Chelsea FC: Road to Redemption and Glory

[14Atlas]

I start indoor soccer tonight so I won't update til later after my practice. Match vs Manchester City then probably Chelsea TV if I can fit it in.

[14Atlas]

ok sorry I didn't get on last night internet was super slow and not loading. So now the Man City game if a few.

[14Atlas]

Matchday #8 of the Barclays Premier League
Manchester City vs. Chelsea
Venue: City of Manchester Stadium

Team Reports:

Chelsea: Luis Felipe Scolari has decided to hand Didier Drogba another start although in mid week Anelka came on as a sub against Olympiakos and scored 2 goals in 13 minutes to win the game for the Blues. Is Scolari hinting in a way one of these 2 could be on their way out of the Bridge in January? Also Karim Benzema is to retain his starting position after receiving man of the match award mid week from Scolari.

--Cech--
-A.Cole--Terry--Alex--Bosingwa-
--Essien--
-Lampard--Benzema-
--Malouda-----Drogba-----J.Cole--

Manchester City: The new owners of Man City are already feeling the pressure as Manchestr City have fallen to 8th place with only 10 points. Their last 5 matches have seen them draw three times and win twice as compared to Chelsea in the Barclays Premier League who have won their last 4 out of 5. Can Robinho prove to the world that he made the right choice skipping Chelsea and going for bigger money at Man City by beating the Blues today?

-Hart-
-Ball--Richards--Kampany--Zambaleta-
Petrov--Johnson--Elano--SWP
Robinho----
-------Jo

Match Report

First Half

The first half started off very dull. Chelsea and Man City went back and forth possessing the ball. No decent shots were to be reported or build ups.

For half an hour it went on this way but then Chelsea had won a corner kick.

Frank Lampard gave his signature driven corner right above the top of the 6 yard box. Joe Cole headed the ball past Hart putting Chelsea ahead 1-0.

Play continued to start going a bit of Chelsea's way but Man City seemed to have more possession. Drogba had quite a few opportunities which one or two he wasted by turning right into the defender.

With two minute plus stoppage time left in the half Drogba passed the ball to Lampard who buried the ball right into the very edge of the goal making Chelsea looking the dominant team.

Chelsea went into halftime confident they could maintain the lead they had achieved in the first 45 minutes of action.

Halftime Score: Chelsea 2 Manchester City 0

Second Half:

Manchester built up an attack nearly 20 minutes into the half as nothing seemed to happen for the first 20 minutes. Suddenly Shaun Wright-Phillips was taken down outside the box and Petrov lined up for the free kick. Before the free kick was taken Kalou came in for Benzema.

Petrov shot the ball with a sick driven force hitting the inside of the crossbar and going into the net. Petrov has resurrected Manchester City from the dead pulling them back into the game. We had a game on our hands!

Both sides attacked desperately wanting another goal. Both Chelsea and Manchester City's defense held off the attacks resiliently.

Until the 81st minute where Bosingwa was forced to make a tackle inside the box on Jo. The referee signaled to the spot for a Penalty! If Jo could make this Chelsea and City would be tied with less than 10 minutes on the clock.

Jo stepped up and shot the penalty kick home right under Cech's foot. The teams all tied up at 2-2 now with 9 minutes plus stoppage time left in this match.

Chelsea was desperate to get another goal and not throw away 3 points since they had gone 2-0 up at halftime and City had tied it up. Suddenly as Chelsea had a break Kalou had an amazing run with the ball firing into the net!

Chelsea had pulled back on top 3-2! Mark Hughes looking on from the sideline completed disgusted with his sides defending. Scolari could be seen cheering and what a super sub Kalou turned out to be scoring what seemed like the game winning goal!

But there was more! Lampard hit a through ball to Drogba who finished in the last minute of play securing another Chelsea victory against the blue side of Manchester.

Final Score: Chelsea 4 Manchester City 2

Match Facts:
Manchester City-Chelsea
8(4)-Shots (on target)-14 (9)
0-Bookings-1
2-Corners-4
55%-Possession-45%
76%-Passing-81%

Man of the Match
Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba
Goals (combined): 2
Scolari: Today’s man of the match was very difficult to choose so I select both Frank lampard and Didier Drogba as men of the match because of their excellent performances. Lampard started off with a beauty of a corner to Joe Cole who finished. Later in the first half Drogba set up Lampard who scored. In the second half both never gave up and work deadly always up top. Neither had much of a part in Kalou’s goal but Frank set up Didier’s goal in the 90th minute which I thought was excellent. Both had an amazing performance today and I am proud of the team in general as well not giving up after City tied it up on the Penalty kick.


(celebrating after Lampard scored from a Drogba pass)


(celebrating 90th minute goal by Drogba)

[Chelsea11]

Originally Posted by njrfcatlas14

I start indoor soccer tonight so I won't update til later after my practice. Match vs Manchester City then probably Chelsea TV if I can fit it in.

I have an indoor soccer game tomorrow I love it, especially as a keeper. You get so many more touches, and since I'm really fast and decent on the ball, my coach gives me freedom to roam around outside the box

[14Atlas]

Lampard and Drogba on Chelsea TV

Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba sat down with me (Andy Gray) to talk with us after their great performance in Manchester. First question to Drogba, what do you think of Luis Felipe Scolari handing you a starting spot today?

Drogba: I am very happy Luis decided to hand me the spot, I have worked very hard in practice and will keep that effort up to prove myself that I should be the #1 striker option in the club. I do have hard competition though with Nicolas.

Ok what about Freddy Adu, Karim Benzema, and Kalou

Drogba: Well Adu and Kalou both play more as a forward or winger. I went to watch the reserves match a few days ago, Adu on the wing was awing to see his speed and crosses. Karim has so far also played as a forward now filling in for my good friend Deco.

Now to Frank, what do you think about the win today?

Lampard: Today everyone on our team performed terrifically. We had a few slip ups here and there but that's expected, you can't play 100% perfectly for 90 minutes without a mistake.

How do you feel about receiving your 4th Man of the Match award from your boss?

Lampard: I am greatly thankful of him and also thankful of Drogba working with we today greatly to create those goals and many chances we had which helped motivate and keep confidence in our team even when Man City got a goal back.

Do you think Freddy and Kalou have a bright future with the club, Drogba?

Drogba: I believe they do. They both are terrific wingers but they can also play forward and score many goals and create quite a few. They both have bright futures in my opinion.

Frank do you think Scolari will look to bring anyone into the club in January as rumors persist Scolari will go after midfielders?

Lampard: I haven't had the chance to talk to him with this although it is hardly my business I don't really have a preference who he brings in although I will say our attacking options are looking very good for right now and the future.

If you were to name one player to buy who would it be? Drogba then Frank.

Drogba: I would like to see probably a young talented defender come in because our defense is one of our oldest parts to the club, we do have some good youngsters like Michael Mancienne coming up but we need more than 1 good youngster in my opinion.

Lampard: I would say the same or maybe a midfielder. A player I think is very good young winger is Ryan Babel from Liverpool. He has lightening fast pace up the wing.

Ok thank you very much for your time Frank and Didier, great win today congrats , and keep it up next match against Basel!

Frank and Drogba: Thank you hope to see you again.

[Chelsea11]

Just read the report, sounded like a great match!! Sally Kalou scores again!!!!!! Too bad Drogba scored He's been getting on my nerves lately, even if he scored against Cluj

[14Atlas]

Originally Posted by Chelsea11

I have an indoor soccer game tomorrow I love it, especially as a keeper. You get so many more touches, and since I'm really fast and decent on the ball, my coach gives me freedom to roam around outside the box

I'm not a keeper. My team has a set keeper but I play wing middy and center back good luck in your game.

Originally Posted by Chelsea11

Just read the report, sounded like a great match!! Sally Kalou scores again!!!!!! Too bad Drogba scored He's been getting on my nerves lately, even if he scored against Cluj

thanks mate, Drogba's been getting on my nerves to uggg but he's good when he wants to be!

[14Atlas]

Basel vs Chelsea will be up later

[Bayern]

Great win mate , and nice interview!
great amount of detail lad cant wait for more updates!

[14Atlas]

Originally Posted by BayernMünchen

Great win mate , and nice interview!
great amount of detail lad cant wait for more updates!

thanks, working on Basel vs Chelsea in a minute

[Chelsea11]

2-0 win

[14Atlas]

UEFA Champions league Qualifying
Matchday #2 Group A
Chelsea vs Basel 1893
Venue:St. Jakob Park

Team Reports:

Chelsea: After a great performance but Didier Drogba mysteriously Luis Felipe Scolari will not start him against Basel. Instead he goes with Anelka up top who has not started since he played against Liverpool and only got 17 minutes against Olympiakos. It seemed like things as reversed. Anelka started off the season well but now he has dropped off and Drogba has stepped up to take his spot but strangely again Scolari goes with Anelka for the match.

--Cech--
-A.Cole--Terry--Alex--Bosingwa-
--Essien--
--Lampard--Benzema--
-Malouda-----Anelka-----J.Cole-

FC Basel 1893: Basel who started off with a 1-0 loss to Galatasaray need points here no matter how many games there are left. Points are very crucial and Basel is in need. The only other team to have not gotten 1 point or more last round was Juventus who were upset by Bayer Levekusen 1-0.

-Costanzo-
-Safari--Marque--Abraham--Zanni-
Ergic--Stocker--Huggel--Carlitos
Derdiyok--Chipperfield

Match Report

First Half:

Another game that started well for Chelsea.

Six minutes into the game a Lampard cross found Malouda's head who had a terrific header into the net. Already Chelsea was looking to take advantage early on.

Chelsea didn't hold the lead for long as eleven minutes later Derdiyok slotted the ball past Cech to tie the game up for Basel 1-1.

The play afterwards got a bit frantic then relaxed as Chelsea set up passing combinations. They worked the ball up the field eventually finding Benzema who eventually had a shot from a tight angle which deflected with an open net Nicolas Anelka was called offside.

Wow so close Chelsea had almost gone up 2-1 just barely a step offside.

For the last fifteen minutes afterwards play went a bit more of Chelsea's way but the Basel defense stopped them from getting any decent chances on goal.

Halftime Score: Chelsea 1 Basel 1

Second Half:

Nine minutes into the half and Chelsea scrambled to clear the ball from the box. Essien panicked even though it seemed to had time and hit the ball on the ground which went right to Derdiyok who put the ball into an open net as Cech had scrambled as well to get the ball.

Basel was up 2-1.

Scolari was venting on the sidelines! He couldn't believe his eyes as the lack of defending awareness cost them a very very important goal.

As Chelsea players began to get frustrated they couldn't break through Basel's defense Joe Cole received a yellow card in the 73rd minute.

Most of the play went back and forth Chelsea got near up to the 18 not having good shot angles they tried passing the ball which was intercepted then usually cleared and picked up by the Chelsea defense.

It was extremely frustrating for Chelsea as the Basel fans started chanting.

Coming into the 90th minute Frank Lampard broke into a frantic dribble. Suddenly out of no where is he tackled inside the penalty box! Penalty kick the referee points to the spot and Scolari is nearly jumping out of his shoes!

Lampard wound up and placed the ball to the left side of the net tying the game in the 90th minute 2-2.

Final Score Chelsea 2 Basel 2

Match Facts:
Chelsea-Basel
11( 8 )shots (on target)-5(4)
1-Bookings-1
4-Corners-0
54%-Possession-46%
86%-Passing-82%

Man of the Match:
Frank Lampard
Goals: 1
Scolari: I know people may think I am favouring Frank but I am not. He has earned man of the match once again because of being a factor in front of goal a few times and having a great passing success rate today. No other players played as hard as he did for the whole 90 minutes and that showed on the pitch as he earned us a late PK to draw the game. I have decided not give Man of the match awards to the other team so the players will know every game who I though performed the best.

firing home from the spot in the 90th minute

Next Match-
West Ham (At Stamford Bridge) Premier League

[14Atlas]

whew that took a bit longer than I thought it would to type up, any comments?

[Hammerzfan10]

Unlucky bout result ... Stats show you should've won but they defended well from the sound of it.

Good late equaliser though ... Was it a stupid penalty to giv away ??

Great report

[14Atlas]

Originally Posted by Hammerzfan10

Unlucky bout result ... Stats show you should've won but they defended well from the sound of it.

Good late equaliser though ... Was it a stupid penalty to giv away ??

Great report

The tackle I think definetley deserved a PK, unlucky is right! Thanks for the "great report" mate although it was half as much words as the Man City report

Man City Report- 835 words
Basel Report- 417 words

[Robalenko]

Awww, what a shame. You must be thingking you could have won that

[14Atlas]

Originally Posted by Robbie8912Play

Awww, what a shame. You must be thingking you could have won that

Yeah but I don't know what happened Basel's defense was very good.

[14Atlas]

UEFA Qualifying Group Table

Name--Points---Wins---Losses---Draws---Goals For---Against-Difference
Chelsea-4-------1-----0---------1--------5-----------3---------2

Galatasaray-4---1-----0---------1--------2-----------1---------1

Samdoria-4------1-----0---------1-------4-----------3----------1

Schalke04-4-----1-----0--------1--------3------------2---------1

Leverkusen-3-----1----1--------0---------2-----------2---------0

Juventus-1-------0----1---------1-------1------------2---------(-1)

Basel------1------0----1--------1--------2-----------3--------(-1)

Olympiakos-0------0----2-------0---------1----------4---------(-3)

[Chelsea11]

at least your still on top. You should be able to beat out the other pretty easily

[14Atlas]

Originally Posted by Chelsea11

at least your still on top. You should be able to beat out the other pretty easily

What I can't believe is how bad Juventus is doing.

[Chelsea11]

haha, who have they played??

[14Atlas]

They lost 1-0 to Bayer Levekusen and tied 1-1 with Galatasaray

[14Atlas]

Starting report vs West Ham...any predictions

[14Atlas]

Matchday #9 of the Barclays Premier League
Chelsea vs West Ham
Venue: Stamford Bridge

Team Reports:

Chelsea: Luis Felipe Scolari was extremely dissapointed with his side after their 2-2 draw with FC Basel which almost saw them lose until a 90th minute PK by Lampard so because of that he goes out against West Ham with a 3-3-1-3 formation. Replacements include Ballack for Essien, Carvolho to have 3 central backs, and on paper what is a damn good 3 strikers Anelka Drogba and Benzema. Chelsea are currently in 1st place with 19 points.

--Cech--
-Alex--Terry--Carvolho-
-Malouda---Ballack--J.Cole-
-Lampard-
-Drogba--Anelka--Benzema-

Subs:
-Bosingwa (WB)
-A.Cole (WB)
-Essien (CM)
-Obi Mikel (CM)
-Adu (F/WM)
-Di Santo (ST/F)
-Kalou (F)
West Ham: West Ham so far are in 15th place with only 9 points, their last five matches have seen them go lose-lose-win-win-lose, very inconsistent so far. Gianfranco Zola would look to upset his former team.

-Green-
-Mullins--Upson--Gabbidon--Neill-
-Boa Morte--Noble--Parker--Bellrami-
-Ashton--Bellamy-

Match Report

First Half:

The new formation Chelsea started off with didn't seem to be much.

They passed the ball around getting a feel for it then went into attack mode. As Malouda took the ball down the wing there seemed to be a bit of confusion where the outside strikers should go as Drogba almost got hit by the sprinting Malouda.

Nothing happened from the cross as it got cleared by West Ham defense.

A quarter of an hour into the match Luis Felipe Scolari's new formation spoiled as Bellamy scored for West Ham. Chelsea losing 1-0. Incredible!

Soon afterwards Scolari went back to his normal formation. 15 minutes after Bellamy's goal at the half hour mark Bellrami scored making it 2-0 West Ham. Chelsea was falling apart!

Scolari couldn't believe his eyes. It's supposed to be the other way around how could my team be losing 2-0!

A minute or two after West Ham's second goal since Chelsea went back to normal formation Bosingwa made a very early appearance for Carvolho.

For the rest of the half nothing happened as Chelsea were furiously trying to score. The half ended and Chelsea were on a serious upset alert.

Halftime Score Chelsea 0 West Ham 2

Second Half:

Chelsea were on a serious upset alert here and it surprised many that Scolari chose not to bring Essien into the game or anyone else for the matter as the first half saw atrocious Chelsea play.

The second half saw West Ham hold on for most of it.

Chelsea relentlessly attacked over and over again but the players seemed off touch and couldn't get a grasp of what was happening to them.

This time the Chelsea build up saw Ballack pass the ball to Drogba who in turn brought in around the outside and swung a cross in. The cross came to Benzema's feet who hit the ball wrong as it just went over the post.

Chelsea were gaining back their confidence and they had possessed the ball for much of the half.

Nothing special happened for the half as again West Ham defense shut Chelsea down. Zola the West Ham manager was looking oh happily but extremely nervously as his side kept breaking down Chelsea attacks but how long could it last for?

With only 3 minutes plus stoppage time left Chelsea had nearly given up completley as Lampard took the ball towards goal. He shot it and GOAL!! Chelsea had gotten one back with a Lampard goal! But did they have enough time? Scoreline 2-1 West Ham.

Chelsea attacked with renewed confidence and Gianfranco Zola nervously paced on the sidelines continuously talking to the 4th official about time as he pointed at his watch.

What a win this could be for West Ham.

The referee's whistle sounded for the end of the game and Zola had pulled off a mighty upset beating Chelsea 2-1 at the Bridge. Scolari and Zola exchanged brief words and Scolari walked down the tunnel as Zola turned towards the field again exchanged words with former team mate Frank Lampard and then went to congratulate his players.

Final Scoreline: Chelsea 1 West Ham 2

Match Report
Chelsea-West Ham
9(4)-Shots (on target)-7(6)
0-Bookings-0
4-Corners-2
63%-Possession-37%
78%-Passing-76%

Man of the Match:
Michael Ballack
Goals: 0
Scolari Comments: Even though Michael didn't score for us today I think he performed the best. The players today seemed a bit out of it but since Michael hasn't started very much he took this opportunity to show he should be. Michael held down the middle of the pitch with defiance always showing his physical presence in the game. He played exceptionally well today.


Next Match-
Doncaster (Away) Carling Cup

[IRE-ENG-OX4]

Ooooh how could you lose? I think you will beat Donny Rovers 3-1 in your next match and this for me is the best Chelski MM on here