Showing posts with label Stamford Bridge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stamford Bridge. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Meireles spoils Torres Chelsea debut with 1-0 win

Portuguese footballer Trindade Meireles refused to revel in revenge over Fernando Torres as Liverpool spoiled the Chelsea striker's debut with a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge Sunday.

Torres ignored Dalglish's pleas to remain at Anfield as he handed in a transfer request in a successful attempt to force through a British record 50 million pound transfer last week.

The Spaniard believes Liverpool are a club in transition and he jumped at the chance to join Chelsea because he sees the Blues as serious contenders for silverware.

As a Anfield legend who has won every major trophy during his time as a player and manager on Merseyside, Dalglish was inevitably frustrated to see Torres lose faith with Liverpool.

The Reds boss could easily have gloried in the way his tactical gameplan frustrated Torres, leading to the striker's 66th-minute substition following a lacklustre display on Sunday.

But instead Dalglish insisted his team were just focused on continuing their recent resurgence rather than stopping Torres.

"The players approached it professionally. I don't think it was any incentive, whatever someone else wants to do with their life is entirely their choice," Dalglish said.

"I came here to get three points, whether Carlo Ancelotti was playing up front or anyone else doesn't matter.

"He (Torres) had one shot on target when Jamie Carragher did a fantastic block tackle but I'm not here to talk any somebody else's players.

"I've always said the most important people to me are the people at Liverpool Football Club. We've got four clean-sheets in a row and 12 points, so I think anyone who is a Liverpool fan is very happy at the moment."

Just 10 days ago, Liverpool's future looked gloomy as Torres agitated for a move before the transfer deadline. But suddenly things are looking up for Dalglish and company.

Wins over Stoke and Chelsea have lifted Liverpool to within six points of the top four and new signings Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, drafted in to replace Torres, have yet to start for the Reds.

Dalglish is confident Liverpool fans, who taunted Torres mercilessly throughout the match, have every reason to be optimistic after 18 months of turmoil at Anfield.

"We had a busy Monday and it has been a great week. The players were fantastic in their determination to win this match," Dalglish said.

"We have signed two fantastic players in Suarez and Carroll and we are looking forward to seeing them play if they can get in the team!

"Sixth is a lot healthier than 12th when I started. That is a great credit to the players."

Liverpool's recent upsurge in fortunes has done Dalglish's chances of turning his short-term job into a more permanent one but the Scot was quick to play down such talk.

"I'm only doing what I said I would come in and do, which is help," he said.

"I'll never stand in the way of progress at this football club. I have never had a conversation with the owners beyond the conversation I had when I came in.

"That's where we stand at the moment and until there is more to discuss - that is where we are."

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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Drogba gives Arsenal blues as Liverpool humbled

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

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.

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Arsenal next up to test Chelsea's title hopes

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.

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Friday, September 24, 2010

Liverpool humbled by Northampton while Chelsea go out

Liverpool suffered a humiliating home defeat on penalties by League Two Northampton Town in the English League Cup third round on Wednesday.

Northampton, 17th in the fourth tier of English soccer, forced a 2-2 draw after extra time before winning 4-2 in the shootout to continue Liverpool's poor start to the season under new coach Roy Hodgson.

The other big upset came at Stamford Bridge where Newcastle United became the first team to beat champions Chelsea this season, striker Shola Ameobi scoring with a glancing header in the final minute to secure a thrilling 4-3 win.

Big-spending Manchester City also went out, losing 2-1 at West Bromwich Albion after taking the lead, but holders Manchester United survived an early scare to crush Scunthorpe United 5-2.

Liverpool, fielding a largely second-string team, took a lead through Milan Jovanovic but Northampton, who spent one season in the top flight in the mid-1960s, took the match to extra time through a 56th-minute strike by Billy McKay.

Northampton silenced Anfield by taking the lead eight minutes into the extra period through Michael Jacobs before a goal by striker David N'gog four minutes from time leveled the scores at 2-2 and sent the game to penalties.

The fourth division team controlled the shootout and Abdul Osman converted his spot-kick to secure a memorable 4-2 victory.

"Quite frankly, when they took the lead in extra time it was going to be an uphill battle," Hodgson told Sky Sports.

"We all know penalty shootouts are a little bit of a lottery but on the other hand when you are at home and you are kicking them in front of the Kop, you do harbor hopes at least that it's going to be your team that comes out on top," he added.

First defeat

Chelsea, also playing a much-changed side, lost a competitive match for the first time since April when Newcastle came from behind to claim their first victory at Stamford Bridge since 1986.

Chelsea went ahead early through defender Patrick Van Aanholt, but Newcastle roared into a 3-1 lead soon after halftime with goals from Nile Ranger, Ryan Taylor and Ameobi.

The hosts, reduced to 10 men after using all their substitutes, struck back with two Nicolas Anelka goals before Ameobi headed the winner.

"Nobody thought that we could win (on)coming here, hopefully it will give us momentum for the games coming up," Newcastle manager Chris Hughton told reporters. "We showed great character and some good finishing to get back in the game."

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said he was pleased with his young team's display.

"We are disappointed about the result, but absolutely not about the performance," he said. "We had a fantastic reaction and showed good spirit when it was 11 against 10.

"We now know we can count in the future on these young players, but tonight was not our priority for the season."

Former England striker Michael Owen struck twice to send holders Manchester United through to the last 16 after coming from a goal down at Scunthorpe United.

Josh Wright put Scunthorpe ahead in the 19th minute before Darron Gibson equalized to open the floodgates.

Defender Chris Smalling made it 2-1, former England striker Owen grabbed his first after halftime and Park Ji-sung scored with a low shot into the corner.

Frenchman Gerard Houllier celebrated a 3-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers in his first match as Aston Villa manager with Ashley Young scoring twice in two minutes.

West Brom knocked out big-spending Manchester City 2-1 with two second-half goals in two minutes after Jo had put the visitors ahead.

Striker Simon Cox grabbed the winner in the 57th minute, tucking a precise shot past goalkeeper Shay Given.

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Liverpool humbled by Northampton while Chelsea go out

Liverpool suffered a humiliating home defeat on penalties by League Two Northampton Town in the English League Cup third round on Wednesday.

Northampton, 17th in the fourth tier of English soccer, forced a 2-2 draw after extra time before winning 4-2 in the shootout to continue Liverpool's poor start to the season under new coach Roy Hodgson.

The other big upset came at Stamford Bridge where Newcastle United became the first team to beat champions Chelsea this season, striker Shola Ameobi scoring with a glancing header in the final minute to secure a thrilling 4-3 win.

Big-spending Manchester City also went out, losing 2-1 at West Bromwich Albion after taking the lead, but holders Manchester United survived an early scare to crush Scunthorpe United 5-2.

Liverpool, fielding a largely second-string team, took a lead through Milan Jovanovic but Northampton, who spent one season in the top flight in the mid-1960s, took the match to extra time through a 56th-minute strike by Billy McKay.

Northampton silenced Anfield by taking the lead eight minutes into the extra period through Michael Jacobs before a goal by striker David N'gog four minutes from time leveled the scores at 2-2 and sent the game to penalties.

The fourth division team controlled the shootout and Abdul Osman converted his spot-kick to secure a memorable 4-2 victory.

"Quite frankly, when they took the lead in extra time it was going to be an uphill battle," Hodgson told Sky Sports.

"We all know penalty shootouts are a little bit of a lottery but on the other hand when you are at home and you are kicking them in front of the Kop, you do harbor hopes at least that it's going to be your team that comes out on top," he added.

First defeat

Chelsea, also playing a much-changed side, lost a competitive match for the first time since April when Newcastle came from behind to claim their first victory at Stamford Bridge since 1986.

Chelsea went ahead early through defender Patrick Van Aanholt, but Newcastle roared into a 3-1 lead soon after halftime with goals from Nile Ranger, Ryan Taylor and Ameobi.

The hosts, reduced to 10 men after using all their substitutes, struck back with two Nicolas Anelka goals before Ameobi headed the winner.

"Nobody thought that we could win (on)coming here, hopefully it will give us momentum for the games coming up," Newcastle manager Chris Hughton told reporters. "We showed great character and some good finishing to get back in the game."

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said he was pleased with his young team's display.

"We are disappointed about the result, but absolutely not about the performance," he said. "We had a fantastic reaction and showed good spirit when it was 11 against 10.

"We now know we can count in the future on these young players, but tonight was not our priority for the season."

Former England striker Michael Owen struck twice to send holders Manchester United through to the last 16 after coming from a goal down at Scunthorpe United.

Josh Wright put Scunthorpe ahead in the 19th minute before Darron Gibson equalized to open the floodgates.

Defender Chris Smalling made it 2-1, former England striker Owen grabbed his first after halftime and Park Ji-sung scored with a low shot into the corner.

Frenchman Gerard Houllier celebrated a 3-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers in his first match as Aston Villa manager with Ashley Young scoring twice in two minutes.

West Brom knocked out big-spending Manchester City 2-1 with two second-half goals in two minutes after Jo had put the visitors ahead.

Striker Simon Cox grabbed the winner in the 57th minute, tucking a precise shot past goalkeeper Shay Given.

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