(Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)
Barney Corkhill's Unofficial World Club Championship (UWCC) saw another defence today as newly crowned champions Chelsea took on Bolton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea came into this match on the back of a remarkable 3-1 win at Anfield in mid-week, knowing that they must win to keep any hope of a title challenge alive.
Bolton, on the other hand, knew that they weren't safe from the threat of relegation yet, and were looking to build on their impressive 4-1 hammering of Middlesbrough last week.
Despite a spirited fightback, however, Bolton were unable to get anything from the match, as Guus Hiddink's Chelsea ran out 4-3 winners in a compelling game at Stamford Bridge.
Bolton started the better out of the two teams, with Matt Taylor coming close on two occasions. Chelsea responded with some chances of their own, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba in particular having good efforts denied by Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Chelsea were then denied what looked like a clear penalty when Ashley Cole was felled by Gretar Steinsson, before Michael Ballack saw his long range effort fly just over.
The German midfielder didn't have to wait too much longer to net his first Premier League goal of the season, however, as he and Salomon Kalou linked up to give Chelsea the lead.
Bolton responded with another near miss before half-time, with Kevin Davies going close this time.
The second half brought with it a flurry of goals, and there wasn't long to wait for the first. Didier Drogba took advantage of some clever play by Ballack to emphatically make it 2-0 to the home side.
Just 12 minutes later Steinsson was involved in another penalty incident, but this time referee Peter Walton pointed to the spot after Steinsson was adjudged to have handled the ball. Frank Lampard slotted the penalty away with typical aplomb to make it 3-0.
The game seemed as good as over when Drogba netted his second of the game just three minutes later, but then he and Lampard were taken off in order to preserve them for the midweek clash with Liverpool.
Less than five minutes after the change, Andrew O'Brien beat Petr Cech to make it 4-1, before Chris Basham made it 4-2, getting on the end of Kevin Davies' header four minutes after Bolton's first goal.
Another Kevin Davies header led to another goal less than five minutes later, as he flicked on Jaaskelainen's clearance, leaving Matt Taylor to nod the ball home.
In just eight minutes Bolton had hit three past Chelsea and they almost completed the most remarkable of comebacks late on with a chance for Gary Cahill, but his shot flew agonizingly wide of the post and Chelsea held out for a 4-3 win.
The match will worry Hiddink and Chelsea fans, as Bolton did exactly what Liverpool need to do on Tuesday - score three goals at Stamford Bridge. The ease with which Liverpool dispatched of Blackburn today, hitting four goals themselves in the process, will also worry the Chelsea faithful.
Frank Lampard's penalty was his second goal from the spot as UWCC champions, and his sixth goal overall, making him the top scorer in UWCC history.
The game was also the highest scoring game in UWCC history, topping Tottenham's 4-2 triumph over Liverpool back in November.
75 percent of people said that Bolton wouldn't be able to beat Chelsea so well done to the majority!
Chelsea's run
Liverpool 1-3 Chelsea (Chelsea become new champions)
Chelsea 4-3 Bolton Wanderers
(Click here to see the complete history of Barney Corkhill's Unofficial World Club Championship)
Chelsea's next defence comes on Tuesday night as they host Liverpool in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final. Can Liverpool become the first ever three-time winners of the UWCC title?!
Note: As usual, should Liverpool beat Chelsea, but lose the tie on aggregate, Liverpool will become champions. If Liverpool win 3-1, and the match goes to penalties, Liverpool will become champions, regardless of who wins the penalty shoot-out.
Basically, whoever wins the match in 90 minutes (or 120 if applicable) will win the UWCC title.
We're going to send you the most entertaining Chelsea articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
34 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete