Chelsea FC News: Hilario Saves Penalty as Blues Beat Portsmouth

Chelsea officially kicked off their preseason with a 1-0 win against Championship side Portsmouth at Fratton Park on Saturday.

The Blues had already beaten Wycombe Wanderers in a match behind closed doors at their training ground in Cobham on Tuesday, but this was the first chance supporters had to see the side in action under new manager Andre Villas-Boas.

Chelsea lined up in a 4-3-3 formation which included a mix of youth and experience. Paulo Ferreira captained the side and was alongside fellow experienced defenders Ashley Cole and Branislav Ivanovic. They were joined by youngster Tomas Kalas, 18, who spent half of last season on loan at his former club, Sigma Olomouc, in the Czech Republic.

Ross Turnbull started the game in goal, whilst Billy Clifford, a key member of Chelsea's league-winning reserve side last season, partnered John Mikel Obi and Yury Zhirkov in midfield.

Fernando Torres, £50 million man, was the main striker, with Florent Malouda and Daniel Sturridge supporting him from the flanks.

In the seventh minute of the game, a harmless-looking cross from Torres wasn't dealt with by the Portsmouth defence, and former Chelsea player Tal Ben-Haim showed why he only lasted one season at Stamford Bridge by inexplicably heading the ball into his own net.

The own goal was to be the highlight of a very quiet first half, in which only a poor first touch from Turnbull gave the home side a sniff of a chance, but fortunately the goalkeeper recovered to clear the ball to safety.

Eleven changes at halftime from Villas-Boas saw a completely different side take to the field in the second half, introducing the likes of John Terry and Frank Lampard.

It was Portsmouth who looked to have hit back at the hour mark though, as Luke Varney was brought down by substitute Hilario in the Chelsea penalty area.

The keeper was perhaps fortunate to get away with a yellow card; he might have seen red had the match been a competitive one.

However he got back on his feet and produced a wonderful save to tip Varney's spot kick around the post.

At the half-way stage of the second half, England U21 left back Ryan Bertrand replaced Dutch youngster Patrick Van Aanholt, giving the pair an equal amount of playing time under the eye of their new boss, whom they would have been eager to impress.

A couple of harmless, long-range Portsmouth efforts were no test for Hilario after his penalty heroics, although a Ben Haim-esque header from Nathaniel Chalobah—who captained the England U17 side to the World Cup quarter-finals this summer—evaded his goalkeeper. The central defender did well to recover and retrieve the ball before the opposing striker could tap it into an empty net.

That didn't stop the more experienced right back, Jose Bosingwa, from copying him moments later, and he had Chalobah to thank for once again clearing the ball as danger threatened.

The communication amongst Chelsea's back four and Hilario is sure to be questioned when the team look back on the misunderstandings.

A fairly average performance from the Blues summed up a typical preseason friendly. Some dodgy goalkeeping from Hilario was made up for by a fantastic penalty save, and overall Chelsea fans should probably be satisfied that they won the game whilst giving 23 players run-outs. 

Chelsea First-Half Team

Ross Turnbull, Paulo Ferreira, Branislav Ivanovic, Tomas Kalas, Ashley Cole, Billy Clifford, John Obi Mikel, Yury Zhirkov, Daniel Sturridge, Fernando Torres, Florent Malouda 

Chelsea Second-Half Team

Hilario, Jose Bosingwa, John Terry, Nathaniel Chalobah, Patrick Van Aanholt (Ryan Bertrand 69), Josh McEachran, Yossi Benayoun, Frank Lampard, Nicolas Anelka, Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou