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Middlesbrough 0 - 2 Chelsea 20 October, FA Premier League, The Riverside StadiumA first Chelsea goal for Alex Da Costa saw Chelsea comfortable victors at the Riverside, after Didier Drogba had cut open the Middlesbrough defence to put the away team ahead. The win is a welcome one for Avram Grant's side, and the team's third consecutive away victory. Didier Drogba answered his critics with an excellent interchange with Frank Lampard was followed by an excellent low shot to put Chelsea a goal up, before a free-kick from recent arrival Alex Da Costa just before the hour ensured the three points would come to Stamford Bridge.Middlesbrough were off the pace and even playmaker Stuart Downing had a quiet afternoon. Mido troubled the Chelsea defence on a number of occasions but Petr Cech was equal to the Egyptian striker both times.The game was played at a frantic pace in the opening five minutes before Chelsea took control of the match. John Obi Mikel, returning from suspension, was at the heart of the Chelsea midfield and it was his creative vision which brought about the first goal. Passing to Drogba on the wing, Mikel's run gave the Ivorian space to play a one-two with Frank Lampard to carve open the Middlesbrough defence. Drogba's shot was struck hard and low and beyond goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who was slow to react and charge off his line.Moments later, Gary O'Neil skipped past Paulo Ferreira and the winger whipped a cross to the near post, where it was met by Mido. The Egyptian headed the ball down, but a wonderful reaction save from Petr Cech ensured Chelsea's recent run of clean sheets in the Premier League was continued.Middlesbrough were enjoying more and more possession as the first half came to an end, but poor crosses from both flanks meant little pressure was put on the Blues defence, and Juliano Belletti excelled to clear the ball on two occasions. Drogba had Chelsea's best chance before the interval, but his low free-kick was just wide of the bottom corner.The second half saw Mido yet again beat the Chelsea defence in the air, but his header was straight into Cech's open arms. By the turn of the hour, Chelsea were in the ascendancy, but their next form of inspiration came from an unlikely source.Winning a free-kick, Chelsea captain Frank Lampard set-up Alex to hit a 34-yard pile driver. The Brazilian smashed the ball into the top corner without hesitation; the goal his first for his club, but not the first of his career from such a position.Chelsea ended the match comfortably, completely dominating the remaining half-an-hour. Malouda and Lampard had decent chances to increase the lead, but Chelsea escaped conceding in the dying moments of the game when O'Neil blazed over from close range.Middlesbrough: Schwarzer, Young, Woodgate, Riggott, Taylor, O'Neil, Boateng (Cattermole 67), Rochemback, Downing, Sanli (Craddock 84), MidoSubs Not Used: Turnbull, Lee, WheaterBooked: BoatengChelsea: Cech, 7 Belletti, 6, Alex, 7, Carvalho, 7, Ferreira, 5, Lampard, 7, Makelele, 6, Mikel, 8, Malouda, 6, Joe Cole, 7, Drogba, 7Subs Used: Sidwell, 7, Shevchenko, 6, Wright-Phillips, 6Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Ben HaimBooked: MaloudaGoals: Drogba 8, Alex 57Att: 27,699Ref: Mark Halsey

Bolton 0 – 1 Chelsea 7 October, FA Premier League, Reebok StadiumAn individual piece of excellence from Salomon Kalou was enough as Chelsea dispatched Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium. The single goal on the stroke of the interval was the first scored in four Premier League matches for the FA Cup holders, and was sufficient for Chelsea to return to West London with all three points, although a header from Stelios in the dieing seconds almost salvaged a point for the home side.Avram Grant’s side, buoyed by the midweek heroics in Valencia received some welcome news when Frank Lampard was declared fit to play, and an authoritative performance by the dynamic England midfielder brought about Bolton’s ultimate demise.But despite Chelsea’s early pressure, which forced a good save from Kalou’s flicked header by Jussi Jaaskelainen, it was Bolton who took the game by the neck early on.Petr Cech saved well from on-loan Liverpool midfielder Danny Guthrie and made a vital stop after a driving run and shot by captain Kevin Davies, after the Bolton striker had taken on Ashley Cole and made a yard of space for himself, only to launch his shot too close to the Czech goalkeeper.Frank Lampard, a player who had scored three times in his last three visits to the Reebok launched a rising shot from twenty yards which Jaaskelainen did well to stop. The Bolton ‘keeper was again called into action when a brilliant headed pass from Kalou was hit on the half-volley by Florent Malouda, but Jaaskelainen made the stop. Malouda had been guilty of wasting an excellent opportunity moments before.Terry and Cech were formidable at the back for Chelsea, who were benefiting from Ricardo Carvalho’s midweek return to the side from injury.Cech made saves from Diouf, Campo and a brilliant stop to save Nicholas Anelka’s well-struck drive before Kalou made the breakthrough. A fortunate bounce took a Bolton defender out of the equation, before Kalou steered the ball home from six yards.The second half was little more than a midfield contest, but Bolton continued to press against the Chelsea backline. Diouf wasted chances and Davies ballooned over from close range before Stelios shaved the crossbar deep in injury time with a header.The win was a first for over a month for Chelsea in the Premier League, and a second in succession in all competitions. The Blues take on Middlesbrough at the Riverside after the International break with Manchester United and Arsenal in their sights.Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Joey O'Brien (Giannakopoulos 85), Andy O'Brien, Meite, Gardner, Campo, Davies, Guthrie, McCann, Diouf (Wilhelmsson 66), Anelka.Subs Not Used: Al Habsi, Cid, Braaten. Booked: Campo, Diouf, McCann, Davies, Jaaskelainen. Chelsea: Cech, 7 Belletti, 6, Terry, 6, Carvalho, 6, Ashley Cole, 6, Lampard, 8, Makelele, 6, Sidwell, 6, Malouda, 6, Joe Cole, 6, Kalou, 8Subs Used: Pizarro, 6, Shevchenko, 6, Ferreira, 6Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Ben HaimBooked: CarvalhoAtt: 20,059 Ref: Alan Wiley

Valencia 1 - 2 Chelsea 2 October, UEFA Champions League, MestallaAvram Grant guided Chelsea to a memorable away victory against Valencia, with Didier Drogba scoring a brilliant second-half winner at the Mestalla.The scoreline mirrors one of Jose Mourinho's most recognised results as Chelsea manager, as the West London side against battled from a goal down to win 1-2. The win is a welcome one for Avram Grant, who came under intense scrutiny from the press after his side's disappointing home draw against West London neighbours Fulham at the weekend.Chelsea captain John terry lead his team to victory, although the defender wore a protective mask to protect the cheekbone injury he suffered at the weekend. Further good news for the team emerged when Ricardo Carvalho was passed fit; the defender missing through injury since the Blues' pre-season tours of America and Europe.The game began at a frantic pace, with Valencia wasting a great opportunity after just forty seconds. David Silva blazed over, signalling Valencia's intent and a long night for the Chelsea rearguard. But despite Chelsea's resistance, Valencia took the lead after nine minutes; David Villa with the goal. The Spaniard latched onto the ball after a cruel ricochet off Michael Essien and confidently slotted home past Petr Cech.Valencia had an excellent chance to increase their lead after twenty minutes, but Joaquin Sanchez's shot was gathered by Cech and cleared by John Terry. Valencia were moving through the gears in their attack, but susceptible to counter-attacks from the Chelsea wide men.Just a minute after Valencia had found themselves in a goal-scoring position, they found themselves pulled back to level terms when Didier Drogba broke away for Chelsea. The Ivorian played a clever reverse pass to Florent Malouda, who crossed low beyond the goalkeeper and into the path of Joe Cole, who slotted home under pressure from Valencia defenders. With twenty one minutes played, the game was shaping up to be a memorable encounter between two excellent teams.Joaquin had yet another opportunity to score Valencia's second. Ricardo Carvalho blocked a loose pass, but the ball deflected off the defender's boot and into the Spaniard's path. The winger went for power rather than placement, and blazed over from a narrow angle when he should have squared the ball.Villa believed he had scored a second with 55 minutes gone, but a correct decision from the linesman had the goal chalked off. Chelsea's bravery was rewarded with twenty minutes remaining as Didier Drogba scored a brilliant goal for his club.Joe Cole's pass found the striker in space, and shrugging off a Valencia defender to get to the ball, he lashed a left-foot drive beyond Timo Hildebrand in the Valencia goal to put Chelsea 1-2 up in the Mestalla; a stadium where only one English team has won - Chelsea Football Club.Despite intense pressure from a Valencia fight back, fantastic devotion from John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho ensured that Chelsea left Spain with three much-needed points and a morale-boosting result which puts the FA Cup holders top of their group in the UEFA Champions League.Valencia: Hildebrand, Miguel, Albiol, Helguera, Moretti, Joaquin (Arizmendi 89), Marchena, Albelda (Baraja 74), Silva, Morientes (Zigic 69), Villa.Subs Not Used: Canizares, Sunny, Angulo, Alexis. Booked: Marchena. Chelsea: Cech, 7 Ferreira, 7, Terry, 6,Carvalho, 6, Ashley Cole, 6, Joe Cole, 7, Makelele, 6, Essien, 6, Mikel, 6, Drogba, 4, Malouda, 7 Subs Used: Alex, 6, Sidwell, 6, Kalou, 7Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Pizarro, Belletti, ShevchenkoBooked: MikelAtt: 51,821 Ref: Roberto Rosetti (Italy).

Chelsea 0 - 0 Fulham 29 September, FA Premier League, Stamford BridgeChelsea made it four league games without a win as Fulham made it a frustrating afternoon for the FA Cup holders in the West London derby.The game, despite the final score, was a captivating match-up between two sides who have struggled in the league of late and Fulham could have stolen all three points at the death. The result was the least of worries to Chelsea manager Avram Grant, as John Terry suffered a fractured cheekbone and Didier Drogba was shown a red card for two yellow card offences.The Chelsea faithful showed their loyalty to Jose Mourinho by singing his name throughout the ninety minutes, but it was owner Roman Abramovich and not manager Avram Grant who was subject to a number of taunts from the Stamford Bridge crowd - even with the Russian billionaire sitting with the fans in the Shed End.Grant decided to play an attacking game despite Chelsea's failure to register a league goal since Frank Lampard's drive in the first half against Portsmouth, with Salomon Kalou and Didier Drogba partnering the woeful Andrei Shevchenko.The first half was hardly Chelsea's most convincing at Stamford Bridge in recent years, with Chelsea almost behind going into the break. There were strong shouts for a Fulham penalty as Tal Ben Haim appeared to head the ball onto his own hand, and Fulham could have broken Chelsea hearts when Clint Dempsey headed inches wide of Petr Cech's goal moments before the interval.Joe Cole was looking lively, and his pass to Drogba resulted in a booking for the Ivorian; adamant Chris Baird had impeded him. Matters went from bad to worse when Terry was substituted at half time following a collision with Dempsey, who appeared to elbow the Chelsea and England captain in an aerial challenge.Kasey Keller pulled off a good save immediately at the beginning of the second half, as Kalou's scuffed shot from Joe Cole's cross appeared to be headed into the bottom corner, but the ageing American pushed the ball behind for a corner.Drogba unleashed a rasping shot straight at Keller and Shevchenko managed a rare effort on target, but the Ukrainian was soon substituted, Avram Grant deciding to bring on Peruvian forward Claudio Pizarro. Kalou then wasted Chelsea's vest opportunity as he headed over from Ashley Cole's flick and Joe Cole shot wide when put through.Grant brought on Malouda for Ashley Cole and went three at the back, but Chelsea's hopes of a winner were quashed when Drogba was sent off for a high-boot on Chris Baird. Fulham nearly stole all three points when Paul Konchesky broke through one-on-one with Petr Cech. The goalkeeper rushed out and made an excellent save, but Diomansy Kamara was guilty of missing an excellent opportunity in stoppage time. Chelsea remain unbeaten at home, but nowhere near convincing.Chelsea: Cech, 7 Belletti, 7, Terry, 6, Ben Haim, 6, Ashley Cole, 6, Joe Cole, 7, Makelele, 6, Sidwell, 6, Drogba, 6, Shevchenko, 4, Kalou, 6Subs Used: Alex, 6, Pizarro, 6, Malouda, 7Subs Not Used: Cudicini, FerreiraBooked: DrogbaSent Off: DrogbaFulham: Keller, Baird, Hughes, Bocanegra, Konchesky, Ki-Hyeon (Bouazza 73), Smertin (Murphy 82), Davis, Davies, Healy (Kamara 67), Dempsey.Subs Not Used: Niemi, Kuqi. Booked: Davis. Att: 41,837. Ref: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).

Hull City 0 - 4 Chelsea 26 September, League Cup, KC StadiumA much-changed Chelsea side featuring Scott Sinclair breezed past Hull City in the League Cup, picking up the club's first win under Avram Grant.The win was the first by Chelsea in all competitions to finish with the League Cup holders winning by more than a single goal since April, and progress in the cup was a welcome tonic to a difficult week for the West London team.The game was always a tight encounter with Hull pressing Chelsea all the way, but Premier League class shone through and Chelsea's youthful-looking side battled through the set up a fourth-round tie with Leicester City at Stamford Bridge.Jay-Jay Okocha, formerly of Bolton Wonders, proved to be Hull's most likely route to goal, coming close on a number of occasions with several excellent free-kicks, but a double from the ever-dangerous Salomon Kalou and first Chelsea goals from Steven Sidwell and youngster Scott Sinclair brushed aside the Championship side with ease.Carlo Cudicini made his first appearance of the season, and Juliano Belletti was brought in at right-back for the Premier League side. Sidwell made his first start of the month and was joined in midfield by the impressive Wright-Phillips. Claudio Pizarro earned a recall after being left on the bench against Manchester United at the weekend. Wayne Bridge made his return from injury with a second-half substitution. Chelsea dominated the opening exchanges, with Hull goalkeeper Myhill making good saves from Sidwell and a close range shot from Kalou, but from a succession of corners in the space of four minutes, Chelsea found it difficult to break down the defence of the home side.With 37 minutes on the clock, Shaun Wright-Phillips, whose pace had caused no end of problems to the Hull defence, drove in a low cross to the unmarked Sinclair. The young English striker had peeled away from his marker, and met Wright-Phillips' cross with a fierce low drive that went through the legs of a defender and beyond the despairing dive of Myhill.Three minutes after the restart, Pizarro beat his marker and raced to the near post. With a clever chip into the air, he beat the goalkeeper, leaving Kalou free to head home his first goal of the season. Four minutes later, Steven Sidwell put the game beyond all doubt with a brilliant swerving effort from distance. Picking the ball up from Essien, the English midfielder launched a fierce drive into the roof of the net. Myhill got a hand to the shot, but the effort was too hot to handle and Chelsea had a foot in the next round.Kalou wrapped up a deadly display with the best goal of the four. Following intense pressure from the home side who were intent on a consolation prize, Joe Cole's introduction added a new complexion to the game, and the England winger cut inside and his low cross was met by a shot from Salomon Kalou, who hit the ball left-footed and curled it into the corner of the goal, leaving the Hull backline bamboozled.Hull: Myhill, Ricketts, Turner, Brown, Delaney (Dawson 53), Okocha, Ashbee, Livermore, Elliott (Garcia 53), McPhee, Pedersen (Featherstone 73).Subs Not Used: Woodhead, Hughes. Booked: Brown. Chelsea: Cudicini, 6 Belletti, 7, Terry, 6, Ben Haim, 6, Ashley Cole, 6, Wright Phillips, 7, Sidwell, 7, Essien, 6, Kalou, 8, Pizarro, 7, Sinclair, 7Subs Used: Makelele, 6, Bridge, 6, Joe Cole7Subs Not Used: Hilario, ShevchenkoAtt: 23,543 Ref: Chris Foy

Manchester United 2 - 0 Chelsea 23 September, FA Premier League, Old Trafford, ManchesterA first Manchester United goal for Carlos Tevez capped off a nightmare week for Chelsea, in Avram Grant's first game in charge of a club in turmoil. Following José Mourinho's shock midweek departure, Chelsea's stuttering start to the season continued at Old Trafford. Carlos Tevez's diving header put Manchester United ahead in first-half stoppage time, before a penalty from Louis Saha left the FA Cup holders even further adrift of league leaders Arsenal.However, in Avram Grant's baptism of fire in the Stamford Bridge hot seat, the Israeli coach was left rueing after three key decisions went against his team - three key decisions which ultimately proved the downfall of Chelsea in this fiery Premier League encounter.The game began with United dominating the opening exchanges. Hoping to open up the gaps in the Chelsea side were confidence was critically-low, a resolute Chelsea rearguard kept the Premier League at bay with Ashley Cole and Paulo Ferreira holding back Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo, whilst Wayne Rooney found Tal Ben Haim and John Terry in formidable mood. But even when the Chelsea backline was undone, a professional goalkeeping showcase kept Chelsea in the hunt after the fourth minute. Rooney cut inside Ben Haim after finding himself in a few yards of space, and launched a wonderfully dipping curled shot from twenty yards. The Czech international strained every muscle in his huge frame to palm the ball over the crossbar; Old Trafford applauding the excellent football from Rooney and the Chelsea goalkeeper respectively.With Manchester United signalling their intent, Chelsea looked to Florent Malouda to provide their inspiration, but with lack of both Pizarro and Drogba up front, and with Frank Lampard missing through injury, the French winger found himself battling the home side's defence and the referee by himself at times.Ryan Giggs missed several excellent opportunities; the second a clear-cut volley at the far stick which should have been converted by the Welsh midfielder; currently enjoying some of his best form in recent years.On the stroke of the half-hour came refereeing blunder number one: Mike Dean sending off John Obi Mikel with studs showing. A quarter of an hour later, Manchester United took the lead through Carlos Tevez in refereeing blunder number two. With the allotted two minutes of stoppage time already elapsed, Ryan Giggs crossed from the far side to Carlos Tevez, who beat Petr Cech to the ball and opened his Manchester United account in the best possible manner; a goal against one of Europe's biggest names.The second half continued in the trend of the first, with Chelsea bravely holding United at arm's length and looking for Malouda to exert some of his wing wizardry on the counter-attack. Giggs was United's most prolific player as he broke through their rearguard on a number of occasions, but was guilty of blazing over yet again from a good position.Chelsea's resistance held until the eighty-ninth minute, when Mike Dean gave United a farcical penalty, which Louis Saha converted nonchalantly. The defeat leaves Chelsea suffering with their worst Premier League start in five seasons.Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs, Tevez (Saha 79), Rooney.Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Nani, Pique, O'Shea. Booked: Rooney, Brown. Goals: Tevez 45, Saha 90 pen. Chelsea: Cech, 7 Ferreira, 6, Terry, 6, Ben Haim, 6, Ashley Cole, 6, Joe Cole, 6, Mikel, 65/b], Essien, 6, Makelele, 6, Shevchenko, 5, Malouda, 6Subs Used: Kalou, 6, Wright-Phillips, 6, Pizarro 6Subs Not Used: Cudicini, AlexSent Off: Mikel (32)Booked: Joe Cole, TerryAtt: 75,663 Ref: Mike Dean

Chelsea 1- 1Rosenborg 18 September, UEFA Champions League, Stamford BridgeRosenborg of Norway held out to a 1-1 draw with English giants Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in their opening game of the 2007/08 Champions League campaign. A crowd numbering less than 25,000 turned up to witness a lacklustre first half, as Chelsea failed to breakdown the Norwegian champions. With major goal threats Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba missing due to injury and a lack of confidence affecting the Chelsea camp, it was no surprise to see the West London club reduce ticket prices.Alex made his debut with Ben Haim on the bench, and Juliano Belletti was favoured at right-back against a team that had a small number of famous faces, including former Liverpool defender Bjorn Tore Kvarme. But despite the FA Cup holders' superior firepower and possession, they only managed to hit the target once as even the woodwork managed to frustrate the home team - efforts by Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou both hit the post in the second half after Andrei Shevchenko had cancelled out the opening goal by Miika Koppinen, who turned in Sapara's excellent delivery from the flank.Michael Essien fired wide for the home side in the only chance of the opening quarter-of-an-hour, and Chelsea were made to pay for their lack of clinical finishing as Rosenborg took a shock lead at Stamford Bridge. Matters were made worse when news filtered through of Valencia's lead against German side Schalke - the other two teams in Group B.Chelsea began to mount a comeback, as Alex headed narrowly over from a Malouda corner, but Chelsea's lack of a genuine target man was apparent as both Salomon Kalou and Andrei Shevchenko shot wide from outside of the area.Yssouf Kone nearly made it 2-0 to the away side moments into the second half, as he gave the ball to Tettey, but the Rosenborg midfield shot wastefully over on 51 minutes from 12 yards out. Chelsea needed a goal desperately, and moments later Andrei Shevchenko hit home for the first time this campaign; heading home from Florent Malouda's cross. It was now only a matter of time until the second Chelsea goal broke Rosenborg fans' hearts.But the Norwegian side had an inspired goalkeeper between the sticks in Hirchsfeld, who made an excellent stop from a low effort by Juliano Belletti; getting two hands to the Brazilian's cross with Shevchenko and Malouda bearing down on him.Malouda then rattled the post with a stinging effort from eight yards; the Frenchman opting for power rather than placement, which left the Rosenborg goal shaking.But stout defending proved to be Chelsea's undoing, as John Terry moved up field to play as a striker. But Salomon Kalou's delightfully-swerving shot from inside the area clipped in the inside of the post and was cleared as Chelsea were left dismaying over several wasted opportunities. The Rosenborg rearguard stood strong, with goalkeeper Hirchsfeld making some vital stops whenever his backline was breached. The full-time whistle sounded, with Chelsea continuing their stuttering start to the season.Chelsea: Cech, 6 Belletti, 7, Terry, 6, Alex, 6, Ashley Cole, 6, Joe Cole, 7, Makelele, 6, Essien, 6, Malouda, 7, Shevchenko, 7, Kalou, 6Subs Used: Ben Haim, 6, Wright-Phillips, 6Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Sidwell, Obi, Ferreira, Sawyer.Booked: Alex. Rosenborg: Hirschfeld, Koppinen, Basma (Kvarme 46), Dorsin, Strand, Riseth, Skjelbred (Iversen 84), Tettey, Sapara (Konan 69), Traore, Kone.Subs Not Used: Hansen, Stoor, Lago, Nordvik. Booked: Dorsin, Kone. Goals: Koppinen 24. Att: 24,973 Ref: Laurent Duhamel (France).

This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Chelsea 0 - 0 Blackburn Rovers Premier League – 15 September - Stamford Bridge - 17:15 kick-offAfter a brief international break, Chelsea resumed their Premier League campaign with a frustrating and eventful encounter with Mark Hughes' Blackburn Rovers.A controversial decision upset José Mourinho when Salomon Kalou tapped home from Juliano Belletti's pin-point cross on the hour-mark, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside. Mourinho and assistant Steve Clarke berated the fourth official and the linesman on the near side, with their point a fair one - as television replays indicated that whilst the ball was played forward, Kalou was clearly onside.After the game, Mourinho revealed that he would be "waiting for an apology" from referee Howard Webb, although he admitted it was not so much the referee's decision that cost the West London team all three points and a chance to climb to second in the Premier League table, rather that of the linesman.The draw means that after six games, Chelsea have eleven points - their worst start to a Premier League campaign since Claudio Ranieri was the manager. With a midweek encounter with Norwegian side Rosenborg before the crunch showdown with champions Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, Chelsea could find themselves well behind current league leaders Arsenal, who also have a game in-hand over their neighbours. Not only this, but Chelsea are also sitting fourth in the Premier League and have not scored a goal in almost four hours of football.For the game against a Blackburn side who earned a highly-creditable draw at Ewood Park against Arsenal, Mourinho opted to stick with the same backline and goalkeeper that had started the 2-0 loss to Aston Villa. Juliano Belletti began at right-back, with Ashley Cole operating on the opposite flank. John Terry and Alex played at centre-half, with Petr Cech looking to build on the clean-sheet he had kept for the Czech Republic on Wednesday. The midfield, still lacking Frank Lampard, featured three English players. Michael Essien began once again, this time Steven Sidwell playing alongside him in central midfield. The impressive Joe Cole made his first start of the campaign after two excellent displays for England - Florent Malouda dropping to the bench. Shaun Wright-Phillips was hoping to score his first goal of the season for Chelsea after opening the scoring for England in the 3-0 victory over Israel, and Andrei Shevchenko was finally available to replace the injured Didier Drogba alongside the exciting Salomon Kalou. Tal Ben Haim, John Obi Mikel, Paulo Ferreira and Carlo Cudicini joined Malouda on the substitute's bench.Blackburn had Tugay missing, so Mark Hughes returned to his favoured 4-4-2 formation with Roque Santa Cruz returning to the fold. The team was highly recognisable from the last campaign, with Friedel in goal, Warnock, formerly of Liverpool, at left-back, Bentley, Savage, Norwegian winger Pedersen and Dunn in the midfield, and former Porto striker Benedict McCarthy beginning alongside Santa Cruz. McCarthy had been an ever-present in José Mourinho's all conquering European Champions of 2004 and subject to plenty of media speculation during the summer regarding a possible transfer to Stamford Bridge.However, but for all of Blackburn's stout defending, there was little sign of the sense of adventure usually shown by Mark Hughes' side, and the Blues' record of 65 unbeaten home Premier League games rarely looked under threat.A minute's appreciation for former Chelsea manager Ian Porterfield was followed by an amazing period of atmosphere from the Stamford Bridge faithful. The opening exchanges showed that both managers were prepared to throw men forward when on the attack, as possession exchanged hands on plenty of occasions.Joe Cole; still flying high after his two excellent performances for England in the past week, was causing problems already for Blackburn, and his opposite number David Bentley was proving to be a handful for Ashley Cole. However, the experienced former-Arsenal man showed why he is first-choice for José Mourinho, resulting in Blackburn’s ventures down the Chelsea left coming to waste.With ten minutes played, Blackburn were already living up to their reputation of strong tacklers. Wright-Phillips launched a shot across goal after Joe Cole and his namesake Ashley had made space. Meanwhile, the Chelsea backline was standing firm from Blackburn pressure, with Sidwell, Essien and Alex all fulfilling their defensive responsibilities.A further ten minutes past, with Chelsea already asserting their authority on the ball. Belletti was catching the eyes of the sell-out crowd at Stamford Bridge, with most of the Blues’ play coming through the Brazilian and Wright-Phillips on the right-hand flank.On twenty two minutes, Belletti continued to impress when he launched a pin-point cross through the eye of a needle. Shevchenko connected with the cross, but the Ukrainian sent the ball well over Brad Friedel’s crossbar from a magnificent cross that deserved an equally splendid finish. Shevchenko, however, was unable to deliver.Belletti continued to show enthusiasm to pump balls into the box, feeding Kalou with plenty of deep crosses. However, Chelsea’s lack of a natural target man was obvious as Claudio Pizarro and Didier Drogba and their ability to hold the ball up was apparently missed.On twenty seven minutes, Chelsea were presented with the best chance of the game, and it took all of Blackburn’s brilliant goalkeeper Friedel to stop the team from going a goal down to Chelsea, who were by now beginning to take the game by the scruff of the neck.Joe Cole took on three Blackburn players, before knocking the ball into the feet of Michael Essien’s driving run. The Ghanaian powered past a defender to earn himself a yard of space, and his screaming shot stung the fingertips of Brad Friedel, who tipped the ball over the bar with the greatest of agility.Shevchenko continued to frustrate both himself and the Chelsea fans on the half hour mark, and Joe Cole set up an inventive through ball which Kalou duly collected. Placing the ball to Shevchenko’s feet, the Ukrainian was unable to get the ball into his instep, and Friedel collected before Shevchenko could get a shot off in time. The Chelsea number 7’s luck had not been the same since he had joined the club the previous summer.Wright-Phillips found space before shooting wide as Chelsea were presented with a number of goal scoring opportunities before the half-time whistle was sounded. Essien’s shot from distance after a labouring run from Ashley Cole was deflected wide for a corner, which was then cleared, before Joe Cole launched a shot into Friedel’s midriff. Joe Cole was looking the most likely goalscorer, as he continued to make the Blackburn full-backs work for their money. Launching a lob just before half time, the clever pass fell just short of Ashley Cole who was merely yards out.Half-time went, and Mourinho was not happy with his side. Having already disappeared to prepare his half-time team-talk, good news began to filter through that Liverpool had drawn at Fratton Park against Portsmouth. It was the perfect opportunity to leapfrog the Anfield side.55 minutes in, Mourinho was displeased. Substituting both Sidwell and Wright-Phillips, Mikel and Malouda were introduced into the fray with little over half an hour to earn all three points. Mourinho changed to a 4-3-3, with Mikel slotting into Sidwell’s vacant midfield position alongside Essien, and Joe Cole completed the new line-up. Malouda moved into a front three, with Shevchenko operating as a lone striker with the Frenchman and Kalou in support.The flowing football earned Chelsea even more possession, and on fifty seven minutes, Chelsea seemed to had found the breakthrough. Belletti steered a wonderful cross that evaded everyone bar Salomon Kalou, who duly scored. However, the goal was chalked off for offside – a decision that displeased Mourinho and mortified the stadium. Enter a substantial period of abuse for the referee.On 69 minutes, the ineffective McCarthy was replaced by Jason Roberts as Mark Hughes sensed there was more than a chance for Blackburn to steal the game as time passed. Belletti and Joe Cole found themselves in the referee’s notepad moments later, but the Blackburn freekick lacked any serious conviction as Petr Cech won his goalkick.Moments later, Chelsea’s goalkeeper had to use every muscle in his body to tip over a powerful drive from Robbie Savage. With Blackburn beginning to get a foothold in the game, Cech dealt with the Welshman’s shot brilliantly as he parried it away for a corner. The resulting corner saw Chelsea fans hold their breath as a shot from a Blackburn player found the side netting with Cech rooted to the spot.Kalou sent a shot inches wide after a long range clearance from the goalkeeper Cech, but all of Chelsea’s luck was summed up when Shevchenko headed goalwards. Friedel threw himself to save the attempt, and in the fracas that followed, an accident occurred in which Shevchenko’s boot connected unintentionally with the head of Christopher Samba. The Blackburn defender was substituted after a lengthy spell of treatment.Ben Haim was introduced to add some steel to the backline as John Terry was moved upfront as a striker to hold the ball up. Unfortunately, despite the crowd’s best efforts to galvanise their team, the final whistle sounded moments after a barrage of Chelsea attacks from Kalou and Andrei Shevchenko in particular, and Blackburn had survived.Squads and RatingsChelsea (4-4-2) Cech: Belletti, Alex, Terry ©, A Cole (Ben-Haim 87): Wright-Phillips (Malouda 55), Sidwell (Mikel 55), Essien, J Cole, Kalou, ShevchenkoBooked J Cole, Belletti.Blackburn (4-4-2) Friedel: Emerton, Samba (Ooijer 90), Nelsen ©, Warnock: Bentley, Savage, Dunn, Pedersen, Santa Cruz, McCarthy (Roberts 67).Booked Savage.Chelsea RatingsCech - 7 – Excellent when called in to action.Alex - 8 – Strong display, looked unbeatable.Terry - 7 - A typical day at the office for the Chelsea skipper.A. Cole - 7 – Looked solid with Joe Cole on the left flank.Belletti - 8 – Arguably the most exciting player on the pitch.Ben Haim – 6 – – Tried his hardest and looked solid.Sidwell - 6 –Took a while to settle.Wright-Phillips - 6 – Seemed ineffective against Warnock, but some moments of class shone through.Joe Cole - 8 – Man of the Match candidate – had inspiration where others lacked conviction. Essien - 7 – Tried his hardest to push his team to three points.Malouda - 6 - – Added some much-missed creativity.Mikel – 7 – – Added some security to the midfield when Blackburn threatened.Shevchenko - 7 – Tried his hardest.Kalou - 7 - Had a couple of good chances.Referee - 3/10 Chelsea - Stats - Blackburn0 - Goals - 0 6 - Shots on Target - 1 9 - Shots off Target - 44 - Blocked Shots - 1 9 - Corners - 2 21 - Fouls - 13 6 - Offsides - 0 2 - Yellow Cards - 10 - Red Cards - 0 58% -Possession - 42% Star ManJoe ColeViews of the Blues

Aston Villa 2 - 0 Chelsea F.C. 2 September, FA Premier League, Villa ParkChelsea's unbeaten league run stretching back 18 matches to January, was finally undone by Aston Villa, who ran out 2-0 victors at Villa Park.A frustrating run at Villa Park continued, where Chelsea have not won in the league since 1999. A header from ex-Fulham defender Zat Knight on his debut two minutes after half-time finally beat the impressive Petr Cech, before Agbonlahor added a second following a breakaway by Ashley Young.Despite Chelsea's excellent early-season form of three wins and a highly-creditable draw at Anfield, it was Villa who were first to make their mark on the game. With just four minutes gone, it took a strong pair of fists from Cech in the Chelsea goal to palm away a rifled shot from Gabriel Agbonlahor.By the twenty minute mark, Chelsea had begun to move through the gears, and it took a wonderful save from Scott Carson to prevent Shaun Wright-Phillips making the breakthrough. The England winger cut inside from the flank and played a one-two with Florent Malouda before shooting hard and low. The on-loan Aston Villa goalkeeper dived to his right and tipped the ball beyond the post.Chelsea signalled their intent with long-range attempts from Michael Essien and Florent Malouda, but the FA Cup holders were missing the steel of Frank Lampard in the centre of midfield; the Chelsea vice-captain missing through injury. Moments after Wright-Phillips' attempt, John Terry headed over from a Malouda corner. Chelsea were coming closer and closer to breaking the Villa backline.A frustrating day for Didier Drogba was capped off when the powerful Ivorian was limited to shooting from outside the Villa penalty area, with Martin Laursen and Zat Knight providing formidable opponents to the man who hit home twenty times in the Premier League the previous campaign. Drogba showed great technique to take down a lobbed pass from Florent Malouda, but launched his shot well wide of the target.Wright-Phillips again went close before the half-time break, this time hitting the side netting, before Chelsea made a close shave of things at their own end, as Luke Moore fluffed his acrobatic overhead kick.In the second period, it took a great save from Petr Cech just 49 seconds after the restart to keep things level. Ashley Young launched a shot at the Chelsea goal, but the Czech Republic international palmed over. The resulting corner saw Villa finally take the lead, with former Fulham defender making the breakthrough. Climbing above Drogba, the defender made no mistake in burying the ball into the back of the net, although Ashley Cole on the line may have done better.José Mourinho changed his attacking options when he introduced Claudio Pizarro and later Salomon Kalou and Joe Cole, but it was already too little, too late. Chelsea were again turning up the heat and but for a few nervous moments for the home side, Chelsea were finding everything but the back of the net.Terry wasted Chelsea's best chance of an equaliser when he headed over from a Joe Cole corner, and Salomon Kalou poked wide in the dying seconds. But it was Villa who scored the final goal of the game on the breakaway.With the Chelsea midfield camped on the edge of the Villa area, the pace of Ashley Young, Luke Moore and Gabriel Agbonlahor was the final nail in the coffin for Chelsea, as the covering defenders were left chasing shadows before Agbonlahor put the ball in the back of the net. Matters went from bad to worse as Didier Drogba hobbled off with a serious injury during stoppage time.Aston Villa: Carson, Mellberg, Knight, Laursen, Bouma, Agbonlahor, Reo-Coker, Barry, Young, Moore, Carew (Petrov 79).Subs Not Used: Taylor, Harewood, Gardner, Maloney. Booked: Reo-Coker, Barry, Agbonlahor, Carew. Goals: Knight 47, Agbonlahor 88. Chelsea: Cech, 7 Belletti, 6, Terry, 7, Alex, 6, Ashley Cole, 6, Wright-Phillips, 7, Makelele, 6, Essien, 6, Malouda, 7, Mikel, 6, Drogba, 5,Subs Used: Pizarro, 6, Joe Cole, 6, Kalou, 7,Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Ben-Haim. Booked: Drogba. Att: 37,714. Ref: Mark Clattenburg

This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Chelsea 1 - 0 PortsmouthPremier League - 25 August - Stamford Bridge - 15:00 kick-offA brilliant first-half strike from Frank Lampard was enough for Chelsea to defeat Portsmouth 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, with Harry Redknapp's side proving stiff opposition for the FA Cup holders.The result continues the excellent run of form the West London outfit have been enjoying since the start if the new campaign, and puts them at the top of the Premier League table after just four outings. With Manchester City losing to Arsenal, it was the perfect opportunity for Chelsea to leapfrog the rejuvenated team lead by Sven Goran-Eriksson.Portsmouth provided the opposition for Chelsea, who were looking to build on their historic record of 64 unbeaten home games; set two weekend before when Michael Essien's superb strike broke down the brave resistance of Birmingham City. Whilst Harry Redknapp's team were not enjoying the same start they had experienced in the previous league campaign, Portsmouth had battled from a goal down to earn a highly creditable draw with champions Manchester United. Chelsea, on the other hand, were back at the dizzying heights of the top of the Premier League, and wins over Birmingham and Reading within the space of four days, and a well-earned draw at Anfield against title hopefuls Liverpool had put the Blues on track to regain their Premier League crown.The spine of the new-look Chelsea team was already emerging, as José Mourinho opted to make just one change to his starting line-up. Claudio Pizarro replaced Salomon Kalou, after the Peruvian impressed greatly once again following his switch from Bayern Munich in the summer. Petr Cech continued in the Chelsea goal, hoping to collect his 100th career league clean sheet. John Terry, an absentee from the Blues' first handful of league games continued at centre-half alongside Israeli Tal Ben Haim, who had played every minute of Chelsea's league campaign. Michael Essien played right back for the second consecutive game, and Ashley Cole featured on the left-hand-side of the defence. The four-man midfield featured Florent Malouda and Shaun Wright-Phillips on the wings; with both players enjoying fine form. John Obi Mikel was preferred in the defensive midfield slot alongside Frank Lampard, with Claude Makelele rested in order to regain full match-fitness. Didier Drogba completed the line-up, the Ivorian captain playing alongside Pizarro. New signing Juliano Belletti joined Joe Cole, Alex, Carlo Cudicini and Salomon Kalou on the bench, and would make his Chelsea debut midway through the second half.Portsmouth fielded a highly-recognisable team from the one which had performed so well last campaign. David James continued in goal after a series of fine performances, and the former-Arsenal pairing of Lauren and captain Sol Campbell featured in the Pompey defence. Kanu, another former Highbury favourite, played alongside the lively John Utaka, who had previously played for Stade Rennais and RC Lens in the French Ligue Un.It was Claudio Pizarro, after just one minute, who was presented with the first opportunity of the game. His quick turn was clever and his shot powerful enough to beat James, but the shot flashed some feet wide of the Portsmouth goalkeeper's near post. Pizarro had a chance to make amends moments later, but failed to put Lampard through on goal.With ten minutes on the clock, the home side were clearly in the ascendancy. Pizarro was once again at the heart of another Chelsea attack, this time linking with Lampard. The Peruvian slid the ball through to Lampard who switched the play to the wide left and unmarked Malouda. Weaving his way past Lauren, the former Lyon man launched his shot into the side-netting.Moments later, roles were reversed. The thus-far ineffective Wright-Phillips was hacked down by a Portsmouth defender, and Malouda's whipped free-kick was perfectly delivered. Pizarro headed the ball over from eight yards when perhaps the unmarked Drogba was in a better scoring position, but it was another warning to Portsmouth of the many varying dangers Chelsea possessed.Lauren and Gary O'Neil combined five minutes later when Portsmouth looked to get into the Chelsea half for the first time. Michael Essien was alert to the low cross, and got back in time to cover and clear the ball. Chelsea were governing the game. Immediately after, Matt Taylor tried his luck from distance. An excellent lunge from Tal Ben Haim deflected the ball around Petr Cech's goal and out of play for a corner. Whilst Cech may have argued he had the effort covered, it was superb awareness and anticipation by Israel's finest.But as Portsmouth looked to be in the ascendancy, it was Chelsea who took the lead. Petr Cech's long ball was taken down gracefully by Drogba, who played the ball into the path of Lampard. The Portsmouth defence stretched, Lampard lashed the ball past James and into the back of the net. It was Frank's fourth goal for club and country in as many games.Before the end of the half, Lampard was presented with another opportunity, but it was Shaun Wright-Phillips who was next to test David James. His stinging shot was well parried by the Portsmouth goalkeeper, who managed to gather at the second attempt. Lampard's rocket shot moments later almost caught James off-guard, but the experienced goalkeeper denied Lampard from range with some fine positioning.Seconds before the half-time whistle blew, Matt Taylor tried an audacious lob from 25 yards, but Cech read the effort well and watched the chipped shot sail over the bar. The second half began at a lively pace, with Chelsea showing they were not keen to settle on a single-goal lead. Malouda did brilliant to skip past two Portsmouth challenges before he found Drogba. The Ivorian's reverse pass caught Portsmouth off-guard and apparently also Shaun Wright-Phillips. The diminutive figure of the England winger managed to connect with the pass after stretching, but lost his bearings and fired his shot some feet wide of the top corner. Whilst it was at 1-0, there was still a chance for Portsmouth.Six minutes later, Sean Davis' frustrating afternoon took a turn for the worse. Booked for a challenge on Malouda, he then missed whilst in space from eight-yards-out after Kanu had managed to beat Essien in the tackle.O'Neil was presented with a chance moments later as Portsmouth continued to remind Chelsea that their lead was a narrow one. This time the midfielder fired narrowly over with a blistering effort from twenty yards, but Cech had the angle covered.Benjani was introduced to the fray moments later, and his involvement spurred Mourinho into action. In the space of two minutes, the Special One introduced both Kalou and Juliano Belletti; with Pizarro and Mikel sacrificed. Essien moved into his favoured holding midfield role.Within five minutes of the Ghanaian's introduction into the midfield, chances at both ends were realised. Malouda shot wide following good work from Essien. The French international's shot arrowed past the top corner with James beaten by the speed of Chelsea's direct play from the midfield. At the opposite end, Portsmouth should have scored when Sully Muntari dispossessed Essien. Muntari thread the ball through to Benjani who was causing a whole new array of problems, but he shot wide nonetheless.On 78 minutes, Kalou twisted and turned his marker to create some space, but even his quick feet couldn't find the back of the net as James read the Ivorian striker's shot well and gathered the ball at the first attempt.Sol Campbell showed just why many believed he should return to the England set-up when a magnificent diving challenge prevented Drogba on 80 minutes. The untested Belletti unleashed the powerful striker and but for Campbell's perfectly timed tackle, he would have been one-on-one with James.Nugent and Pamarot were thrown into play in a final throw of the dice for Harry Redknapp, but Ashley Cole was in the right place at the right time with a brilliant headed clearance from Hreidarsson's effort.Full-time arrived when Ben Haim ensured Chelsea would receive all three points when he punted Nugent's through-ball twenty yards over the half-way line, and with no time to launch a last-gasp attack, the referee sounded his whistle to ensure Chelsea continued their excellent start to the season.Squads and RatingsChelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Essien, Ben-Haim, Terry ©, A Cole; Wright-Phillips (J Cole 74), Mikel (Belletti 64), Lampard ©, Malouda; Pizarro (Kalou 62), Drogba.Goals Lampard 30Portsmouth (4-4-2): James; Lauren (Pamarot 82), Distin, Campbell ©, Hreidarsson; O'Neil (Benjani 60), Muntari, Davis, Taylor (Nugent 82); Kanu, Utaka.Booked Davis, MuntariChelsea RatingsCech - 7 - Barely tested.Ben Haim - 8 - Fantastic display - powerful in the air and commanding.Terry - 7 - A typical day at the office for the Chelsea skipper.Essien - 6 - Wasted at right-back, his presence was more useful in the midfield.A. Cole - 7 - Typical performance by Cole - right place at the right time.Belletti - 7 - - A solid start to his Chelsea career.Lampard - 7 - Good display by Lampard. Confident finish.Wright-Phillips - 7 - Not as effective against a tight Portsmouth backline, had several wasted chances.Malouda - 7 - Teased the Portsmouth defenders and his final balls should have been tucked away by the forwards.Mikel - 6 - Quiet early on, but made his impression.Joe Cole - 6 - - Tried his hardest, but still not starting place for Cole.Drogba - 7 - Held the ball up well. Pizarro - 7 - Could have, and should have scored twice.Kalou - 7 - Had a couple of good chances.Referee - 6/10 Chelsea - Stats - Portsmouth1 - Goals - 0 7 - Shots on Target - 1 10 - Shots off Target - 13 2 - Blocked Shots - 9 4 - Corners - 6 15 - Fouls - 13 4 - Offsides - 4 0 - Yellow Cards - 2 0 - Red Cards - 0 64% -Possession - 36% Star ManTal Ben HaimViews of the Blues

This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Liverpool 1 - 1 ChelseaPremier League - 19 August - Anfield - 16:00 kick-offChelsea left Liverpool with a hard-fought point, as Frank Lampard's clinically-taken penalty ensured the points were shared at Anfield.The game was typical of a Liverpool Vs Chelsea encounter - few chances but an enjoyable but nail-biting game that was as competitive as expected. With several fascinating match-ups, such as Lampard Vs Gerrard and Terry Vs Torres, it was the outcome of Mourinho Vs Benitez that most fans will have craved the most.In recent times, Anfield has become less of a happy hunting ground for Chelsea, although life-long supports of the West London outfit would not lie that Chelsea have ever found Liverpool the easiest of the season's fixtures. Recent defeats in the League and European Cup on penalties effectively ended Chelsea's hopes of Premier League and European glory, however the success José Mourinho has brought to Chelsea - six trophies in three years - surpasses the three Rafael Benitez has guided Liverpool to in the same period of time.And with the new mellow Mourinho opting not to spark a war of mind games between the two managers, whose relationship has not been the closest since both arrived in England in the summer of 2004, at the conclusion of the game it was Benitez giving his share of criticism to referee Rob Styles after he awarded the visiting team a controversial penalty. Frank Lampard duly scored.But it was Mourinho who gained the psychological upper hand in the title race. On a day that Chelsea went five points ahead of last season's Champions Manchester United, Mourinho wished not to comment on the situation, merely congratulate his team's fighting spirit. For the game at Anfield, Mourinho opted to make full use of his dynamic squad. New signing Alex; the Brazilian defender who returned from his three-year loan at PSV Eindhoven earlier in the month was granted a place on the bench and would make his first Chelsea appearance late on. A significant change was at the rear of the team, as Michael Essien was drafted into the right-back position and John Terry returned from injury after missing the wins against Birmingham and Reading. Paulo Ferreira was relegated from the squad altogether. Ben Haim resumed at centre-half with Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel Chelsea's midfield pairing for the day. On the flanks were Shaun Wright-Phillips on the right and Florent Malouda on the left, supported by the so-far impressive Ashley Cole who featured on the left side of the defence. Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, Chelsea's two imports from the Cote D'Ivóire, continued as the strike pairing.Liverpool welcomed back captain Steven Gerrard from the midweek win in France in the Champion's League, with Xabi Alonso also returning to the fray after sitting out against Toulouse. Arbeloa continued at left-back, expected to cope with the pace of Wright-Phillips by Rafael Benitez. Dirk Kuyt partnered Fernando Torres; the Spanish striker making his Anfield debut.As with the previous two Premier League outings, the second half proved decisive for last season's Premier League runners up and Carling and FA Cup winners. Whilst not the result that Chelsea fans hoped for, they were quickly reminded by a move-improved Liverpool side since the teams last clashed.This was the 16th meeting of the two sides in three campaigns, with Chelsea leading with seven wins to Liverpool's five. Three draws, all in the Champions League, completed the statistic. This game was, however, to be remembered as the far-from-finest hour in referee Rob Styles' career.When news filtered around Anfield that Manchester United had dropped more points, this time at the hands of Manchester City in the local derby match. both fans welcomed the news and ironically cheered at the expense of their fellow title contenders. At the start of the campaign, United were slight title favourites - now Chelsea lead the way by some margin.The opening exchanges were cagey as neither strike force could break through the other's resilient midfield line-up. But it was Didier Drogba, scorer of that wonderful goal at Stamford Bridge eleven months previous, that had the first chance of the game; a snap-shot from distance after he had robbed Xabi Alonso of the ball in midfield.But following early signs of Chelsea superiority, it was from five minutes in to fifteen minutes in that the Blues came under constant bombardment by the home side. Gerrard looked to unlock the strong Chelsea backline, but was wayward with his passes and saw his efforts cleared by Ben Haim and Lampard. During the spell of Liverpool pressure, Petr Cech was called into action once - merely taking a goalkick long up field towards Didier Drogba, who was pushed by Carragher, although fairly in the referee's eyes.Liverpool had their best chance of the opening third of the first period when Michael Essien cut down Arbeloa on the Chelsea right and found himself in Rob Styles' notebook. This would prove significant later on in the game. Gerrard took the free-kick short to Kuyt but the Liverpool attack broke down and moments later, Xabi Alonso was retreating into his own territory.Seeing Michael Essien - employed to deal with the power of Riise - as the weakling in the Chelsea back four, Gerrard launched a ball between Essien and Ben Haim to find the unmarked Torres after sixteen minutes. With Essien in No Man's Land, Ben Haim was dragged across to cover for his Ghanaian colleague, opening a space at the heart of the Chelsea rearguard. Torres cleverly lost Ben Haim with a quick change of direction and slid the ball underneath the approaching Cech. Agonisingly for Chelsea fans, the shot squirmed across the wet surface and into the net, courtesy of the far post.After twenty one minutes, Chelsea finally managed to break out of their own half. Winning a free-kick after Alonso had brought down Malouda in similar fashion as Essien had done so to Arbeloa ten minutes before, Styles failed to show the Spanish midfielder a yellow card. Replays suggested the tackle was every bit as disgraceful as Essien's earlier challenge.Drogba's shot from the resulting free-kick brought out an immense chorus of jeers from the home crowd as the ball deflected wide off of Riise and out for a corner. Moments later, good work by Drogba and a trademark cross by Ashley Cole was let down by one-too-many touches by Kalou, and his Ivorian compatriot Drogba headed over from 12 yards after Wright-Phillips had exploded down the right-hand-side touchline with a sudden burst of pace. Slowly but surely, the game was being tipped on its head by Chelsea.John Terry went incredibly close five minutes before half-time. Frank Lampard was hacked down by Kuyt, which earned the Dutchman a booking, and the England international's superb cross found its way beyond several players and towards Terry, who with telling contact, surely would have put Chelsea back in the hunt. However, the ball squirmed wide and Chelsea went into the break as they had done the previous league game - behind by a single goal. However, Pennant and Gerrard found themselves in the book before the interval came for reckless challenges on Chelsea players.At half-time, the ineffective Kalou was replaced by Claudio Pizarro for his third appearance in a Chelsea jersey. His presence immediately galvanised the Blues, as a succession of headed chances fell to the Peruvian but first John Obi Mikel. From a Malouda corner, the ball was flicked on brilliantly by the towering leap of Drogba. Unfortunately, the Nigerian had little time to react and sent his header from close range inches over Reina's crossbar. Pizarro's effort was a little more difficult to execute. Wright-Phillips beat Arbeloa with clever footwork and his cross was met at the far post by the former Bayern Munich striker. However, leaning to his left to connect with the ball, the header was a couple of feet away from causing any sort of trouble to the well-positioned Reina.Liverpool won three corners early in the second period, all dealt with by the combination of Ben Haim and John Terry. Ashley Cole found himself in the book moments later thanks to a trailing leg left behind by Fernando Torres. John Terry was not pleased and both players exchanged words.Nearing the hour mark, Liverpool were beginning to get back into the game. However, Terry was looking his old self once again and only Alonso's strike from range could have been classed as a realistic chance; the Spaniard side footing wide of Petr Cech's post. Besides the early save from Riise and the Liverpool goal itself, Cech had found himself less troubled than usual against Liverpool.Then came a moment of controversy. A penalty was awarded to the visiting side on 60 minutes when Malouda went to ground. Replays proved inconclusive, although contact appeared at first glance to be minimal. Nevertheless, the penalty was awarded and Carragher found himself in the book for dissent. Lampard stepped up, and Lampard scored his 92nd Chelsea goal, making him the Blues' equal tenth top-scorer.Moments later, Ben Haim was booked for a tackle on Kuyt. Chelsea stars and Liverpool players were beginning to fill up the referee's notebook. Lampard and Terry soon found themselves in the book, Terry booked for a nothing challenge on Torres. The Spanish player backed into Terry and fell down pathetically, to which Terry reacted with disgust.On the touchlines, Mourinho found the antics of Torres and Liverpool's Spanish manager laughable, as the Special One sat smiling. There was a heart-in-mouths moment when Essien appeared to be shown a second yellow card - however he was not sent off. The Fourth Official later confirmed with José Mourinho that the card was for John Terry, even through Styles had already shown Terry the card.More tension followed as Riise hammered a shot wide with his awesome left-footed strike. Cech saved well from Riise again moments later and with eight-minutes remaining, tipped over Dirk Kuyt's opportunist's header.Alex as introduced with 86 minutes showing on the clock for his Chelsea debut, marking the recent addition of Crouch as Chelsea went with five at the back to preserve their point. However, only a Ryan Babel strike managed to pierce the solid-looking backline but the shot rifled into the side-netting. No further chances appeared at either end as the game petered out to a draw.Chelsea were second in the Premier League table with seven points after three touch opening matches. With Portsmouth to come and then a trip to Aston Villa, before Blackburn at Stamford Bridge and Manchester United away, should Chelsea emerge unbeaten in their first seven games, the team will find themselves genuine title contenders for sure.Squads and RatingsChelsea(4-4-2) Cech; Essien, Ben-Haim, Terry ©, A Cole; Wright-Phillips (J Cole 76), Mikel, Lampard, Malouda (Alex 85); Kalou (Pizarro h-t), Drogba.Scorer Lampard 61Booked Essien, A Cole, Ben-Haim, Lampard, Terry.Liverpool (4-4-2) Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Arbeloa; Pennant (Babel 67), Gerrard ©, Alonso, Riise (Crouch 83); Torres, Kuyt.Scorer Torres 15Booked Kuyt, Pennant, Gerrard, Carragher.Chelsea RatingsCech - 6 - A shaky performance in the first-halfBen Haim - 7 - Quietly effective, his first-half error will overshadow a good performance.Terry - 8 - Brilliant performance by the England captain.Essien - 6 - Essien is no defender, but he countered the power of Riise.A. Cole - 7 - Another solid performance by Cole. Got forward when he could.Alex - 7 - - Only on for nine minutes in total, but Alex countered Crouch's height with his own huge frame.Lampard - 7 - Good display by Lampard. Confident penalty.Wright-Phillips - 7 - Whilst playing wide he was excellent and made some excellent crosses.Malouda - 7 - Had a lot of fun running at Finnan.Mikel - 7 - Brilliant display yet again by the Nigerian. Looked solid in the anchor role.Joe Cole - 6 - - His clever passes would have been better utilized early in the game.Kalou - 6 - Ineffective against Liverpool as a striker, would have been better used out wide.Drogba - 7 - Held the ball up well. Looked brilliant alongside Pizarro.Pizarro - 7 - - Solid when he came on, could have scored by difficult chance to take.Referee - 2/10 Liverpool - Stats - Chelsea1 - Goals - 17 - Shots on Target - 28 - Shots off Target - 62 - Blocked Shots - 26 - Corners - 415 - Fouls - 192 - Offsides - 24 - Yellow Cards - 50 - Red Cards - 0 49% - Possession - 51% Star ManJohn TerryViews of the Blues

This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Reading 1 - 2 ChelseaPremier League - 15 August - Madejski Stadium - 20:00 kick-offDidier Drogba proved to be the match-winner, with his sumptuous fiftieth-minute winner ultimately decisive in a highly-entertaining match at the Madejski Stadium.José Mourinho pulled off a managerial master-stroke at half-time, bringing of the highly-influential pairing of Claudio Pizarro and John Obi Mikel, effectively turning the game in Chelsea's favour after a poor end to the first period.Petr Cech, usually assured and confident, seemed a little shaky on his return to the Madejski, where 10 months earlier he suffered a depressed fracture of the skull and may have played his last game of football. However, a strong team performance in the second half, coupled with cleverly-crafted goals from Frank Lampard and Drogba sealed the win and another three points, maintaining Chelsea's early season form and 100% winning start.Reading showed little fear against the Premier League's finest, and a sustained period of pressure from the home side meant that the Berkshire side would enter the interval with a 1-0 lead, thanks to substitute Andre Bikey.For the short journey out of the capital, Mourinho opted to use the basis of the team that had ended the win against Birmingham the Sunday before. John Terry was still missing, so Tal Ben Haim continued in central defence with Ricardo Carvalho; Petr Cech playing in goal. Paulo Ferreira replaced Glen Johnson at right-back; Mourinho opting to utilise the more-experienced Ferreira. However, Glen Johnson was named on the substitute bench, and would join the play before the close of the first-half. Ashley Cole played left-back. Captain Frank Lampard joined former Reading player Steve Sidwell in midfield, with Shaun Wright-Phillips and Florent Malouda playing as the wide men. Salomon Kalou made his second consecutive start of the season, alongside Didier Drogba who missed the previous game due to injury. Pizarro was relegated to the bench, joining Carlo Cudicini, Glen Johnson, John Obi Mikel and Joe Cole.Reading featured a number of familiar faces from the side that had finished eighth in the Premier League in their debut season. Ireland's rising star; Kevin Doyle played up-front with Shane Long - Steve Coppell opting to play a more attack-orientated team compared to the 4-5-1 utilised to great effect against Manchester United at the weekend. Stephen Hunt, the man responsible for Cech's injury the season before played wide left, with new signing Cisse featuring as well. Marcus Hahnemann, hero of the hour at Old Trafford on Sunday, continued in goal. A familiar face to Chelsea old boys appeared in Michael Duberry, playing at centre-half with Ingimarsson; the player whose own-goal settled the corresponding fixture last campaign.The opening exchanges were very lively; with Chelsea in their electricity yellow shirts enjoying the marginal majority of possession. The game was end-to-end with both sides creating good opportunities. The best fell to Drogba, whose first-time volley following a piece of wing magic by Wright-Phillips cannoned off the side of the post and behind for a goalkick. However, even if the ball had found the net it would have been chalked off; for Drogba was offside when the ball was played. A tight but correct decision by the linesman which could have gone the other way on a different day.The Blues were enjoying play in the midfield, with Malouda and Wright-Phillips acting as brilliant attacking options as both wingers graced the touchlines. However, with little over 10 minutes gone, it was Reading who enjoyed a brief spell of attacking superiority. Forcing a trio of corners, the Royals looked to have their first meaningful attack of the game, but the Chelsea defence, minus John Terry, demonstrated their aerial dominance. The towering Tal Ben Haim was responsible for two of three clearances from the corner; one an impressive header and the other a no-nonsense clearance as far from the Chelsea box as possible.Both sides were proving they will willing to loosen up in defence and move forward to attack, but neither team possessed a killer ball as chances went begging at both ends.With twenty minutes gone, it was time for the full-backs to get forward at every opportunity. Ashley Cole and Malouda linked well, but Cole's cross was well dealt with by Ingimarsson. Ferreira then crossed low in the box after a neat interchange between the Portuguese and Shaun Wright-Phillips. Looking for the run of Frank Lampard, the ball was to close to the goalkeeper and Hahnemann gathered as he went down to prevent the ball from reaching its intended target. Not quite what Lampard was hoping for, but Chelsea were displaying a more attack-minded attitude and demonstrating they were capable of playing an entertaining game of football.Then came one of the major talking points of the game, just two minutes later. Salomon Kalou's intricate footwork fooled the Reading defence and the Ivorian striker appeared to be hauled-down by former Chelsea defender Michael Duberry in the box. Referee Mike Dean waved play on, and Kalou looked as if he had been denied a clear spot-kick. Replays proved inconclusive.After twenty-eight minutes, Reading went ahead but not before Chelsea threatened at the other end. Malouda forced a corner on the near side, and his whipped kick found Drogba lurking at the far post. However, the striker's volley went more upwards than goalbound and sailed away for a goalkick - an effort uncharacteristic of Didier Drogba's very high standards.Duberry was forced off with a groin strain after he had stretched to deny Malouda space in the Reading box. His replacement, Andre Bikey, put Reading ahead after 15 minutes of his introduction, albeit incredibly fortuitously.Nicky Shorey, called up into the England squad for the friendly against Germany later in the month, floated a free-kick into the Chelsea box, a free-kick Tal Ben Haim could easily have dealt with. However, Petr Cech came racing out of goal and miss-timed his punch. His route to the ball blocked by his own defenders and a lack of communication, the unmarked Bikey at the far post had the easiest of tasks to slot home his first Premier League goal for the club, and to put the Royals a goal to the good. On the touchline, the disciplined defensive master that is John Terry sat shaking his head in disapproval of his colleagues at the rear of the Chelsea formation.To add salt to Chelsea's wounds, the ever-reliable Ricardo Carvalho was forced off moments later through injury. Glen Johnson was introduced to the fray and slot into the back four in between Ben Haim and Ferreira.Moments later, Reading had another excellent chance. Hunt cut inside and fooled Ferreira with his first-touch, and inadvertently passed to Doyle. The young Irishman cut inside to gain a yard of space, but his driven left-foot strike was directed straight at Cech; the Czech International gathering gratefully.Stephen Hunt was beginning to get the beating of Ferreira, and his cross to the far post found the Welshman Oster lurking, whose volley bounced back of the post. Cech arguably had it covered, however Chelsea were living dangerously as Reading put the Chelsea goal under constant bombardment.Glen Johnson was presented with a good chance to equalise before the close of play, heading goal wards after Frank Lampard had headed the ball in his direction. The young defender got enough power on the header but lacked conviction in the finish, as the ball went straight down Hahnemann's throat.By the time the interval had arrived, José Mourinho had already disappeared to prepare for his half-time team talk. Whatever he said, he soon galvanised the team into action. Deploying Wright-Phillips at right-back, he moved Kalou to the right-hand-side of the four-man midfield and introduced a second striker to play alongside Drogba. John Obi Mikel also came on for Steve Sidwell, who had been subject, along with Petr Cech, to a chorus of boos and vulgar chants from the Reading faithful.Mourinho's message was clearly understood when just 81 seconds into the second half, Frank Lampard put the finishing touch to a wonderful team goal. Wright-Phillips knocked the ball across the midfield, first to Mikel and then to Kalou. The Ivorian spread the ball to Pizarro, who combined with Drogba. The Ivorian's clever header found the run of Lampard who had burst forward from midfield. Doing what he does best, Lampard's power and speed cut the Reading defence in two, and clinically slot the ball under the advancing Hahnemann to put Chelsea back in the hunt.The Chelsea fans that had turned up in their droves to support their team were suddenly the only ones singing in the stadium, as Didier Drogba curled and exquisite 25-yard-strike beyond the despairing dive of Hahnemann after good, strong play by Kalou.The young Ivorian collected Ashley Cole's cross, initially intended for Lampard after the England midfielder failed to connect with the ball. Diverted to Kalou's feet, he pulled the ball back to his Cote D'Ivóire compatriot Drogba, who made no mistake in scoring his first goal of the 2007/08 campaign.The Chelsea fans, delighted, decided to thank their hosts for providing them with a new song. Initially sung by Reading fans in the first-half, the Blue and Yellow half of the north stand began a chorus of 'Sidwell, what's the score? Sidwell, Sidwell, what's the score?'All-of-a-sudden, the tide of the game had changed. Pizarro poked wide when he was one-on-one, but Hahnemann made himself big and imposing and put the Peruvian off-balance. He had another chance with twenty minutes remaining. Ashley Cole broke free and found Pizarro unmarked. Volleying first-time, his shot went feet wide of Hahnemann's post.Minutes later, Kalifa Cisse was sent off on his debut for a second yellow card, effectively ending Reading's chances of pulling a goal back. In the closing stages, even Marcus Hahnemann joined the Reading attack as the Royals looked to break down the Chelsea rearguard, but a brilliant last-ditch tackle by Frank Lampard and an impressive display by John Obi Mikel saw Chelsea through to full-time.Two games, two wins and five goals scored. Bring on Liverpool.Squads and RatingsChelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Ferreira, Ben-Haim, Carvalho (Johnson 30), A Cole; Wright-Phillips, Sidwell (Mikel 45), Lampard ©, Malouda (Pizarro 45); Kalou, Drogba.Goals Lampard 47, Drogba 50Booked Carvalho, Sidwell, Wright-Phillips, A Cole, Mikel Reading (4-4-2): Hahnemann; Murty ©, Duberry (Bikey 28), Ingimarsson, Shorey; Oster (Seol 78), Harper, Cisse, Hunt; Doyle, Long (Gunnarsson 74).Goals Bikey 30Booked Long, Cisse, Hunt, IngimarssonSent Off Cisse 71Chelsea RatingsCech - 6 - A shaky performance in the first-halfBen Haim - 7 - Brilliant in defence, denied Reading space.Carvalho - 6 - Carvalho lead from the back, and marshalled the defence well in Terry's absence. InjuredFerreira - 6 - Made one or two mistakes but was solid in the second-half.A. Cole - 7 - Another solid performance by Cole, who tried to assist the wingers by playing clever cross-field balls.Johnson - 7 - - Strong display, looked assured at the rear.Lampard - 8 - Brilliant display, was strong going forward and tracked back to help in defence.Wright-Phillips - 7 - Involved once more, he seems to have found form at last.Malouda - 6 - Couldn't get into the game until the close of the half, sacrificed at half-time for Pizarro.Sidwell - 6 - Struggled at his old stomping ground.Mikel - 8 - Brilliant display yet again by the Nigerian. Turned the game around.Kalou - 8 - Fantastic performance by Kalou, involved in everything and so unlucky not to score.Drogba - 7 - Impressive display.Pizarro - 7 - Solid when he came on, unlucky not to score.Referee - 5/10 Reading - Stats - Chelsea1 - Goals - 26 - Shots on Target - 47 - Shots off Target - 72 - Blocked Shots - 28 - Corners - 515 - Fouls - 190 - Offsides - 24 - Yellow Cards - 51 - Red Cards - 0 51% - Possession - 49% Star ManFrank LampardViews of the Blues

This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Chelsea 3 - 2 Birmingham CityPremier League - 12 August - Stamford Bridge - 13:30 kick-offMichael Essien scored an unbelievable match winner to ensure Chelsea became the new, proud owners of a Premier League record.Avoiding defeat to Birmingham City, who finished second in the Championship last campaign, means that Chelsea have now gone 64 games unbeaten in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge, last tasting defeat at home to Arsenal in February 2004.There have been many memorable matches since, though the entertainment provided by the teams fielded by José Mourinho and Steve Bruce respectively offered plenty of enjoyable action and drama.But for all Chelsea's possession and dominance of general play, Birmingham played their part in a five-goal-thriller, with Chelsea emerging the victors on the opening day of the season. Bruce's side arrived in the English capital with a game plan, and it took the quality of Claudio Pizarro and Florent Malouda on their competitive debuts, and the driving force of Michael Essien to see that the three points went to the deserving winners.With a number of players out injured, José Mourinho opted to field a similar team to the one that had began the Community Shield defeat to Manchester United. Cech remained in goal, with Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole on the flanks. The impressive Ben Haim continued to deputise for John Terry, who was out with a foot problem. Ricardo Carvalho completed the back four. Starting in the front-three the week before, Shaun Wright-Phillips was deployed alongside Frank Lampard and Michael Essien in the midfield, with Florent Malouda operating to the left-hand-side. Claudio Pizarro made his debut for the club and Salomon Kalou made a much-welcomed return from injury.Mourinho's tactical brilliance allowed him to switch between the more defence-orientated 4-4-2 and the 4-3-3, with Malouda moving forward into the front-line to add an extra dimension of width to the play when Chelsea were in possession.Steve Bruce opted to play in a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Olivier Kapo supporting the lone front man Mikael Forssell; a former Chelsea favourite and Finnish international. Star player Gary McSheffrey played out wide left in the four-man midfield, along Franck Queudrue made his competitive debut for the club. Colin Doyle began in goal; a hard and significant decision for Bruce to make.The Stamford Bridge stadium was in full-voice; behind the goal at the Matthew Harding End, the supporters were in full voice and the new season-ticket holders in the Shed Upper were making quite an improved atmosphere. Flags were flown, songs were sung and friendly banter was exchanged - not to mention the alcohol consumed.The noise seemed to encourage Chelsea on throughout the game, but it was the visiting side who creating the better chances of the lively opening exchanges. After just three and a half minutes, it was Chelsea old boy Forssell that stole a march on the defence, and shot at Cech's goal. Cech fumbled the powerful shot but gathered on the second attempt.News was filtering through that Arsenal had come from a goal down to beat Fulham 2-1 at the Emirates stadium - an insignificant result in the meanwhile, but the Chelsea fans urged their side onwards to victory.The team responded, with Frank Lampard; skipper for the day, acknowledging the support from the crowd. Kalou picked up a brilliant pass by Michael Essien and his run at the Birmingham defence caused havoc. Unselfishly cutting back to Malouda, the Frenchman shot first-time with his weaker foot and saw the ball clear the crossbar by a matter of inches. Knowing he should have scored, Malouda vowed to get on the score sheet later, and make amends.His frustration became greater moments later when Birmingham took a shook lead, totally against the run of play. And who else but Mikael Forssell, who rose above a number of Chelsea defenders to head home past the stranded Petr Cech who was wrong-footed. Forssell did not seem to know much about the header, but somehow reacted fast enough to steer the ball past Cech who could only grasp at thin air in anguish.The goal came as a result of bad marking by the Chelsea defence, when Gary McSheffrey was fouled midway inside the Chelsea half. Floating the ball in, it deceived everyone, not least Petr Cech. On the touchline, injured skipper John Terry was shaking his head.Before Birmingham opened the scoring, Chelsea had two excellent goal scoring opportunities, both involving the wonderful Shaun Wright-Phillips. Pizarro's looping header after 12 minutes did not test the goalkeeper following Wright-Phillip's cross and moments later, provider-turned-finisher when Wright-Phillips smashed an angled drive just wide.Three minutes later, Chelsea's first goal of a new era at Stamford Bridge was scored. Malouda had drifted over to the right hand side of play, and passed to the unmarked Wright-Phillips. The winger's low, driven cross evaded a number of players, but Claudio Pizarro's first time strike found the bottom corner in professional style. Chelsea's number 14 had opened his account in some manner, and was clearly delighted with his goal.If Chelsea's goal on 17 minutes was all about breaking the defence down from the flanks and inwards, Chelsea's goal on 30 minutes was all about ignoring the defence was there completely.Malouda exchanged passes with Salomon Kalou after the former Lyon winger had found Frank Lampard. Lampard returned the ball to Kalou, whose delicate flick over the line of defenders found Malouda who had ran around the back of the centre-back pairing. Waiting for the approaching Doyle to go to ground, Malouda poked the ball around the rushing goalkeeper in fantastic fashion; another debutant on the score sheet. Chelsea had turned the game around in a quarter-of-an-hour.But Chelsea's lead lasted just a couple of minutes. Lampard had had a wonderful opportunity to put the Cup Kings 3-1 up, but Johann Djourou, on loan from Arsenal, blocked his low shot with Colin Doyle nowhere to be seen. Olivier Kapo, Birmingham's new signing from Juventus, beat Glen Johnson and made his way into the penalty area. Seeing few options, the French midfielder went for goal himself and blasted the ball past Petr Cech who could only admire the shot as it found the top corner of the Shed End goal. Suddenly, the party mood was drained out by the cheering of the delighted Birmingham fans.The game was entertaining; yes, but not going according to plan, and the half-time whistle blew with the scores locked at 2-2. Kalou's fantastic footwork opened up the Birmingham goal, but his half-volley after flicking the ball lacked accuracy and found the welcoming arms of Doyle.Moments into the second half, Shaun Wright-Phillips created another brilliant opportunity. Shooting just wide, the Englishman was annoyed when he saw his effort power into the side netting. However, Michael Essien had no such trouble locating the goal. Wright-Phillips received the ball out wide following a Malouda crossed that evaded Lampard and slotted it back to the rushing Essien. Without even looking up, Essien powered a curling shot into the roof of the net and celebrated his stunning winner with the fans in the Matthew Harding Lower tier. Though he was booked for his celebrations and injured moments later, Ghana's favourite son ensured the part started with fifty minutes on the clock.Before seventy minutes had passed, Mikel and Drogba had been introduced to the fray, replacing the excellent Pizarro and Essien, both players receiving standing ovations.Kalou's clever pass found Wright-Phillips whose stinging shot on the 70 minute mark was well-dealt with by Colin Doyle, who was looking more assured as the second half progressed. Though he had made what could be regarded as several errors, the goalkeeper stood tall and made another excellent take whilst under pressure, collecting the ball with ease.Moments later, his presence denied Kalou, who was put off by the challenge of the goalkeeper, and failed to connect with Wright Phillips' low cross along the six yard box.Ben Haim, quietly effective, made a brilliant stretching clearance to stop Forssell from entering the penalty area, and a poor clearance by the rushing Colin Doyle found Drogba on the half-way-line and an empty goal. The Ivorian volleyed the ball goal wards, and his curling shot was feet wide - yet still close enough for the Chelsea TV commentators to suddenly get excited.The late introduction of the solid Steven Sidwell was almost a brilliant one. Drogba's powerful form passed the ball to Sidwell, who turned and fired towards goal in a single, flowing movement. His brilliance almost found the net, but the ball skimmed the far post. Doyle could argue he had the shot covered.The final whistle blew after a tense few minutes of Birmingham knocking on the Chelsea door, but an enormous cheer erupted from all around the stadium as Chelsea claimed another three points and temporarily found themselves third in the Premier League table on goal difference. A job well done - and yet another mention in the record books.Squads and RatingsChelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Johnson, Ben-Haim, Carvalho, A Cole; Wright-Phillips, Essien (Mikel 69), Lampard, Malouda (Sidwell 82); Kalou, Pizarro (Drogba 63).Goals Pizarro 14, Malouda 30, Essien 49.Booked Essien 50, Carvalho 78. Birmingham (4-4-1-1): Doyle; Kelly, Djourou, Ridgewell, Queudrue (Parnaby 50); Larsson, Muamaba, Nafti (De Ridder 74), McSheffrey (Jerome 68); Kapo; Forssell.Goals Forssell 14, Kapo 35.Booked Larsson 76 Statistics and line-ups by Paul Mason of www.chelseafc.comChelsea RatingsCech - 6 - Could do nothing about Kapo's goal - was unfortunate to concede twice.Ben Haim - 7 - Quietly effective. Denied Birmingham the space they needed.Carvalho - 7 - Carvalho lead from the back, and marshalled the defence well in Terry's absence.Johnson - 6 - Made one or two mistakes but was solid in the second-half.A. Cole - 7 - Another solid performance by Cole, who tried to assist the wingers by playing clever cross-field balls.Lampard - 7 - Lampard was quietly effective and had two excellent chances, but failed to connect.Essien - 7 - A goal which disguised a lousy first fifteen minutes. Was more involved as the game went on, and unfortunately got injured.Mikel - 6 - Didn't put a foot wrong.Sidwell - 6 - Made a big impact, and looked as solid as ever, unlucky not to score.Malouda - 8 - Another game and another goal for Malouda. Wright-Phillips - 9 - Fantastic performance. Involved in everything, and could have got on the score sheet twice himself.Pizarro - 7 - 61 minutes played, 1 goal scored. An ideal start. Was involved in all the attacking play.Kalou - 8 - Fantastic performance by Kalou, involved in everything and so unlucky not to score.Drogba - 6 - Made a huge impact and his presence gave the Chelsea forward line an extra dimension.Referee - 5/10 - Fair game.Chelsea - Stats - Birmingham3 - Goals - 26 - Shots on Target - 49 - Shots off Target - 52 - Blocked Shots - 15 - Corners - 315 - Fouls - 193 - Offsides - 22 - Yellow Cards - 00 - Red Cards - 0 56% - Possession - 44% Star ManShaun Wright-PhillipsViews of the Blues

This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Chelsea 1 - 1 Manchester UnitedManchester United win 0-3 on PenaltiesFA Community Shield - 5 August - Wembley - 15:00 kick-offManchester United avenged their 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup final with a 3-0 win in a penalty shoot-out, following a 1-1 draw in the Community Shield.Edwin Van Der Sar was the hero for United, saving all three of Chelsea's penalty kicks whilst Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney all hit home past Petr Cech to earn United their first silverware of the season and apparently, also a psychological advantage over Chelsea in the Premier League title race.However, both Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson were quick to dismiss the importance of the Community Shield as both managers prepare their teams for their first challengers this season; Reading at Old Trafford for the Champions and Birmingham City for the FA Cup winners on Sunday.The game itself was an unfortunate repeat of the 1997 game, known back then as the Charity Shield. Chelsea had come from behind on that day, but were dispatched on penalties by United; defending Premier League Champions ahead of the 97/98 league season. Assistant Chelsea Manager Steve Clarke was quick to point out that Chelsea fans should not be disheartened following the shoot-out defeat, instead confident after we held an almost fully-fit Manchester United side for ninety minutes with a weakened team of our own.José Mourinho was also full of praise for his stars. "I couldn't be happier with this group of players, a group that was not prepared to play this game and only knew last night they would have to play in this team and with this strategy," he told Sky Sports after the defeat. Mourinho was also pleased with the attitude shown by his players, especially in Petr Cech, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Florent Malouda and Glen Johnson, who played on in the second half despite picking up minor injuries in the first half.Mourinho was pleased with the performance of the team, and the result did not concern him even the slightest.For the game itself, Mourinho's options were strictly limited. Captain John Terry was suffering from a minor knee injury and could possibly face a week out. Didier Drogba was also missing for the FA Cup winners, along with high-profile names Claude Makelele, Michael Ballack, Arjen Robben and Andrei Shevchenko. Mourinho decided to field the same back-line that had played at some point against Brondby in mid-week. The impressive Ashley Cole started at left-back with Ben Haim and Ricardo Carvalho in the centre. To the right of Petr Cech's goal was Glen Johnson, apparently cementing his position as first-choice right-back at the moment.The midfield was recognisable from the Double-winning season of 2006/2007, with Michael Essien holding and John Obi Mikel and Frank Lampard playing in front of him, supporting the front-three. Interestingly enough, new signing Claudio Pizarro was relegated to the bench with Mourinho opting to use three wide-players as his attacking spearhead. Florent Malouda started on the left with Joe Cole in the centre, with the slightly-deeper Shaun Wright-Phillips playing on the opposite flank.Manchester United were not without injury themselves, but fielded a familiar team - 8 players starting in the Community Shield had participated in the FA Cup final. Van Der Sar began in goal with Silvestre at left-back and the impressive Nemanja Vidic at centre-half alongside Rio Ferdinand. Wes Brown, the player who broke Scott Sinclair's metatarsal in May began at right-back for the Champions. O'Shea deputised for the injured Scholes alongside Carrick, Ronaldo and Evra; three players who began the FA Cup final. Up front for United was Wayne Rooney, playing in front of Ryan Giggs.Much like the FA Cup final, the game was incredibly tight with both sides determined to stay solid at the back and defend rather than play with an attack-minded mentality. However, unlike the game in May, both teams managed to find a way through before the 90 minutes was up, but still could not be separated.The game began at a promising tempo with Chelsea receiving the majority of the possession, however the Stamford Bridge side were doing relatively little with the ball. It was Ashley Cole that provided the first attacking motion of the game as he looked to get beyond Cristiano Ronaldo. The England full-back succeeded but lost the ball out wide under pressure and United were able to clear.However, the lack of a true forward first began to show when Wright-Phillips burst past Evra, before firing low into the box. Had Didier Drogba been stalking the penalty area, the outcome may have been a little different, but with just Joe Cole and Frank Lampard to aim for, United managed to clear at ease; their numerical advantage easily getting them out of trouble and the ball out of danger.As the game moved into full-swing, Wright-Phillips was looking to be the major attacking outlet for Chelsea, and was one of a very small proportion of players who looked dangerous whenever on the ball. Granted more space to run at the full-back Silvestre, Wright-Phillips fired another cross in on 18 minutes, but was too high for the figure of Joe Cole to latch on to, and Edwin Van Der Sar plucked the ball from the air gratefully.However, the first clear-cut chance fell to United; and somewhat against the tide of play. Ronaldo switched flanks after getting no joy against Ashley Cole and did well to beat Glen Johnson with pace. Pulling the ball back across the goal, the Portuguese brilliantly found the oncoming Ryan Giggs. Giggs' shot was venomous, but Petr Cech read Ronaldo's intentions well and instinctively dived into Giggs path to block the shot.United's first major opportunity seemed to spark a new lease of life in the side's midfield, and soon Ronaldo was finding more space for the Champions. He picked out Carrick who shot first-time with Cech wrong footed. Thankfully, the ball was several feet wide of the Chelsea post, but United were showing that they meant business.With twenty-six minutes on the clock, by far the clearest opportunity thus far revealed itself. Wright-Phillips won a freekick after Silvestre tugged his shirt, and the pacey, whipped cross from Malouda found the head of Michael Essien. Leaping majestically, the tall African glanced the ball to the far post where John Obi Mikel was lying in wait, but the ball skimmed his head and rolled out of play for a goal-kick.It was a reminder to the Champions that Chelsea have more than one string, also known as Didier Drogba, to their bow.As the temperature soared to 37 degrees pitch-side, the tempo of the game increased as both sides began to probe at the other's defence. Ronaldo was getting the trickery out, but the Chelsea faithful took great enjoyment when he fluffed a simple pass after a neat turn beat Mikel in the centre of the park.However, moments later Ronaldo was back on the ball and running at the full-backs. Johnson was beaten for pace, but the low cross was beaten away first by Cech, then out of danger by Carvalho who broke free from defence. His long, hopeful punt forward found nothing but the bi-line as the ball rolled out of play. Another possible attacking opportunity came just seconds later as Van Der Sar's goalkick found Ben Haim. The Israeli headed to find Malouda in space, and the Frenchman's stinging shot from all of 32 yards had the defence beaten, but Van Der Sar read the shot well and found it stuck in his midriff.On thirty-two minutes, Ben Haim received the first of probably many yellow cards in a Chelsea jersey. This time, the Blues number 22 found himself in the referee's notebook for a foul on Wayne Rooney when the England striker was in full flow.Memories of Israel vs. England came flooding back to the crowd as Rooney and Ben Haim squared up to each other.For the resulting free-kick, Cristiano Ronaldo came forward. After several minutes of mental calculations, the anti-climatic strike did not even trouble Petr Cech, instead bouncing off of Ben Haim.With the Chelsea defence dispersed, United capitalised. Evra took down a brilliant pass from Vidic fantastically, and found Ronaldo. Cutting to the inside of Johnson, he pulled back to Evra. The Frenchman's cross was steered into the goal by Ryan Giggs from nine yards. The Chelsea defence was breached.Chelsea worked hard to retain possession for the close of the first-half, and their confident passing around paid off. With the United line high, expecting Chelsea to continue passing short, Ashley Cole's delightful outside-of-the-boot pass over the backline found Malouda. The winger headed the ball pas Ferdinand, who held onto Malouda as he darted into the penalty area. Showing sublime strength, he managed to poke the ball into the net from a tight angle as he was falling from Ferdinand's challenge. The ball nestled in the back of the net, and even if had not, Chelsea would surely have surely been handed a spot-kick.The second half was incredibly close, and Cech had to eb at his best to beat away stinging shots from Ronaldo and Giggs.Neither side could prevent the penalty-shootout, however, and United claimed the Community Shield as Edwin Van Der Sar saved from Pizarro, Lampard and Wright-Phillips.Squads and RatingsChelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Johnson (Sidwell 77), Ben-Haim, Carvalho, A Cole (Diarra 67); Mikel, Essien, Lampard ©; Wright-Phillips, J Cole (Sinclair 81), Malouda (Pizarro 51).Goals Malouda 44Booked Ben-Haim, Carvalho, MikelManchester United (4-4-1-1): Van der Sar; Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre (Nani 67); Ronaldo, Carrick, O' Shea; Evra; Giggs © (Fletcher 80); Rooney.Goals Giggs 34; Ferdinand, Carrick, Rooney (Penalty Shoot-out)Booked RooneyChelsea RatingsCech - 7 - Was very sharp, made an excellent save from Giggs early on and a brilliant save from Ronaldo. Could do nothing about the penalties.Ben Haim - 6 - Whilst most of United's attacking play was down the wings, he was solid when called into action.Carvalho - 7 - Carvalho lead from the back, and marshalled the defence well in Terry's absence.Johnson - 6 - Whilst he made several good tackles and played well on the flank, he played United onside too many times.A. Cole - 8 - Ashley Cole is looking very sharp. Brilliant pass to set-up Malouda's goal. Was named Man of the Match.Diarra - 6 - Looked confident on the ball.Lampard - 6 - Not as involved as he was against Brondby, he and Mikel were heavily outnumbered in midfield and had few passing options.Mikel - 6 - His fitness is back, and was unlucky not to get himself on the score sheet. Not the greatest game of his.Essien - 7 - Whilst he was not as effective going forward, he was brilliant screening the defence and superb when played at left-back.Sidwell - 6 - Only had 13 minutes to settle, but made little impact.Joe Cole - 7 - An unorthodox centre-forward, but Joe tried his hardest and had a few good chances.Malouda - 8 - Brilliant performance, debut goal that was incredibly well-taken. More to come from him.Wright-Phillips - 7 - Played to best of his ability in the heat. Gave the ball away too often, however. Woeful penalty.Pizarro - 6 - He gave the team someone to aim for, but had no joy against Vidic.Sinclair - 6 - Tried his best and took the full-back on whenever he could.Referee - 5/10 - Fair game, although should have sent Rooney off.Chelsea - Stats - Manchester United1 - Goals - 14 - Shots on Target - 66 - Shots off Target - 72 - Blocked Shots - 34 - Corners - 515 - Fouls - 193 - Offsides - 23 - Yellow Cards - 10 - Red Cards - 0 51% - Possession - 49% Star ManFlorent MaloudaViews of the Blues

This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Brondby 0 - 2 ChelseaFriendly - 31 July - Brondby Stadion - 19:05 kick-offNormal service was resumed, as Didier Drogba's fine brace ensured Chelsea left Denmark with a fourth pre-season win and the perfect tonic for pre-Community Shield nerves.The Ivorian hit home just six minutes from time to seal the win, after he had out-jumped former Charlton Athletic goalkeeper Stephan Anderson to put the Blues ahead just after the half-time interval.Drogba impressed greatly throughout the game, pulling off some brilliant tricks and flicks, but was also amongst a large number of Chelsea names who had solid games in the Danish capital. Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole both had excellent games in the full-back positions for the FA Cup winners and Claudio Pizarro was highly influential, as he set up Drogba's second goal with a deft flick to claim an assist.Mourinho elected to give the now-fit Cole a start at left-back, and the England International managed to last sixty-four minutes of his first pre-season outing. Completing the back-line were the defensive partnership of Ricardo Carvalho and the impressive Tal Ben Haim, and Glen Johnson in the right-back slot. Carlo Cudicini started in goal after missing out at Ibrox and looked assured behind his unfamiliar back-line. Sidwell and Lampard's midfield partnership continued, with the former slotting just in-front of his England colleague in the midfield trio which was completed by John Obi Mikel. Up front, Drogba began as the lone striker, supported on the wings by the energetic duo of Malouda and Shaun Wright-Phillips, two players who have greatly impressed and shone their qualities this pre-season.The Brondby side was not an unfamiliar one to some - goalkeeper Stephan Anderson was on the wrong side of a 2-0 result at the Valley against Charlton Athletic in the 2005/06 league campaign. Madsen, Nielsen and Mikkelsen have also represented their countries at International level.Whilst the performance was at times nowhere near Chelsea quality, the result will give the players the lift they needed after two difficult affairs without victory, against Feyenoord and Rangers respectively. However, the second-half performance was up-to-scratch and would have impressed José Mourinho, especially with the tempo of play in the final quarter-of-an-hour.However, the game will be seen as more of a work-out for the players than a competitive game with a victory being compulsory, as several members of the first-team squad got another 90 minutes under their belt and improved their partnerships with team-mates. However, a noticeable absentee from the starting eleven was Captain John Terry, so Frank Lampard would wear the Skipper's Armband for the game against Brondby.To great comic effect, the huge buzz inside the stadium was complimented by the very considerate actions of the Brondby supporters to convert their insults towards the Chelsea team into English. This would only inspire the Blues onto victory, however.For the first fifteen minutes, the fitter and more impressive Brondby starting eleven gave Chelsea the run-around. It was not until six minutes had past that they registered their first effort on goal; an opportunists’ strike in the form of a volley outside the area by Martin Ericsson.The game was the perfect opportunity to display Chelsea's new alternative white kit, featuring adidas' three-stripes design. However, Tal Ben Haim's kit was suddenly turned a nice shade of green and brown as he threw himself at the approaching Morten Duncan, whose shot was fiercely parried away by the impressive and sharp Carlo Cudicini, who had enjoyed an excellent pre-season, especially against Feyenoord.Wright-Phillips has his effort directed towards Drogba, who can't connect with the ball.The Blues gathered their thoughts and regained possession for much of the next fifteen minutes, although they were doing very little with it. It was not until 23 minutes that the first Chelsea opportunity came. Lampard unleashed Wright-Phillips, whose dragged shot-come-cross fell to Drogba, but the ball skimmed over the outstretched boot of the Ivorian and away to safety.Glen Johnson had an excellent effort sail just wide, as Lampard once more unlocked the Brondby defence for the second time in five minutes. The young right-back lobbed the approaching goalkeeper, but his shot carried too much pace and floated several feet wide of the Brondby far goal-post.With just twenty-nine minutes played, Mourinho was unhappy with the performance. Sacrificing John Obi Mikel, who had made several earlier mistakes, Wright-Phillips and the quiet Malouda exchanged the flanks for the wide midfield positions, as Claudio Pizarro partnered Drogba upfront in a 4-4-2 formation.Steve Sidwell received a booking for not retreating after a free-kick was awarded to Brondby. The kick was weak, and Cudicini gathered with ease. On the stroke of half-time, Malouda was hacked down outside of the area. The former Lyon man was adamant contact was made inside the area, but the referee awarded only a yellow card for the ferocious challenge of Rasmussen, and a free-kick for Chelsea. Drogba took the kick, but his bending effort had little pace. Whilst beating the wall, it landed comfortably in the arms of Anderson, who barely had to move.Malouda was substituted at half-time by Mourinho, who also exchanged Cudicini for Cech at the interval.Cole's introduction immediately sparked a Chelsea revival. Drogba's effort was deflected onto the roof of the net by a Brondby defender, but two minutes later the Ivorian ruthlessly dispatched yet another Chelsea goal.Glen Johnson supplied a brilliant floated ball from the flank, which Drogba fairly contested with Anderson. The Ivorian out jumped the goalkeeper and headed home to put Chelsea one goal to the good. Pizarro had been involved in the build-up. It was his pass that found the unmarked Wright-Phillips, who took on the approaching left-back. Drawing the player out, he slipped the ball to Johnson who had cleverly ran into the full-back position, and was free to deliver a ball to the waiting Drogba.The home fans were not happy, and certain Drogba had fouled the goalkeeper. However, replays suggest Drogba did not use his arms to obstruct the goalkeeper, and the goal was a perfectly legal one.Drogba heads home under pressure from Anderson.Petr Cech was untested until Kasper Lorentzen was left unmarked in the penalty area after lax defending by Johnson. The right-back had drifted to the opposite flank to cover for Ashley Cole, leaving Lorentzen in acres of space. However, with just Cech to beat, the midfielder shot wide after mis-hitting the ball.Chelsea continued to press following Ashley Cole's substitution, with Sam Hutchinson impressing once more. Anthony Grant was awarded a first taste of pre-season action with twelve minutes to go, replacing Steve Sidwell. Jack Cork also replaced Lampard, giving Drogba the Captain's armband.Scott Sinclair, another late substitute, nearly added a second with 82 minutes gone. His mazy run left him with just the goalkeeper to beat, but a defender recovered well to block his shot.The Blues wrapped things up when Drogba scored a brilliant second goal. Cole picked up the ball on the edge of the centre-circle, and ran forward thirty yards before passing to Drogba. The Ivorian showed great skill and played a one-two with Pizarro which was highly reminiscent of the two-touch play between Chelsea's top goalscorer last term and Lampard in the FA Cup final, which led to Drogba's winner in extra-time.The Peruvian slipped Drogba in, and the Ivorian made no mistake in hammering the ball past the substitute goalkeeper.Pizarro had a quiet introductory fifteen minutes, but was very sharp after the break.Moments later, a superb Joe Cole freekick was brilliantly saved by Tornes, and the goalkeeper denied Pizarro a first Chelsea goal moments later with a fine parry.2-0 was not the scoreline most predicted, but the win comes as a welcome gift ahead of the Community Shield final against Manchester United.Squads and RatingsChelsea (4-3-3): Cudicini (Cech 45); Johnson, Ben-Haim, Carvalho, A Cole (Hutchinson 64); Mikel (Pizarro 29), Sidwell (Grant 78), Lampard © (Cork 82), Malouda (J Cole 45) Drogba, Wright-Phillips (Sinclair 70).Goals Drogba 61, 84Booked SidwellBrøndby (4-4-1-1): Andersen(Tørnes 67) ; Randrup, Howard, Nielsen © (Williams 78), M Rasmussen (Rytter 45); Mikkelsen (Jorgensen 45), Spelmann (Gislason 45), Daugaard (Lantz 45), Madsen (Lorentzen 45); Ericsson (Retov 45); MD Rasmussen (Katongo 64). Booked M Rasmussen, LantzChelsea RatingsCech - 7 - Incredibly sharp, made two excellent sliding challenges.Cudicini - 7 - Dominant performance in the first-half.Hutchinson - 6 - Played well for the last half an hourBen Haim - 7 - Another great display by Ben Haim.Carvalho - 7 - Simply not his day, but looked assured with Terry.Johnson - 7 - Was brilliant going forward but left defensive gaps too often.A. Cole - 7 - Yet again, Ashley Cole was impressiveLampard - 7 - Played some excellent balls.Sidwell - 7 - Had a very strong game.Wright-Phillips - 7 - Nothing special, he did the simple things brilliantly, however.Mikel - 5 - Uncharacteristically lazy performance, needs to regain fitness.Sinclair - 7 - Once again, Scott did himself proud with a top performance.Cork - 6 - Came on for Lampard and did very well.Grant - 6 - Had little to do, but was quietly effective. Did not put a foot wrong.Joe Cole - 8 - Excellent display, he turned the gameMalouda - 7 - Not a great performance, played better in the 4-3-3Drogba - 7 - Quiet and ineffective, despite the showboating.Pizarro - 8 - Hugely impressive display by Pizarro, involved in everything. Referee - 5/10 - Fair game.Chelsea - Stats - Brondby2 - Goals - 06 - Shots on Target - 29 - Shots off Target - 72 - Blocked Shots - 14 - Corners - 211 - Fouls - 132 - Offsides - 21 - Yellow Cards - 20 - Red Cards - 0 52% - Possession - 48% Star ManJoe ColeViews of the Blues

This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Rangers 2 - 0 ChelseaFriendly - 28 July - Ibrox - 15:00 kick-offA bloodied mouth was all Chelsea received after their journey to Ibrox, as they were gunned down by an impressive Rangers side 2-0. The result is the first time since January that José Mourinho's men have been outclassed by two goals and a first defeat in pre-season which leaves the Chelsea manager needing to weigh up his options ahead of the game in midweek away to Brondby.However, if anything positive is to be taken from the game, it is a return to fitness of Ashley Cole, with the England defender one of Chelsea's more prominent performers on the day with a series of fine runs and interceptions.Ibrox was a tide of Blue prior to the kick-off, and Chelsea fans exchanged scarves, shirts and banter with their Blues Brothers from across the border and both teams were well-welcomed by the capacity crowd.With nineteen seconds on the clock, Andrei Shevchenko shot wide after being played through by an ingenious Frank Lampard pass. However, the Ukrainian could not compose himself and his shot was well wide of the Rangers goal.Petr Cech did brilliantly at the other end to stop Kris Boyd, who was played through by former Everton defender David Weir. The ball bounced over the defensive partnership of John Terry and Tal Ben Haim, but the Czech goalkeeper did well to smother the ball.Despite the early tempo of the game, the direct play began to settle as the teams changed their tactics to more defence-minded strategies. Florent Malouda suffered numerous heavy tackles as his pace often left Rangers' defenders for dead, and was duly booked for getting his own back on the half-an-hour mark.Little in the form of goal-mouth action came throughout the last fifteen minutes of the half, although Didier Drogba and Malouda were showboating with tricks and flicks and entertaining both sets of fans.The French winger switched sides with Joe Cole, and to immediate effect. Linking brilliantly with Lassana Diarra and Drogba, he crossed majestically for the Ivorian, but the striker was put off by the approaching McGregor and headed wide.Malouda took matters into his own matters moments later. Turning from provider to finisher, he launched a powerful shot from range, but the ball was always heading wide even if McGregor in the Rangers goal saw the ball late and attempted to block.The first half ended as it had begun - with the game played at a pacey tempo but little in the way of real opportunities.For the second half - as per usual in pre-season - José Mourinho assessed his options and made a set of radical changes at the interval. Henrique Hilario made a return between the sticks replacing Petr Cech. At the back, Ben Haim moved to the left as Ricardo Carvalho was added to the defensive equation; Diarra the man substituted. The midfield retained its four players, although Sidwell and Lampard were joined by John Obi Mikel and Shaun Wright-Phillips; the young Englishman playing wide right. Up front, recent acquisition Claudio Pizarro got a run out alongside Drogba and Shevchenko.Rangers switched to a 4-5-1, with former Wigan striker Lee McCulloch on his own up front, supported by wide players DaMarcus Beasley, last season with Manchester City, and Nacho Novo. On the hour mark came possibly Chelsea's only highlight of the game - Ashley Cole stripped off and ready to come on. His return to fitness saw the withdrawal of Glen Johnson. Cole went to the left-back slot as Tal Ben Haim moved to the right flank.The young Slovakian striker Sebo got goal side of John Terry after an uncharacteristic slip by Chelsea's £135,000-a-week captain. The England skipper was wrong footed by a cunning pass by David Weir, formally of Everton, and gave the defender no choice but to bring down the player or let the player have a clear run on Hilario's goal. Terry conceded the foul, and accepted the yellow card and a caution from the referee.Chelsea were looking rusty, and the oil they required did not come in the form of John Obi Mikel. In space, the Nigerian looked to pass the ball to Ashley Cole on the left, but did not put enough pace on the ball and presented it to the energetic Novo, who sped forward. Novo squared to Sebo, but the inexperienced striker was put off by the approaching Hilario who stood tall as the shot went well wide.Moments later at the other end, Chelsea pressure was beginning to take its toll. With the ball inside the Rangers box for a prolonged period, Pizarro had a goal line effort cleared and Mikel's pile driver from distance was well snuffed-out by Carroll, a half-time substitute for Rangers. Chelsea were beginning to settle and take charge of the game.Novo and Sebo combined once more at the other end of the pitch, and would have gone ahead but for a brilliant challenge by the last-man, Ashley Cole.After seventy minutes, the ineffective Drogba was replaced by Scott Sinclair, who added flair and pace to the game. This meant Pizarro would lead the Chelsea frontline for the first of many times.Chris Burke came on for Rangers seconds later, and it was his mazy run that set up the first Rangers goal; somewhat against the run of play. Novo received the ball and struck home from 20 yards, his arrowed shot clipping the post as it went beyond the stretch of Hilario, who had had little to do.The Rangers fans celebrated like they had won the Champion's League - ironically, however, the Glaswegian team faces stiff opposition in their Second Qualifying Round tie. Lampard went close soon after, and Sebo was fouled in the box by Mikel, but a penalty was not given.Just 97 seconds later, Rangers were two to the good. Carvalho, not having one of his better days, was in the right place at the wrong time, as Sebo's shot from a tight angle was deflected off the Portuguese and into the goal. beyond Hilario's dive.A disappointing result, but results do not count - only fitness does, and Ashley Cole epitomized that with a good performance.Photo GallerySquads and RatingsChelsea (4-4-2): Cech (Hilario 45); Diarra (Carvalho 45), Ben-Haim, Terry ©, Johnson (A Cole 62); J Cole (Wright-Phillips 45), Sidwell, Lampard, Malouda (Mikel 45); Shevchenko (Pizarro 45), Drogba (Sinclair 70).Booked: Malouda, TerryRangers (4-4-2): McGregor (Carroll 45); Hutton (Murray 45), Weir (Webster 45), Cuellar, Papac (Broadfoot 45); McCulloch (Sebo 62), Brahim, Ferguson ©, Adam (Burke 81); Darcheville (Beasley 45), Boyd (Novo 45).Goals: Novo 84, Sebo 86Chelsea RatingsCech - 7 - Did what he does best when called into action.Hilario - 6 - Could do nothing about the two goals.Diarra - 6 - Was fairly impressive, good going forward but lax in defence at times.Ben Haim - 7 - A brilliant first-half performance, marred by poor displays on the flanks in the second period.Carvalho - 6 - Simply not his day, but looked assured with Terry.Terry - 6 - The skipper looked rusty after his toe injury.Johnson - 6 - Gave away possession once too often, but a par performance nonetheless.A. Cole - 8 - The brightest prospect of the day.Lampard - 7 - Played some excellent balls.Sidwell - 7 - Was solid wherever he was fielded.Wright-Phillips - 6 - After a handful of good appearances, Wright-Phillips showed only glimpses of quality.Mikel - 6 - A lazy performance, mainly due to lack of match fitness.Sinclair - 7 - Involved, made some excellent runs and his pace was a deciding factor.Shevchenko - 6 - Tried once again, but his touch seemed to let him down.Joe Cole - 5 - Quiet and lost the ball too many times.Malouda - 7 - Bundles of energy and not afraid to shoot - a quality performance.Drogba - 6 - Quiet and ineffective, despite the showboating.Pizarro - 6 - Fairly impressive game. Referee - 5/10 - Fair game.Chelsea - Stats - Rangers0 - Goals - 23 - Shots on Target - 49 - Shots off Target - 71 - Blocked Shots - 04 - Corners - 211 - Fouls - 132 - Offsides - 22 - Yellow Cards - 0 0 - Red Cards - 0 50% - Possession - 50% Star ManAshley ColeViews of the Blues

This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Feyenoord 1 - 1 ChelseaFriendly - 25 July - De Kuip Stadion - 18:00 kick-offA brilliant performance by Carlo Cudicini denied Feyenoord a win, as Chelsea remain unbeaten in Pre-season thanks to both the Italian goalkeeper, and Frank Lampard's well-taken equaliser late in the second half. The goal is Lampard's first in Chelsea colours since scoring the first goal in a 2-1 win over Blackburn in the FA Cup Semi-final at Old Trafford, and will come as a huge morale-boost for the under-fire midfielder. Cudicini, a halftime substitute, performed fantastically and produced a handful of brilliant saves and an excellent double-save from Roy Makaay's penalty and the Dutchman's follow-up.Mourinho opted to rotate the team after the win against LA Galaxy. Glen Johnson was played at left-back with Tal Ben Haim and Ricardo Carvalho in the centre-half slots. Paulo Ferreira completed the backline which would defend Petr Cech's goal. Sidwell partnered Lampard once more, and Mikel started in the holding role, with an energetic Shaun Wright-Phillips on the right-flank for the FA Cup holders, Andrei Shevchenko down the centre and Joe Cole on the opposite side.The game began at a moderate pace that was an enjoyable spectacle. The much-speculated future of Royston Drenthe seemed to be on the quiet as the young Dutchman teased Paulo Ferreira for much of the opening exchanges, but for all his trickery and pace, his crosses were somewhat lacking.Shevchenko has the first chance of the game.Shevchenko had a chance after just four minutes after he was put through by a ball by the quietly-effective Mikel, and after beating his marker, sent a shot screamer over the crossbar by a couple of feet from a restricting angle.With the Cup Kings suffering from the jet-lag of flying from the American West Coast to London, then to Rotterdam, it was hardly surprising to see the home side have the better of the first 11 minutes, which was epitomized when Roy Makaay hit a stinging low volley to the left of Cech's near post after Ferreira failed to clear, but the shot was thankfully wide by several inches.Struggling to keep hold of the ball, let alone use possession to build up attacks, the Chelsea side were looking ragged. However, discarding Ferreira's mistake earlier the defence were looking as solid as ever, with the impressive Ben Haim making energetic runs forward to help spring attacks.All of a sudden, with ten minutes to go, Chelsea were presented with three excellent opportunities to open the scoring. After a brilliant run, Wright-Phillips bamboozled Drenthe with trickery of his own, before sending a cross to the far post. Instead of shooting, the oncoming Johnson laid the ball off to Lampard, who swung wildly with his left boot, sending the ball well over.The second and best chance came when an unmarked Shevchenko was played onside by the fullback, and after Mikel's brilliant lobbed pass, the Ukrainian looked certain to score. However, the striker took one too many touches, and Timmer, the Feyenoord goalkeeper came out to smother the shot as the ball left Shevchenko's boot.A penalty claim was then turned down by the poor performance of the referee - something which has been involved with Chelsea in all four of their pre-season matches thus far. Tim de Cler handled in the area after Wright-Phillips was put through by Sidwell, and despite the assistant-referee being feet away, no penalty was given.Ironically enough, the referee sponsors for the day, SpecSavers, might find themselves signing a new contract to supply spectacles to referees.Andwelé Slory was stealing the limelight from Drenthe, who had faded out of the game, despite launching a shot to the right of Cech's goal before the end of the half. However, as popular in Chelsea history, whenever the Blues seem to fail to score from several opportunities, the opposition gets one and steals a goal.Pizarro demonstrates his touch on his debut.This time, it was Jonathan de Guzman's freekick that was knocked into the goal by centre-back Kevin Hofland to put the home team 1-0, with Petr Cech caught in No Man's Land.For the second half, Chelsea made a handful of changes. Cech was substituted for Cudicini, and Florent Malouda replaced Joe Cole. Shevchenko, who picked up a slight knock in training, also sat out for the second half, the power Ivorian Didier Drogba taking his place.Slory had a brilliant chance to increase Feyenoord's lead after 49 minutes, but Cudicini made a strong parry at his near post. Immediately at the other end, Drogba and Malouda were causing all sorts of problems with their pace, tricks and power. Malouda squared to Lampard, who flicked the ball up for Drogba to volley with his left-foot, but Timmer did well to gather to ball.Lampard launched a brilliant cross-field pass for the run of Ferreira to chase. The Portuguese did everything right, but launched his shot straight at Timmer who parried. Unfortunately there was no-one to follow up and the ball was cleared.Cudicini made a magnificent save from Makaay's goal-bound header just three minutes later, jumping to his left to push the ball beyond the post for a Feyenoord corner, which was gathered by the Italian.Pizarro and Diarra came on after 65 minutes to replace Johnson and Steven Sidwell, and Sam Hutchinson replaced Mikel just two minutes later. Pizarro was immediately involved in the action, but Drogba's touch was too heavy for the tall Peruvian to knock towards goal.Pizarro had a difficult chance with thirteen minutes to go, as he volleyed over and wide after Wright-Phillips had found him unmarked in the Feyenoord area, however his lack of match fitness and form showed.Finally, with just 11 minutes to go, Chelsea found another late-goal-hero in Frank Lampard. It was the brilliant run of Scott Sinclair that produced the opportunity, taking-on and beating three players with a mazy run, before his pass took a fortuitous deflection off a defender's knee, and fell to Lampard. The midfielder sent Timmer the wrong way, scoring to make the game 1-1.Lampard celebrates with DrogbaRomeo Castelen was 'fouled' in the box, although Chelsea TV replays showed that the young defender got a touch on the ball before bringing down the player. How ironic, that at another away game, Chelsea were not awarded a cast-iron penalty whilst the home side immediately got one as soon as there was any contact in the box.However, Cudicini brilliantly saved, guessing the way which Makaay would go. Thought the spot-kick was a tame one, if Cudicini went the wrong way, Makaay would look very cool indeed - fortunately for Chelsea, Cudicini was the one who looked very cool when he punched the ball from off the ground. His initial save had been a parry, but reacted to scoop the ball away.Malouda clears after Cudicini's brilliant double save from a penalty and the follow up.Squads and RatingsChelsea (4-3-3): Cech (Cudicini 45); Ferreira (Sinclair 78), Carvalho, Ben-Haim, Johnson (Diarra 65); Sidwell (Pizarro 65), Mikel (Hutchinson 67), Lampard ©; Wright-Phillips, Shevchenko (Drogba 45), J Cole (Malouda 45).Goals Lampard 79Feyenoord (4-2-3-1): Timmer; Lucius, Vlaar, Hofland (Bahia 45), de Cler; Sahin (Buijs 69), Van Bronckhorst ©; Slory (Bruins 85), de Guzman (Hofs 78), Drenthe (Castelen 62); Makaay.Goals Hofland 45Chelsea RatingsCech - 6 - Caught in No Man's Land on two occasions, not entirely impressive.Cudicini - 9 - Brilliant performance by the Chelsea goalkeeper.Ferreira - 6 - Could not keep up with Drenthe's pace, but did well in the second half.Ben Haim - 8 - Brilliant in defence, and strong going forward.Carvalho - 7 - The usual, strong and impressive display from the Portuguese.Hutchinson - 5 - Not his best day, but was unlucky to concede the penalty.Johnson - 6 - Was strong going forward but had little to do.Lampard - 7 - Much more involved today, his goal will help his confidence.Sidwell - 6 - Would have benefited playing in the second half when Chelsea's midfield had more input.Wright-Phillips - 7 - Another great display, he is showing some consistency at last.Mikel - 7 - Very strong display, unlucky not to score.Diarra - 7 - Seemed to play in every position at some point, had bundles of energy.Sinclair - 7 - Involved, great run to set up Lampard.Shevchenko - 7 - Had a few chances, should have scored. Tried.Joe Cole - 6 - Quiet once again, but he seems near full-fitness.Malouda - 7 - Not as effective against the Dutch, but still did well.Drogba - 7 - Did everything but score, strong game once againPizarro - 6 - Had no time to make impact, average performance. Referee - 3/10 - Should have gone to SpecSaversChelsea - Stats - Feyenoord1 - Goals - 1 4 - Shots on Target - 56 - Shots off Target - 62 - Blocked Shots - 1 4 - Corners - 716 - Fouls - 182 - Offsides - 10 - Yellow Cards - 0 0 - Red Cards - 0 49% - Possession - 51% Star ManCarlo CudiciniViews of the Blues

This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Chelsea F.C. 1 - 0 LA GalaxyFriendly - 21 July - Home Depot Center - 18:00 kick-offA solitary strike from England and Chelsea skipper John Terry ensured his side maintained their excellent run of results in pre-season, as his strike early in the second half defeated David Beckham's Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 at the Home Depot Center.The goal will come as a huge morale-boost for Terry, who scored just once in a Chelsea jersey in the 2006/2007 season, and means that the Blues return from the American West Coast with three wins and three impressive performances, as they return to Cobham to prepare for Dutch team Feyenoord at the weekend.Weighing up his options, Mourinho elected to field a near-full strength starting eleven, with Petr Cech, John Terry, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba all playing. Joined at the back by Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho and Tal Ben Haim at left-back, the Blues were clearly indicating they were not taking the game, nor their opposition lightly.The midfield was complimented by the speed and pace of Florent Malouda and Shaun Wright-Phillips, whilst fellow Ivorian striker Salomon Kalou joined Drogba in a pacey, strong attack.Whilst they may be struggling in the Western Division of the MLS, the Galaxy side featured American international Landon Donovan and Abel Xavier, a former Portuguese international that had been on the wrong end of a 3-0 thrashing the last time Chelsea and his former club Middlesbrough met. Alexi Lalas' star acquisition, wearing the same number 23 jersey as he did at Real Madrid was on the bench - his fitness has been question earlier and many had predicted his debut would have to be postponed.Whilst the tour had allowed regular faces in the Chelsea team to gain confidence and match fitness, new signings Tal Ben Haim, Steven Sidwell and Florent Malouda have been given the opportunity to show Jose Mourinho what they can do, whilst youngsters such as Jack Cork, Scott Sinclair and Sam Hutchinson have proven that Chelsea's academy can produce star talent from a young age.This friendly match, part of a non-competitive competition named the World Series of Football required a 6-0 victory for Chelsea after Mexican champions Tigres defeated Suwon Bluewings 3-0 earlier in the day, but despite plenty of chances, Chelsea seemed to be less clinical in front of goal than both the players and fans would have wanted, and many no doubt expected of the team.The game began at a lively pace with both sides putting the opposition defenders under pressure. However, it was not until ten minutes had passed until the first real chance of the game presented itself. With the teams settling down and tempo of the game dulling, Paulo Ferreira beat his marker and found Florent Malouda unmarked in the penalty area. With fantastic technique, the French midfielder volleyed the ball first-time. Destined for the bottom corner, Joe Cannon in between the sticks for the American side pulled off a brilliant instinctive save.The Galaxy side, despite their season in full swing, appeared shaky - right-back Roberts had been beaten for the umpteenth time by Malouda's pace and trickery by the time Galaxy's first opportunities arrived, some fifteen minutes into the game.Cech came running to deal with a cross, but failed to reach the ball and punch with any real conviction, but did well to regain his feet and parry former Coventry midfielder Cobi Jones' effort away for a corner.Jones beat Ben Haim for pace just three minutes later, and sent in a brilliant, teasing cross between Carvalho and Terry. The ball fell to the well-timed run of Martino, who despite having a brilliant position just six yards out, took his eye off the ball and headed wide with Cech wrong-footed.Didier Drogba berated Salomon Kalou for not squaring the ball when the young striker had rounded the 'keeper and slotted wide, although he surely would have congratulated his compatriot should he have scored. Such is the way of football.Malouda was beginning to look more comfortable with his deeper role, and teasing Roberts down the Chelsea left. His understanding with make-shift left-back Ben Haim seemed to be great as he played the ball to run of the Chelsea defender, and turned Roberts twice before his cross into the area lacked any real target to aim for, despite Drogba trying to throw himself after a lost cause.Ben Haim was involved in another glorious chance on the thirty minute mark. Receiving the ball from the run of Carvalho, he played it back into the path of the big defender, who fired into the side netting from a fairly acute angle.John Terry headed well over from a corner, which had been won when Kalou's shot was blocked by Joe Cannon; the veteran keeper beating the ball away to safety.Donovan's 39th minute free-kick caused the Chelsea defence some problems, as the flicked header by Abel Xavier was fantastically saved by Petr Cech. The ball seemingly headed for the top corner, Cech launched himself to his left, using every muscle in his six feet, 5 inch frame to punch the ball behind.With the 4-4-2 apparently not working against the similar formation of the Galaxy side, Mourinho elected to return to his favoured 4-3-3. Malouda and Essien dropped into the left and right back positions respectively, as Mikel and Joe Cole replaced Ben Haim and the fairly ineffective Ferreira.Up front, Shevchenko joined the three-pronged attack, playing in a central position, with Kalou on the right flank and Didier Drogba moving to the left.Cole's arrival brought instant success, as his shot was deflected through to Terry, who reacted and hit the ball with his weaker foot instinctively to the left of the diving Cannon. Rebounding off the post, the ball nestled in the corner of the net as Terry wheeled away.Just 48 seconds later, Salomon Kalou did well to connect with a Drogba cross from the far left, but despite his excellent leap and contact with the ball, he could not direct it and the ball found its way into the grateful hands of the goalkeeper.Cannon's opposite number Cech had been replaced at half-time by Carlo Cudicini, who had not yet touched the ball.It should have been 2-0 in the 54th minute, but for a poor refereeing decision. Malouda and Shevchenko played a fantastic one-two as the Ukrainian burst into the area. Pulling the ball back to the waiting Drogba, the Ivorian slid the ball into the empty net, only to have his celebrations cancelled by an offside flag. Surely the ball must be played forward to be in an offside position, or else surely the deliverer would have been offside as well?By the time it had passed the hour mark, the tempo of the game had dropped dramatically.Drogba and Donovan both had headed chances. Drogba could do nothing to prevent Malouda's pacey cross from going over, but Donovan, left unmarked in the Chelsea area, nodded over from five years out with Carlo Cudicini a spectator. The second time the Blues were let off.And finally, after 75 minutes, David Beckham joined the action, as the screams of the 27,000-strong crowd turned to deafening roars. However those expecting Beckham to produce two goals with an injured ankle were to have their bubbles popped - the midfielder looked completely ineffective and a crunching tackle from Sidwell, who replaced Lampard, left the player on the ground.Beckham looked to slot in Donovan, but Cudicini was first to the ball. Chelsea played keep-ball for the last ten minutes, as the drained Galaxy players seemed resigned to defeat.Another win in pre-season. With Mexico, Korea and America conquered, bring on the Dutch!Squads and RatingsChelsea (4-4-2): Cech (Cudicini 45); Ferreira (Mikel Obi 45), Carvalho, Terry ©, Ben-Haim (J Cole 45); Wright-Phillips (Shevchenko 45), Essien, Lampard (Sidwell 73), Malouda (Johnson 73); Drogba (Hutchinson 88), Kalou (Makelele 60).Goal Terry 48LA Galaxy (4-4-2): Cannon; Roberts, Xavier, Harden, Jazik; Jones (Kirk 55), Gray, Donovan ©, Martino (Glinton 71); Pavon (Vagenas 60), Gordon (Beckham 77).Chelsea RatingsCech - 6 - Uncharacteristically flapped at a cross, but made two excellent saves.Cudicini - 6 - Convincing when called into action.Ferreira - 6 - Started well, but seemed to tail off.Terry - 8 - Another goal for the Chelsea skipper, who is near his best.Ben Haim - 6 - Made some strong runs, but was beaten by Jones for pace.Carvalho - 7 - Made some excellent attacking runs and had an opportunity to score.Hutchinson - 6 - Came on for a short time, settled instantly and looked confident on the ball.Johnson - 6 - Very quiet when he came on, but had nothing to do.Lampard - 5 - Lacking performance by Frank.Makelele - 7 - Brilliant display by Chelsea's captain for the second half.Sidwell - 5 - Barely touched the ball, little impact.Wright-Phillips - 6 - His touch let him down.Essien - 7 - Strong display yet again, although shaky in periodsMikel - 7 - Very strong display, unlucky not to score.Shevchenko - 7 - Tried his hardest yet again - all we can ask for.Joe Cole - 6 - Quiet, needs to regain match fitness.Malouda - 7 - Was very effective and utilised in multiple positions.Drogba - 7 - Did everything but score, strong game.Kalou - 7 - His orange boots teased defenders. Referee - 2/10Chelsea - Stats - Los Angeles Galaxy1 - Goals - 0 6 - Shots on Target - 36 - Shots off Target - 42 - Blocked Shots - 1 5 - Corners - 221 - Fouls - 182 - Offsides - 10 - Yellow Cards - 0 0 - Red Cards - 0 52% - Possession - 48% Star ManJohn TerryViews of the Blues

This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Chelsea F.C. 1 - 0 Samsung Suwon BluewingsFriendly - 17 July - Home Depot Center - 20:00 kick-offChelsea maintained their winning run in pre-season, with Didier Drogba's deadly finish ultimately proving the difference in a game the West London outfit bossed from start to finish.Before netting the winner, Drogba had hit the base of the post when one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and Michael Essien had two fabulous scoring opportunities - the first a bullet shot onto the crossbar and the second a brilliant volley from six yards which was superbly saved by the Samsung Suwon Bluewings goalkeeper.The Korean team to their immense credit, however, managed to hold Chelsea for eighty minutes and provided a more-than-suitable test for Jose Mourinho's team heading into the new league campaign. And with David Beckham and LA Galaxy awaiting the Blues on Saturday in an eagerly-anticipated game, the FA Cup and Carling Cup holders will be heading into the game full of confidence after two wins and two excellent performances.True to his word, José Mourinho fielded two completely different teams for each half as the Special One continued to experiment with his highly-diverse squad. Seemingly set upon using a 4-3-3 formation with two wingers, the squad were all glad to gain another 45 minutes of match fitness.For the match, José Mourinho made only several changes to the team that started against Club America. Petr Cech continued in goal, but his backline was slightly different to how it had been against the Mexicans - John Terry was partnered by Glen Johnson who played at right-back in the 2-1 victory at the weekend. Paulo Ferreira began the game at right-back, but would later move to the opposite flank before being replaced. Sam Hutchinson started at left-back after impressing greatly in the second half against the Mexican side. Makelele was replaced in the starting line-up by Michael Essien, as Steve Sidwell and Frank Lampard continued their midfield pairing for another 45 minutes. Up front, there were changes also, with Salomon Kalou starting.Hilario was on the bench and would come on at half time, as Carlo Cudicini was rested after picking up a minor knock in training. Florent Malouda and Didier Drogba started on the bench with Claude Makelele and another host of big name stars. Michael Ballack was still recovering from injury, and Wayne Bridge had returned to Cobham to recover after pelvis surgery. Amongst the substitutes was Scott Sinclair, recently granted the number 17 shirt at the club after being confirmed as part of the first-team squad for the 2007/08 season.In the Bluewings team were a host of Korean internationals, including Cho Won Hee, Baek Ji Hoon and Lee Kwan Woo. Brazilian Eduardo had also been called up to the national team of his home country, but had not been capped.Though not as active in the transfer market as in previous seasons, Chelsea showcased yet another controversial new signing in the game against their Korean rivals. Their new electricity yellow kit was given its debut, and fans had little difficulty in distinguishing Chelsea from the blue kits of their opponents. And if Salomon Kalou's orange boots went well with the new shirt, Didier Drogba's yellow ones must have got on famously with the unique new shirt.In a great gesture to their fans, the Chelsea and Bluewings players kicked black footballs with the words 'Right to Play' into the crowd prior to kick-off.The Blues started at a lively pace, but after just seven seconds a flag was raised against Andrei Shevchenko for offside. The Ukrainian captain apologized to his colleagues moments later when he made a brilliant run against the Bluewings defence. Turning two defenders with two deft touches, he brought the ball under control before taking it under another player. Yet for the Ukrainian's sharpness, he was left with too little space and was eventually crowded out, with midfielder Cho Won Hee tracking back to block the Ukrainian's run. Shevchenko's shot deflected off the boot of Won Hee, into the grateful arms of Kim Dae Hwun in the Bluewings goal.The first real chance came eight minutes later. Frank Lampard won and took the corner for Chelsea, with captain John Terry heading the ball into the danger area. Michael Essien was in the right place at the right time, but could not direct his effort and watched in dismay as it crashed off the crossbar. Moments later, Salomon Kalou's clever back heel found Steve Sidwell, but the midfielder's shot was well over. The Bluewings had begun to create chances for themselves, however, with the Brazilian Eduardo managing to break through the Chelsea backline on one occasion, only to blaze wide. Their own aerial threat was underlined when the tall Mato came up from the back for their first corner of the game. The Bluewings number 2 failed to direct his header, and Petr Cech watched as the ball went out of play for a goalkick.On 34 minutes, Michael Essien must have thought he had broken the deadlock. The Ghanaian midfielder's ingenious volley at the near post was destined for the bottom corner but to his immense credit, Kim in goal for the Bluewings pulled off a wonder-save to deny the midfield dynamo. Chelsea fans were used to seeing goalkeeping heroics in Petr Cech, but even Jose Mourinho applauded the Bluewings goalkeeper for his bravery.The best chance for the Bluewings came on 38 minutes, when a dipping shot by the Bluewings captain Kwan Woo went just over Petr Cech's goal.But for all of the first half's open attacking play, Chelsea were making few chances. The Bluewings had a chance of their own just before the half-way period, with their captain Lee Kwan Woo volleying wide from outside the area. Petr Cech took no chances and covered his far post with a despairing dive, but the angled drive was wide of the mark.It was to be the last action of the half as the referee blew for half-time. Jose Mourinho succeeded in baffling the Chelsea TV commentators with his numerous changes. Only Paulo Ferreira of the starting eleven remained on the pitch, the Portuguese moving to left-back. He was joined by Ricardo Carvalho and Tal Ben Haim at central defence, with Lassana Diarra playing at right-back. The young France international had finished the game against Club America in that role. Hilario completed the defence, the third-choice goalkeeper filling in for Petr Cech. Assuming the captain's armband, Claude Makelele began at defensive midfield, with Shaun Wright-Phillips and John Obi Mikel playing in free roles behind the front three of Robben, Drogba and former Lyon winger Florent Malouda.Kim in goal for the Suwon Bluewings was having a magnificent game, and did well to react to a bullet shot from Didier Drogba. The Ivorian captain did well to keep Shaun Wright-Phillips' pass in play, and when most expected him to cross from his angled position, he instead rocketed a shot towards goal. Kim did well to react and punch the ball away, and even better to keep Florent Malouda's follow up out of the goal.Mere seconds later, Malouda tried his luck once more, with his fizzing shot from 25 yards bouncing awkwardly, but punched behind to safety by the goalkeeper. From the Frenchman's corner, Arjen Robben tried a low drive destined for the bottom corner, but his effort was hacked away by Mato, just moments after the defender had a ball in the face from Wright-Phillips.The team's second half performance was almost capped when Drogba was brilliantly put through by Wright-Phillips. Certain to score, Drogba's low shot seemed to be heading in, only to see it hit the post. On 58 minutes, Eduardo turned Tal Ben Haim three times consecutively before Ricardo Carvalho put the Brazilian under considerable pressure. Eduardo's shot went well wide of Hilario's post in the Bluewings' first meaningful attack of the second period.Later on, a free kick was well-placed by the Bluewings midfielder Jin Woo, but Hilario was equal tot he strike and strode across his goal to catch with ease.The ball was up the end moments later, and Kim was forced to smartly react to deny Wright-Phillips on the seventy-minute mark.A scare for Chelsea came when Eduardo broke free of his markers and was one-on-one. Hilario came racing out of goal and Young Rok looked to scoop the ball past him, but his tame effort was stopped by Lassana Diarra inside the penalty area.Scott Sinclair came on moments later as the Bluewings made a triple substitution, and the young English midfielder had a say in the best move of the match.Spreading the ball to Florent Malouda, the Frenchman then crossed to Wright-Phillips in the penalty area. Kim tried to reach the ball, but Wright-Phillips instinctively chipped the ball to Drogba. After missing an easier chance earlier, the Ivorian made no mistake in volleying home past a stranded Kim to seal the victory and an impressive all-round performance by the Cup Kings.Squads and Ratings First-halfChelsea(4-3-3) Cech; Ferreira, Johnson, Terry, Hutchinson; Sidwell, Essien, Lampard; J Cole, Shevchenko, Kalou. Second-half(4-3-3) Hilario; Diarra, Ben-Haim, Carvalho, Ferreira (Sinclair 69); Wright-Phillips, Makelele, Mikel; Robben, Drogba, Malouda. Chelsea RatingsCech - 6 - Excellent performance, covered his goal well but little danger.Hilario - 6 - Smothered free-kick easily but looked shaky in periods.Ferreira - 6 - Started well, made some excellent runs going forward.Diarra - 7 - Did well to block Young Rok's effort, was excellent going forward.Terry - 7 - Typical John Terry performance - strong in the air and superb in the tackle.Ben Haim - 6 - Had little to do, but communicated well with Cech and Terry.Carvalho - 7 - Dominating performance by the Portuguese.Glen Johnson - 6 - Had little to do, but bossed the Bluewings strikers.Hutchinson - 6 - Not quite the performance of Saturday, the young left-back did well.Lampard - 6 - Seems to have recovered from a long season.Makelele - 7 - Brilliant display by Chelsea's captain for the second half.Sidwell - 6 - Did nothing wrong, had a few efforts. Promising.Wright-Phillips - 8 - Much more involved display, was brilliant with Mikel. Man of the Match candidate.Essien - 7 - The powerhouse demonstrated his defensive and attacking prowess. Unlucky not to score.Sinclair - 6 - Started move which lead to goal. Tricked defenders with his speed.Mikel - 6 - Linked well with Wright-Phillips and Malouda.Robben - 7 - More involved, switched flanks with Malouda to deadly effect. Unlucky not to score.Shevchenko - 6 - 100% effort yet again. Would benefit playing with Malouda and Robben.Joe Cole - 6 - Quiet, needs to regain match fitness.Malouda - 7 - Like Robben, he did his job superbly.Drogba - 7 - Missed an early chance but took his goal superbly.Kalou - 6 - His orange boots teased defenders. Referee - 4/10Chelsea - Stats - Samsung Suwon Bluewings1 - Goals - 0 7 - Shots on Target - 23 - Shots off Target - 45 - Blocked Shots - 0 10 - Corners - 211 - Fouls - 13 2 - Offsides - 11 - Yellow Cards - 0 0 - Red Cards - 0 58% - Possession - 42% Star ManShaun Wright-PhillipsViews of the Blues

This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Chelsea F.C. 2 - 1 Club AmericaDisney Peace Cup - 14 July - Stanford University Stadium - 02:00 kick-offThis has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk New signing Florent Malouda scored and set up a goal on his Chelsea debut as the FA Cup holders began their preparations for the new league season with a 2-1 win against Mexican side Club America. This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk John Terry headed home the winner with little over six minutes remaining, although the game was not always plain sailing.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk America had gone ahead early on thanks to the deflected goal which wrong footed Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, but Jose Mourinho's side regained their composure and restricted the Mexican league runners-up with a dazzling display in the second half.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk However, the Chelsea manager was adamant that the majority of his squad would get a run-out, and only captain John Terry played the full 90 minutes as Mourinho utilized his team of Cup Kings to the full.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk New signings Steve Sidwell and Tal Ben Haim began the game, the former playing alongside Claude Makelele and vice-captain Frank Lampard in a three-man midfield. With a return to the team's favoured 4-3-3 formation, under-fire striker Andrei Shevchenko led the three-pronged attack which featured the Ukrainian and a fully fit pair of wingers in Arjen Robben and Joe Cole. Terry began at centre-half with Petr Cech in goals; the Czech international modelling Chelsea's new all-black goalkeeper shirt. Glen Johnson made his first appearance in a Chelsea Blue jersey for more than a year following his loan to Portsmouth last season, and reserve team captain Jack Cork completed the starting eleven, beginning the game in the left-back position. Florent Malouda was on the bench, along with Michael Essien, Carlo Cudicini, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Didier Drogba and a host of other big-name signings from previous summers.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Despite by their own standards a minimal-spending summer, Chelsea have still paid in the region of £17 million for Malouda and Danny Philliskirk from Oldham Athletic, with Claudio Pizarro, Steve Sidwell and former Bolton defender Tal Ben Haim all signed on Bosman transfers.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Speaking about his new additions to his side of cup winners, Jose Mourinho was quick to point out that Chelsea have not completely cut back on spending this season."Ben Haim is a player we looked at last season, and so is Sidwell. They just happened to be out of contract with their clubs so we can sign good players for nothing," the Portuguese tactician said to ChelseaTV. "We have alternatives, which we did not have last season," he explained upon the signing of Claudio Pizarro.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk But after nine bruising training sessions in which Salomon Kalou and Jon Obi Mikel all suffered minor knocks, Mourinho was more than pleased with his squad heading in this morning's early kick-off.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Naming his first eleven, he gave a first call-up to the Chelsea senior team to reserve team skipper Jack Cork. Normally a midfielder, Cork began at left-back.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk With the players ready for kick-off, it was Andrei Shevchenko with the first kick of the ball in a new era for Jose Mourinho's team - and era minus the Premiership trophy.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk The Blues struggled to immediately adapt to the blistering temperatures which peaked at 39 degrees Celsius during the first-half, and were chasing shadows for much of the opening exchanges. The Mexicans were playing with pace, precision and power; and the fact that they had had an additional week of preparation for the new season was obvious.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk After a sequence of passes, probing at either full back, Juan Carlos Mosqueda fired a tame shot goalbound in the first real effort of the match. Heading straight for the grateful hands of Petr Cech, the ball deflected off the boot of John Terry as he bravely attempted to block the shot, and wrong footed the Chelsea shotstopper. Wearing his protective head gear, Cech watched hopelessly as the ball squirmed past his outstretched right glove and into the back of the net.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Barely three minutes had passed, and Jose Mourinho's team had found themselves making a sleepy start and behind at an early stage - something all too common amongst the team last season.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk The Mexican fans were already in party mode, although Andrei Shevchenko was quick to remind them that Chelsea were not going to sit back and defend their goal.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Shevchenko received the ball on the near touchline, and took on his marker; beating him with ease. Running into trouble, he back heeled the ball to a refreshed Frank Lampard, but the England midfielder failed to connect correctly with the ball and his left-footed effort was skewed high wide, and not at all handsome.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk The Ukrainian striker was in the mood for goals, and a genius-of-a-pass from Frank Lampard was complimented by an awesome first touch. Getting behind the defender, Shevchenko guided the ball around the rushing goalkeeper, who pulled the Ukrainian striker to the ground with the ball nowhere in sight. However, in the nature of this 'friendly' exhibition match, the referee was not keen to award a spot kick and the Mexicans cleared.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Cole and a quiet Arjen Robben switched flanks after both wingers failed to beat their opposing full-backs, to immediate success. Cole cut inside his defender and unleashed an angle drive destined for the top corner, but second-choice goalkeeper Navarrete pulled off a fine save at his near post to punch the ball away for a Chelsea corner kick.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Minutes later, Lampard and Shevchenko displayed a fine knowledge of each other's game as Lampard drove the ball through the heart of the America defence. Shevchenko's first touch was graceful, but a wonderful covering tackle from Duilio Davino prevented the Ukrainian a first goal of the season as he prepared to pull the trigger.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Finally coming to grips with the pace of the Mexican's game, it was Glen Johnson who led from the back with a number of towering headers, quick footwork and clever passes as Chelsea attempted to hold the Club American defence within their own half.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Insua beat Cork with ease moments later, but Johnson made a wonderful header to prevent Mosqueda from reaching the ball with Cech stranded.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Insua was put through by Mosqueda, and but for a wonderful tackle by Steve Sidwell, would have had clear sights of Petr Cech's goal. Sidwell immediately leapt to his feet as Insua dramatically dived to the floor and spread the ball to the excellent Claude Makelele, deployed in the sweeper role to brilliant effect.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk The whistle for the end of the first half followed half a minute of additional time for stoppages, of which there were very few. Mourinho threw all of his cards of the table, with nine changes. Only Glen Johnson and John Terry remained of the original line-up.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Replacing Cech was Carlo Cudicini, and Jack Cork was replaced by Sam Hutchinson. Ben Haim who had been solid in his game alongside Terry did himself no harm, and was greeted by a hug and handshake from Jose Mourinho as Ricardo Carvalho replaced the Israel international. The midfield completely changed, with Wright-Phillips and Essien replacing Lampard and Sidwell, and Diarra taking over the holder role from Makelele. Debutant Florent Malouda played alongside Didier Drogba, scorer of 33 Chelsea goals last campaign, and the forward three was complimented by Cote D'Ivoire striker Salomon Kalou in his bright orange boots.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk The changes brought instant improvement to the team, as the energy of Essien, Kalou and Malouda was too much for the tiring Club America team to prevent.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk A clever flick from Malouda and a perfect left-footed volley from Didier Drogba fizzed away from the goalkeeper, but Navarette was equal and held well. Moments before, Malouda had bamboozled the Mexican defence and squared to Kalou, who miskicked and his fresh-air-shot amused Jose Mourinho.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk But for all of the Blues' possession, they were doing precious little. Essien shot from 25 yards but his shot fizzled a yard wide of the right-hand upright, and his header from Malouda's corner looped over the bar. Glen Johnson who had headed narrowly wide in the first half from a Robben delivery tried his luck but mistimed his header and the ball was grabbed by the thankful Navarette.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk A brilliant piece of skill by Hutchinson which saw him turn a defender and leave him on his back-side gave the 17-year-old plenty of space, and his ambitious cross was not dealt by Navarette, who flapped at the ball. The ball dropped to Malouda, who spun and put the ball under the goalkeeper, through the legs of one defender and around the foot of another.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk He celebrated his debut goal with Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, but with fifteen minutes remaining, the Disney Peace Cup was there for the taking for the Chelsea team.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Sinclair was added to the team in place of Johnson to give the team more ambition going forward. Wright-Phillips was brought down on the near touchline, and Malouda's whipped free-kick found the straining neck muscles of John Terry, whose downward header beat the diving Navarette and put Chelsea in the lead for the first time in the match.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk America tried to get back into the game but a well-marshalled defence kept the Mexicans at bay.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk But there are plenty of things to be pleased about for Jose Mourinho as the full time whistle went. Florent Malouda's goal and assist, along with excellent debuts for Ben Haim and Sidwell, and a solid Glen Johnson were amongst some of the best.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Bring on the Suwon Bluewings.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Squads and RatingsThis has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Johnson, Ben Haim, Terry, Cork; Makelele, Sidwell, Lampard; J Cole, Shevchenko, Robben.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Second half (4-3-3): Cudicini; Johnson (Sinclair 76), Carvalho, Terry, Hutchinson; Essien, Diarra, Wright-Phillips; Malouda, Drogba, Kalou.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Goals: Malouda 74, Terry 83Booked: DiarraThis has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Club America (4-3-3): Navarrete; O Rojas, R Rojas, Davino, Rodriquez; Villa, Arguello, Mosqueda; Insua, Fernandez, Mendoza.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Second half (4-2-3-1): Navarrete; O Rojas(Tena 64), Cervantes, Iñigo, Zavala; Sanchez, JC Mosqueda (Sub 64); Infante, JJ Mosqueda, Mendoza (Martinez 69); Marquez.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Goals: JC Mosqueda 3Booked: JC Mosqueda, JJ MosquedaThis has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Chelsea RatingsThis has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Cech - 6 - Had little to do, good communication, could do nothing about goal.Cudicini - 6 - Barely touched the ball.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Johnson - 8 - Impressed greatly, strong in the air and quick in the tackle.Diarra - 6 - Started at anchor, finished at RB. Made rash challenge.Terry - 7 - Typical performance, capped with goal.Ben Haim - 6 - Had little to do, but communicated well with Cech and Terry.Carvalho - 7 - Dominating performance by the Portuguese.Cork - 6 - Made one or two mistakes, solid game.Hutchinson - 6 - Impressed whilst attacking.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Lampard - 7 - Looked fresher, played some excellent balls.Makelele - 7 - Did his job without fuss, excellent game.Sidwell - 6 - Did nothing wrong, excellent tackles.Wright-Phillips - 5 - Very quiet after first fifteen minutes of second half.Essien - 7 - The powerhouse demonstrated his defensive and attacking prowess.Sinclair - 5 - Failed to settle, poor crossing, made intelligent runs however.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Robben - 5 - Very quiet, lacked the service.Shevchenko - 6 - Tried his best, 100% effort. Little to do.Joe Cole - 6 - Back to his full fitness, but a way to go to recapture his form.Malouda - 8 - Goal and assist on debut.Drogba - 6 - Had a few chances, linked well with Kalou and Malouda.Kalou - 6 - Missed a golden chance, but teased defenders.This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Referee - Kevin Scott - 4/10This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Chelsea - Stats - Club AmericaThis has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk 2 - Goals - 1 4 - Shots on Target - 3 8 - Shots off Target - 61 - Blocked Shots - 0 7 - Corners - 19 - Fouls - 10 0 - Offsides - 31 - Yellow Cards - 2 0 - Red Cards - 0 51% - Possession - 49% This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Star ManThis has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Glen JohnsonThis has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk Views of the BluesThis has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk This has been illegally copied and pasted from CFC-Fans.co.uk

Chelsea 2 - 2 Bolton WanderersBarclay's Premiership - 28 April 2007 - Stamford Bridge - 12:45 kick-offChelsea were unable to find a winner against injury-stricken Bolton Wanderers, after Kevin Davies levelled for the visitors on the hour.The game ended 2-2, with Chelsea drawing their second consecutive game in the Premiership, despite a Champions League win over Liverpool in midweek. And with Manchester United coming from two goals down to beat Everton 2-4 at Goodison Park, Chelsea's fading hopes of a hat-trick of Premiership titles became all the more improbable.At kick-off, the atmosphere inside Stamford Bridge was electric. A real buzz had come over the stadium, with the home fans roaring on. Yet even as José Mourinho sent out a team lacking three of its regular players, the sense of anticipation that flooding the stadium was enough to drown any football player or fan with nerves.For the penultimate time in the season, Chelsea had the opportunity to put pressure on Manchester United as both teams kicked-off early on a busy Saturday afternoon in terms of Premiership football. Manchester United arrived at Goodison Park with leading scorer Cristiano Ronaldo an injury worry.Yet despite their excellent run of form coming into this fixture, picking up 28 out of 30 points in their last ten league games, Chelsea always seem to concede early goals against Bolton Wanderers, especially at home.José Mourinho opted to rest Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Didier Drogba, Paulo Ferreira and Michael Ballack with the away leg of their Champions League semi-final tie with Liverpool on the coming Tuesday. In came Wayne Bridge, making his fourth consecutive league appearance, along with Salomon Kalou and Gérémi. Lassana Diarra returned also, this time playing in midfield alongside in-form Shaun Wright-Phillips. Ballack was not included in the squad, and Cole, Drogba and Lampard joined Carlo Cudicini and Khalid Boulahrouz on the substitute's bench.Bolton were host to a load of injury troubles, including skipper Kevin Nolan. El Hadji Diouf was also missing for Sam Allardyce's team. Ivan Campo was forced to move to play right-back - and the Bolton manager dismissed any chance of his team picking up a result against the Champions, especially after they had lost 0-1 at home to a Michael Ballack header much earlier in the season.Yet despite their woes and rumour that Sam Allardyce will leave his post as manager in the summer, the away team were the quicker to settle with the Champions suffering yet again from First-halfitis. On 18 minutes, debutant centre-half Michalik towered above the Chelsea defenders from a Campo free-kick, to confidently prod home from seven yards. Not only was the first goal Chelsea had conceded at home in the league since their 2-2 draw with Fulham on December 30.But Chelsea's response was immediate, and Salomon Kalou scored the equaliser just three minutes later with a sublime header. Wayne Bridge broke free of Ivan Campo's marking to send in a wonderful arching cross, which Kalou met with a wonderful diving header.But then came one of two turning points in the game. Chelsea defender Carvalho limped out of a challenge and was substituted with suspected knee ligament damage. Frank Lampard replaced the defender, with Michael Essien once more being forced to play as a defender. José Mourinho will surely be without his star defender for the return leg of their Champions League clash with Liverpool.Shevchenko had a magnificent strike well-saved by Jaaskelainen, who also made a world-class save from Meite's inadvertent flick towards his own goal. Shevchenko shot wide with a clever turn and strike moments later, before the pressure took its tool and Chelsea got their second.Kalou's towering header was turned onto the crossbar by a Bolton defender, only for the ball to bounce in off Jaaskelainen. The goalkeeper was unfortunate, despite Kalou's excellent aerial prowess, as the ball dropped off the crossbar and landed on the helpless goalkeeper's outstretched leg, and was diverted goalbound.Essien had an excellent chance to make it 3-1 to Chelsea, but the Ghanaian could only shoot wide after Jasskelainen fumbled Lampard's outswining corner from the left. In the second half, Drogba replaced Shevchenko, and his presence nearly lead to a goal, as he shot across the face of goal. Joe Cole came on shortly, and nearly added a third from a similar position, only for his tame shot to be gathered by the feet of the Bolton goalkeeper.However, the Premiership title race was turned on its head - as one minute Chelsea seemed to haul level with Manchester United, the next they were five behind, as Kevin Davies headed home following confusion in the Chelsea penalty area, leaving Petr Cech beaten for only the fifth time in 12 Premiership outings.José Mourinho's one-man crusade against Referees also surely will be reignited, after Rob Styles failed to award Chelsea spot-kicks for blatant hand ball by Abdoulaye Meite, before the same player pulled down Drogba in the penalty area.Meanwhile, Manchester United came from behind to beat Everton 2-4 at Goodison Park. The result means Chelsea must win every game, including their showdown with United, and hope that the Old Trafford club lose to West Ham on the final day of the season.Squads and RatingsChelsea(4-1-2-1-2): Cech; Gérémi, Carvalho (Lampard 28), Terry ©, Bridge; Diarra (J Cole 59), Mikel, Essien; Wright-Phillips; Shevchenko (Drogba h-t), Kalou.Scorers Kalou 21, 33. Bolton (4-1-2-1-2): Jaaskelainen; Campo, Michalik, Meite, Gardner; Speed ©; Andranik, Tal (Sinclair 77); Thompson (Vaz Te h-t); Davies, Anelka (Martin 90+1).Scorer Michalik 18, Davies 53.Booked Gardener, Michalik.Chelsea Formation and RatingsPetr Cech7/10Geremi .... Terry ..... Carvalho ..... Bridge6/10 .........7/10 ........ 6/10.......... 8/10W.Phillips .... Essien..... Mikel....... Diarra7/10 .........7/10 ........ 7/10.......... 6/10Shevchenko .......... Kalou6/10 ............ 8/10Substitutes:Drogba - 7/10Lampard - 6/10Joe Cole - 7/10Referee - Rob Styles - 4/10Chelsea - Stats - Bolton2 - Goals - 2 2 - Shots on Target - 3 8 - Shots off Target - 3 1 - Blocked Shots - 0 11 - Corners - 2 9 - Fouls - 10 4 - Offsides - 1 0 - Yellow Cards - 3 0 - Red Cards - 0 54% - Possession - 46% Star ManWayne BridgeViews of the Blues

West Ham United 1 - 4 ChelseaBarclay's Premiership - 18 April 2007 - Upton Park - 19:45 kick-offShaun Wright-Phillips scored his first Chelsea brace and his first two league goals for Chelsea, after putting in a man-of-the-match performance against struggling West Ham United at Upton ParkThe result was never in any doubt after Salomon Kalou scored from close range early in the second half to put Chelsea 3-1 up in a game which had been a tight affair from the kick-off. West Ham became deflated, and an excellent performance from Chelsea became a professional one when Didier Drogba clinically added Chelsea's fourth and his 31st of the season.If Chelsea were expecting a hostile reception upon arriving at Upton Park, they certainly received one. One fan even through bricks at the Chelsea team coach, denting the side of the vehicle and smashing a vehicle. Fortunately, the seats next to the shattered window were empty and no-one was harmed.With the team still on a roll, a ninth straight Premiership win seemed on the card as Chelsea looked to close the gap on Manchester United to how it had been 24 hours previously; 3 points. United had run out winners against Sheffield United 2-0 at Old Trafford - their 10th straight win at home.Putting his rotational system into good use, José Mourinho rested Ashley Cole, Claude Makelele and Michael Ballack. John Obi Mikel played as midfield anchor, with Lampard and Essien in front of him. Supporting the front two of Kalou and Drogba was Shaun Wright-Phillips who had set up the winning goal in the FA Cup semi-final against Blackburn Rovers. Diarra returned to right-back, and Andrei Shevchenko missed out altogether with a thigh strain. Joe Cole was on the bench. Drogba passed a late fitness test, as the Champions reverted to their narrow diamond-midfield.For West Ham, Chelsea old boy Carlton Cole was on the bench, and there were no fresh injury worries for Alan Curbishly prior to the game, as Lucas Neill passed a late fitness test.Chelsea's Salomon Kalou tussles for the ball with Hammers captain Nigel Reo-CokerThe game began at a lively tempo with both teams quickly out of the traps. Both teams had half-chances, although in the first twenty minutes the home team had the better of the opportunities on goal. Carlos Tevez' cross-come-shot was well tipped-over by Petr Cech, who had not conceded a goal since January in the Premier League, earning him Player of the Month.Bobby Zamora failed to react quickly-enough and missed from eight yards as Wayne Bridge could only direct the ball into the Englishman's path, but he screwed his effort well-wide.It took a moment of pure genius to break the deadlock. Wright-Phillips got the ball down the centre of the park from Lampard and the wing wizard had the strength of mind and body to deceive both Yossi Benayoun and Jonathon Spector, as he drove an angled left-footed shot past Robert Green from the edge of the area. Mikel and Wright-Phillips celebrate the English youngster's excellent first goalJust five minutes later, Chelsea conceded their first League goal in over 857 minutes of Premiership football. Carlos Tevez' drive from 20 yards seemed to be at a comfortable height for Petr Cech, but the Czech 'keeper could only fist the ball into the net. Just proves we're all only human after all.However, any premature celebrations from Manchester United were limited to 31 seconds, as Shaun Wright-Phillip's exquisite finish from 15 yards beat the goalkeeper at the near post following Wayne Bridge's excellent cross from the left-flank. 2-1.Disappointed not to have closed Tevez down, Wayne Bridge takes a moment to catch his breathWith the turn of the second half, Bobby Zamora could only head the ball into the welcoming grasp of Petr Cech who had an indifferent first half between the sticks. From there, it seems the destiny of the points had been decided by fate.On 52 minutes, Kalou tucked home the ball from four yards following a goal-line scramble. Drogba's shot was immaculately saved by Rob Green in the West Ham goal, but his defence could not match his heroics, as Kalou prodded the ball home.Drogba had an excellent chance to make it 1-4 with a brilliant turn and shot not too different to his effort earlier in the season against Norwich, but from a wider angle. He found his shooting boots minutes later, as he beat the offside trap and Lucas Neill to nutmeg Green to seal the 3 points for Chelsea - their ninth consecutive league win.Squads and RatingsWest Ham (4-1-2-1-2) Green; Spector, Collins, Neill, McCartney; Noble; Reo-Coker � (Mullins 75), Boa Morte; Benayoun; Tevez (Blanco 83), Zamora (C Cole 71).Scorer Tevez (34).Booked Reo-Coker (11), Neill (14), Mullins (76), McCartney (81), Boa Morte (88). Chelsea (4-1-2-1-2) Cech; Diarra (Ferreira h-t), Carvalho, Terry �, Bridge; Essien; Wright-Phillips, Mikel; Lampard (Ballack 77); Drogba (J Cole 66), Kalou.Scorers Wright-Phillips (30, 35), Kalou (51), Drogba (61).Booked Diarra (19), Drogba (51).Chelsea Formation and RatingsPetr Cech6/10Diarra .... Terry ..... Carvalho ..... Bridge6/10 .........7/10 ........ 8/10.......... 7/10W.Phillips .... Essien ..... Mikel....... Lampard9/10 .........7/10 ........ 7/10.......... 8/10Drogba .......... Kalou7/10 ............ 7/10Substitutes:Paulo Ferreira - 8/10Michael Ballack - 6/10Joe Cole - 7/10Referee - Mike Dean - 6/10West Ham - Statistics - Chelsea4 - Shots on Target - 9 5 - Shots off Target - 7 4 - Blocked Shots - 2 9 - Corners - 5 21 - Fouls - 9 0 - Offsides - 4 5 - Yellow Cards - 2 0 - Red Cards - 0 31 - Tackles - 21 41 - Possession- 59Star ManShaun Wright-PhillipsViews of the Blues Credit goes to Shed Upper for the video.

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