Bittersweet Chelsea Re-union in Pasadena
Soccerlens was at the Chelsea-Inter World Football Challenge game in California tonight – what follows is a live blog from that game.
Chelsea take on and humble their previous manager Jose Mourniho at the hirstoric Rose Bowl stadium on a sunny California night.
A very festive atmosphere out here at the Rose Bowl as mostly Chelsea fans continue to pour in to fill the stadium close to capacity.
Huge roar and welcome for the Chelsea squad as they come out to train.
Kenyone tells the press how excited he is to be playing in the US with a full-strength squad once again. Very enthusiastic and loud Chelsea crowd.
Starting line-ups:
Chelsea:
1 Petr Cech
2 Branislav Ivanovic
3 Ashley Cole
5 Michael Essien
6 Ricardo Carvahlo
8 Frank Lampard
11 Dider Drogba
12 Jon Mikel Obi
15 Flourent Malouda
21 Salomon Kalou
26 John Terry
Subs: 7 Andriy Shevchenko
9 Franco Di Santo
14 Claudio Pizzaro
16 Scott Sinclair
20 Deco
22 Ross Turnbull
33 Alex
35 Juliano Beletti
39 Nicolas Anelka
40 Hilario
41 Sam Hutchinson
42 Micheal Mancienne
Coach: Carlo Ancelotti
Inter Milan:
2 Ivan Cordoba
4 Javier Zanetti
8 Thiago Motta
11 Sulley Muntari
14 Patrick Viera
19 Esteban Cambiasso
20 Obi
26 Cristian Chivu
39 Davide Santon
45 Mario Balotelli
51 Vid Belec
Subs: 7 Ricardo Queresma
10 Zlatan Ibrahimovich
15 Rene Krhin
21 Paolo Orlandoni
22 Diego Milito
23 Marco Materazzi
30 Alessandro Amantion “Mancini
49 Mattia Destro
Coach: Jose Mourinho
Ref: Ricardo Salazar (USA)
Assistant 1: George Gansner (USA)
Assistant 2: Chris Strickland (USA)
Inter (White) – Chelsea (Blue)
00:00 Inter win cointoss and kickoff
02 – Dangerous moment as Chelsea have corner but Terry heads it high
06 – Sloppy passing on both sides, numerous interceptions in the midfield
08 – Drogba beats keeper but keeper but cannot put ball into net due to wide angle
09 – Dangerous counterattack from Inter but JT is there to clear
10 – High cross from Malouda from left wing
11 – GOAL! Long shot from Drogba gets past Belic 1-0. Chelsea crowd goes insane
13 – Lampard tries to replicate but shot goes wide this time
15 – Lampard crosses but Belic saves Drogba’s shot this time
20 – Chelsea are dominating midfield posession with authority
21- Rough tackle on Drogba by Inter- free kick Chelsea. Lampard takes free kick but Belic takes it with confidence.
24 – Goal kick for Chelsea
25 – Lampard gets ahead but Belic snatches up the air ball
27 – Inter on the flanks but Chelsea defense prevent cross
28 – Lamps and Malouda with counterattack but Inter take the ball away
29 – Cross to Drogba but 2 Inter defenders close him down
30 – Chelsea work their way in the midfield with Mikel and Malouda passing back and forth
31 – Huge WAVE goes around stadium – I join in!
32 – Inter with a long free kick – Balotelli will take it. Off the wall
33 – Another Inter free kick headed away by Lampard, rough tackle on Drogba goes unpunished
35 – Inter with a breakway but JT was in right place at the right time as always!
36 – Rough tackle by Ashley Cole on Inter defender on the wing
37 – Chelsea corner goes too far
38 – Malouda takes ball upfield but Inter with a counterattack. An error by Petr Cech gives Inter a corner
39 – Inter corner goes way wide – Chelsea throw-in
40 – Inter with the ball in the back – looking a bit tired, sloppy pass goes out of bounds
41 – Inter throw-in and backwards passing
42- Kalou goes forward and a rough tackle in the penalty area but only corner is given, which goes well wide
43 – Rough tackle on Essien by Inter in the midfield
44 – Ivanovic with long throw-in but Inter clear
45 – Inter attack down the middle but cannot find any room. End of 1st half. Chelsea 1 – Inter 0
First Half Analysis (Chelsea 1 – Inter 0) : Chelsea looked confident right away, not afraid to play open and took many goal shots. Drogba had several good opportunies but capitalized only on the long-shot. Inter cannot seem to get past the Chelsea defensive line.
Chelsea dominate posession and have earned their lead. Petr Cech looked shaky. Inter fans are disappointed with their team. Halftime performance by Andy.
Halftime Chelsea SUBS: Alex in for Carvahlo, Anelka in for Kalou
48 – Hand ball by Inter from an Anelka attack. Penalty given.
49 – GOAL! Lampard takes penalty shot into lower right corner 2-0!
55 – Drogba goes 1on1 but Belic bats in away
56 – Chelsea intercept in midfield, Anelka outplays 3 Inter defenders
57 – Lampard unable to convert a good run
58 – Drogs with good run but pushed away by Chelsea defnder. Yellow to Ivanovic for rough play.
59 SUBS: Alex in for A. Cole, Anelka in for Kalou, Ibrahimovic in for Mancini Inter Subs Queresama in for ???
60 – Malouda gets taken down as Ibra takes the ball upfield. Long shot Santon hits the Chelsea post
61 – Essien makes a rough tackle on Viera, Vieara appears hurt
63 – Chelsea SUBS 22 Ross Turnbull in for Petr Cech, 42 Michael Mancienne for Bratislav Ivanovic, 35 Julianno Beletti for 5 Michael Essien
64 – Inter corner – wide
65 – Long shot by Lampard but Belic is there to stop in
66 – Ibrahimovic sloppily gives ball away
67 – Lampard with a beautiful pass to Anelka but not enough room to score
69 – Deco with long shot that barely goes wide
70 – Balotelli with a half-hearted wide shot
74 – Chelsea with posession but Inter is playing back, Long shot by Mancienni barely misses the back of the net. Inter appear helpless.
76 – Throw in by Inter
78 – Lampard with long shot, beats keeper but misses. SUBS 41 Hutchinson in for Ashley Cole
79 – Inter SUBS Karezmo in for Balotelli, in Crinn for Cambiasso
80 – Anelka gets ahead but cannot land the cross to Deco
81 – Inter counterattacks but Ibra cannot get past Alex
82 – Sturridge with long shot that goes wide, Chelsea are overwhelmingly dominating shots on goal! (Today’s Attendance 81, 224 people – amazing!)
83 – Ibra takes free kick but Inter hit the side of the net, first good opportunity by Inter tonight
84 – Ibra with a free kick from left flank as Chelsea build wall – straight into Turnbull – good shot and good save. Inter is alive.
86 – Anelka tries a screamer on the other end but is denied by the Inter defense
87 – Chelsea SUBS 9 Di Santo in for 8 Lampard: massive ovation for Super Frank!
88 – Rough tackle on Deco as Inter take the ball the other way
89 – Queresama takes ball for Inter but Alex clears
90 – 3 additional minutes given by referee
90 + 1 Anelka on right wing, back to Mancienni, Di Santo one-on-one but Argentinian sends it to the stands
90 + 2 Chelsea with he ball in their own half as keeper clears
90 + 3 FINAL WHISTLE: Chelsea 2 – Inter Milan 0
Man of Match: Didier Drogba 11 from Chelsea
Post-Match Analysis: Contrast of teams, while Chelsea appeared enthusisatic, ambitious and full of energy while Inter appeared tired, slow, and very sloppy – especially in their passing. Greatest performance by Drogba who kept the pressure on and Lampard for his.
Their defense appeared shaky and Ibrahimovic failed to make an impact as a substitute desapite great couple of free kick efforts.
Chelsea showed great depth in today’s game while Jose simply ran out of options as his team ran out of steam. Well deserved goals for Chelsea and a great morale boost that gives high hopes for dominating both England and Europe for next year.
The amazing aspect was that Chelsea did not appear to be even trying their best but were completely dominant playing at 75% of their ability. Rough road ahead for the defending Italian champions.
Americans made an impressive turnout at the game at over 80,000 showing that despite the financial crisis this nation has great enthusisasm for the “Beautiful game.”
More to follow.
Shame, at least we took third. Celsea have been beyond dominant in this competition, it might finally be time for them to control Europe.