VietNam Culture: Chelsea

Showing posts with label Chelsea. Show all posts

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Leaders Chelsea break club record as Spurs held

Chelsea's Didier Drogba (L) challenges Wolverhampton Wanderers' Richard Stearman during their English Premier League soccer match at Stamford Bridge in London October 23, 2010

Photo: Reuters

Goals by Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou and a club record eighth consecutive home clean sheet helped Chelsea open a five-point lead in the Premier League with a 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

Malouda struck his seventh league goal of the season and Kalou came off the bench to seal victory after the break for Carlo Ancelotti's side whose early-season torrent of goals has slowed to a trickle in recent weeks.

Tottenham Hotspur rose to third, seven points behind Chelsea, after Dutchman Rafael van der Vaart made it five goals in seven since joining the north London club.

The midfielder notched the equalizer in a 1-1 draw at home to improving Everton.

West Bromwich Albion continued their dream start to life back in the top flight, moving into fourth place with a 2-1 home defeat of Fulham while Birmingham City beat Blackpool 2-0.

Sunderland edged Aston Villa 1-0 and Wigan Athletic's home match against Bolton Wanderers ended 1-1. West Ham United stayed bottom after a 2-1 home defeat by Newcastle United.

Second-placed Manchester City can reduce Chelsea's lead on Sunday when they host Arsenal while Manchester United, down in sixth spot, end their turbulent week at Stoke City.

Liverpool are also at home against Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.

Chelsea were not the fluent force that racked up 21 goals in their opening five league matches but were watertight at the back against Wolves.

It took them 23 minutes to break through against a lively visiting side and it was not until the 81st minute that Wolves were finally subdued.

"It was a tough game because we didn't play so well," Ancelotti told reporters. "We suffered from some dangerous situations in the first half and in the second half we conceded too many shots from distance.

"We could have closed the game before the second goal, we had a lot of chances, but we didn't play as well as we usually do."

Anelka enterprise

The opening goal owed much to the enterprise down the left of Nicolas Anelka. He played in Yuri Zhirkov and the Russian pulled the ball back into the path of Malouda who was unmarked eight meters out.

Chelsea have not conceded a league goal at home since March but Wolves came close to breaching the Blue wall on several occasions, most notably when Stephen Hunt's header was cleared off the line by Michael Essien.

Kevin Doyle also forced keeper Petr Cech to save a low shot and there was a growing sense of unease in the crowd before Kalou made it 2-0 after Essien and Didier Drogba linked up well.

Ancelotti picked out right back Jose Bosingwa for special praise after the Portuguese made his first league start for a year following a serious knee injury.

"Bosingwa was one of the best players on the pitch," said the coach. "He put a lot of pressure on in the second half by pushing up without the ball and he had opportunities to score.

"He played very well and he is an important player for us in the future."

Promoted West Bromwich are proving surprise packages under the astute management of former Chelsea midfielder Roberto di Matteo.

"This is beyond my expectations," Di Matteo said after his side came from behind to beat Fulham with goals by Youssuf Mulumbu and Marc-Antoine Fortune.

"I have absolutely no idea if we can keep it going. There is no secret -- it's hard work."

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Drogba gives Arsenal blues as Liverpool humbled

Chelsea's Michael Essien (L) challenges Arsenal's Abou Diaby during their English Premier League soccer match at Stamford Bridge in London October 3, 2010

Photo: Reuters

Chelsea's Didier Drogba proved Arsenal's nemesis again as he inspired the champions to a 2-0 win over their London rivals and Blackpool pulled off a stunning 2-1 victory at Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.

Chelsea bounced back from defeat at Manchester City to overpower Arsenal at Stamford Bridge and move four points clear at the top as Liverpool slumped into the relegation zone following Blackpool's triumph on their first league visit to Anfield since 1971.

Liverpool's day started badly when more than 2,000 fans marched from the city center to protest against the ownership of Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett and the defeat left new manager Roy Hodgson with just one league victory in seven matches.

Manchester City beat Newcastle United 2-1 to leapfrog Manchester United and Arsenal and move into second place.

Chelsea, who have beaten Arsenal in their last four league matches, top the table with 18 points, followed by City on 14, United on 13 and Arsenal on 11.

The victory was Chelsea's sixth in seven league games and Drogba again proved an unstoppable force against Arsenal, giving his side the lead with a stunning flick on the turn after 40 minutes to notch up his 13th goal in 13 appearances against Arsene Wenger's team.

Defender Alex sealed victory with an unstoppable free kick after 85 minutes, ending a difficult week for Chelsea, during which manager Carlo Ancelotti's father died, on a high.

"For the last two days the players have trained exceptionally well -- the day after Carlo's father's death was a bit lackluster," Chelsea assistant coach Ray Wilkins told a news conference.

"We were disappointing against Manchester City last week and we did not perform all that well today.

“You saw not a fantastic performance but a different performance in that we ground out a win. The three points was what we went for and that's what we got."

Wenger said he was pleased with Arsenal's performance.

"I just want to say that the game demonstrates how you can play well and lose the game," he said.

"We had the chances to score today, two in the first two minutes, but when you have the chances you have to score. We need to be more clinical offensively -- and defensively."

Blackpool stunned Liverpool with a 29th-minute penalty from Charlie Adam after Glen Johnson's foul on Luke Varney who struck again for the visitors before halftime.

Headed home

Defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos pulled one back for Liverpool after 53 minutes when he headed home a Steven Gerrard free kick, but the home side, who lost Spain striker Fernando Torres with an injury after nine minutes, were unable to fight back.

"It's a bad result and a very bad day," Hodgson told a news conference. "There's nothing more I can say.”

“We were very anxious to get back on track, to get the three points and lift ourselves up the table.

"No words or anything I can say can change that situation or make it better," he added.

Manchester City took the lead against Newcastle with a first-half penalty from Carlos Tevez and England's Adam Johnson fired a 75th-minute winner after Jonas Gutierrez had equalized.

The visitors also lost striker Hatem Ben Arfa with a suspected broken leg.

"It does not look good," Newcastle manager Chris Hughton told reporters. "It looks like a broken leg.”

“Everyone will have their own opinion but it was a tackle that did not need to be made."

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Arsenal next up to test Chelsea's title hopes

Chelsea's Nicolas Anelka (L) celebrates scoring with Florent Malouda against Olympique Marseille during their Champions League soccer match at Stamford Bridge in London, September 28, 2010

Photo: Reuters

After failing their first big test of the season by losing 1-0 at Manchester City last week, champions Chelsea face another tough examination when Arsenal visit Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Sunday.

Carlo Ancelotti's men roared away from the pack by winning their opening five league games and outscoring some of the lesser lights in the division 21-1 but stumbled when they came up against their first major obstacle at Eastlands.

Arsenal also lost their unbeaten league record last week when they were surprisingly beaten 3-2 at home by West Bromwich Allbion.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will hope for a vastly improved performance from his side who have lost their last four matches to Chelsea in FA Cup and League.

City outmuscled Chelsea in midfield with their powerful Dutchman Nigel de Jong giving a robust performance, but Arsenal's injury-prone and less robust players will have to chose another route.

The hugely talented Jack Wilshere has the gift of creating chances for the front men, but only Samir Nasri looks lethal in front of goal at present, although Marouane Chamakh is an increasing danger in front of goal.

It will suit Chelsea to sit back, absorb whatever Arsenal throw at them and attack on the break because although Arsenal play attractive, attacking football their defensive frailties -- especially in goal -- were easily exposed by West Brom.

Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia had a poor game and injured himself saving a penalty he conceded. The often-criticized Lukasz Fabianski replaced him for Tuesday's Champions League match against Partizan Belgrade and impressed, but he is always capable of a major gaffe.

The 25-year-old Polish international said: "I have never been bothered by the things said about me, I am always trying to focus on my job and my work.”

“Now I am ready to play against Chelsea, so we will see if I do."

Chelsea recovered from their loss to City with a 2-0 victory over Olympique Marseille in the Champions League on Tuesday and if Ancelotti continues with the exciting Frenchman Gael Kakuta in attack, the Arsenal defense will have plenty to cope with.

However, Chelsea will still be without the injured Frank Lampard in midfield and Salomon Kalou up front.

Chelsea go into the derby as league leaders with 15 points from six games, followed by Manchester United (12), Arsenal (11) and Manchester City (11).

United's 1-0 win at Valencia in the Champions League on Wednesday will have boosted their self-belief after their 2-2 draw at Bolton Wanderers last week and they face a tricky visit to Sunderland, managed by their old player Steve Bruce, on Saturday.

Striker Wayne Rooney will be missing with an ankle injury, but the match could mark Rio Ferdinand's return to league action after he returned to the side on Wednesday for his second Champions League appearance of the season after having missed the start of the league campaign through injury.

While Chelsea and Arsenal do battle at the top, Liverpool will be aiming to pull away from the other end of the table when they face Blackpool at Anfield. Bottom-placed Everton will be looking for their first win of the season at Birmingham City and Manchester City host inconsistent Newcastle United.

Arsenal next up to test Chelsea's title hopes

Chelsea's Nicolas Anelka (L) celebrates scoring with Florent Malouda against Olympique Marseille during their Champions League soccer match at Stamford Bridge in London, September 28, 2010

Photo: Reuters

Arsenal also lost their unbeaten league record last week when they were surprisingly beaten 3-2 at home by West Bromwich Allbion.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will hope for a vastly improved performance from his side who have lost their last four matches to Chelsea in FA Cup and League.

City outmuscled Chelsea in midfield with their powerful Dutchman Nigel de Jong giving a robust performance, but Arsenal's injury-prone and less robust players will have to chose another route.

The 25-year-old Polish international said: "I have never been bothered by the things said about me, I am always trying to focus on my job and my work.”

“Now I am ready to play against Chelsea, so we will see if I do."

However, Chelsea will still be without the injured Frank Lampard in midfield and Salomon Kalou up front.

Chelsea go into the derby as league leaders with 15 points from six games, followed by Manchester United (12), Arsenal (11) and Manchester City (11).

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Chelsea expose gulf in class with Marseille

Chelsea's Nicolas Anelka (2nd L) celebrates scoring with Florent Malouda (L) against Olympique Marseille during their Champions League soccer match at Stamford Bridge in London, September 28, 2010

Photo: Reuters

Premier League Chelsea exposed a gulf in class when they defeated French champions Olympique Marseille 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League group stage on Tuesday.

Chelsea's superiority was so great in a one-sided Group F match, especially in the first half, that the match was over as a contest long before halftime even though they failed to add to John Terry's and Nicolas Anelka's goals scored inside the first 28 minutes.

Marseille manager Didier Deschamps, a former Chelsea favorite and an FA Cup winner with the Blues in 2000, marveled at Chelsea's performance afterwards, saying he believed they were one of the favorites to win this season's competition, despite a recent mini-slump domestically.

"We were dominated both physically and technically, there was a huge gulf in class between the two sides," Deschamps told reporters. "Chelsea had a very effective first half and we lacked a bit of aggression.”

“Although we did better in the second half, you have to say they could easily have scored a third.

"We came here full of ambition, and full of hope, and despite the fact they had some of their main players missing they were still full of internationals.”

He added, "We were vastly inferior in the first half at least and Chelsea remain one of the favorites to be champions of Europe. They were so solid and efficient."

Marseille could have done with the kind of industrious midfield graft that Deschamps was famous for in his pomp.

Instead, their midfield was overrun by Chelsea's with Michael Essien the dominant force, helping Chelsea to take a stranglehold on the game after Terry scored with a deft flick from a Gael Kakuta corner after seven minutes.

They effectively sealed the points when Anelka scored with a 28th-minute penalty.

Ancelotti delight

Underpinning every attack was an inspired Florent Malouda, who tormented the Marseille defense with his jinking runs and invention. French youngster Kakuta also terrorized his compatriots with a glittering performance on the other flank.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti, happy for his side to avoid a third successive defeat after losses to Newcastle United and Manchester City in the past week, was delighted.

"It was an important result after those two defeats, which we can now forget about," he told reporters.

"Now we have six points, we are top of the group and have a good chance of finishing first.”

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Man City halt Chelsea charge with Tevez winner

Manchester City's Carlos Tevez (R) shoots past Chelsea's Ashley Cole (C) and Petr Cech (L) to score during their English Premier League soccer match at the City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, northern England, September 25, 2010.

Photo: Reuters

LONDON - Leaders Chelsea failed their first serious test of the Premier League season on Saturday when a Carlos Tevez goal gave Manchester City a 1-0 home win over the champions who were unstoppable in their opening five matches.

A day after City manager Roberto Mancini suggested Chelsea's title defense would be a cruise, his side begged to differ and clinched victory thanks to Tevez's 59th minute solo goal, his fourth in his last three matches against Chelsea.

Arsenal could not capitalize on defeat for their London rivals, however, as they surprisingly went down 3-2 at home to West Bromwich Albion despite two late goals from Samir Nasri.

Chelsea, who failed to score in the league for the first time since last December, are top with 15 points but Manchester United can cut the gap to a point if they beat Bolton Wanderers on Sunday. Arsenal and City have 11 with West Brom fifth on 10.

Everton slumped to the foot of the table after a 0-0 stalemate at Fulham while the gloom at Anfield deepened as Liverpool drew 2-2 at home to Sunderland. After the match fans staged a sit-down protest against the club's American owners.

West Ham United moved off the bottom with their first victory of the season, beating visiting London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 1-0. Blackpool lost 2-1 at home to Blackburn Rovers while Birmingham City versus Wigan Athletic ended scoreless.

Mancini's expensively assembled Manchester City side would have fallen 10 points adrift of Chelsea had they lost the lunchtime kickoff but the Italian won the tactical battle over compatriot Carlo Ancelotti who was critical of his players.

"We didn't play how we wanted," he told Sky Sports. "We weren't able to use our quality and were too complicated. City performed well in midfield and won a lot of tackles and they deserved to win."

Subdued Chelsea

That said, City offered precious little in attack during the first half but importantly succeeded in subduing a Chelsea strikeforce that had laid waste to defenses so far this season with 21 league goals in a rip-roaring five-match run.

Tevez was a peripheral figure as Chelsea looked the more likely side to break the deadlock but he provided one individual moment of real quality as the hour mark approached.

There seemed no danger when Yaya Toure received the ball in his own half and passed to Tevez but the Argentine was surprisingly allowed to run unimpeded towards the Chelsea goal.

He jinked to the right and lashed a shot through the legs of Ashley Cole and beyond Petr Cech's despairing dive.

Chelsea, for whom defender Branislav Ivanovic headed against the woodwork in the first half and Nicolas Anelka went close early in the second, never really looked like equalizing and it was puzzling when Didier Drogba was substituted by Ancelotti.

"It was tactical, I felt we didn't have enough pace in the attacking half," the Chelsea manager said.

Arsenal had not lost at home to West Brom for 27 years but found themselves 3-0 down as the visitors, who also missed a first-half penalty at 0-0, scored through Peter Odemwingie, Gonzalo Jara and former Gunners player Jerome Thomas.

All the goals came after the break with Nasri giving Arsenal hope of a late escape but West Brom held on for the win.

"We were poor and deserved to lose because we were not up for it, quality wise or concentration (wise)," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told Sky Sports. "Not one of the players was at his normal level. We made mistake after mistake defensively."

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Berbatov fires United and Chelsea thrash Blackpool

Chelsea's Didier Drogba passes the ball during their English Premier League match against Blackpool at Stamford Bridge in London September 19, 2010

Photo: Reuters

Dimitar Berbatov scored a brilliant hat-trick to give Manchester United a 3-2 win over Liverpool and Chelsea maintained their goal rush by thrashing Blackpool 4-0 in the Premier League on Sunday.

United were dominant for the first hour with two goals for the Bulgarian striker, but two strikes in six minutes by Steven Gerrard dragged Liverpool level before Berbatov won it six minutes from time.

Chelsea made it five wins out of five with 21 goals and one conceded after they ripped through promoted Blackpool with first-half goals by Salomon Kalou, Florent Malouda (two) and Didier Drogba.

The champions top the standings on 15 points, four clear of United and Arsenal, who drew 1-1 at Sunderland on Saturday.

Manchester City moved up to fourth on eight points after beating Wigan Athletic 2-0 with goals by Carlos Tevez and Yaya Toure.

Tottenham Hotspur, 3-1 comeback winners over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, are fifth on eight points and the last season's top-five finishers now occupy the first five slots.

In the day's big game at Old Trafford, United were in total control after Berbatov headed in a 42nd-minute corner and added a brilliant second by bringing down a cross on his thigh with his back to goal and scoring with an overhead kick.

Rash challenge

Liverpool, who had offered nothing in attack, then profited from rash defending which allowed Gerrard to pull one back with a penalty after 64 minutes and equalize with a free kick six minutes later.

United had shipped late equalizers against Everton and Fulham in recent weeks but this time they conjured up a winner as Berbatov headed his seventh goal in six games this season.

"I was saying to myself it's going to be 10 but you end up 2-2; it was a travesty of a score-line but a great result in the end," manager Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports.

For the second week running a Drogba corner helped Chelsea into the lead inside two minutes, this time an unmarked Kalou tucking in at the far post.

Drogba also provided the second after 13 minutes, crossing low for Malouda, then the Ivorian striker got on the score-sheet when he swiveled on the edge of the box to bang in the third via a deflection.

Malouda cracked in his second after a Kalou pull-back four minutes before halftime.

Chelsea's fans sat back awaiting more goals but a combination of better Blackpool defense and a drop in attacking intensity led to a scoreless second period.

"It's fantastic, through the years we improve and we try to score as many as we can," Drogba said.

"We scored four in the first half and in the second we had so many chances so maybe this is something we have to think about even if the result was great."

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Chelsea start long road back to London in style

Chelsea's Florent Malouda (R) fights for the ball with Zilina's Jozef Piacek during their Champions League Group F soccer match in Zilina September 15, 2010

Photo: Reuters

Seven years ago when Chelsea began the Roman Abramovic era at Zilina the Russian would hardly have expected Wednesday's 4-1 victory there to be another "first step" towards the Champions League title.

Abramovich's millions have transformed Chelsea from a promising Premier League team into trophy-laden aristocrats but until they lift Europe's ultimate club prize he will be forever frustrated.

Wednesday's captain John Terry was the only survivor from the team who triumphed 2-0 in a Champions League qualifying match in August 2003 and the gulf in class and resources on show that night has become a chasm.

The Londoners, who have won their first four league games and scored 17 goals in the process, looked completely untroubled as they cruised to a 3-0 halftime lead with two goals by Nicolas Anelka and one for Michael Essien.

Daniel Sturridge added the fourth three minutes after the restart with Tomas Oravec nabbing a consolation when Chelsea's attention was already wandering to their weekend appointment with Blackpool.

However, for Abramovich, and last season's league and FA Cup double-winning coach Carlo Ancelotti, the focus will remain like a laser on the Champions League final at Wembley in May.

This is Abramovich's eighth assault on the competition and having reached the semifinal four times in the last six, losing in the final in 2008, no other silverware will do.

Chelsea look well equipped to go all the way and Ancelotti used Wednesday's match to give some squad members a taste of the first team.

With striker Didier Drogba suspended, midfielder Frank Lampard and defender Ashley Cole rested, Chelsea still had more than enough firepower to continue their free-scoring start to the season.

Essien side-footed the opener after 13 minutes, Florent Malouda chipped a nice pass into the path of Anelka for the second after 24 and four minutes later he tapped in the rebound after Terry headed a corner against the bar.

Three minutes after the restart the impressive Yossi Benayoun sent Sturridge through for his first European goal.

Zilina had looked completely outclassed but gave the 11,000 crowd something for their money - ticket prices having been hiked by 700 percent - when Oravec almost burst a blood vessel to get a toe to what was looking like an Alex own goal.

Spartak Moscow and Olympique Marseille will prove Group F tests but Ancelotti, who threw on youngsters Patrick Van Aanholt Josh McEachran and Gael Kakuta during the second half, recognized a professional job well done.

"We started very well in the first half, we played fantastic football, the second half was different," he told reporters.

"I know sometimes there are difficult times, the opponent can come back in the game, but if I have to judge the performance I am very happy because it's not easy to win 4-1 away in the Champions League.

"The key was Anelka, he played a fantastic game. He created space, he had opportunities.”

Zilina coach Pavel Hapal accepted that the gulf in class was too wide.

"Chelsea showed their strength and we did not match this,” he said. “There were good combinations, we had chances, but the disparity was there."

"It was about players' speed, combination, strength this was the reason (we lost). It is a good lesson for us, we can see where soccer is heading but on the other hand I'm not satisfied."

Chelsea start long road back to London in style