Independent:
Showdown short on quality and grace
QPR 0 Chelsea 0: On a heavy day of snubbed handshakes and bad feeling, QPR's best player is their new goalkeeper while recently signed Victor Moses shines for Chelsea
Steve Tongue
After the handshakes and headshakes, a football match broke out here yesterday, but like much of the build-up, it was undistinguished stuff.
Queens Park Rangers finished the afternoon the happier, their local pride upheld and a second point of the season achieved, features marked by a standing ovation at the finish. Chelsea were satisfied too, even if Manchester United cut their lead at the top of the table to a single point.
As for the principal performers of the little drama talking place before kick-off, all played rather well on a defender's day, although Anton Ferdinand pulled up near the end with what looked like a hamstring injury, and would have gone off had his team's allocation of substitutes not been used up – two of them in the opening half an hour.
Ferdinand's best moment was in dispossessing Fernando Torres on a Chelsea breakaway in the second half, by which time Rangers were asserting a measure of control. Ashley Cole was, nevertheless, rarely troubled by either Shaun Wright-Phillips or Jamie Mackie, who moved wide late in the game, and John Terry allowed his old Sunday football team-mate Bobby Zamora only one real opportunity, blocking the resulting shot with Petr Cech out of his goal.
Rangers lost the services of Fabio da Silva at the back and Andrew Johnson in attack to injuries suffered before half-time, and for all Mackie's willing running, Johnson's departure depleted them.
They have at least found a goalkeeper in Internazionale's Julio Cesar, whose performance suggested Robert Green will be looking at the League Cup for his appearance money in the immediate future. Another high-profile signing, Esteban Granero from Real Madrid, also impressed and overall Mark Hughes was delighted.
"I thought we were excellent," he said, "and proof that we're going in the right direction. The more we play together, the better we'll become." As for the whole handshake farrago, he repeated his suggestion that the pre-match parade be done away with. "A lot of things have moved on for the better but I'm not sure about this one. I've got the utmost respect for the Respect campaign but this part of it causes more problems than it solves."
Chelsea's Roberto Di Matteo was more sanguine: "We offered and did our part. If other people feel differently it's their problem." He also confirmed that Chelsea were not displeased with their afternoon's work. "The only disappointment was that we didn't score the goals from the chances we created," he said.
Chelsea had rested Juan Mata with the Champions' League game against Juventus in mind and Ryan Bertrand in his position on the left was understandably less creative. More encouraging was the cameo by Victor Moses in the last quarter of an hour. He set up a glorious chance for Eden Hazard, who had been rivalling Julio Cesar, Granero and Ryan Nelsen for the individual honours until he spooned a shot over the bar from seven yards.
The atmosphere, heavy with animosity, did not help the quality of football and after two early opportunities for the Brazilian keeper to demonstrate his capabilities, there were few chances for a long period. Not much more was seen of Torres, the man destined forever to be known as the £50m striker, who before the end had taken a knock and walked straight down to the dressing-room.
Chelsea might twice have had a penalty in the first half, when Terry and Hazard were both sent tumbling in the area, perhaps suffering from the theatricality of their fall. "Stonewall penalty," Di Matteo said of the former incident. Cech meanwhile made only one save, straightforwardly from Zamora. That pattern changed after half-time. Hazard's delicious flick-up the line was a rare moment of class and when Terry unwisely attempted similar deftness on the ball but was forced to pass back to his goalkeeper from beyond the halfway line, the home crowd were stirred to noisier involvement. Mackie responded to them by twisting to shoot at Cech, who was then grateful that Park Ji-Sung's header from a fine cross from Granero went straight at him.
Rangers' big opportunity came in the 75th minute when Mikel misjudged a long ball, allowing Zamora to home in on Cech and go round him, only to find four Chelsea players defending their goal and Terry – who else – knocking the ball away.
With Moses and Daniel Sturridge offering fresh legs and impetus, the visitors looked the more likely to score from then on. Moses, playing wide on the right, forced Julio Cesar into his third good save before setting up Hazard for a rare blot on the Belgian's copybook.
QPR (4-4-2): Julio Cesar; Bosingwa, Ferdinand, Nelsen, Fabio (Onuoha 20); Wright-Phillips (Cisse 69), Granero, Faurlin, Park; Johnson A (Mackie 32), Zamora.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, David Luiz, Terry, Cole; Mikel, Lampard; Ramires, Hazard E, Bertrand (Moses 58); Torres (Sturridge 81).
Referee: A Marriner.
Man of the match: Julio Cesar (QPR)
Match rating: 5/10
Half-time 0-0 Att: 18,271
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Observer:
Anton Ferdinand avoids John Terry's handshake as QPR draw with Chelsea
David Hytner at Loftus Road
In other news, Queens Park Rangers held Chelsea to a scoreless draw. So consumed had everybody become over the Anton Ferdinand-John Terry confrontation, with the pre-match non‑handshaking subplot, that it had been easy to forget that there were three vital derby points at stake.
The one apiece was not bad for either side, even if the two dropped represented Chelsea's first blemish of the Premier League season. Both teams departed with regrets, with QPR's centring upon the two clear chances that they spurned in the second half. Park Ji-sung fluffed a gloriously free header while Bobby Zamora seized upon a loose Mikel John Obi back-pass to round Petr Cech only not to shoot. He finally unloaded after checking inside but the opportunity had passed. Chelsea were the better team in the first half and they might have snatched victory in the closing moments only for Eden Hazard to blaze over the crossbar from the substitute Victor Moses's low cross. Roberto Di Matteo lamented his side's lack of cutting edge for the first time this season. All of the passion, all of the huff and puff, came to nothing.
In the week that saw the publication of the Hillsborough report, the focus on whether two grown men would deign to acknowledge each other before a football match was pitiful. Handshakes, together with captains armbands, have become the great trivial obsessions of English football. The tension, though, was palpable when the QPR players began the staged pre-match walk past their Chelsea counterparts. Park was first up; he did not shake Terry's hand and, moments later, he did not do so again at the captain's coin toss.
As expected, Ferdinand ignored Terry and then Ashley Cole, who had given evidence on Terry's behalf at the magistrates court trial in July, when the Chelsea captain stood accused of racially insulting Ferdinand. Terry loitered in front of Ferdinand during the handshakes and he seemed to say something to him while Cole glanced over his shoulder after his confrontation with Ferdinand. José Bosingwa and Bobby Zamora embraced Terry. And that was that.
It was a spiky afternoon that featured the traditional derby ingredients: no-holds barred tackles, controversial decisions and caustic chanting from the stands. Terry's every involvement was jeered but, as usual, he pushed out his chest and looked unruffled. Cole heard plenty of abuse; Ferdinand got some from the travelling support. Each player emerged with credit for his performance.
The first half contained three loud penalty shouts and each one might have been given. David Luiz lunged recklessly at Fábio da Silva while Chelsea felt that Ryan Nelsen's man-handling of Terry and Shaun Wright-Phillips's dig at Hazard merited censure. Hazard's tumble was slightly theatrical.
Chelsea had the first-half chances. Hazard, after a incisive break featuring Fernando Torres and Ramires, drew a smart save out of Júlio César, the debutant QPR goalkeeper, whose inclusion relegated Rob Green, the Bosman summer signing, to the bench. Torres burst through, jinked and forced César to save while David Luiz was wasteful with a free header from a corner.
QPR only had a Zamora snap-shot in the first half but they were more fluent and purposeful after the interval. Esteban Granero oozed quality and it was from his floated pass in the 56th minute that Park ought to have scored. His free header, eight yards out, however, was straight at Petr Cech. Terry and Ferdinand suffered injury scares, the latter's looking the more serious. Ferdinand pulled up in the 89th minute and, after treatment, he returned with a strapping around his right thigh. Of greater concern to QPR, though, were the hamstring and knee injuries that forced off Da Silva and Andy Johnson.
Terry felt his right knee in the 72nd minute but, after performing a few stretches, he was able to continue. The home crowd's glee was diluted and they contended themselves with telling Terry that his "family is scum".
Torres strode straight off down the tunnel when he was substituted while the misses from Zamora and Hazard advertised the stalemate. Moses also drew a save from the excellent César. The mercy was that handshakes will now be off the agenda.
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Telegraph:
Queens Park Rangers 0 Chelsea 0:
By Gerry Cox, Loftus Road
A large banner laid out in front of the Loftus Road tunnel as the players emerged before kick-off read, “Get on with the Game”, but the racism row that has rumbled on since last October’s corresponding fixture refuses to go away.
The players did get on with a game – not the best this ground has seen – but only after the brouhaha over the handshakes continued. As expected, Anton Ferdinand refused to shake hands with John Terry and Ashley Cole, as did Ji Sung Park, QPR’s captain.
It was in the corresponding fixture last October that Ferdinand accused Terry of racist abuse, and though the Chelsea man was acquitted of all charges in July’s court hearing, with Cole as a character witness, the England captain still faces a Football Association charge.
Not that it affected him or Ferdinand, both of whom had solid games in a match dominated by defenders.
Chelsea lost the league’s only 100 per cent record because Fernando Torres and co could not get past Ferdinand and Ryan Nelsen, who was outstanding at the back. When Chelsea did get a sight of goal, they either squandered the opportunity or found Júlio César in terrific form on his debut.
The Brazilian goalkeeper, signed from Inter Milan last month, made an exceptional stop low to his left to keep out a first-time shot from Eden Hazard in the sixth minute, and then saved well from a shot on the turn by Torres 10 minutes later.
Hazard missed a simple chance late in the game, shooting high over the bar from 10 yards, while the ineffective Torres showed his frustration at a poor performance by marching straight to the dressing rooms after being substituted in the closing stages.
Petr Cech was only really called into meaningful action after half-time, when QPR sensed they could beat their neighbours and went forward with more conviction, but Park headed a great chance straight at the Czech keeper.
It was no game for the purist, yet both managers seemed satisfied with a point.
“I thought we were excellent,” said home manager Mark Hughes. “We were able to control the game comfortably for long periods and I think that augurs well for the future. Given that we were up against the European champions, I thought we acquitted ourselves really, really well.”
His opposite number, Roberto Di Matteo, rued his side’s inability to score for the first time this season, saying: “The only disappointment is we didn’t score the goal after the chances we created. The performance was very good. I thought we controlled the game and we had chances to score.”
He also believed Chelsea might have had two penalties, first when Terry was bundled over by Nelsen and then when Hazard went down under a challenge from Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Di Matteo added: “The one on Hazard, he [referee Andre Marriner] was in a good position and maybe he didn’t think there was enough. But the one on JT was 100 per cent, we all agree on that.”
Match details
Queens Park Rangers (4-4-2): Cesar; Bosingwa, Nelsen, Ferdinand, Fabio da Silva (Onuoha 20); Wright-Phillips (Cissé 70), Park, Granero, Faurlin; Zamora, Johnson (Mackie 32).
Subs: Green, Taarabt, Dyer, Hoilett.
Chelsea 4-5-1: Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole; Ramires, Lampard, Mikel, Hazard, Bertrand (Moses 58); Torres (Sturridge 80).
Subs: Turnbull, Romeu, Oscar, Cahill, Azpilicueta.
Booked: Moses, Ramires.
Referee: A Marriner (West Midlands).
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Mail:
QPR 0 Chelsea 0: No handshakes and no end to the hatred in drab derby draw
By Rob Draper
Of course nothing had changed. No one expected it to and as the blissful summer of sport faded from memory, in a small corner of west London on Saturday a group of Chelsea fans abused an injured player as he walked off while some QPR fans shouted: ‘W*****! W*****!’ at a man with as much ferocity as they could muster.
And before it all, hands were not shaken by the key protagonists.
So much for the show that surrounds the game. Amid the pathological hatred, a football match took place, one that questioned the credentials of the all-new Chelsea and bolstered the credibility of Mark Hughes’s QPR team.
For almost lost amid the hullabaloo about shaking hands before the game months after John Terry was accused of making a racist slur against Anton Ferdinand, QPR scored a small victory. Not strictly in football terms, for only a point was awarded for a hard-earned draw against Chelsea.
But given that Swansea put five past this team last time out here, holding the European champions in a match of such intensity merits a minor celebration.
Of Ferdinand and Terry, it should be said both played well. Clearly neither was unaware of the furore from both sets of fans, with Ferdinand throwing his shirt to the home crowd in response to their long applause at the end, while Terry was pointedly acknowledging Chelsea supporters at the other end.
But neither seemed unduly affected. Ferdinand finished with strapping round his hamstring and Terry pulled up clutching his knee after 71 minutes. Neither would countenance coming off, not in this game.
‘Our players didn’t have a problem with their focus,’ said Roberto Di Matteo, which was true given they had two sent off in this fixture last season amid the hostile atmosphere that helped created the backdrop to the Terry-Ferdinand saga. ‘We handled it very well, very professionally.’ As for those handshakes: ‘We offered and we’ve done our part, and if other people feel differently that’s their problem,’ added the manager.
Hughes praised Ferdinand and his defensive partner, Ryan Nelsen, who was excellent given that he had returned from New Zealand on Tuesday. But the boss has clearly wearied of the whole handshake ritual. ‘For goodness sake, we’ve been talking about it for God knows how long,’ said Hughes. ‘I think it’s done and dusted now. It’s something and nothing, in my view. The game was the important thing today. It was played in good spirit.
‘We were excellent. We were able to control the match for long periods, which augurs well for the future and given that we were up against the European champions. It’s proof we’re going in the right direction.’ The negatives were Andy Johnson limping off with a knee injury — being abused by Chelsea fans as he did so — which Hughes said ‘could be more serious’ and losing Fabio to a hamstring injury.
QPR rode their luck. Chelsea had two good penalty shouts early on, when Nelsen wrestled with Terry, which Di Matteo described as ‘100 per cent’ a penalty and when Shaun Wright-Phillips brought down Eden Hazard on 30 minutes. They could count themselves unfortunate on both occasions.
Hazard might have enjoyed another raft of flattering headlines had he not missed Chelsea’s two best chances. He often looked the stand-out performer, a reverse pass here and a touch there lifting him above the melee.
But after just four minutes, played in by Ramires and eight yards out, he allowed debutant Julio Cesar to save from close range. And with three minutes remaining, a superb cross by the excellent Victor Moses, who impressed in a 31-minute cameo as substitute, was wasted by Hazard as the Belgian scooped the ball high in to the Loftus Road End.
In between, other than those penalty claims, there was a fine run from Fernando Torres in the 17th minute which produced another good Cesar save. The Brazilian saved again from Moses on 77 minutes, which pretty much justified the brutal ditching of Rob Green.
That Torres chance, though, might be said to be his last meaningful contribution. He faded like his team in the second half and he looked less than enamoured to be substituted with nine minutes remaining.
‘No player is happy when they have to come off,’ said Di Matteo. ‘It’s not a problem.’
But had Ji-Sung Park taken his time when a superb Esteban Granero ball set him up with a free header on 55 minutes, and had Bobby Zamora been able to get his shot away quicker when he rounded Petr Cech on 76 minutes, Chelsea might have paid for the second-half slackness.
As it was they were spared.
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Mirror:
QPR 0-0 Chelsea: Spicy West London derby ends goalless
Steve Stammers
No goals from either side mean the headlines will inevitably (and sadly) centre on the pre-match greetings
Venom and vitriol was in abundance at Loftus Road. Dignity, however, was at a premium.
From the torrent of insults raining down from the stands to the constant haranguing of referee Andre Marriner about every decision, it was an afternoon to forget.
The great handshake debate went as predicted — almost — and that set the tone for a match high in commitment and endeavour but preciously short on invention and class.
Anton Ferdinand duly snubbed the hand offered by John Terry. The Chelsea captain may have been cleared of racial abuse by a court of law but Ferdinand was clearly uneasy with the verdict.
Shake hands? It looked as though he would have preferred to wring his neck. After Ferdinand snubbed his handshake, Ashley Cole turned away and spat at the pitch, so there was no contact there following the left-back’s evidence at the court case.
The surprise package was Ji-Sung Park. The Korean is not known to seek controversy — very polite and very proper. But he opted to ignore Terry’s gesture, twice – at the line-up and when the captains linked with Marriner at the coin toss in the centre circle.
All the theatre surrounding the build-up was too much for Rangers manager Mark Hughes. He revealed the players had a group meeting to decide what they would do.
“They had a discussion and some were prepared to shake the opposition hands,” he said, then added: “Look, I’m not getting misty-eyed about the old days, but I would like to see the handshake thing scrapped.
“We used to shake hands at the end of the game. I have the utmost respect for the Respect Campaign – as does everyone at this club. But this handshake part can create more problems than it solves. So, yes, I would like to see the end of it.”
Terry seemed the least affected of the Chelsea players by the pre-match tensions. He played with authority and kept his defence organised against a Rangers outfit clearly lifted by the vibrant atmosphere.
Cole, as well, handled the jeers with great composure. Just as well, because Rangers played with a tempo not been seen previously this season. “That augurs well,” said Hughes. “We seemed to control the game for long periods against the European champions.”
But control has to be converted and the best chances fell to Chelsea, two of the best to Eden Hazard. But like all the promising moves, they came to nothing.
After four minutes, the 3,000-plus Chelsea fans behind the goal at the School End stand were ready to celebrate as Hazard went clear after being released by Ramires, but debutant keeper Julio Cesar saved his effort from 10 yards.
Hazard had another late chance. Branislav Ivanovic broke down the right, squared the ball and Hazard was unmarked only 12 yards out.
This time he beat Cesar but the ball was gathered by a Rangers fan high in the Loft. It was that sort of game.
Rangers had their chances. They were inspired by the Latin midfield duo of Argentine Alejandro Faurlin and Spaniard Esteban Granero who brought composure and creativity.
Bobby Zamora tested Petr Cech from distance but there was a great chance followed by a glaring miss involving Park.
Granero found him unmarked at the far post but his header was tame and Cech gathered with no fuss. “I don’t think he realised how much time he had,” said Hughes.
Roberto Di Matteo regretted the missed chances. “That was my only disappointment,” said the Chelsea boss. “The players from both sides showed a great professional attitude. We made sure we were very focused.”
And he believed Chelsea should have had a penalty when Ryan Nelsen appeared to wrestle Terry to the ground in the first half. “It was a stonewall penalty,” he said.
The main concern for Di Matteo now is Terry’s fitness ahead of the Champions League clash with Juventus at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, saying: “He hurt his knee. We will have to see how he is.”
======================
Sun:
QPR 0 Chelsea 0
By MARK IRWIN
NO handshake, no goals and no class.
The feud goes on and football continues to feel the pain of a festering wound which shows very little sign of healing.
Anton Ferdinand, supported by his QPR skipper Ji-Sung Park, delivered a predictably deliberate pre-match snub to John Terry.
Ashley Cole, who had appeared as a witness for Terry in the Chelsea captain’s recent court case, was also ignored by his former family friend.
Next week, the FA will finally sit down and rule whether Terry actually did racially abuse Ferdinand when they first swapped obscenities way back on October 23 last year.
Whatever decision the game’s authorities finally deliver will only serve to increase the bitterness which divides these West London neighbours.
Ferdinand, Terry and Cole had all been struggling with injuries in the build-up to this game.
But it would seem that nothing accelerates the healing process like a touch of loathing.
For such was the trio’s determination to face up to the enemy, there was never a question of any of them missing the latest instalment of this tedious grudge match.
Even when Ferdinand pulled a hamstring in the final minute, he returned for stoppage time with his thigh swathed in bandages rather than depart the fray early.
By the final whistle, we had the ludicrous situation of Terry beating the club crest on his badge to the travelling Chelsea fans while Ferdinand was at the other end of the pitch, limping bare-chested to throw his shirt to home supporters who had more than held their own in the abusive exchanges.
In the the wake of last week’s independent Hillsborough report, football had dared to hope that rival fans would at last call an end to the hatred and usher in a new area of respect.
But those illusions were shattered the moment Terry stepped off the Chelsea team bus and it became clear few in West London were ready to forgive or forget.
And while the atmosphere may not have been quite as poisonous as the last time these two sides met at Loftus Road in the FA Cup, this was still a match to be endured rather than enjoyed.
Yet it really did not need to be that way, as two teams so fiercely determined not to give an inch settled for a point rather than risk losing face.
For Terry, Ferdinand and Cole, at least there was the satisfaction of keeping a clean sheet. It was not much consolation, though, for those of us hoping for more than a goalless draw.
As stalemates go, this was one that constantly simmered without ever quite reaching boiling point. Both teams had decent scoring opportunities and strong penalty appeals denied.
Chelsea dominated in the first half and Rangers came on strong after the break.
The visitors could have been ahead after just four minutes, when Fernando Torres and Ramires cut a swathe through the Rangers defence to leave in-form Eden Hazard with a shot which Julio Cesar did well to save.
It was the perfect way for Mark Hughes’ latest signing to introduce himself to English football and immediately justify his selection ahead of West Ham old boy Robert Green.
The Brazil international keeper was soon back in action to beat away a rising shot from Torres as Chelsea looked to take up where they left off at the end of last season when they humiliatingly smashed QPR 6-1 at Stamford Bridge.
But Mark Hughes’ team were not going to be such pushovers this time. They chased down every ball and harried the European champions at every turn.
Rangers felt they should have had a penalty when Fabio Da Silva was bundled over by David Luiz, while Chelsea were as convinced about fouls in the area on Terry and Hazard.
Referee Andre Marriner had his hands full just keeping a lid on the simmering tensions, as the tackles flew in and the snarling group of combatants grew ever more heated.
Remarkably, though, the two coolest men on the pitch were the two chief rivals.
That Terry could remain calm and perform under such intense scrutiny should come as no surprise. After all, the former England captain has had plenty of practice.
But it was the performance of Ferdinand which caught the eye. He was focused throughout and eliminated the lapses of concentration which have let down previous outings.
In fact, the Rangers centre-half was so dominant alongside Ryan Nelsen against Torres that the £50million striker stormed straight down the tunnel when he was replaced by England forward Daniel Sturridge late on.
QPR, inspired by Esteban Granero in midfield, could have nicked all three points when the Spaniard intercepted John Obi Mikel’s back pass in the 77th minute.
But he dithered as he tried to round Petr Cech and, by the time he finally delivered his shot, Terry was back to clear.
Chelsea had an even better opportunity in the dying minutes, after sub Victor Moses got round the back to tee up Hazard in front of goal. The Belgian leaned back and blasted the best chance of the game miles over the bar.
For Chelsea, it was their first dropped points of the season — though the draw was enough to keep them top of the early Premier League table.
For QPR, it was another failure to secure their first league win of the campaign.
And for football in general, it was a lost opportunity to restore some much-needed credibility to a sport which remains seemingly unable to shake off its demons.
QPR: Julio Cesar, Bosingwa, Ferdinand, Nelsen, Da Silva (Onuoha 20), Wright-Phillips (Cisse 69), Granero, Faurlin, Park, Johnson (Mackie 32), Zamora. Subs not used: Green, Taarabt, Dyer, Hoilett.
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Lampard, Ramires, Hazard, Bertrand (Moses 58), Torres (Sturridge 81). Subs not used: Turnbull, Romeu, Oscar, Cahill, Azpilicueta. Booked: Ramires, Bertrand.
Att: 18,271
Ref: Andre Marriner (W Midlands).
==============================
Express:
QPR 0 - CHELSEA 0: BLUES SHOOT BLANKS IN DERBY DRAW
By Colin Mafham
IF Roberto di Matteo didn’t know it before he does now. The Chelsea boss has around three days to find some more firepower or his dream of a Champions League double is in danger of being shot to pieces.
He faces Juventus on Wednesday night with a first-choice striker who couldn’t hit a barn door – if yesterday is anything to go by – and seemingly precious little else to call on in a goalscoring crisis.
Fernando Torres sulked off after a shot-shy show that left his manager with a headache that will have had watching Juventus scouts beaming.
It also must have left the Chelsea heirachy seriously questioning whether their £50million man really has recovered from the goal famine that haunted him last season.
They would appear to have little more than 72 hours to sort it, because Juventus are going to be a very different proposition to QPR.
Perhaps we shouldn’t have been surprised that yesterday’s occasion never matched all the pre-match posturing.
Anton Ferdinand predictably delivered his snubs to Ashley Cole and John Terry, who was booed and taunted every time he touched the ball.
Skipper Ji-Sung Park and even the home mascot got in on the act SLps a tasteless aperitif for the frenzied fare that followed.
Julio Cesar, making his debut for QPR, must have wondered what he’d let himself in for.
Not that the legendary Brazilian keeper was fazed by it. Smart early saves from Edin Hazard and Torres suggest he is going to be quite an asset at Loftus Road.
And he’s going to need to be if QPR’s first-half luck is anything to go by. They lost Fabio da Silva and Andy Johnson through injury.
Add to that the facts that Hazard and Terry had a couple of good looking penalty claims denied, and Petr Cech didn’t have a single save to make, and Di Matteo won’t have been the only one wondering how Chelsea went in at the break with nothing to show for their efforts.
Substitute Jamie Mackie took just three second-half minutes to change that with a snap shot that the Chelsea keeper stopped easily enough.
And, amazingly, Park might have turned the game on its head soon afterwards when Esteban Granero found him free in the box But the former Manchester United man headed straight into Cech’s hands.
Di Matteo had obviously seen enough of Rangers' spirited resurgence and on came debutant Victor Moses to try to lead a Chelsea revival.
Even so, Bobby Zamora really ought to have compounded Chelsea’s second-half misery when a hopeless back pass by Mikel left him with the goal at his mercy.
But after doing all the hard work and rounding Cech, he dithered and the best chance of the match was lost.
Torres went off soon afterwards to be replaced by Daniel Sturridge.
Some might say, not before time.
And when Hazard and Lampard both blazed good chances over the bar late on, you knew that Chelsea could have played all night on this occasion and not scored.
They can’t afford to do that next Wednesday.
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Star:
QPR 0 - CHELSEA 0
By Tony Stenson
JOHN TERRY kept his head when others lost control of theirs to ensure Chelsea stayed top of the Premier League.
Now the Bridge boys go into Europe ready to defend their Champions League title, knowing the arrival of Juventus on Wednesday will not offer such a stern test.
Chelsea skipper Terry carried himself with dignity, turned in another top-class performance and ignored the hatred being spewed his way by QPR fans.
He even collected scant praise when he blocked Bobby Zamora’s late goal-bound shot after John Obi Mikel tried a back-pass without looking.
The game between the West London rivals was always going to be a sell-out.
But there was also a bear-pit feel following the long, protracted row between Rangers’ Anton Ferdinand and Terry over alleged racist remarks during last season’s Loftus Road clash.
The question beforehand was would Ferdinand shake Terry’s hand and also that of Ashley Cole, who defended his skipper in the courtroom.
True to form, Ferdinand didn’t and, surprisingly, Ji-Sung Park also refused.
After that Terry’s every touch was booed by Rangers’ fans. Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo said: “Let’s not talk about handshakes, focus on the game.
“We showed a lot of professionalism and I think the game was played in the right spirit.”
Rangers chief Mark Hughes said: “I feel I have been talking about this forever.
“The Respect situation is a good thing but it has got to a stage now when it causes more problems that it is worth. Shake hands at the end. Leave it at that.”
The game itself was a bitter disappointment, never living up to its pre-match hype.
Chelsea – by virtue of the quality on show – should have nailed this game but derby matches have a habit of turning facts on their head.
Yet under manager Di Matteo they go for caution rather than adventure. He played Ryan Bertrand in a defensive midfield role, running from box to box but not offering much except defending.
New signings Oscar and Victor Moses – both attacking players – were on the bench – who could have done much better.
It wasn’t until late in the game that Moses replaced Bertrand – but by then the match had settled into something only enjoyed by the faithful.
Di Matteo might win a lot of matches as Chelsea boss but he will win few friends with a style built more on not losing than going for the jugular. Rangers are a decent side but overall lack the quality to make a mark in the top flight.
They can been commended for shooting at every opportunity but condemned for the quality of their efforts with the ball going in every direction but Chelsea’s goal.
If they survive relegation it can be regarded as success. They certainly look more solid than last season but that should not be considered a step forward.
Chelsea were always the class act but lacked a player like Juan Mata – someone with the ability to unlock defences.
Striker Fernando Torres had the kind of stinker that has dogged his Chelsea career to date.
Frank Lampard, so often an inspiration, looked tired after starring for England – while Obi Mikel does not have the ability to take the responsibilities.
Chelsea need Eden Hazard to step up to the plate more. He is a quality player and as time goes by could be their saviour.
Referee Andre Marriner often lost the plot, waving on fouls and petty infringements. He ignored a decent claim for a Chelsea penalty when Nedum Onuoha brought down Hazard in the 30th minute.
Rangers wasted a chance when their unmarked skipper Park headed Esteban Granero’s nicely-weighted cross into Petr Cech’s hands in the 56th minute. That was how it went.
Chances missed, wasted opportunities and a day that could have ended in controversy but finished with a slice of sanity as the players on both teams hugged each other. But not Ferdinand and Terry. The row lingers on.
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