MATCH REPORT: CHELSEA 2 MANCHESTER CITY 1 Posted on: Sun 27 Oct 2013 SUMMARY A 90th-minute Fernando Torres goal secured a 2-1 victory over Man City at Stamford Bridge in what was an entertaining afternoon in west London. The game appeared to be heading for a draw after Andre Schurrles 1st-half opener had been cancelled out by Sergio Aguero 3mins into the 2nd half,but Torres,a constant thorn in the side of the City defence,pounced on a mix-up between Matija Nastasic&Joe Hart right at the death to seal a 5th successive victory for Jose Mourinhos side. Its now 8 games unbeaten for the Blues as we go from strength to strength. A 1st victory of the season over a direct rival will aid the confidence in the group no end&we can now look forward to 2 away games on the horizon,startin g with a trip to Arsenal on Tuesday in the Capital One Cup,which is followed by a Premier League game at Newcastle United next Saturday lunchtime. TEAM NEWS Jose Mourinho made 1change to the side which beat Schalke 3-0 in midweek,with the returning Ashley Cole replacing Cesar Azpilicueta at LB. Gary Cahill retained his place in the centre of defence alongside John Terry,ensuring he made his 1st Premier League start since the 2-0 win over Fulham last month. Fresh from his brace in Gelsenkirchen,T orres was once again chosen to lead the line. A strong Chelsea bench included David Luiz,Juan Mata&Samuel Etoo. For the visitors,Pablo Zabaleta came in for Micah Richards at RB,while in the absence of skipper Vincent Kompany,Martin Demechelis partnered Nastasic,with Javier Garcia playing in a deep midfield role. The in-form Aguero started as the lone striker for Manuel Pellegrinis side. FIRST HALF Both teams went into the game in a rich vein of form&coming off the back of away wins in the Champions League,but it was the Blues who threatened 1st. City failed to clear their lines following a Frank Lampard corner&as the ball ran out to Oscar just outside the penalty area,the Brazilian swung a teasing cross to the far post where Cahill arrived. The defender connected well on the volley but he was unable to keep it down. As chances go,it was a decent 1,particularly so early in the game. City,after a slow start,began to get a foothold in the match,&they were seeing plenty of the ball. With Fernandinho&Gar cia holding,Yaya Toure,wearing the captains armband,was deployed in a slightly more advanced role,&they looked to utilise his threat as often as possible. Both defences,howeve r,were standing firm&goalscorin g opportunities at either end were proving hard to come by,but as the half-hour mark approached the pace of the game went up a notch. Twice in quick succession Torres went close,1st from a delightful Ramires cross&soon after when he fired over the bar from close range,the best chance of the game up until that point. The Spaniard was growing in stature,&in the 32nd minute he lit up Stamford Bridge with a wonderful run,acceleratin g away from Gael Clichy on the right-hand side,his delivery across goal was inch- perfect&An dre Schurrle arrived to stab home from close range&give us the lead. It was the German intnls 1st goal for the club,&he knew exactly who to thank,pointing towards Torres as he wheeled away in celebration. Moments later our lead was almost doubled,&in some style,as Torres,racing away from the chasing City defenders,held the ball up,came inside,&fired a dipping strike beyond the despairing dive of Hart,only to see it come back off the joint&roll away to safety. It was Mourinhos men with their tails up,but with so many talented players at their disposal Citys threat remained,partic ularly on the break,&4mins before the break it required a brilliant stop by Petr Cech at his near post to deny Aguero. Looking to restore parity before half-time,City poured forward in the closing minutes. Toure tried his luck from distance but his strike was always rising&flew into the upper tier of the Shed End. SECOND HALF It was City who began the 2nd half on the front foot,&3mins after the restart they were back on level terms. Silva fed Samir Nasri deep inside our half; the Frenchman looked up&slipped it into the path of Aguero,but while there appeared no imminent danger,the striker crashed an unstoppable effort past Cech&into the roof of the net. It was Agueros 5th goal in 4 games&1 that sparked Pellegrinis side into life. Minutes later Silva was presented with a glorious opportunity to put them in front but,rather than taking the shot on,opted to pass,allowing the Blues to clear the danger,while Garcia was then afforded a free header from a Silva free-kick but could only guide it down&into the arms of Cech. Our response,howeve r,was a positive one,&after Hazard saw his appeals for a penalty waved away following a challenge by Zabaleta inside the box,Torres went close,seeing his header from Lampards free-kick saved by Hart. Now it was the Blues with the momentum,&from another of our quick breaks Garcia was fortunate not to be dismissed for an off-the- ball body-check which took Torres out of the action. City breathed a collective sigh of relief when only a yellow card was produced,&from the resulting free-kick Terry,who deserved credit for reaching Lampards delivery,could only steer his effort over the bar. At the other end,meanwhile,C ech did brilliantly to thwart Silva with his feet. Mourinho made a double substitution in the 65th minute,introduc ing John Mikel Obi&Willian to the action,with Lampard&the goalscorer Schurrle making way,&soon after it was Citys turn to change things up as Jesus Navas replaced Nasri. As the contest entered its final 15mins it was flowing from end to end,&as City pressed forward it required a superb tackle from Branislav Ivanovic,who had been outstanding for much of the game,to dispossess Aguero on the edge of our box. Neither side appeared content to settle for a point,&as we went in search of a potentially decisive strike Ramires fizzed 1 just over Harts bar from 25 yards. Mourinhos intent was underlined 7mins from time when he made his final switch,bringing Etoo on at the expense of Hazard. 4mins from time we almost won it with a Willian free-kick. The Brazilian bent his strike towards goal,all it needed was a touch but the ball evaded everybody&flew inches past Harts left-hand post. There was still time for more drama,though,&i n the 90th minute we scored a priceless winner. A speculative Willian header was aimed at nobody in particular but,under no pressure,Nastas ic headed the ball beyond the advancing Hart who had rushed off his line to clear. Torres reacted quickest&raced on to the loose ball,getting there just ahead Demechelis&firi ng into the empty net to send the home supporters,not to mention the entire Chelsea bench,into a frenzy. Mourinho celebrated with the fans,the players raced into the far corner&jumped all over the goalscorer. Seldom has a goal been celebrated in such a manner,&it wasnt surprising given the importance of the strike. City pumped the ball forward in added time in search of a leveller but we defended with bodies on the line&held on for a priceless victory. One Step Beyond by Madness was pumped around the Bridge at the final whistle as players,support ers&management alike celebrated wildly. It was a big win,&1 that preserves our 100% home record in the Premier League. Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Cole; Ramires, Lampard (Mikel 65); Hazard (Etoo 83), Oscar, Schurrle (Willian 65); Torres. Unused substitutes: Schwarzer, Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Mata. Scorers Schurrle 32, Torres 90 Booked Lampard 21, Ramires 50 Manchester City (4-1-4-1): Hart; Zabaleta, Demichelis, Nastasic, Clichy; Garcia (Kolarov 79); Nasri (Navas 69), Yaya Toure (c), Fernandinho, Silva; Aguero (Negredo 86). Unused substitutes:Pan tilimon, Richards, Milner, Dzeko. Scorer Aguero 48 Booked Zabaleta 26, Nastasic 33, Garcia 59. Referee Howard Webb Crowd 41,495
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 19:25:33 +0000
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