Hull apply the brakes to Chelsea title charge

February 3, 2010


Didier Drogba celebrated his return to Premier League duty with a first half equaliser at the KC Stadium to cancel out Stephen Mouyokolo’s earlier effort on a frustrating night for Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea.

Drogba struck his 20th goal of the season on 43 minutes to haul the Premier League leaders level after Hull defender Mouyokolo had headed Phil Brown’s Hull City side into a surprise lead with his first ever goal for the top flight strugglers.

But despite Drogba coming to the rescue it wasn’t enough to help Chelsea secure the win they so badly needed to restore their four point advantage over Manchester United at the top of the table.

The London club now have a lead of just two points and United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will be thankful to Hull for holding his great rivals to a draw to blow the title race wide open.

Ancelotti had the luxury of recalling Drogba for the first time since he departed for the African Cup of Nations over four weeks ago, while England internationals Joe Cole and Ashley Cole had to be content with a place on the bench.

John Terry also maintained his place in the side despite the on-going pressure on him to resign as England captain following his off-field problems while Deco was recalled to the starting line-up.

Brown, meanwhile, made just one change to the side which was held to a disappointing draw with Wolves last weekend, recalling Craig Fagan on the right wing in place of Bernard Mendy. The Hull manager resisted the temptation to hand a full debut to new loan signing Amr Zaki.

Hull had gone nine games without a victory and found themselves entrenched in the relegation zone. Considering Manchester City were the next visitors to the KC Stadium then the immediate future looked bleak.

But Chelsea struggled to find their rhythm from the start and seemed to make Hull’s evening easier than expected.

Frank Lampard worried Boaz Myhill with a swerving drive inside nine minutes which the Hull goalkeeper could only palm straight to Nicolas Anelka but the French striker stubbed his shot badly wide with the goal at his mercy.

It wasn’t until the 24th minute that Chelsea threatened again when Branislav Ivanovic sent over an inch-perfect cross for the waiting Michael Ballack but all the German midfielder could do was power his diving header straight at Myhill from close range.

The longer the game went on the more Hull seemed to grow in confidence but it still came a surprise when they took the lead with their first real attack of the game.

Terry was nowhere to be seen as Stephen Hunt swung over a corner and Mouyokolo rose the highest to head past the helpless Petr Cech.

But Hull’s lead always looked fragile and it lasted just 13 minutes before Drogba levelled the scores with a powerful free kick into the bottom corner of Myhill’s goal.

Hull could have restored their lead on the stroke of half time when Tom Cairney’s free kick found the head of the unmarked Anthony Gardner, but the defender could only direct his effort over the crossbar.

Yet Chelsea always carried a threat and Myhill had to be at his best to keep the scores level with a fine double save just before the hour mark.

First he got down sharply to tip wide a skidding drive from Florent Malouda before producing an even better stop to keep out Drogba’s downward header from Malouda’s cross as Brown’s men hung on for a point that is of much more use to them than Chelsea.

HULL, England (AFP)

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Lampard puts nervy Chelsea back on track

December 17, 2009


Chelsea moved three points clear of Manchester United at the top of the Premier League as Frank Lampard’s late penalty clinched a 2-1 win over Portsmouth on Wednesday.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side were in danger of failing to win for the fifth successive match in all competitions when Portsmouth’s Frederic Piquionne cancelled out Nicolas Anelka’s first half opener.

But Lampard, making his 300th league appearance for the Blues, held his nerve to drive home a spot-kick with 11 minutes remaining and reestablish his team’s lead over United, who had beaten Wolves to draw level on points 24 hours earlier.

Ancelotti can take heart from Chelsea’s ability to grind out a win when the fates seemed to be conspiring against them, but this was another less than convincing display.

Pompey boss Avram Grant received a warm reception from Chelsea’s fans on his first return to the Bridge since being sacked in 2008, but he was always facing an uphill struggle to depart with the points.

Grant, whose team are bottom of the league, must have breathed a sigh of relief to see Didier Drogba sidelined after suffering a back injury in training this week.

Salomon Kalou came in from Drogba, while Ricardo Carvalho paid the the price for Chelsea’s recent defensive woes and was dropped for Brazil centre-back Alex.

With Drogba out, Anelka had to be at his best and the France striker forced Portsmouth goalkeeper Asmir Bergovic into action early on with a low shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Kalou should have put Chelsea ahead from the resulting corner but somehow headed over from point-blank range after Michael Ballack flicked on.

Chelsea took the lead in the 23rd minute as Anelka showed Kalou how to deliver the knockout blow.

Alex was the unlikely provider, popping up on the right wing to muscle his way past Marc Wilson and drive a low cross to Anelka, who side-footed past Begovic via the near-post.

Grant’s decision to play Piquionne as a lone striker gave Chelsea’s back-four an opportunity to rediscover their composure after leaking 10 goals in four games.

But they still looked shaky at times and Piquionne, shooting from just inside the penalty area, forced Petr Cech to make a sprawling save in the 34th minute.

Alex may not have cured Chelsea’s defensive ills, but he certainly added some pep to their attack and went close to scoring with a ferocious free-kick that flashed past the far-post.

Ancelotti had called on his side to concentrate better when defending set-pieces but Kalou appeared not to have heeded the warning.

He let Tal Ben Haim escape his attentions at Jamie Hara’s free-kick and the former Chelsea defender headed over when he should have scored.

After controlling the first-half, Chelsea surrendered their advantage in the most unfortunate manner in the 51st minute.

O’Hara’s free-kick was too close to the Chelsea wall and hit Kalou, but the ball then rebounded off Cole before falling perfectly for the unmarked Piquionne to lash past Cech.

It was a freak goal but Chelsea were rattled and it took a fine tackle from Cole to deny Kevin-Prince Boateng.

Ancelotti sent on Joe Cole for the injured Deco, then introduced Florent Malouda and young forward Fabio Borini soon after that.

Finally Chelsea recovered their rhythm well enough to regain control in the closing stages.

Begovic had to be alert to save when Ben Haim nearly turned Malouda’s cross into his own net, then Lampard drew a good stop from the Portsmouth keeper.

They broke Portsmouth’s resistance in the 79th minute. Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic poked the ball past Wilson and the centre-back conceded a penalty with a wild lunging challenge.

Lampard stepped up to crash the spot-kick straight down the middle for his first goal since October.

LONDON (AFP)

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Chelsea to face Everton test

December 12, 2009


There’s no crisis talk at Stamford Bridge but events in the last fortnight have prompted Chelsea’s first bout of soul-searching since the pre-season arrival of manager Carlo Ancelotti.

The Blues saw out November with an emphatic 3-0 victory at Arsenal that led to Ancelotti’s side being hailed as Premier League champions-elect in some quarters.

But the mood has darkened since that game with a league defeat at Manchester City following a League Cup loss to Blackburn before this week’s scrambled home Champions League draw with APOEL Nicosia that the manager described as the worst performance since he took charge.

Suddenly the poise that accompanied Chelsea’s controlled start to the season looks a little less assured and there will be an added edge to their home meeting with Everton this weekend.

Manchester United’s victory at West Ham last weekend meant the champions capitalised on Chelsea’s loss at City, cutting the London club’s advantage at the head of the Premier League to just two points.

Another slip against Everton and the two leading clubs could be back on level terms, with the balance of power shifting towards Old Trafford.

No wonder, then, that Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole saw the meeting with the Merseysiders as a key match.

“We need to bounce back at the weekend and get back to winning ways,” the England international said. “Hopefully, we can do that on Saturday.

“The next five Premier League games are very important. The Christmas period is always vital. We want to still be sitting on top of the league at the start of January. If we do that we’ll be very happy.

“Any team can beat you in the Premier League and it’s very difficult to win games. There are no excuses. We’re sitting on top of the league now and need to be sitting there on January 1.”

Chelsea will be without influential midfielder Michael Essien after the Ghana star tore his right hamstring against Nicosia.

Essien will be out for up to four weeks, after which he will be leaving for international duty at the African Cup of Nations.

That tournament looms large for Chelsea, who won’t want to concede ground in the title race when they are set to be without Essien, Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou and John Obi Mikel early in the New Year.

Everton visit west London on the back of last weekend’s dramatic draw against Tottenham, when they recovered from a two-goal deficit.

Their season was in danger of entering a serious decline but the spirit demonstrated by David Moyes’s men squad against Spurs gave hope that the Toffees were about to get themselves out of a sticky situation.

Everton could soon be bolstered by the arrival of the Los Angeles Galaxy’s United States international midfielder Landon Donovan on loan, a welcome addition given the injury problems at Goodison Park.

Joseph Yobo is likely to miss the rest of December with a hamstring injury but at least manager Moyes can call on John Heitinga after the Dutchman missed the 2-2 draw with Tottenham through suspension.

Even though Republic of Ireland Under-21 international Seamus Coleman impressed as a substitute against Spurs, the defender is not expecting a starting spot at Stamford Bridge.

“I’m not going to look too far ahead of myself. I want to play, everyone wants to play, but I’m not going to be unrealistic,” he said.

“It (the Spurs game) is only one game and one game is not going to make me a player, so I need to push on.”

LONDON (AFP)

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Anelka clinches Chelsea group win on the nod

November 26, 2009


A second half header from Nicolas Anelka handed Chelsea victory in Champions League Group D on Wednesday, securing a 1-0 win over Porto to clinch top spot.

Anelka had been the Portuguese side’s assassin in the opening match in the group and once again the Frenchman made the difference, launching himself to connect with Florent Malouda’s cross from the left after good approach work from Yuri Zhirkov, the Russian making a rare start.

The 69th-minute effort, Anelka’s third goal of the competition this season, left Chelsea as clear group victors with 13 points though Porto had already ensured qualification with the nine points they had racked up beforehand to secure a spot in the last 16.

Chelsea skipper John Terry said the win underpinned the English Premiership leaders’ confidence ahead of a tricky weekend match against Arsenal.

“We’ve done what we had to do today and that was get the win. We’re playing with confidence at the moment,” Terry told Sky Sports.

Anelka’s strike partner Didier Drogba was also ebullient, noting that “it was important for us to finish top of the group.”

Coach Carlo Ancelotti, determined to lead the Londoners to their first title, echoed the Ivorian.

“To finish top of our group was our objective, it was the most important thing. This means we could have a good draw. It is not easy to come here and win. The Champions League is our aim.”

In the same group, Atletico Madrid had to come from behind to draw 1-1 at minnows APOEL Nicosia, likewise winless to date.

Chelsea were good value for their win in a tight encounter which saw the visitors settle quickly.

Michael Ballack fired an early deflected effort wide as the visitors settled quickly and Drogba then sent a header from a Deco cross off target.

But Porto came close to taking the lead on 21 minutes when Petr Cech saved well from Fernando Belluschi, who then hit the bar with a rasping drive after latching on to a pass from Silvestre Varela.

Drogba started despite Ancelotti hinting beforehand he might rest the Ivorian, suspended for the opening three pool games following his outburst at the referee of the Blues’ semi-final against Barcelona last season.

Ancelotti also handed a start to Deco, in place of Joe Cole. The Brazilian-born Portuguese lifted the trophy with Porto under Jose Mourinho in 2004.

Porto Jesualdo Ferreira left Brazil striker Hulk on the bench and also had to field second choice keeper Beto after regular Helton failed a fitness test on an ankle problem.

Deco fired inches wide following a probing Anelka run down the left as Chelsea came out in attacking mode after the break.

Porto responded as Ferreira withdrew Varela, giving Hulk half an hour to prove his worth and add to his two-goal tally in the competition.

Hulk – who won his first two Brazilian caps in their recent friendlies against England and Oman – put himself about but a late close-range drive was well smothered by Cech.

The home fans roused themselves for a belated cheer as Deco made way for Cole with minutes remaining.

PORTO (AFP)

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Chelsea have look of champions as Wolves crushed

November 22, 2009


Chelsea tightened their grip at the top of the Premier League with a 4-0 thrashing of beleaguered Wolves on Saturday.

The west Londoners produced a display of consummate authority at a soggy Stamford Bridge, capped by goals from Florent Malouda, two from Michael Essien and a welcome fourth from Joe Cole, his first since October 2008.

Statistics can never be the sole measure of a side’s calibre, but Chelsea’s numbers make for impressive reading.

This victory was their 12th in succession on home soil, a club record, and also ensured it is now a calendar year since they tasted defeat at Stamford Bridge in any competition.

It is reaching the point when Carlo Ancelotti can almost take maximum points for granted in this corner of the English capital, a rare luxury in the self-styled most competitive league in the world, and the fact that this latest triumph was achieved without a stack of star names only reaffirms the theory that the Italian has the Premier League’s strongest squad.

Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack and Deco should all be available for next weekend’s trip to Arsenal, but they were never likely to be needed on Saturday.

Like all newly-promoted sides, Wolves travelled here in hope more than expectation and that was exposed as forlorn as Chelsea scored twice in the first 15 minutes.

Both owed as much to limp defending as razor-sharp attacking. The visitors’ failure to close down Malouda’s run in the fifth minute was little short of negligent, the French international taking full advantage of Stamford Bridge’s wide open spaces to swagger forward and plant a rising drive into the top corner from just outside the penalty area.

Ten minutes later, they compounded that error. First, Wayne Hennessey needlessly tipped behind Salomon Kalou’s shot, which was arrowing well wide; then, from the resultant corner, Essien was unmarked as he headed in at the near post.

McCarthy duly tinkered with his formation, switching from a 3-5-2 to a more conventional 4-4-2, but it did nothing to stem the blue tide and it was three in the 23rd minute.

Joe Cole and Kalou had all the time they could desire to tee up Essien, whose scuffed shot somehow bobbled through Hennessey’s grasp.

Wolves would doubtless have preferred to pack up and retreat to the West Midlands rather than re-emerge for the second half but Chelsea were in an unforgiving mood.

The hosts continued to pile forward in search of goals and, in the 56th minute, they were given their reward.

After Nicolas Anelka had streaked down the left and centred for Kalou, the Ivorian directed a neat lay-off into the path of Joe Cole, whose 20-yard drive zipped through the hapless Hennessey to provide the cue for some exuberant celebrations.

With the game long since won, Ancelotti was able to ease off the accelerator as the seconds ticked away. Anelka was replaced so Gael Kakuta, the French teenager whose signing from Lens provoked Chelsea’s hotly-disputed 12-month transfer ban from FIFA, could make his first senior appearance.

The 18-year-old showed some neat touches in his cameo, and might have scored when he broke through on the right only to slam his shot into the side-netting.

Essien came agonisingly close to notching a hat-trick when his long-range shot was parried onto the top of the crossbar by Hennessey, but it hardly mattered. This was Chelsea’s day and, on this evidence, it could well be their season.

LONDON (AFP)

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Milner wants chance to take the spotlight with England

November 12, 2009


England winger James Milner is praying that Fabio Capello will give his understudies a chance to take the spotlight before deciding on his squad for next year’s World Cup.

While the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney are certain to be on the plane to South Africa, Milner is one of a group of players still fighting for a seat on the flight.

If Theo Walcott and Steven Gerrard are fit in May and remain Capello’s ideal combination on the flanks, then Milner is competing with David Beckham, Aaron Lennon, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Ashley Young and Joe Cole for the back-up places.

Many pundits feel Beckham’s big-game experience makes him certain to go even though he has been reduced to a bit-part role under Capello.

But Aston Villa star Milner is confident that the Italian will pick players based on their performances for club and country, starting with Saturday’s friendly against Brazil in Qatar.

“Do I get the impression Beckham is nailed on for the World Cup? I don’t know. The only thing I can control is myself. That is all I can do,” Milner said.

“The World Cup is massive, with a lot of media coverage good and bad, and as a player I just try and concentrate on what I can control and that’s on the field and let everything else take care of itself.

“Will Capello give me as much chance as Beckham of getting into the squad? You would like to think so. He has proved that in selections before. He will play the players on merit and on form.

“We want to take the best possible squad to a World Cup and it is a good thing that the manager will hopefully have difficult decisions to take.

“If he knows his squad already, it is too easy for him and not a good thing so the more pressure you can put on the manager to have difficult decisions to make, the better it is for England.

“You want everyone to have a level playing field and an equal chance to get into the team and get a chance to prove who should be in the squad.”

Beckham is unavailable for the Brazil match because of commitments with Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS play-offs, so Milner is in with a chance of winning his sixth cap this weekend.

After an impressive debut as a substitute against Holland in August, Milner is regarded by Capello as an intriguing prospect, but the Italian thinks the same about Young and even Stewart Downing – both team-mates of Milner’s at Villa.

Milner acknowledges that competing against his club colleagues for a place isn’t ideal, but he believes it is good for Villa to have so many players in contention for the World Cup.

The 23-year-old also welcomes the challenge presented by fit-again Chelsea winger Cole.

Milner said: “You want the best squad possible so it is a good thing to have Joe Cole getting fit again. He is a top player and I can learn a lot off him watching him play.

“It is a good thing he is coming back fit and hopefully we can get as many England players as fit as we can to go there with the strongest possible squad.

“Joe Cole has got fantastic ability. He seems to have changed a bit as a player as he has got older but he has got fantastic ability and can play in a few positions and is a top, top player.

“It is also great to have Stewart nearly fit. He was a regular with England squads before his injury and is a top player.”

LONDON COLNEY, England (AFP)

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Table-topping Blues excite Ancelotti

November 1, 2009


Carlo Ancelotti said he was thrilled by Chelsea’s response to their early-season setbacks after a 4-0 win over Bolton Wanderers left them two points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

The Blues lost back to back away league games against Wigan and Aston Villa to raise doubts about whether they were genuine challengers for the title.

But they have responded to the 2-1 loss at Villa with four straight wins, including 17 goals and four clean sheets.

Ancelotti’s team now have a trip to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League ahead of a crucial game against Premier League champions Manchester United.

And although Ancelotti insisted he was not looking beyond the game in Spain, he was pleased with the way the Londoners have bounced back in the league.

“It was our aim to stay top and we maintained the two points lead before this game and now we have to think about Atletico Madrid and prepare for a fantastic match against Manchester United,” said Ancelotti after Chelsea made it eight goals in a matter of days against Bolton after a 4-0 midweek League Cup win.

“Usually people think about the game against Manchester United but we have another important game during the week and we want to prepare well,” the Italian manager explained.

“We have time to prepare for Manchester United but it’s very easy to prepare for this game.

“It’s a very important match but we have to maintain our concentration on the Champions League group at this moment.”

Ancelotti added: “I think that we accepted the criticism before because we had self criticism and that’s normal when you don’t do well.”

Frank Lampard’s penalty, after Jlloyd Samuel was sent-off for tripping Didier Drogba, sent Chelsea on their way here at the Reebok Stadium.

Second-half goals from Deco, Zat Knight’s own goal and Drogba gave Saturday’s scoreline a comfortable feel.

Joe Cole, much praised since returning from a knee injury, was left on the bench with Deco given the chance to impress against Bolton.

And Ancelotti said the veteran Portuguese was a vital player for the west London club.

“He is doing what he knows,” Ancelotti explained. “It is nothing special, he can do this and is doing it for the team and this is important.

“He’s an unselfish player. Usually offensive players with quality are a little bit selfish but I’ve found an unselfish offensive midfielder.

“We did a good performance and it was a difficult first-half because Bolton played a very strong match in the first-half, with lots of pressure on our midfielders.

“We maintained good concentration, good intensity and we won a very important match.”

Despite being beaten by the same margin in midweek, Bolton manager Gary Megson was far happier with his team after this match.

His formation mirrored Chelsea’s ‘diamond’ set-up and he was pleased with the way his side competed.

“I know we’ve been beaten 4-0 but I thought we were terrific. The diamond, we struggled with on Wednesday we didn’t struggle with today (Saturday),” Megson said.

“Whereas they had Lampard in it, we had Chris Basham. Whereas they had Michael Ballack, we had Tamir Cohen.

“They’ve spent all that money and quality on that diamond. We tried to rev our lads up to compete man for man with all of those.”

Megson, however, may find himself in trouble with the Football Association after criticising referee Peter Walton for awarding the penalty that led to the opening goal.

He added: “It is a soft penalty. I thought it was engineered well. If Drogba keeps it on his right hand side Jlloyd would not get sent-off trying to get to it. He brings it to his left hand side and with Peter Walton and penalties and Bolton there is only one thing that can happen.”

BOLTON, England (AFP)

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Rampant Chelsea thrash Bolton to reach quarter-finals

October 29, 2009


Carlo Ancelotti remains on course for his first Wembley appearance after Chelsea reached the League Cup quarter-finals with a 4-0 demolition of Bolton on Wednesday.

Salomon Kalou and Florent Malouda scored to give Chelsea a comfortable half-time lead before Deco’s strike and a last minute header from Didier Drogba took Ancelotti’s side’s tally to 13 goals from their last three games.

And the comprehensive nature of this win will undoubtedly give Chelsea a decisive edge when the two teams meet again at the Reebok Stadium this weekend.

That will provide a more testing challenge for the Blues, who have lost twice away from home this season. But at Stamford Bridge their record is almost flawless and they have recorded nine victories in nine games, conceding just one goal.

Ancelotti made seven changes from the side that beat Blackburn last weekend, preserving the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and for bigger tests ahead while Bolton’s Gary Megson adopted a similar approach, resting keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and striker Kevin Davies.

But even without their two most experienced players, the visitors began convincingly with Gretar Steinsson unsettling Branislav Ivanovic after just three minutes, forcing a free-kick that was squandered when Matthew Taylor tried unsuccessfully to catch Chelsea keeper Hilario off guard.

The early chance offered Bolton only false hope and Chelsea quickly took control of the game, picking up where they had left off in Saturday?s 5-0 humbling of Blackburn.

Ancelotti had opted for a three-man forward-line made up of Joe Cole, Salomon Kalou and Daniel Strurridge – the youngster making his first start following a move from Manchester City.

Deco fired in Chelsea’s first meaningful shot, forcing a save out of Al Al Habsi with a dipping ninth minute drive.

And the opening goal came just six minutes later when the visitors were carved open far too easily on the left where Paulo Ferreira found space to cross and Kalou rose between two defenders to head home at the far post.

To their credit Wanderers responded immediately and Taylor was denied by Hilario’s speed in advancing off his line and closing down the midfielder?s close range shot.

Unfortunately the Portugese banged his head in the incident and after struggling on for six more minutes, eventually left the field apparently suffering from concussion.

That paved the way for former Middlesbrough keeper Ross Turnbull to make his debut for the Blues, but the upheaval had no effect on Ancelotti’s side who where quickly two up, this time from Malouda.

The Frenchman linked well with Kalou in the 26th minute, finding space to meet the Ivorian’s cross before receiving a large slice of luck when the ball bounced back to him off Zat Knight and the midfielder finished from close range.

Kalou was replaced by Michael Essien to protect a back problem and while Chelsea continued to create chances, Sturridge was unable to match the finishing of his team-mate and the youngster missed successive openings after being played through by Joe Cole.

The introduction of Johan Elmander at half-time gave Bolton more presence up front but they were unable to apply meaningful pressure on Turnbull’s goal and Mark Davies shot straight at the keeper when they eventually found a way through.

But Chelsea were always looked comfortable and confirmed their superiority with a 67th minute third goal when Deco met Cole’s left wing cross and drilled the ball past Al Habsi from the edge of the box.

And Drogba completed the win when he met Cole’s deep cross with a far post header.

LONDON (AFP)

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Ancelotti won´t overlook League Cup

October 28, 2009


The English League Cup may rank a distant fourth on the list of Carlo Ancelotti’s priorities this season but the Chelsea manager knows even this most derided of competitions has its value.

Anyone doubting that thesis should just cast their minds back to February 2005 when Chelsea defeated Liverpool 4-2 in the final.

That victory gave Jose Mourinho his first trophy at Stamford Bridge and provided the first concrete evidence that the club had appointed a born winner.

Ancelotti will hope that some of Mourinho’s League Cup stardust rubs off on him this season as he seeks to put his stamp on Chelsea in the form of cold, hard silverware.

He should be confident enough: his team face Bolton Wanderers at home in the fourth round on Wednesday and, while Gary Megson’s team can be irksome opponents, Chelsea will still be overwhelming favourites.

The Blues boss’s determined approach to the competition was underlined in the previous round, when he surprised everyone – not least members of his own squad and backroom staff – by selecting a virtually full-strength side for the visit of Championship side Queens’ Park Rangers.

While Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka were given the night off, there were starting places for John Terry and Frank Lampard and a good job, too. Rangers proved doughty opponents and were only seen off by a single goal.

Ancelotti is expected to stick with his safety-first policy again this week, with Joe Cole set for a second outing in five days.

There will be no complaints from the England midfielder, who needs time on the pitch to regain match sharpness after eight months out with a knee injury.

“There is so much to look forward to and I am so excited about just playing football for Chelsea and England,” Cole said.

“There are a lot of ups and downs in football and I’ve had eight months of sitting on my backside watching so I’m just happy to be playing for Chelsea. My job is to help the club win something this year.”

Bolton will not travel south in great expectation, although Megson’s side are in form of their own.

They shrugged off a spirited Everton fightback at the Reebok Stadium last weekend to ensure they have now only suffered one defeat in seven matches, playing the kind of slick football not often associated with their manager.

Not that Megson is about to put style before substance as he seeks one of the most notable wins of his tenure in Lancashire.

“Quite a few people have been talking about the way we are playing, which is nice, but we want to be winning games,” he said.

“They are not particularly interested in Bolton’s results but they have seen us on the television when we have played against Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester United and Everton.

“We are playing some decent stuff but we have to play decent stuff and win the games.”

LONDON (AFP)

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Chelsea’s Cole set to sign a new contract

October 27, 2009


Joe Cole is the next player in line to seal a new deal with Chelsea. The player and the club are talking about a new contract and Cole doesn’t expect any problems considering his contract extension at Stamford Bridge. “I feel like this is my home.”

The Blues are determined to extend the contracts of their key players and they already had success on re-signing players like John Terry, Didier Drogba and Alex.

Midfielder Cole is the next one to seal a new deal with Chelsea. The England star made a triumphant return to the first XI at the weekend, after nine months on the sidelines with a knee injury.

Cole’s current deal expires next summer and Chelsea are anxious to tie him down to a long-term contract.

The 27-year-old confirmed he wants to stay at Stamford Bridge.

“We’re talking at the moment about the future and we all agree what we want,” he told The Daily Mirror.

“I love it here. The club want me to stay, so there should be no problems.”

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