Match Report : Chelsea 0 - 1 Man United

Chelsea's Champions League campaign hangs in the balance after a night of frustration at Stamford Bridge.

We fell behind midway through the first half to a Wayne Rooney strike, as we had done a month earlier in the Premier League, but on this occasion could not find a way back into the game despite a series of chances and a major penalty shout in injury time.

The defeat means we must go to Old Trafford next Tuesday and win, though that is a feat we achieved last season in the league, and is not beyond us once more.

On the night United had goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar to thank for their advantage, the goalkeeper making save after save, in particular from Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres in either half, and when he was beaten Drogba hit the post and Frank Lampard saw his shot cleared off the line, but the main talking point will be the failure of the referee to award Chelsea a penalty after 91 minutes.

Ramires went down under a clumsy and desperate challenge from United's Patrice Evra, and a packed Stamford Bridge awaited a whistle from Alberto Undiano Mallenco. It did not come, meaning we must now triumph in the north-west next week.

It was supposed to be a night of celebration, Lampard's 500th appearance in a Chelsea shirt drawing plenty of attention before the game, while this was also Chelsea's, and Carlo Ancelotti's 100th game in the Champions League proper, the manager having taken charge of AC Milan 85 times before arriving in west London.

For the occasion the Italian recalled Torres to his line-up at the expense of Nicolas Anelka, while Yury Zhirkov was preferred to Florent Malouda on the left of midfield and Branislav Ivanovic replaced the cup-tied David Luiz in the heart of defence alongside England's new captain John Terry.

England's previous captain, Rio Ferdinand, was making his comeback for United after two months out with a calf injury. Their other main team news was that Javier Hernandez joined Rooney in attack, while Nani was left on the bench, Antonio Valencia and Ji-Sung Park Sir Alex Ferguson's preferred wide men.

Inside 90 seconds it was Chelsea gaining joy from the flanks, Jose Bosingwa scampering down the right and crossing dangerously towards Torres, Nemanja Vidic just getting a headed clearance in before the Spaniard's arrival.

Five minutes later Torres did manage a shot, powering low into the arms of Van der Sar after Patrice Evra had gifted him possession.

A quarter of an hour in United's Ji-Sung Park saw his effort deflected behind for a corner but the majority of action was in the middle third, each side sizing the other up like a pair of boxers in the early rounds. It would be a tense evening.

Quick thinking from Lampard and Ramires earned Drogba a shooting chance for which he needed little encouragement, unleashing a powerful drive Van der Sar did well to tip over into the Shed End.

United were yet to register a shot on target of their own, but their first would be devastating. It came on 23 minutes after Rafael had brought the ball out of defence and fed Michael Carrick. The midfielder's cross-field pass picked out Ryan Giggs, who was able to knock the ball past Bosingwa in one touch and pull back for Rooney, who had peeled away from his marker to side-foot in off the post.

The goal game at a similar time to Rooney's strike here in the Premier League at the start of March, and was the only truly memorable action of a first half-hour punctuated by the Spanish referee's regular whistle.

Rooney bent a late strike towards Petr Cech's goal that the Chelsea man gathered with ease, and then just before half-time Chelsea should have gone level.

Drogba worked space for himself to shoot, the effort deflected onto the post before Lampard followed up, skewing his left-footed volley slightly, but still on target, only for Patrice Evra to clear a certain goal off the line.

The second period began with further hold-up, Rafael twice requiring treatment, either side of a gilt-edged opportunity for Ramires. Evra tackled himself out on the touchline allowing Drogba the ball, and the Ivorian crossed early for the incoming midfielder who should have hit the target but instead headed wide of the far post.

Rafael could not continue and was replaced by Nani, attack-minded Valencia moving deeper to right-back to accommodate the Portuguese. Rooney too was dropping deeper when necessity called, pressuring Lampard and Michael Essien when they had the ball.

Drogba flashed an overhead kick across the United area on 56 minutes, and 10 minutes later Cech had to push an awkward Nani cross away from a lurking Hernandez. Essien volleyed just wide from distance. Clear cut chances were so far unavailable for the Blues.

Sensing the tie slipping away with United looking relatively comfortable in dealing with his side's threat, Ancelotti made two changes. Malouda replaced Zhirkov, Anelka came on for Drogba, the formation stayed the same.

Within four minutes both subs had contributed to create a chance. Malouda won a header, Lampard flicked on to Anelka, whose loose touch allowed Evra to challenge, the ball falling to Bosingwa, whose deep back-post cross was met by a superb Torres header that few keepers would save. Unfortunately one who would is Van der Sar, whose long reach allowed him to claw the ball away and preserve his side's lead.

One last change for Chelsea. Mikel on to hold in midfield, Essien moved to right-back and Bosingwa withdrawn. United threw on Berbatov for Hernandez. Thirteen minutes remained.

A curling Lampard free-kick from wide evaded everybody, narrowly missing the target, before the same player fired hard and low from a central position, straight at the goalkeeper.

Time was ticking away, though it must be remembered only towards half-time in the tie, but Chelsea were playing with urgency. Ivanovic strode forward, beat two challenges and shot low, but again too straight and Van der Sar made his seventh save of the night, by far the busier stopper.

Cech did have work to do though, dispossessing Nani at his feet inside the area, before Anelka arrived just too late to convert a cross at the other end. His low shot on 89 minutes had the keeper scampering, successfully, to save, and there would be four added minutes.

One minute past the 90 came a major talking point. Chelsea had been here before with Barcelona in 2009, with Inter in 2010.

Ramires raced through to Torres's flick, Evra lunged, made contact, and brought the Chelsea man crashing to the floor. Penalty, surely? Not in Europe, it seems. Play on, waved Mr Mallenco.

No further opportunities came, but that challenge will live long in the memory. At Old Trafford in six days' time, Chelsea will be hoping it does not matter. Drogba and Joe Cole scored there last season, who will be the hero this time around?


Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Bosingwa (Mikel 77), Ivanovic, Terry (c), Cole; Ramires, Essien, Lampard, Zhirkov (Malouda 69); Drogba (Anelka 69), Torres.

Unused subs: Turnbull, Ferreira, Mikel, Benayoun, Kalou.

Goals
Booked Zhirkov 35, Ramires 59, Essien 65, Torres 90+2

Manchester United (4-4-2): Van der Sar; Rafael (Nani 50), Ferdinand, Vidic (c), Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Giggs, Park (Smalling 90+3); Rooney, Hernandez (Berbatov 77)

Unused subs: Kuszczak, Evans, Gibson, Scholes.

Goals Rooney 23
Booked Vidic 73, Van der Sar 79

Shots on target Chelsea 8 Manchester United 2

Corners Chelsea 3 Manchester United 5

Fouls Chelsea 13 Manchester United 16

Offsides Chelsea 2 Manchester United 3

Referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Attendance 37,915

188BET Preview: Chelsea V Man United

Chelsea against Man United is always going to be a big game but when it is in the quarter-finals of the Champions League it moves onto a different level again.

The Blues record against Man United in recent years has been very strong with six wins, four draws and no defeats in the last 10 games played at Stamford Bridge.

The most recent of those wins came last month when David Luiz and Frank Lampard scored the goals in a 2-1 come-from-behind victory after Wayne Rooney had put the visitors in front in the first half. The Blues kicked off at odds of 2.25 but those odds had eased to 6.00 at half time. They could still have been backed at 3.90 before the winning goal in the 79th minute.

On Wednesday night the pre-match odds are a little shorter at 2.15. They have even come in over the past seven days as confidence builds that this could be Chelsea's year in Europe. The most likely final at Wembley on May 28th is between Chelsea and Barcelona at odds of 4.15.

Five of the six home wins in the last ten games against United have been by a single goal. Man United also tend to play very tight away from home in Europe with five of their last eight producing one goal or less. Even in domestic action three of their only four clean sheets in the Barclays Premier League have ended in scoreless draws pointing to the fact that is what they set out to achieve.

The best bet then may be to go for Chelsea to win by a single-goal margin at odds of 3.30, or to win by 1-0 at odds of 7.00. The cautious among us may choose to take a little insurance against a 0-0 draw at odds of 8.50.

On the goal-scoring front, Didier Drogba found the net against Stoke on Saturday while Fernando Torres has a great scoring record against United.Both can be backed at 6.00 to open the scoring. Nicolas Anelka though has been the main man in Europe with seven goals already in this campaign and is the best bet at 7.00.

Match Report : Stoke City 1 - 1 Chelsea

chelseafc.com - Didier Drogba's first Chelsea goal since late January levelled the scores after Stoke netted early on but two points were dropped in a lively encounter in the Potteries.

It was a poor start to the game by the Blues following two weeks of inactivity due to internationals but Chelsea improved towards the interval, only to allow the home side to take command again at the start of the second half. Both sides hit woodwork twice after the interval, Drogba on both occasions for the Blues, and all involved will be counting up missed chances.

Chelsea had another good spell before the end but then could have lost the match in stoppage time. It has to be admitted it was a fair result against the FA Cup semi-finalists.

Carlo Ancelotti made three changes to the side from the win over Manchester City. Jose Bosingwa was preferred at right-back to Branislav Ivanovic who had played two international matches since the City game. Up front it was Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka with Fernando Torres and Salomon Kalou on the bench. Stoke were unchanged.

Former Chelsea stopper Robert Huth headed a corner over inside the first two minutes, and Jose Bosingwa whipped in a testing cross before long had gone, hinting there would be chances in this game. Stoke scored from one with just seven minutes gone.

David Luiz left the centre ground to challenge for a ball out on the right touchline but he was beaten to it by Jonathan Walters who raced away down the flank and cut inside Essien in the box before slamming the ball low past Cech.

It was an early shock to the system for the Blues, especially as Stoke do not lose many points from a winning position, but Chelsea came back from a deficit to win here last season and Cole very nearly replied within two minutes. His diving header from a Malouda cross from deep was tipped wide by a fully extended Begovic.

On 19 minutes there could have been an equaliser had Anelka been sharper in collecting a rebound after Begovic could only palm a Lampard shot down in front of him.

Terry felt pain on 23 minutes when Whelan clattered into the captain with an illegal challenge, the Stoke centre-back escaping a booking. Two minutes later Drogba sent an ambitious volley careering over the bar.

The Blues were testing Stoke but their defence was holding firm, with Huth dealing with many ill-directed balls into their area. That was until Anelka found the vital degree of accuracy as he floated a cross over the rearguard to where Drogba, around about the penalty spot, headed home Osgood-style to level the scores. The Golden Boot holder last found the net for his club with a goal from 30 yards further out at Bolton but with two last weekend for Ivory Coast, it appears the goal touch is coming back. There were 30 minutes gone.

Both sides were making mistakes in possession and Kenwyne Jones, who had earlier troubled John Terry, released a deflected shot five minutes before the break that Cech was able to gather, but the Blues were on top by this stage in terms of possession.

Approaching the break there was the unusual sight of Huth racing deep into the Chelsea half having pounced on an error, only to be halted by Drogba just outside the Chelsea area. It was a good contest between those two all afternoon. The teams went into the break level at one goal each.

Chelsea started on the front foot when the whistle went for the restart, Anelka showing good control in a tight spot before rolling a shot wide, but then a line of blue-shirted defenders watched as a ball across the area made it all the way through to Pennant who saw his shot saved well by Cech with his legs. That was Stoke's best chance since the goal.

With 50 minutes gone, the in-form Ramires played a pass wide into Drogba's path and the Ivorian got a shot away before he was challenged. It bounced off the face of the far post and went behind. Lampard then warmed Begovic's hands with a shot.

On 55 minutes came the game's first booking, Walters catching Terry late with a follow-through challenge. Bosingwa followed into the book three minutes later for sliding into the ankles of Etherington, but this wasn't a dirty match.

On 61 minutes Chelsea made a double substitution, Kalou, recovered from a minor knock on international duty, replacing Ramires to set a new club record for substitute appearances, and Torres coming on for Anelka. The Spaniard straightaway found a way into the box but Huth deflected the shot off-target. That was Torres's only sight of goal.

Begovic had to come to punch in a crowd as another cross was floated towards Drogba's head.

Stoke were well in the game by now and after turning outside Terry, Jones shot wide. Then Cech saved with his feet from an Etherington header. It was another good afternoon's work by the Chelsea keeper.

Cole was booked on 64 minutes for tripping his friend Pennant who was escaping from a tackle.

Two minutes later Stoke levelled the woodwork count and then went ahead in it a minute later. First Essien gave away a free-kick that was tapped to Marc Wilson for a shot the swerved away from Cech and then off the crossbar. From the following corner, Huth rose above Essien but Cech was sharp to push the ball onto the bar.

Chelsea limited Delap's opportunity to launch his missiles into the box but when he did unleash one throw onto the head of Jones, Terry challenged well enough that it went wide.

With 80 minutes on the clock, Ivanovic came on for Bosingwa and was straightaway challenging for a corner. It bounced away to Drogba who hooked a rocket of a shot against the crossbar. The woodwork count was now 2-2. Moments later Begovic saved well from Essien.

Chelsea broke on the counter attack on 87 minutes, Torres feeding Lampard who found a way through two defenders before he was crowded out without shooting.

Six minutes stoppage time were played but unlike last season here, the Blues could not complete a turnaround at the death. Stoke came closer to snatching it through substitute Fuller.

Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Bosingwa (Ivanovic 79), David Luiz, Terry (c), Cole; Ramires (Kalou 61), Essien, Lampard, Malouda; Anelka (Torres 61), Drogba.
Unused subs Turnbull, Ferreira, Mikel, Zhirkov.
Scorer Drogba 30.
Booked Bosingwa 58, Cole 64.

Stoke (4-4-1-1): Begovic; Wilson, Shawcross (c), Huth, Higginbotham (Collins 90+2); Pennant (Fuller 90+1), Whelan (Whitehead 85), Delap, Etherington; Walters, Jones.
Unused subs Nash, Pugh, Wilkinson, Diao.
Scorer Walters.
Booked Walters 55.

Referee Peter Walton

March Awards for Chelsea Pair

chelseafc.com - There is a double celebration at Chelsea after Carlo Ancelotti and David Luiz have each won Barclays Premier League awards for March.

Three league wins, against Manchester United, Blackpool and Manchester City, combined with goals for the Brazilian defender against each of the Manchester clubs saw them named Manager of the Month and Player of the Month respectively.

Ancelotti, who also won the award in November 2009 and September 2010, said: 'It is an honour to win this award, it rewards the efforts of everybody at the club, not just the manager, and I hope the good form will continue through the busy period we have in front of us.

'David Luiz has started his life in Chelsea very well, and he will be an important player for us for the rest of the season and in the future.'

Ancelotti: Ready to Rotate

chelseafc.com - Carlo Ancelotti says the position Chelsea are in going into the final two months of the season was only a dream scenario during the dark midwinter spell of poor form.

Since then there have been additions to the squad and an improvement in results that have placed the Blues into the quarter finals of the Champions League and at the top of the Barclays Premier League form table based on the last six games.

It is not only recent results that have the manager predicting the team will hold its form in the coming weeks, but also an injury report that is as short as it has been all season.

The players involved in international matches over the past week returned without significant injuries. Yossi Benayoun, who played 20 minutes for Israel on Tuesday after six months out, is training normally. Alex has no problems with the knee that underwent surgery and is increasing his training load gradually.

Both might be considered for selection for the second leg of the Champions League tie against Manchester United, away at Old Trafford in a week and a half.

The squad has trained lightly the past two days and before he chooses his front pairing for tomorrow's game, Ancelotti will observe Friday afternoon's more intense session with his eye especially on Fernando Torres and Salomon Kalou, who returned from internationals with a slight fitness problem.

'The month of March was very important for us and we did very well,' Ancelotti says.

'We returned to play our football and our confidence came back. We are ready to play games every three days because all the players are fit and have good motivation.

'Always in April you have to play your cards but we are ready to play, and if we think three months ago in November and December, it was a dream to arrive here in this situation. Now I feel we have the possibility to fight and do our best.

'There is a good atmosphere in the team and for this reason I am happy. Maybe tomorrow we lose the game but I won't change my idea on this because I have a good sensation.'

With a possible nine games in April, Ancelotti identifies team rotation as vital and he is pleased Nicolas Anelka expressed a relaxed attitude to this in his interview on the Official Chelsea Website today.

'The players understand that rotation is important for them and above all for the club. If you play individually you want to play every game but if you play as a team you understand. The strength of this team is that players like Anelka and others with strong personalities are thinking for the team and not just for themselves.

'It would be wrong to have just 11 players involved and the other 11 or 12 without motivation. To play eight or nine games in April we have to have more than 11 players.'

Stoke have fitnessed doubts over striker John Carew and goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen.

I believe Michael Essien will play for Ghana in next game

Coach Goran Stevanovic expects Chelsea man to return

goal.com - The Serbian tactician revealed that he tried to tempt Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck to represent the Black Stars 'various times'

Ghana manager Goran Stevanovic is confident Michael Essien will return to the national team for their next game.

The Chelsea midfielder watched from the stands at Wembley tonight as the Black Stars came from a goal down to steal a memorable 1-1 draw.

Essien made himself unavailable for selection last August following a series of injury setbacks suffered on national team duty, which culminated in ruling him out of the World Cup. He has not played for Ghana since Stevanovic took charge in January.

But the Serbian told reporters: “I have spoken to Michael Essien several times. He is here with us [at Wembley] and I profoundly believe in the next game he will be here with us playing.

“I said I don’t want to speak about players who missed tonight. Maybe I can say we missed Michael Essien and other players like Kevin-Prince Boateng.

“But I think people tonight enjoyed a fantastic game. In the first half England were the better team. I’m sorry we didn’t play better. In the second half my team put in a very good effort and performance and passed the ball much better.

“Playing against England at Wembley is very tough for us but a great inspiration for a lot of teams. I don’t want to make excuses but in three days we travelled a lot and tonight we do our best.”

Stevanovic also revealed that he had tried to persuade Danny Welbeck, whose parents are from Ghana, to play for the Black Stars.

“I asked for him at various times,” explained the manager. “It is possible to play for Ghana but unfortunately tonight he played for England. I’m sorry for us because he is a very good player. I tried to speak to him but now it is impossible.”

Asked about the amazing reception given to his team by the 20,000-plus Ghana supporters at Wembley, Stevanovic said: “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. They are the best fans around the world.”