Frank Lampard is consoled by Didier Drogba after his penalty miss
Chelsea produced a better performance but fewer goals than their previous two games with a 2-0 victory over Stoke City.
Despite an early Frank Lampard penalty miss goals from Florent Malouda and Didier Drogba sealed victory and maintained Chelsea’s 100% start to the season.
Chelsea started with a sharpness that had been lacking in the opening two games and it was little surprise when Florent Malouda was brought down inside the area and a penalty was awarded. Frank Lampard stepped up as usual but his effort focussed on placement instead of power and Thomas Sorenson guessed the right way to make a relatively simple save.
After half an hour of banging on the door with little threat from Stoke it took a surging run from defence by captain John Terry and a deft pass to play in Florent Malouda who did not need a second invitation to break the deadlock.
Almost immediately Ashley Cole restated his worth to the team with a ferocious effort that combined power and technique to rattle the crossbar from a Didier Drogba through ball.
Chelsea continued to threaten until the half time whistle looking great value for their lead, with the performances of Alex, Ashley Cole and John Terry standing out from the crowd, the latter of which was treated like a hero for his contribution to the opening goal.
After half time Chelsea did not have quite the same penetration and Stoke were slightly more threatening. As in previous games John Obi Mikel almost squandered all of his good work in the game by being caught in possession in the build up to Stoke’s best chance of the game, a 25 yard drive by Glenn Whelan that rattled the cross bar.
Frank Lampard had been subpar throughout the game even is you discount the penalty miss the England midfielder did not look his usual self, which is explained by both his withdrawal as the first substitute of the game and the subsequent announcement that he is injured and will undergo a hernia operation next week.
Despite not matching the performance levels of the first half Chelsea looked threatening and when Nicholas Anelka beat Thomas Sorenson to a through ball just inside the Stoke penalty area, the Dane had little chance to get out of the way and the resulting contact led to the second penalty of the game.
With Lampard off the field, Didier Drogba stepped up and made no mistake to make the score 2-0 and end any hopes of a Stoke revival.
This allowed for the introduction of Daniel Sturridge and for the final few minutes the arrival of Ramires for his Chelsea debut.
Match Analysis
Overall this was a more pleasing victory over tougher opponents than the previous two games games, as Stoke really tried to make an impact in the game.
The slight downturn in the second half should not detract from another clean sheet and excellent start to the season for the blues, now we head to the international break and I hope that Chelsea will not lose anymore players after the announcement that Frank Lampard and John Terry are suffering from injury.
Player Ratings
Petr Cech – 7 – Still not much to do, however he looked strong in the air and back to his best.
Paulo Ferreria – 6 – A better performance that the opening day but still not infallible at the back, a worthy third choice right back though.
John Terry – 9 – His best performance for Chelsea in a long time, calm assured and confident he also showed some amazing touches and positional awareness as well as providing the impetus and assist for the first goal.
Alex – 8 – A perfect partnership with John Terry and some superbly timed last ditch tackles to protect an impressive clean sheet record
Ashley Cole – 8 – Another fantastic performance, that so nearly ended in an amazing goal, good going forward and solid at the back, undoubtedly the best left back in the world.
Mikel – 7 – One of his better performances with Ramires waiting in the wings, still looks prone to mistakes in possession, one of which nearly led to a Stoke goal.
Frank Lampard – 5 – A missed penalty and poor performance from the normally dependable Lampard which may be explained by a hernia injury that led to his withdrawal
Michael Essien – 7 – Another solid performance from the Ghanaian
Florent Malouda – 8 – Amazing start to the season for the Frenchman who now has 4 goals in just 3 games.
Nicholas Anelka – 8 – Always threatening and won the penalty that Didier Drogba converted
Didier Drogba – 8 – Another game another goal, imperious display from the Ivorian
Substitutes
Solomon Kalou – 6 – Short cameo but should have scored after a wasteful shot after doing all the hardwork.
Ramires – 6 – Made his debut but little time to offer anything more than an introduction
Daniel Sturridge – 6 – Little time to make an impact
One of the highlights of last season was the emergence of Jeffery Bruma as a star in the making.
