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Chelsea vs Arsenal 23rd March 2008 – Premier League – Stamford Bridge This is the second instalment of what has been labelled by the media as showdown Sunday. Man Ure beat Liverpool earlier and it’s vital that we get all three points today to keep up any chance we may have of winning the title. The line up today is: Manuel Almunia Gael Clichy Kolo Toure William Gallas Bacary Sagna (Abou Diaby 72) Emmanuel Eboue Cesc Fabregas Mathieu Flamini (Nicklas Bendtner 88) Alexander Hleb Robin Van Persie (Theo Walcott 76) Emmanuel Adebayor The match starts and as you can imagine Gallas is booed by the Chelsea fans every time he touches the ball and Cashley Hole is booed by the Gooners. The commentator on SKY Sports refers to the teams as Beauty and the Beast making reference to our beautiful flowing style vs Chelsea’s effective but not very entertaining over aggressive style of play. It’s a tense start to the match with the first event of note happens in the 4th minute. Gallas gives away a stupid free kick out side of the area and Drogba sets it up to take the shot. As he makes his run up, Eboue runs to block the ball and when Drogba strikes the ball Eboue is only about a yard away from the ball. He gets booked for this and Chelsea gets to retake the kick. Ballack takes it this time and does get it on target but it’s an easy save for Almunia. We have a bit of good play over the next few minutes but it ends up with a goal kick to Chelsea when Sagna’s poor ball to Eboue goes out of play. It’s a very cagy first 10 minutes with no chances at either end. The midfield is congested making it difficult for both teams. On 12 minutes Essien has three Chelsea players making a run towards the box but makes a complete mess of it and the ball goes out for an Arsenal throw. We’re very lucky because our defence was nowhere to be seen. On the quarter of the hour mark the stats are showing we are having 66% of possession but it’s a bit worrying that we haven’t created anything. Our first chance is in the 15th minute and it falls to RVP. He is unmarked at the edge of the area but his shot goes over and wide. The following goal kick is launched up the other end but Ballack has another poor shot which is on target, but saved by Almunia. A few minutes later Cudicini comes outside of his area and heads the ball away to clear. The ball goes to Eboue but he is too far out and his shot is way off target. We have another good spell of possession but Chelsea are able to counter attack and we need to Kolo to make a good block in the 22nd minute. RVP has a shot on target in the 23rd minute after some good build up play but the shot has no power and is saved. The most dangerous player on the pitch is Joe Cole but it’s Drogba that has the best chance. A long ball beats the Arsenal defence and falls to Drogba. He is through one-on-one but the ball comes of his knee and goes out for a goal kick. Lucky Arsenal. A moment later Drogba is through again but Almunia comes outside of his area to head away to safety. Eboue makes a dangerous run into the area and the ball bounces around the Chelsea box. I don’t know how we don’t score as there are chances for both Adebayor and Eboue. There are a couple of bookings just after the half hour mark. Joe Cole for a foul on RVP and Ballack for a foul on Hleb. Our first corner comes in the 38th minute and it gives us a good chance to score. The ball is whipped in and Kolo has a free header towards the far post. Gallas makes the run but is unable to connect to the ball and it goes wide. In 40th minute Flamers gives away a free kick after a foul on Lampard. The ball is put into the box but Kalou is unable to get a shot in and the ball is cleared. Ballack has another shot saved by Almunia in the 42nd minute as Chelsea start to take control of the match. It’s a tense finally to the half which finishes 0-0. Half-Time The second half starts with the ball straight into the Chelsea penalty area. There’s a game of head tennis with about 6 or 7 consecutive headers before the ball is cleared to safety. RVP puts a good cross into the box but Flamini’s shot is saved. The game is a bit scrappy and there are plenty of free kicks being given by the referee which is only stopping the flow of the match. In the 54th minute Drogba is through on goal once again but just as he is about to make his shot Gallas is able to get a touch on the ball and clear it. Adebayor has a shot saved in the 56th minute after some good build up play. The breakthrough comes in the 58th minute when Sagna heads into the net from Cesc’s corner kick. Come on Arsenal! Gallas makes a good clearance in the 63rd minute at the expense of a corner which is punched away by Almunia. A couple of minutes later Sagna is injured and goes off the pitch for treatment. Ballack has another shot saved and is then substituted. The Chelsea fans are singing “You don’t know what you’re doing” at Avram Grant which makes me smile. Diaby comes on for Sagna in the 71st minute with Eboue going into the right back position. A minute later the score is level. Drogba scores and it’s allowed by the referee even though 3 players were clearly offside when the ball was played. It’s a bit like the Alamo now as we are under a lot of pressure at the back. Anelka has a shot in the 75th but it goes well wide when he really should have scored. Walcott comes on for Van Persie. As we approach the final nervy 10 minutes Drogba scores again. This time it’s a valid goal which comes from a poorly defended long ball. Almunia saves another Drogba shot in the 82nd minute. At the other end Flamini has a header saved before he is replaced by Bendtner in the 88th minute. A little late I think, but what do I know! 5 minutes of added time is given but Arsenal don’t see much of the ball during this time and Chelsea waste as much time as possible, as we would too. A disappointing day and our second defeat of the season puts us third in the table. |
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