News for April 2006

Chelsea 3, Man Utd 0

April 29, 2006 || posted by whitney

Chelsea dominated Man Utd, 3-0, to win the Barclay's EPL Title.

Our third ever, and second in successive seasons.

Gallas 5
Cole 61
Carvalho 73

It was a great game, check out the links to the highlights.

Unfortunately, Rooney picked up an injury. He was stretchered off, so this could put his World Cup availability in doubt.

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JM - We Deserve It

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho felt his side fully deserved their Barclays Premiership success after sealing the title with a 3-0

win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

ESPN Soccernet

Goals

Gallas 1-0

Cole 2-0

Carvalho 3-0

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Liverpool 2, Chelsea 1

April 22, 2006 || posted by whitney

Liverpool ended Chelsea's hopes of a domestic Double with victory at Old Trafford in their FA Cup semi-final.

Didier Drogba missed two gilt-edged chances for Chelsea before John Arne Riise's free-kick put the Reds ahead.

Drogba 70

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JM and Rafa Rivalry Continues

Jose Mourinho fuelled his feud with Rafael Benitez after Liverpool beat Chelsea 2-1 at Old Trafford to reach the final of the

FA Cup.

The rival managers did not shake hands after the match and Mourinho once more refused to acknowledge that Liverpool were worthy

winners, just as he had done after the Merseysiders knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League last season.

ESPN Soccernet

Goals

Riise 1-0

Garcia 2-0

Drogba 2-1

First Half

Second Half

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Chelsea 3, Everton 0

April 17, 2006 || posted by whitney

Quality performance by the Blues today. They earned a 3-0 victory over Everton. With Man Utd win over a spirited Tottenham squad earlier today, the magic number is down to 1.

Lampard 28
Drogba 62
Essien 74


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Goals

Lampard 1-0

Drogba 2-0

Essien 3-0

First Half

Second Half

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Chelsea 2, Bolton 0

April 15, 2006 || posted by whitney

The Blues capitalized on Man Utd blip in form beating Bolton 2-0. Their magic number is now 4 points. The title can be

clinched on Easter Monday. If Man Utd fail to win against Tottenham in the early afternoon game, Chelsea can clinch that

evening against Everton.

Terry 44
Lampard 59

First Half

Chelsea continued the 4-1-3-2 formation, but with Joe Cole starting in the place of Maniche.

The common theme has been our opponents efforts to close down Makelele. Campo tried his best, but Maka did find space. Poor distribution, at times, hampered the Chelsea attack. Bolton's Vaz Te hit the post, and Nolan barely missed the frame early in the half.

The Referee, Phil Dowd, had some fairly inconsistent calls. After a clear yellow card on Campo, the Blues only received a free kick. Lampard played it in well and both Drogba and Terry broke free of their markers. Terry beat the striker to the ball, and put a glancing header in beautifully to the near post.

Second Half

Frank Lampard is now the highest scoring Premier League midfielder, with 15 league goals. After winning the ball in the Chelsea half, Lampard found Crespo on the left flank who played it in perfectly to Lamps for the cool close range finish.

The Blues than reverted to the traditional 4-3-2-1, with Robben coming on for Crespo.

Misc. Notes

JM's mid-week interviews revealed some interesting phrases and information - 1) three players will be coming in - a striker, a midfielder, and a defender, 2) when asked how the Blues played so well against West Ham with only 10 men, JM replied that they've had alot of practice, and 3) "Envy is the gun of the incompetent."

Who are the six players leaving the team and coming into the club? I think it's a sure bet that Ballack is the incoming midfielder. Perhaps the additional two are Ibrahimovich and a full back. I could see Carvalho leaving, Gallas has demanded a starting CB spot, and he's too valuable to lose. Hit the comments with your guesses.

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Goals

Terry 1-0

Lampard 2-0

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Chelsea 4, West Ham 1

April 9, 2006 || posted by whitney

The Blues kept pace on top of the EPL with a 4-1 win over West Ham. Their magic number is now 9 points.

Drogba 29
Crespo 31
Terry 54
Gallas 69

First Half

Chelsea came out with a new shape and team, five regulars were dropped. In fact, Jose Mourinho brought out a new

coat. Playing a variation of a 4-1-3-2, from the back the lineup including: Del Horno, Terry, Gallas, Geremi, Maka,

Maniche, Essien, Lampard, Drogba, and Crespo. According to the announcers, Mourinho went with the new team to

reflect the effort put forward by the players in training.

The Hammers continued to close down Maka in effort to hamper the Chelsea breakout, but with the three central

midfielders Chelsea consistently beat the pressure and generated space and chances for Drogba and Crespo. Essien

had two unmarked headers go wide of the frame. At the other end, West Ham converted a spectacular header off of a

set piece.

The tie changed shortly thereafter when Maniche was harshly sent off. In a 50-50 ball, Maniche pulled out and

stamped the West Ham player. Without malicous intent, there could've been discretion.

It took about 10 minutes for the Blues to adjust, and Drogba beat the offside trap and calmly put in the equalizer

on his second attempt. Minutes later, Essien and Drogba gained possession and sent the ball across the face of the

goal where Crespo banged it home.

The 10 men Chelsea squad dominated possession to end the rest of the half.

Second Half

A solid set piece by Lampard found its way to Essien, who did well to pull it back and find Gallas. Billy hit it

hard, but struck the cross bar and the carom found Terry who finished clinically from 10 yards out.

Drogba, after drawing the free kick, is on the receiving end of a strong Robben cross and plays it down for Gallas

to tap in.

Misc. Notes

Drobga was the man of the match and did well to leverage his physical strength to distribute and hold up the ball.

He had a goal and two assists. As expected Crespo was able to create space and pick up the balls in way that the

wingers have been unable.

Gallas' speed in central defense has been a great asset. He's able to cover much more ground than Carvalho and push

forward without weakening the defense.

Del Horno is a liability. He failed to mark Collins' header, and did not inspire confidence. If Gallas is the

better central defender, why not give Carvalho a run at LB?

Perhaps this formation is a test run for the new formation with Ballack, who's widely reported to be joining Chelsea

this summer on a Bosman. Personally, this would be unlikely as the likes of Robben, Joe Cole, Duff, and SWP are on

the bench.

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Goals

Collins 1-0

Drogba 1-1

Crespo 2-1

Terry 3-1

Gallas 4-1

Maniche Red

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Chelsea 0, Birmingham 0

April 1, 2006 || posted by whitney

The Blues poor roadform continued. They've won only one match in their last 7 away fixtures. With United recent push, this could develop into a cause for concern.

However, the magic number is now 12 points, so all is not lost.

Two early goals were negated by offsides, and the Blues are now the most offsides team in the EPL.

Chelsea certainly had chances at the end. Carvalho, Crespo, and Drogba each had chances to win it in the last 5 minutes.

Drogba was on his best behavior after a reported chat with Capt. Terry.

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Highlights

Chelsea-Birmingham

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