Chelsea 2-1 Man Utd | One Hand On The Trophy . . . | Blue Champions

Chelsea 2-1 Man Utd | One Hand On The Trophy . . . - [Adam Mikhail]

Sat, Apr 26, 2008

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My heart is still beating after the most important game of Barclay’s English Premier League season. We did it, we really did it. What a brilliant performance by the Chelsea Football Club. Words don’t really suffice for the performance of this club today. It’s hard to think that this is the same team who played Liverpool on Tuesday. So much heart, it truly was beautiful and a moment to remember forever. We played with passion and Manchester United was no match for a Chelsea side at home without any fear. Maybe destiny is on our side this season and we’ll ride it all the way.

Two huge games that were a must win at home, Manchester United and Arsenal — and two beautiful victories. It’s not often that Chelsea has come out to play this season, but it must be said that when it has really mattered, our Blues have pulled through the way any champions should. From the first whistle of the game, Chelsea attacked and completely dominated a Manchester United side that did not take us seriously. Sir Alex Ferguson made a mess of his team choice, leaving Cristiano Ronaldo, Owen Hargreaves, and Carlos Tevez on the bench, clearly in preparation for the Barcelona game at home. I can’t wait to hear his little red-faced comments on Sky about the match, the penalty decision, and a title decider between the Champions League Semi-finals. Sir Alex whines almost as much as Arsene Wenger and today I will highly enjoy it. I will be watching the Wigan and West Ham game with just as much intensity as a Chelsea game. This season looks to be one of the best ones in the history of the Premier League with the title going right down to the wire.

Today it’s gotta be about Michael Ballack, the captain of Germany and the Manchester United slayer. The man was absolutely superb today with a brace that took us to the lead twice during the game. I had said in the pregame buildup that we need people in the box during crosses and preferably Michael Ballack. What do you know! Michael Ballack finds the back of the net with his head again in another important game. Didier Drogba provided a brilliant cross in stoppage time of the first half that was just asking to be finished by the German. Didier saw that we had trouble with crossing the ball in the first half and took it upon himself to power around the box and lay a ball into the path of Michael Ballack. The finish was 100% world class by one of the best headers in the world, Michael Ballack. Curving into the corner, Van Der Sar had no chance even at the full stretch of his 6 foot 5 physique. After the goal, our captain brought out a jersey that read “Pat Lampard R.I.P.” and our players proceeded to hold it up in the memory of the death of Frank Lampard’s mother. This was a special moment no matter what team you support.

Nobody can deny that this goal was fully deserved based on the prior 45 minutes of first half play. Almost all our players were spectacular, notably Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel, and John Terry. Essien did what was expected of him, powered forward and got involved in the attacks. Essien had two shots within the first five minutes. Joe Cole also gave us an early thrill when he hit the crossbar from 12 yards out. The United players during the first half seemed to be quiet uneasy, playing a similar style to that against Barcelona but looking much less comfortable. We were also aided by Vidic taking an Ivorian knee to the face; he should have stayed in the hospital with his stomach bug and not played today.

Mikel swallowed everything up around the middle of the park and never let United get going. If anything got through the midfield of Ballack, Essien, and Mikel, it was quickly cleared by the back four. Nani, Anderson, and Giggs we’re quiet the entire game. I saw Giggs after 30 or so minutes and started to remember that I hadn’t seen him at all during the game. Ferreira and Ashley Cole played great on the wings to stop the majority of Manchester United attacks. One particular tackle that Cole had on a charging Ronaldo really stands out for me. The crowd were booing Ronaldo’s run and had to cheer when Ashley Cole stopped Ronaldo’s momentum with a perfect slide tackle.

The second half was one that anyone could have predicted: The Red Devils were going to get a word from Sir Alex and would most likely start the second half with some fire. They certainly obliged this prediction and came out with a good fifteen minutes where I was weary of a goal. I was weary but still confident of our defense holding them. It wasn’t until Ricardo Carvalho played a perfect backpass for Rooney to snatch up and score. It was a woeful error by our reliable centre-back. I was feeling extremely bad for the Portuguese and equally as bad for the club. I knew the rest of the half would be nervy for Blues with their title hopes fading away by the minute. There was a certain moment that exemplified the desperation we were feeling, the on-field word scuffle between Drogba and Ballack. I wasn’t on the field so it’s hard to assume what exactly happened. I can infer however that Ballack wanted to take the free-kick because Drogba had has his turn a couple minutes prior. It didn’t end after Drogba took the shot with Michael Ballack not happy about his selfishness. Drogba confronted Ballack on the sideline during an intermission due to a Mikel injury. Ballack gave Drogba no recognition and walked away after drinking some water. It seemed like Chelsea were going to self-destruct, they had began to enjoy the majority of the possession as was the case in the first half but couldn’t create a valuable chance.

Avram Grant had already brought on Anelka and Shevchenko for Kalou and Ferreira and we were going all out attack on the Manchester United goal. Our drive soon became a battle of desperation and heart while Grant was lining up to bring on Juliano Belletti in order to push Michael Essien back into midfield after he had assumed the right-back role with the substitution of Paulo Ferreira. Michael Essien continued his great game by surging forward and rocketing in a cross that deflected of Michael Carrick on the edge of the area. And then it happened. The linesman’s flag shot up for a handball call and Alan Wiley pointed to the spot despite the protests of the entire Manchester United team. Our boys had finally gotten the chance to take the lead and put a hand of the trophy. Michael Ballack stood up to take the penalty for his brace and for the lead. The German captain beat Van Der Sar for the second time of the game and gladly accepted Carvalho’s thank you as he was the first to celebrate with him. There are no more words for me to describe Michael Ballack with. I can just say, thank you.

This was a prime example of the heart us Chelsea fans and the Chelsea team have. We never gave up and were rewarded as we were against Arsenal when we won 2-1 accordingly. Avram Grant looked very professional as he put his celebration on hold after the penalty conversion to change his substitution from Belletti to Makelele. I applaud Avram Grant for this move. Our true spirit was put the test during the last 7 minutes of the game when United went all out attack. They had put Ronaldo on earlier and he was looking to provide something in a big game. I held my breath as a ball came rolling back to him on the edge of the box (which always seems to happen; every deflection is Ronaldo’s fortune) and he ripped in a perfectly placed shot that beat Cech to not find the back of the net but Ashley Cole’s foot. Two minutes later it was Andriy Shevchenko who cleared it off the line from Rio Ferdinand’s shot to finally seal up the game and give us the win.

Today was surely one of my favorite days as a Chelsea fan in some years now, certainly the best moment of a season where we’ve lacked inspiration at times. We’ve beat United and tied them on points to prove we really deserve a shot at the title. We’ll be at the mercy of a result when Man-United play Wigan and West Ham but our spirits are high and their belief is low after 2 points from their last 3 away games. We now have a real shout for the league and European Cup double. In order to do so we might just have to beat Manchester United again in the Champions League Final in Moscow. Chelsea FC and their fans will celebrate today and slowly shift their focus on the Liverpool 2nd-leg on Wednesday. We have performed like champions today and I fell like a champion today although we have won nothing. Hopefully we will celebrate a real championship later in the season. Chelsea! Chelsea! Chelsea!

Written By Adam Mikhail

128 Responses For This Post. Add Your Comments Here!

WE WON!!! WE WON!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God listens to you! It’s 2:1 and end of the game yeah!

What a performance by the men in blue!!!!!

ITS FOR THE LAMPARDS

up the blues

hats off to chelsea players, they were all the best (except for that silly mistake from ricardo carvalho). they made me really proud to say i´m a chelsea fan!!!

yup guys, let liverpool be our next victm!!!

Great game from chelsea. Our midfield was the most important in this game.
Essien with his runs and he continued shattering the United defence
Mikel was superb, none of their players could move comfortably with the ball and get past the halfway line… i was impressed, he checked both Nani and Ronaldo together.
Ballack with his goals…. incredible penalty, i never knew anyone could send van der sar the wrong way…lol
Kalou ripped ferdinand apart, he has a lot of potential
Joe cole was unstoppable, he truly came alive and he hit the crossbar…
This is the kind of match where you wish SWP was introduced in the 85th minute to rip and tear the United defence.
Kudos to Ashley and Sheva for saving us from a last minute equalizer from United…
Toady looked tearful at the end of the game… i was laughing.

What a game. There’s only one Michael Ballack.

“Stamford bridge is falling down”?

in their wildest dreams.

Probably the best game I’ve seen this season! WAY TO GO CHELSEA!

fantastic chelsea thoroughly deserved all da 3 points. ballack yu da man, sheva clears off da line frm fletcher’s header at da dying seconds, god what a match! dis victory is for yur pat lampard, R.I.P.

CHELSEAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HATE FUCKIN UNITED, NOW ITS LIVERPOOL LEFT. LETS SHOW THEM WHAT CHELSEA IS MADE OFF.

We deserved to win and we did. We will show Liverpool how strong we are. We just beat Manchester United at home. I think we are prepared now. And also thank god that Shevchenko came in at least for 20 minutes. I really like him, but worried that he will leave to Milan. I hope Avram Grant lets him play more often, because he saved us from a goal and had very good skills.

The players were incredible with the performance put up today. And I am very much impressed with substitution and the changing of formation to 4-4-2. Mikel impressed me with the comfort he used in controlling the midfield, nullified Anderson and Carrick. We deserved the Victory and I praise AG for the good substitutions.

Ballack and Drogba messed up but they acted properly and matured during the second goal jubilation and at the final whistle. I think this for late PAT LAMPARD. AG couldnt do anything to drogba and ballack when they arguing instead Steve Clark come to the rescue as both players went to Clark directly to complain. It shows AG has no power over the players in the dressing room. I hope manutd dop points in their next matches.

Common Blues
Cheers

Mikel has proved today that he is worth his money…Essien was superb as usual…
Drogba…LOLOL….he is trying to make excuses to leave…

The royal blue flag is flying higher and higher- can you imagine what the situation would have been but for the following-

Chelsea conceding final minute goals against Everton, Villa, Tottenham and wigan- That is 8 points lost.

match that against Manure’s last minute equalizer agaisnt spurs, Borough, Blackburn and the fluke win against arsenal- That could have been at least 4 points dropped by manure-

In all, but for that combination of poor fortune, we should have been at least 10 points clear (netting off our lucky draw at anfield in the league).

Go the Royal blues- Knock the scousers out on wednesday and Overwhelm Manure in moscow.

For MU -

“Carefree, wherever we may be,
We are the famous CFC,
And we don’t give a f**k,
Whoever you may be,
‘Cos we are the famous CFC..”

@13, Mikel has always been top quality.

A worthy win. Everyone was good today and raised themselves for the occasion. The fight between Ballcks and Drogbas was bit embrassing though.

wat was the argument btween drogba and ballaks?????????
i cudnt see the 2nd half cmpltely

Brilliant performance, although it just highlights the potential costliness of all the home draws we had this season. If we had seen out those matches against Tottenham and Everton, we would be four points clear and the title would be ours. We’re entitled to expect more of the same against Liverpool and Newcastle. I would play exactly the same team and give Lampard time to grieve. What an exciting end to the season!

we played like champions and out played the champions in every department.
carvalho back pass was a thorn in this win, i hoping for a clean sheet.

@16…I said because many doubted his capability….today he was going forward which made him more effective…Anderson,who?…if he can learn to score goals he would be a great asset in coming times…Kalou needs to get a bit more strength…after making nice dribbles he gets overpowered…

so the ‘toad’ is the manager of the team tied at the top of the EPL, well great win, great game, we deserved it!!
Kudos to the lads!!
Lampard, come back with a vengence…………….

@22…joeblue, today all ‘toad’ bashers have an egg on their face…they must be scaring away….no Joseholiday,no Arthur,no AG’SFriend yet…oh,they may be looking for Mourinho’s new club

It see Grant even gets Steve Clarke to calm Drogba down which shows you how little power Grant has over the players now - seems to me the players are in charge not Grant?

Good win and we played well and deserved the victory - I congratulate Avram but I am somewhat bemused he had to hire a psychologist to gee up the players.

I thought that was his job?

Apparently not.

But then I’ve listened to his press conferences and if his team talks are anything like that then I can see why.

He couldn’t persuade an alcoholic to get drunk locked up in a brewery for the weekend.

@23
no dude they will be here with the same………
Toad dint do a thing, th players did it all and blah blah blah….bt we r used to that now……lol…btw
gr8 game dude njoyd it……

Hi guys,

Really fantastic performance from us today.It was almost perfect except that Carvalho error.

Really touching gesture by the team with the No.8 jersey saying RIP Pat Lampard.

We just outplayed the SO CALLED’ BEST TEAM ON THE PLANET’.Rooney wasnt involved in any losing Man utd team this season n he was veryyy proud of that record.I hope this defeat teaches that big mouth a lesson in humility.

What was SAF thinking when he put out that team??..Did he really think Chelsea are pushovers at home???..or was he playing for a draw??..HOLD ON..THIS IS MANCHESTER UNITED..GREATEST TEAM ON EARTH…THEY DONT PLAY NEGATIVE FOOTBALL..THEY PLAY ONLY TO WIN..thats what all the united fans keep saying right??..so then, what was SAF thinking
???

Drogba n ballack at that freekick was embaressing..I heard ballack’s post match interview n everything is fine..He took it in the right spirit..He said it happens during a high pressure game when all players want to stand up n be counted..GOOD..we dont want unwanted distractions at this stage of the season.

We have the tougher games in the EPL..a REVITALISED NEWCASTLE AWAY and a RELEGATION THREATENED BOLTON At Home on the last day.What is worrying is that Newcastle away has regularly been a game where we have dropped points in the Roman Era.Bolton has also caused us problems though not as much as Newcastle.

United have west ham n wigan..both teams have nothing to play for..both are safe from relegation and have no chance of europe or anything..So atleast on paper, united have it easier than us

And theres a veryyyyyyyyyyyyyyy worrying pattern here.

———————————–Rewind to last season——————————-

After the 2-0 loss at anfield, we went on a winning spree and were brusing aside every team in our path.

Then, we lost the 2nd leg of the UCL semi to Liverpool.At that stage we were just 3 points behind United in th EPL.

Next Game United DREW with Boro n we DREW 0-0 with NEWCASTLE..still 3 point gap

Next game United BEAT Everton 4-2 and we DREW with bolton 2-2..They had a 5 point gap

Next they BEAT Man City n we DREW with Arsenal..7 points ahead n they sealed the title

Next was of course the 0-0 DRAW we had with united

Last game we DREW with everton 1-1 n United LOST to west ham..so we finished 6 points behind them

Those 3 games against Liverpool,Newcastle and Bolton ruined our season last time.

————————————–THIS SEASON—–The next 3 games—————–

LIVERPOOL(UCL SEMI 2nd LEG)
NEWCASTLE
BOLTON

The season depends once again on these games

Amazing Coincidence..

I just hope n pray that these 3 games turn out in our favour this time.

cmon CHELSEA

@26…u were damn right…@25 is first one…

ballack ashycole and shevchenko are very good.

The toad must still be sacked even if we win the double- Everything achieved this season has been in spite of him not because of him.

See the way he sat still while Steve clark quickly moved in to quell the war between drogs and ballack? That should tell u what influence the toad is having.

long live the Jose Spirit that continues to drive this blue train is spite of the toad’s zero sum effect.

If Ferguson had started with Ronaldo and Tevez this might have been a different game. But he didn’t & we played like champions, while Manure dithered. Ferdinand was petulant, chippy and arrogant, NOT the qualities of an England captain. Terry was a true captain, calm and courageous.

As for The Toad, he didn’t win it, the players did. He mouldered on the bench like a wart on YES! a toad. Don’t like him, will never support him. Born blue, Chelsea til I die.

Yes!!! You won…
Well done Chelsea for winning a great game. It was a very tight game but in the end the team in blue was smiling at the end of the wistle. My hats off to Michael Ballack. Why??? because he stopped the pressure from getting to him. Well done well done. I’m actualy glad for Chelsea on winning because I want Liverpool to win them on there own home ground. This time Liverpool is more confident as ever and at the end the team in RED will be smiling at the end of thet wistle…

But I’m feeling for Lampard because uts not easy loosing a family member and its really difficult loosing your mother. SO EVERYBODY go home and hug and kiss your mother because you never kow when she might get taking away.

So God please be with the Lampard family. Take away there sadness and make Frank be able to play again.
Amen.

Great Win for Chelsea today.

Not sure what was Fergie game plan in not starting Ronaldo & Tevez today in a important game when they have scored 43 goals ( out of the 74 ) between them in Premier League. Wasn’t Tevez ,the person who scored all those important goals - Chelsea , Lyon, 88 + equalizer against Rovers, another equalizer against Spurs ?

Three important games for Chelsea - Liverpool & Newcastle are going to very tough

Evidently Lamps was in the executive box and sent his thanks to all the Chelsea fans for their sympathy and respect.

THIS GAME GOES TO U PAT LAMPARD
R.I.P
WHAT A MATCH AN AMAZING BIRTHDAY PRESENT (FOR ME).

If SAF thought the performance against Blackburn was Champions’ stuff, what about this! Stunning performance by the Blues. Truly Championship class. And for once we did play some good football on the attack(as if that was needed :P )

looking at ballack’s penalty…way better than Ronaldo’s…hahaha! That is how you seperate a skillful young player with a great experienced player.

Chelsea won this game with more powerful reason…
Lampard’s mum passed away…and they all play and contribute the best for his mum and lampard and family. Chelsea need to win to make their hopes alive. Everybody wants to beat a team with Ronaldo - so called the best. Need a tonic for the champions league clash and indeed will be an inspiration and belief to beat Liverpool and reaching the Champions League Final. It seems that, this year will be Chelsea’s year.

Some of the Manure players (oops! meant jokers) got into it with the Chelsea groundstaff and stewards after the game.

anelka, shevchenko, drogba and j. cole at the same time- that’s attacking football.

yeah!we’re champion.

Sadly, that Mr. Abramovich missed this match…
I didn’t see him….

Someone saw a Mr. Roman Abramovich today on “Stamford Bridge”????

Sheer brilliance from Ballack, just proves why I prefer him to Lampard, might not have that attacking instinct but is so much more versatile
good movement down the flanks, j.cole has been off abit lately but hopefully he should take his chances against liverpool
ferreira had a solid game, shaky but still kept threat out as did a.cole, kalou has come along way since setting the record for most offsides in a season, keep it up boyo.
the only thing that worries me is that we fielded our strongest team (-lampard) we had few impact subs, anelka was useless, im so happy belletti didn’t make it to the pitch
but behind the scenes, it is obvious that either Grant or ben–haim+drogba will be leaving us this summer

Not sure what Fergie was thinking today, fielding a weakened squad - not smart.

And he sure paid the price today.

He risks losing everything at the death.

And he only has himself to blame.

I really hope the FA show some standards and fine United for failing to control their players. What they did today was worse than the two times we were fined.

Hey BC…

What an opening para.. even i was thinking to write something same about the so called “cement sacks”

and this penalty i wont call lucky because we deserved it. Awesome commitment by the team and it looked like the team we had earlier. committed to the purpose. The 2 saves of the goal line really touched my heart how desperately the blues wanted to win it for lampard. awesome.

these guys just need the motivation as playing every weekend becomes monotonous. I have faced the same thing last few yrs when i am doing the same job as i used to do earlier. but some managers words do make a difference if he justifies me that what i am doing will add value .

great professional performance by men in blue. if sheva was just introduced for the goal line clearance cheers to AG otherwise his subs sucked. anelka was invisible but its good that we attacked.

still the title is for man utd to loose. we have put awesome pressure now. next match at new castle we have to win and hope the best for weest ham

cheers guys… after a long long time i am off to bed in a good mood after a chelsea match

this was the performance which chelsea used to give every weehats y i loved themk in and out and t

it was a fight after the game. the chelsea staff V man utd players hope they broke som utd bones.

Vidic lost a tooth. Ha.

fantastic win! unbelievable victory! all hail chelsea fc! all hail our superb players!

where are all those AG stooges like joeblue, TBF, ‘my-foot-in-your-balls’ etc who called these players ‘CEMENT SACKS’? these brainless twats would have now realised what a magnificent group of players we have.

i’ll give no credit to average grunt because he is not responsible for the good things with the club. when drogba had a problem with ballack today, it was steve clarke who came up and sorted out the issue. toad meanwhile is hiring psychologists for his players to motivate them.

even if chelsea wins the double, the average bum should go. i can’t stand if toad takes any credit for these players who have the JM instilled qualities and philosophy in them. the determination and desire they showed today have nothing to do with toad.

Seems ironic that Grant introduces Sheva - and he turns into our best defender at the end.

This kind of spirit was what we always used to play with - just shows how much we’ve missed it.

And yes Nihongo Blue I noticed Clarke’s actions and agree with you in the main with your points - little things but they show who does what at Chelsea now.

As for the psychologist - can’t believe we need to hire one - how many coaching staff and hangers on do we have there now?

Still Grant can rightly bask in the glory tonight.

Who can to answer me:

Someone saw a Mr. Roman Abramovich today on “Stamford Bridge”????

Sorry it was Arthur’s post I was referring to and in agreement with but I also agree with NG too.

Grant an “average bum” (Arthur’s post). You’re not American by any chance are you?

We’ve got so many nationalities on here by the looks of it.

This win has certainly set us up for Wednesday.

Good report Adam! Ecstasy is the right word for the feeling after Ze German scored. I loved this line of yours Adam - “I fell like a champion today although we have won nothing” - that’s the exact feeling I’ve not been getting this season. Only two or three matches this season made me feel so. But that’s what I want. We should boss the game in attack, midfield and defence. I don’t care if it is 1-0 or 4-0. If we control and dominate the game, we are good enough. This match is one of the few matches this season where we dominated the opposition. We dominated Man Utd especially because Fergie had already pressed the ’self destruct’ button. Had he played a full Man Utd team with their usual tactics, they’d have done a lot better. Instead he showed too much respect for us by playing defensively right from the word ‘go’.

Fergie did drop the ball. He was trying to be a smart-arse by benching Ronaldo, Tevez and Hargreaves. Also the injury to Vidic complicated Man Utd’s situation. Bascially he was trying to re-do the Camp Nou performance. The problem is that Chelsea is much more versatile than Barca. Without Ronaldinho, Barca are skillful but very predictable. All predictable teams can be undone tactically. Whereas a team like Chelsea which is very versatile in their methods, is always going to be a threat if the opponent just plays for a draw. May be that’s where Lord Fergie erred. He should not have played for a draw.

So the infamous ‘cement sacks’ can march on to the third title in four seasons. Man Utd can still win their matches on hand and win the title by goal difference. But I think Chelsea have the morale and momentum. In the champions league second leg fixtures, Chelsea are favourites to progress while Man Utd may not be quite sure about themselves. What develops in the champions league could also have a major impact on the last two premier league fixtures. Man Utd must be completely demoralised and should be low in confidence now.

Hats off to our players and their determination. They absolutely wanted to win this match. Same like the Arsenal match. They wanted to win and they got it.

I loved it when the players celebrated with the jersey with the RIP message on Pat Lampard. That shows how much Lampard is loved and also indicates to me that Lampard is here to stay. Pat Lampard RIP - this win is dedicated to her.

i think lampard is not gonna stay… only these recent developments can make him stay.

Nihongo! Lot many careers are dependent on Grant’s stay, if rumours are to be believed. If AG goes on for another season, we may not see quite a few players in Chelsea anymore, and Lampard could be one of them.

Wait for the season to end. May be, that’s when the drama will begin.

yeeess .. great perfomance by our players and no doubt one of the best game of the season .. next is Looserpool and for those who think that they can beat us at the Bridge i say stop dreamin coz this is our fortress .. see Ya in Moscow again

and especially for ManU fans that before the game was saying “Stamford Bridge is falling down” ..

59. cap123 - April 26th, 2008 at 7:07 pm - Quote |

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Chelsea 2-1 Man Utd | One Hand On The Trophy . . . - [Adam Mikhail]

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