Champions again!

We did it - Chelsea champions again for the fifth time in their history, fourth time in a decade, and first time in five years. The third league title won by Jose Mourinho and the thirteenth trophy in the Abramovich era. Chelsea always seem to win when the year ends in a five - 1955 2005 2015 not to mention they were formed in 1905!
Chelsea's march to the title started with Arsenal away, and there was much spice in the build up as it was Wenger v Mourinho again. Wenger had never beaten Mourinho and much was being made of this fact. Fabregas returning to his old club - he gave Arsenal many years of service and went to Barcelona when he realised his Arsenal career was producing no trophies. Typical Arsenal fans showing little class by giving him a poor reception unlike the great reception Chelsea fans gave Mata last week. Chelsea had a problem up front as Remy was still injured and Drogba also picked up an injury in mid week, so in the end, Jose opted for no strikers up front with Costa still being out. Willian, Ramires Oscar and Hazard up front were selected as our forwards with Fabregas and Matic sitting in front of the familiar back four.
There wasn't much to report on this game as Chelsea set themselves up to do a job on Arsenal and get the necessary result, something Jose knows how to do so well. There was a strong early claim for a penalty when Fabregas (getting booed during every touch) lofted a ball over the top setting Oscar clear, only for Arsenal keeper Ospina to completely take the Brazilian out, not before he managed to get a touch on the ball diverting it goalwards only for Bellerin to clear off the line. Oscar needed immediate medical treatment and would be substitued for Drogba at half time after replays showed he had a taken a blow to the head with some force. Fabregas also had a penalty appeal turned down, only for the referee to show him a yellow card for simulation much to the joy of the deluded gooners. Chelsea's best chance came before half time as Willian slipped Ramires through - six yards from goal he only had Ospina to beat. The Brazillians tame effort with the outside of his right foot though was easily gathered by the keeper.  Chelsea would not get a better chance. Arsenal themselves had a chance of sorts as Ozil fired through a crowd of players straight at Courtois - their only shot on target.
Drogba replaced Oscar at half time with Fabregas taking over the number 10 role and Ramires dropping back. Aside from a long range Drogba shot that was easily saved and a Mertasacker shot through a crowded penalty area that went wide after Courtois had punched a corner, there were little chances in this match as Chelsea did a superb defensive performance on Arsenal, especially John Terry. One Twitter user joked that the highlights of Arsenal v Chelsea was just John Terry continuously heading the ball away. As Arsenal pressed late on for a winner, Cazorla dragged a shot wide and in stoppage time, Ozil and Welbeck missed-kicked a low cross as it finished a stalemate. Chants of 'boring boring Chelsea' ran around the Emirates at full time as Chelsea's superb defensive performance took a battering. It did set Mourinho up for a brilliant response to the critics - 'Ten years without a title - that's boring'. There was also praise for John Terry who looked all set to finish an outstanding season as one of our best players, with Mourinho calling this performance as Terry's best ever for Chelsea. Later that night Terry, along with Ivanovic, Cahill, Hazard, Matic and Costa were selected in the PFA team of the year with Hazard winning the top prize of player of the year, just as Terry did a decade ago under Mourinho.
The Arsenal result meant we were two more wins away from winning the league and the first of those possible victories came in our game in hand away to Leicester. The only changes to the line up was that Drogba was deemed fit enough to start and replaced Oscar, however Courtois was not deemed fit enough and was dropped in place of Cech. Chelsea took a while to get going in this game and aside from Leicester being so unlucky they were forced to make two early substitutions because of injury, no real incidents of any note arrived until the 40th minute when Leicester almost took the lead - Konchesky's right foot shot threatened to squeeze in at Cechs near post, only for Cech to fingertip it against the post. There was a bit of ping-pong that followed which was finished by Albrighton seeing his shot blocked on the line. A bit of a scare but it didn't spring Chelsea into first gear just yet, as Leicester took the lead right on half time. Vardy escaped down the left and sent a low cross in and due to the crazy weather (it started off with sunshine, then heavy rain and then the first half ended with sunshine again but a very slippery pitch) a few defenders slipped in attempting to break up the attack, only for Albrighton to arrive at the far post to side foot home and put the hosts 1-0 up at the break.
One of the great things about Mourinho though is you always seem to have faith that he will turn things around at half time. Chelseas response right at the start of the second half was worthy of champions - as Ivanovic sent home a low cross for Drogba to turn home. The Ivorian almost added a second minutes later as he sidefooted Fabregas' pull back high over the bar. Chelsea were in control now but had to wait until the 79th minute before they took the lead as Cahills header from a corner was saved by Schmeichel only for Terry to shin the rebound home from close range. Chelsea fans could then be heard sarcastically chanting 'boring boring Chelsea' in response to Arsenal's ridiculous chant at the weekend. The chant was immediately interrupted though by an outstanding goal from Ramires as he smashed home a left footed strike from the edge of the area into the top corner. Fantastic goal to seal the win. Chelsea now one win away from being champions again ...
Crystal Palace were the visitors to Stamford Bridge on May 3rd, in good form under Alan Pardew. The only changes were Courtois coming back in place of Cech and Ramires getting ill in the warm up and having to go straight to hospital, so Cuadrado coning in for him. I still don't see the improvement in replacing Schurrle with Cuadrado. Schurrle wasn't having a good season but I'm not sure if Jose has been a bit too ruthless with him - Cuadrado has been signed 'for next season' apparently as he may not be ready but then why not keep Schurrle and sign Cuadrado in the summer? I get Chelsea are doing well with keeping in the rules of FFP and it was a good bit of business but Cuadrado hasn't been great since he arrived, I think I'd rather we kept Schurrle. Although a few players have come out and said that Jose has a sixth sense when it comes to knowing when to sell players - and it clearly hasn't made a difference anyway!
An early ball from Fabregas was almost headed in by Drogba but the Chelsea striker was inches away from making contact. A Drogba free kick that went straight at Speroni and a fantastic Terry block rolling back the years, preventing a certain goal from Puncheon, where the only notable incidents of the first half. It looked set for 0-0 at half time before Eden Hazard charged into the penalty area and was brought down after trying to squeeze through Mariappa and McArthur. His spot kick though, using his tried and trusted 'Mendieta technique' failed this time as Speroni made the save, but Hazard had the luck of the bounce and headed in the rebound to put Chelsea ahead at the break. The second half saw the atmosphere crank up a notch as the title neared closer and closer - Ivanovic and Puncheon exchanged wide shots, while Cahil fired over and Zaha forced Courtois into making a save after being found unmarked at the back post. Nearing the end of the game, Chelsea hit Palace on the counter and Willian finished with a wide shot. But with Obi Mikel coming on for Cuadrado at half time, Chelsea were always set to close the game out and get the result they needed - as they had been doing for the second half of the season - and inevitably the game did finish 1-0 and Chelsea had the title. Que celebrations all over West London. I watched the game in Brogans just down the road and the atmosphere was electric - Queens 'We are the champions' blasted out at full time along with all the other classic Chelsea songs likely to be heard on match-day, such as Blue is the Colour, Liquidator and Blue day among others.
So a decade on from 2005 we're champions again, and should we win all our remaining games we could reach 92 points, which would be the second highest in the Premier League era, second to our haul of 95 in 2005! Mourinho wins another title (it was nice to see him embrace his family behind the goal immediately after the final whistle) and his record since 2002 now reads 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 1st as well as 2 Premeira Liga titles, 1 Champions league and 1 Uefa cup with Porto, 3 Premier league titles, 3 league cups and 1 FA cup with Chelsea, 2 Serie A titles, 1 Coppa Italia and 1 Champions league with Inter Milan, 1 La Liga and 1 Copa Del Ray with Real Madrid. All the talk now will be about summer acquisitions, i.e how to make the team better and maybe even win the Champions League. Once I submit my final report for the last three games I'll also have a summary report for the season as a whole. In the meantime though - let the celebrations begin! CHAMPIONS!!!

QPR and Man Utd - almost there ...

So we're nearly there ... after two hard fought wins in two hard games. Classic Jose at a time we needed it most. Against QPR - a team we usual drop points against and at a ground where we've only won once in the last 32 years, the only real question was who steps in for the injured Costa, and the answer was Drogba - but only because Remy picked up an injury the day before. Elsewhere Ramires came in for Oscar. The game overall was not a lively one, the QPR crowd did their best to intimidate Chelsea and in particular John Terry. Ivanovic brought an early save from Green before Willians return cross struck a post. QPR's danger man Charlie Austin tested Courtois from 25 yards out with a fierce drive that the Belgian keeper parried away. Then right on half time came Chelsea's best chance as an Ivanovic cross was missed by Drogba at the near post only for Fabregas to head over from close range. The second half was more the same, Chelsea keeping it tight and QPR knocking at the door. Clint Hill had a close range turn and shot pushed around the post by Courtios and Charlie Austin had two late efforts from a corner, the second easily saved by Courtious. Time was running out and the game looked set for 0-0 which to be fair, would have been the right result. However with 3 minutes left, Green's sliced kick out didn't go as far up the pitch as he would have liked and landed straight at Hazards feet about 3 yards from goal. He dribbled the ball down the left and advanced into the penalty area where he played a one-two with half time sub Oscar. He then teed up Fabregas who slotted the ball through a crowd of players into the bottom corner - and the Chelsea fans at the other end of the ground went wild. Wearing a Zorro-like mask from when Charlie Adam elbowed him last week, he then threw the mask down in celebration as he went to celebrate near the QPR fans - que loads of lighters, coins and programmes and flyers being launched disgracefully at the Chelsea players. Their fans should rightfully get fined for it, although the suggestion that Chelsea players 'incited' the crowd by celebrating a goal in front of them is ludicrous. Footballers are humans like you and I and regardless of how much money they make, they should be allowed to give some back if they get any stick from the crowd and some of the do get an awful amount of stick - take John Terry in this game for example. It reminds me of when Adebayor ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal fans after he scored against them for Man City and the camera panned to the Arsenal fans looking like they wanted to run onto the pitch to fight him! Why?? All he's done is run on his knees and and hold his arms out outstretched after they had been singing obscene songs about him. I think there's nothing wrong with footballers giving it back to the crowd, celebrating a goal (and nothing else) does not warrant having coins and lighters and glass bottles thrown at you. Anyway, Chelsea saw out the game 1-0 and the most satisfying shot of the day (apart from the one from Fabregas!) was Terry celebrating in front of the Chelsea fans at the end. In fact judging by the reaction of all the Chelsea players at the end, it looked like this game, after some difficult performances of late had given them a real psychological lift ahead of our nest two games against the two in-form teams of the Premier league, starting with a home game against Man Utd ...

Mourinho announced a surprise to the starting line up with Kurt Zouma starting in midfield, obviously to silence the in-form Fellaini. Oscar coming in for Willian was the other change, while 37 year old Drogba kept his place up front due to Remy not recovering from his muscle injury. During this game and the last game - I feel his age really showed. His pace and part of his strength and prescision appears long gone, but he could still do a job, although I think Jose has used him more than he would liked to have this season. There was a comical moment at the start when another striker - Man Utd striker Wayne Rooney, put Luke Shaw's pull back wide with a left foot shot but some sections of the Utd crowd cheered as the thought from their angle the ball had gone in, even De Gea celebrated! Aside from an unmarked Drogba header that went wide, neither side tested the keepers much prior to the goal on 38 minutes. Before that though, there was some debate as to whether De gea should have been given a red card for a handball outside the penalty area, although its easy to understand how it was missed with a Utd defender blocking the linesman's path. Then on 38 minutes a sublime goal put Chelsea ahead - Fabregas found Oscar whose back-heel pass put Hazard through who charged in on goal and slotted under De Gea from close range. Chelsea almost doubled their lead in the second half as Matic send Drogba through early on - but the Ivorians lack of pace showed as Smalling was able to catch up and almost block Drogba's eventual shot. The ball deflected onto the Utd defender and looked set to be going out for a corner but Hazard popped up at the far post and hit the post of an open goal albeit from a seemingly impossible angle. The rest of the match was really Utd soaking up the possession but not really created any clear chances, McNair came closest to testing Courtois with a 25 yard shot that the Belgian keeper parried, while a long range from Falcao also drifted wide. Falcao then saw a shot brilliantly blocked by Cahil before the Colombian striker - the bane of Chelsea's Super cup final in 2012 - wasted Utd best chance of the game as on 76 minutes he took advantage of a rare lapse in the defence and raced clear only to hit the outside of the post. Chelsea though always looked comfortable although there was a scare in stoppage time as Herrera dived to win a penalty and was rightly booked. Interesting that no issue was made of Utd players surrounding the referee to complain despite their colleagues blatant cheating attempt. Mourinho even said afterwards if a Chelsea player had done that, they would be talking about it for weeks.
So Chelsea held out for a second successive 1-0 win against one of the in form teams. Big result!
If Chelsea beat Arsenal away in their next match (tall ask in fairness) then they could win the title against Leicester on Wednesday night. If they take four points from those two games or if they beat Arsenal but lose to Leicester they could win the title against Palace on 3rd May. If they lose to Arsenal their earliest attempt to win the title would be Liverpool on 10th May.

We're almost there ... come on the Chels!

Stopped by Southampton, almost held by Hull, stuttering past Stoke

In the days that followed our defeat to PSG, much was said in the press about Chelsea, so typical of Jose to come out and boldly say we 'would definitely win the title this season'. Not sure what I made of that, he's already jinxed us once this season against Bradford. Anyway, Southampton next and given their good form this season, this wouldn't be easy but a win was essential to get back on track, and we were given a boost with City losing to Burnley the day before. Willian in for Ramires was the one change made from midweek. Chelsea started brightly and took an early lead when good work by Hazard saw him feed Ivanovic whose cross was surprisingly easily headed in by Costa, breaking his Premiership goal drought. The visitors almost pulled level, with Mane denied by Courtois from Tadic's pull back. On 19 minutes though, Southampton did draw level, as Matic fouled Mane in the penalty area and a penalty was correctly awarded. Tadic put the penalty straight through the middle with the ball hitting Coutois' diving legs, but the Belgian was unable to keep it out. Chelsea though were denied a penalty of their own as Ivanovic was clipped, while Southampton started to to look dangerous as a low Tadic drive required Courois into action, and a Mane shot late in the half also brought the Belgian keeper at full stretch. Southampton definitely finished the first half the better team. They even started the second half as they left the first with a fierce 25 yard free kick from Alderweireld pushed away by Courtois. On 53 mins Matic, on a yellow card, was subbed for Ramires and Chelsea finally started to regain some control in their search to retake the lead again. A Willian shot was diverted against the post by Costa, while Southampton reminded us they were still a threat when a shot from Long was blocked. Not long after that, Costa rose high to meet a Willian cross only to see Forster save his header. With time running out, it became the Forster show as the Southampton keeper saved well from a left footed Oscar shot. Mane and substitute Cuadrado both exchanged wide shots, while Azpilecueta saw a curling shot from distance tipped around the post from Forster. From the resulting corner, another sub Remy had a header cleared off the line, Terry's following shot was then blocked before firing the rebound wide. So 1-1 was probably a fair result, now 6 points ahead of City but we are seemingly starting to stutter and look tired at the wrong time of the season, I personally thought our next game against Hull was a massive one.

For some reason, I was really nervous about this game. City along with now Arsenal only a point behind City, had won the day before and with our stuttering form, getting back to winning ways in a winnable game on paper was essential. Filipe Luis was preferred to Azpilecueta and Ramires came in for Oscar. After two minutes though, I wondered why I was so worried as Hazard gave us the lead with a superb finish, picking up the ball in midfield he ran towards the retreating Hull defence before unleashing a left foot shot 25 yards out. Hull though easily carved out an opening some minutes later as Hernandez went through on goal only for Courtois to block him. Then on nine minutes Chelsea doubled their lead with another great goal, Fabregas found Costa with a through pass in acres of space on the left, and the striker weaved his way to the edge of the penalty area and from an acute angle, bent a right for shot beyond McGregor and into the far side of the net. Another great finish. However we still looked shaky at the back, as Courtios was called into action again saving a N'doye free kick. Costa then missed with a header before Hull changed to a back four, and then it went pear shaped in the space of two minutes. First Robertson skipped a bit too easily past Ivanovic on the left and crossed for Elmohamady to score to score at the far post. Just two minutes later, Hull equalised with one of the most shambolic goals I've ever seen. Ivanovic partly at fault again, played a close back pass to Courtois in a packed penalty area and the Belgian keeper, instead of whacking it clear, tried to dribble it out and gave to Hernandez who slid the ball into the empty net. I was shocked, the Chelsea fans at the game were stunned into silence. Poor defensive performance from Chelsea in the first half. Second half started and we seemed tighter, Fabregas shooting wide early on before midway through the half, Courtois redeemed himself with a stunning triple save from Elmohamady, Livermore and Ramirez. Chelsea were then forced into a change, as Costa was forced off with looked like a potential hamstring injury and Remy came on. The impact was instant as Remy scored what turned out to be the winner after two minutes. William dribbled down the right and found Remy in the centre, whose left foot shot hit McGregor and squirmed in. So the game was won but defensively I thought we were a horror show, not the right time of the season to show kind of form, especially with in form Arsenal only a point behind City now. I felt the two week international break was welcomed for once.

So two weeks later and Stoke came to the bridge, another big game ( they all are at this stage). Costa not fit enough to start, despite scans all showing as cleared, he started on the bench. Remy started up front, Oscar and Azpilecueta returned in place of Filipe Luis and Ramires and Terry played his first game since signing a one year contract extension - good decision Jose, and well earned John! Chelsea started brightly and Remy had an early shot that took a wicked deflection brilliantly saved by Begovic. The French striker looked lively and had a right foot shot fizzle wide soon afterwards as well as forcing Begivic into another save albeit from a difficult angle. Stoke then had their first effort of the game, as N'zonzi picked up a poor clearance from Matic and fired inches wide. A warning sign then. Hazard then went on one of his mazy runs only for his shot to be saved by Begovic, and shortly after that, a fine move was finished by Oscar poorly dragging his shot wide. Chelsea were finding a breakthrough hard and it was inevitable the first goal came from a penalty. Fabregas, having been put through by Willian, invited the challenge by Wollscheid who brought the Spaniard down with a rash tackle. Penalty, Hazard stepped up and Cooley does what he does best. Chelsea's lead didn't last long though, what happened next was out of this world. Firstly though, Charlie Adam caught Fabregas with an elbow, but nothing was done, Next minute, Adam picks up the ball 60 yards from goal inside his own half and lobs Courtois for 1-1. Yes Courtois was standing a bit too far off his line but who could have expected that? Sometimes you just have to take your hat off and say well done. What a goal. We had played well but the score line was disappointing, regardless though I didn't like hearing boos at half time. Mourinho felt the need to change it and brought Costa on for the poor Oscar at half time. Still felt a bit of panicky move if I'm honest - and didn't pay off. Eight minutes later, Costa's troublesome hamstring flared up again and he had to be replaced by Drogba. Just before that happened though, Begivoc had tipped a Hazard strike over the bar so we were keeping up the tempo. It took until the 60th minute for us to retake the lead though, and Begovic, who'd had a good game, found himself at fault. His throw out was intercepted by Willian who then fed Hazard to bear down on goal, only for the Belgian to set up Remy for an open goal. Stoke almost pulled level again just minutes later though as N'zonzi hit the post with a long range strike ! Nerves getting seriously tested here. Chelsea held firm though and the only incident of note for the rest of the game was when January signing Cuadrado was denied by a double save from Begovic. I have to say, I can't see the improvement in swapping Shurrle for him. Anyway, it's another win to stay top but crikey we look more jittery every game, I'm still quite worried and not convinced the title race is completely over. Costa as well might be out for a while, so Remy after scoring the winning goal in the last two games, will get more of a chance now which I'm happy about, starting with his old club on Sunday. We always seem to lose once a season to QPR as it is their cup final after all. The way we're playing at the moment I'm not confident if I'm being honest. Anyway up the Chels!

Satisfying cup final, satisfying London derby, extremely unsatisfying Champions league exit

Three games to catch up on, the first two very good, then the final one very disappointing. The first one was the Capital One cup final against Tottenham, with a chance of winning the first silverware of the season against our bitter rivals. We had a week to prepare, whilst Spurs had a Europa League exit on Thursday to Fiorentina in the back of their minds. The main worry for Chelsea was who was going to replace Matic? Well once the line up was announced, we knew. Jose had gone with both Cahill and Zouma along with Terry, meaning one of them would play alongside Ramires in the middle. Sky's prediction that Cahill would be the one to play there was pretty embarrassing and laughable, it was actually Zouma which was always a more realistic choice. Cech, having played most games in this competition was given a start, with the defence of Dave, Terry, Cahill and Ivan, Ramires and Zouma in the middle with Hazard, Fabregas playing further forward and Willian supporting Costa. Me and my mates watch the game in a packed Brogans, which was half showing the rugby and half showing the football, which it more crowded than usual. The team suffered an early scare with Eriksen crashing a free kick on the edge of the area against the cross bar, which replays showed Cech had covered. For the rest of the match though, I can't say we were really threatened anymore from Spurs, as Chelsea controlled the game from there on. Chelsea looked dangerous on the counter attack for much of the first half, but no clear chances were created, with shots either being blocked or attacks fizzling out in the build up. It looked set for 0-0 at half time, when right on 45 minutes Chelsea won a free kick on the right, near the corner. Willian sent it in, the ball flicked off Danny Rose and bounced around between a few players before Terry lashed home a shot which took a huge deflection and went in to give us a half time lead. Captain fantastic on the big stage, and I'm sure the Spurs were not best pleased to see him with the first goal! With 52 minutes on the clock, Chelsea doubled their lead with Costa through on the left hand side of the penalty, the strikers shot took a massive defection off Kyle Walker passed Lloris. Some media outlets afterwards have given the goal as an own goal to Walker as the shot was going wide. Chelsea had chances afterwards to make it three, Hazard going close with a shot and Fabregas heading wide. Most of Tottenhams important goals this season have come late on but today Chelsea kept it tight at the back and there was to be no late drama as Chelsea held on for victory. So Mourinho's first trophy as Chelsea boss was the league cup 10 years ago in 2005 and it was to be again for his second spell. We went on to win the league that year as well ... would history repeat itself in that department? Well, our next result certainly hasn't done our chances any harm.
West Ham away, always a s difficult fixture as we always seem to drop points against them at least one game a season. I genuinely thought just a few days after Wembley that we would struggle and maybe at least draw this match. For the line up, Courtois returned while the defence and Zouma kept their places, with Oscar replacing Willian. Ramires seemed to play further forward in this game with Fabregas dropping back. Chelsea almost took the lead on 10 minutes with Costa firing a cross over from about ten yards out, although it was a hard chance to control. West Ham then looked most likely to score as Courtois kept out a Kouyate shot with Sakho prodding wide shortly after. With West Ham on top for this period, Chelsea hit them on the counter attack and struck the first blow. Fabregas on the counter found Ramires, who found Hazard with a perfect cross that the little Belgian converted with a pin point header into the net to give Chelsea the lead. Not long before half time, West Ham almost pulled level when a Sakho header from a cross was pushed away by Courtois - starting to be a theme of the night. Early in the second half and Chelsea were under the cosh, Sakho fired a shot wide early on and then shortly after, a Downing cross caused confusion, which ended up with Sakho having the ball right in front of goal, only for Courtois to fingertip the ball around the post and away from Nolan who would surely have had a tap in. Not long after that (it was end to end stuff at this point) and Ramires (who had a good game) had two chances to seal victory, the first after a brilliant run a dribble by Hazard, the Belgian released Ramires who weaved his way through and stroked a shot that agonisingly hit the post. Then, the Brazilian saw a header brilliantly kept out by West Ham keeper Adrian. Courtois then re-took centre stage, with a spectacular save to deny a curling Sakho effort, and then blocking a Valencia shot into the path of Sahko, but this time Cahill blocked the rebound shot and denying a certain goal. The game then calmed down a little as Chelsea regained control, and bar a late Sakho header that went over, Chelsea saw out the victory and could have won by a bigger margin if cresswell had not blocked Willians shot on the line. It finished 1-0, not the best performance but the best teams always win the league when their not playing well and with City losing 2-1 to Liverpool on Sunday, it meant Chelsea were five points clear with a game in hand. The game tonight reminded me of when we beat Blackburn 1-0 away in the 2004/05 season.

The nest game was on my 30th birthday so needless to say I was looking forward to this, the second leg of the champions league knock out round against PSG. 1-1 on aggregate, the only change to the line up was Matic replacing Zouma. I had high hopes for this match (me and my brother were sat up in West Upper for a change), but what followed has still unfortunately left me in shock in what I can only describe as one of the worst performances I've seen. With 0-0 being a scoreline that could send Chelsea through on away goals, Chelsea seemed to be sitting back and playing very slow. I suppose I can see a kind of logic if that is the way Mourinho set them up. Play defensive and hit them on the counter as they will have to open themselves up. Risky way of playing though, we should have just gone for the kill really. Then on 29 minutes, the major flashpoint - Ibrahimovic getting sent off for a straight red card. He went in two footed on Oscar and in fairness - he DID try and pull out and there was minimal contact, but the ref didn't see if that way. Harsh decision, but anyone who knows Ibrahimovic and his history of disgraceful behaviour, shouldn't feel sorry for him. Also, Chelsea seem to have gotten a lot of criticism for the way they surrounded the ref in the aftermatch of the challenge. Incredible really, as it was only the help of TV replays that proved there wasn't much contact from Zlatans challenge, so for idiots in the media to not acknowledge this and condemn Chelsea for supporting their colleague who they thought had suffered a serious injury, was ridiculous. Not to mention certain ex-players (now pundits) who forgot the number of times they used to do it, incredible really. Only Gary Neville seemed to acknowledge he was just as bad. Anyway, back to the game and Chelsea 11 v 10, should really have started playing more positive and killed them off, instead of continuing to sit back. But for the rest of the first half, chances (for both teams) continued to be very few, with Chelsea denied a clear penalty for a foul by Cavanni the only flash point of note. Also, not long before that, former player David Luiz was lucky to escape being sent off for an elbow on Costa. You win some, you lose some, not many media outlets acknowledged the Luiz elbow either. Second half and Chelsea continued to play extremely slow and poor, I feel if this was the way Jose had some them up to play, then whilst I don't like to criticise him too much, he got it bang wrong tonight. With an hour gone, the first clear cut chance of the match fell to Cavanni who raced through on goal with Chelsea's defence caught high up the pitch, and despite going around Courtois, the Uruguayan hit the post of an open goal. Let off. Not long after that, Pastore tested courtois and Ramires was also denied at the near post. But from the resulting corner, Chelsea took the lead, as Cahill connected beautifully with a corner that PSG failed to clear and smashed the ball into the net. With time running out, Courtois saved from Lavezzi and with four minutes to go, the past came back to haunt us. A corner came in and David Luiz arrived with a truly unstoppable bullet header to force extra time, It was the least PSG deserved, Chelsea had been so poor tonight. Six minutes into extra time, Chelsea were awarded a penalty for handball and Hazard coolly slotted home. The drama wasn't over though - Luiz further reminded his former fans of his qualities as he almost crashed in a dipping 30 yard free kick that Courtois tipped over just before half time of extra time. Nearing to the end of extra time and Courtois was called on again as he fantastically finger tipped a Thiago Silva header around the post from a corner. But from the resulting corner, Thiago Silva rose again and scored a decisive second away goal with a looping header. Chelsea were out and it was no more than we deserved. we knocked PSG out on away goals last year after it finished 3-3 on aggregate and this year they had got their revenge. But the manner of the performance and our poor tactics, I feel Jose got this wrong tonight. To be that complacent playing 11 v 10 was ridiculous. I've never seen a poorer performance like it. Maybe fatigue, or the lack of a big squad, I don't know. But Southampton on Sunday is calling for a big performance as we need to make sure our title challenge doesn't suffer. Jose needs to freshen up the team, I think Oscar needs to be dropped as well, he is far too erratic and needs to bulk up still. But Southampton is now a massive game. Up the Chels!

A dark week

Two games this week - PSG away in the champions league and Burnley at home, both sadly over shadowed by events off the pitch prior to the PSG game and a horror tackle in the Burnley game.

Firstly, champions league football returned and Chelsea faced another trip to Paris to face Zlatan and co. Cahill surprisingly was recalled in place of Zouma, with Costa also returning, Fabregas was pushed further forward in place of the erratic Oscar so Ramires partnered in central midfield with Matic. Courtois was also recalled to the first team and being dropped against Everton - and repaid Mourinho's faith with a superb performance. Early in the first half, Courtois made two efficient saves from Matuidi and Ibrahimavic and then a superb one handed stop to deny Cavani's near post header. His performance in the first leg of the league cup semi final against Liverpool was excellent and judging by his early showing here, it seems he is shaping up to be a big match player for sure. Chelsea took the lead though, as three defenders all combined. First Terry on the left wing, sent in a right footed in-swinging cross that was brilliantly flicked on by the boot of Cahill to the head of another big game player, Ivanovic, who headed home. PSG started strongly in the second half though and equalised when Matuidi crossed from the left and found an unmarked Cavani who headed in for PSG. Poor marking by Cahill, I did think it was a strange decision to recall him. I personally, given Cahills indifferent form of late, think we should try out a defence with Ivanovic in the centre of defence with Terry, with Azpilecueta at his natural right back position and Filipe Luis at left back. I don't really get how we can pay 17 million for Filipe Luis and hardly play him. Anyway, from then on Chelsea were on the back foot and almost fell behind when Courois again made a great stop from Ibrahimovic before Azpilecueta blocked the follow up from Lavezzi. With ten minutes to go, Cavani toe poked PSG's best chance wide of the goal to let Chelsea off, and then in stoppage time Courtois made another important stop from an Ibrahimovic header. So 1-1 away from home was a good result, but sadly the main focus from Paris took place on the Metro in an incident that occurred away from the match.

A group of idiotic Chelsea fans (most likely hooligans) were filmed on a camera phone pushing a black man off a tube and singing racist songs. First of all, as soon as I saw this, I knew that everyone would tarnish Chelsea fans with the same brush and think we are all like that. Lots of narrow minded and thick people out there, and the issue with social media is that it gives these stupid people a voice. So that disappointed me, but didn't surprise me. Secondly, I was embarrassed to be associated with these 'fans' and while yes it can be argued that if they have paid to go to France to watch Chelsea then they must be fans of the club - but look at it this way. I don't believe for a second that those 'fans' were going to France to watch the football, they were going to cause trouble. That's hooligan mentality, which those people clearly were in my eyes. So I can't call them true fans, to me they are just a group of people stuck in the 1980's. While Chelsea do have a poor history with hooliganism, I believe it is a society issue rather than a club issue. Unfortunately at various points in my life, I have encountered quite a few groups of racist QPR fans (not pointing the finger at them as a club, just stating a fact), and I have also been to a Man Utd match and witnessed racist abuse from a Man Utd fan directed at a black Chelsea footballer. So I think it is an issue for society rather than a specific club issue. The way Chelsea have handed this though - fantastic. I think they have done all they could. I did see a stupid tweet from Jason Roberts though ' I hope every black Chelsea player watches that clip'. Why? Every black Chelsea will know those idiots are not a representative of all Chelsea fans, given the extensive work Chelsea do in the community. The clubs community work hardly ever gets talked about and Chelsea do a lot of it, so I think Chelsea have handled the situation brilliantly.

Onto the Burnley match now and another Bane of my (and probably Mourinho's) life - the FA. Zouma, Filipe Luis, Oscar and new boy Cuadrado all returned for Azpilecueta, Ramires, Cahill and Willian. Cuadrado also opened his account with a looping header that was tipped over the bar by Heaton. The opening game came courtesy of good work by Cuadrado, with Hazard taking control, weaving and dribbling his way to the by line and setting up - who else? - but Ivanovic to side foot home from close range. Chelsea then had two clear penalty appeals turned down - a handball from an Ivanovic shot and a foul on Costa by Shackell. Poor refereeing, and worst was to come. A terrible foul by Ashley Barnes on Ivanovic was overlooked by the ref just before half time for some inexplicable reason (won't be the last time I say that). The second half started and with Barnes going close with a deflected shot that was tipped away by Courtois, the need for a  second goal was clear. Unfortunately, and it's not the first time I've said this this season, Chelsea were poor and erratic in the final third, too much tikka-taka football. Costa almost got on the end of an Ivanovic cross but I struggle to remember any positive flash points from the second half. What happened at the end of the game should not overshadow what I thought was a poor performance attacking wise, but it did so lets move onto that anyway. About 20 minutes to go, one of the most disgraceful tackles I've ever seen from Barnes on Matic somehow was not seen by the referee. It was one of those potential career ending tackles that could easily have broken a leg. Understandably, Matic was fuming and reacted by pushing over Barnes, earning him a red card. Although all he did was push over Barnes which I don't think is a red, it's only a red if you raise hands above the neck, which Matic did not do. No punishment for Barnes though. the referee was having a nightmare to say the least. Barnes himself almost equalised with a long range shot that was saved by Courtois, but with nine minutes remaining, it was a header from Ben Mee at a corner that did rescue a point for Burnley. Chelsea's lead cut to five points.

Mourinho made a surprise appearance on Goals on Sunday the next day, and used it to make a well justified rant on the extremely poor standard of referring, but also interestingly, against Sky and their biased reporting - which was about time. His point was that Sky went overboard in their damnation of Diego Costa with their 'Costa crimes' segment, pointing out they don't leave any space for the player to be judged and clearly don't do this with every club or player. They didn't do it when Yaya Toure made a poor challenge against Norwich last season or when Van Persie made another terrible challenge against West Ham the other week. They also overlooked the Barnes tackle on Matic, which Mourinho called a 'criminal tackle', which it is if you compare it to Costa's stamp on Can against Liverpool which Sky highlighted, earning Costa a three match ban. All valid points I thought. So in the days that followed, what happened? Did Barnes get banned? No. The referee had apparently seen it so therefore no action was possible to be taken. Did Matic get his ban overturned due to the fact he pushed Barnes in the chest which is not a red card? No. Just reduced by one game. So Matic can't play against Spurs in the league cup final, despite the fact that Vertonghen did the same thing against West ham and yet is free to play for them in the final. Another point Mourinho made, and has made before is thoughts of a campaign. Well, I never bought it before but recent events have made me change my mind. Especially given a conspiracy theory I heard this week. The theory is that with Chelsea running away with the league, the league becomes boring and less people watch which generates less in revenue and media exposure, so if referees are instructed to make life difficult to peg them back, it makes the league interesting again and generates more exposure and revenue for the FA. It's happened before, with the dodgy ref we had against Barcelona in the champions league semi in 2009, at a time when Fifa were clearly against English sides dominating the champions league. So it wouldn't surprise, but one thing I am certain is the FA are the most incompetent organisation I have ever seen and are nothing more than a joke.

Speaking of Fifa, side tracking away from Chelsea for a second, the 2022/23 season will now have a winter world cup in the middle despite countless proof of corruption with the Qatar bid. Ridiculous. Football will be ruined that season. The sooner that clown Sepp Blatter is ousted, and they hire someone who embraces video technology, the better.

Back to Chelsea, Spurs in the league cup final at Wembley on Sunday, ten years after Chelsea defeated Liverpool in the league cup final to win Mourinho's first piece of silverware in his first spell. Will history repeat itself? Or will Spurs beat us in another final, which would be the third time if they do? Either way I am not as confident as I was a week ago. I think it will be extremely tight.

Anyways - come on the Chels!

Reaching Wembley, Keeping City at bay, beating Villa and Everton

Following on from our FA cup humiliation against Bradford was the small matter of playing Liverpool in the league cup semi final second leg at home. The league cup was Mourinho's first trophy for Chelsea and he had the chance to reach the final again in his second spell. As I expected following the Bradford disaster, Cahill was dropped in place of Zouma. Courtois returned and Filipe Luis earned a start, with the midfield and attack as expected. I attended this game, albeit with a severe throat virus which meant I couldn't talk to my brother, couldn't sing (or cheer if there was a goal) and due to being on antibiotics, couldn't drink either! Just my luck as well, as it turned out to be a great , tense game and atmosphere. One thing that annoyed me about Chelsea though was the over-reliance in this game on the 'tikka-taka' football, too many times players would try to thread the eye of the needle so to speak and thread the ball through, and it hardly ever came off. In fairness though, Liverpool defended superbly and made it incredibly hard for Chelsea to break them down. They were denied a penalty when Costa was fouled by Skrtel and Zouma did brilliantly to dispossess Sterling as he threatened to race away. The game started to heat up as Courtois denied Moreno and Courtinho with a couple of good saves and Oscar saw a free kick sail wide towards the end of the half. The second half was not much better as both teams continued to lock each other out, Costa and Hazard going close but no real clear cut chances. One fan sitting behind - just to go off on a side note here - did nothing but mouth off and scream abuse at Chelsea and was critical of every single mistake and every single decision he did not agree with through the entire 120 minutes, one of those fans that just moans non stop and can't be pleased. So - if you were sitting west stand lower towards the Matthew Harding lower and happened to have skin head, it was probably you and you were annoying as hell! Anyway, back to the game and it was pretty on a knife edge - and looked like it was take one moment to make the difference. Que extra time. Four minutes in and Willian sent a free kick in on the right and Ivanovic rose high to thunder home a header, which turned out to be the winning goal. He does get important goals Ivanovic, such an influential player. So Chelsea v Spurs in the league cup final, as Spurs came through their semi against Sheffield United. After the game, it was reported unfortunately that the referee had reported Costa for a step on Can, which had actually happened after 15 minutes. He was banned for three games and it prompted Mourinho to re-ignite his conspiracy theories of a campaign against Chelsea. Or maybe he didn't really believe it - he just wanted to take the attention off his team ahead of the next huge game ....

Chelsea v Man City. Five points ahead. The return of Lampard, what sort of reception would he get? No Costa (banned) and no Fabregas after he suffered a knock against Liverpool. Mourinho did not talk to the media ahead of this game following Costa's ban. The only good news was Yaya toure was still on African cup of nations duty. But given the set backs ahead of this game, I'd have taken a draw. Plus it seemed all set for a Lampard winner, and this was probably a serious worry for a lot of Chelsea fans. Ramires and Remy replaced Costa and Fabregas, otherwise it was the same team. The game felt pretty lacklustre, presumably as both teams were determined not to lose. Courtois saved from Navas and Ageuro while Hart saved from Oscar, then the best chance of the game fell to Aguero who shot wide with roughly half an hour gone. Against the run of the play, Chelsea took the lead 4 minutes before half time. A chipped ball over the top from Ivanovic found Hazard unmarked on the left inside of the penalty area, he deftly touched the ball left footed across the face of goal into the path of Remy who side footed home from close range. Had we gone in 1-0 at half time, it would have been a fantastic scoreline but we did not as City pegged us back right on half time. A cross from the right was touched but not gathered by the advancing Courtois, he may have been put off by Milner right in front of him, and the ball fell to Aguero whose shot was bundled into the empty net by Silva. A rare by Courtois and a costly one. The second half was all City as it looked like Chelsea were settling for a draw to keep City at bay. Lampard was introduced with 14 minutes left, to a good reception (although some boos) but overall a great reception and applause from all four stands and rightly so. The closest there came to a second half goal was Milner who shot wide late on. So the game finished 1-1 which was not a great performance but definitely a good result for Chelsea who may have been tired from extra time earlier in the week. Plus Lampard got to say goodbye properly to his former home. Mourinho still did not talk to the media afterwards as his Ferguson - esque mind games continued ....

Villa next, Cahill replaced Zouma, arguably given the fact Villa had not scored for something like 659 minutes, he was not likely to get tested. Drogba was preferred to Remy this time and our new signing from Fiorentina, Cuadrado, was on the bench (Chelsea's business at the end of the January transfer window had seen Schurrle finally offloaded for over £20 million to Wolfsberg - another great deal - with Cuadrado coming to Chelsea and Salah going out on loan to Fiorentina). Fabregas was still injured. Mourinho's press conference before the match made the headlines again, with a less-than-enthusiastic show in which he comedically stated 'I'm only here because I have to be here'. Classic Jose. In the match itself, we took the lead on 8 minutes, with Willian slipping in Hazard with a low pass, and the Belgian slotted home. Agbonlahor headed over in what was Villa's best chance of the first half, and Hazard and fed Ramires but Villa scrambled the ball clear before he had a shot on goal. Villa started the second half much brighter and were dutifully rewarded for their efforts. Weimann fired over and minutes later, a cross from the right was headed home by Akora unmarked at the back post. Chelsea responded to this setback though and Ramires, Matic and Willian all went close, with only Matic testing the keeper. Chelsea eventually did re-take the lead on 66 minutes as Azpilecueta (Dave) got forward and found himself on the by-line in the penalty area. He teed up Ivanovic and the Serbian unleashed a sweet left foot volley that soared into the top corner. A sublime goal, and it turned out to be the winner - another important Ivanovic strike. Cuadrado came on late and showed flashes of brilliance. Mourinho didn't bother shaking Lamberts hand at the end, after Lambert refused his offer of a handshake in the league game earlier in the season, but Mourinho did celebrate wildly at the end with the Chelsea fans. After the game, Mourinho stated Villa were a big club with good players, good training facilities and a good stadium. In other words - a rubbish manager. Lambert was relieved of his duties 4 days later. Also elsewhere that day, City were shocking held 1-1 at home to Hull, which meant our lead was now 7 points ...

Everton next and Cuadrado was given a start in place of Oscar who was dropped, Willian playing in the hole behind the strikers. Zouma returned in place of Cahill and Cech was given a rare start - Courtois had seemed surprisingly suspect when dealing with crosses against Villa after being so reliant throughout the season. His error against City may have affected him. Fabregas still not deemed fully fit was on the bench. This game I have to say was rather drab, aside from a Remy header early on that Howard finger tipped away, for all our attacking once we reached the final third, the attack often fizzled out due to a poor final ball or poor finish. The two best chances of the game arguably fell to Lukaku, the first in the first half as his right foot shot when through on goal was deflected over the bar by Cechs outstretched foot, and the second one in the second half when Cech made a point blank save from him inside the six yard box. I'd like to think Courtois would have made those saves as well though, but still stunning saves none the less. The former Chelsea number one has been patient all season, never moaned or complained and takes his chance dutifully when called upon. All the action for Chelsea in attack though came in the last 5 minutes. Firstly Matic thought he had won it for Chelsea with a deflected effort, but the goal was ruled out as it nicked off an offside Ivanovic on its way in. Minutes later, Barry was sent off for Everton for a second bookable offence, and then with a minute remaining, all four stands erupted as Willians low shot found its way through a packed penalty area, evading everyone including Howard and neatly into the bottom corner. Chelsea won the corresponding fixture last season with a 93rd minute goal and had won it this time with a 89th minute goal - so an improvement then!

They say the sign of a good team is a team that wins without playing well and this was certainly one of those games - could well be crucial at the end of the season ....

Newcastle, stuffing the Swans, held in Liverpool and then 'a disgrace'

Lots to catch up on - lets start with Newcastle, the first league game since the new years day stuffing at Spurs. After that game I said Cahill needed a rest and Jose agreed, Zouma lining up alongside John Terry. I was surprised he rested Courtois as well and played Cech, but then Courtois did concede 5 against Spurs. For the first half, the team looked disorientated and Newcastle were worryingly the better team. Gouffran denied early on with a shot by Cech and then an even better effort by Cabella saw his effort saved low by Cech, who moments later also denied Perez. A disturbingly busy start for Cech on his Premier League return, perhaps Zouma is not ready? Sissoko hit the post not long after that, but from then on Chelsea decided to wake up and took the lead before half time against the run of the play. A quickly taken Willian corner found Ivanovic in the box he supplied a fine low ball across the penalty area to Oscar at the far post who side footed home. The second half thankfully was all Chelsea, Willian going close be fore a fine second goal as Hazard's chipped pass into a packed penalty area was brilliantly back-heeled by Oscar into the path of Cost who took one touch to give himself space before firing low into the net. Chelsea had chances for a third, the best falling to Cost whose low shot was cleared off the line. A game of two halves then, bit worrying about how poor we were in the first but then good to see Jose rotate his squad a little (but we'll come back to that later). Elsewhere news that City had been held at Everton meant were top by two points.

Our next game was at Swansea and no real change to the line up except Cahill returned in place of Zouma and Filipe Luis replaced the insured Dave. Cech kept his place. We've been due a rout for a while I've been thinking and we were well our way to one after just 50-odd seconds when a mix up in midfield between two Swansea players saw the ball kindly fall to Oscar, who smashed in a low 20 yard shot into the goal. Great start! And from then on, it was all Chelsea, as on 20 minutes Fabregas fed the ball through to Costa who slotted home number two. Willian then hit a post before Costa intercepted a poor back pass from Fernandez and slotted in the third. Just two minutes later, Chelsea broke again and Costa pulled the ball back across the penalty area from the right wing into the path of Oscar and the Brazilian buried the ball into the top corner. 4-0 inside 35 minutes!  It should really have bee five before half time as Costa broke free through on goal, but took too long and ended up driving himself wide before setting up Willian, who hit the bar from in front of goal. The second half  was less lively than the first and a fifth was added near the end as Schurrle scored a close range tap in. A big win was needed in terms of improving our goal difference and with City losing at home to Arsenal the next day, we found ourselves five points clear at the top, so a good weekend all round.

The next game we travelled to Liverpool for the first leg of our league cup semi final. I had an idea about how we would play given Jose's philosophy and hoped I would be proved wrong - I wasn't. As soon as I saw Mikel in the line up alongside Matic, with Fabregas playing further forward in place of Oscar (no real changes elsewhere except Courtois was brought back in place of Cech), I knew we were playing for a draw and I was disappointed. So dangerous to invite teams to attack you, especially teams like Liverpool with more to play for than Chelsea. I thought that sitting back would help Sterlings game as well. Liverpool did indeed start the better team, but Chelsea took  the lead against the run of play as Hazard won a penalty which he then converted. That, turned out to be our only shot on target in the whole game, and one of only two shots we would have. Liverpool deservedly equalised on the hour with Sterling breezing past Mikel and Matic like they weren't there and then slotting home left footed from the edge of the area before any defenders had the chance to close him down. Gerrard almost rammed the 'slip' song down Chelsea fans throats as he hit the post on 66 minutes (Mourinho had before the game asked for Chelsea to stop singing it and show Gerrard some respect, it backfired obviously). From then on it was the Courtois show as he made a string of important saves from mainly Sterling and Lallana. Definitely his most important game for us, but I was very disappointed with our performance. Jose is sometimes far too pragmatic, another team would have battered us but then I guess it is all set up for the second leg...

Now then, our FA cup tie against Bradford, will certainly not be up there with one of the high points of all time, let alone the season. Mourinho in his press conference the day before had said that losing to Bradford would 'be a disgrace' which I thought was a bit disrespectful as it might backfire and fire up all the Bradford players. The line up saw a lof players rested, Cech returning with a rare start for Christensen, Zouma, Ramires alongside Mikel, Salah and Remy playing as wingers with Drogba up front. Cahill gave us the lead flicking home from a corner and Ramires made it 2-0 with a good goal, driving forward and playing a one two before slotting home on 38 minutes. Then, it all caved. Stead pulled one back for Bradford three minutes later on 41 minutes with a shot that Cech should have really kept out. It stayed 2-1 until 75 minutes when a close range shot from Knott - despite Zouma and Cahil either side of him, was saved by Cech, but the rebound fell to former player Filipe Morais who side footed home into the empty net. Alarm bells ringing now. And those bells were ringing all the way across town as Halliday scored from the edge of the penalty area to put Bradford ahead. Chelsea tried in vain to secure a replay (and when your trying to do that at home to Bradford, you know theres a problem somewhere) but Bradford sealed the win in stoppage tome with a goal from Yeates on the counter. Where to begin there? Well, I don't think Jose should have made those comments before the game but he did redeem himself after - a post from the official Bradford Twitter account posted how he showed his class by going into the dressing room and congratulated every player and backroom staff member - a side to Jose that the media undoubtedly won't show. Also, I think this defeat and the manner of it shows why Jose doesn't rotate his squad after all - it's not good enough. Poor performances I'm hearing from Salah, likely to be his last game for us, Ramires and Mikel, while Zouma isn't ready and Cahill is arguably in dire need of a long rest. I think we defeintely need to bring a defender in this January, even as back up. Tuesday night against Liverpool will now require a HUGE reaction from the team. Then after that we play City at home, big game and with them themselves suffering an FA cup shock of their own, losing 2-0 at home to Middlesbrough, both sides mentalities will be interesting to Gage going into that game.