Showing posts with label Chelsea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chelsea. Show all posts

Friday, 25 February 2011

Champions League Round of 16 - Brief Analysis Part 2

The second set of Champions League Round of 16 first legs took place this week. This week's entertainment level may have dropped, with only 5 goals being scored as opposed to 11 last week.

Below, I take a look at some points of interest with the aid of the excellent Total Football - Champions League iPhone app.

Impact Substitution
Jose Mourinho has shown this season that he doesn't necessarily trust Karim Benzema at the top end of his team. Emmanuel Adebayor has been brought in on loan from Manchester City, and on Tuesday night he started the match away at Lyon. To say that the ex-Arsenal striker was rather ineffective would be an understatement. Within 40 seconds of coming on as Adebayor's replacement, Karim Benzema grabbed the opening goal against his old side. A great goal after a mazy dribble across the opposition penalty area gave Madrid a crucial away goal to take back to the Bernabeu.



Firing Blanks
Marseille v Manchester United was not the most exciting game. Both sides seemed to be overly cautious, and although Marseille will consider a 0-0 draw a good result, they still have a difficult task of getting a score draw or better at Old Trafford. Manchester United were especially poor going forward, having only 2 shots on target in the match. Their 8 shots at goal was the lowest total of all the 16 teams that played over the last two weeks.



Torres bedding in
Chelsea got a comfortable 2-0 win at Copenhagen on Tuesday night, and look set to make the Quarter Finals with relative ease. They started the game with new signing Fernando Torres partnering Nicolas Anelka up front. The duo managed 13 shots between them and were far too much for Copenhagen to contain. Although Torres did not get a goal, his movement was excellent throughout the game and he got into numerous goalscoring positions. It shouldn't be long before the Spanish striker nets his first goal for his new club.



Bayern show their class
Louis van Gaal's Bayern Munich recorded a fantastic 1-0 away win in their first leg with Internazionale on Wednesday. Inter did have chances of their own, with Samuel Eto'o coming close on a few occasions, but Bayern were bright and bold throughout, and got the winner in the 90th minute through Mario Gomez. Arjen Robben created the goal when he cut in from the right wing and had a shot which was parried by Julio Cesar. Robben tried this all evening, often picking the ball up in a very wide position. The Inter defenders doubled up on him well for most of the match in order to stop him cutting inside, but they ultimately failed.



Bastian Schweinsteiger also had an excellent game, controlling the midfield and dictating Bayern's play throughout. Schweinsteiger attempted and completed the most passes of any player on the pitch. As can be seen on the chalkboard below, the German midfielder concentrated the majority of his balls out wide, looking for the consistently dangerous Robben and Ribery.

Week Ahead: Big games at the top



After a midweek of European action, there are a host of top of the table clashes across Europe's top leagues this weekend.

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Saturday 26 February 2011
Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund
Bundesliga: Kick-off - 17:30 GMT

Bayern come into this game in good form. Louis van Gaal's side have won 4 of their last 5 in the Bundesliga, and their win on Wednesday night at the San Siro will also be a confidence boost ahead of this game. Dortmund are still 13 points ahead of the German Champions in the league, and while the result of this game is unlikely to alter the destination of the title, it could go a long way to proving whether Bayern Munich are back to their best.

Odds - Bayern Munich (4/5) Draw (5/2) Dortmund (3/1)

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Sunday 27 February 2011
Lille v Lyon
Ligue 1: Kick-off - 20:00 GMT

After a good 1-1 draw at home with Real Madrid on Tuesday, Lyon will see this game as their chance to grab hold of Ligue 1. Lille are currently top of the table, but with only 1 win in 3 in the league they desperately need three points on Sunday night. Rudi Garcia's side were also knocked out of the Europa League this week, losing 5-3 on aggregate to PSV. Lyon's experience may prove key in this top of the table clash.

Odds - Lille (11/10) Draw (9/4) Olympique Lyonnais (13/5)

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Monday 28 February 2011
Milan v Napoli
Serie A: Kick-off - 19:45

This is a huge game in the race for the Serie A title. Napoli visit the San Siro just 3 points behind leaders AC Milan, and victory for Walter Mazzarri's side would throw everything up in the air. An away win could also bring Internazionale right back into the mix, who are currently only 5 points behind in third position. Milan won the reverse fixture in October, but Serie A top goalscorer Edinson Cavani will be hoping to help his team achieve an historic victory on Monday night.

Odds - Milan (4/5) Draw (5/2) Napoli (7/2)

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Tuesday 1 March 2011
Chelsea v Manchester United
Premier League: Kick-off - 19:45

Due to postponements earlier in the season, Chelsea and Manchester United have yet to face each other at all in the Premier League this season. Manchester United play Wigan, Chelsea and Liverpool all in a week, all away from home. United played out a disappointing and rather boring 0-0 draw away at Marseille on Tuesday night, and there is a chance that they will travel to Stamford Bridge with containment in mind. Away from home this season Man Utd have drawn 0-0 with both Manchester City and Spurs. Chelsea will be hoping that Fernando Torres can quickly rediscover his form, while Ferguson's side will be hoping to benefit from Chelsea's seemingly fragile confidence.

Odds - Chelsea (5/4) Draw (11/5) Manchester United (12/5)

Tuesday, 7 December 2010

Chelsea set for a tough December


The English Champions are not enjoying a good run of form in the Premier League at the moment and are now heading into a tough Christmas period. Chelsea have only won one of their last six games in the league, losing to Liverpool, Sunderland and Birmingham. Two 1-1 draws against Newcastle and Everton have not given Chelsea fans any reason to believe that their team is ready to bounce back either.

This lack of form has also come at a particularly bad time for Chelsea, and their next three games could have a significant impact on the outcome of the Premier League. On Sunday, Chelsea will travel to White Hart Lane where they haven’t won since 2005. Tottenham have an excellent home record against the top teams and Chelsea will be in for a tough examination. A week later Chelsea will host Manchester United who are buoyant after their seven goal rout against Blackburn Rovers. Dimitar Berbatov’s five goal glut and the return of Wayne Rooney have lifted spirits at Old Trafford recently, so expect a much more fluid United to arrive on Sunday 19th December. Chelsea’s gauntlet culminates at the Emirates against an Arsenal side which they have found rather easy to beat in recent seasons. However, this time could be very different, as Chelsea have looked unusually shaky at the back. Arsenal could learn from Liverpool and Sunderland’s approaches by shrugging off any intimidation and attacking from the start.

Carlo Ancelotti and his team are set for a season defining test this month, and three wins would give The Blues a massive psychological advantage going into the new year. At the end of the season, these three games could be seen as the turning point for Chelsea. If Chelsea fail the test, they will have a huge task on their hands to drag themselves back into contention. However, this season has already shown that no outstanding team looks ready to run away with things. The Premier League table may become even more congested at the top come 2011.


Tottenham v Chelsea - Sunday 12th December
Chelsea v Manchester United - Sunday 19th December
Arsenal v Chelsea - Monday 27th December

Saturday, 15 May 2010

Chelsea win the FA Cup


After a crazy game in which Chelsea hit the post five times in the first half, the Premier League champions finally prevailed 1-0 over Portsmouth at Wembley. The game also included two penalty misses, one for Kevin-Prince Boateng and one for Frank Lampard.

Having held on for the first half, it looked like Pompy might just pull off a remarkable shock when Dindane was brought down by Juliano Belletti in the box. However Boateng's penalty was rather weak and Cech saved with his legs. Chelsea were ahead two minutes later when Drogba scored a marvellous free kick. Lampard missed a late penalty, but it wasn't to be Portsmouth's day. This FA Cup win gave the club its first ever Double, and is a great end to a near perfect domestic season for the London club.

(Photo by Mike Egerton/Empics Sport)