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)

Tags: african cup of nations, alex ferguson, Anthony Gardner, ashley cole, bernard mendy, Boaz Myhill, Brown, carlo ancelotti, CHELSEA, Cole, Craig Fagan, didier drogba, England, england internationals, frank lampard, frustrating night, HULL, hull city, Joe Cole, john terry, kc stadium, london, london club, Manchester, manchester city, Michael Ballack, Nicolas Anelka, Petr Cech, phil brown, point advantage, premier league, relegation zone, sir alex ferguson, Stephen Hunt, Stephen Mouyokolo, Terry, Tom Cairney, Zaki

Chelsea stroll past Preston in FA Cup

January 23, 2010

Chelsea remain on course for their third FA Cup triumph in four seasons after a 2-0 victory at Preston on Saturday secured their place in the last 16 of the competition.

Nicolas Anelka’s 11th goal of the season set Carlo Ancelotti’s team on their way before Daniel Sturridge added the second, the 20-year-old’s third goal in his last two games.

It was the perfect response after Carlo Ancelotti’s side had lost their place at the top of the Premier League table in midweek.

Yet the outcome might have been different had Preston midfielder Darren Carter not spurned a glorious chance from three-yards when the score was 1-0.

Chelsea are looking to become the first team to defend the FA Cup since Arsenal mounted a successful defence of the competition in 2003.

Ancelotti took the unusual step of revealing his starting line-up on the eve of the tie, the Italian opting to make six changes to the side which hammered Sunderland 7-2 last Saturday.

Portuguese keeper Hilario and Sturridge were among those handed a rare start although key players Frank Lampard, John Terry and Nicolas Anelka were also on duty against the Championship club.

Preston are languishing in the bottom half of the second tier after losing their last three league games.

Yet the hosts gave as good as they got in the opening exchanges, Chris Brown causing panic inside the Chelsea defence after getting on the end of Chris Sedgwick’s eighth minute cross.

Chelsea, who thrashed Preston’s league rivals Watford 5-0 in the previous round, took a while to get into their stride.

Keeper Andy Lonergan did well to deny Russian midfielder Yury Zhirkov in the 16th minute before Chelsea had a goal disallowed in controversial circumstances.

Moments after Lampard had been fouled on the edge of the area, substitute Florent Malouda had the ball in the back of the net only for referee Mike Dean to rule it out and award Chelsea a free kick for the illegal challenge on their midfielder.

Chelsea were beginning to build some momentum, Lonergan beating away a fiercely struck free-kick by Alex before Anelka found the vital breakthrough in the 36th minute.

The former Manchester City and Arsenal forward made it five goals in four games following an excellent low finish from an angle after getting the better of Youl Mawene, defender Sean St Ledger blocking the view of his keeper and deflecting the ball into the net.

Yet despair doubled four minutes later when they spurned a glorious chance to equalise, Carter slicing the loose ball over the bar after Hilario parried Brown’s strong header.

It was a stunning miss and one that ultimately proved Preston’s downfall as Chelsea doubled their advantage within three minutes of the restart.

A corner by Malouda was met by Terry whose header was kept out by Lonergan. However, the rebound fell to Sturridge who made no mistake from close range.

To their credit, Preston continued to battle but Chelsea should have won by a more handsome margin.

Michael Ballack was denied by a fine Lonergan save while Lampard also went close before the England midfielder was replaced by Joe Cole.

Deco, who has appeared on an infrequent basis under Ancelotti, bossed the midfield well as Chelsea produced a professional performance.

Sturridge was unfortunate not to add his second goal when his fierce 20-yard effort whistled narrowly wide in the 72nd minute.

PRESTON, England (AFP)

Tags: alex, Andy Lonergan, arsenal, back of the net, carlo ancelotti, Carter, chris brown, Chris Sedgwick, controversial circumstances, cup triumph, Daniel Sturridge, Darren Carter, England, FA Cup, frank lampard, free kick, hilario, john terry, league games, league rivals, lonergan, manchester city, Michael Ballack, midfielder, Mike Dean, Nicolas Anelka, Preston, preston england, Sean St, starting line, Sunderland, Yury Zhirkov

Van Gaal, Loew clash over fitness test ‘madness’

January 22, 2010

Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal has described the fitness tests for national team players organised by Germany coach Joachim Loew next week as “madness”.

Loew has summoned 29 players, five from Bayern, for four days of tests in Stuttgart that will assess the condition of likely national squad players prior to this summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

“I think it’s madness,” said Van Gaal on Friday, the day before his side’s league meeting with Werder Bremen. “For the clubs, paying our players and then making them available to the national team for four days is not right.”

Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Mueller, Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose represent the Bayern contingent in Loew’s selection.

“We could have given them the results of our own physical tests. I’ve never experienced something like this and I’ve coached some big clubs,” added Van Gaal, a former manager of Barcelona, Ajax and the Dutch national side.

Loew responded to his critics by pointing out that the dates for the fitness tests had been agreed in advance.

“This get-together was organised a long time ago with the league and the clubs,” he told the SID German news agency.

“I understand the sporting priorities of Louis van Gaal, but we’re in a World Cup year and it’s in the interest of everyone in German football that the team is well prepared.

“That’s why I expect all the clubs to give all their support to the Nationalmannschaft (German national team) until, and during, the World Cup.”

Germany skipper Michael Ballack will not attend the tests in Stuttgart because his club Chelsea require his services for a Premier League match at home to Birmingham on Wednesday.

Van Gaal, meanwhile, will not participate in a seminar for Bundesliga coaches organised by Loew in Stuttgart on Monday, in which the national boss will outline his programme for the run-up to the World Cup.

The Dutchman will be in Portugal for a charity match raising funds for the victims of the Haiti earthquake.

MUNICH, Germany (AFP)

Tags: Ajax, Barcelona, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Bayern, bayern munich, Birmingham, Bremen, dutch national side, dutchman, fitness tests, german football, german national team, german news, Germany, Loew, louis van gaal, mario gomez, Michael Ballack, Miroslav, miroslav klose, munich germany, portugal, premier league, SID German, skipper, South Africa, stuttgart, thomas mueller, Van Gaal, werder bremen, world cup germany

Loew names World Cup training squad

January 21, 2010

Germany coach Joachim Loew on Thursday named an extended group for a three-day World Cup training camp in Stuttgart to look at potential candidates for the final squad set to travel to South Africa.

The national squad is set to assemble in the southern German city on Sunday evening with extensive fitness tests planned until Wednesday next week.

Captain Michael Ballack will be missing, as he is involved in his club Chelsea’s Premier League clash against Birmingham City, while Cologne striker Lukas Podolski and Schalke defender Heiko Westermann are both injured.

Rising stars Thomas Mueller of Bayern Munich and Leverkusen’s Toni Kroos, both 20, are included while Hamburg defender David Aogo has also been called up.

Defenders Robert Huth, of English club Stoke City, and Stuttgart’s Christian Traesch are also included.

“The 30-man squad is of players who played a role in our team over the last few months and for younger players who are prospective talent for the World Cup,” said Loew.

“This group, as well as those who can’t attend the Stuttgart training through injury, will be observed through the coming months.

“Of course, the door is not closed to other candidates, but they will need to produce significant performances from now up until the end of the season.”

Goalkeepers

Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen), Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen)

Defenders

Dennis Aogo (Hamburg), Andreas Beck (Hoffenheim), Jerome Boateng (Hamburg), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Robert Huth (Stoke City/ENG), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Marcel Schaefer (VfL Wolfsburg), Serdar Tasci (VfB Stuttgart), Christian Traesch (VfB Stuttgart)

Midfield

Christian Gentner (VfL Wolfsburg), Thomas Hitzlsperger (VfB Stuttgart), Aaron Hunt (Werder Bremen), Marcell Jansen (Hamburg), Sami Khedira (VfB Stuttgart), Toni Kroos (Bayer Leverkusen), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen), Thomas Mueller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Oezil (Werder Bremen), Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg)

Forwards

Cacau (VfB Stuttgart), Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich), Patrick Helmes (Bayer Leverkusen), Stefan Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich)

BERLIN (AFP)

Tags: aaron hunt, andreas beck, arne friedrich, Bastian Schweinsteiger, bayer leverkusen, bayern munich, berlin, birmingham city, captain Michael Ballack, Christian Gentner, Christian Traesch, David Aogo, Hamburg, Heiko Westermann, hertha berlin, joachim loew, Lukas Podolski, Marcel Schaefer, marcell jansen, Michael Ballack, Per Mertesacker, philipp lahm, piotr trochowski, premier league, rene adler, robert huth, Sami Khedira, schalke 04, serdar tasci, simon rolfes, South Africa, stefan kiessling, vfb stuttgart, vfl wolfsburg, werder bremen

Loew to discuss Ballack´s Germany future

January 20, 2010

Germany coach Joachim Loew said on Wednesday he will discuss captain Michael Ballack’s future in the national team only after this summer’s World Cup and expects the veteran to play for a few more years.

Ballack, 33, has said he would like to play two more years at Premier League giants Chelsea and has no desire to end his career with Germany at the moment.

After a string of impressive performances for his country, Ballack is showing no sign of slowing down despite making his Germany debut in April 1999.

“We will discuss whether he wants to continue after the World Cup,” Loew told German magazine Sports Bild.

“Michael Ballack can surely play at the highest level for a few more years, but he must be prepared to maintain the workload.”

Germany’s performance at the 2010 World Cup, where they have been drawn with Australia, Ghana and Serbia in the group stages, will influence Ballack’s future in the national side, added Loew.

“We will need to see how things go at the 2010 World Cup,” he said.

Ballack has represented Germany at two World Cups and two European Championships and he has played at Chelsea since 2006 after Kaiserslautern (1997-99), Bayer Leverkusen (1999-2002) and Bayern Munich (2002-06).

He has won 97 caps for his country, scoring 42 goals in the process, and he is set to make his 100th appearance for Germany in the friendly against Hungary in Budapest on May 29.

And While the German Football Federation have only sold 1,916 of the 21,000 available tickets allocated by FIFA for German fans at the World Cup, Loew says he hopes the sluggish response will pick up speed as the tournament draws near.

“I hope the sales will pick up and as many fans as possible will decide at short notice to fly to Africa,” he said.

BERLIN (AFP)

Tags: Africa, Australia, bayer leverkusen, Bayern, bayern munich, berlin, Budapest, captain michael, captain Michael Ballack, CHELSEA, few more years, german fans, german football federation, german magazine, Germany, group stages, Hungary, impressive performances, joachim loew, kaiserslautern, magazine sports, Michael Ballack, play two, premier league, serbia, sluggish response, workload, world cups

Magnificent seven boosts Chelsea title push

January 17, 2010

Chelsea reasserted their credentials as Premier League title favourites on Saturday with a 7-2 demolition of Sunderland that manager Carlo Ancelotti hailed as their best performance of the season.

Manchester United, who have played a game more than the leaders, remained one point off the pace after a 3-0 win over Burnley at Old Trafford.

But it was another frustrating day for Liverpool, who conceded a last-minute equaliser at Stoke and wasted an opportunity to close the gap on Manchester City and Tottenham in the battle for top-four places.

With City going down to a 2-0 defeat at Everton, their first loss since Roberto Mancini took over as manager last month, Spurs were able to edge them out of the Champions League qualifying places thanks to a goalless draw at home to Hull.

Chelsea were irresistible at Stamford Bridge, where Nicolas Anelka and Frank Lampard both scored twice on an afternoon when they might easily have reached doube figures.

Florent Malouda, Ashley Cole and Michael Ballack also found the net with Boudewijn Zenden and Darren Bent providing consolation efforts for Steve Bruce’s outclassed side.

Ancelotti was delighted to see his side prove they could thrive in the absence of Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, John Mikel Obi and Salomon Kalou, all of whom are away at the African Cup of Nations.

“I’ve always said we have a fantastic squad and today we have done a good job,” the Italian said.

There were no such fireworks at Old Trafford, where the Manchester United faithful had to wait until the 56th minute before Dimitar Berbatov broke Burnley’s resistance.

Wayne Rooney’s 16th goal of the season and substitute Mame Biram Diouf’s first for the club made sure that Brian Laws’s first match in charge of Burnley ended in defeat.

Ferguson praised Senegalese striker Diouf, who joined from Norwegian club FC Molde.

“He’s got great spring, he’s quick and he looks to run behind the defenders all the time and he’s very good in the air,” said the United boss.

A second-half goal from Sotirios Kyrgiakos had looked like it would be enough to ease the pressure on Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez following the club’s FA Cup exit to Championship side Reading earlier in the week.

But the defensive frailty that has hampered Liverpool throughout the campaign was exposed again in the 90th minute when Robert Huth scrambled in an equaliser after the visitors had failed to clear a corner.

Having been denied what appeared to be a clear penalty in the first half, Liverpool suffered further frustration when Dirk Kuyt headed against the post in the fifth minute of injury time.

“It feels like a defeat,” admitted Kuyt. “We aren’t playing the best football at the moment, but I thought we fought really hard for this result, and to concede in the last minute and even miss a great chance in the last minute is unbelievable.”

The draw left Liverpool languishing in seventh place, although the failure of Tottenham and Manchester City to win limited the damage for Benitez’s men.

City had begun life under Mancini with four straight wins but they flunked their first serious test at Goodison Park.

A Steven Pienaar free-kick and a Louis Saha penalty earned Everton a thoroughly deserved victory and lifted David Moyes’s side into the top half of the table for the first time this season.

Wigan pulled away from the relegation zone with a 2-0 win at fellow strugglers Wolves in a match both teams ended with ten men.

Wolves defender Richard Stearman received a second yellow card when he conceded a first-half penalty. Marcus Hahnemann saved Hugo Rodallega’s spot-kick but Wigan made their numerical advantage count though James McCarthy on the hour.

The numbers were evened up when Wigan midfielder Hendry Thomas was ordered off shortly afterwards but Charles N’Zogbia made sure of the points for the visitors.

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: african cup of nations, ashley cole, berbatov, biram, didier drogba, Diouf, frank lampard, great spring, john mikel obi, manchester united, Michael Ballack, Michael Essien, Nicolas Anelka, norwegian club, old trafford, roberto mancini, Salomon Kalou, stamford bridge, wayne rooney

Ballack: England one of the favourites

December 24, 2009

Germany captain Michael Ballack considers England to be “one of the favourites” to win next summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

The Chelsea midfielder believes Fabio Capello could lead England to a first major title since 1966, and admits his own nation is lagging a bit behind.

“They have a great team and many players with exceptional individual class,” he told the Rheinische Post newspaper.

“With Fabio Capello, they now have a manager who has brought stability. That is important and the team feels that.

“They have got to be able to win games even when they are not playing at the highest level and that is what Italian managers are good at, particularly Capello.

“England are oozing self-confidence and I can sense that here. They are one of the favourites.”

Other favourites, according to Ballack, are Brazil, Italy and France – but not necessarily Germany.

“At a World Cup, everything has got to work, and then even more – you need luck,” he added.

“There are certainly teams who are better than us at the moment.”

That may well include his club Chelsea, who he feels have a better chance of winning the Champions League this season than Germany do of triumphing in South Africa.

“Of course that (the Champions League) is the title that one wants to win, especially when you have a squad like ours,” he said.

“But if you also have a chance to win the league, then that is once again a big aim.

“At a certain stage of the season, you reach the point where the strain is very high and then you have to decide which competition you want to focus on in particular.

“We have such a good squad and class that we can compete in both competitions.”

And Ballack believes that even if it were not to work out for the Blues this season, he would still have more chances to succeed, even though his contract expires in the summer.

“We will sit down together and talk soon,” he added. “But I am not under any pressure.

“Both parties know what they have in each other.”

Tags: aim, better chance, brazil, captain michael, captain Michael Ballack, champions league, CHELSEA, club chelsea, competitions, England, fabio capello, favourites, France, games, Germany, Italy, italy and france, Michael Ballack, midfielder, self confidence, South Africa, World Cup

Chelsea coach upbeat after 1-1 draw with West Ham

December 21, 2009

Carlo Ancelotti believes Chelsea’s hard-fought 1-1 draw against West Ham will prove the springboard for a successful run over Christmas.

Ancelotti’s side moved four points clear of second placed Manchester United ahead of the busy festive schedule thanks to Frank Lampard’s controversial penalty at Upton Park on Sunday.

Once again the Blues were below their best and they trailed to Alessandro Diamanti’s first half penalty, but former Hammers midfielder Lampard equalised when referee Mike Dean and one of his assistants ruled that Matthew Upson’s clean challenge on Daniel Sturridge was worthy of a spot-kick.

It took Lampard three attempts to finally score the penalty after Dean chalked off his previous two successfully converted efforts for encroachment, but the England star held his nerve and Chelsea emerged unscathed from a stirring London derby.

While Ancelotti conceded Chelsea had wasted a chance to take advantage of United’s shock defeat at Fulham, the Italian – whose side have now won just once in six matches – is convinced they will move further ahead at the top in the next fortnight.

“This period is not easy, every three days we have to play well with a lot of pressure on the games. It is not easy to prepare well. Now we have one week to prepare I think we will improve,” he said.

“It is not our best moment but it is not so bad. With this draw we have one more point, we are four ahead of second place. This is good.

“We have four points more than Manchester United and we can have a good Christmas.”

Ancelotti’s optimism was at odds with Chelsea’s erractic display.

They started brightly enough, then lost their momentum as Scott Parker and Mark Noble won the midfield battle with tireless harrying of Lampard and Michael Ballack.

Only Dean’s decision to accept a linesman’s advice that Upson should be penalised for his tackle on Sturridge prevented Chelsea suffering an embarrassing defeat.

Even then they were lucky to escape after Ricardo Carvalho clearly shoved Guillermo Franco at a corner in the closing stages, while Petr Cech made a fine save to deny Herita Ilunga.

“We didn’t play a good match. The first half was not good although the second half was better,” Ancelotti said.

“We met a strong team, who put a lot of pressure on midfield. It was a tough game.”

Ancelotti’s praise for West Ham will have pleased Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola, who was sold by the Italian to Chelsea when they worked together at Parma.

But Zola was more concerned with berating the officials for the penalty decision that denied his side the chance to climb out of the relegation zone.

“The referee got it right in the first place, then the linesman put his flag up and the referee changed his mind,” Zola said.

“His first impression was the right one. Pity he did not stay with that. The players were disappointed. The linesman put the flag up and that’s why he gave it.

“The referee was better positioned than the linesman. He was closer to the action.”

Zola had no complaints with his players as they produced the kind of committed, intelligent performance that made a mockery of their lowly position.

Three successive defeats had pushed the Hammers into 19th place but Zola believes his side will get out of trouble if they can reproduce this kind of display on a regular basis.

He is less certain about his old club’s title hopes however.

“I don’t think Chelsea is in the best moment right now,” Zola added. “They have got what it takes to win the title, but it will depend on the form of the top teams.

“It is very much an open championship at the top and the bottom, that makes it interesting.”

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: Alessandro Diamanti, carlo ancelotti, CHELSEA, controversial penalty, Daniel Sturridge, diamanti, encroachment, England, england star, four points, frank lampard, fulham, Guillermo Franco, linesman, london, Mark Noble, matthew upson, Michael Ballack, midfield battle, Mike Dean, Petr Cech, ricardo carvalho, scott parker, shock defeat, springboard, upton park, west ham, Zola

Ancelotti expects festive cheer for gritty Chelsea

December 21, 2009

Carlo Ancelotti believes Chelsea’s hard-fought 1-1 draw against West Ham will prove the springboard for a successful run over Christmas.