3 minggu seri, 3 miggu drop point. Lagi sekali kita mencatat keputusan yang mengecewakan dalam derby London minggu ini. Rasanya dengan ini aku menisytiharkan perjuangan meraih gerlaran liga sudah berakhir untuk CHELSEA. maybe. Lebih baik kita fokus kepadan UCL and FA cup. Sudah jauhhhh sangat kita tertinggal dalam kempen liga. Mungkin title race hanya 3 penjuru iaitu sama ada ManCity, ManU atau Spurs. Dan bukan CHELSEA. Kita kerap kali tercicir mata dan tidak konsisten. Dengan keadaan sekarang ini, ada baiknya kita fokuskan benda yang lebih realistik. Nak harapkan pasukan lain cicir mata, tapi kita yang asyik cicir mata.
Dari segi persembahan, memang mendatar. Peluang yang banyak tapi macam biasa disia-siakan. Bosingwa sangat menghampakan kali ni. Aku mengharapkan cross dan deliver pass dari dia, tapi tak cukup efektif. Bahagian tengah tidak berfungsi tanpa Remires. Lampard....... memang patut pon kau keluar awal. Torres? Torres perfom bagus, jadi aku tak boleh nak kutuk dia. Torres ada buat set-up kepada team mates dan nyaris-nyaris juga nak score gol namun sayang, keeper lawan sangat cekap, menafikan pelbagai percubaan bahaya dari player kita. Jangan lupa, gola Mata assist dari Torres.
ni sahaja yang dapat diulas. Hope Chelsea lepas nih perform lebih berbisa dari biasa. Keep The Blue Flag Flying High! assalamualaikum :)
Again, kita seri lagi dengan Spurs. Walaubagaimanapun, keputusan seri dengan Spurs tak seburuk disangkakan. Macam sebelum ni, bukan senang nak kalahkan Spurs di White Hart Lane. Top club pun macam Arsenal dan Liverpol pun kalah dengan Spurs di WHL kecuali ManCity je yang mampu menang dengan Spurs.
Bagi aku, performance pagi tadi memang superb gila. Masing-masing menyerang antara satu sama lain. Kalau nak ikutkan ball possession, CHELSEA lebih hebat dari Spurs. Kalau nak ikutkan, CHELSEA boleh menang, tapi peluang yang ada untuk score disia-siakan. Remires yang banyak buat silap depan goal, kalau tak dia dah boleh buat 2 gol untuk pagi tadi. Cerita pasal defend, memang susah aku nak cakap, habis kental dah defend pagi tadi, Man Of The Match aku rasa Captain kita, John Terry. JT lah yang banyak save bola dari masuk ke gol. Kemungkinan besar kita boleh kalah 2-1 kalau JT tak main sebab bola yang Adebayor shoot melepasi Petr Cech. Selamat JT ada.
Pagi tadi, 2 player kita terpaksa keluar padang akibat kecederaan, Mikel hanya sempat bermain selama 40 minit aku rasa akibat kekejangan otot dan terpaksa keluar. Mikel ditukarkan dengan player muda kita Oriol Romeu. Ivanovic pun sama terpaksa keluar padang akibat kecederaan. Ivanovic ditukarkan dengan Ferreira. Penampilan pertama Ferreira dalam EPL season ini.
Pasal Torres pagi tadi. Torres sempat main tetapi hanya 10 minit terakhir. Bagi aku 10 minit terakhir susah nak bagi impak besar dari Torres terhadap perlawanan. Dia dah la selalu disimpan di bench, apa yang diharapkan ialah Drogba. Berkenaan dengan gol pula, gol Spurs datang dari Bale, Bale melakukan set piece dan tepat kepada Adebayor yang menyondol bola menewaskan Cech untuk gol petama tuan rumah pada minit ke 8. 15 minit kemudian, kita menyamakan kedudukan hasil daripada top scorer kita, Daniel Sturridge. Ashley Cole membuat satu cross yang lemah dan disudahkan oleh Sturridge untuk menewaskan penjaga gol Spurs, Brad Friedel.
Sekarang bilangan mata kita dah makin jauh. Dengan ManCity 11 mata, ManU 9, 2 mata dengan Spurs dan berkongsi mata dengan Arsenal. Tunggu Isnin pula, CHELSEA vs Fulham di Stamford Bridge pada pukul 9 malam. KEEP THE BLUE FLAG FLYING HIGH. assalamualaikum :)
berita baru-baru nih telah mengejutkan chelsea fan bahawa penyerang termahal Chelsea, Fernando Torres akan dijual dengan harga 20 juta. Ini hanya satu pressure yang dibuat oleh media England terhadap AVB, tetapi kebijaksanaan AVB sebagai coach, " AVB has come out and rejected claims made by the media the other night that Chelsea were prepared to listen to offers of around £20m for Fernando Torres. " He said:
"It's not true, he is not available at any price.
Everybody wants to be involved all the time but Fernando is pushing for a place with Didier Drogba. Didier is on a good run at the moment but I am sure when Fernando is called up he will respond with the quality and talent he has. The question of when we will see him back; sooner or later, we don't know. We have to make the best decisions for the team.
There was a period earlier this season when both Fernando and Didier were not available through suspension. Fernando first, then Didier after. We still had plenty of selection and players available. We had Lukaku, Sturridge and Anelka.
Of course, Anelka will not be available anymore but we have Sturridge, Lukaku and Fernando competing for that place when did will be away."
Pemliki kelab Chelsea, Roman Abrahamovic tidak bodoh untuk menjual El Nino dengan harga murah. Beli mahal-mahal nak jual murah buat apa melainkan ada kelab yang sanggup membeli dengan harga asal. I hope Torres will stay at Stamford Bridge. Keep The Blue Flag Flying High
Having gone behind less than two minutes into the game against a side full of confidence, Chelsea might have crumbled but we did anything but, coming back into the game with determination, Raul Meireles levelling before the break and then Frank Lampard coming on to score a penalty winner late in the game.
The league leaders had a penalty shout of their own turned down in the first half but then had Gael Clichy dismissed with just over an hour to play. By that stage the momentum was already with Andre Villas-Boas's team who kept pressing until the moment came to inflict a first league defeat of the season on the leaders and send Chelsea up to third.
Best momentThe first goal was more pleasing on the eye but nothing can better Frank Lampard, who missed a penalty on his previous appearance and had been on the pitch less than 10 minutes, smashing his spot-kick home to raise the roof and keep Chelsea's season on an upward curve.
Team news The only change to the Chelsea starting line-up was the one most would have predicted - Jose Bosingwa coming in for suspended David Luiz with Branislav Ivanovic moving from right-back into central defence.
Man City made two changes to their defence from the side that beat Norwich in their last league game - Zabaleta and Lescott in place of Richards and Kolo Toure. James Milner replaced Samir Nasri in midfield with Mario Balotelli preferred to Edin Dzeko in attack where he was partnered by Sergio Aguero as they changed shape to 4-4-2
First half Manchester City scored from their very first attack. Aguero took possession midway inside the Chelsea half and with Terry in close attendance, the Argentine turned and played a perfectly measured pass forward to Balotelli. The City striker could have shot first time but opted instead to take the ball wide of Cech and the pursuing Ivanovic before slotting home. Just 93 seconds had been played.
Chelsea's response was hindered by two decision that didn't go our way.Ramires was whistled up for an inadvertent trip on Clichy as he chased a Mata cross with space opening up, and then at the other end no foul was given when Bosingwa tumbled when policing Aguero inside the area. The Man City man wasted a good chance by shooting wide.
On 13 minutes Bosingwa did get the decision when he hung a leg out and Silva went over inside the Chelsea penalty area. Initial TV replays were inconclusive on whether there was any contact.
The visitors were on top and looking good in possession in our half in the first quarter of the game, although Ramires did get the ball wide to Drogba whose cross was almost headed down into the right spot for Meireles to try his luck. He had earlier seen a shot deflect wide.
Going forward, Man City continued to look capable to finding gaps in the Chelsea defence, as Silva did for Milner but that incision fortunately came to nothing. The Blues were playing reasonably deep in a similar manner to the Valencia game.
Then on 24 minutes Drogba sprung into life and Hart tipped his shot, which might have been going wide, just past the post.
It heralded a spell of better play for Chelsea that ended in a goal although not before interruptions, Drogba needing treatment first and then Silva after he collided with Meireles's out-stretched boot.
The Portuguese made a much more important contact on 33 minutes when he ran onto Sturridge's cross to shoot into the Shed End goal from eight yards out. Terry had begun the attack with a long pass out to Sturridge who cut into the area and bamboozled Clichy and co. before centring for the scorer to strike. The wet and windy weather was worsening but the outlook was brightening for Chelsea.
Two minutes later, Meireles, who had escaped a booking for his foul on Silva, did see yellow after another high challenge, this time on Zabaleta.
The game, as well as the score was now more even, and Terry robbed Balotelli and knocked a pass onto Drogba, only for the Ivorian to be barged to the ground by Kompany with the Man City defence looking stretched. Kompany was booked.
Second halfSturridge was proving a problem for his former club and when he turned and went past Clichy in the first few seconds of the half, the full-back brought him down and was rightly booked by referee Mark Clattenburg. Sturridge could have rubbed it in even more had his shot not cleared the bar when he was well-placed after Yaya Toure missed his header.
On 52 minutes it was Mata's turn to ask questions of the league leaders. He nutmegged Kompany and was escaping when the City captain brought him down. Kompany already had a yellow card to his name and it was only fair to speculate if he would have been shown another for the challenge had that not been the case.
The same scenario was forthcoming just five minutes later when Drogba's quick thinking sent Ramires haring past Clichy who couldn't resist a trip. This time the ref did dip his hand into his pocket for a yellow, with the mandatory red card following.
Man City were being pushed back and Cole had been involved in a lot of Chelsea's attacks throughout. His cross just past the hour fell to Ramires for a thunderous strike that was blocked. Romeu was booked soon after for a clumsy foul.
Chelsea continued to look for an opening and a Bosingwa cross almost found Drogba's head.
Man City, who had sacrificed Aguero to bring on Kolo Toure shortly after the sending-off, now looked content to try to kill the game and settle for a point. Further evidence came when Silva was substituted by De Jong.
Chelsea brought on Lampard for Meireles with just under 20 minutes to play. Before the new arrival could touch the ball, Ramires was harshly booked for a challenge on Balotelli whose influence was waning. Drogba then picked up a yellow for a sliding foul on Zabaleta deep in the City half.
The game had become scrappy and that suited the visitors. Chelsea needed to find gaps but when Drogba and Ramires combined on the edge of the area, there was still not room for a convincing shot from the Brazilian.
Lampard was next to try with a ball out to Sturridge who shaped to shoot once before letting fly with an effort that hit the raised arm of Lescott. The ref pointed to the spot and Lampard made no mistake in front of the Matthew Harding End, firing high and straight past Hart to give his team the lead.
Now Mancini changed his tune as he attempted to restore an attacking impetus by bringing on Dzeko for Lescott. It was Drogba however who was the dominant attacking player as the game drew to a close, not too far away from netting with one audacious effort before the end.
The home crowd had been vociferous throughout and how the enjoyed the final whistle!
Chelsea made it consecutive home victories after a troublesome afternoon against the newly-promoted Norwich City.
We were in front after just five minutes when Jose Bosingwa netted a stunning drive from around 30 yards, and looked well in control before Norwich got back into the game, forcing Hilario into a string of saves.
The Portuguese was eventually beaten after a mix-up with recalled defenderBranislav Ivanovic, allowing Grant Holt to level the scores on the hour, but Chelsea's resilience came through once more when a Frank Lampard penalty nine minutes from time earned the three points after Ramires had been brought down by red-carded goalkeeper John Ruddy.
Injury to Didier Drogba meant there was 11 minutes of added time, at the end of which substitute Juan Mata opened his Chelsea account, slotting low into the bottom corner after Norwich had gifted him possession inside the area.
Romelu Lukaku also came off the bench for his Chelsea debut.
BEST MOMENT
No doubt it was Bosingwa's opener just five minutes in. The full-back's first goal since November 2008, it gave the goalkeeper no chance and absolutely rocketed into the net.
TEAM NEWS
Andre Villas-Boas paired Fernando Torres and Drogba together from the start for the first time this season in an apparent change of shape. Florent Maloudawas recalled after his winner against West Brom last week, and slotted in on the left of a diamond midfield.
In defence, Branislav Ivanovic was picked ahead of Alex, who he replaced during last week's narrow victory.
Norwich had Leon Barnett available after suspension, while Wes Hoolahan had shrugged off a hamstring problem to play.
FIRST HALF
It took less than two minutes for Chelsea to call Ruddy into action, Ramiresletting go with a dipping 25-yarder that forced the goalkeeper to concede a corner with a decent save.
It was a warning for the Canaries, who had allowed the midfielder space, but they did not learn their lesson and after five minutes the Blues were in front from an almost identical position.
Bosingwa strode forward and invited to shoot, cracked an unstoppable drive into Ruddy's top-right corner. An early contender for Goal of the Season that will take some beating, it was an early reward for Chelsea's initial dominance, which also saw Torres and Drogba almost combine for another goal, and the Spaniard have a shot on the turn blocked by a defender.
The goal had severely damaged Norwich's game plan, with five defenders and a narrow midfield they had been looking to contain the Blues, but had only served to allow our full-backs, Bosingwa and Ashley Cole, free reign to attack, and additionally Torres and Drogba were linking up well against three centre-backs.
They regrouped though, and proceeded to create some impressive openings. Captain Grant Holt had held the ball up well in the corner before attempting to latch onto Hoolahan's lofted ball from deep. Beating the offside trap, he had time to bring the ball down inside the area but went for the first-time finish and failed to connect, Hilario falling on the loose ball.
The Chelsea goalkeeper had to be on top form before the half-hour though, first denying Chris Martin one-on-one with a low save from close range, then back pedalling to his goal-line to tip over a vicious Kyle Naughton drive destined for the net and finally to keep out a well directed Holt header low to his left.
A Hoolahan shot from distance proved rather easier, but it showed a worrying stat that the visitors had now had five shots on target to Chelsea's two. They were more than holding their own having replaced Zak Whitbread with Anthony Pilkington and moved to a 4-4-2.
There was respite for Chelsea five minutes before the break when Drogba was clumsily tripped by Crofts. The Ivorian brushed himself off to take the free-kick, shooting inches over the bar with Ruddy seemingly beaten.
Then John Terry fouled Holt at the other end, allowing Bradley Johnson a venomous shot at goal which Hilario was grateful to see come straight at him.
Florent Malouda fizzed a half-volley low into Ruddy's arms shortly afterwards, and that was the final event of a lively first half.
SECOND HALF
It was Chelsea who started on top once more, a John Terry header from a Malouda corner flicked over his own crossbar by a Norwich defender and then Ivanovic nodded another wide from a Lampard centre.
They were chances Chelsea could rue, and sure enough we were punished just after the hour mark.
Norwich had consistently been playing long balls towards the head of man-mountain Holt, and for the most part he had been well looked after by Terry and Ivanovic. On this occasion, a hopeful ball came into the area and both Hilarioand Ivanovic went for the ball, leaving it to bounce nicely for Holt who could volley into an empty net over his shoulder.
On the balance of play Norwich had deserved it, but in this second half it was the first time they had had the ball inside the Chelsea box.
Moments later things got worse as Drogba collided with Ruddy and fell heavily to the ground, requiring lengthy treatment after a wince-inducing landing. The 33-year-old required a stretcher to leave the field.
He could not continue and was replaced by Anelka. Malouda came off too, replaced by debutant Mata. Chelsea went 4-3-3 with the subs either side of Torres.
Norwich could have gone in front soon afterwards when Morison broke clear into the area, but Terry recovered his ground well to block.
At the other end Mata introduced himself with a neat sidestep and bending cross for Torres, the forward's header ending up in Ruddy's arms as time just began to tick away, as it was doing a week earlier against West Brom at this stage.
Then Norwich won a corner, Chelsea hacked it clear and Anelka could break. It looked like he may have to go it alone but then from nowhere came Ramires on the blindside, galloping through and taking the pass in his stride.
The Brazilian attempted to take the ball past the goalkeeper, succeeded, but was then brought down by Ruddy's flailing arms. Penalty. Red card said Mike Jones.
Lampard stepped up in front of the Matthew Harding End, and hammered his spot kick straight down the middle and past substitute goalkeeper Declan Rudd.
Villas-Boas brought on Lukaku for Torres as he looked to consolidate. It seems we have another Drogba on our hands, quick, strong and incredibly difficult to take the ball from.
Just like West Brom a week ago, Norwich had a late chance to get back into it, a free-kick running all the way across the box to Morison, the forward mis-hitting his cross-cum-shot over the bar as Holt waited at the far post to tap home.
Lukaku sent a glancing header wide before Ivanovic had a golden opportunity to wrap it up. Mata had sent Lampard away down the left and the midfielder crossed perfectly for the Serbian, only for him to somehow miss the target from mere feet away.
Still, with an extra man and back in control, Chelsea looked to have the three points sewn up. Then came the signal for 11 added minutes, and a little more tension around a rainy Stamford Bridge.
Norwich weren't threatening though, and with one minute left, Mata wrapped it up. Marc Tierney's ball inside from the left-back position was pounced upon by the little Spaniard, who took his time and slotted home into the bottom corner to secure a three points and a memorable cameo.
It is international break time now, and the Blues return on September 10 with a trip to Sunderland.
Juan Mata completed his transfer from Valencia today, and will be available for Saturday's game against Norwich having already trained with the squad at Cobham.
The left-winger, who can also operate centrally, signed a five-year contract and spoke exclusively with the official Chelsea website following his first training session. He becomes our fourth signing of the summer following Oriol Romeu and Romelu Lukaku's arrivals, as well as the capture of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois who has joined Atletico Madrid on loan.
'Right from the first moment there have been good feelings all around me,' Mata said. 'Training has been great and the players are a great group to train with.
'Valencia was a big club anyway but I have left to join a bigger club and it is all about the opportunity to win trophies and I have that here.'
After four years at the Mestalla, in which he scored 43 times in 179 appearances, Mata spoke with Andre Villas-Boas and was convinced Stamford Bridge was the place for him despite interest from other clubs.
'He said he wanted Chelsea this season to play more attacking football, and that I would be a big part of that,' the player explained. 'Villas-Boas is someone who won almost everything last year and we are both here with the idea of winning lots this season.
'The plan is that I can play on either flank or even in the middle playing in between the lines of midfield and attack. I like to keep the ball and use it well, I am an attacking player and above all I like to set up goals and score them also.
'I want to adapt as quickly as possible to my new surroundings, my colleagues and this league, and I would love to win a trophy in my first season. If it can be the Premier League then great.'
Mata becomes the third Spaniard to join Chelsea in 2011, following international team-mate and fellow World Cup-winner Fernando Torres and Romeu, who arrived from Barcelona earlier this month.
The newest recruit, who has 12 full international caps, also captained their Under 21s to glory in this summer's European Championship, admitted he had spoken to Torres prior to the move.
'Fernando got me excited about the thought of coming here,' Mata revealed. 'He said it would be good for me here and that me and him together could be good. I also talked to my family and friends about it as well.'
Among those advisors was his father, also named Juan Mata, who played professionally in Spain for Burgos, where the younger was born, and Salamanca.
'This is obviously a big thing for me, to have a father who knows football, and he has always given me good advice and I never had a problem because he was there to help,' said the Real Madrid-trained man.
'Despite there being football in my family, I always wanted to have skills other than football so I studied while I was in Madrid.
'It wasn't easy but I wanted to do it, and I learned about marketing and sports science. Away from football I like normal things for someone of my age, the cinema, music, theatre and reading. I am looking forward to living in London and adapting to a new cosmopolitan city and getting to know that.'
For the duration of the interview, Mata has been speaking in his native language, but listening and absorbing the questions put to him in English. To finish, he is asked when he expects to feel comfortable sharing the language of those around him, and the answer is a pleasant surprise.
'I hope as soon as possible!' he says, typically, in perfect English. It is an impressive start for the Spaniard off the pitch, now he will be wanting to catch the eye on it.
Banyak juga pencapaian terbaik yang AVB lakukan bersama Porto.Antaranya ialah rekod 33 perlawanan tanpa kalah dalam saingan Portuguese Primeira Liga.Rekod itu juga pernah dilakukan oleh JM pada 6 tahun yang lalu bersama kelab tersebut. Pada 20 Jun 2011, AVB telah menghantar surat resign kepada pihak management Porto sebagai signal nak join kem kite. Pihak Chelsea juga telah membayar tax fee sebanyak 13.2 juta pound bagi me release kan kontrak AVB dari Porto itu. Akhirnya proses tersebut berjalan dgn lancar. Pada tarikh yang dinantikan oleh seluruh warga Chelsea sedunia iaitu 22 jun 2011, Chelsea telah membuat announcement dan mentabalkan AVB as a new Chelsea manager. Die telah mengikat kontrak selama 3 tahun bersama our board club.
Welcome home again, Andre Villas-Boas. Hope u can work well & make success bersama kami pula.Do all the best for Chelsea.! Untuk interview AVB bersama CFC, korang blehklik sini... P/S: Hmmm, manager dah dapat, so bleh lah kite slow2 se@rch & buy player plak. Kalau x jadi bawak Falcao/Hulk/Moutinhopun aku tak kesah, berlambak lagi player2 kat luar yang cam best. AVB pilih, kite feel jelah, kehkeh.
Fernando Torres netted his first Chelsea goal as the Blues thumped West Ham 3-0 in difficult conditions at Stamford Bridge.
The heavens opened just before kick-off but Frank Lampard scored under thunder and lightning to give Chelsea the lead just before half time. Florent Malouda added the third in stoppage time at the end of the game following substitute Torres' late strike.
It had to be a strong display from Chelsea against a troublesome West Ham side who did have chances. The win maintains the six-point gap between the second-placed Blues and Manchester United at the top.
There was one change to the side which beat Birmingham midweek, withBranislav Ivanovic starting at right-back instead of Paulo Ferreira.
West Ham were without Matthew Upson. Keeper Robert Green took the captain's armband while the defender was replaced by Danny Gabbidon. Former Blue Carlton Cole was flanked by Demba Ba and Jonathan Spector in attack as Avram Grant matched Chelsea's 4-3-3.
Petr Cech was the first keeper called into action, gathering a loose ball after Freddie Sears tried to break into the box. The goal-kick led to a chance at the other end when Florent Malouda found himself one-on-one with Green only for the shot to be blocked. That was a good chance not taken.
Chelsea took command. John Mikel Obi, Ashley Cole and Malouda all came close to scoring inside the opening five minutes. In response, the visitors fouled several times, with Thomas Hitzlsperger seeing yellow for a challenge on Kalou inside the first 10 minutes.
Malouda again came close to netting first for the Blues, initially forcing a deflection after shooting in front of goal and then drilling wide of the near post after dancing into the box. A one-two between Drogba and Kalou then saw the latter break into the West Ham area, only for his first touch to take the ball too far in front to shoot.
Cech wasn't really called into action until 20 minutes in, when a long-range Cole effort was pushed over for a West Ham corner. The resultant ball into the box was caught by our keeper with ease.
However he was forced into an acrobatic save moments later to push a diving header from Jonathan Spector wide, after the West Ham man launched himself onto a Sears cross.
As the rain died down, but the thunder continued to the delight of the crowd, Cech had to scramble on his line to gather another Spector chance after the West Ham man back-heeled a corner ball goal-ward.
As the first-half drew to a close, West Ham were beginning to produce as many chances as Chelsea. It was one such opportunity that led to a collision betweenDavid Luiz and Cech, as the shot-stopper tried to punch the ball clear. At first it looked bad but after brief treatment, the defender returned to the game.
Despite the visitors' chances, it was Chelsea went in 1-0 up at the break. A brilliant Drogba pass gave Cole the chance to cross the ball from the left flank for Frank Lampard to smash home from seven yards out. Chelsea's vice-captain made no mistake as the ball nearly broke through the net at the Shed End with two minutes of the first-half left. The West Ham fans close by did not enjoy the moment. It was Lampard's first goal at the Bridge against his former side.
There were no changes as the second-half got underway and Chelsea started the better side once again, Drogba this time forcing the first save of the half.
The rain was back and seven minutes into the half, John Mikel Obi cleared a Manuel Da Costa header off the line after West Ham's number 22 latched onto a corner.
By now there was water everywhere and it was beginning to affect play, slowing the ball down. When Essien pulled up in pain after collecting a David Luiz pass, he soon limped off with a knee injury to be replaced by Yossi Benayoun.
Minutes after, West Ham were forced into making a substitution, swapping Robbie Keane for Mark Noble, who clashed with Ivanovic before being carried off.
With just under 30 minutes left, Lampard nearly made it two, narrowly missing a Drogba ball right in front of goal. Moments later our vice-captain tested Green further with a long-range effort which was palmed away, only for Malouda to shoot into the side netting.
Then came two chances, one at either end, forcing the crowd onto the edge of their seats. First David Luiz sent a shot ricocheting off the bar from 20 yards out. From the counter-attack, Ba forced Cech to save from a similar distance before Keane drilled into the keeper's hands.
Carlo Ancelotti then made some changes, bringing Nicolas Anelka andFernando Torres into the game. The two paired up well for Anelka's first chance as Torres pulled the ball back for him to shoot at a clear goal, only for Daniel Gabbidon to chase back and incredibly head away the danger.
Then the Spaniard struck and the crowd went wild. Torres' maiden goal for Chelsea came after he latched onto an Anelka ball, broke into the box, turned to keep possession as the ball stuck in the water before drilling home with his left foot. The entire team buried the striker. It was 2-0 Chelsea with six minutes to play and the atmosphere was electric.
Cech would make one more save, easily gathering a long-range Frederic Piquionne effort, before Chelsea killed the game. After feeding off a Torres ball, Malouda expertly struck from the edge of the box, smashing into the net while Green could only watch.
The goal means Malouda beats his league tally for last season. It's another three points for Chelsea are the title race really heats up!
A spectacular first Chelsea goal from David Luiz and an equally well-struck penalty from Frank Lampard turned around the game in the second-half.
A disjointed Blues were losing 1-0 to a first-half Wayne Rooney goal when the freshly signed defender from Brazil smashed the ball into the bottom corner of the Matthew Harding End net shortly after the restart, giving his side a foothold in the game.
As both sides counter-attacked furiously in what developed into a very entertaining contest, it was Chelsea that finished strongest, and were rewarded by a penalty for a foul on substitute Yury Zhirkov. Just to compound Man U misery, Nemanja Vidic was sent-off in stoppage time.
In the build-up to the game Carlo Ancelotti had given only morsels of information away on his tactical intentions, but he decided to make just one change from the side that had done so well in Denmark.
David Luiz was available for selection once again so was drafted back into central defence for his full home debut with Branislav Ivanovic moving to right-back, Jose Bosingwa dropping to the bench.
He was joined there by Paulo Ferreira in a late switch to the subs after Mikel felt a problem with his knee in the warm-up.
The team shape remained 4-4-2 with Man United unchanged and 4-4-1-1, Rooney playing behind Hernandez in their attack.
It was a flying start to the game in terms of pace and Chelsea wasted a great chance to score after only four minutes. It came from a rapid counter-attack,David Luiz bringing the ball out of the area and feeding fellow Brazilian Ramireswho flew past Nani and was fouled, but the ball was with Anelka and referee Martin Atkinson played on. The low cross was perfect for Malouda to strike but he hit it straight at Van der Sar. That was disappointing.
On 11 minutes Malouda was involved again, pushing a ball ahead that Essien forced through a tackle but then had a shot deflected wide.The challenges were hard-hitting. Cole won a thunderous but fair block tackle with Nani, only for Ramires to catch Carrick late in the next 50-50 to earn a booking.
On 15 minutes there were balls flashed across the area at both ends, Evra trying to find a colleague and Anelka the target.
Five minutes later, Rooney made a mess of a header when stationed in front of goal. He was then the perpetrator of what appeared a barge on Ramires tinged with spite after the England striker had not got the decision in a challenge withDavid Luiz.
Around the halfway point of the first period, Man U enjoyed a good spell of pressure but Cech with a commanding catch at a corner and David Luiz with a well-positioned clearance dealt with the danger.
However there was a continuing threat with the visitors finding space out wide and in front of the Chelsea defence. It was from a position 25 yards from goal that Rooney took possession for his opener. Turning and unchallenged, he decided to shoot and found the power to beat Cech and hit the bottom corner. There were 29 minutes gone.
Ten minutes later the visitors survived by the skin of their teeth. Torres was fouled by the complaining Evra and Van der Sar pushed Lampard's high-velocity free kick out to Ivanovic. The Serbian bundled the ball towards goal but Var der Sar saved again, pushing the ball up and onto the chest of the retreating Vidic.
Chelsea had another free-kick opportunity at the very end of the first half, Vidic booked for a foul on Essien. Cole was the unusual taker and put the ball over the same bar as his penalty shoot-out miss the last occasion he'd tried to score at the Shed End.
There was precious little from Chelsea to suggest a way back at the start of the second half, another Lampard free-kick hit too straight apart, until David Luiz scored his memorable maiden Chelsea goal.
The source was an aerial ball into the box which Ivanovic won and as the it bounced high off the pitch, the Brazilian showed sumptuous technique to keep his shot down and rifle it in from 15 yards with Van der Sar unable to react.
There were 54 minutes played and the game was very much alive. The committed challenges continued, David Luiz on Hernandez, Ivanovic on Nani and then a tackle from behind by the Chelsea scorer on the Man United scorer that earned a booking. David Luiz later tangled off the ball with Rooney leading to protests from the visitors. The new signing from Benfica was at the heart of the action!
Ancelotti kept his promise to involve Drogba by giving him the last half-hour in place of Anelka.
Rooney was next to show however, finding space down the Chelsea right but firing his shot across goal, and then with 15 minutes to go he turned past the tight-marking David Luiz but shot at Cech.
Essien became Chelsea's third booked player for pushing over Evra shortly before the foul that turned the game firmly back in Chelsea's favour.
On his last visit to the Bridge, Smalling scored an own-goal winner for Chelsea against Fulham. Today he hung out a leg as substitute Zhirkov burst past him following a Lampard pass and the ref pointed to the spot. Lampard was unerring from 12 yards, smacking the penalty high past Van der Sar.
