have come in the meantime - and of how far Chelsea have fallen - that a scowl is likely to have settled upon the United managers face last night. United are still strong favourites to win the title but, with Torres firing once more, having missed much of the season with recurring hamstring problems, Liverpool suddenly look a rather more fearsome proposition than when being held away to Wigan Athletic four days earlier. The sending-off, though, was a lousy decision. It seemed like a 50-50 challenge between Lampard and Alonso. By the time Alonso got to the ball, it had become 55-45 in the Liverpool players favour. Both players got a piece of the ball, but Riley felt that Lampard, in following through with what looked an unintentional kick at Alonsos foot, overstepped the mark. Perhaps Riley was swayed by an interview on Saturday in which Lampard talked of something between me and Alonso, dating back to when the Liverpool players ankle was broken by Lampards late challenge in a game at Anfield on New Years Day 2005. On that occasion, Riley turned a blind eye. This time he erred in opting for the maximum punishment. To that point, the game had been cagey. Liverpool had been the better team, Petr Cech saving well from Alonso and Albert Riera, but, with John Terry and Alex defending resolutely, they were being kept at arms length. The red card changed the complexion. Within minutes, a shot by Alonso had been deflected on to the crossbar by Alex, and Torres, hitherto quiet, saw an effort acrobatically diverted wide by Mikel. As the game entered its final 20 minutes, with Scolari sending on Deco and Didier Drogba in an ill-judged effort to bring more edge to their attacking play, it was clear that Chelseas resistance would be put to the test. The introduction of Yossi Benayoun gave Liverpool the guile that had been missing, but Gerrard engineered the breakthrough. Seizing control of a move going nowhere, he executed a quick exchange of passes with Dirk Kuyt and sent the ball wide to Fabio Aurlio, whose excellent cross was headed in by Torres, the forward darting across Alex to meet the ball first at the near post. Chelsea knew then that the game was up - with Jos Bosingwa highly fortunate to escape a red card for leaving his studs in Benayouns back - but worse was to follow when Ashley Cole was forced into a mistake by Benayoun and Torres made the scoreline 2-0. Bentez looked delighted afterwards, having gambled on leaving Keane out of the squad again. Tottenham Hotspur have been in touch with Liverpool about taking the forward back to White Hart Lane and it is feasible, though not probable, that a deal could be done before the transfer window closes at 5pm today. Liverpool (4-2-3-1): J M Reina 6 Arbeloa 7 J Carragher 7 M Skrtel 7 F Aurlio 7 J Mascherano 6 X Alonso 7 D Kuyt 6 S Gerrard 7 A Riera 5 F Torres 8 Substitutes: Y Benayoun 7 (for Riera, 74min), R Babel (for Mascherano, 83), D Ngog (for Torres, 90+5). Not used: D Cavalieri, A Dossena, D Agger, Lucas Leiva. Next: Portsmouth (a). Chelsea (4-1-4-1): P Cech 6 J Bosingwa 5 Alex 6 J Terry 7 A Cole 6 J O Mikel 6 S Kalou 5 M Ballack 6 F Lampard 6 F Malouda 3 N Anelka 4 Substitutes: Deco 3 (for Kalou, 69min), D Drogba 4 (for Anelka, 69), M Stoch (for Kalou, 85). Not used: Hilrio, P Ferreira, B Ivanovic, M Mancienne. Next: Hull (h). Referee M Riley Attendance 44,174 Lampard joins the list of Alonsos fall guys Frank Lampard, who broke the ankle of Xabi Alonso in a tackle at Anfield in 2005, is the fifth player to be sent off this season after fouling Liverpools Spaniard, even though the Chelsea midfield player clearly made contact with the ball yesterday, as the picture, below, shows. Seeing red with Alonso Sept 13: Nemanja Vidic, Manchester United Arm in face, second yellow card Sept 27: Tim Cahill, Everton Late challenge, straight red Oct 5: Pablo Zabaleta, Manchester City Two-footed lunge, straight red Oct 18: Antonio Valencia, Wigan Athletic Foul, second yellow Yesterday: Lampard, Chelsea High challenge, straight red ----------------------------------------------------------------- Telegraph: Liverpool's Fernando Torres stuns 10-man Chelsea after Frank Lampard red card Liverpool (0) 2 Chelsea (0) 0 By Telegraph staff Fernando Torres grabbed two late goals as Liverpool reclaimed second place in the Premier League. Chelsea had Frank Lampard sent off for a lunge of Xabi Alonso in the second half, and Liverpool took advantage to complete a league double over Luiz Felipe Scolari's side. Referee Mike Riley booked seven other players as the two teams slugged it out in their attempt to keep the title race alive. All the interest before kick-off was in Robbie Keane, who was dropped. The last time that happened he did not even bother turning up, but he was all smiles going into the home dressing room this time. There was also plenty of interest in the goings on in the stands before the game, with co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks sitting well apart in the front row of the directors' box. On the pitch the game started in swirling snow, with Steven Gerrard surging around midfield as Liverpool took the game to Chelsea. Alonso forced the first save from Petr Cech after 11 minutes, seeing a 20-yard drive tipped over. Then Javier Mascherano fired in a low effort from 30 yards that Cech parried, with no Liverpool player near enough to collect the loose ball. Torres and Albert Riera tested the Chelsea defence with their direct running, but this was a very tight contest. After 41 minutes, Riera fired in a fierce drive that was again pushed out by Cech, with Ashley Cole putting the ball narrowly wide of the left post as he cleared. On the hour mark, Lampard was shown a straight red card for a wild tackle on Alonso. He connected with the ball, but also the Spaniard's ankle, and referee Riley reacted instantly. John Terry was booked for protesting but in the current climate such tackles are considered dangerous. However, Chelsea will rightly say that Gerrard was only warned for a similar tackle a few minutes earlier. Alex then deflected an Alonso drive onto the bar as Liverpool sought to claim the advantage. On 69 minutes, Chelsea sent on Deco and Didier Drogba for Florent Malouda and Anelka. Gerrard was booked for diving by Riley as Liverpool cranked up the pressure, with Torres having a shot hooked away by Salomon Kalou. Yossi Benayoun then replaced Riera after 74 minutes, Liverpool searching for some invention to unlock Chelsea's rearguard. It almost came when Benayoun tested Cech from 20 yards, before hooking another effort inches over. Ryan Babel replaced Javier Mascherano after 83 minutes, with Liverpool still searching for the breakthrough. And, with two minutes left, Liverpool grabbed the lead thanks to Torres' first goal in front of the Kop this season. He arrowed a near-post header past Cech from a left-wing cross from Fabio Aurelio. Then, in injury-time, Benayoun got away in the box, the ball broke from a Cole tackle, and Torres fired home from eight yards. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Mirror: Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea: Fernando Torres scores two to keep Reds title dream alive Rafael Benitez's side still trail Manchester United by two points having played a game more, but remain in the hunt after eventually overcoming stubborn Chelsea resistance. Chelsea had Frank Lampard sent off in the second half and from then on Liverpool pounded away in search of the winner. And Torres struck with a near-post header and a simple tap in the final minutes. Liverpool made three changes from the side which drew at Wigan in midweek, with Albert Riera, Dirk Kuyt and Xabi Alonso returning in place of Yossi Benayoun, Ryan Babel and Lucas. Striker Robbie Keane was omitted from the 18-man squad, with teenage striker David Ngog on the bench. Chelsea fielded the same side which beat Middlesbrough 2-0 in midweek, with Salomon Kalou passed fit. Keane did not attend Anfield the last time he was left out of a squad, but was all smiles going into the home dressing room this time, and sat in the directors' box later. But suggestions that he is on his way out of the club cannot be discounted and there was plenty of interest in the other goings on in the stands before the game, with co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks sitting well apart in the front row of the directors' box. The pair will be re-opening talks with Benitez over his new contract and attend a board meeting together tomorrow. On the pitch the game started in swirling snow, with Steven Gerrard surging around midfield as Liverpool took the game to Chelsea. Alonso forced the first save from Petr Cech after 11 minutes, seeing a 20-yarder tipped over. Then Javier Mascherano fired in a low 30-yarder that Cech parried away, with no Liverpool man nearby to take advantage. The midfield battle started to get tasty with tackles flying in. Mascherano was booked for flattening John Obi Mikel and soon after Cole was cautioned for a foul on Dirk Kuyt. Torres and Riera both tested Chelsea with their direct running, but it was a very tight contest. Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard were quick to support Nicolas Anelka, putting Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel under severe pressure. After 41 minutes Riera fired in a fierce drive that was again pushed out by Cech, with Cole slicing the ball narrowly wide of the post as he cleared. The second period was just a minute old when Alonso was cautioned for a foul on Kalou and Mikel was soon to be in referee Mike Riley's book for a foul on Alvaro Arbeloa. Liverpool were attacking the Kop end now, and Gerrard, despite the bitter cold, was warming to his task. One run produced a corner, with Kuyt hooking wide while off balance. Then Torres saw a shot blocked by Terry. Then on the hour Lampard was shown a straight red card for a tackle on Alonso. He connected with the ball, but also the Spaniard's ankle, and referee Riley reacted instantly. John Terry was booked for protesting and Chelsea will rightly point out that Gerrard was only warned for a similar tackle a few minutes earlier. Alex then deflected an Alonso drive onto the bar as Liverpool sought to claim the advantage. On 69 minutes, Chelsea sent on Deco and Didier Drogba for Florent Malouda and Anelka. Gerrard was booked for diving as Liverpool cranked up the pressure, with Torres having a shot hooked away by Kalou. Benayoun then replaced Riera after 74 minutes, Liverpool searching for some invention to unlock Chelsea's rearguard. It almost came when Benayoun tested Cech from 20 yards before hooking another effort inches over. Babel replaced Mascherano after 83 minutes and Chelsea sent on Miroslav Stoch for Kalou soon after. And with two minutes left, Liverpool grabbed the lead with Torres' first goal in front of the Kop this season. He arrowed a near-post header past Cech from a cross from Fabio Aurelio. In injury-time Benayoun got away in the box after Cole failed to control and Torres fired home from eight yards. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Mail: You just cost us the title: Chelsea boss Scolari's fury at Lampard red card By John Edwards Luiz Felipe Scolari accused referee Mike Riley of derailing Chelseas title challenge with the controversial sending-off of Frank Lampard in yesterdays 2-0 defeat at Anfield. The Chelsea manager urged Riley to review Lampards 60th-minute challenge on Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso and to rescind his straight red card. Scolari, who conceded Chelseas Jose Bosingwa should have been dismissed for slamming his studs into Yossi Benayouns back, admitted the loss had all but counted Chelsea out of the title race - two late goals from Fernando Torres securing a win that lifts Liverpool back into second place. Frank Lampard was controversially sent off for his challenge on Xabi Alonso Chelsea are third, five points behind leaders Manchester United, who have a game in hand. I have not spoken to the referee, but I hope he will perhaps look at a video of the incident and say in his report he made a mistake, he said. It was a foul by Alonso, not Lampard, so I just cannot understand the decision. If it is not overturned, Lampard has to miss three games because of a mistake and that cannot be right. It changed the game one million per cent, because they had so much more of the ball after that and created more. I would have accepted a red for Bosingwa but not Lampard. Frank Lampard was given his marching orders on a miserable afternoon for Chelsea at Anfield 'Whatever happens, we cannot change the result or its effect on our title chances. We will fight to the end but it is more distant for us now. Lampard and Alonso have clashed before but the Chelsea midfielder insisted: I had no intention of injuring the player. It was obvious I touched the ball and there is no way it was a red card offence. Torres scored his first League goals since October, the first a brilliant near-post header in the 89th minute, the second an easy finish four minutes into added time that left Liverpool two points behind United. He said: We knew that this was a massive game. Every player knew that. From the beginning until the very end, we worked really hard with intensity and determination. We are very happy with the 2-0 scoreline. We know that games in England, more than any other league, go for 90 minutes and you can score in any minute and you have to keep going until the end. It is a long race. We know that Manchester United are top of the table but we are going to fight with them until the end. Chelsea had one player less so they needed to defend. A draw was good for them but we needed to win. Once we had one extra player we kept creating more chances. It has brought back some belief and confidence. These were my first two goals since coming back from injury. I have scored at home for the first time this season and to do that against Chelsea was fantastic. Liverpools co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett were together in the directors box for the first time in 13 months but they faced an angry demonstration from supporters outside the main entrance after the game, even though Liverpool are hard on the heels of Sir Alex Fergusons leaders. Gillett was also confronted by fans outside Liverpools Marriott Hotel as he left for the ground earlier in the day and the animosity could increase the owners resolve to sell. They plan talks with Benitez over a new contract for the Liverpool manager but will also try to revive negotiations with Nasser al-Kharafi after a member of the Kuwaiti billionaires family attended the match as a guest of Hicks. ----------------------------------------------------------- Indy: Torres strikes after Lampard walks Liverpool 2 Chelsea 0 By Sam Wallace All the elements of the great dysfunctional family that is the Liverpool boardroom were in Anfield yesterday: the Americans and the English, the factions and the grudges. Looking around the directors' box you would find it hard to get that lot to agree on anything, apart from, perhaps, the genius of Fernando Torres. Thanks to Torres, the fight goes on. Liverpool stay in the title race as Manchester United raise their pace to a gallop. The gap may be two points and a game in hand to United but somehow, miraculously, Rafael Benitez's team are still putting up an argument despite the politics of the club, the farce over Robbie Keane and the increasingly erratic behaviour of their manager. They are in with a shout and that in itself is remarkable. Torres cut through the traffic on 88 minutes to head in the decisive goal before he added the second in injury-time to unite this unhappy house of Scouse in joy just when they were beginning to wonder if it really was all over. They did so with the benefit of a deeply questionable performance from referee Mike Riley who sent off Frank Lampard having failed to do the same to Steven Gerrard when the latter had committed a foul of greater severity minutes earlier. The sending off was the match's turning point, when Liverpool's control of the game turned into a siege of Chelsea's goal. It was the point when Liverpool's divided co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, along with their two sets of American guests, freshly decked out from the club shop, sensed that, for all their unfamiliarity with local custom, they were about to witness something very special indeed. From Torres came the moment of brilliance, a service that Gerrard has been too often obliged to deliver of late, and so life was breathed into Liverpool's title challenge. At the same time, there was little sign of a pulse in Chelsea. Amid the rapture at Anfield there was the sense that this team have nothing left to give and for all their bad luck with Lampard's red card the situation is grave. Scolari said that Lampard's tackle did not warrant a red card but he did not do so with the urgency of a man clinging on to his football reputation by the fingernails. Rather he pronounced breezily that, yes, this title race is getting more difficult and that things are looking rather bleak for Chelsea. Does he care? He says that he does but few managers can have remained as calm about a performance as gutless as Chelsea were. Instead the Chelsea manager offered a trade-off to the Football Association in which they rescind Lampard's red card, for a challenge on Xabi Alonso, in exchange for a ban for Jose Bosingwa. As plea bargains go it was bizarre but honest nonetheless which is rare for a manager with his back up against a wall. Bosingwa thrust his studs into Yossi Benayoun's back late in the game out of sight of Riley, an incident that will be reviewed by the referee and should get Bosingwa banned. Where does this leave the Chelsea project? Back at the point where you wonder whether even £100m will fix it this summer, and that is before anyone considers whether Roman Abramovich has the inclination to spend it. Didier Drogba's appearance as substitute, some of it spent on the left side of midfield, looked more like an act of protest. Florent Malouda was ineffectual and Chelsea's first meaningful attempt on goal, from Salomon Kalou, came on 75 minutes. If Lampard misses the next three games, then that might well spell the end of their challenge. Apart from Alex da Costa, who was the man of the match until Torres beat him to the ball for his goal, and Jon Obi Mikel, Chelsea are shrinking. John Terry's booking means he misses the FA Cup game against Watford. The pressure is on Scolari whose record against the three other members of the big four is now a lamentable lost four, drawn one. The game caught light on the hour, two minutes after Gerrard had gone through Kalou with a challenge that showed more than a glimpse of the Liverpool captain's studs. It was reckless. Riley looked hard for a moment and let it go, which was a moment longer than he gave himself to make his decision on Lampard. That time the Chelsea man went in with his studs up, played the ball and Alonso went over him. The flash of studs was what Riley must have seen, he cannot have got sight of the clean contact Lampard made with the ball, if anything it was the Chelsea man who was the victim, caught on the shin by Alonso's trailing leg. But by then Riley was already reaching in his back pocket. There is no love lost between Alonso and Lampard, Lampard broke his ankle in a challenge on New Year's Day 2005 and Alonso has never forgiven. Yesterday Alonso made sure that he stayed down long enough to make it look like Lampard's challenge had really hurt. Lampard's only hope will be that the FA overturn the red card as quickly as they did for Paul Robinson, sent off for West Brom against Manchester United on Tuesday. Then came the siege. Alex had done a brilliant job on Torres until the striker got to Fabio Aurelio's near post cross a fraction before the Brazilian and headed past Petr Cech. Ashley Cole gave away the second, letting in Benayoun, then tackling him and inadvertently squaring the ball to Torres who scored. Can Liverpool do this every week? If they want to keep up with United they may have no choice. Goals: Torres (88) 1-0; Torres (90) 2-0 Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Reina; Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio; Mascherano (Babel 83), Alonso; Kuyt, Gerrard, Riera (Benayoun 74); Torres (Ngog 90). Substitutes not used: Cavalieri (gk), Dossena, Agger, Leiva. Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, A Cole; Mikel; Kalou (Stoch 85), Ballack, Lampard, Malouda (Deco 69); Anelka (Drogba 69). Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Ivanovic, Ferreira, Mancienne. Referee: M Riley (Staffordshire). Booked: Liverpool Mascherano, Alonso, Gerrard. Chelsea A Cole, Mikel, Terry. Sent off: Lampard. Man of the match: Torres. Attendance: 44,174. --------------------------------------------------------------- Guardian: Lampard's red card gives Liverpool green light for victoryWin puts Bentez's team within two points of Manchester United at top of Premier League Liverpool 2 Torres 89, Torres 90 Chelsea 0 Ambition and desperation are intertwined for Liverpool. While they deserved the win that puts them two points behind Manchester United, who have a game in hand, Rafael Bentez's team thrived on the luck of a mistake by the referee, Mike Riley. Fernando Torres broke the deadlock in the 88th minute, with the first of his goals, but Chelsea had lacked Frank Lampard for the last half-hour following a red card. With his departure Chelsea had to make increasingly desperate blocks to keep Liverpool at bay. Lampard was sent off despite making contact with the ball before the collision with Xabi Alonso. Even if the official could argue that the midfielder's studs were raised, he had done no more than speak to Steven Gerrard for a more reckless foul on Mikel John Obi shortly before. Alonso had been the serious offender in the incident with Lampard but this was a jumble of a match that seemed too much for the officials. Shortly after Liverpool's opener, the Chelsea full-back Jose Bosingwa put his boot into the back of Yossi Benayoun without receiving any punishment. It was a mostly inept occasion and the efficiency at the heart of the opener hardly belonged here. The left-back Fabio Aurlio flighted the ball to the near post and Torres' header glanced it into the far corner of the net. The Spain centre-forward struck again in stoppage time when a stretching challenge by Ashley Cole accidentally laid the ball into his path. Liverpool will be heartened by a first League win since December 28. Conversely Chelsea have cause for introspection. Luiz Felipe Scolari said that his side had been inferior all afternoon. Maybe that could have been rectified if Lampard had been around until the close but Chelsea have extracted one point from five League meetings in this campaign with United, Chelsea and Arsenal. While there continue to be several formidable footballers on the books at Stamford Bridge, Scolari suffers from an unbalanced squad. Resources in attack are meagre. Nicolas Anelka hardly registered and the substitute Didier Drogba does not appear fully engaged in the cause. Creativity has been restricted not only by Joe Cole's injury but also because of the failure of Florent Malouda and Deco. Liverpool, by comparison, were probably feeling good about themselves last night. It will have slipped their minds that this was an occasion of frenetic scuffling. The omission from the squad of Robbie Keane, for the second time in three games, will provoke gossip but it may have been in the Irishman's interests to duck this. No one's standing was raised here. --------------------------------------------------------------- Sun: Liverpool 2 Chelsea 0From SHAUN CUSTIS at Anfield Published: 01 Feb 2009 IT is amazing what happens if you leave your £22million striker on the pitch. Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has come in for criticism for subbing Fernando Torres recently as his side have drawn vital Premier League games. The managers argument was that Torres has been tiring late on as he works his way back to full fitness following a lengthy lay-off from hamstring trouble. But this time Benitez kept him going almost until the final whistle and was rewarded with two goals and three vital points to get the Reds title challenge back on track. Torres pounced after 89 minutes to head in at the near post then made it safe in the third minute of injury-time after an Ashley Cole howler. It is the first time Liverpool have done the double over Chelsea since 1990, which coincidentally was when the Kop last won the championship. For the Blues, one point out of 15 against the so called Big Four tells its own story. Liverpool controlled the match but were helped in no small measure by referee Mike Rileys controversial decision to dismiss Frank Lampard on the hour. Lampard although his studs were showing won the ball as he slid in on his old adversary Xabi Alonso but at the same time the Liverpool midfielder kicked his shin. The free-kick could have gone either way but from Rileys position it looked like the Chelsea midfielder was at fault and the red card was out. The pair have some history. Four years ago Lampard accidentally broke Alonsos ankle and, despite subsequent attempts to apologise his victim, would not listen. Lamps team-mates were furious about his dismissal and skipper John Terry talked himself into a yellow card as he argued the toss. But it was not just the sending off they were annoyed with. There was also the fact Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard escaped punishment only a couple of minutes earlier when he went flying in studs up on Salomon Kalou. Gerrard enjoyed a charmed life. He could have been booked twice inside the first 10 minutes. When he was finally cautioned it came for a desperate dive on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area. From the moment the shaky Petr Cech saved from Alonso, Liverpool were on top. Kop owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett made a special trip from the States to watch the game. They shared a common frustration with the fans who want them out as chances went begging. Cole almost put through his own goal just before half-time and, soon after the restart, Dirk Kuyt volleyed past the post after Alex missed a clearing header at a corner. Then came Lampards red card, which puts him out of the romantic FA Cup meeting against Watford where his dad Frank Senior is on the coaching staff, unless the authorities take pity on him an uphold an appeal. Liverpool cranked up the pressure but Alex was putting his body in front of every shot. The way he flung himself across the area to deflect Alonsos drive on to the top of the bar was typical. Kalous shot on 75 minutes, which was straight at Pepe Reina, brought howls of derision as it was Chelseas first of the game while there was little attacking threat from the surly sub Didier Drogba. The introduction of Yossi Benayoun added an extra dimension to Liverpool and the Israeli exploited the space available, forcing a diving save out of Cech. Benitez replaced Javier Mascherano with Ryan Babel to belie the Spaniards normally cautious approach and you sensed the home side believed victory was there for the taking. And so it came to pass as Fabio Aurelio stormed down the left and whipped in a near-post cross. For once, Alex was caught napping as Torres got in front of him to divert a header past Cech. It was the first goal he had scored at Anfield since his winner against Manchester City last May. He did not have to wait long for No 2 as Cole hesitated dealing with a through ball. Benayoun robbed him and although Cole got back to win the tackle, he only succeeded in diverting the ball across the area for Torres to tap in. Cole will hope England boss Fabio Capello, who left the game five minutes before the end, does not see the highlights. Jose Bosingwa has little hope the FA ignore replays of his outrageous foul near the end. Riley and his linesman failed to spot him planting his studs firmly in Benayouns back who was shielding the ball by the corner flag. Lampard may yet win a reprieve but Bosingwa deserves to be banned.