That’s the kind of performance you want to see every weekend. Today’s match was also fantasy league-friendly for me with Lampard getting a brace and Drogba getting a goal. This duo never stop bringing truckloads of points. So we’re back on top of the table. Man Utd must lose. Here’s hoping Liverpool absolutely thump Man Utd tomorrow. It’s okay if Liverpool gets three points; it’s not like they’re challenging for the title or anything.

Okay, got no time at all. Gotta run. Enjoy the pic! Ciao!

What a match! What a complete football experience! In the first half, when Real Madrid were leading 1-0, I wasn’t sure if the match would the other way. But the second half saw hour goals scored, sadly for Madrid, only one of them from their side. Milan was looking to continue to their disappointing run but they played some superb football in the second half. Milan was playing like how a good Italian team would, while Madrid were a bit hasty and impatient. It was also a match of goalkeeping errors.

I have never rated Dida. I strongly feel he is the weakest of all first choice keepers that play for the top top teams. He just proved it last night once again. The way Dida slipped the ball for Raul to score, was downright schoolboyish, allowing the ball to bounce of his knee and all that. Credit to Raul as he kinda expected Dida to slip the ball (may be even he doesn’t rate Dida) and rounded him off to finish smartly. Pirlo from 35 yards. Casillas could have done better but Pirlo surprised him. Pato’s smart movement and Casillas’ mistake while charging forward meant they go ahead 2-1.  That finish by Pato was exquisite. What a talent!

Drenthe’s equaliser reminded me of my tactic in Pro Evo. From the corner, you scoop it up to the man near the D, who blasts it in. The winning goal from Milan was the worst piece of defence you could see all year. While the whole of Madrid defence and more were simply watching Seedorf who was in the edge of the box, no one cared to see where Pato was. Marcelo completely forgot his duties and once Seedorf crossed the ball, you could see the whole Madrid bunch turning the other side and to see to their shock horror an unmarked Pato volleying it in. Madrid created more chances but Milan were more efficient and did deserve their win.

As you’ve figured out by now, I didn’t get to see the Chelsea match. So I can’t write my ‘well-researched, insightful and in-depth match analysis’. Two defeats in the last 3 premier league matches and the win was against struggling top team who have lost four out of their nine matches. Murmurs of Chelsea’s form slipping and the average age showing up. And this happens.

3 wins in 3 matches in champions league. I can now safely say that we’ve seen through Drogba’s suspension. Beating Atletico Madrid 4-0 in a champions league match is a fantastic result. Though Atletico is not really flying high they have some very good players in Aguerro, Forlan, Simao, Maxi etc. Any team that this set of players must be respected.

And soak it up guys! It’s Salomon Kalou who got a brace, weeks after signing his new deal. I know that he must have scored four goals but give it to him. He scores goals. Knock him down how much even you can. He’s got numbers to show. Kalou certainly enjoys playing as the striker and gets into positions very well. What does by getting to those positions is another discussion. He has the instincts of a striker is what I’m trying to say. The first goal was a beauty.

The out-of-form Lampard started it all with a very in-form move. Lampard did a Ronaldinho-like ‘no-look’ pass with immacualte accuracy and Ballack was so aware of the situation that he let Ashley Cole pick it up for a low cross and there was Kalou. I was pretty happy with his second goal. Coming from a set-piece wrecked weekend, to score from a corner for a change, was very pleasing.

Lampard scores! His first Chelsea goal since August! Thought it appeared to be a weak shot from outside the box, it was placed perfectly well to keep it outside the reach of the keeper. He had a good match, Frank Lampard. The match was oer even before Lampard got the third but Perea’s brilliant header completed a fine champions league evening for Chelsea.

Barcelona, Real Madrid and Liverpool – They all lost at home in this champions league match day. While it was fun watching them lose, I certainly did not want us to have a repeat of last year where only the second half of the last match confirmed our progress to the next round. Nothing of that sort this time. We’ll win the next match and let the likes of Sturridge etc to get some match time. All focus back to the premier league. Blackburn at the Bridge this weekend. Not sure if I can watch it and report it. A family event could keep me restricted to mobile tracking of the live game. Let’s see!

Disappointed? Yes. Surprised? No. My predictions didn’t go well but there was one thing where I was spot on. I knew that we were going to concede in set pieces. We managed that twice. Two very poorly defended set pieces have undermined an otherwise good performance for a post-international-break match at Villa Park. I wouldn’t say we looked tired but certainly Villa looked more fresh and determined.

If you exclude those set pieces aside, this was a match that Chelsea dominated – be it in possession or in terms of chances created, shots on goal etc. But that’s not to take anything away from Aston Villa. They dominated where it mattered – the goals scored column. Let this not go down an a poor performance from Chelsea or something. We played really well. We had the creativity and improvisation, we were great to watch and we created loads of chances. If only we had defended better . . .

With some extra effort, Michael Essien could have prevented both the goals. For the first goal, Carvalho was at fault but Essien could have stopped the goal. For the second goal, it was clearly Essien who was simply watching the ball without making an attempt of any sort to stop the goal. He wasn’t shoving or body checking or even jumping. He just failed to mark his man. That was pretty sad to see. There was something common about Essien’s performance and that of Chelsea. Essien had a good match otherwise but just lost it during these set pieces.

Earlier, Drogba score a very smart long range goal. For the casual eyes, it might look like a lucky strike. If you’ve been following Drogba since the pre-season friendlies, you’d realise that this is something he has added to his repertoire. The shot is not about luck, it’s about surprising the goalie and doing that with perfection. He’s done that now a few times this season. Very good goal.

From a league table point of view, it’s a bad weekend as Man Utd and Arsenal win their matches. Liverpool lost to Sunderland but their results shouldn’t matter anymore. We’ve knocked them out of the premier league as early as October this time. How Rafael Benitez is still holding on to his job is beyond me. Except for a lucky champions league win and an even more lucky FA Cup win, he’s got nothing to show. From a Chelsea perspective, I wish he stays for another decade in charge of Liverpool.

Sometimes, I realise that this blog really helps me in reacting to such defeats. When the match was over, I was very gutted but as I started writing this blog, I’m feeling lighter. It’s one of those matches where we did well but committed two mistakes and were punished. It’s a long season but we have a bunch of tough away fixtures to come. Excellent performance in the next 8 weeks could put us all alone at the top while the rest can fight for the spoils. I think we’ll come back like this match never happened and lead the table again soon. Cheer up!

My Vaio is back! May be it didn’t like my thoughts around a macbook. This was my first crash ever in my last 15 years of owning a PC/laptop. In the process of recovery, I’ve lost all my data which included a folder called ‘blog stuff’ where I had stored all the data, text, images, themes, templates, bookmarks related to BlueChampions since its inception. I don’t how that loss would affect this blog. Hopefully it would not. Okay then, let’s get on with the game this weekend.

Chelsea at Villa Park. Never a comfortable game. In the last few seasons, Aston Villa have been a bogey team for us especially as Villa Park. It’s going to be a difficult match this time too. Same old story of Chelsea internationals being away on national duty while the Villans were resting for a fortnight and gearing up for this match. Expect a tired bunch of Chelsea players playing with no purpose in the first half and conceding a cheap goal from a set piece and then picking up tempo in the second half to come back and win. It’s a routine, isn’t it?

Villa have been strong at home with a four wins and a draw in the last five matches. Their defence has been top class this season so far. All points to a very tough match. Tone down your expectations. As long as we get the three points, we can just move on. Care less about how we play today. One good thing about this post-international-break match is, we are not playing a team that might park the bus. We play a team that plays ball. Villa can play an open and attacking game which could just turn out to be beneficial for us.

No Mikel. No Bosingwa. No Ballack. No Ballack because Zhirkov hacked him down in Russia vs Germany. Heck, we create injuries for ourselves! Good news is Petr Cech is back from his suspension. When he was away, we beat Liverpool 2-0 which goes to show our strength. In terms of Villa team news all I hope for is that Heskey plays and plays in his England form.

Marko Lawrenson at BBC predicts a 1-1 draw. Not a worry because he just doesn’t get them right. I hope he’s not paid in proportion to the correct results that he calls. He does talk about the effect of internationals on the Chelsea team but strangley he doesn’t bring it up for Sunbears or Tangos or for the ladies from North London. But then, Chelsea might have more number of internationals in their squad than probably any other team in England.  I predict Villa 1-2 Chelsea. If you notice, I don’t predict clean sheets anymore for Chelsea. But I’m very sure we’d win.

In other news, Salomon Kalou has signed a new deal with Chelsea. I know the house is always divided when it comes to Kalou. Given all this transfer ban drama, it helps to tie up any decent player with the club. At least, we won’t debate if he is a ‘decent’ player or not. He has been playing in the premier league for the last 3 seasons and he has records to show that he can score goals and make them too. He’s been played in positions unnatural to him but his returns have been pretty decent. On the pitch, when you’re watching him live, he can be very frustrating though. He is very Arsenalish, if you know what I mean. Poor decision making, that’s all I meant.

Alex has signed up as well which makes sense. Carvalho does not seem to be a long bet. I think he’d be off to Serie A next season. Alex is not exactly a Carvalho but I’m happy to have him if Riccy is leaving. Alex is a superb squad player but his lack of acceleration and agility means he could really tested by the pacy forwards. As I said earlier, we should tie up all our players without hesitation. I know Chelsea are contesting the FIFA ban but I don’t think it would go completely. We might only see the ban relaxed a bit. It’s too big a decision for FIFA to make in favour of the club that is the sum total of all things evil in football.

By the way, keep an eye on the fantasy league. Rooney and Liverpool (I mean Gerrard + Torres) are injured out. Make your transfers. If you need any motivation, I’m #92 in the 225 players in the BlueChampions league. Important update – football gaming is taking over my life. After a couple of weeks with FIFA 10, I’m eagerly waiting for PES 2010. All I expected from FIFA 10 was to hold my interest until PES 2010 is out, which it has achieved. I’ve pre-ordered PES 2010 and I must get it a day before the release date, if all my stars are in the right place at the right time. More on FIFA 10, PES 2010 and more importantly FIFA 1o vs PES 2010 later.

The Blues have moved up in the FIFA rankings by 11 places to #138. If you hadn’t known, Team India (oh yeah, we have a football team) plays in blue colours. It’s not really a Chelsea blue, it’s more of Fiorentina kind but a blue nevertheless. So, we’re #138. World cup, here we come (WC 2022, that is)! On this positive note, to all the Indians out there, Happy Diwali!

That’s all i had to say, actually. My Sony Vaio has just crashed and it appears that, with my level of technical knowledge, I can do nothing by myself. For a few months now, I’ve been thinking about buying a Mac. Now this crash is really tempting me. This is like an English player getting injured just when Capello is about to announce his world cup squad.

My laptop recovery or the replacement is not going to happen any time soon. So, these’s going to be some tremendous inactivity in the blog except for these litte mobile-blogged pieces. I hope to be active in the BC HUDDLE. Let’s catch up there!

P.S: I’ve been playing FIFA 10 for a week now. The game’s just fantastic. I’m really enjoying this while hoping that PES still beats this one :-)