Chelsea move to top after a 2-0 win over Marseille
English Premier League champions Chelsea sit pretty at top of their group table after a comfortable 2-0 win against Marseille in UEFA champions League. It was the captain John Terry and Nicolas Anelka who were on the score sheet
in a dominating win for the Blues.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team is leading the table ahead of the Russian team Spartak Moscow on goal difference following Moscow’s 3-0 win against MSK Zilina.
Meanwhile the French side Marseille are really struggling after 2 defeats in 2 games, it will be an uphill task for them to make it through to the next round.
Chelsea needed a morale boosting win in Europe after suffering defeats at 2 different fronts back home. The Blues were beaten 4-3 by Newcastle United in Carling Cup last week, and on the weekend suffered a 1-0 defeat the hands
of Manchester City.
Former Chelsea player Didier Deschamps who is now the manager of Marseille had instructed his team to use the same physical approach and counter attacking style of play against Chelsea just as it had done on the weekend. However
the big plan did not materialize and Chelsea ended up taking the lead early in the 7th
minute, which happened to be their first real attack on the French goal.
Florent Malouda took a shot from edge of the area that led to the first corner of the match. Gael Kakuta took the corner and curled it towards the near post; Captain John Terry made a good run to get to the ball and cleverly flicked
it past the goalkeeper for the lead.
It was the perfect start for Chelsea and it could have got even better just 6 minutes later, if Malouda could have made his long range shot dip just in time to creep inside the bar.
Nicolas Anelka who was sent home from South Africa during the world cup was on the receiving end of nonstop boos from the crowd; he had the next best chance of the game. Anelka received a well calculated pass from Kakuta and was
through on goal but could not place his shot well.
The English champions doubled their lead in the 27th minute when Stephane Mbia could not prevent the ball from hitting his arm inside the area. Although replays suggested that it was a harsh call Chelsea had no complaints
and Michael Essien slotted in the penalty without any fuss.
Anelka meanwhile continued to torment the Marseille defence; 3 minutes from the break the French international could have made it 3-0 but it would have taken a much better strike from 20 yards out.
While on the other end Peter Cech was almost a lone spectator as Marseille did not put him to much test.
The French team though did pick up their game in the 2nd half, Andre-Pierre Gignac, who was leapt at an arm’s length by Terry and Alex in the first half showed great athleticism and sent an overhead kick towards Chelsea
goal. Cech though hardly broke a sweat, in gathering the ball.
12 minutes after the restart, Brandao was the next man to threaten Cech’s goal. But he was also kept out well by Blue’s defence and was forced to take a shot from well outside the box and Cech did well to parry it away.
Moments later there was a great chance for Chelsea to make it 3 nil again and put the game to bed, when Terry and Ahsley Cole combined well on a counter. The 2 defenders surprisingly were the 2 leading the attack in that move,
as the final ball came to Malouda but he could not put the finishing touches on it.
Chelsea ended the match with a comfortable win, which was much needed for Ancelotti’s team and will go into this weekend’s big game against Arsenal with a lot of confidence.
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