Chelsea 2 Tottenham 0
New signing Nicolas Anelka made his Chelsea debut as Juliano Belletti and Shaun Wright-Phillips ensured Avram Grant's side continued to keep pace with the leaders at the top of the Barclays Premier League with a 2-0 home win against Tottenham.
Anelka, who moved from Bolton for £15million, was introduced as a second-half substitute and denied a debut goal by the woodwork in the final minute.
But the game was settled by Belletti's 30-yard screamer in the 19th minute and another from Wright-Phillips 10 minutes from time.
Tottenham were hoping to record their first victory at Stamford Bridge in almost 18 years but found themselves under sustained pressure in the opening moments.
• Grant pleased with Anelka debut
Joe Cole sent over a dangerous cross in the 11th minute, but unfortunately the ball eluded everyone in the penalty area.
Seconds later Florent Malouda left Pascal Chimbonda in a spin on the edge of the penalty area, but his attempted cross to the unmarked Wright-Phillips was just too high.
Tottenham were guilty of giving the ball away too much, but Chelsea, despite the creativity of Joe Cole and Belletti on the right flank, failed to make the most of it until the 19th minute when the defender put the home side ahead.
There seemed little danger to Tottenham when Belletti collected the ball just inside the away half.
But in the absence of a challenge from Tottenham's players, Belletti moved forward before unleashing a 30-yard drive that soared into the roof of the net beyond Radek Cerny's outstretched hands.
Tottenham midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng was then booked for a challenge that belonged more on a rugby pitch as he brought down a rampaging Joe Cole with both hands.
Spurs should have equalised in the 29th minute when Aaron Lennon's cross found Steed Malbranque lurking unmarked at the far post.
The Spurs midfielder let fly with a volley which threatened to find its way into the net at the near post, until the agile Petr Cech pushed it to safety.
In the 32nd minute Tottenham's Boateng tried his luck from 20 yards, but his accuracy was not a patch on that displayed by Belletti earlier in the game and the ball flew over the crossbar.
Chelsea's goal had forced Tottenham to increase both their work-rate and pace but much to the frustration of coach Juande Ramos, their final ball left a lot to be desired.
Joe Cole continued to give Young-Pyo Lee problems on Chelsea's right flank and his pass to Wright-Phillips in the 37th minute allowed the England winger to take aim at the Spurs goal.
SFortunately for the visitors, Ledley King managed to block the shot and the ball span away for a corner which Chelsea wasted.
Another cross from Joe Cole in the 40th minute ran untouched right along the edge of the six-yard box much to the England midfielder's frustration.
Chelsea had a goal by Michael Ballack ruled out for offside after a mistake by King had allowed Malouda to open up the Spurs defence yet further.
Ramos' side had been distinctly lack-lustre in the first period with little of their renowned attacking flair on show.
But it was Chelsea who began to assert themselves, with Joe Cole testing Cerny's concentration with a low drive from 18 yards in the 49th minute.
The Spurs keeper, preferred to England's Paul Robinson, dealt with Cole's effort easily.
In the 52nd minute, Malbranque was booked for a late lunge on Wright-Phillips.
One of the biggest cheers of the afternoon was reserved for new signing Anelka when he began warming up on the touchline in the 54th minute.
He got an even bigger cheer when he replaced Claudio Pizarro in the 58th minute.
Anelka almost made it a spectacular debut with his third touch of the game when a back-heel from Wright-Phillips found him unmarked eight yards out.
Anelka, with his back to goal, turned and struck a half-volley that Cerny saved superbly.
Tottenham then enjoyed a long spell of possession, but it failed to produce results. The closest they came to a goal was in the 69th minute when Ballack was booked for a foul on Lennon on the edge of the penalty area.
Dimitar Berbatov took the kick but sent his effort just wide of the target.
Chelsea ensured they increased their unbeaten home run in the league to 74 games 10 minutes from time when Joe Cole's run and pass allowed Wright-Phillips to send a low right-foot drive into the bottom corner.
But the margin of victory could have been higher. Wright-Phillips wasted a chance to make it three by firing wide from 18-yards and Anelka hit the crossbar after a mistake by Michael Dawson in the last minute of normal time.
Grant pleased with Anelka debut
Avram Grant insists he could not have asked for any more from new £15million signing Nicolas Anelka after the French striker made his debut as a second-half substitute against Tottenham.
Grant revealed that he had no plans to use the striker but an injury to Claudio Pizarro during the 2-0 win forced him to introduce Anelka into the action.
Grant said: 'We are very short of strikers, Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou are in Africa and Andriy Shevchenko is injured. Pizarro got injured so we had to use him.
'Anelka played without having one training session with us. He very quickly got into the style of the team and was part of the game. He hit the bar one time and the goalkeeper made a good save from him. So you cannot ask any more from his first performance. But we didn't plan to use him.'
Chelsea are now closing in on the leaders and with injured players like captain John Terry, midfielder Frank Lampard plus their African Nations Cup contingent to return, the Blues are beginning to look real title contenders again.
Grant added: 'I am very pleased for many things. First I am pleased that we have won so many games but more pleased by the way we have done it.
'We changed the style a little bit but not much and even without so many players, we keep looking to play good football. I am very happy. Our target is to win games and always play positive football.
'It is not easy to be in the position to always have to run after the other teams because if you lose points, it makes the gap more bigger. But it is not easy for everybody because Arsenal is a very good team and so are Manchester United.
'So, if we win and they drop points I am happy and hope it does not happen the other way around.'
Grant also praised the performance of Wright-Phillips, who scored another important goal on the back of the one he notched against Everton in the Carling Cup semi-final in midweek.
Grant said: 'Shaun was excellent for me. We needed him to play in midfield and then we need him to play as a striker in the last 10 minutes and he scored a fantastic goal.
'He also worked hard in the midfield and played intelligent football. He was very good.'
Tottenham boss Juande Ramos claimed the result flattered Chelsea even though they troubled Blues keeper Petr Cech on just one occasion in 90 minutes.
Ramos said: 'It was a very evenly balanced game. Domination of the game passed from one side to the other. But that balance was not reflected in the scoreline.
'Chelsea grabbed two goals from outside the penalty area but in terms of domination of the game, it wasn't reflected in the scoreline.'
Ramos again chose Radek Cerny ahead of England goalkeeper Paul Robinson but the Spurs coach would not apportion any blame on the stopper for either goal.
He also claimed the squad was a happy one even though he had axed Robinson for the Carling Cup semi-final against Arsenal in midweek.
Ramos said: 'Goals are conceded by the team as a whole. It is not a question of handing responsibility to one player or another. We have conceded two goals and lost the game. It is just a bad result.
'We are working with a squad of happy players at the moment. We were in a complicated position in the league table but we are happy with the players we have got.
'I have got a squad of 20-odd players and obviously those that play more minutes are going to happier than those who play fewer.'
Anelka, who moved from Bolton for £15million, was introduced as a second-half substitute and denied a debut goal by the woodwork in the final minute.
But the game was settled by Belletti's 30-yard screamer in the 19th minute and another from Wright-Phillips 10 minutes from time.
Tottenham were hoping to record their first victory at Stamford Bridge in almost 18 years but found themselves under sustained pressure in the opening moments.
• Grant pleased with Anelka debut
Joe Cole sent over a dangerous cross in the 11th minute, but unfortunately the ball eluded everyone in the penalty area.
Seconds later Florent Malouda left Pascal Chimbonda in a spin on the edge of the penalty area, but his attempted cross to the unmarked Wright-Phillips was just too high.
Tottenham were guilty of giving the ball away too much, but Chelsea, despite the creativity of Joe Cole and Belletti on the right flank, failed to make the most of it until the 19th minute when the defender put the home side ahead.
There seemed little danger to Tottenham when Belletti collected the ball just inside the away half.
But in the absence of a challenge from Tottenham's players, Belletti moved forward before unleashing a 30-yard drive that soared into the roof of the net beyond Radek Cerny's outstretched hands.
Tottenham midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng was then booked for a challenge that belonged more on a rugby pitch as he brought down a rampaging Joe Cole with both hands.
Spurs should have equalised in the 29th minute when Aaron Lennon's cross found Steed Malbranque lurking unmarked at the far post.
The Spurs midfielder let fly with a volley which threatened to find its way into the net at the near post, until the agile Petr Cech pushed it to safety.
In the 32nd minute Tottenham's Boateng tried his luck from 20 yards, but his accuracy was not a patch on that displayed by Belletti earlier in the game and the ball flew over the crossbar.
Chelsea's goal had forced Tottenham to increase both their work-rate and pace but much to the frustration of coach Juande Ramos, their final ball left a lot to be desired.
Joe Cole continued to give Young-Pyo Lee problems on Chelsea's right flank and his pass to Wright-Phillips in the 37th minute allowed the England winger to take aim at the Spurs goal.
SFortunately for the visitors, Ledley King managed to block the shot and the ball span away for a corner which Chelsea wasted.
Another cross from Joe Cole in the 40th minute ran untouched right along the edge of the six-yard box much to the England midfielder's frustration.
Chelsea had a goal by Michael Ballack ruled out for offside after a mistake by King had allowed Malouda to open up the Spurs defence yet further.
Ramos' side had been distinctly lack-lustre in the first period with little of their renowned attacking flair on show.
But it was Chelsea who began to assert themselves, with Joe Cole testing Cerny's concentration with a low drive from 18 yards in the 49th minute.
The Spurs keeper, preferred to England's Paul Robinson, dealt with Cole's effort easily.
In the 52nd minute, Malbranque was booked for a late lunge on Wright-Phillips.
One of the biggest cheers of the afternoon was reserved for new signing Anelka when he began warming up on the touchline in the 54th minute.
He got an even bigger cheer when he replaced Claudio Pizarro in the 58th minute.
Anelka almost made it a spectacular debut with his third touch of the game when a back-heel from Wright-Phillips found him unmarked eight yards out.
Anelka, with his back to goal, turned and struck a half-volley that Cerny saved superbly.
Tottenham then enjoyed a long spell of possession, but it failed to produce results. The closest they came to a goal was in the 69th minute when Ballack was booked for a foul on Lennon on the edge of the penalty area.
Dimitar Berbatov took the kick but sent his effort just wide of the target.
Chelsea ensured they increased their unbeaten home run in the league to 74 games 10 minutes from time when Joe Cole's run and pass allowed Wright-Phillips to send a low right-foot drive into the bottom corner.
But the margin of victory could have been higher. Wright-Phillips wasted a chance to make it three by firing wide from 18-yards and Anelka hit the crossbar after a mistake by Michael Dawson in the last minute of normal time.
Grant pleased with Anelka debut
Avram Grant insists he could not have asked for any more from new £15million signing Nicolas Anelka after the French striker made his debut as a second-half substitute against Tottenham.
Grant revealed that he had no plans to use the striker but an injury to Claudio Pizarro during the 2-0 win forced him to introduce Anelka into the action.
Grant said: 'We are very short of strikers, Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou are in Africa and Andriy Shevchenko is injured. Pizarro got injured so we had to use him.
'Anelka played without having one training session with us. He very quickly got into the style of the team and was part of the game. He hit the bar one time and the goalkeeper made a good save from him. So you cannot ask any more from his first performance. But we didn't plan to use him.'
Chelsea are now closing in on the leaders and with injured players like captain John Terry, midfielder Frank Lampard plus their African Nations Cup contingent to return, the Blues are beginning to look real title contenders again.
Grant added: 'I am very pleased for many things. First I am pleased that we have won so many games but more pleased by the way we have done it.
'We changed the style a little bit but not much and even without so many players, we keep looking to play good football. I am very happy. Our target is to win games and always play positive football.
'It is not easy to be in the position to always have to run after the other teams because if you lose points, it makes the gap more bigger. But it is not easy for everybody because Arsenal is a very good team and so are Manchester United.
'So, if we win and they drop points I am happy and hope it does not happen the other way around.'
Grant also praised the performance of Wright-Phillips, who scored another important goal on the back of the one he notched against Everton in the Carling Cup semi-final in midweek.
Grant said: 'Shaun was excellent for me. We needed him to play in midfield and then we need him to play as a striker in the last 10 minutes and he scored a fantastic goal.
'He also worked hard in the midfield and played intelligent football. He was very good.'
Tottenham boss Juande Ramos claimed the result flattered Chelsea even though they troubled Blues keeper Petr Cech on just one occasion in 90 minutes.
Ramos said: 'It was a very evenly balanced game. Domination of the game passed from one side to the other. But that balance was not reflected in the scoreline.
'Chelsea grabbed two goals from outside the penalty area but in terms of domination of the game, it wasn't reflected in the scoreline.'
Ramos again chose Radek Cerny ahead of England goalkeeper Paul Robinson but the Spurs coach would not apportion any blame on the stopper for either goal.
He also claimed the squad was a happy one even though he had axed Robinson for the Carling Cup semi-final against Arsenal in midweek.
Ramos said: 'Goals are conceded by the team as a whole. It is not a question of handing responsibility to one player or another. We have conceded two goals and lost the game. It is just a bad result.
'We are working with a squad of happy players at the moment. We were in a complicated position in the league table but we are happy with the players we have got.
'I have got a squad of 20-odd players and obviously those that play more minutes are going to happier than those who play fewer.'
posted by dgarden at 10:18 am
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