Chelsea FC: New Gameweek, Same Old Story
Chelsea started the week, 2 points behind Manchester City and had a chance to go five points clear at the top. City, who didn’t play till late Sunday had a huge game at the Eastlands against Arsenal.
Team Chelsea was coming off a big win in Russia in Luzhniki where they returned after John Terry slipped and missed the penalty that could have won them the Champions League.
Wolves on the other hand, were languishing in the relegation zone having scored just six points in their 8 games before their visit to Stamford Bridge. It was never going to be an easy trip to the West London club, especially after the return of Didier Drogba
from a fever.
Malouda, Anelka and Drogba all started for Chelsea, making Ancelotti’s intentions clear, showing that he wasn’t taking this game lightly. The talked about point was the return of Jose Bosingwa to the starting line-up after more than a year out with injury.
As for the Wolves, they were set to miss Micheal Mancienne as he was ineligible to play having been owned by Chelsea.
The game had a slow start with the Wolves parking the bus in front of the goal, and the defensive formation made it even more difficult for Chelsea to break down. After some early midfield exchanges, Jose Bosingwa showed his fitness and burst forward but saw
his drive tipped away remarkably by Hahnemann.
Chelsea opened the scoring in the 23rd minute when the Wolves lost possession. The home side launched three men forward, Anelka fed Zhirkov and the Russian pulled back and Malouda obliged with a good side foot finish.
Bosingwa was the star of the first half so far and unsurprisingly, came close to scoring in the 38th minute but saw his effort go inches wide of the post.
Steven Hunt was introduced at half time for Wolves and his return to Chelsea was marked by Boo’s from the Chelsea supporters who still remembered him for the collision against Cech which resulted in the Czech Republic shot stopper with a fractured skull.
Wolves made a game of it and as the match progressed, they started to test Cech more and more. Nenad Milijas tested the Chelsea number 1 with several long range efforts but each time the home side goalkeeper had the ball in his grasp.
As time went on, the Stamford Bridge locals along with the players on the park faced an acute case of nerves as Wolves were trying to find an equalizer. Anelka missed various chances, but was off target mostly. However, the Blues finally wrapped up in the 80th
minute when the substitute Kalou slotted past Hahnemann and made it 2 - 0 to Chelsea.
It wasn’t an easy game for Abramovich’s team due to the defensive tactics employed by the away side - Wolves packed their midfield and made it difficult for the Blues to pass the ball. A great result though as it restored Chelsea’s 5 point lead at the top of
the Barclays Premier League standings and effectively put pressure on the teams that appeared to be mathematical challengers featuring both Manchester clubs as well as the gunners; all having to play on the next day.
Chelsea too could be accused of being a touch rusty in the final third, the buildup was fantastic at times, but the final ball lacked on more than one occasion. Drogba was patchy and mostly out of his element. However, that was expected as the Ivory Coast international
returned to the starting line up after missing a couple of games due to the fever.
There were no European hangovers for Ancelloti’s men as they ultimately managed to grind out the result and extend their lead at the top. Next up for Chelsea is a trip to Ewood Park - Not an easy place to visit and one should expect Sam Allardyce’s team to
give the holding champions a tough time. All eyes turned next to the match at Eastlands, a win for city might have seen the multi billion club as the main rivals to Chelsea for the BPL crown.
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