BlueLion.

You're welcome, thanks for reading.

Aston Villa vs Chelsea 16 October 2010, 1730 KO - EPL, Villa Park MATCH CHAT HERE

Chelsea vs Arsenal 3 October 2010, 1600 KO - EPL, Stamford Bridge MATCH CHAT HERE

Carlo Ancelotti was more satisfied with the position his team finds itself in following two Group F matches than the performance that put it there. While opposing manager Didier Deschamps spoke of a gulf in class between the two teams on Tuesday night, the Chelsea coach was contrasting the two 45 minute spells that made up the 2-0 win. The first-half contained a goal from John Terry and another calmly-taken Nicolas Anelka penalty. The half-time score didn't flatter the Blues. But the French champions made it harder for their English counterparts after the break. 'The win was not comfortable because we had a difficult game in the second half,' pointed out Ancelotti. 'We played very well in the first half and the second half was more difficult because Marseille wanted to come back into the game and put more pressure on our midfield. We didn't play so well but we still had a lot of chances in the second half.' Indeed Alex hit the post with a thunderbolt free-kick, as did Michael Essien in open play. At the other end, Alex was part of a defence that prevented Marseille turning spells of pressure into genuine chances. 'Marseille have good attacking play and they wanted to score and we had a good defence second half,' agreed Ancelotti 'In the second half we had more difficultly in playing from the back because they put more pressure on us there. They took a risk of conceding a counter attack and we did have the good chances but Marseille was in the game until the end.' The manager praised the skill of Terry in turning in a corner at the near post for a seventh minute opener, and declared he was confident that Anelka would convert his first spot kick in the Champions League since Moscow in 2008. 'I have never seen Anelka afraid or nervous. He is always calm. 'Kakuta was good,' he added, the 19-year-old having started the game and supplied the delivery from which Terry scored. 'He was involved in the game and he plays for the team and this is the most important thing for a young player because sometimes a young player wants to show his ability and quality. It was important for us that he can play for the team and I have to congratulate him for the performance.' Deschamps was asked whether fine details such as failure by a player on the post to stop Chelsea's first goal had cost his side dear, but he responded: 'You could say that was a fine detail and I prefer to concentrate on the decisive detail, the huge difference between the two sides. 'We were dominated both technically and physically and Chelsea had a very effective first half. 'We found really tough, hard to hold the ball up front, it kept coming back at us, and we lacked a little aggression in certain areas. We tried a bit hard second half and we had more of the ball but Chelsea could have got a third.' The former France international captain also praised one of his nation's current crop, Florent Malouda, who was the outstanding player in the first half. 'Florent is in a great vein of form at the moment. He found space and technically his skill was superb. He works well in tandem with Ashley Cole.' The win leaves Chelsea with six points out of six ahead of back-to-back matches with Spartak Moscow who have also won their two games. 'It is a good step this victory but the next two games will be very important,' announced Ancelotti, 'but we have a good chance to arrive in the first place.' http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2168728,00.html

Chelsea 2-0 Olympique de Marseille Goals from John Terry and Nicolas Anelka ensured Chelsea maintained their winning start in the club's bid to claim the elusive Champions League trophy. Following their 4-1 triumph against Slovakian champions MŠK Žilina, the Blues faced a seemingly much-tougher task in French Ligue Un winners Marseille - and having lost successive matches against Newcastle and Manchester City achieving victory would be no mean feat. Chelsea were frustrated up in Manchester; their free-flowing attacking play had been thwarted by City's exceptional defensive showing and physical play. The Blues had been under-par in the Carling Cup also - though Carlo Ancelotti had fielded a vastly weakened team, there was certainly enough quality in the starting eleven to beat Newcastle. The Chelsea manager knew an instant improvement was needed, and the response was quite emphatic. Despite being without a wealth of attacking riches - Didier Drogba was suspended whilst Frank Lampard, Yossi Benayoun, Salomon Kalou and José Bosingwa were all sidelined through injury - Chelsea were dominant in the first half and might have eventually ran up a far great margin of victory but for the woodwork. There were starts for Yuri Zhirkov and Gael Kakuta, and youngsters Josh McEachran and Daniel Sturridge would both mate late cameos. It took them merely seven minutes to give Ancelotti the response he craved, and it came from the boot of John Terry. Florent Malouda's low drive took a nick off of a Marseille foot, and from the resulting corner from Kakuta, Terry pounced. In truth it was quite a surreal goal, with the events almost happening in slow motion: Kakuta's under-hit corner was flicked on to the near post by the deftest of Terry touches, past the hapless Benoit Cheyrou who stood on the goal-line. It was Terry's first Champions League goal for nearly two years and his first goal for Chelsea since scoring in a 2-0 defeat of Stoke City in the FA Cup more than six months ago - and the finish was quite delightful. Marseille attempted to rally but Chelsea were well-drilled defensively; the French champions were quickly closed down and were reduced to a number of long-range shots. The hosts, on the other hand, were enjoying themselves; Malouda beat his man out wide before feigning one way and going the other to earn himself some room in the penalty area before lashing just over Steve Mandanda's crossbar. Anelka then fired into the palms of his compatriot after Kakuta had split the Marseille defence open with a fine pass. But Anelka - outcast by the French footballing authorities and made a scapegoat of their failure at the World Cup - was not to be denied a goal against native opposition, and he duly made it 2-0 when Stephane Mbia was adjudged to have handled a Michael Essien cross. Anelka coolly stroked the penalty into the bottom corner with a mixture of composure and arrogance - therefore a typical finish from the Chelsea number 39. Alex had to be at his best to block a shot from Cheyrou as a satisfactory half drew to a close, but following the interval the roles were reversed; it was Marseille who were suddenly dominating and Chelsea chasing the game. Petr Cech was the busier of the two goalkeepers, denying Cheyrou once more, a Gabriel Heinze overhead kick and a long-range Brandao stinger, before Lucho Gonzales had a powerful half-volley kept out quite superbly by Ashley Cole's knee. It was a strange second half in many ways. The opposite of the first forty five minutes; Marseille were in control and exhuming confidence. Chelsea were inviting pressure - Ancelotti had clearly told them to play out the final half with a lot to spare ahead of Sunday's crunch game with Arsenal. Yet whilst the visitors had enjoyed the lion's share of possession and had the territorial advantage, it was Chelsea who on four times came the closest to scoring. The second half epitomised the quality of Chelsea - not only did they maintain defensive discipline but also were able to suddenly spark in to life. On another day, they would quite comfortably have won by six. Only the woodwork and cockiness from Daniel Sturridge spared further Marseille embarrassment. John Mikel Obi was the first to try his luck after the ball kindly broke to him - but having gone 152 games without a goal it was no surprise his effort was well wide of the target. But then came something of an onslaught on the woodwork, with the Blues hitting the post three times before the conclusion of the game. The first to do so was Alex who cracked a 40-yard free-kick off the top of Mandanda's left hand upright, before Essien nearly supplied the perfect finish to a glorious passing move down Chelsea's left, but his sumptuously-struck side-footer cannoned back off the woodwork. Then came the Sturridge incident. Having been on the pitch for less than five minutes, he was cocky in front of goal when found unmarked on the edge of the six yard box. Instead of simply poking home on the volley he tried an elaborate flick with he completely mistimed and scuffed well off-target. He simply should have found the back of the net - having been on the back-foot for the duration of the second half it would have been a welcome reprieve to the Chelsea defence. Josh McEachran then began the move which led to Chelsea's last foray forward, which culminated with Essien smacking a superb effort just wide; taking the slightest of touches off the post. It had been a frustrating evening in front of goal for Chelsea, but their early salvo had been enough to see off their French visitors. Ancelotti will no doubt be pleased with the result if not the performance, but having kept only one clean sheet in the previous five matches he will be delighted with the Blues' defence who had remained as impenetrable as ever. The game was always going to be a difficult one and in truth Chelsea were somewhat fortunate they caught the French champions on an off-evening - perhaps due to poor domestic form of their own. Nevertheless a win is a win, and a battling performance coupled with three important points is the perfect tonic ahead of the biggest game of the season so far. ___________________________________________________________________ Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Ivanovic, Alex, Terry ©, Cole; Essien, Mikel (McEachran 87), Zhirkov (Sturridge 72); Kakuta (Ramires 61) Marseille (4-3-3): Mandanda ©; Kabore, Diawara, Mbia, Heinze; Lucho Gonzalez, Cisse, Cheyrou (Ayew 58); Remy, Gignac (Valbuena 58), Brandao The TalkChelsea.net Man of the Match was Chelsea's number 26, John Terry

Of course it will mate

Will do a match report tomorrow guys, too much work to do.

Very happy. Marseille are a very good team and the second half demonstrated that. However the performance overall was competent and we effectively did enough to win the game in the first half an hour. Some people will be critical of the second half performance as we invited a lot of pressure but we were rarely worried to such an extent that you thought a goal was inevitable; the defence looked exceptionally well-drilled tonight and John Terry was by far and away the best player on the pitch. Going forward in the first half we showed some great passing and movement outside of the area and the two finishes were exquisite. I was delighted Anelka scored as his work-rate was second-to-none and is something that a lot of people overlook. Essien was exceptional, Alex played very well also and Malouda did well going forward although he frustrated me when he did not track back to help out Ashley Cole (another good performer). Zhirkov did a lot of hard work but will probably be slated because he didn't go forward enough (like Ballack he is forever damned to be the Chelsea scapegoat), Mikel had a decent match although he looked a little lethargic in possession at times (possibly due to tiredness). Sturridge again frustrated me with his attempted finish - he's successfully made himself look a right idiot. Just stick a toe out and get your second goal in two Champions League matches, mate. Kakuta was lively but was never going to get much out of a quality defence, so people should judge him more when we play the likes of Zilina at Stamford Bridge. I would have liked to have seen more of McEachran but with a very difficult game on Sunday I'm more than happy that we were able to basically end the game after the half hour mark. Let's face it, we could have won 6-0 quite easily; Sturridge should have done the normal thing and scored and we hit the woodwork on three occasions.

Chelsea have never lost a home Champions League match against a French side, winning two and drawing two. Chelsea played Marseille in the 1999-2000 Champions League with both games ending 1-0 to the home side. Inter's win at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League last 16 back in March ended a run of 21 games without defeat at home for the Blues. Marseille have played four Champions League matches in England and all of them have been decided by a one-goal margin - the last three ending 1-0. Their only win in England was back in October 2007 when Mathieu Valbuena scored the only goal of the game at Anfield. Chelsea have lost none of their last 20 Champions League group Stage matches at home since defeat to Besiktas in October 2003. Chelsea have kept 14 clean sheets in their last 17 Champions League Group Stage matches at Stamford Bridge. Marseille have lost 13 and won just two of their last 17 Champions League Group Stage matches away from home. The French side posted the best crossing accuracy in the opening set of matches finding a team-mate with 39% of their crosses.

Bienvenue á TalkChelsea! Welcome, nice to see opposition fans on here! Your English is excellent, by the way.

I agree but if you're judging that from the Man City game (where he evidently forgot to bring his shooting boots), you have to appreciate he was trying to play the Lampard role and do what Frank does; the problem is no-one can do what Frank does and we need him back asap.

Yep, after the international break. He'll be back for Villa - and he does love scoring against them, with five goals in his last two

Drogba was pony against Man City and I think he's been below par for the last three games but no-one seems to pick that up because he's Drogba. Sturridge was poor, fair enough, but cut the kid some slack. Otherwise a very good read and I enjoyed the way you expressed your thoughts.

I'd just keep walking mate

Fair play to him, he pulled off a couple of blinding saves and earned his struggling team three points. If I were in his shoes I'd have done the same.

Make sure you don't put Michael Dawson in that list

Carlo wants him to play one more reserves friendly before he returns for the first team. Expect his first game to be Villa away.

Interesting point there Esk, because I've been arguing the opposite. I think we've barely had to try this season and thus were massively complacent against a very good team yesterday. It seemed to me that the players thought we could remain in second gear and cruise to victory; this result and the way we've fortunately been let off will be the kick up the backside this team needs - we cannot afford to be arrogant or complacent because that will cost us the league. In my view there is only one team that can stop us winning the title, and that is ourselves. If we don't show enough respect to certain teams and match that with effort and application, we'll be the architects of our own undoing.

That's a fair point. But I still maintain they have a decent team and I think they'll win Ligue Un again this year. However you're right, I think we should beat them and it would be a worry if we didn't.

Yeah I think the club took a gamble on Begovic; I don't think they expected Stoke to play hard ball. As a result I'll be VERY surprised if we don't bring another goalkeeper in in January.

Remy isn't injured... he played for Marseille last night and set up Lucho for the winner. And also Taiwo scored as they beat in-form Socahux 2-1 at the Velodrome; which is in turn a very good result for Deschamps and his side. We can't underestimate this team - they have quality all over the pitch and we're not exactly playing with confidence after two straight losses.

Defensively we were excellent. Going forward we were shit. Defensively they were even better, so hats off to them, the best team won. Now let's stop feeling sorry for ourselves, beat the two French teams (Marseille and Olympique Arsennais), and then do the Villa :cfc:

I wouldn't get one with McEachran on as he's likely to change kit number next summer.

:GOAL: Goal scored by number 8; FRANK LAMPARD :GOAL: :corner: Save by Petr Cech, corner to Birmingham City :corner: :subs: Replacing number 15 Florent Malouda, number 10 Yossi Benayoun :subs:

New ones :giggle: :giggle: :toke: :toke: :lolwave: :lolwave: