MATCH REPORT: STOKE CITY 0 CHELSEA 4

Sat 12 Jan 2013

Summary Chelsea moved up into third place of the Barclays Premier League with a comfortable away win, which saw a combination of good fortune and a strong team performance.

Stoke were unbeaten at the Britannia Stadium since February and they started confidently, but it was the visitors who went in front just before the break thanks to an own goal from Jonathan Walters.

Stoke almost had a penalty, only ruled out due to a late offside call, before Walters repeated his earlier trick and put us two in front just after the hour.

Within three minutes we were three up, Frank Lampard smashing in a penalty after Juan Mata was fouled, and the game was won, only for Eden Hazard to grab some headlines for himself with a fine drive 20 minutes from time.

Further good news came with the introduction of John Terry as a substitute late on, two months and one day after he sustained a knee injury against Liverpool.

It was the captain whose slip provided Stoke, and Walters, with the chance of a late consolation when he tripped the Ireland international, who dusted himself down to take the penalty, only to blaze it high over the crossbar and round off what was probably the worst day of his professional career.

Three points, goal difference boosted and a climb above Spurs in the league table makes for a very successful Saturday afternoon.

Team news Rafael Benitez made significant changes to his side, with Petr Cech available once more in goal and Lampard selected to captain the side from the middle of midfield. That meant David Luiz dropping into defence to replace Gary Cahill, who left the squad's hotel to be at his partner's side as she went into labour. A baby boy was born shortly before kick-off.

Up front Demba Ba made his first Premier League start in place of Fernando Torres, while Oscar was back on the bench with Ryan Bertrand operating down the left wing.

First half

On a bitterly cold Staffordshire afternoon it was the home side who first threatened to raise the termperature when a long-range volley was deflected into Kenwyne Jones's path after just seven minutes. With only Cech to beat, the striker dragged his shot wide of the far post.

At the other end Hazard, whose performance against Swansea in midweek was one of few pluses for Chelsea, tricked his way inside the area but could not pick out Ba with his pass. That was followed by Cesar Azpilicueta trying similar from the right, but achieving the same result.

They were our only attacks in an opening where the home side forced a series of corners, always dangerous against such a physically imposing side, though but for a Steven Nzonzi header well claimed by Cech, there was little threat on the Chelsea goal.

We finally broke forward again on 24 minutes, and after some excellent possession football it looked for all the world as though Lampard would fire us in front when from 15 yards he drove hard and low to Asmir Begovic's right. The goalkeeper reacted quickly though, and stuck out just enough leg to make the save.

Ba forced another save from Begovic 10 minutes later, the keeper going with his legs again, and Ramires was denied by a flying tackle following up, but the stopper could do nothing on the stroke of half-time as Azpilicueta floated a cross into the danger area, and with Juan Mata poised to convert, Walters dived in to block, only to send an unstoppable header into the corner of the net.

It was a huge slice of luck for Chelsea, and provided us with a half-time lead it was hard to argue we deserved. The job now was to preserve it for the second 45 minutes.

Second halfFive minutes into the second period we had the chance to double our advantage when Ba broke down the right and pulled back into the area for Ashley Cole, who shot hard first-time but once more Begovic blocked with his foot, this time at the near post.

Cech's first action came shortly later when Nzonzi thundered a drive towards his top corner, bringing an acrobatic tip over the crossbar. From the corner, Huth headed narrowly wide.

This prompted a short-lived spell of pressure from Stoke, which brought a penalty claim from Etherington. Ref Andre Marriner pointed to the spot following Azpilicueta's tackle, but we received a reprieve courtesy of Sian Massey's offside flag.

The fortune kept coming. First, Walters headed Mata's corner into his own net to double our lead and his own tally of own goals, and then Mata was brought down inside the area to gift Lampard a penalty, which he converted powerfully straight down the middle.

From one up and facing a penalty, inside five minutes we were three goals to the good and well out of sight. They do say football is a funny old game.

Well in control, Chelsea now could press for more goals. Lampard should have had a second when Ba headed down Mata's cross, but he fired straight at Begovic from six yards.

Hazard's stock continues to rise, and he added to his burgeoning reputation with a stunning individual effort just inside the final 20 minutes, cutting inside on to his left foot and arrowing a left-footed drive into the far top corner from around 30 yards. Begovic never saw it, and it will surely feature when Chelsea's Goal of the Season contenders are announced.

Terry's introduction came with 12 minutes to go, and he was joined by Paulo Ferreira not long after, the Portuguese still a crowd favourite with the travelling support, who made their appreciation for both heard.

A Terry slip inside his own box saw him trip Walters two minutes from time. Given the afternoon he had endured, it was brave of the Stoke man to volunteer himself for the resultant spot kick, yet when he blazed it high into the Boothen End, it seemed of very little surprise. He will want to forget the afternoon quickly, but for Chelsea, it was one to savour.

Stoke (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Cameron, Shawcross (c), Huth, Wilkinson; Whelan, Nzonzi; Walters, Adam (Whitehead 78), Etherington (Kightly 85); Jones (Jerome 78).
Unused subs Sorensen, Upson, Crouch, Shotton.
Booked Wilkinson 37

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Azpilicueta (Ferreira 82), Ivanovic, David Luiz, Cole; Lampard (c), Ramires; Hazard, Mata (Terry 79), Bertrand; Ba (Torres 70).
Unused subs Turnbull, Ake, Oscar, Marin.
Goals Walters og 45, og 62, Lampard (pen) 65, Hazard 72

Referee Andre Marriner
Crowd 27,348

Credit : Chelseafc

BA TRANSFER COMPLETED

Posted on: Fri 04 Jan 2013

Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of Demba Ba for an undisclosed fee.

The Senegal international moves to Stamford Bridge following an 18-month spell with Newcastle United, and has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the Blues.

He will be eligible for selection for tomorrow's FA Cup match at Southampton, and the Capital One Cup semi-final against Swansea, but cannot play for us in the Europa League this season having appeared in the competition for Newcastle. He will wear the no. 29 shirt.

'It feels good to be here, I'm very happy and very proud,' Ba says.

'It was important for me, and for Newcastle, to get my future sorted and now we can move on. Now they have the whole month to buy someone and for me as well, the sooner the better. Now I am here I just need to get settled in.

'When the club who won the Champions League wants you, the decision is very easy. This club is massive and that's something that helped the decision a lot. It was not a hard one.'

The 27-year-old enjoyed a memorable time on Tyneside, where his ruthlessness in front of goal played a major part in last season's fifth-place league finish.

Most comfortable playing as a lone striker, Ba's predatory instincts in and around the penalty area make him a difficult player to handle and he also possesses the ability to score spectacular goals.

Born in Sevres, in the suburbs of Paris, Ba's career began at Port Autonome du Havre, where he played for two years between 1998 and 2000, before moving to Frileuse.

After a short spell with the French club, Ba, who started out playing in the centre of midfield but moved up front at the age of 18, transferred to Montrouge in 2001.

It was there he began to make a name for himself, and he then headed to England where he was offered trials with Barnsley and Watford.

Having enjoyed a fruitful relationship with former Chelsea player Ray Lewington, who was Watford manager at the time, it looked as though Ba had found a place to settle.

However, when Lewington left soon after, Ba moved back to France where he signed a one-year deal with Rouen in the Third Division.

A return of seven goals in 32 matches earned him a move to Mouscron, in the Belgian top flight, where an impressive albeit short spell paved the way for his transfer to 1899 Hoffenheim in the German Second Division at the beginning of the 2007/08 campaign.

It was to prove a significant time in Ba's development, and he was a key figure in helping the club gain promotion to the Bundesliga.

Their first season back in the top flight saw Hoffenheim finish in a respectable seventh, aided in no small part by Ba's 14 goals.

In January 2011, he was back in England, and signed for West Ham United.

After making his bow for the Hammers as a substitute in a game against Birmingham City, Ba endeared himself to the supporters a week later on his full debut, where his two goals helped West Ham fight back from 3-0 down to earn a 3-3 draw away at West Bromwich Albion.

On a personal level, his time at Upton Park went well, with seven goals in 12 appearances, but collectively the team underperformed resulting in their relegation from the Barclays Premier League, prompting Ba's move to Newcastle United.

He netted two hat-tricks in quick succession, against Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City, at the beginning of the 2011/12 season.

This impressive start to life at St James's Park was rewarded with the Premier League Player of the Month award in December 2011, and he finished the season as the club's top scorer with 16 goals to his name.

The current campaign saw Ba continue where he left off, as he broke the deadlock with a fantastic volley against Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day of the season, while shortly after his brace at Goodison Park helped Alan Pardew's men secure a well-earned 2-2 draw against Everton.

His last performance in a Newcastle shirt came in the weekend's 7-3 defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates where he netted a brace.

Thus far, he has scored 13 Premier League goals this season.

Ba has established himself as a regular in the Senegal international set-up since scoring on his debut back in 2007 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Tanzania.

He has scored four times for his country and becomes the first Senegalese player to join Chelsea.

Credit : chelseafc.com

QPR snatched a stunning win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge through a late Shaun Wright-Phillips strike.

The Premier League's bottom side shocked their in-form hosts when Wright-Phillips smashed home from the edge of the area after a corner.

Chelsea, chasing a fifth straight win, dominated throughout but could not break down QPR's packed defence.

Frank Lampard had a goal ruled out for offside and the Blues' best effort saw Julio Cesar deny Fernando Torres.

This was a far from vintage attacking display from Rafael Benitez's side, who put eight past Aston Villa in their last game on home turf.

It was also their first top-flight win at Stamford Bridge since March 1979, when Paul Goddard, Glenn Roeder and Martyn Busby scored in another 3-1 win. Both Rangers and Chelsea were relegated from the old First Division that season.

But what was looking like being a frustrating evening for the Blues turned into a disastrous one at the hands of one of their former players when Wright-Phillips delivered his sucker-punch, 12 minutes from time.

The former England winger did not sparkle on too many occasions in four years at Chelsea from 2005 to 2008, following his £21m move from Manchester City, and he has struggled to make too much of an impression with Rangers either.

Wright-Phillips' popularity around Loftus Road will soar after this goal, however. It came after he had been brought off the bench early on to replace the injured Junior Hoilett, and could prove invaluable to Harry Redknapp's side and their bid to stay up.

Things never looked straightforward for Chelsea, who may rue their decision to begin with Juan Mata and Eden Hazard on the bench after a defeat that deals a severe blow to their title hopes.

The Blues were lucky to keep 11 men on the pitch when Marko Marin marked his first league start by clattering into QPR midfielder Stephane Mbia with a wild lunge after just four minutes.

Play media

Win over Chelsea buoys Redknapp

Fortunately for Marin, and for Chelsea, referee Lee Mason elected only to book the German international.

But things did not improve much for the home side, who rarely looked like breaking down a determined QPR backline in the first half.

Torres, who might soon face competition from Newcastle striker Demba Ba for his starting place, was starved of service as the visitors defended deep and in numbers.

Instead it was left to his team-mates to shoot from distance, and nothing summed up Chelsea's lethargic opening better than two horribly wayward efforts from defender Branislav Ivanovic.

QPR did not offer much at the other end but, with Adel Taarabt operating as their furthest man forward in a 4-5-1 formation, that was never their intention.

Instead they looked to soak up the home side's pressure, a tactic that worked so well that Cesar's first save came just before the break, when he stopped Oscar's deflected shot with an outstretched leg before Victor Moses fired over from the rebound.

Play media

Chelsea can do better - Benitez

Rangers had kept only one clean sheet in their last 26 top flight away games - and surrendered meekly against Liverpool three days ago - but they continued to keep Chelsea at bay in the second half.

Moses should have done better from a low Marin cross and Ivanovic headed over before Cesar kept out a Torres snap-shot after David Luiz's shot had been blocked.

Lampard thought he had drawn level with Kerry Dixon as Chelsea's second highest scorer when he did find the net from a corner, but his celebrations of what would have been his 193rd goal for the club were cut short by the linesman's flag.

By now, QPR had created a few half-chances too, but Wright-Phillips' goal still provided a twist in the tale that few had seen coming.

Taarabt teed him up on the edge of the area and he drilled a low strike past Ross Turnbull and into the bottom corner of the net.

QPR stay bottom, five points adrift of safety, but after three straight defeats, this win will give them renewed hope that survival is not beyond them.

Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez on his side's defeat, and his decision to rest several players:

"We were tired and weren't precise. We made a mistake and gave them their chance.

"I don't regret the changes because we can't carry on with the same players in every game.

"If you're playing a team at the bottom of the table at home, you have to trust your players and I trust them."

QPR boss Harry Redknapp on his players' performance:

"They worked their socks off and they got their rewards, we deserved it and it was a fantastic performance.

"They have set the standard tonight and to get out of this mess they have to do it every week."

2 January 2013

Credit : BBC Sport