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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

Nice and short this preview as there is little controversy around a relatively settled Chelsea line up, the only possible change will be the introduction of Ramires for Mikel however with fitness still something that may need to be brought up to English standards for the Brazilian this may not happen straight away.

Otherwise I expect an unchanged side as follows

Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Alex, Cole, Essien, Mikel/Ramires, Lampard, Malouda, Anelka, Drogba

Stats:

Last 2 fixtures v Stoke: 1-2 (Drogba 45+2 and Malouda 90+4) 7 -0 (too many goalscorers to mention)

Expected Match Attendance: SELL OUT crowd

Key Men for Stoke: Rory Delap (pesky long throws), Matt Etherington and Kenwyne Jones (if fit)

What is your score prediction?

Blues Better All Over The Field

I bet no team would have hoped for such a better start of the season. 12 goals in opening 2 matches of the season, none conceded. Another 6-0 crashing of opponents and that’s too away from home. It will help to silent the critics that we score lot of goals only at home. It was all you expect from Champions.

When chances come you have to convert them and that’s the key point for me under Carlo Ancelotti’s side. We have converted good chances into definite chances and then into goal. We have very little misfired on the opponent’s goal post.

All in all, despite going on backfoot for opening 30 minutes, Chelsea bounced back with a great attitude and deserved the victory and all the three points.

Goal Summary -

Malouda 34′
Anelka 48′
Anelka 52′
Kalou 78′
Kalou 90′
Benayoun 90+3′

Substiutions -

Malouda – Kalou (70′)

Drogba and Anelka Celebrate One of the Six Chelsea Goals

It is often said that in order to be Champions a team must win even when they are not playing well, after Saturday’s six goal defeat of Wigan, Chelsea fans will hope that this adage holds true.

This is because at the DW stadium Chelsea looked second best for an hour of the game against a side that got taken to pieces by newly promoted Blackpool. Dominating possession and the play Wigan were effective for large spells of the game, despite being unable to breach the Chelsea defence.

However Chelsea only needed five minutes in the first half, and the first and last 10 minutes of the second half to score the goals that would make this contest seem like a rout rather than a touch and go affair.

Chelsea started the game nervously and the dogged tackling and pressing of the Wigan front line and midfield was effective in denying key players the ball, it took 30 minutes for the Champions to carve out the first meaningful chance of the game in which a saved Frank Lampard shot was finished by Florent Malouda who showed hunger to be the first player to the ball after a fingertip Chris Kirkland save.

After the break Chelsea sought to finish the game quickly and two Nicholas Anelka goals within ten minutes of the restart put paid to any serious considerations of a Wigan fightback.

Wigan did come back into the game however dominating for a good 25 minutes and they even had the ball in the net at one point only for the linesman to put an abrupt halt to the home fans celebrations.

With ten minutes left Chelsea sparked back into life with substitute Soloman Kalou taking advantage of an unselfish pass from Didier Drogba to seal his first goal of the campaign. The two Ivorians worked in tandem again to quickly add another goal in the last minute of the match, with Yossi Benayoun opening his Chelsea account with the last kick of the game.

Wigan did not deserve to lose by six goals, but paid the price for keeping such a high defensive line and not capitalising on their periods of dominance.

Chelsea Player Ratings

Petr Cech – 7 – A relatively comfortable game, however did what was required at key moments with a reassuring confidence

Branislav Ivanovic - 6 – An average performance from the Serbian, looked relatively solid but a few slips nearly let the Latics into the game

John Terry – 8 – The best performance from the Chelsea captain in a long time, his usual commitment was matched by his guile with some great last ditch tackles to save a lacklustre side at times.

Alex - 7 - Strong at the back as Chelsea faced continued pressure from the home side

Ashley Cole - 6 – Strong as ever going forward and creating chances looked a little exposed at times defensively

John Obi Mikel  -6 – Despite a sublime pass to set up one of the goals, Mikel was marked out of this clash by the young Wigan attacker McCarthy for long periods and was caught in possession on too many occassions

Florent Malouda – 7 – Two goals but not one of the Frenchman’s vintage performances

Frank Lampard - 6 – Not the best performance based on his own high standards as the midfield looked overrun at times, but still had moments of class and a hand in at least two of the goals.

Michael Essien – 6 – Still working his way back from injury, there will be better performances to come.

Nicholas Anelka - 8 – Two goals and a return to the scoresheet to help soften the pain of an effective international retirement this week.

Didier Drogba -9 – Three assists including a very unselfish pass to set up Soloman Kalou’s first, he had a hand in everything good Chelsea offered going forward, no goals this week but I doubt anyone is concerned. 

SUBS:

Kalou - 8 - 2 goals in late rout

Benayoun- 7 – Late goal to open Chelsea account

Ferreria - 7 – Late assist to show he still has something to offer this Chelsea side

View from the Shed

Chelsea still seem to be in pre-season mode and fortunately the fixture computer has been kind as the opposition has allowed for two large victories against vastly inferior oppostion, hopefully the side will be coaxing its way towards the peak of its powers.

Six points, twelve goals and two clean sheets whilst not playing well, I would be worried if I was a Premier League manager this season.

The first away game of the season is against Wigan who despite capitulating on the last day of the season defeated Chelsea at the DW stadium last time Chelsea were the visitors.
Chelsea will be hoping for a much improved performance on that 3-1 defeat this Saturday when the club is again the Saturday evening feature.

I would expect that Carlo Ancelotti will make few changes from the side that decimated West Brom with Paulo Ferreria and John Obi Mikel the only players whose place in the side is at risk.

After a poor performance against West Bromwich Albion, I would expect Ferreria to make way for the reliable Branislav Ivanovic at right back, whilst the arrival of Ramires may mean that Mikel misses out, although he may survive for this week at least.

Likely Team to Face Wigan

Cech, Cole, Terry, Alex, Ivanovic, Mikel, Lampard, Essien, Malouda, Drogba, Anelka
Wigan have had a poor start to the season with defeat to Blackpool on the opening day in a humiliating 4-0 defeat.

Although their manager Roberto Martinez likes to play attractive football he has little resource to get the players into the team to help him with this goal and his side faces an uphill battle with relegation this term.

It is likely that Wigan will play a defensive game despite being at home and it will be up to Ivanovic and Cole to provide the width that can allow Chelsea to break Wigan down.

eChelseaFC refuses to make predictions, but anything other than an away win will be considered a shock.

View from the Shed

Due to low attendances from home fans, Chelsea have received a large allocation meaning that the atmosphere is normally pretty impressive as everyone who wants one can get tickets.
The evening kick off makes it easier to get to the game without a ridiculously early start.

Chelsea FC started the 2010/2010 in style with a domineering six goal rout of newly promoted West Bromwich Albion to ensure they start the season as they finished the last, atop of the Premier League.

The result will have lifted the spirits after an unnerving pre-season that failed to inspire confidence or show the fitness of a post World Cup squad.

The game itself was a rout despite some of the goals being scrappy, Chelsea were dominant throughout with only Paulo Ferreira’s poor marshalling of Jerome Thomas to concern the home side as only a Chelsea victory looked possible after Florent Malouda’s opening goal.

Six goals is also an impressive statement to be making to the rest of the league on the opening day, Chelsea may be champions but have no intention of giving up their title in a hurry.

The season is long and this is no time to get carried away, West Brom were poor and some would say ‘lucky to get nil’

eChelseaFC player rankings

Petr Cech – N/A –  Unfair to rank this spectator who had little to do except remember to change ends at half time

Ashley Cole – 8 – Offered plenty going forward and looked composed in defence with some deft touches and sublime turns

John Terry – 6 – Little to do in defence but did whatever was asked, some frailties as shown in community shield exposed from long ball.

Alex - 7 – Same comments as for John Terry, however this understanding should improve with games and fitness.

Paulo Ferreria – 4.5 -Played poorly and was exposed frequently against Jerome Thomas, expect Ivanovic to replace him in the first team imminently.

Michael Essien – 7 – Great to see him back and his performance did not disappoint.

Frank Lampard -8 – Excellent performance capped off by a well worked goal as the England hangover was put to bed.

Florent Malouda – 8 – Two goals and a professional performance from the Frenchman

John Obi Mikel – 6 – Overall a good performance but clumsy in possession at times which will be punished by better opposition.

Nicholas Anelka – 6.5 – Performed well at times and is a perfect foil for Drogba, however he will have more of an impact on other days.

Didier Drogba – 9 – Free kick created the first goal and he got 3 himself even if the last one was fortuitous, starts the season as he finished the last in blistering form.

 View from the Shed (Well… Mathhew Harding Upper this time)

Evening kick offs are great as gives alot more time for pre-match preparation in the pub and it was great to see all my Chelsea friends around the Bridge again.

Like many fans I was caught out in a pre game downpour that soaked those queuing to get into the ground twenty minutes before kickoff, fortunately the weather was relatively warm and the rain was unable to dampen the fans pre-game spirits even if I did have to give up my coat to a friend in the front row.

After digging out some old Chelsea shirts the day before I elected to wear the 1993 away shirt to the game, as this was the first Chelsea kit I ever owned and I got nostalgic looking at the shirt I first wore when I was 7, I think I have stumbled upon a new first game tradition.

A great day and a fantastic result, next up Wigan away.

Chelsea were beaten in the 2010 Community Shield by Manchester United, the performance and the seemingly unfinished pre-season will undoubtably weigh heavily on the minds of Chelsea fans everywhere.

Despite the disapointment of the loss, this was also an opportunity to catch up with my footballing friends for the first time since the FA Cup Final in May. In truth the actual Community Shield match tends to play a minor role in a day of singing, drinking and catching up with familar faces.

Due to recent success Chelsea fans may have become a little blase about visiting Wembley, with the Community Shield not a definite on every fans to do list, maybe having played there every year since 2005 has meant that to some the focal point of English football is losing some of its magic and aura.

Trips to Wembley however are a great excuse for a day out. My day consisted of a few beers, singing and throwing celery outside the Globe pub in the hours leading up to kick off.

The trip down Wembley way was punctuated by singing and banter, with a largely friendly group of Manchester United supporters, I always enjoy this and find it refreshing when football banter, does not lead to football stupidity.

Another pleasing aspect was that once in the ground I only heard the buzzing of one or two rogue Vuvuzela’s, I do not think that English football will ever be ready to embrace this phenomenon of the World Cup.

The most frustrating part of the day however was the pathetic booing of the England players from both sides, I am not quite sure what it achieves and it grates me that it is regardless of the action taking place on the pitch, maybe I am just hypersensitive in my old age, but its a little bit boring.

Ultimately the trip to Wembley ended in defeat, I will be honest and say that I havent really given it the slightest bit of consideration in the fact that we lost, just that our performances need to improve.

This was a very brief review of the Community Shield but the season starts properly on Saturday at 17:30 and lets hope that the team and not just the fans turn up this time.

For rival bosses Carlo Ancelotti and Sir Alex Ferguson, it is the last chance to watch their players in action befo…re they depart for midweek international action, a quirk of the fixture calendar which has riled many in the top flight.

Ancelotti has already bemoaned the fact that he does not feel many of his Blues squad are showing the necessary levels of fitness following their World Cup exertions this summer and a subsequently truncated pre-season programme.

Victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in mid-July has been followed by a hat-trick of defeats as Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburg have all found the usually solid Chelsea backline surprisingly generous.

United’s tour of America featured three victories and two defeats from their five matches before the Red Devils demolished a League of Ireland XI 7-1 in their most recent outing.

One of the most enjoyable parts of any Wembley day is the atmosphere before the game, most notably the 300-500 Chelsea fans that traditionally gather at the Globe Pub on Baker Street in the heart of London from 10am onwards. This atmosphere of singing and celery throwing can make the day in itself particularly for me in previous years where I have been unable to secure a ticket.

With more fans than the pub can take turning up, the fans generally swarm the entire intersection, to give a site which must fascinate and intrigue passing tourists oblivious to the match being played later in the day. I have been lucky this year, I have got a ticket to both our Wembley appearances.

 I am looking forward to what the weatherman has predicted to be a Sunny day watching Chelsea win the Charity Shield (it always is when we play at Wembley and win). Whilst the result is in theory unimportant it would be nice to win and gain a slight psychological advantage on our nearest rivals last season.

I expect Carlo Ancelotti to name his strongest side, which I imagine will be roughly as follows

Turnbull/Hilario

Ashley Cole

John Terry

Branislav Ivanovic

Jose Boswinga

Frank Lampard

Michael Essien

Jossi Benayoun

Nicholas Anelka

Florent Malouda

Soloman Kalou

As for match predictions my only hope is that the game does not go to penalties as although we won a shootout last time out in this competition, I am not sure I will ever recover from the shock of Moscow.

On a lighter note, above is a picture of Chelsea misfit Claude Pizarro having a penalty saved in 2007. This photo has the author in the background, can anyone see him?

Contributions from Ben Clynshaw of uptheChels.com your place for all the latest Chelsea news

Ryan Bertrand may have Championship experience but he was humbled along with the other members of the team against Wycombe

Chelsea’s Reserves slumped to their second consecutive heavy defeat during pre-season, in a 5-1 thumping that will deflate the players, fans and management alike.

A blend of raw reserves and a splattering of youth with first team experience took on an experienced Wycombe side.

Chelsea XI:

Walker, B.Clifford, Ince, Deen-Conteh, Bertrand, Cork, C.Clifford, Kaby (Prosenik 59), Lalkovic (Philliskirk 59), Sinclair, Di Santo

It all started well for Chelsea who took the lead through Kaby after just 13 minutes, as he turned in the rebound from a powerful Scott Sinclair shot. However Chelsea went in behind at half time after goals from Ben Strevens and Scott Rendell. 

The result was framed in the final quarter of the game, American Jon Paul Pittman took the game by the scruff of the neck with a hat trick that took just 5 second half minutes.

The score was emphatic and gave little to cheer about on first glance, the only consolation being the goal from Kaby and the fact that a late show from Wycombe did not reflect the overall balance of the match,which was closer than the scoreline suggests.

This is a demoralising loss and there is no doubt improvement is needed, but the performances will come, stick with it Chelsea fans.

Wycombe in Action

A Chelsea XI travel to face Wycombe tommorow in what is technically a senior game, however it is unlikely that the full team squad will be used in avengence until the games in Germany.

Instead I expect to see another young side, choc full of youth and potential.

However the first team squad is now back in training and with all the injuries that seem to be hitting the squad, fitness is going to be important and I it is possible that some players will receive some game time.

Although I expect whatever side put out will beat Wycombe, I would again reiterate my assertion that this is for the large part irrelevant.

Based 30 miles from Stamford Bridge at Adams Park, Wycombe will be playing in League Two next season meaning that with their season starting earlier they are likely to be further along in their preparation for their new season than Chelsea.

As a League Two side they do not have any names that stand out on their payroll, however expect a side looking to compete and enjoy their run out against the Champions of England.

It will not be glitz and glamour but Chelsea in some form will be in action tommorow.