Bleacher Report - Articles by True Blue

CFR Cluj 0-0 Chelsea FC

True Blue — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:22:05 -0400

It took me one whole day to motivate myself to write a match review. Blues' visit to Transylvania was not one that would stay in the minds of Chelsea fans for long, but the Romanians had reasons to celebrate as they took a point from Chelsea playing their first Champions League match on home soil.

They were motivated, their work rate was awesome and they chased every ball while their opponents looked indifferent, rusty, and didn't show the attitude needed to win.

To be frank, I didn't have high expectations for this match. Somehow I had a feeling that this would be a boring game—though I did think we would somehow win it. It was a day on which all the players resembled Anelka, in sulkiness. The passing was very bad and we lost ball too often to make any inroads into the heavily guarded Cluj penalty box.

Cluj could have won the match if they had a bit more quality up front.

Scolari started the match on a positive note. He fielded the strongest team he could, which meant he wanted the three points so that there would be no unnecessary pressure later.

There was only one change from the expected line-up—Bridge replaced Ashley Cole who was down with a minor injury. Drogba started up front, with Kalou on the right and Malouda on the left.

Chelsea dominated possession but Cluj got their chances on counter attacks. The Chelsea attack didn't look sharp at all with Drogba struggling to get back to form. On top of that, Kalou showed how inconsistent he could be and to say he performed badly would be an overstatement.

Mikel, Lampard, and Ballack did well in the midfield but didn't get the support from the forwards. Ballack was too careless in his passing and lost possession on a number of occasions. He even got a card for himself when a Cluj player did a "Ronaldo", and the referee bought it.

I'm not writing about the refereeing errors because it would take too much space. In short, refereeing was pathetic. Anelka replaced Kalou after 45 mins and did what he does best—missed chances.

Anelka is not a player who would score special goals to bail the team out of trouble. He will score goals now and then, which any decent striker would given the quality of midfield that is feeding him. And that's exactly what worries me, after Drogba was carried off due to a knee injury.

Rumours say that Didier could be out for three months and that's a big blow for us. If you remember, it was a knee injury that kept Drogba out for a month before the African Cup of Nations in January, and since then he is not the same Drogba.

With Deco, Essien, Carvalho, and Joe Cole already in medical ward, Drogba's injury would be a major concern for Scolari. I don't understand why injuries keep recurring to Chelsea players. Is something wrong with the system?

Elsewhere, Barcelona, Real, United, Arsenal, and Liverpool won their respective matches. Jose's Inter succumbed to a draw and pressure is mounting on Jose especially after the defeat in Milan derby last weekend.

Looking at our result once again, I feel a point from Transylvania is not that bad. We still top the group and should be able to go through comfortably. Injuries must be the main concern for Big Phil as Martin O'Neill's Villains visit Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

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Chelsea Vs Bordeaux: Match Preview

True Blue — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 21:03:34 -0400

We begin our journey towards Rome in the Champions League with a home match against Bordeaux, the French side.

After a win against City at the weekend, Blues spirits are high and Bordeaux might find it difficult to contain the quality Chelsea possess. Their main agenda will be damage limitation. Maybe they'll have a go at Chelsea on their own turf, but certainly not at Stamford Bridge.

It would be interesting to see how Scolari approaches today's game, considering that we play United this weekend.

Will he afford to rest key players like Lampard and Joe Cole, taking into account the fact that they have played three matches in a span of eight days?

Captain John Terry is suspended for the weekend, and I don't think FA will admit the refereeing error. Refereeing was terribly bad last weekend.

So Terry may be partnered by Alex, as Carvalho might be rested for today's game. We might also see people like Kalou and Ivanovic in action today. Ballack will make his return from injury today but may not play the entire 90 minutes, unless the situation demands it.

We may also see the young striker Franco Di Santo in action today.

This is Scolari's first match at the highest level of club football in Europe, though he had won the South American equivalent, the Copa Libertadores twice with Brazilian clubs.

Meanwhile Laurent Blanc's Bordeaux side is labelled "unpredictable" by many pundits. The Girondins, as they are called, are likely to flood the midfield and rely heavily on counter-attacks.

Blanc is the oldest player to score in the competition, a feat he performed when playing for Manchester United. Chelsea and Girondins de Bordeaux have never met in European competition.

In the other Group A game, Roma face the newcomers CFR 1907 Cluj of Romania, and are expected to come through without any loss of points.

Meanwhile the Blue fans are also keeping their fingers crossed over the Terry red card appeal, on which a decision will be made today. Mark Halsey was pathetic last Saturday as a referee and the chances are that he will remain so during the appeal:

Possible Starting Team:
Cech
Ferreira, Terry, Alex, Bridge
Deco, Mikel, Lampard
J.Cole, Anelka, Malouda
Subs: Cudicini, Carvalho, A.Cole, Di Santo, Drogba, Ballack, Belletti, Kalou

Referee: Pieter Vink
Time : 0015 IST
TV Timings: 0015 Zee Sports(IST), 17/09/08.
Scoreline prediction: 4-0

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Chelsea 4-0 Portsmouth: The Perfect Start

True Blue — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 17:35:55 -0400

Scorers: J.Cole (I2'), Anelka (26'), Lampard (45'), Deco (89')

Starting Eleven:
Cech
Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry, A.Cole
Lampard, Mikel, Ballack
Deco, J.Cole
Anelka

Subs: Hilario, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, Malouda (on 38), Di Santo, Alex, Ferreira (on 83).

Chelsea had a perfect start to the season as we smashed four goals past Redknapp's clueless Pompey. In what was a perfect start to the campaign, both Deco and Bosingwa made impressive debuts and Deco was awarded man of the match after he rounded off his efforts for the day with a stunning 30-yard shot to beat David James.

Stamford Bridge saw some of the best football played there in recent times. Chelsea dominated the game completely, with accurate, slick passes and great movement in the midfield. It was like all the Pompey players were invisible, except of course the goalkeeper whose efforts meant Portsmouth were punished with four only.

Bosingwa made his debut alongside Terry, Carvalho and Cole in the defense. His recovery from the injury picked in the pre-season friendly was fast and he made it to the squad.

But, Essien didn't. Essien's unavailability meant Mikel did the defensive role in the midfield. Scolari had a line-up that was predictable, but what we were to see was never predicted. Anelka played the lone man upfront with Joe Cole supporting him.

In the first half, Chelsea showed all its class and quality with overwhelming possession and great passing. Deco demonstrated his range and vision with deft touches and accurate passes, while Lampard and Ballack were exquisite and calm. The ball rarely went behind Mikel, who was sitting pretty in the Makalele role.

To add to the worries of Pompey, both Chelsea fullbacks were attacking down the flanks. Ashley Cole, given the freedom to go forward did so with grit and flair while Bosingwa was impressive with his runs and crossing. Anelka played as if he wanted to prove a point and that Kalac wasn't the only reason he scored four in the last pre-season match.

The things that impressed me most was that all the players were involved and wanted the ball. Whenever Pompeys had the ball, they were closed down quickly and the ball was snatched with determination and ease.

The last season had given enough reasons for motivation and it showed. It took eight minutes for Lampard to register his first shot, a long range shot that forced David James into action. After watching the early stages of the game, the first goal was just a matter of time, and the match was about how many.

Ze German showed his class when his perfect pass found Joe, after Anelka and Deco combined to initiate the move. Joe was through on goal and beat James with a low shot to the far post. Eight minutes later, Anelka should have doubled the lead having beaten the offside trap, but his low shot was straight at James.

The second goal came as Deco found Anelka somehow from a Bosingwa pass and the Frenchman headed into an empty post. Ballack was forced to withdraw in the 37th minute and Malouda replaced him, though he played on left flank. But nothing changed for Pompey. Hreidarsson handled inside the area when Pompeys were looking to escape the first half with minimum damage and Lampard scored his first this season with ease.

The second half was the same. Maybe Portsmouth got a bit more possession when Chelsea downed their tempo but there were no genuine goal threats. Chelsea dominated possession again and Scolari decided to bring in Wright-Phillips and Ferreira instead of Joe and Bosingwa.

Just when Redknapp sighed with relief that they will be punished with three goals only, Deco came with a shot from 30 yards out that surprised him, James and everybody. There was no wonder Deco was awarded "man of the match," as Chelsea began their quest with a victory, and now is back on top of the league.

Just when I thought things couldn't get better, United drew at home to Newcastle. So both records stayed intact. United's record of not winning the opening match of the season since 99' and our home record.

And Deco, Torres and Santa Cruz starred in my fantasy team. Chelsea plays Wigan next at the JJB. An away game considered tough taking into consideration the JJB pitch. But from what we have seen, there are more good things to come and the season promises much.

This article was originally posted in Living True Blue. Are you subscribed to Living True Blue's RSS feed? If not - subscribe

Chelsea Vs Portsmouth: Preview

True Blue — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:41:33 -0400

Chelsea begin a new era in the Premier League today with Scolari, the new manager at the helm. It is important to get a good start to the campaign, but a win today would mean much more to the Blues because Scolari's Chelsea would then start on a positive note.

The Blues are not only looking to extend their majestic home unbeaten streak to 83 games, but also their 21 game Premier League unbeaten run.

Today's match will also see the Premiership debut of Deco, and Bosingwa if he is injury-free. Nobody would dare to predict the midfield Scolari selects for this match. It would be hard for him to accommodate all. The only one's who look untouchable are Lampard, Ballack and Deco in midfield.

J.Cole and Mikel are fit to start, but their involvement in the match would be dependent on the formation Chelsea plays, which also remains a mystery. There are also reports that Essien is on the injury list along with Deco, who didn't train on Friday.

Anelka, in the absence of Drogba, might be the lone striker upfront. Franco Di Santo could be named on the bench as back up for Anelka. If its a 4-3-3, Malouda or Wright-Phillips may start with Joe Cole on the other flank.

If its a 4-2-3-1 as many experts predict, then Anelka would be the lone striker upfront. In defense, Terry, Carvalho, Ashley Cole and Bosingwa would be in front of Petr Cech. If Bosingwa doesn't start, Belletti and Ferreira are likely candidates to replace him.

There is plenty of cover there. With seven substitutes allowed on the bench, Alex will have lots of company there.

Portsmouth have rarely troubled the quality teams and its unlikely that Chelsea will be much troubled at Stamford Bridge today. The fixture will mark a return to the Bridge for Lassana Diarra and Glen Johnson.

Defoe and Crouch would be a great partnership upfront. But taking all that into consideration I still feel we'll have a comfortable victory today. So, lets hope its a grand start to the season that promises so much. Go Blues !!

Last 10 Meetings:

Portsmouth 1 - 1 Chelsea

Chelsea 1 - 0 Portsmouth

Portsmouth 0 - 2 Chelsea

Chelsea 2 - 1 Portsmouth

Chelsea 2 - 0 Portsmouth

Portsmouth 0 - 2 Chelsea

Chelsea 3 - 0 Portsmouth

Portsmouth 0 - 2 Chelsea

Chelsea 3 - 0 Portsmouth

Records: Highest Aggregate: 11, Chelsea 7 - 4 Portsmouth 1957/1958

Highest Chelsea score: 7, Chelsea 7 - 0 Portsmouth 1962/1963

Highest Portsmouth score: 5, Chelsea 1 - 5 Portsmouth 1955/1956

Referee: Mike Dean

Time : 13:30 BST

TV Timings: 1755 ESPN(IST), 17/08/08.

Scoreline prediction: 2-0

Frank Lampard Signs New Contract With Chelsea FC

True Blue — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:35:29 -0400

Frank Lampard's contract talks and Mourinho's tactics to lure the midfiledler away was a topic of much speculation for about two months. Yesterday, Chelsea FC made an announcement declaring that Frank Lampard has signed a new five-year deal which will keep him with the club until 2013.

Lampard was a offered a four-year deal at first, as his contract was due to expire at the end of the 2008-09 season. But he wanted a five-year contract and remained adamant about it, a stand which earned him no friends except in Milan. The official site says Lampard's dedication to the club is unquestionable, and the fans surely saw glimpses of that. Glimpses of something that said a lot about dedication and loyalty to the club, something that will require a lot more badge-kissing if it is to be healed.

I don't know why the Lampard contract renewal was material for "World Exclusive" when Cech's or Essien's contract renewal were just ordinary affairs of the club. Didn't Essien also have good relations with Mourinho? But we never saw him using that as a smokescreen for getting a new contract.

Maybe the club feels Lampard is bigger than them, but no amount of badge-kissing will make the fans accept that. Still, having said all that, Frank Lampard remains one of my favorite players. Lets take a look at his interview after he signed the new contract.

With just two days left for the Premier League to begin, do follow Living True Blue to get all the latest Chelsea news, match previews as well as post-match reviews. If you haven't subscribed, please subscribe here.

Chelsea Preparing to Cut Their Losses?

True Blue — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 23:40:00 -0400

With four days gone after Chelsea's initial bid for Robinho, things have gone quiet on the that front; I feel Madrid have quoted a ridiculous fee, signaling their intention to keep him and we've walked away.

Robinho and his agent still maintain that he is interested in a move away from the Bernabéu. Maybe Madrid had no other options left with Ronaldo still at Manchester United and Sneijder injured, courtesy of Arsenal.

Another interesting transfer rumor that has been in the news columns lately is about Chelsea signing Kaka. Kaka would be an excellent signing for any other club. But for Chelsea with an already surplus midfield, spending above 60 million for Kaka, who had his share of injuries in recent times with his knee, would not be a good idea.

And where would he fit in? It would be an added pressure on Scolari to accommodate him in the midfield. But chances are that there is no truth in the rumor, and Milan may hold on to their decision that Kaka is not for sale, even though reports say Kaka's desire to play Champions League football next year might fuel a move away from Milan.

Milan is increasingly linked with other transfer speculation though; the signing of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic. Milan's Dario Simic has joined Monaco, and that points to the fact that Ivanovic might be a done deal.

But having sold Ben-Haim and with just Alex as back-up for the central defense, the plan to sell Ivanovic and cut losses, defies logic. And unlike last year, Ivanovic may get enough playing chances because Scolari did experiment with the youngster in pre-season friendlies.

Malouda has announced his intentions to fight for a place in the squad, according to Timesonline. By doing so, the French winger has closed the possibility of a move to Roma, who were interested in signing the struggling winger.

Hull City are looking for a loan deal to get Chelsea striker Pizzaro, which would be a good deal because that would at least give some playing chances for the Peru captain. As if these transfer speculations are not enough for us, Martin O'Neil and Benitez both are reportedly interested in signing Joe Cole!

Even though he's quiet in the transfer market so far, Sir Alex makes his presence known to the media by constantly trying to get into a verbal duel with Big Phil. With Ronaldo locked away safely from the reach of Ramón Calderón, the wily old manager has focused his attention back on "aging Chelsea."

This time, Fergie compares Blues' to the Liverpool side that fell into steep decline after the title triumph of 1990. He seems to be very imaginative with every dig at Chelsea, and is more concerned about it than the injury troubles with his team or his failure again to capture the gifted Bulgarian striker.

There's good news as well for us before the season opener on Saturday. Bosingwa returned early to training following the thigh injury sustained on the club's pre-season tour of Asia. He took full part in the training session, and Scolari is optimistic that he will be able to make his debut against the Pompeys.

It feels good to post an article, after a gap of four days, and it feels great to think that the Premier League will start in another four days time.

So do follow Living True Blue to get all the latest Chelsea news, match previews as well as post-match reviews. If you haven't subscribed, please subscribe.

Chelsea Preparing to Cut Their Losses?

True Blue — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:11:19 -0400

Robinho and his agent still maintain that he is interested in a move away from the Bernabéu. Maybe Madrid had no other options left with Ronaldo still at Manchester and Sneijder injured, courtesy of mArsenal.

Another interesting transfer rumor that has been in the news columns lately is about Chelsea signing Kaka. Kaka would be an excellent signing for any other club. But for Chelsea with an already surplus midfield, spending above 60 million for Kaka, who had his share of injuries in recent times with his knee, would not be a good idea.

Milan are increasingly linked with other transfer moves though; the signing of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic. Milan's Dario Simic has joined Monaco, and that points to the fact that Ivanovic might be a done deal.

Malouda has announced his intentions to fight for a place in the squad, according to Timesonline. By doing so, the French winger has closed the possibility of a move to Roma, who were interested in signing the struggling winger.

Hull City are looking for a loan deal to get chelsea striker Pizzaro, which would be a good deal because that would at least give some playing chances for the Peru captain. As if these transfer speculations are not enough for us, Martin O'Neill and Benitez both are reportedly interested in signing Joe Cole!

Even though he's quiet in the transfer market so far, Sir Alex makes his presence known to the media by constantly trying to get into a verbal duel with Big Phil. With Ronaldo locked away safely from the reach of Ramón Calderón, the wily old manager has focused his attention back on "aging Chelsea."

There's good news as well for us before the season opener on Saturday. Bosingwa returned early to training following the thigh injury sustained on the club's pre-season tour of Asia. He took full part in the training session, and Scolari is optimistic that he will be able to make his debut against the Pompeys.

It feels good to post an article, after a gap of four days, and it feels great to think that the Premier League will start in another four days time.

So do follow Living True Blue to get all the latest Chelsea news, match previews as well as post-match reviews. If you haven't subscribed, please subscribe.

Chelsea Makes Offer for Robinho

True Blue — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:17:24 -0400

"Further to media reports, Chelsea Football Club can confirm we have made an offer to Real Madrid today (Thursday, August 7) for the transfer of Robinho."

The official Chelsea site made this announcement yesterday confirming that Chelsea has bid for Real Madrid winger Robinho. The possibility of Robinho arriving at the Bridge seemed less likely after Ronaldo decided to stay in Manchester and Sneijder got injured. But the confirmation by the Official site that a bid for Robinho has been made adds another twist to the summer-long story.

Sky Sports News says that Chelsea have lodged a £19.7 million bid for Real Madrid forward Robinho. Earlier this week, Kenyon had openly expressed the desire of the Club to sign the Brazilian winger. And Robinho, when asked about it, had refused to rule out the move. This could be Chelsea's last bid this summer, and, if the bid proves to be successful, we would see Samba magic at the Bridge soon.

Chelsea are understood to be thinking about an offer from Roma for winger Florent Malouda, who's failed to make an impact after arriving from Lyon last summer for £13.5 million. Roma need to replace Mancini, who was sold to Inter, and was at first interested in a loan deal for Malouda. If the Robinho bid succeeds, Malouda may find himself in the Italian capital next season. Meanwhile, the Pompeys from South Coast are still said to be interested in Wright-Phillips and Redknapp believes Wright-Phillips would be another expensive buy like Crouch.

Moving onto other news, the Blues, back in London after thrashing the Rossoneri, have started the training sessions as scheduled. And one guy who is missing the party is Salamon Kalou. Kalou is on the Olympic squad of Ivory Coast, who lost their first group game in the Olympics, as Argentina secured a 2-1 win. Ivory Coast will go into their next game against Serbia on Sunday with no points.

The article was originally published in Living True Blue. (subscribe)

Portsmouth and the EPL are Just 10 Days Away for Chelsea

True Blue — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:55:00 -0400

Ten days is all that remain for the English Premier League to start. The agonizing wait will be over on August 16th, but I'm sure the coming ten days will be very, very long.

Especially because of the lack of activity in the transfer market, and also because I've registered in every fantasy football site possible in the internet and there's nothing else to do other than wait for the show to begin.

I still remember the day I walked away depressed after we drew against Bolton, and United lifted the trophy. When I look back, I can't believe it was about three months back.

Moscow delivered another blow soon after that. The Euros, the pre-season friendly matches and the transfer rumors meant the focus was still on football during the summer.

The transfer window until now has been good for the Blues'. There was a general feeling among the fans that we may get another "Grant" as the manager. But the surprise appointment of Scolari during the Euros was a huge relief. The player signings has been good as well.

The pre-season tour helped some players like Anelka and Malouda in getting back to form. And more importantly, with the signing of Scolari as manager, Chelsea were able to hold on to players like Carvalho, Lampard and Essien who could easily have been lured away by Mourinho.

With ten more days to go, I believe there won't be much transfer activity now. There may be a few transfers out; Pizzaro, Belletti, Wright-Phillips, and we may see the arrival of Robinho.

Real's signing of Van der Vaart and an injury to Sneijder has certainly complicated matters. This, in some way, will decide where Ronaldo and Berbatov play next season. So we might still see a bit of transfer action there, where one deal could initiate the signing of a few more deals.

Scolari will have lots to think about in the matters of squad selection and formation as well. Anelka proved a point in Moscow and so it would be difficult for Scolari to replace Drogba with Anelka, though a fully fit Drogba would suit the Chelsea formation a lot better.

Anelka will have his chances in the first few matches when Drogba will be out injured. The participation of Kalou in Olympics mean Malouda also will get his opportunities as well.

It will be difficult to accommodate Deco in the midfield unless he is played in a defensive role, in which case Mikel will warm the bench. Another possibility is that Essien plays as a right-back till Bosingwa is back from injury.

So, moving to Premier League news, The Football Association on Tuesday launched its "Respect" campaign, a program aimed at improving the behavior of players at all levels of football in England.

A much needed thing in the Premier League I would say, where respect for referees and opponents seem to be on a decline. Team captains will have the added responsibility of helping referees maintain discipline in the pitch.

I'm off for now, but will be back when something write-worthy happens, maybe something like Chelsea's Robinho bid getting accepted.

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AC Milan 0 - 5 Chelsea: Quadruple for Anelka

True Blue — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 08:21:00 -0400

Scorers: Lampard (2'), Anelka (5', 17', 50', 57')

Starting Eleven:
Cech (Cudicini 72')
Ivanovic (Ferreira 61'), Alex, Terry (Carvalho 61'), A Cole
Ballack (Deco 45'), Mikel, Lampard
Wright-Phillips (Sinclair 77'), Anelka (Shevchenko 66'), Malouda

The Moscow jinx is broken, and broken spectacularly. Anelka's quadruple and a goal from Lampard helped Chelsea defeat the Rossoneri 5-0 in a fascinating match in the Railways Cup third place playoff at Central Stadium, Moscow.

This performance would have boosted the morale of Anelka a dozen times more thatn when Scolari defended him saying he was played out of position last season.

Anelka thanked the coach for the trust shown in him, in an emphatic manner. The fans might not yet have forgiven Nic for the penalty miss about two months back, but he is certainly moving in the right direction; towards being forgiven. But, not yet.

Scolari changed the starting eleven from the team that started against Lokomotiv. He used the 4-3-3 with Malouda and Wright-Phillips in the flanks and Anelka as the lone striker. Ballack, playing his first game in this tour, and Lampard played the attacking roles in the midfield while Mikel played the "Makalele" role.

Young Branislav Ivanovic was given a start, and he took the right-back position. The lack of strikers in the Milan starting line-up helped the Blues' maintain a clean sheet without much trouble.

Lampard converted a free-kick as early as the second minute of the game, when the ball went through Kalac's legs. Malouda's cross was not cleared well, and fell to Anelka, who scored his first and Chelsea's second in the seventh minute of the game.

Chelsea played one-way football in the first half and dominated possession. Anelka failed to head the ball towards the target from an Ivanovic cross, which would have got him his hat-trick as early as the 21st minute of the game. Milan created some half chances towards the end of the first half, but never came close to scoring.

Deco came in for Ballack after the half-time break. It was a wise decision on Scolari's part as this was the first match Ballack played after the Euro finals, and playing him the whole ninety minutes might have been risky. Malouda worked hard on the left flank. His efforts led to a cross in the 50th minute which helped Anelka complete his hat-trick.

The same combination helped Chelsea score the fifth goal in the 57th minute, Anelka's fourth. Terry, Ivanovic and Anelka were replaced by Carvalho, Ferreira.and Shevchenko after the one hour mark. Wright-Phillips then saw his shot saved by Kalac, while Deco and Malouda shot wide of target.

Both Sinclair and Ivanovic were impressive. Sinclair has the pace to trouble any defense. And the better news is that both Malouda and Anelka, terribly out of sorts last season, looked a lot better.

The Blues' came back strongly after the shoot-out defeat against Lokomotiv Moscow and showed no signs of fatigue, unlike in the last game. It may also be because the aging Rossoneri legs were more affected by fatigue.

Chelsea fly back to London now and wait for the first league match against Portsmouth on August 16th.