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Newcastle United 0 - 0 ChelseaBarclay's Premiership - 22 April 2007 - Saint James' Park - 13:30 kick-offChelsea ruined the opportunity to close Manchester United's lead at the top of the Premiership to a single point, after a shambolic performance against a struggling Newcastle United side.Despite coming into the game on the back of a nine game winning streak in the Premiership, Chelsea's lingering title hopes suffered a serious blow, as the Champions failed to test stand-in Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper.In fact, the Blues' best effort on goal in the whole ninety minutes was a clever flick by Joe Cole, only for the England midfielder to see the ball roll inches around the post. Newcastle had their fair share of shots, and Petr Cech was forced to pull off a wonderful save from Kieron Dyer early in the second half after the Newcastle midfielder beat the offside trap only to see his shot well smothered by Cech. Obafemi Martins headed over from 8 yards from the subsequent corner.Claude Makelele was one of few players to truly shine for ChelseaThe draw leaves Chelsea three points behind leaders United, who drew 1-1 at home with Middlesbrough, thanks to a well-taken header by Australian striker Mark Viduka. José Mourinho was surely hoping his strikers would have been even half as clinical after a fruitless first half. However, Chelsea were well-marshalled by Emre and Nicky Butt in the centre of midfield, and for long spells of the game, the Champions were on the back foot. However, the introduction of Joe Cole just after half-time finally injected some excitement into what had mean a tale of two Midfields, and Salomon Kalou became more of a threat to a resurgent Newcastle back-line after he moved to the left-flank.But even the fact Chelsea were resting key players could not hide the poor performance, and without Ashley Cole's sparkling runs down the flank and Ricardo Carvalho's dominating presence in the Chelsea defence, the Blues lost Michael Ballack after a rash tackle with just 15 minutes gone.After the 1-4 win at Upton Park - Chelsea's biggest-ever win away to West Ham - and with a midweek game against Liverpool in the Champions League to come, José Mourinho rested Ricardo Carvalho, who had picked up a slight muscle strain in training. Andrei Shevchenko's late return to fitness could not herald a starting place, and the £30 million Ukrainian started on the bench, along with Joe Cole. Claude Makelele replaced Mikel John Obi, but the young Nigerian would be forced to come on after a quarter-of-an-hour on his birthday. Shaun Wright-Phillips continued in midfield, and Paulo Ferreira started in place of Lassana Diarra.Michael Ballack feels the full force of Bramble's poor tackle.Newcastle had been struggling in the League - especially at Saint James' Park where they had failed to score, let alone win since 10th February - the same day Chelsea ruthlessly dispatched Middlesbrough 3-0 at Stamford Bridge. However, the omens were bright for the Geordies, even if the bookies had Chelsea as certain favourites. The West-London outfit had not won in the league on Tyneside for three seasons, and had been beaten 1-0 the previous season. Even with ex-Chelsea players Damien Duff, Celestine Babayaro and captain Scott Parker all injured and out of the squad, the return to fitness of Emre Belezoglu and Antoine Sibierski gave much relief to Glenn Roeder, who had lost his first-choice goalkeeper Shay Given to injury weeks before the encounter.Yet the Newcastle manager could have played his Under-10s academy shotstopper against a Chelsea attack that were about as gelled together as a piece of a jigsaw hammered into the wrong position.Chelsea fans - and those of Newcastle also - had expected a far more open, attacking approach to the game from both teams - Newcastle's home record was poor and it would take just moments for the Toon faithful to turn on their team. Chelsea, on the other hand, had the golden opportunity to close the gap to a point - the smallest the difference between England's top two sides had been since October. But, in the opposite of recent Chelsea fashion, the Blues could not register after a Manchester United result. Perhaps it was the knowledge they had a cushion to fall back on, and that victory was not a necessity - but whatever the reason is, José Mourinho will be quick to voice his concern with the daunting prospect of Liverpool knocking on Chelsea's door. Memories of that goal in 2005 at Anfield still fuel a feud between the two teams.The game itself was virtually-eventless - neither team could create openings in either's defence in the opening periods, which would later go on to become the moral of the game. However, as the half went on, it was Newcastle who shaded position with the better ballplay, as Glenn Roeder's team looked to get every man in a black and white shirt involved in the game. Kieron Dyer squandered an excellent opportunity, after good pressure by Newcastle. The midfielder poked wide after good defensive play by Portuguese right-back Paulo Ferreira, who was making his first Premier League start for weeks. Obafemi Martins shot from range, but his deflected effort did not alert Petr Cech into making a move, as the ball rolled out of play into the advertising hoardings. Perhaps the best opportunity of the game followed shortly after, with good link-up-play with left-back Stephen Carr and Emre. The Irish defender - usually a right-back - was in an excellent position, but could only scrape his pass into a crowd of player, allowing Claude Makelele to volley clear with a scissor kick.But if there were to be any predominant talking points during the half-time, they were to be of the numerous penalty shouts Chelsea had. The first came as Antoine Sibierski appeared to man-handle John Terry as the Chelsea skipper jumped for the ball in the Newcastle penalty area, with replays showing that the Frenchman clearly held the England captain back as he jumped for the ball.Come half-time, Manchester United would have been sighing, hugely relieved. But for all of Chelsea's quality, delivery from corners and freekicks by Frank Lampard left much to be desired, and the usual darting runs of Wayne Bridge down the left touchline were somewhat lacking his usual energy. But a miserable, grey day was to become an agonising one for Chelsea, as they went looking for their 10th consecutive win in the League.Goalkeepers don't earn even half as much praise as goalscorers. They should.Thousands of thoughts must have gone through José Mourinho's mind at half-time, as Chelsea seemed to look far brighter in the early stages of the second half. In fact, just 48 seconds into the second part of the game, Salomon Kalou got behind the Newcastle defence, only to see his pull back to Drogba blocked by the ever-impressive Stephen Taylor, earlier praised in midweek by England coach Steve McClaren for 'being in the mould of John Terry and Tony Adams' as a defender.Lampard pushed forward, leaving Wright-Phillips, Mikel and Makelele to form a midfield triangle as the Chelsea vice-captain played behind the two strikers. Drogba had barely touched the ball come the 55 minute mark, when Chelsea reverted to a 4-3-3. Lampard moved back into a more central midfield role, with Kalou and Joe Cole either flank of Drogba. Wright-Phillips went off, and Makelele would soon follow.John Terry had a third penalty shout turned down by referee Halsey, claiming Sibierski had impeded his run. To his fury, the referee, who had a poor game, game a free-kick to Newcastle. Newcastle had two chances in 38 seconds soon after Salomon Kalou had pulled the ball back to Frank Lampard, who blazed over from 9 yards. First, Keiron Dyer broke through the defence to see his shot to close to Petr Cech, who raced out of goal to parry behind for a corner. The resulting corner nearly brought a goal, with Martins heading marginally over.Chelsea looked to have scored just after the hour, only for Nicky Butt to walk the ball off the line after Kalou had tapped the ball around 'keeper Harper following Joe Cole's cross-shot.Nicky Butt rescues NewcastleOn 75 minutes, José Mourinho looked to Andrei Shevchenko, but even one of Europe's most outstanding strikers failed to break down the home team's defence. Like Manchester United the day before them, Chelsea's luck had finally run out.Yet when four minutes were showed by the fourth official, Chelsea seemed to roar into life for the first time in the match. But even their amazing ability to create goals in the last minutes of a game could not win them the game, as Joe Cole deflected Ferreira's teasing cross wide. Chelsea knew they had blown their chance. And with only four more games left, the Blues will have their work cut out for them if they are to claim an unprecedented quadruple.Even Didier Drogba, who had scored twice agaisnt Newcastle this season, could not break down the home team.Squads and RatingsNewcastle (4-4-1-1) Harper; Solano, Bramble, Taylor, Carr; Dyer, Butt ©, Emre, Milner; Sibierski (Carroll 78); Martins. Chelsea (4-1-2-1-2) Cech; Ferreira, Essien, Terry ©, Bridge; Makelele (Shevchenko 76); Wright-Phillips (J Cole 54), Lampard; Ballack (Mikel 17); Drogba, Kalou.Booked Essien (66), Mikel (82), Lampard (85).Chelsea Formation and RatingsPetr Cech7/10Ferreira .... Terry ..... Essien ..... Bridge6/10 .........6/10 ........ 7/10.......... 6/10W.Phillips .... Ballack ..... Makelele....... Lampard6/10 .........6/10 ........ 7/10.......... 5/10Drogba .......... Kalou6/10 ............ 7/10Substitutes:John Obi Mikel - 7/10Andrei Shevchenko - 6/10Joe Cole - 7/10Referee - Mark Halsey - 2/10Newcastle - Statistics - Chelsea1 - Shots on Target - 0 7 - Shots off Target - 6 2 - Blocked Shots - 5 4 - Corners - 2 16 - Fouls - 16 0 - Offsides - 2 0 - Yellow Cards - 3 0 - Red Cards - 0 36 - Tackles - 26 47 - Possession - 52 Star ManClaude MakeleleViews of the Blues

Chelsea 3 - 2 ValenciaUEFA Champions League, Quarter Final, 1st Leg - 4th April 2007 - Stamford Bridge - 19:45 kick-offMichael Essien scored the winner for Chelsea exactly on 90 minutes, to see them beat Valencia C.F. 1-2 at the Estadio Mestalla and 3-2 on aggregate, to possibly set-up a repeat of the Champions League semi-finals of 2005 with an encounter with either Liverpool or PSV Eindhoven.It was José Mourinho's Chelsea side that bested the only-remaining Spanish team left in the competition, leaving Fernando Morientes and company dreaming of what could have been.Following 180 minutes of evenly-contested football, the fluent passing and technique of the likes of David Villa, David Silva and Joaquin Sanchez locked horns with the defensive strength and counter-attacking quality of Michael Essien, Joe Cole and John Obi Mikel as Quique Sanchez Flores tested his ability against the best manager in Europe in José Mourinho.Yet for all their skill and their allegedly unbreachable defence at their aging-yet-impressive Mestalla stadium, they were left on the back foot for pretty much the entire duration of the tie as Chelsea searched for goals. But in the first tie at Stamford Bridge, it was David Silva, the young Spanish international who broke the deadlock with a fantastic goal, before Didier Drogba equalised, setting up a memorable European night for Chelsea.After suffering defeat in only three of their sixteen previous Champions League games, at the hands of Werder Bremen, and Real Betis and Barcelona of Spain, Chelsea have had the measure of Spanish teams, with a 4-0 thrashing of Betis and a 1-0 win over Barcelona at Stamford Bridge, and two draws at the Nou Camp, 1-1 and 2-2 respectively. And coming into the return leg on much good form, Chelsea were still on course for a historic Quadruple.For the first tie, Michael Essien was still suffering from an injury picked up in the equally-thrilling 3-3 draw with Tottenham in the FA Cup, and so Salomon Kalou replaced him, after scoring the winner against Watford. Lassana Diarra was recalled at right-back, and John Obi Mikel was preferred to Claude Makelele in the holding role. Most significantly, however, was the return of Joe Cole; who was named as a substitute.The game began at the high tempo, with Valencia riding on the waves of extreme good fortune. Roberto Ayala was not punished for an obvious elbow on Andrei Shevchenko, leaving the £30.8 million Ukrainian sprawled across the ground. As to how the referee did not deem the clash as a foul, let alone give a penalty bemused José Mourinho and the capacity crowd at Stamford Bridge.They were perhaps even more fortunate when red-hot Salomon Kalou turned sharply and lashed a vicious drive against the crossbar with veteran 'keeper Santiago Canizares beaten. Former Chelsea defender Asier del Horno looks on as Andrei Shevchenko berates the referee.Following their good luck, Valencia switched to a more attack-minded 4-4-2, with the impressive David Silva alongside David Villa in the Spanish attack. After a shaky start on his return to Chelsea, full-back del Horno came to terms with the darting runs of Salomon Kalou, and the Valencia midfielders closed down an authoritive Michael Ballack, who was making one of his most impressive performances in a Chelsea shirt. John Obi Mikel failed to settle in the first half, and David Silva was given room. He almost made it 0-1 to Valencia, but he could not latch onto Joaquin's dragged shot. The unmarked striker was onside and just four yards out, with Petr Cech on the floor at his near post. The young Spaniard began to dictate the play, and was involved in the Valencia defence, midfield and found himself in plenty of room. Despite Frank Lampard breathing down his neck, with Diarra backing off and Mikel nowhere to be seen, he launched an optimistic effort goalbound from 27 yards at an improbably angle; beating the world's best goalkeeper in the process to give Valencia an extremely important away goal.The impressive David Silva escapes Lampard to stun Stamford Bridge. Chelsea 0 - 1 ValenciaJosé Mourinho came to the touch-line, but even the Special One could not give Chelsea inspiration in a limp first half display. Yet come the second period, Chelsea played with more speed and in more space, giving Lampard and Ballack a route up front to aid Drogba and Kalou who were receiving little service.And it was the young Ivorian that nearly put Chelsea on level terms, but his swing for the ball was mis-qued after Lassana Diarra had broken free of del Horno to put in a teasing cross.But his international colleague Didier Drogba, having been stuck on 29 goals for the season since the game at Portsmouth in early March put parity between the two sides, as he latched onto Ashley Cole's punt to head over the struggling Canizares, who was clearly in two minds as to come for the ball or not. Drogba's cushioned header was his 30th of a remarkable season, and one of his most important undoubtedly.Santiago Canizares watches helplessly as Drogba's header lobs the goalkeeper, much to the delight of the home crowd. Chelsea 1 - 1 Valencia.Andrei Shevchenko's spectacular overhead kick was diverted wide for a corner, and Ricardo Carvalho's hopeful poke was blocked from 6 yards. Mikel's obvious improvement at marking Silva left Villa without service, as John Terry and company looked for an early night.With 16 minutes remaining, Jose Mourinho opted to use wide players as Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips came on for Chelsea replacing John Obi Mikel and Kalou.With the first leg ending a-goal-a-piece, the tie was delicately set-up with the return at the Mestalla just 6 days later.Squads and RatingsChelsea: Cech, Diarra, Terry, Carvalho, Ashley Cole, Kalou (Wright-Phillips 74), Ballack, Lampard, Mikel (Joe Cole 74), Shevchenko, Drogba. Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Makelele, Boulahrouz, Bridge, Ferreira. Booked: Drogba, Diarra. Goals: Drogba 53. Valencia: Canizares, Miguel, Ayala, Moretti, Del Horno, Vicente (Angulo 57), Albelda, Albiol, Joaquin (Hugo Viana 86), Silva, Villa (Jorge Lopez 90). Subs Not Used: Butelle, Curro Torres, Nacho Insa, Pallardo. Booked: Silva, Albelda, Ayala. Goals: Silva 30. Chelsea Formation and RatingsPetr Cech7/10Diarra .... Terry ..... Carvalho ..... A.Cole7/10 .........8/10 ........ 8/10.......... 7/10Ballack .... Kalou ..... Mikel....... Lampard8/10 .........6/10 ........ 7/10.......... 6/10Drogba .......... Shevchenko7/10 ............ 7/10Referee - Frank De Bleeckere had a below-par game, with the Belgium man failing to give Chelsea an obvious penalty kick. 5/10. Chelsea 3 - 2 ValenciaUEFA Champions League, Quarter Final, 2nd Leg - 10th April 2007 - Estadio Mestalla - 19:45 kick-offFor the return leg, a surprise inclusion for Chelsea was that of Michael Essien who had been declared fit in the morning. Salomon Kalou was the only change to the starting XI of the previous leg, as his slot behind the strikers was vacated in order for Essien to start. Joe Cole was once more on the bench, following another 10 minutes of action against Tottenham at the weekend.Valencia welcomed back Fernando Morientes, a name that still haunts Chelsea's fans of 2004. The man who virtually single-handedly put Chelsea out of Europe at the semi-final stage in the 2003-04 campaign for AS Monaco. Yet his team were beaten 3-0 in the final by F.C. Porto - coincidentally led by a certain José Mourinho. Migel Angel Angulo was dropped to the bench following his run-out at the weekend, and Vicente was absent due to injury.The game was a cagey affair during the opening exchanges, with Chelsea by far having the better of the possession and the chances. Ricardo Carvalho and Andrei Shevchenko both headed wide with difficult chances, but Michael Ballack's on-target bullet header was well-gathered at the feet of Canizares. With half an hour gone, Valencia decided to turn up the heat. Joaquin put in a teasing cross, and as the Chelsea defence switched off, their least favourite nemesis put the ball in the back of the net. Stretching, Fernando Morientes managed to steer the ball past Petr Cech, who could only grasp at thin air as the ball slid under him. Clearly pleased by his goal, Fernando Morientes wheeled away to celebrate with David Villa. Meanwhile, a dejected Chelsea are berated by an enraged Petr Cech as Michael Essien looks on. Chelsea 1 - 2 Valencia.Earlier, Morientes had hit the post with Cech stranded and hit the rebound wide, leaving Chelsea gasping for a break in play.Six minutes later, Santiago Canizares pulled off one of the most stunning saves of the Champions League 2006-2007 campaign as he clawed away Drogba's top-corner-bound header with an athletic parry.After the half-time break, Joe Cole replaced the struggling Lassana Diarra. Immediately making an impression, he set up what was a crucial goal for Chelsea. Winning a free-kick, Essien lofted the ball into the Valencia box. Drogba tried to power the ball into the goal, but for an exceptional block by Roberto Ayala, who had been booked earlier. However, the ball fell kindly to Andrei Shevchenko, who powered home from three yards.Shevchenko celebrates his 14th Chelsea goal, and his 59th European Goal for Kyiv, Milan and Chelsea. Chelsea 2 - 2 Valencia.Drogba decided placement over power, and his shot was gathered by Canizares. Moments later, a moment parallel to Banks and Pele resulted in Michael Ballack's goal-bound header being palmed over the bar in amazing fashion by Canizares.But the 37-year-old shot-stopper went from hero to zero when he failed to mark his near post, and Michael Essien's superb drive found the back of the net to win the tie for Chelsea, becoming the first English team to win at the Mestalla in 10 games.The Blues were chuffed with their winning goal, as clearly visible from Michael Ballack's face. Chelsea 3 - 2 Valencia.Squads and RatingsValencia: Canizares, Miguel, Ayala, Moretti, Del Horno, Joaquin, Albelda, Albiol (Hugo Viana 72), Silva, Morientes (Angulo 65), Villa.Subs Not Used: Butelle, Jorge Lopez, Curro Torres, Nacho Insa, Pallardo. Booked: Del Horno, Albelda, Ayala, Moretti. Goals: Morientes 32. Chelsea: Cech, Diarra (Joe Cole 46), Carvalho, Terry, Ashley Cole, Mikel, Essien, Lampard (Makelele 90), Ballack, Shevchenko (Kalou 90), Drogba.Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Bridge, Ferreira, Wright-Phillips. Booked: Essien, Ballack. Goals: Shevchenko 52, Essien 90.Chelsea Formation and RatingsPetr Cech7/10Diarra .... Terry ..... Carvalho ..... A.Cole5/10 .........7/10 ........ 8/10.......... 8/10Ballack .... Essien ..... Mikel....... Lampard7/10 .........8/10 ........ 7/10.......... 6/10Drogba .......... Shevchenko7/10 ............ 8/10Referee - Kyros Vassaras had a good game - albeit slightly biased towards Chelsea - 8/10

[ Watford 0-1 ChelseaBarclay's Premiership - 31st March 2007 - Vicarage Road - 17:15 kick-off Salomon Kalou was once again the hero for Chelsea, who continued their dogged pursuit of league leaders and Champions-elect Manchester United, with a crucial winner deep into injury time.The three points were barely deserved - but the current Champions showed exactly why they have won two back-to-back titles, as they ground out a precious win to keep up their relentless pressure on the Red Devils.The Blues came into this game on the back of six straight Premiership wins and six clean sheets, since their 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield. Since that day in January, the Blues had gone unbeaten in 14 games, and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup and set up a highly-anticipated European clash with Valencia. However, any thoughts of an easy victory against Watford were rubbished after just fourteen seconds of this affair - with Watford coming straight out of the starting blocks to win a corner.Chelsea were still feeling sore from their bruising 3-3 encounter with Tottenham in March at Stamford Bridge, as Michael Essien sat out for the fourth consecutive game. Wayne Bridge was recovering after having knee surgery and Arjen Robben's recurring injuries brought a premature end to his season as he agreed to undergo knee surgery. To further compound Chelsea's injury woe, they were also missing long-time absentee Joe Cole. However, Frank Lampard, who had sat out England's 3-0 win in Andorra played despite fracturing his wrist whilst training for the national team. Lassana Diarra was missing with an injured shoulder, so Mourinho threw in Gérémi.Watford were fully fit heading into this physical encounter, with defenders Jordan Stewart and Jay DeMerit both included despite suffering knocks in previous games for club and country.Watford's form this season has left much to be desired - three Premiership wins from 30 games and just nineteen goals scored has left the Premiership's bottom club stranded in the relegation zone virtually all campaign, and with fellow strugglers West Ham and Charlton picking up much-deserved victories earlier in the afternoon, the Hornets needed a result to stand any real chance of safety this season.Chelsea, on the other hand, continue to show exactly why they are Champions. Despite missing players such as John Terry, Joe Cole, Michael Essien and Petr Cech to long-term injury throughout the season, and having key players such as Wayne Bridge and Arjen Robben unavailable for this encounter, they have not let league leaders Manchester United run away with the Premiership trophy. Instead, United are 'just' six points clear of Chelsea, and with a meeting between the two still to come in May the Premiership title race is very much on.Since their league defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal respectively, Chelsea and United have shown ruthless efficiency in their six games since - with each team picking up eighteen points form eighteen, they have matched each other blow-for-blow. United have battered teams with their superior firepower, and Chelsea's superb defence had not been breached for 612 minutes heading into the Watford game.However, with Manchester United thrashing Blackburn Rovers (who Chelsea face in two weeks time in the FA Cup semi-final) 4-1 at Old Trafford, the current Champions found themselves in need of three points to stay in touch of their bitter northern rivals.And chants of "Where's your title gone?" from the jubilant Watford crowd certainly did not help the Chelsea team, who were lead out by John Terry at a quarter past five on a fine Saturday evening.Little did he know, that he would end up on his backside 14 seconds later to clear the ball for a corner and then another twenty seconds later that he would be on the ground with a head injury.Thankfully for the Chelsea skipper, who has seen more than his fair share of injury this term, he was able to shake off the blow and was able to continue. Darius Henderson accidentally caught him with a stray elbow after just 32 seconds, but later apologised as both had eyes only for the ball.Chelsea's vice-captain Frank Lampard's expression shows that Chelsea were in for a tough ninety minutes.A moment that caused much controversy occurred moments later. Henderson hit a cross into the box, and the ball appeared to hit Terry's arm, but referee Uriah Rennie waved away protests from the Watford faithful. There was little plea for a spot kick from the Watford team.The Hornets' surprising start continued when Steve Kabba, recent addition to the Watford squad, hit a spectacular over-head kick. The ball seemed to be destined for the back of the net, but a smart reaction save from Petr Cech denied the Watford striker his first goal for the club. Ricardo Carvalho cleared the resulting corner with a towering header.The first half was a true midfield battle - Aidy Boothroyd ordered his team to match the formation of Chelsea, and play the ball on the floor to frustrate the Champions. However, Claude Makelele and Michael Ballack would have none of it - as both had excellent first halves - the pair soaked up the pressure on the Blues' defence, allowing full-backs Gérémi and Ashley Cole license to push forward along with the energetic Ricardo Carvalho, who was bursting forward at every possible opportunity, leaving, at points just John Terry and Petr Cech behind to defend the goal.Watford, however, still managed to break through Chelsea's scattered midfield. Shaun Wright-Phillips did little to aid his struggling companion Frank Lampard, who was marshalled out of the game. A long, hopeful cross found Henderson, whose weak header was not a test for Cech.But Watford fought on, and their strikers chased lost causes. Steve Kabba breathed down the neck of Petr Cech whenever he challenged for the ball, and said pressure caused the Chelsea shot-stopper to spill the ball. However, the Czech Republic number one managed to recover brilliantly and punch the ball behind.Henderson shot wide later in the half, before Kabba missed a golden opportunity just before the break to put the home team ahead. He latched onto Henderson's cross from the right, but his touch let him down, and he powered his shot wide after he failed to get a strong balance on his standing foot.No, Ben Foster wasn't auditioning for Strictly Come Dancing, but rather superbly denying Drogba his 30th goal of the season.Chelsea turned up the heat, and had a couple of attempts on goal themselves. Foster sharply stopped Drogba's half-volley with his foot, whilst Lampard's penalty claims were turned down, despite being obviously brought down in the area.Half-time came with the score still 0-0 - Watford's robust team had denied Chelsea the room they craved, and for the first 45 minutes it looked as if Watford were to be handing Manchester United the Premiership trophy.José Mourinho responded by taking off Gérémi and Makelele at half-time, replacing the defensive pair with Paulo Ferreira and the more attacking-minded Salomon Kalou.But Watford continued to hurry the Champions in a second half that was few in chances and tied down in the midfield, as Watford camped outside their area to defend Chelsea's relentless pressure from their 8-man strike force.Kabba missed yet another sitter in almost exactly the same fashion as the first, and Terry and Henderson resumed their verbal abuse towards one-another. The pressure truly began to take the toll on Watford's tiring defence in the last ten minutes. José Mourinho threw substitute John Obi Mikel, Ricardo Carvalho and Michael Ballack up front alongside Shevchenko, Drogba and Kalou, with Lampard and Wright-Phillips playing in the midfield with just Terry and Ferreira in defence, protecting Cech.Ballack missed a sitter with six minutes to go, with a fresh air shot. Shevchenko failed to convert the ball as it bounced around, and Lampard blazed over from 30 yards.The (ex-?)England midfielder was through on goal for a second time, but Jay DeMerit blocked with an excellent tackle, before Shevchenko floated in a cross from the right flank.Much to manager Mourinho's joy, Kalou popped up to head the excellent cross into the net beyond Ben Foster, to break the hearts of Watford and Manchester United fans, shortly after Cech had excellently stopped Damien Francis at his front post.Paulo Ferreira congratulates Shevchenko on his cross for the winner, as Drogba, Mikel, Terry and Kalou celebrate.Seven games left, still six points behind Manchester United.Squads and RatingsWatford (4-1-2-1-2) Foster; Chambers, Shittu, DeMerit, Stewart; Mahon ©; Francis, Rinaldi; Smith; Henderson (Priskin 68), Kabba (Bouazza 80).Booked Francis (23). Chelsea (4-1-2-1-2) Cech; Gérémi (Ferreira h-t), Carvalho, Terry ©, A Cole (Mikel 57); Makelele (Kalou h-t); Wright-Phillips, Lampard; Ballack; Drogba, Shevchenko.Scorer Kalou (90+2).Booked Wright-Phillips (65), Ferreira (75), Carvalho (90).Chelsea Formation and RatingsPetr Cech8/10Gérémi .... Terry ..... Carvalho ..... Cole6/10 .........7/10 ........ 8/10.......... 6/10W.Phillips .... Makelele ..... Ballack ..... Lampard6/10 .........7/10 ........ 7/10.......... 6/10Drogba .......... Shevchenko6/10 ............ 7/10Referee Uriah Rennie failed to see three definite penalties - two for Chelsea and one for Watford - 3/10Watford - Statistics - Chelsea0 - Goals - 1 4 - Shots on target ( Inc Goals ) - 6 5 - Shots off Target (inc woodwork) - 5 3 - Blocked Shots - 2 5 - Corners Won - 10 18 - Total Fouls Conceded - 10 0 - Offsides - 2 1 - Yellow Cards - 3 0 - Red Card - 0 45% - Possession - 55% Star ManRicardo Carvalho

[ Watford 0-1 ChelseaBarclay's Premiership - 31st March 2007 - Vicarage Road - 17:15 kick-off Salomon Kalou was once again the hero for Chelsea, who continued their dogged pursuit of league leaders and Champions-elect Manchester United, with a crucial winner deep into injury time.The three points were barely deserved - but the current Champions showed exactly why they have won two back-to-back titles, as they ground out a precious win to keep up their relentless pressure on the Red Devils.The Blues came into this game on the back of six straight Premiership wins and six clean sheets, since their 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield. Since that day in January, the Blues had gone unbeaten in 14 games, and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup and set up a highly-anticipated European clash with Valencia. However, any thoughts of an easy victory against Watford were rubbished after just fourteen seconds of this affair - with Watford coming straight out of the starting blocks to win a corner.Chelsea were still feeling sore from their bruising 3-3 encounter with Tottenham in March at Stamford Bridge, as Michael Essien sat out for the fourth consecutive game. Wayne Bridge was recovering after having knee surgery and Arjen Robben's recurring injuries brought a premature end to his season as he agreed to undergo knee surgery. To further compound Chelsea's injury woe, they were also missing long-time absentee Joe Cole. However, Frank Lampard, who had sat out England's 3-0 win in Andorra played despite fracturing his wrist whilst training for the national team. Lassana Diarra was missing with an injured shoulder, so Mourinho threw in Gérémi.Watford were fully fit heading into this physical encounter, with defenders Jordan Stewart and Jay DeMerit both included despite suffering knocks in previous games for club and country.Watford's form this season has left much to be desired - three Premiership wins from 30 games and just nineteen goals scored has left the Premiership's bottom club stranded in the relegation zone virtually all campaign, and with fellow strugglers West Ham and Charlton picking up much-deserved victories earlier in the afternoon, the Hornets needed a result to stand any real chance of safety this season.Chelsea, on the other hand, continue to show exactly why they are Champions. Despite missing players such as John Terry, Joe Cole, Michael Essien and Petr Cech to long-term injury throughout the season, and having key players such as Wayne Bridge and Arjen Robben unavailable for this encounter, they have not let league leaders Manchester United run away with the Premiership trophy. Instead, United are 'just' six points clear of Chelsea, and with a meeting between the two still to come in May the Premiership title race is very much on.Since their league defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal respectively, Chelsea and United have shown ruthless efficiency in their six games since - with each team picking up eighteen points form eighteen, they have matched each other blow-for-blow. United have battered teams with their superior firepower, and Chelsea's superb defence had not been breached for 612 minutes heading into the Watford game.However, with Manchester United thrashing Blackburn Rovers (who Chelsea face in two weeks time in the FA Cup semi-final) 4-1 at Old Trafford, the current Champions found themselves in need of three points to stay in touch of their bitter northern rivals.And chants of "Where's your title gone?" from the jubilant Watford crowd certainly did not help the Chelsea team, who were lead out by John Terry at a quarter past five on a fine Saturday evening.Little did he know, that he would end up on his backside 14 seconds later to clear the ball for a corner and then another twenty seconds later that he would be on the ground with a head injury.Thankfully for the Chelsea skipper, who has seen more than his fair share of injury this term, he was able to shake off the blow and was able to continue. Darius Henderson accidentally caught him with a stray elbow after just 32 seconds, but later apologised as both had eyes only for the ball.Chelsea's vice-captain Frank Lampard's expression shows that Chelsea were in for a tough ninety minutes.A moment that caused much controversy occurred moments later. Henderson hit a cross into the box, and the ball appeared to hit Terry's arm, but referee Uriah Rennie waved away protests from the Watford faithful. There was little plea for a spot kick from the Watford team.The Hornets' surprising start continued when Steve Kabba, recent addition to the Watford squad, hit a spectacular over-head kick. The ball seemed to be destined for the back of the net, but a smart reaction save from Petr Cech denied the Watford striker his first goal for the club. Ricardo Carvalho cleared the resulting corner with a towering header.The first half was a true midfield battle - Aidy Boothroyd ordered his team to match the formation of Chelsea, and play the ball on the floor to frustrate the Champions. However, Claude Makelele and Michael Ballack would have none of it - as both had excellent first halves - the pair soaked up the pressure on the Blues' defence, allowing full-backs Gérémi and Ashley Cole license to push forward along with the energetic Ricardo Carvalho, who was bursting forward at every possible opportunity, leaving, at points just John Terry and Petr Cech behind to defend the goal.Watford, however, still managed to break through Chelsea's scattered midfield. Shaun Wright-Phillips did little to aid his struggling companion Frank Lampard, who was marshalled out of the game. A long, hopeful cross found Henderson, whose weak header was not a test for Cech.But Watford fought on, and their strikers chased lost causes. Steve Kabba breathed down the neck of Petr Cech whenever he challenged for the ball, and said pressure caused the Chelsea shot-stopper to spill the ball. However, the Czech Republic number one managed to recover brilliantly and punch the ball behind.Henderson shot wide later in the half, before Kabba missed a golden opportunity just before the break to put the home team ahead. He latched onto Henderson's cross from the right, but his touch let him down, and he powered his shot wide after he failed to get a strong balance on his standing foot.No, Ben Foster wasn't auditioning for Strictly Come Dancing, but rather superbly denying Drogba his 30th goal of the season.Chelsea turned up the heat, and had a couple of attempts on goal themselves. Foster sharply stopped Drogba's half-volley with his foot, whilst Lampard's penalty claims were turned down, despite being obviously brought down in the area.Half-time came with the score still 0-0 - Watford's robust team had denied Chelsea the room they craved, and for the first 45 minutes it looked as if Watford were to be handing Manchester United the Premiership trophy.José Mourinho responded by taking off Gérémi and Makelele at half-time, replacing the defensive pair with Paulo Ferreira and the more attacking-minded Salomon Kalou.But Watford continued to hurry the Champions in a second half that was few in chances and tied down in the midfield, as Watford camped outside their area to defend Chelsea's relentless pressure from their 8-man strike force.Kabba missed yet another sitter in almost exactly the same fashion as the first, and Terry and Henderson resumed their verbal abuse towards one-another. The pressure truly began to take the toll on Watford's tiring defence in the last ten minutes. José Mourinho threw substitute John Obi Mikel, Ricardo Carvalho and Michael Ballack up front alongside Shevchenko, Drogba and Kalou, with Lampard and Wright-Phillips playing in the midfield with just Terry and Ferreira in defence, protecting Cech.Ballack missed a sitter with six minutes to go, with a fresh air shot. Shevchenko failed to convert the ball as it bounced around, and Lampard blazed over from 30 yards.The (ex-?)England midfielder was through on goal for a second time, but Jay DeMerit blocked with an excellent tackle, before Shevchenko floated in a cross from the right flank.Much to manager Mourinho's joy, Kalou popped up to head the excellent cross into the net beyond Ben Foster, to break the hearts of Watford and Manchester United fans, shortly after Cech had excellently stopped Damien Francis at his front post.Paulo Ferreira congratulates Shevchenko on his cross for the winner, as Drogba, Mikel, Terry and Kalou celebrate.Seven games left, still six points behind Manchester United.Squads and RatingsWatford (4-1-2-1-2) Foster; Chambers, Shittu, DeMerit, Stewart; Mahon ©; Francis, Rinaldi; Smith; Henderson (Priskin 68), Kabba (Bouazza 80).Booked Francis (23). Chelsea (4-1-2-1-2) Cech; Gérémi (Ferreira h-t), Carvalho, Terry ©, A Cole (Mikel 57); Makelele (Kalou h-t); Wright-Phillips, Lampard; Ballack; Drogba, Shevchenko.Scorer Kalou (90+2).Booked Wright-Phillips (65), Ferreira (75), Carvalho (90).Chelsea Formation and RatingsPetr Cech8/10Gérémi .... Terry ..... Carvalho ..... Cole6/10 .........7/10 ........ 8/10.......... 6/10W.Phillips .... Makelele ..... Ballack ..... Lampard6/10 .........7/10 ........ 7/10.......... 6/10Drogba .......... Shevchenko6/10 ............ 7/10Referee Uriah Rennie failed to see three definite penalties - two for Chelsea and one for Watford - 3/10Watford - Statistics - Chelsea0 - Goals - 1 4 - Shots on target ( Inc Goals ) - 6 5 - Shots off Target (inc woodwork) - 5 3 - Blocked Shots - 2 5 - Corners Won - 10 18 - Total Fouls Conceded - 10 0 - Offsides - 2 1 - Yellow Cards - 3 0 - Red Card - 0 45% - Possession - 55% Star ManRicardo Carvalho

Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 2 Chelsea F.C. Chelsea joined Watford and Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals and setting up an FA Cup Round 7 tie against Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford, following their 1-2 away win at Tottenham Hotspur in their 6th Round replay.The original game had been a true cracker - a six goal thriller shared between the two goals. Emerging after the break 3-1 down at home, Chelsea showed their true spirit by fighting back with goals from Frank Lampard and Salomon Kalou to draw the game. However, normal service is since resumed, with the Blues in control for the full 90 minutes of the replay at White Hart Lane.With both clubs in action just two days prior to this highly-anticipated re-match, there was little margin for error - let alone injury - with one team knowing that their FA Cup dream would be shattered before them.Tottenham would take little insult to being called a Cup Team - despite having battled past Southend, Cardiff City and Fulham in the FA Cup and reaching the UEFA Cup Quarter-Finals - their league form has left much to be desired. Despite beating Chelsea at the Lane just months earlier to banish an ancient hoodoo, they have failed to progress higher than the UEFA Cup slots all term, and have found Everton and Reading tough opposition to overhaul in the Premiership table.Chelsea however, would not take any insult whatsoever in being hailed as remarkable. Despite having lost Joe Cole for virtually all season, and key players such as Petr Cech and John Terry, the Blues have not let United put comfortable ground between each other, and have reached the Quarter-Finals of the Champion's League and won the Carling Cup for the second time in three seasons already - not to mention defeating a team from every professional English division thus far in the FA Cup, bar a Premier League team.For their test of overcoming Tottenham at the second attempt, they welcomed back John Terry to the defence, as well as Lassana Diarra. Jon Obi Mikel, having served his four-game ban returned to the anchor position in midfield where he had performed fantastically against Porto. Michael Essien was still injured after picking up a knock against Spurs at the Bridge two Sunday’s back, and Gérémi and Claude Makelele were relegated completely, and not included in the travelling sixteen.Spurs welcomed back Paul Robinson - scorer of the 88 metre freekick against Watford - Dimitar Berbatov, Aaron Lennon and Robbie Keane to the starting line-up, and Paul Stalteri was replaced by Pascal Chimbonda. Ricardo Rocha retained his position at centre-back with Ledley King injured.The first half did not match the expectation set upon it, and had nowhere near the same quality (or mistakes) as the first half of the Stamford Bridge tie. Shevchenko had a shot well caught by Robinson, but the best of the opportunities of the half fell to Michael Ballack. Drogba received a cross from Ashley Cole, and chested the ball to the German skipper, but his shot missed to the left of Robinson's goal by inches.Neither goalkeeper was called into action, though both defences were kept on their toes. John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho showed their understanding between themselves to be secure despite playing on their second game alongside each other for nearly six weeks, with both defenders making key clearances and interceptions. Terry did spectacularly well to head away a teasing cross from Aaron Lennon, though Petr Cech had his defence - and himself - well marshalled. Before the close of the half, Shaun Wright-Phillips went close and Andrei Shevchenko's cross was kept out by Chimbonda. The second half began with Spurs having much the better of the possession and the shots, with Petr Cech smartly stopping Pascal Chimbonda's half-volley from six yards and beating away Steed Malbranque's effort. However, Spurs always played caution to the wind as Chelsea broke on numerous occasions, albeit to be foiled by the Spurs defence.Enter under-fire striker Andrei Shevchenko. Two years earlier undoubtedly Europe's finest striker. Shevchenko had always been under massive pressure coming to Chelsea - a team whose goals come from everywhere - defence, midfield, attack. With Didier Drogba having the season he is having, Shevchenko has been made to look second best. However, it’s because of Drogba that Shevchenko's obvious contribution has been ignored and the limelight placed on the Ivorian.Yet tonight, Drogba was happy to play second fiddle to the Ukrainian. Even so, second-fiddle or not, Shevchenko's performance at White Hart Lane would do nothing but help him with his cause. Scorer of a magnificent goal against Sheffield United at the weekend, he would be scorer or an even better goal on Monday evening.Receiving the ball from Wright-Phillips, he appeared to be danger at all as he checked his run past Malbranque and entered the penalty area. Switching to his left foot, he curled a beautifully-weighted shot into the top corner which both Didier Drogba and Paul Robinson could only watch and admire.Despite having plenty of chances, Chelsea were hard pressed as Spurs fought on to find an equaliser. But the ball was up the other end just six minutes after Shevchenko had celebrated his magnificent shot.Enter under-fire winger Shaun Wright-Phillips. Two years earlier undoubtedly one of the biggest talents in the Premiership. Wright-Phillips had always been under massive pressure coming to Chelsea - a team that had previously based its success on wingers Damien Duff and Arjen Robben, that had changed to a 4-4-2 with the arrivals of Shevchenko and Ballack. With Lampard and Essien in fine form, and Mourinho experimenting with Ballack, Makelele, Robben and Mikel to find the perfect formula, he had looked just two months earlier to be on his way out of Chelsea. Like Shevchenko, the Englishman's performance tonight was going to boost his confidence massively.Drogba received a cross from Ashley Cole, and chested it into space behind Chimbonda. Wright-Phillips volleyed home from a tight ankle with his weaker foot to make it two-nil. If Shevchenko's goal was fantastic, Wright-Phillips' was breath-taking.Spurs looked to have found a "Get out of Jail" card when Berbatov was apparently tripped by Carvalho. The Chelsea defender took some of the ball and some of the man, but a spot-kick was the least Spurs deserved for their part in what had been two memorable FA Cup ties. Keane easily converted, sending Cech the wrong way, but Chelsea hung on and nearly got a third from substitute Robben, but earlier Shevchenko who was incorrectly waved offside when one-on-one.Squads and Line-Ups Tottenham (4-1-2-1-2) Robinson; Chimbonda, Dawson, Rocha (Stalteri 83), Lee; Zakora; Jenas, Malbranque (Defoe 63); Lennon; Keane ©, Berbatov.Scorers Keane (pen) 78.Booked Chimbona (78). Chelsea (4-1-2-1-2) Cech; Diarra (Ferreira 90+2), Carvalho, Terry ©, A Cole; Mikel; Wright-Phillips (Kalou 85), Lampard; Ballack; Shevchenko (Robben 81), Drogba.Scorers Shevchenko (53), Wright-Phillips (60).Booked Diarra (27), Drogba (34), Carvalho (77), Cech (78).The Ratings - How they ScoredKey:1: Woeful, 2: Inexistent Contribution, 3: Poor, 4: Quiet, 5: Tried, 6: Average, 7: Good, 8: Involved, 9: Excellent, 10: FantasticPetr Cech - 6 - Average. Little to do, except the penalty. Diarra - 9 - Excellent. Aaron Lennon had no joy against him.Carvalho - 7 - Good. Worked really hard and played well with Terry.Terry - 7 - Good. Strong display from the Chelsea skipper. Back to his best? - not just yet.Cole - 7 - Good. Might have got on scoresheet. Strong defensively.Wright-Phillips - 8 - Involved. Put some great crosses in and played well in the midfield. Great goalMikel - 10 - Fantastic. They say Makelele is the best in the world? Lampard - 7 - Good. Hard performance from the midfield dynamo.Ballack - 7 - Good. Not his best game, but his performances are getting better.Shevchenko - 9 - Fantastic. Spectacular goal and worked hard.Drogba - 7 - Good. Barely had a kick but was solid in defenceRobben- 7 - Good. Replaced Shevchenko. No time to impress.Kalou - 6 - Average. Replaced Wright-Phillips. Didn't do much. Didn't need to.Paulo Ferreira - 6 - Average. Replaced Diarra. Came on for 1 minute 21 seconds.Overall team rating - 8 - normal service is resumed at Three Points Lane.Spurs - 7 - They gave their best - and actually tried to play football. Played a massive part in two great games.Referee - 7 - Martin Atkinson was a little harsh with his bookings but made some good decisions.StatisticsTottenham - Chelsea4 - Shots on Target - 3 4 - Shots off Target - 10 5 - Blocked Shots - 1 7 - Corners - 6 12 - Fouls - 15 1 - Offsides - 3 1 - Yellow Cards - 3 0 - Red Cards - 0 34 - Tackles - 37 46% - Possession - 54% Star ManJohn Obi MikelThe GoalsShevchenko : 0-1Wright-Phillips : 0-2Keane (penalty) : 1-2

Chelsea 3 – 0 Sheffield United FA Premier League – 17/March/07, 15:00 kick-off – Stamford BridgeChelsea picked up the gauntlet thrown down by Manchester United earlier today with a convincing 3-0 victory over Sheffield United. A sensational strike from Andrei Shevchenko opened the floodgates, before Salomon Kalou and Michael Ballack wrapped up the three points for the Champions.Following their midweek game at Manchester City, Chelsea had just two days to prepare for the arrival of Neil Warnock's men, but the Blues where more than ready to take the Blades head-on in a fairly uneven contest.However, the scoreline did not make a true reflection on the game, as Sheffield United did not come to Stamford Bridge to defend, and put together many attacks that the Chelsea defence managed to hold at bay.Sheffield United have been something of a revelation this season. Despite coming into today's game in 15th position in the Premiership, a draw against Liverpool on the opening day and home victories against Arsenal, Middlesbrough, Spurs and Fulham - and away to Newcastle and Wigan - have given United a strong foothold in the battle for Premiership survival.Chelsea, though, deserve their fair share of the accolades, however. Despite loosing influential midfielder Joe Cole for virtually the entire season, and long-term absences from John Terry and Petr Cech, the West Londoners have been fantastic in their dogged pursuit of Manchester United. It seems Chelsea will not give up their Premiership trophy without a true battle. Matching United win-for-win since both teams lost away to Liverpool and Arsenal respectively, Chelsea have never allowed the league leaders out of their sights. Chelsea welcomed back Khalid Boulahrouz for his first start since the FA Cup 5th Round tie with Norwich City, replacing Gérémi at right-back. Claude Makelele continued as the holding midfielder, but Michael Essien missed out once more due to the knee injury he had suffered against Tottenham. There were rests too, for Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba. John Obi Mikel was on the bench, and Shaun Wright-Phillips started.Sheffield United captain Chris Morgan overcame a tight hamstring which he had suffered in training, and Colin Kazim-Richards replaced John Stead. There were no fresh injury worries for the team ahead of this highly-anticipated Premiership clash.Things got off to the best possible start for Chelsea, who had conceded a goal in the first fifteen minutes of four of their last six games. However, with five consecutive Premiership clean sheets heading into the game, there was little chance of an upset.Lampard celebrates with Shevchenko, after the Ukrainian's stunning finish.United started on the offensive, but a brilliant interception from Ricardo Carvalho gave the Portuguese defender room to run into the opposition forward. Getting around three defenders, he launched a perfectly-weighted cross field ball to the unmarked Andrei Shevchenko who had found himself in acres of space. The Ukrainian took the ball on his thigh, allowed it to bounce once and lashed it into the back of the net with his 'weaker' foot after just three and a half minutes. Shevchenko's first goal in the Premiership for four months was his twelfth in all competitions since moving from AC Milan in the summer.For much of the opening twenty minutes, Sheffield United were on the back foot, as the teasing runs of Robben, Wright-Phillips and Kalou lead to exposure of Paddy Kenny's goal. Once such cross from Wright-Phillips was brilliantly flicked on by Shevchenko, into the path of Kalou. The young Ivorian volleyed home from six yards to seal the points for Chelsea and also his second goal in three starts.Salomon Kalou celebrates his 6th Chelsea gaol with Ashley Cole.However, if anyone thought Chelsea would have run of the mill, they were mistaken.Colin Kazim-Richards had his effort palmed away by Cech and the 'keeper was again tested when Rob Hulse's overhead kick went marginally over the bar.But the moment which overshadowed the game was soon to come.Keith Gillespie put the ball into the box, beyond the leg of Terry, with Cech had to deal with. However, as he went for the ball, Rob Hulse trod on the ball before colliding with Cech. The striker's ankle twisted 180 degrees and was stretchered off after an eight minute delay. A burst of applause followed from the Matthew Harding Stand, with Hulse suffering a suspected double fracture.Half-time arrived, after Nade came on to replace Hulse. Ballack replaced Lampard at half-time with one eye on the FA Cup replay at Tottenham on Monday evening, and many other key players were to be substituted.A fairly quiet second half saw Michael Ballack head home his sixth Chelsea goal after Shaun Wright-Phillips' devilishly-whipped freekick evaded the United defence and was nodded home by a towering Ballack long before Paddy Kenny had a hope of reaching the ball.Michael Ballack nods home his sixth Chelsea goal.Shevchenko continued to impress but he show just wide from 12 yards, and Wright-Phillips drilled a shot into the side netting.Drogba came on to replace the Ukrainian late on, and Paulo Ferreira also came on to give Ashley Cole a rest. Drogba had an effort cleared off the line with ten minutes remaining, but the game was won - with a landslide possession percentage.Squads and Line-UpsChelsea (4-3-3) Cech, Boulahrouz, Carvalho, Terry ©, A Cole (Ferreira 65); Wright-Phillips, Makelele, Lampard (Ballack 45); Kalou, Shevchenko (Drogba 65), Robben. Scorers Shevchenko 3, Kalou 16, Ballack 57. Sheff Utd (4-4-1-1) Kenny; Geary, Morgan ©, Davis, Armstrong; Gillespie, Montgomery, Jagielka, Kazim-Richards; A Quinn (Tonge 67); Hulse (Nade 26).The Ratings - How they ScoredKey:1: Woeful, 2: Inexistant Contribution, 3: Poor, 4: Quiet, 5: Tried, 6: Average, 7: Good, 8: Involved, 9: Excellent, 10: FantasticPetr Cech - 6 - Average. Nothing to do.Boulahrouz - 6 - Average. Comfrtable game, had little to do in truthCarvalho - 8 - Involved. Fantastic run for Sheva's goal - worked hardTerry - 6 - Average. Quiet game for skipper who's form is returning.Cole - 7 - Good. Might have got on scoresheet. Strong defensively. Wright-Phillips - 8 - Involved. Put some great crosses in and played well in the midfield. Two assists.Makelele - 7 - Good. Did his job with minimal fuss.Lampard - 7 - Involved. Excellent performance from the midfield dynamo.Robben - 6 - Quiet. But some good balls in. Unlucky to score.Shevchenko - 7 - Good. Spectacular goal and worked hard.Kalou - 7 - Good. Clincial finish and teased the full-backs.Ballack - 7 - Good. Replaced Lampard. Excellent header.Paulo Ferreira - 6 - Average. Replaced Cole. Didn't do much. Didn't need to.Drogba - 6 - Average. Replaced Shevchenko. Average game but deserved a rest.Overall team rating - 8 - A typical home perfoamnce - a strong win without causing too many problems for the visitors and looking comfortable. Maybe one home game we'll go all-out for the win and score 9 or 10?Sheffield United - 7 - They gave their best - and actually tried to play football.Referee - 8 - Chris Foy had a decent game and allowed the game to flow.StatisticsChelsea - Sheffield United5 - Shots on target - 4 5 - Shots off Target - 3 3 - Blocked Shots - 0 5 - Corners Won - 1 7 - Total Fouls Conceded - 10 2 - Offsides - 2 0 - Yellow Cards - 0 0 - Red Cards - 0 69% - Possession - 31% Star ManAndrei ShevchenkoThe GoalsAndrei Shevchenko: 1-0Salomon Kalou: 2-0Michael Ballack: 3-0

Manchester City versus ChelseaFA Premier League - 14/March/07, 20:00 kick-off - The City of Manchester Stadium Premiership Champions Chelsea continued their pursuit of league leaders Manchester United with a 1-0 victory away to Manchester City.Frank Lampard fired home from the penalty spot just before the half hour to earn Chelsea all three points, taking them now just six behind United in the race for the league championship.The game was one of very few chances, but the home side were subject to a typical Chelsea away victory, with the visitors grinding out a result - albeit without working too hard for the victory.With their chronic lack of goalscoring form, and just 20 goals in 27 league games, Manchester City handed a full debut for young striker Emile Mpenza, who replaced the lacklustre Bernardi Corradi up front, alongside Darrius Vassell.Chelsea welcomed back Captain John Terry following two successive injuries, and Salomon Kalou was drafted into the team after netting the equaliser in the weekend's 3-3 draw with Tottenham. Gérémi replaced Diarra at right-back, and Claude Makelele replaced the injured Michael Essien. Shaun Wright-Phillips was on the bench.Chelsea's hoodoo of conceding early goals in four of their last five games looked unlikely, with the Champions looking for a fifth successive Premiership clean sheet. Manchester City had failed to score in eight games at home prior to this fixture - and they looked incapable of ending their goalscoring jinx against a Chelsea side who were always in control.The opening stages were extremely cagey, with both teams looking to find their feet. Chelsea started the better side, with an early header from John Terry sailing over the bar.The only shot-on-target of the first half came when Micah Richards gave tricky winger Salomon Kalou half a yard. The young Ivorian burst into the penalty area, and as he looked to square the ball to an unmarked Didier Drogba, Richards tripped him. Referee Alan Wiley made no hesitation in pointing to the spot. City did not make many complaints.Stand-in goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson stood in the way of Frank Lampard, but it was no contest, as Lampard tucked the ball neatly into the bottom corner and averaging 20 goals scored in a season for three consecutive campaigns. Despite effort from City, who were ever urged on by the near-capacity crowd, the best they could conjure from their pressure towards the end of the first period was a shot from 18 yards by Joey Barton, which squirmed wide.After the interval, Chelsea boss José Mourinho suffered what he described as a "nervous moment" as John Terry limped out of a challenge with an ankle injury. However, Terry ran off the injury and continued. An opportunity to wrap up the three points fell to Lampard, who burst through the City defence following brilliant one-touch play by Robben and Ballack, but his chip over 'keeper Isaksson was blocked by recovering defender Micah Richards. Robben shot wastefully wide as Ballack and Drogba orchestrated an excellent move, finding Richards out of position, but Robben skied his effort.Kalou looked certain to break through a second time, but Richard Dunne made an excellent tackle to keep the score 1-0.Joey Barton shot wide with players unmarked with just nine minutes remaining, and many Manchester City fans retired for the evening.Shaun-Wright Phillips came on to replace the selfish Arjen Robben, and he nearly scored against his old club with a thunderbolt-of-a-strike crashing off the crossbar.Drogba was blocked by Isaksson, and in stoppage time, a wonderful dipping freekick from Michael Ballack was superbly saved by Isaksson.The final whistle to a poor but nervy game for Chelsea came with the Blues in a familiar position – returning to Stamford Bridge with three points in the bag.Squads and Line-UpsManchester City (4-4-2) Isaksson; Richards, Dunne ©, Distin, Ball; Sun (Miller 62), Hamann (Dabo 79), Barton, Ireland; Mpenza, Vassell (Samaras 72).Booked Hamann (59), Dunne (67), Richards (81). Chelsea (4-3-3) Cech; Gérémi, Carvalho, Terry ©, A Cole; Ballack, Makelele (Diarra 90+2), Lampard; Robben (Wright-Phillips 77), Drogba, Kalou.Scorers Lampard (pen) (26).Booked Drogba (81), Ballack (88).The Ratings - How they ScoredKey:1: Woeful, 2: Inexistant Contribution, 3: Poor, 4: Quiet, 5: Tried, 6: Average, 7: Good, 8: Involved, 9: Excellent, 10: FantasticPetr Cech - 6 - Average. Nothing to do.Gérémi - 5 - Tried. Failed to settle. Struggled against Mills.Carvalho - 7 - Good. Looked assured. Kept Mpenza at bay.Terry - 6 - Average. Quiet game for skipper who's form is returning.Cole - 7 - Good. Strong performance.Ballack - 7 - Good. Getting more involved recently.Robben - 4 - Quiet. Greedy and wasted scoring opportunities.Makelele - 8 - Involved. Made sure Barton did not have rule of the park and stopped Ireland.Lampard - 8 - Involved. Excellent performance from the midfield dynamo.Drogba - 6 - Quiet. Quiet by his standards but still carrying knock.Kalou - 7 - Unlucky. Had Richards in his pocket all game.Wright-Phillips - 6 - Average. Replaced Ferreira. Excellent shot against crossbar.Diarra - 6 - No time. Replaced Makelele. Came on to waste time.Overall team rating - 7 - a typical Chelsea away performance, but the result needed to challenge for the title.Manchester City - 5 - they tried, but their poor form continued and had no chance of breaking down Chelsea's defence.Referee - 9 - Alan Wiley had a brilliant game and allowed the game to flow.StatsMan City - Chelsea1 - Shots on Target - 4 7 - Shots off Target - 2 0 - Blocked Shots - 1 5 - Corners - 4 10 - Fouls - 15 3 - Offsides - 2 3 - Yellow Cards - 2 0 - Red Cards - 0 18 - Tackles - 22 49 - Possession - 51Star ManClaude MakeleleThe GoalsClick the links to view the goalsLampard Penalty 0-1

Chelsea versus Tottenham HotspurFA Cup Quarter-Final – 11/March/07, 12:45 kick-off – Stamford Bridge Cup favourites Chelsea came from two goals at half-time behind against Tottenham Hotspur to claim a 3-3 draw at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup quarter-finals in a dramatic London derby.Salomon Kalou was the hero, as he preserved Chelsea’s unbeaten run at home in all competitions after he fired in a sublime volley following Didier Drogba’s knock-down.The Champions had found themselves 3-1 down at half-time, following goals from Dimitar Berbatov after just five minutes, then a Michael Essien own-goal plus a clinical finish from Hossam Ghaly. Chelsea’s response came from Frank Lampard who levelled to make the game 1-1 after 28 minutes.The midfielder then fired home his 19th goal of the season 19 minutes from time, before Kalou earned Chelsea a replay at White Hart Lane.Strong favourites to win both this match and the cup itself, many speculated that the game would be one-sided – but this was far from the truth.Martin Jol brought a makeshift side to West London, yet they repaid their manager’s faith with an excellent display, which at times made Chelsea – who had battled past Porto in midweek – look woeful.José Mourinho had stated quite clearly before the game that he did not want a replay, but he had little idea as he arrived at Chelsea’s magnificent fortress that he would be forced to decide between either a replay or elimination from the only domestic competition which had eluded him since his arrival in England.The Special One decided to rest midfielder Claude Makelele for the game with a midweek trip to Manchester City in mind, and with John Terry not yet cleared by the medical staff, continued his new-found centre-back pairing of Michael Essien and Ricardo Carvalho, despite Dutch defender Khalid Boulahrouz being named in the squad. Paulo Ferreira deputised for the Frenchman at right-back, as Lassana Diarra moved into the defensive midfield position.Tottenham were much-changed from their European visit to Braga on Thursday, with Robbie Keane and Paulo Robinson the most notable of absentees. Jermaine Defoe partnered Berbatov up front and Pascal Chimbonda was rested, his position occupied by the Canadian Paul Stalteri.Anyone who fancied a quiet afternoon was in for a shock, with a six-goal-thriller as an outcome of a dazzling advertisement for English football.The game started extremely badly for Chelsea, and they trailed early as they had done so in midweek, thanks to a clinical Berbatov finish. In sparkling form, the Bulgarian smashed home past Petr Cech after excellent work from Lennon and Defoe. Lampard celebrates his first goalTottenham’s midfield were crowding out Chelsea, and with their defensive outlet, Lassana Diarra being constantly marked, the Champions were confined to playing down the wings for much of the first period.Warning lights flashed, and it only took a wave of Mourinho’s wand for the tie to come alight. Some excellent footwork from Drogba led to an excellent pass from Shevchenko. The Ukrainian chested the ball down to Michael Ballack, whose scuffed shot was poked home by captain Frank Lampard to level the tie at a goal a piece.But the scoreline flattered Chelsea, who were second best for pretty much the whole first half.In fact, despite signs of birthday-boy Drogba and tricky winger Robben coming to life, Chelsea were very much second best from that point onwards. Aaron Lennon dashed down the right-hand flank and past Ashley Cole, and within his instant, Michael Essien slid the ball inadvertently into his own goal following a break-down of communication between goalkeeper and defence.With Spurs’ advantage restored, Chelsea again went searching for an equaliser.Drogba powered a cross from the right-hand side which was nearly diverted into his own goal by Michael Dawson, but a goal-line clearance from Paul Stalteri saved his captain’s blushes.It was at this point that Mourinho decided to make change. However, despite Essien and Didier Drogba both picking up injuries, he brought on Shaun Wright-Phillips for Paulo Ferreira and changed his side’s shape.But mere moments later, Spurs counter-attacked and with Chelsea’s defence at sixes and sevens, Hossam Ghaly slotted home after Berbatov had out-jumped Carvalho to find him onside. With just Cech in front of him, the Egyptian finished coolly and differing emotions on the faces of Jol and Mourinho became even more obvious.The Blues had a decent penalty shout turned down, when Drogba was apparently held back by Ghaly as he tried to turn in the penalty area, yet the referee, who was just a few metres away waved away the claims.Essien had two excellent chances to pull a goal back for the Blues, but the first, a diving head was diverted over the crossbar, and he headed marginally wide after Dawson accidentally nodded to ball in his direction. The first-half came to a close with Spurs having a 3-1 advantage at the break. Anyone who still fancied any team to come from 3-1 down and get a result from a game would normally considered a complete idiot, but of course, as José Mourinho says, “Chelsea are Chelsea” afterall.With the arrival of the second half, the Chelsea manager threw everyone forward in search of an early goal. Three successive chances befell to first and second Michael Ballack, before Lampard fired wide.Is there a more prolific goalscoring-midfielder than Frank Lampard? 19 goals so far this season says no.Spurs broke once more just minutes later with the prospect of a fourth goal laid out in front of them on a plate. Lennon was superbly denied by the feet of Cech, and Defoe was distracted by Essien to allow Cech to parry away.However, pressure told, and after minutes of sheer siege on the Tottenham back four, Frank Lampard volleyed home from six yards to put Chelsea back in the hunt for four trophies. Drogba and substitute Kalou had got in each other’s way, but the ball fell kindly for Lampard who fired home his second of the game and his 19th of yet another high-scoring season.A resurgent side with a relatively unheard-of formation had suddenly filled the boots of a previously limp Chelsea starting eleven, and with Khalid Boulahrouz now in the defence, replacing Diarra, Mourinho elected to play with just 2 recognised defenders, as Ashley Cole came off for Kalou.More drama followed, including a sweet equaliser. Drogba received the ball from Shevchenko and headed to Kalou who turned and fired home on the volley.Both sides had chances to win the memorable cup tie, most falling to the hosts.Shevchenko scraped the post from 22 yards; Essien fired into the side netting through a crowd of players and Lampard thrashed the ball into the advertising boards.The best of all the chances, however, came to Jermaine Defoe who hit the crossbar after loosing his marker. Cech was beaten, but the woodwork would not let Chelsea’s unbeaten 17-year-run at Stamford Bridge come undone at the last.Kalou completes one of the greatest FA Cup comebacks following one of the greateast 90 minutes of FA Cup football.Squads and RatingsChelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Ferreira (Wright-Phillips 34), Essien, Carvalho, A Cole (Kalou 63); Ballack, Diarra (Boulahrouz 53), Lampard ©; Shevchenko, Drogba, Robben.Scorers Lampard 20, 70, Kalou 85.Booked Diarra Carvalho, Cole, Kalou. Tottenham (4-1-2-1-2): Cerny; Stalteri, Dawson ©, Rocha, Lee; Zokora; Ghaly (Gardener 81), Tainio; Lennon (Malbranque 75); Berbatov (Mido 65), Defoe.Scorers Berbatov 4, Essien o.g. 28, Ghaly 35, Booked Ghaly, Zokora, Lee, Stalteri, CernyRatingsPetr Cech - 7 - Good. Wasn't at fault for goals.Ferreira - 6 - Shaky. Failed to settle. Carvalho - 7 - Prolific. Looked assured.Essien - 6 - Tried. Went forward well but struggled against Berbatov.Cole - 6 - Stern. Weak defesively but went forward well.Ballack - 8 - Influential. Involved in everything.Robben - 6 - Good. Had luck down both flanks but set-plays were bad.Diarra - 6 - Decent. Did not live up to his reputation in this game.Lampard - 8 - Strong. Excellent performance from the midfield dynamo.Drogba - 7 - Quiet. Quiet by his standards on his birthday.Shevchenko - 7 - Unlucky. Lacked the pace he needed to beat his marker.Boulahrouz - 9 - Magnificant. Replaced Diarra.Wright-Phillips - 4 - Poor. Replaced Ferreira.Kalou - 7 - Scored. Replaced Cole.Overall team rating - 6Tottenham rating - 7 - their makeshift team gave Chelsea's superstars a serious sprint for their money. Outclassed them in the first half but pressure in the last twenty minutes led to their defence giving away two goals.Referee - 3 - Mark Riley was poor and did not give a certain penalty despite being metres away.StatsGoals: Chelsea 3 - 3 TottenhamShots on Target: Chelsea 6 - 6 TottenhamShots off Target: Chelsea 9 - 5 TottenhamBlocked Shots: Chelsea 6 - 2 TottenhamCorners: Chelsea 7 - 3 TottenhamFouls: Chelsea 23 - 15 Tottenham Offsides: Chelsea 1 - 5 Tottenham Yellow Cards: Chelsea 4 - 5 Tottenham Red Cards: Chelsea 0 - 0 Tottenham Tackles: Chelsea 23 - 30 TottenhamTackles Success: Chelsea 95.7% - 73.3% Tottenham Possession: Chelsea 58 - 42 Tottenham Attendence: 41,517Star ManKhalid BoulahrouzReactionHardly the result many Chelsea fans expected, and another game for Chelsea to play in a crowded period. José will, however, be content that he is still in the competition, and the Champions showed great spirit to grab two crucial goals. They will now look to put in a performance at White Hart Lane and get to the Semi Finals for the second successive year.The GoalsClick the links to view the goalsBerbatov 0-1Lampard 1-1Essien OG 1-2Hossam Ghaly 1-3Lampard 2-3Kalou 3-3

Chelsea versus F.C. PortoUEFA Champions League, Round of 16: Second Leg - 06/March/07, 19:45 kick-off - Stamford Bridge Chelsea overcame the potential banana-skin of F.C. Porto in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie, coming away with a 3-2 aggregate win over two very tight legs. Michael Ballack scored the winner in the return leg at Stamford Bridge after Quaresma had put the Portuguese side ahead on aggregate with just over a quarter of an hour on the clock. Arjen Robben had been fortunate to score a lucky equaliser thanks to bad handling from 'keeper Helton, after Raul Meireles and Andrei Shevchenko had scored in the first leg, which ended 1-1.There was much anticipation about the tie before a game was kicked, and the two legs themselves caused much controversy. With José Mourinho's job still apparantly in jeopardy, the self-proclaimed "Special One" had claimed that he would "get a new job within two months" should Blues owner Roman Abramovich sack him, whilst claiming to be the greatest manager that Portugal had ever produced at the same time, John Terry is stretched off in the first leg - only to return to the action four days later for the Carling Cup Final - in which he was stretched off yet again. Injury affected the starting line-ups of both teams, with Chelsea once again being forced to leave out influential skipper John Terry after being knocked unconscious a little over a week ago. Khalid Boulahrouz had been declared fit to play, but José Mourinho left him out of the starting eleven, instead choosing to play Essien as centre-back.For Porto, right-back Bosingwa had picked up a knock in the 1-0 league victory over Braga, and Fucile, who had played as left-back in the first leg, took over his position.Bouyed by their away goal scored by Shevchenko, the Blues were the faster out of the starting traps yet Porto were equally sharp. However, the English Champions became complacent and their passing wayward. Porto had the better of the opening exchanges, playing mganificantly, which shamed the West London outfit's woeful attempt at gaining possession, let alone keep it.Their miseries were further compounded when Quaresma, following excellent footwork from Lucho Gonzalez, beat the offside trap and slid the ball underneath the approaching Petr Cech with relative ease. The Champions had previously gone 709 minutes without conceding at home in any competition, yet their smabolic defending hardly gave sufficient protection to the Czech's goal. The new image of Chelsea Football ClubThe Blues could have had their night ruined by Lucho Gonzalez, who broke through and from a position not too dissimilar from where Quaresma scored, had his effort parried away by Cech.One of Chelsea's few chances came from their most-attack-minded player of the first half, their left back Ashley Cole. Linking well with Robben on the left flank, the Englishman put in several delightful crosses, but neither Michael Ballack's diving header nor Andrei Shevchenko could test Brazilian goalkeeper Helton. Porto ended the half by far the better team, with Chelsea looking disjointed.Whatever José Mourinho said to the team at half-time certainly worked. They came out with John Obi Mikel amongst the ranks, with the young Nigerian replacing the aging legs of Claude Makelele. The young man was to turn out to be the star of the show, as he bossed the midfield and kept Gonzalez and Quaresma quiet with his excellent defensive play. Mourinho now has a selection crisis - with four excellent players suited to the defensive midfield role - Makelele, Mikel, Essien and Diarra, the Chelsea manager finally has a good problem, if ever such a thing exists, for the first time this campaign.If Porto had limited Chelsea to just two efforts on goal during the first half, then Chelsea limited Porto to playing football in their own half only. Robben cut inside after switching flanks and launched a relatively tame shot at 'keeper Helton. However, as the Brazilian dived to scoop up the loose ball, it bounced and he had no time to push the ball away, as it bounched over his body and into the back of the goal. With the score now 1-1 on the night and level on aggregate, extra time looked mroe and more likely as the Blues went searching for that extra goal.Mikel and Lampard both had efforts just inches wide, as the team resorted to testing the shaky goalkeeper who took a while to calm his nerves, much to the amusement of the home crowd. Robben continually tested him with teasing crosses, but the experienced shot shotstopper regaine dhsi composure and made two excellent takes. You might be forgiven for thinking Michael Ballack is about to kill someone. Actually, he's celebrating his goal. Ashley Cole and Arjen Robben certainly enjoyed it, too.The most ellegant of the night's football lead to the winning goal. Ashley Cole found Drogba, who nodded the ball onto Shevchenko, who cushione dhis header on the swinging left boot of Michael Ballack, whose volley was powered underneath the despairing dive of the Porto goalkeeper. 3-2 on aggregate, and just 11 minutes of the tie remaining, a place in the Quarter-Finals for the third time in four years seemed imminent.But if Chelsea thought that they would knock Porto with their goal, they were wrong. Falling behind, Porto managed to gather their thoughts and launch several attacks of their own, but after four minutes of stoppage time and some well-worked time wasting by Drogba and Cech, the tie was Chelsea's, and José Mourinho got one over his formed side for the second time since leaving. The Special One usually gets what he wants. This time he was asking for a performance. The Line-Ups Chelsea: Cech, Diarra (Ferreira 65), Essien, Carvalho, Ashley Cole, Makelele (Mikel 46), Robben, Ballack, Lampard, Shevchenko (Kalou 84), Drogba.Subs Not Used: Hilario, Boulahrouz, Bridge, Wright-Phillips. Booked: Robben, Diarra. Goals: Robben 48, Ballack 79. FC Porto: Helton, Fucile, Pepe, Bruno Alves, Cech (Ibson 55), Gonzalez, Ricardo Costa, Paulo Assuncao, Raul Meireles (Adriano 55), Lopez (Bruno Moraes 82), Quaresma.Subs Not Used: Vitor Baia, Alan, Postiga, Joao Paulo. Booked: Quaresma, Fucile, Adriano. Goals: Quaresma 15. The Ratings How They RatedChelseaPetr Cech - 7 - Good. Wasn't at fault for goal.Diarra - 7 - Confident. Gallons of energy. Carvalho - 7 - Prolific. Looked assured.Essien - 8 - Strong. Mopped up everything.Cole - 8 - Stern. Strong defesively and went forward well.Ballack - 7 - Influential. Good goal by midfielder..Robben - 8 - Good. Involved in link-up work and well-taken goal.Makelele - 7 - Consistent. Linked well with defence.Lampard - 4 - Shadow. Woeful perofmance.Drogba - 7 - Quiet. Quiet by his standards but sublime finish.Shevchenko - 7 - Tried. Worked hard.Mikel - 9 - Magnificant. Replaced Makelele.Kalou - 7 - No time. Replaced Shevchenko.Ferreira - 7 - Involved. Replaced Diarra.Overall team rating - 7Porto rating - 8 - they tried their best and they outplayed the Champions at times, but class previlaed and the fortress of Stamford Bridge holds strong.Referee - 5 - Roberto Rosetti was poor and booked players for simulation, and was biased towards Porto for much of the game. Stats Attendence: 39014Possession: Chelsea 48% - 52% PortoShots - On: Chelsea 5 - 3 PortoShots - Off: Chelsea 8 - 1 PortoCorners: Chelsea 5 - 0 PortoFouls: Chelsea 11 - 16 Porto Star Man Jon Obi Mikel Reaction The Blues are through into the last eight for the third time in four years, with the belief they can go all the way. They ground out a result once more, without playing their best, but some good football lead to two goals which ultimately won the tie. With the big clubs knocking each other out of the competition, Chelsea's path to the Semi-Finals should surely be lesser tougher than earlier predicted.

Portsmouth versus Chelsea F.C. Saturday 3rd March, 17:15 kick-off, Fratton Park, Barclay's FA Premier League Can Drogba be the man do defy all odds and win Chelsea their third Premiership? The opening exchanges were ones of much anxiety for the Champions, with Kanu in particular causing many problems for the makeshift centre-half pairing of Ricardo Carvalho and Michael Essien that had been reunited after Terry had been stretched off in Cardiff. Chelsea managed to steer their way back into the game however, with efforts from Andrei Shevchenko and Didier Drogba wide of the mark. Both strikers frustrated one another, as each selfishly took their chance instead of crossing to the other for simple tap-ins.But as the game swung from end-to-end, with Portsmouth’s early pressure matched by the speed of Chelsea's counter-attacks and a highly-involved midfield trio of Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard and Claude Makelele in particular, the hottest striker on the planet struck again.Ashley Cole's devilishly whipped-in cross evaded Sol Campbell and found its way to Drogba, who confidently volleyed home from 12 yards and a near-impossible angle to slot the ball into the corner of David James' net. Moments later the opportunity to wrap up the points came, with Arjen Robben shooting inches wide after he had beaten the Pompey defence with a winding run and played a neat one-two with Chelsea's leading scorer. The game was certainly turning out to be a battle, as Portsmouth always looked dangerous and threatened Petr Cech's defence on various occasions. Half-time came with Chelsea in a familiar position; leading at the break. Thanks to the increasingly-familiar name of Didier Drogba on the scoresheet. His 29th goal of the season, and his 17th in the Premiership now puts him two goals ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the Golden Boot.Claude Makelele was having an excellent game as the second half came about. Making excellent recovery challenge after challenge, he kept Chelsea in the game as his 34-year-old legs blocked the mazy run of LuaLua.However, the game was far from over, and with Chelsea missing more chances, including a cracking left-footed strike from Frank Lampard which David James excellently scooped up. Portsmouth took heart in search of an equaliser.Harry Redknapp, who had celebrated his 60th birthday on Friday, sent on Andy Cole, the Premiership's second-highest-scoring player of all-time. Moments later Cole found Petr Cech in inspirational form. The Czech national shot-stopper had to adjust his position to wonderfully parry a goal bound header, and minutes later the Blues nearly paid the price of failing to take their chances. Cech beat the ball away with a despairing dive, much to the appreciation of José Mourinho. Kalou's fourth Chelsea goal kept the title dream aliveMourinho responded by putting on Shaun Wright-Phillips and Salomon Kalou, taking off the effective Robben and Shevchenko who had not found the back of the net in the Premiership since November.In ironic fashion, Kalou came on and within minutes scored the goal which put Chelsea in the comfort seat, slotting home under James after Ashley Cole's knock down.The Blues were back in business, and United had better watch their step. With the Champions having a game in hand and the Red Devils facing a trip to fortress Stamford Bridge, the title race is far from over. The line-ups Portsmouth(4-4-2) James; Pamarot, Primus, Campbell, Traore (Kranjcar 67); O'Neil ©, Davis, Hughes, Taylor; Kanu, LuaLua (Cole 73). Chelsea (4-3-3) Cech; Diarra, Essien, Carvalho, A Cole; Ballack, Makelele, Lampard ©; Shevchenko (Wright-Phillips 75), Drogba (Bridge 84), Robben (Kalou 75).Scorers Drogba (32), Kalou (81).Booked Ballack (24), Makelele (67).The RatingsHow They RatedChelseaPetr Cech - 9 - Inspirational. Match-winning performance.Diarra - 8 - Confident. Gallons of energy. Carvalho - 7 - Prolific. Looked assured.Essien - 7 - Strong. Prolific in defence.Cole - 6 - Stern. Two assists on return from injury.Ballack - 7 - Influential. Key figure in midfield.Robben - 7 - Good. Involved in link-up work.Makelele - 9 - Magnificant. Linked well with defence.Lampard - 6 - Shadow. Involved at points.Drogba - 7 - Quiet. Quiet by his standards but sublime finish.Shevchenko - 7 - Tried. Worked hard.Bridge - 6 - No time. Replaced Drogba.Kalou - 7 - Scored. Replaced Shevchenko.Shaun Wright-Phillips - 7 - Involved. Replaced Robben.Overall team rating - 8Portsmouth rating - 8 - they tried their best and they outplayed the Champions at times, but normal service is resumed. Referee - 6 - Mark Halsey didn-t have a brilliant game and was a little to lenient towards Pompey when it came to fouls. Wrongly booked Makelele. StatsAttendence: 20219Possession: Chelsea 49% - 51% PortsmouthShots - On: Chelsea 4 - 4 PortsmouthShots - Off: Chelsea 7 - 5 PortsmouthCorners: Chelsea 5 - 7 PortsmouthFouls: Chelsea 10 - 10 Portsmouth Man of the Match Claude Makelele Pictures used without permission of www.bbc.co.uk Match report written by BlueLion of CFC-Fans.co.uk The Champions showed the Champions-elect that they are not going to willingly surrender their Premiership crown, after Chelsea beat a resurgent Portsmouth side by two goals to nil at Fratton park.The Blues picked up the gauntlet thrown down by Manchester United, who won 1-0 at Anfield thanks to a late winner from John O'Shea. The Red Devils celebrated like they had won the Premiership, but even if their spirits have not been dampened they will be looking behind them at Chelsea continue to tread on the league leader's heels.Following the previous weekend's outing at the Millennium Stadium in the Carling Cup final triumph, and Manchester United's early kick-off, the Blues found themselves 12 points behind their fierce rivals when they arrived at the Premiership's second-smallest stadium.The West London outfit welcomed back left-back Ashley Cole, and also Arjen Robben to the starting eleven after he set up the eventual winner in the cup final. Missing was John Terry, who sat out the game to gain match fitness. Pompey played their regular starting line-up, including Lomana LuaLua who had missed several games due to injury.As kick-off loomed, Portsmouth fans taunted their Chelsea counterparts, chanting "where's your title gone?" in regards to United's win against Liverpool. The following 90 minutes demonstrated that even if Chelsea are no longer top dogs domestically, they have more than enough quality to sink any battleship.

Chelsea swept aside Arsenal's young guns in the Carling Cup Final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium with an emphatic 2-1 win in the first-ever all-London final.Chelsea were made to work hard however, against an inexperienced Arsenal team who were certainly unfazed by the occasion. Arsenal's Theo Walcott opened the scoring with his first goal for his club, which set the tempo for a memorable encounter.After the excellent midweek result against Porto at the Estadio Do Dragao, José Mourinho fielded a full-strength team against Arsene Wenger's triumphant young talent who had battled through the rounds to reach the final. Amazingly, skipper John Terry had been declared fit for Chelsea, despite suffering ankle ligament damage against F.C. Porto in midweek, and returned to captain the side, though he would not be able to play the whole game. The Millennium Stadium fills up prior to kick-off.Despite being underdogs, Arsenal fought bravely and pushed the Champions to their limits, but the mettle and incisiveness of the West London outfit outmatched the class and youth of Arsenal's young team. The opening exchanges were very much Arsenal's, with the Gunners receiving much more of the ball. And it was Arsenal who struck first with Julio Baptista's stunning strike being expertly palmed away by the impressive Petr Cech. And, following the flow of the opening minutes, Arsenal took the lead in emphatic fashion. Teenager Theo Walcott spun on the edge of the area and buried a curling effort past the despairing dive of Cech. It was the youngster's first goal for Arsenal after his transfer from Southampton some 13 months earlier. The goal came out of Chelsea's own making, as the Blues failed to convincingly clear a corner, before Diaby and Walcott exchanged passes for the young Englishman to slot home.Chelsea had been underperforming, and this was to prove the wake-up call that the Champions wanted. Michael Ballack, who had been quiet for much of the opening quarter of an hour, floated a beautiful ball to an unmarked Didier Drogba, who sliced through the Arsenal defence to slot underneath the rushing Manuel Almunia. Drogba scored to put Chelsea level, and score his 27th goal of a phenomenal season. There was some controversy over the goal, though replays gave evidence that Drogba was in line with the last defender, and the goal stood.Arsenal continued to dominate, however, and but for a wonderful intervention from Ricardo Carvalho, Jeremie Aliadiere would surely have scored a second for the Gunners. Half-time arrived with both sides level at the interval, and the game had been bright and very open. The last league Cup Final to be held at the magnificent Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was surely on the way to becoming the best. Chelsea brought on Arjen Robben for Claude Makelele after the interval, hoping to open up their congested midfield, but the opening exchanges of the second half were once again very much Arsenal's. It took the formidable Petr Cech to prevent them from building what would have been an impressive lead, with a terrific save from Diaby and narrowing the angle for Cesc Fabregas to shoot wide. But the turning point of game was not a stunning strike from distance or a bad refereeing decision, but another injury to Chelsea captain John Terry. Challenging for a low ball with his head his head was accidentally thrashed by the boot of Abou Diaby. He was left unconscious, though was breathing when he left the field. Stretched off, Michael Essien filled the void of centre-back, and John Mikel Obi replaced the Blues skipper, who passed his armband to vice-captain Frank Lampard.John Terry is struck on the head by Abou DiabyThe injury inspired Chelsea onwards, and Frank Lampard's wonderstrike from 35 yards seemed to be the winner – but bounced off the crossbar and over. But Chelsea were not finished, and Arsenal’s young legs were loosing out of steam.Drogba was excellently denied by Almunia after being put through by Ballack, but got his just reward and 28th goal of the campaign when Arjen Robben crossed from the left hand side for the talismanic centre forward to nod home with a bullet header past the Arsenal goalkeeper.13 minutes of chaos were to follow the goal, with the inexperienced Arsenal players becoming angry. Didier Drogba celebrates scoring his second goal7 minutes of injury time were added, but this could have been made more comfortable by Andrei Shevchenko, but his shot cannoned back off the crossbar. But following the end of the allotted time, a row sparked up between both teams when John Obi Mikel and Kolo Toure were involved in a conflict. The two players were sent off for violent conduct, as well as Arsenal substitute Emmanuel Adebayor, who was sent off for dissent. Yellow cards for Cesc Fabregas and Frank Lampard followed; and the referee blew his whistle on the 103rd minute of regular play to give Chelsea their first silverware of the season, and their fifth in two years. And they are still in the hunt for more.Carling Cup Champions 2007The Line-upsChelsea (4-1-2-1-2) Cech; Diarra, Carvalho, Terry © (Mikel 62), Bridge; Makelele; Essien, Lampard; Ballack; Shevchenko (Kalou 90+8), Drogba.Scorers Drogba (20, 83).Sent off Mikel (90+5).Booked Essien (35), Carvalho (48), Diarra (51), Lampard (90+5).Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Almunia; Hoyte, Touré ©, Senderos, Traoré (Eboué 66); Denilson, Fabregas; Walcott, Baptista, Diabi (Hleb 68); Aliadiere (Adebayor 80).Scorers Walcott (11).Sent off Touré (90+5), Adebayor (90+5)Booked Denilson (28), Eboué (87), Fabregas (90+5)The RatingsHow They RatedChelseaPetr Cech - 9 - Inspirational. Many fine saves.Diarra - 7 - Stern. Above average performanceCarvalho - 8 - Prolific. Looked assured.Terry - 7 - Strong. Prolific in defence.Bridge - 6 - Average. Below par.Lampard - 7 - Influential. Key figure in midfield.Essien- 7 - Good. Involved in defensive work.Makelele - 6 - Quiet. Linked well with defence.Ballack - 6 - Shadow. Involved at points.Drogba - 9 - Exemplary. Two excellent finishes.Shevchenko - 7 - Tried. Worked hard.Mikel - 7 - Sent off. Replaced Terry.Kalou - 7 - No time. Replaced Shevchenko.Robben - 8 - Involved. Replaced Makelele.Overall team rating - 8Arsenal rating - 8 - the young Gunners tried their best, but class and form prevailed.Referee - 9 - Howard Webb was excellent today. Unbiased and allowed the game to flow. Three key decisions - one a little harsh in sending Mikel off, but was fair overall.StatsAttendence: 70073Possession: Chelsea 51% - 49% ArsenalShots - On: Chelsea 7 - 10 ArsenalShots - Off: Chelsea 3 - 5 ArsenalCorners: Chelsea 2 - 6 ArsenalFouls: Chelsea 15 - 13 ArsenalMan of the MatchPetr Cech Pictures used without permission of www.bbc.co.uk Match report written by BlueLion of CFC-Fans.co.uk

Chelsea 4 - 0 NorwichPremier League champions Chelsea eased their way past Championship side Norwich City, with a more-than-convincing 4-0 scoreline at Stamford Bridge.The result did indeed flatter the Champions, who were very much on the back foot for the opening twenty minutes, but Shaun Wright-Phillips opened the floodgates with his third Chelsea goal with a deflected effort.José Mourinho shuffled his pack, bearing in mind that his squad face a difficult away trip to Porto in the Champion's League in midweek. Bringing in John Obi Mikel, Arjen Robben, Khalid Boulahrouz and Gérémi into the team which beat Middlesbrough 3-0, Michael Essien and Andrei Shevchenko were amongst those resigned to the bench. Roman Abramovich was an interested on-looker after he returned to watch his team after a 6-game absence.Peter Grant brought to London a fiery Norwich team, and named an unchanged side from the team that won in midweek in a fourth round replay to determine who would take on the superstar-laden outfit.The game was very much Norwich City's, with Dickson Etuhu hitting the post with Petr Cech beaten. Former Manchester City midfielder Lee Croft was first to the rebound, but his shot was smashed away by the boot of Boulahrouz. Chelsea also went close, with Didier Drogba's close range header blocked by Norwich captain Adam Drury, and Lampard's freekick was well saved by substitute 'keeper Gallacher, after David Marshall was carried off with a twisted ankle. Gallacher superbly denied Robben, before Wright-Phillip's deflected half-volley seven minutes before the close of play for the first half gave the Blues the lead after Lampard had had three venomous strikes saved by the Norwich 'keeper. The first half ended badly for the Champions however, with defender Boulahrouz taken off with a suspected dislocated shoulder. Replaced by Michael Essien, the half time break came with the Londoners far from their best, but in control. Minutes into the second half, and the tie looked to be all but over when Didier Drogba continued his rich vein of scoring form when he slotted home his 26th goal of the season - albeit a relatively simple turn and tap-in. The Blues were granted a corner and the out-swinger had deflected off Chris Brown before Drogba finished clinically. Didier Drogba socres his 26th goal of the 06/07 campaign Robben was hugely impressive, but wasted several openings, instead selfishly shooting low and hard, but each strike was met by the Norwich shot stopper. Lampard had a final say before he was taken off for a deserved rest, with a curling freekick mere inches over the crossbar.Both Shevchenko and Salomon Kalou came on for the Champions, with Lampard and Drogba were both rested for the upcoming Porto tie.A great spell of possession for Norwich saw them almost claw a goal out of absolutely nothing. Lee Croft, a man who had not scored a competitive goal since last August, saw his shot knocked onto the post by Cech, before Jason Shackle and Dion Dublin both had close range efforts caught by the Czech Republic 'keeper. He also clutched excellently onto a swinging freekick by Norwich substitute Mark Fotheringham.An additional three minutes of extra time were added onto the end of a thrilling 90 minutes, and José Mourinho proved he still has the brilliance of a true tactical genius, when two of his substitutes scored. First of all, Essien tapped in from close range, after being set up by Shevchenko, and the Ukrainian headed home to secure his tenth Chelsea goal. Shevchenko puts Chelsea 4-0 to the good.Normal service is resumed at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea winning their last six games on the bounce, and going an astonishing 623 minutes without conceding a goal, and scoring 18 goals in the process.How They RatedChelseaPetr Cech - 8 - Confident. Three fine saves.Gérémi - 6 - Off-pace. Average performanceBoulahrouz - 7 - Injured. Looked assured.Terry - 7 - Strong. Prolific in defence.Ferreira - 7 - Average. Nothing spectacular.Lampard - 7 - Influential. Key figure in midfield.Diarra - 7 - Good. Involved in defensive work.Mikel - 6 - Quiet. Linked well with attack.Wright-Phillips - 9 - Outstanding. Involved in everything.Drogba - 7 - Decent. Quiet day by good finish.Robben - 8 - Involved. Norwich couldn't cope.Essien - 7 - Calm. Replaced Boulahrouz.Kalou - 7 - Sharp. Replaced Lampard.Shevchenko - 7 - Clinical. Replaced Drogba.Overall team rating - 7NorwichOverall team rating - 7. The Canaries tried their best, but class prevailed. No upset, and Norwich fail to make it past the 5th round for the fifteenth consecutive season.Referee - Rob Styles - 7. Fair game, only issued 3 yellow cards and kept the game flowing. Several dodgy decisions, which were more down to his assistants than anyone else.The Line-upsChelsea (4-3-3): Cech: Gérémi, Boulahrouz (Essien 44), Terry ©, Ferreira; Mikel, Diarra, Lampard (Shevchenko 68); Wright-Phillips, Drogba (Kalou 55), Robben.Scorers: Wright-Phillips 38, Drogba 50, Essien 89, Shevchenko 90+3.Booked: Diarra. Norwich (4-4-2): Marshall (Gallacher 12); Hughes, Dublin, Shackell, Drury ©; Croft, Safri, Etuhu (Fotheringham 58), Lappin (Martin 78); Brown, Huckerby.Booked: Hughes, Fotheringham.StatsAttendence: 41,537Possession: Chelsea 48% - 52% NorwichShots - On: Chelsea 15 - 4 NorwichShots - Off: Chelsea 3 - 4 NorwichCorners: Chelsea 9 - 4 NorwichFouls: Chelsea 11 - 8 Norwich Man of the Match Shaun Wright-PhillipsReport written by BlueLion of CFC-Fans.co.uk . All pictures used without permission, and courtesy of BBC.co.uk/sport and Getty Images.

Watched the game on Setanta, bored me shitless until the last twenty minutes. Was a good game then. Deserved win, fair scoreline.

England were below par, and Wayne Bridge was absolutely awful.

Shevchenko had one of his less productive days. By that I mean he didn't manage a single shot. However, that was down to the formation. The staff cocked up today by playing a 4-3-3. Derby used a 4-5-1 and totally bogged down our midfield so the only way that we could get any service to Sheva was through Kalou and Shaun Wright-Phillips, and the pair of them were quiet until the last half an hour in terms of providing crosses from the wings, although both were effective when they cut inside.

Sorry, guys. I've been ill for the past week, and had to revise for GCSE exams all week, so my time on here has been pretty much inexistant.

Hi - is there any chance of getting CFC-Fans up for an hour or so, so I can transfer Prediction League and Match Reports details over? I'm only enquiring incase we are unable to switch the database over.

Esk, how about you and I work in tandem? If you wanted, you could post your Reserve game match reports in my reports forum?

The Prediction League is suspended until the next Premier League game; against West Ham United.

In my lifetime: Cech Petrescu Terry Gallas Ashley Cole Di Matteo Lampard Poyet Zola Gudjohnsen Drogba

Well, if it works, it a bonus, if it doesn't, I am sure we can cope

I've said it before, I simply don't think David Villa will be able to cut it in the Premier League. Good player and all, but he won't have the same time in the EPL as he gets in La Liga, so I believe he will struggle, and struggle badly. I'd much prefer Karim Benzema.

With Ramos moving to Tottenham, I can see us and the Yids locked in a battle to sign him. But I think £10 million, with Ferreira going the opposite way would be a decent deal.

Even though he isn't the best player, he is still a strong defender and we need as much cover as possible. With Ferreira injured, he is really our only utility defender, so until we sign another centre half, we need to keep him.

Many people are saying that Chelsea will be increasing their goal difference by six this weekend, and to be honest, I can't blame them. If we can put six past a side like Manchester City, we can put twenty past Derby. However, this game will be a bit of an anti-climax for me, so I doubt it is going to be a new record win in the Premier League of some daft score like 15-0, but I think 4 or 5 goals is a reasonable rate of return against the league's worst side defensively.