The Blues flattered by 3-0 scoreline as they come out victors of group E

With Andre Villas-Boas in great danger of being Abramovich's next managerial victim, it was of great importance for his Chelsea side to secure qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League. Villas-Boas had come under much criticism after Chelsea's mediocre season and has come under scrutiny for being too inexperienced and out of his depth at such a big club. The Blues came into Wednesday's match needing a win or a goal scoring draw in order to qualify however they had only managed a one all draw with the Spanish side back in September. There was a great atmosphere in West London as the 42,000 seater stadium was packed out. I was hopeful of the result as our defense seemed to be improving and David Luis had made less mistakes in the three nil win over Newcastle a few days previously. I was also pleased to see Ivanovic starting at right back as i believe he is highly underrated and is always solid for Chelsea regardless of the position he is played in. The pre-match tension had built up as everybody knew the first goal was vital. Three minutes in Drogba showed that despite not having the same pace he did five seasons ago, he is still a world class finisher as he calmly finessed his shot unfazed by the defenders around him. I was pleased to see that after the goal Chelsea pursued a second and did not try and sit back and defend a one goal lead. Romeru  ,Chelsea's newly signed youngster from Barcelona looked to be struggling with his first touch and short passing being poor as he took on the role of anchorman in the midfield. However Valencia's defence was being continually split open with Sturridge and Drogba both having chances to double the lead. Luis, Terry and Ivanovic were looking solid and the only Valencia threat was the combination of pacy winger Jordi Alba and Spain front man Roberto Soldado as Cole was having problems handling them. The second goal came after Drogba, who was outstanding all evening, teared into the Valencia third trying to find Ramires who amazingly managed to out muscle Valencia defender Victor Ruiiz as he hesitated and failed to clear leaving the Brazilian with an easy finish. Straight after Chelsea doubled there lead they completely changed their mentality as the whole team rarely strayed out of their own half. It was clear Villas Boas wanted to protect this lead as the defense and midfield sat deep. Few Chelsea chances were created and Mata and Sturridge looked lost. Romeru and Mereiles began to come into the game and tackled well however had no options as the front three seemed reluctant to make runs. The Blues looked very content to just sit back, much to the frustration of the fans. The possession stat at half time was 34% to Chelsea and 66% to Valencia showing that Chelsea were happy to let Valencia keep possession. The Second half was much the same with Chelsea allowing Valencia to keep the ball with Mereiles and Romeru effectively providing as a wall in front of the defense. The combination of Drogba and Ramieres was by far Chelsea's biggest threat as Rameires kept up the pressure with bursts into the Valencia box. The fans were unhappy with what had so far been a textbook showing for Chelsea and were enraged when John Obi Mikel was bought on for the exhausted Ramieres. As we gave a standing ovation for the Brazilian a man to rows in front shouted "if your bringing him on (John Obi) you might as well bring Ferreira on for Drogba and all" obviously with profanities every other word. This showed me the pressure Boas is under from not only the media but also the Chelsea faithful. Cech went to make a couple of good save from long range efforts as the defence did well to stop any clear shooting chances.. Mata, against his former club, began to come into the game more, linking with Drogba and Mereiles. It wasn't until the 76th minute that Chelsea got a third as Drogba topped off a great performance with a delightful finish after Mata put him through one on one with the keeper. The match ended 3-0 and Chelsea gained their first consecutive wins for two months and guaranteed qualification winning the group. David Luiz looked pleased after managing to put in a solid performance at the back showing that he beginning to adjust to this level of football. Cech also put in a great performance between the sticks seeing off all threats posed by the Valencia attack. However the stand out player was the 33 year old Ivorian who continued to show why he should be in the team ahead of the £50 million man.

Despite what was in the end a comfortable win, the fans still didn't seemed satisfied as there was a melancholy atmosphere during "Blue Is The Colour." Boas will have to start getting his side to grind out results in the Premier League as although it may not please the fans at first in the long run it puts Chelsea in with a shot the fiercely contested title. He has come out saying that he will continue to play his way of football and that will not be compromised however Tuesday night's match showed that by playing a different way, his team looked more comfortable defensively as well as more threatening offensively. This way of playing is certainly reminiscent of Mouhriniho who was a master a grinding out results and making his team always look comfortable in victory. Perhaps Villas Boas is adopting this style or maybe this was just a fluke, we will certainly see in the weeks to come.

Sorry about the late post, I have been busy with exams.

Thanks for reading

Joe

United disappointment Crystal clear in embarrassing midweek loss!

As someone usually very critical of the Carling cup, previously questioning its position in the already jam packed football calendar, I was overwhelmed by the shocking results and performances shown by the eight teams involved. Lets start with the most enthralling game of the four and one of the biggest upsets of recent Carling cup history, Manchester United against Crystal Palace. I grew up in Crystal Palace and went to many games of theirs during their Premier League days when Andy Johnson and Tommy Smith were the stars of their humble squad. Despite not directly supporting them, ( i'm a Chelsea fan if you were wondering) I have always followed their progress and I will always have a special fondness for them. It was unsurprising when United were drawn against the lowest ranked side left in the competition and it was hard to see Palace getting any sort of result against the current Premier League champions and a team a division above them who finished 39 places higher in the football league last season. Nevertheless there was a glimmer of hope for Palace who were on the up sitting in a comfortable 12th position in the championship with players like young Ivorian Wilfred Zaha coming in to some great form. However to the the whole stadiums dismay, Palace opened the scoring through Darran Ambrose who struck a 40 yard belter; reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo's strike for Manchester United against Porto in 2009. It was a truly stunning strike from an underrated player who has produced some moments of magic for crystal palace in seasons gone by. However the travelling fans' glory was short lived and normality was restored when United won a penalty. There was bound to be a game changing desicion to go Manchester United's way as there is whenever they are loosing at Old Traffod. Macheda coolly stepped up and slotted home for the equalizer. Zaha was Palace's main threat throughout the second half however, after a poor start, United began to settle into a passing rhythm and create a number of good goal scoring opportunities. Despite this place managed to hold out until extra time however were looking fatigued. To the travailing fans delight, completely against the run of play, Palace snatched a goal through a superb Glen Murray header. Evans' continual poor defending finally caught up with him as he completely lost Murray leaving him with a free header. The late goal cued a United onslaught on the Palace goalkeeper and a late equalizer looked likely. However Palace held out to win a place in the last four for the first time in ten years. After the result against Newcastle last weekend it now seems like United's ongoing luck is finally come to its long awaited end and could spell danger for Ferguson's men.

In other shocking news Owen Hargreaves managed 79 minutes of football for Manchester City in there 1-0 win over Arsenal on Tuesday. Arsenal were unfortunate to lose with 7 attempts on target to City's 2 however Wenger's side look's much improved especially considering the dire situation they were in just a month ago. Sergio Aguero got the winner as City carry on their amazing run, which I can't see being stopped looking at the strength and depth of their squad. Chelsea on the other hand are looking quite the opposite loosing again against a mediocre Liverpool side. With their defense being torn apart week after week, Chelsea need to pull together and start getting the results. I'm not going to go into too much detail as I am going to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday to see them play Valencia in a crucial Champions League tie against Spanish giants Valencia. I will write a in-depth post on Wednesday the 7th about the game and Chelsea's prospects for the rest of the season and I will try not to be too pessimistic however i'm not too hopeful about Chelsea's future with Villas-Boas in charge.

I hope you have enjoyed today's post and please leave a comment telling me about your views on this weeks fixtures

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Joe Bloggs