Chelsea here Chelsea there news 7 hours The official Chelsea website checks on the progress being made by some of our loan players, assesses the form of our Champions League opponents and looks at the week ahead. Loan highlights It was a weekend to remember for Patrick Bamford as the young striker played a pivotal role in Middlesbrough’s 2-0 FA Cup win away at Manchester City. Bamford started for Aitor Karanka’s side, who withstood some City pressure in the first half before coming alive as an attacking threat after the break. The Chelsea loanee broke the deadlock eight minutes after the restart, chasing down a loose ball as it rolled towards the City goal and showing great intelligence to divert Fernando’s clearance into the back of the net. With the clock ticking down, Bamford then produced a lovely turn to get away from his marker, and as the ball ran into the path of substitute Kike he finished excellently to send the Teessiders into the fifth round. Kenneth Omeruo was an unused substitute for Middlesbrough,while Tomas Kalas wasn’t involved. It was Bamford’s second goal in a week after he opened the scoring in last Tuesday’s 2-1 league win over Cardiff at the Riverside. Kalas played all but the final minute of that game, with Omeruo not involved. After moving to the Madejski Stadium on loan last week, Nathaniel Chalobah was handed his Reading debut in a 2-1 away win at Cardiff. Chalobah was deployed in a midfield role by manager Steve Clarke and almost laid on the opening goal of the game for Oliver Norwood. The winning goal was scored by Hal Robson-Kanu two minutes from time. Elsewhere in the FA Cup, Ryan Bertrand played the full 90 minutes for Southampton as they were beaten 3-2 at home by Crystal Palace. The Saints had led twice in the game, only to be pegged back on both occasions, and it was Marouane Chamakh who netted the decisive strike for Alan Pardew’s side. All five goals were scored in the first half of the game. In the Championship, Islam Feruz came on for the final eight minutes of Blackpool’s game at Watford, but the striker could do nothing to alter the balance of the contest, with Slavisa Jokanovic’s side running out emphatic 7-2 winners. Blackpool had led 2-0 at half-time. There was no game for Nottingham Forest this weekend, but Todd Kane was part of the side beaten 3-2 last Wednesday by Fulham. Kane started at right-back for the visitors who trailed 3-0 after little more than half-an-hour. Two Henri Lansbury goals after the break brought them back into the contest but they were unable to find an equaliser. In League One, meanwhile, Alex Kiwomya played 70 minutes of Barnsley’s 2-0 defeat at MK Dons on Saturday. In the Netherlands, it was a disappointing weekend for Vitesse Arnhem, who fell to a 4-1 defeat at Heerenveen. Vitesse conceded twice in the opening 10 minutes and trailed 3-0 at half-time. Josh McEachran and Wallace started, but both players were withdrawn at the break. In Italy, Marco van Ginkel was handed a start for AC Milan as they lost 3-1 at Lazio. The Dutchman was deployed in a three-man midfield alongside Riccardo Montolivo and Andrea Poli. Milan took the lead after just four minutes through Jeremy Menez, but three second-half goals sealed victory for the hosts. Van Ginkel was replaced by Giampaolo Pazzini 10 minutes into the second half. In Spain, Mario Pasalic played the full 90 minutes in Elche’s 6-0 home defeat to Barcelona on Saturday, a game in which both Lionel Messi and Neymar were among the goals. Pasalic played as one of two deep-lying midfielders, partnering Adrian Gonzalez. Gael Kakuta also completed 90 minutes but, like Pasalic, suffered defeat as Rayo Vallecano were beaten 3-1 by Atletico Madrid. Antoine Griezmann set the home side on their way with two early goals, while our former striker Fernando Torres came off the bench for the final 20 minutes. Marko Marin, meanwhile, made his Anderlecht debut after completing a loan move to the Belgian side last week. The winger came on for the final 14 minutes of their 2-0 defeat at Standard Liege. Matej Delac started in goal for Arles- Avignon in France as they recorded a 1-0 win over Nancy on Friday. Champions League opponents Paris Saint-Germain beat St Etienne 1-0 away from home last night in Ligue 1. A tight affair was decided on the hour when Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored from the penalty spot for the visitors. PSG are currently third in the table, level on points with second-placed Marseille but four points behind leaders Lyon. The week ahead It’s a busy week ahead for the first team, who face two important matches at Stamford Bridge, starting with the visit of Liverpool in the Capital One Cup semi- final second leg tomorrow, kick-off 7.45pm. Then, on Saturday, the top two meet in the Barclays Premier League when Manchester City make the trip south, kick-off 5.30pm You can follow all of the action from both games via our official Twitter feed @chelseafc and via the Live Matches section of this website. Jose Mourinho will be holding his pre- match press conference ahead of the Man City game at Cobham on Friday. Our Under-18s also play twice this week, starting with their FA Youth Cup fifth round tie at home to Swansea on Wednesday, kick-off 7.05pm. The game will be broadcast live on Chelsea TV, with coverage starting at 7pm. Joe Edwards’s side return to league action at the weekend, with an away game at Aston Villa, kick-off 11am. You can follow both youth team matches via our official Twitter feed.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 00:02:23 +0000
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