Sun:

Valencia 1 Chelsea 2

By SHAUN CUSTIS
OCTOBER 04, 2007

HE may not be the Special One but this was a special result for Avram Grant.

And it was Didier Drogba, the man who shed buckets of tears at Jose
Mourinho's departure, who put the smile back on Chelsea's face.

Match-winner Drogba wanted out of the club when Mourinho left. But if
he is still in a huff, he is not showing it on the field.

The Ivory Coast ace was immense. Whether he was doing it in Mourinho's
memory or for Grant did not matter. He certainly did it for Chelsea.

Six months ago, Mourinho guided the Blues to a magnificent 2-1 victory
in the Mestalla in their Champions League quarter-final.

Few would have put money on Grant providing the inspiration for a
repeat performance in this Group B clash.

But the players have been told Grant is here to stay, with the support
of incoming coach Henk ten Cate, and the choice is either to shape up
or ship out. Blues fans can sing to their hearts' content about
Mourinho but he is not coming back.

This is the future and, if it is an example, they might even start to like it.

Skipper John Terry has shown players and supporters the way by
battling through the pain barrier to give his all for the cause.

Some call it foolhardy. But, for Terry, Chelsea comes first — even at
the risk to his own health.

He is having injections in a broken toe and wore a mask in the Lone
Ranger style last night to protect his broken cheekbone.

But he never went hiding. He put his head in when it mattered without
fear for his own safety. It is good news for England, too, that he
came through so well.


While Chelsea still looked clueless at times, particularly in the
first half, they contributed to what was an entertaining game.

The mantra seemed to be to attack to keep Mr Abramovich happy. If it
meant holes at the back, so be it.

Valencia could not believe the space they had and by the ninth minute
David Villa, a player Mourinho was prepared to pay £22million to take
to Stamford Bridge, had bagged the opener.

The build-up was comedy capers as David Silva played a ball forward,
Claude Makelele tried to clear, it came off Villa, hit Michael Essien
and rebounded back to Villa. Villa then got the other side of Terry
and beat the on-rushing Petr Cech to tuck the ball into the bottom
left corner.

Chelsea players stared at one another, unable to explain how it had
ended up in the net.

For the next 10 minutes or so, Chelsea looked shell-shocked and almost
conceded a second from ex- Liverpool striker Fernando Morientes. Cech
blocked the effort between his legs.

Enter Drogba, whose first major contribution was a gorgeous
21st-minute pass into the path of Florent Malouda that stretched the
Valencia defence to snapping point.

Malouda's centre low into the box found Joe Cole and, though it seemed
Valencia defender Emiliano Moretti had hammered the ball into his own
net, Cole was credited with the final touch.

Drogba nearly scored a screamer with a turn and volley from 25 yards
but was inches over the top.

Villa really should have put Valencia back in front, only to shoot over the bar.

And when Drogba started clutching at his left hamstring, Chelsea must
have feared the worst.

Fortunately, Drogba returned for the second half. Without him you felt
they would have lost.

Valencia thought they were back in front when Villa had the ball in
the net on 56 minutes. Yet he was just offside as he collected a
Morientes touch.

To take the pressure off, Chelsea had to get into the opposing half.
But Joe Cole was having one of those infuriating games, where he keeps
the ball for too long and

fails to release the incisive pass at the right time.

Valencia were probably expecting Cole to dally again when he collected
it in his own half with 19 minutes left. But he surprised everyone
with the pass of the night for Drogba's winner.

After a quick look up, Cole delivered the most majestic ball with the
outside of his right foot. It took out four home defenders and was
perfectly weighted into Drogba's run.

Drogba easily shrugged off the last man, Raul Abiola, and finished
with customary aplomb as he gave keeper Timo Hildebrand no chance.

It was a goal that might never have come under Mourinho, who would
have probably had Cole off by then.

Grant may never enjoy the hero worship of Mourinho.

But, like his predecessor, he has happily discovered you can always
rely on your Drog!
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The Times

October 4, 2007

Joe Cole's magic moment completes unexpected reversal of fortune

Valencia 1 Chelsea 2Martin Samuel, Chief Football Correspondent in Valencia

Sometimes it does not matter who the manager is. The pass of Chelsea's
season turned their European campaign around in the Mestalla stadium
last night. Joe Cole made it and, at that moment, it would not have
mattered had Roman Abramovich installed his girlfriend as José
Mourinho's replacement two weeks ago. Sometimes the football just
takes over and thank heavens for that.

The previous manager mastered the art of playing none too well and
winning. The supporters loved him for it and the owner tired of him,
so it will be interesting to see what happens now his successor, Avram
Grant, has executed the same trick. Probably the roles will be
reversed. Abramovich will be delighted for his friend and will ignore
the long periods of tedium and Chelsea only coming into the game after
half-time because Valencia, inexplicably, lost their way.

The fans are yet to be convinced by the new man and will continue
wondering what happened to the attacking football that was promised in
the wake of Mourinho's departure. Chelsea won here more or less with a
five-strong midfield and in the first half looked utterly out of
sorts. Still, a win is not to be sniffed at. Pair it with another away
to struggling Bolton Wanderers on Sunday and Grant makes it to the
international break with room to breathe once more.

He deserves credit for instantly reinstating Joe Cole to his team,
when clearly the player's relationship with Mourinho had suffered.
Grant's reward for his faith was a through-ball to match any seen in
this competition for many years, the type of pass that deserves to
determine big matches and, on this occasion, did. Cole nailed Carlos
Marchena, Valencia's central midfield player, in the tackle and, with
the play spread out like a plain before him, hit a low pass with the
outside of his boot that took the last defender out of the game and
curled into the path of Didier Drogba as he bore down on goal. Such
was the precision of the pass, the striker did not have to break
stride and his finish was swiftly executed, a lesson in the art of the
goalscorer.

Had Salomon Kalou, on as a substitute, showed equivalent
cold-bloodedness in stoppage time, when set up by Drogba with a shot
from the edge of the six-yard box, Chelsea could even have outstripped
their performance here last season in reaching the semi-finals.

Instead, they had to settle for a rerun: a 2-1 victory to mirror the
scoreline in April under Mourinho. Yet while that win, also from a
goal down, is recalled as one of Chelsea's finest performances in
Europe, this was far from that. The circumstances, though, made it a
special one. This was Grant putting down his marker with his
detractors; and, as it was achieved without the input of Andriy
Shevchenko, even as a substitute, perhaps he put a marker down with
the owner, too.

Quite how Chelsea survived the first half to return to the
dressing-room on level terms is a mystery. They were second best in
most areas of the field, not least at the back, where a quartet that
had once been a byword for dogged reliability under Mourinho often
looked as vulnerable as lambs in springtime.

The defence redeemed itself late in the second half when a sustained
onslaught after Drogba's goal was repelled in typically robust
fashion, yet early on, the lively David Villa and wily Fernando
Morientes were more than enough for Chelsea to handle. Ricardo
Carvalho, returning from injury, and John Terry, wearing what the
Spanish called mascara (it means "mask", of course, but good for a
giggle nonetheless), looked like men who had not played together in
some time. Were it not for the crisis that preceded this game, maybe
they would not have been paired so hurriedly.

Grant's panic measure was rapidly placed under harsh scrutiny and the
match was only 49 seconds old when a cross from Joaquín on the right
flew unhindered across a line of three Chelsea defenders — and when
did that happen under the old manager? — finding David Silva advancing
on the left, whose shot travelled just wide. It only delayed the
inevitable.

In the ninth minute a hopeful upfield ball by Claude Makelele was cut
out by Villa, rebounding fortuitously off Michael Essien to the feet
of the Valencia striker, who slipped past Terry with such velocity it
provoked a neat reversal of the standard line. Who was that unmasked
man? The finish past Petr Cech was a formality as, at the time, the
result seemed to be.

Perhaps it would have been had a chance in the twentieth minute fallen
to one of Valencia's forwards and not the inconsistent Joaquín. At the
2002 World Cup, he looked destined to become one of the greatest wide
players in the world, yet for every moment of electricity there is a
power cut, and luckily for Chelsea, this was one of those times.
Morientes played the ball through and Joaquín avoided the Chelsea
defence, square again, to be left one on one with Cech. He shot
straight at him, a big mistake, and within a minute the Spaniards were
made to pay.

With Chelsea so listless, a goal out of nowhere was needed, and from
nowhere it arrived. The build-up was neat, Florent Malouda to Drogba,
and Drogba back again to Malouda, and the Frenchman's cross was fine,
but quite how Emiliano Moretti, the defender, came to be blind-sided
by Joe Cole is a question no doubt Quique Sánchez Flores, the coach,
was asking his Argentine left back at half-time. Cole and the hapless
Moretti looked tied in a battle to put the ball into the net, Moretti
his own. Cole did not celebrate the goal and Uefa concluded it was
Moretti's final touch. Television replays suggested that the Chelsea
man was over-modest and he later claimed ownership. Perhaps at the
time he wanted to save the ceremony until there was something really
worth cheering about; 49 minutes later, he made sure there was.

Valencia (4-4-2): T Hildebrand – L Miguel, R Albiol, I Helguera, E
Moretti – JoaquÍn (sub: J Arizmendi, 88min), C Marchena, D Albelda
(sub: R Baraja, 75), D Silva – D Villa, F Morientes (sub: N Zigic,
68). Substitutes not used: S Cañizares, Sunny, M Á Angulo, Alexis.

Chelsea (4-3-2-1): P Cech – P Ferreira, R Carvalho, J Terry, A Cole –
M Essien (sub: S Sidwell, 84), C Makelele, J O Mikel (sub: Alex, 88) –
J Cole, F Malouda (sub: S Kalou, 86) – D Drogba. Substitutes not used:
C Cudicini, A Shevchenko, C Pizarro, J Belletti. Booked: Mikel.

Referee: R Rosetti (Italy).
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Telegraph:

Joe Cole keeps Chelsea on track again

By John Ley in Valencia

Valencia (1) 1 Chelsea (1) 2

John Terry wore a mask and Chelsea succeeded in disguising their
recent failings by securing a remarkable victory on a balmy Spanish
night in the Mestalla. A victory inspired, not for the first time in
this imposing stadium, by Joe Cole took Chelsea to the top of Group B.
Crisis? Surely not?

Six months ago Jose Mourinho's Chelsea came to Spain and left with an
impressive 2-1 victory to reach the semi-finals of the Champions
League. Given the turmoil that has followed Chelsea so far this
season, the repeat success was arguably a greater achievement — a view
echoed by Terry. "I think it was," he said. "We fought back and came
right back into the game."

It was certainly a personal accomplishment for Avram Grant, the man
ordered to pick up the pieces from the fall-out created by Mourinho's
departure.

It may not be enough, yet, to erase the memories of Mourinho — indeed,
they will remain ingrained in the history of the club — but in terms
of signalling a new era, this victory will serve as inspiration. How
Roman Abramovich must have delighted in this improbable success.

Despite a barren time, Grant has stood by his players and they
responded spendidly, with Cole scoring the equaliser and then
supplying the pass of the season for Didier Drogba to collect a
71st-minute winner.

For Grant, the game was a huge test and he did not shy away from
making potentially immense decisions. Terry returned just four days
after fracturing his cheekbone, while Andrei Shevchenko and Juliano
Belletti were dropped to the bench.

In one fell swoop, Grant had not only dispensed with the services of
two Champions League winners, but two men who had scored winning goals
in the final. Shevchenko, the second-highest goalscorer in European
football, claimed the winner for AC Milan in 2003, while Belletti
broke Arsenal hearts with the late winner for Barcelona three years
later.

Terry started off the pace but improved and, towards the end as
Valencia launched a wave of desperate attempts to steal a point, he
was thrusting his protected head where others would not venture.

Grant's only previous win came at Hull, so confidence was not what it
might have been. If David Silva's shot wide after just 39 seconds was
a warning, Valencia confirmed their early dominance in the ninth
minute.

Claude Makelele's attempted clearance hit Michael Essien and
ricocheted into the path of David Villa, who finished in style beyond
Petr Cech.

In April Chelsea were trailing 1-0 when they brought on Cole and he
inspired their 2-1 win. This time Cole started and at times looked
like a whippet as Chelsea searched for an opening. Ultimately, he was
to win the game, the comeback beginning in the 21st minute.

The build-up was like the Chelsea of old: swift and positive, with the
impressive Drogba feeding Florent Malouda. His cross, from the left,
was found by Cole who challenged with Emiliano Moretti. Cole got a
strong touch and though it may have found the net off Moretti, the
winger predictably claimed it.

Chelsea continued to look unsure in defence and Villa should have
regained the lead for Valencia off Ricardo Carvalho's poor clearance.
Instead he sent the ball high into the stand.

Before the break Chelsea had shown signs of a recovery, with a
containment designed to frustrate the Spaniards but the danger signs
returned when, in the 54th minute, Moretti rose at the far post to
head narrowly wide. Two minutes later the defence was exposed again
when both Villa and Fernando Morientes were clear. Villa, though, was
offside as he beat Petr Cech, to the relief of Terry and his
back-line.

The game had fallen flat when, in the 71st minute, Chelsea turned it
on its head with a goal outstanding both in its inception and
delivery. Cole produced the most delicate touch, stealing the ball off
Carlos Marchena before sending Drogba racing forward with a 50-yard
delivery. The striker held off Raul Albiol before using his left foot
to claim only his second goal of the season. It could prove to be his
most valuable, certainly this side of Christmas.
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Indy:

Valencia 1 Chelsea 2: Drogba rises above turmoil as Chelsea rediscover
self-belief
By Sam Wallace at the Mestalla

Avram Grant: not quite special yet, but a notch above normal after
last night. Where once the mighty Jose Mourinho conquered so too the
Israeli coach with the hangdog expression struck the first serious
blow of his new regime: a victory over Valencia delivered – in
sensational style – by Didier Drogba.

For now at least, Grant will not have to listen to the stories of how
Mourinho conquered the Mestalla in April after the new Chelsea manager
dealt Valencia only their sixth home defeat in 46 European matches
having come from one goal behind. Grant did it much the same way as
Mourinho liked to win football matches, with a 4-5-1 formation and a
stunning performance from his Ivorian striker.

Drogba was a revelation, intimidating the Valencia defence, cajoling
the referee and then, on 71 minutes, taking Joe Cole's exquisite
through ball into his stride and beating Timo Hildebrand in the home
goal. From Grant himself there was a barb for Mourinho when he said
that style of his team's victory was just as important as the fact
that they had repeated the feat of Chelsea five months earlier.

"I understand I am new to the team but they [Chelsea] chose me to lead
another way of football," he said. "I think this is the right thing to
do for the footballing way of Chelsea. We are trying to play another
way of football which will be very good for the club. I think the
Chelsea fans today will be very happy at the way we have done it."

That was one in the eye for Mourinho who may wish to remind his
successor that his victory was in the quarter-finals of the Champions
League, which are still a long way off for Grant. For now you cannot
begrudge the new Chelsea manager his first opportunity to be taken
seriously as a coach. The manager who emerged from nowhere now has one
of the most unusual records in English football: lost one, drawn one
and two away wins – one over Hull City and the other against Valencia.

With Chelsea having fallen behind to David Villa's opportunist goal on
eight minutes, last night was an occasion to admire the power of
Drogba – one of the players least accepting of Mourinho's departure.
Alone in attack he bludgeoned the Valencia defence. He was preferred
to Andrei Shevchenko who was not even summoned from the bench even in
the last exhausting minutes of Valencia's desperate final salvo.

"I think it's a start for a new, good way," Grant said. With a
conservative formation and Claude Makelele playing as a third central
defender at times, the new way looked a lot like the old way. In the
centre of defence, the return of Ricardo Carvalho alongside John Terry
stabilised Chelsea. For the final moments of the match, Grant switched
to 5-4-1 with Alex da Costa as an extra central defender – a move that
only served to invite Valencia to pile on the pressure and almost cost
Chelsea.

With the prospective arrival of the Ajax coach Henk ten Cate as a
first team coach alongside Grant it would appear that the tactical
preparation is a concern for the Chelsea hierarchy. At the end of the
game, Grant cut a strange figure, alone on the pitch and not sure
whether he should follow his players over to the corner to applaud the
fans. In the end he decided against testing his popularity with
Chelsea's hardcore support.

The five-man midfield is always recommended away at Valencia to combat
David Silva's tendency to drift in from the left wing and it was he
who inadvertently opened Chelsea up right down the middle. The winger
challenged for a ball with Paulo Ferreira and Makelele in the left
channel, half-winning possession before the Frenchman was able to get
a foot in.

From there the ball ricocheted first off Villa and then off Michael
Essien, before falling nicely for Villa who had broken away from
Terry. The Chelsea captain had no chance of catching him in the couple
of paces it took the striker to slip the ball under Petr Cech. It was
a strange goal, calamitous for Chelsea but unlucky as well. Valencia
seemed refreshingly willing to throw the kitchen sink at them with an
attacking unit of Villa, Silva, Fernando Morientes and Joaquin wide on
the right.

For a while it looked as if Chelsea might find themselves engulfed by
Valencia's appetite to attack then, on 21 minutes, Drogba was part of
an improbable equaliser. He shepherded the ball out right to Florent
Malouda, the winger cut the ball back for Joe Cole who, reaching it at
the same time as Emiliano Moretti, was able to send it into the net.

It was a goal that came blatantly against the run of play but after
the fortnight Grant has had he may well feel that he deserves a little
luck. Two minutes after the goal Drogba hit an outrageous shot from 25
yards that had Hildebrand concerned for a moment. Shocked and losing
their shape, Valencia's stream of attacks began to fail.

Like Barcelona before them, they seem to regard Chelsea's style as an
affront to the dignity of full-blooded attacking Spanish football.

Villa had a goal disallowed when he strayed marginally offside and
Chelsea escaped. Their winner was made by Joe Cole, who was lively
throughout even if he looked determined to dribble around the entire
Valencia defence on his own. On 71 minutes he did not delay releasing
the ball. Hit from the right wing to the left channel, struck with the
outside of his right foot Cole's ball eluded four Valencia defenders
to reach Drogba who held off the challenge of Raul Albiol to score and
put Chelsea top of Group B.

Valencia (4-4-2): Hildebrand; Miguel, Albiol, Helguera, Moretti;
Joaquin (Arizmendi, 89), Albelda (Baraja, 74), Marchena, Silva;
Morientes (Zigic, 69), Villa. Substitutes not used: Canizares (gk),
Sunny, Angulo, Alexis.

Chelsea (4-5-1): Cech; Ferreira, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole; J Cole,
Makelele, Essien (Sidwell, 84), Mikel (Alex, 89), Malouda (Kalou, 85);
Drogba. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Shevchenko, Pizarro,
Belletti.

Referee: R Rosetti (Italy).

Group B

Results: Chelsea 1 Rosenborg 1; Schalke 04 0 Valencia 1; Rosenborg 0
Schalke 04 2; Valencia 1 Chelsea 2.

Remaining fixtures: 24 Oct: Chelsea v Schalke 04; Rosenborg v
Valencia. 6 Nov: Schalke 04 v Chelsea; Valencia v Rosenborg. 28 Nov:
Rosenborg v Chelsea; Valencia v Schalke 04. 11 Dec: Chelsea v
Valencia; Schalke 04 v Rosenborg.
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Drogba puts the pride back into Chelsea

Kevin McCarra at the Mestalla Stadium
Thursday October 4, 2007
The Guardian


Chelsea relived their recent past to set course for a new era. Victory
over Valencia came by the same score as at the Mestalla in the
Champions League quarter-final six months ago, but it was accomplished
without the departed Jose Mourinho. Mourning and resentment no longer
seeped into the display and Chelsea, just as they did on their
previous visit to this ground, came back to win after falling behind.
While Didier Drogba, the scorer of a fine decider, surpassed himself,
many others rediscovered their misplaced reliability. Avram Grant
entered the Champions League proper for the first time in his
managerial career, but neither that nor Chelsea's place at the top of
Group B will linger in his mind.

He can, instead, seize on this result as a starting point, proof to
the world that the squad he inherited need not be lethargic under his
command. Perhaps the side were merely reacting out of pride and
obstinacy, but the win now sweetens Grant's record. The Israeli owes
most gratitude to Drogba, who was once more that amalgam of power and
poise.
The winner was as exquisite as it was dynamic. With 71 minutes gone,
Joe Cole bent a marvel of a pass towards the left with the outside of
his right foot and Drogba collected while storming beyond the
centre-back Raúl Albiol. Then, in the heart of that maelstrom of
energy, he gathered himself to pilot the ball beyond the reach of Timo
Hildebrand.

Valencia could not recover and Chelsea, with Alex brought on as a
third centre-half, held out staunchly. Fortitude had been even more
important at the start. Grant's 4-1-4-1 formation expressed a
hankering for security, but the Mestalla is no place to go looking for
it.

Despite the numbers massed in front of them Valencia had a dancing
manoeuvrability as well as brute pace on the flanks. Apart from the
corrosive uncertainty about the long-term plans at Stamford Bridge,
Chelsea had been hit by that most mundane of disadvantages, injury.
The line-up here, though, was an ensemble on its way to recovery.

Ricardo Carvalho, notably, was marked present. He had appeared in
Chelsea's first two league games of the season, against Birmingham
City and Reading, which are, coincidentally or not, the club's only
consecutive victories in this campaign. The Portuguese had previously
been thought to need a couple of weeks more to recover from an ankle
injury, but the yearning to reinstate him was overwhelming.

Though he took his place beside John Terry, satisfaction over that was
qualified by the realisation that both men were well short of ideal
condition. The captain had a face mask to protect the cheekbone
fractured at the weekend. There was no such convenient means for the
visitors to prevent Valencia from doing damage, particularly when
Quique Sánchez Flores's men got a bit lucky.

A ricochet off Michael Essien, after a tackle by Paulo Ferreira, was
fortunate indeed, but there still had to be admiration for the manner
in which David Villa capitalised, beating Petr Cech with an assured
finish in the ninth minute.

Chelsea might have been overwhelmed but were never without resources
of their own. Drogba's smart pass found Florent Malouda after 21
minutes. The Frenchman's low cross from the left was treacherous and,
as panic ensued, Joe Cole put the ball into the net, with the Valencia
left-back Emiliano Moretti in attendance.

Valencia bristled and four minutes later Carvalho's sliding tackle
sent the ball into the path of Villa, but he shot rashly. Chelsea knew
by then that they had a formidable spearhead of their own in Drogba.
Trust had been placed in him, to the detriment of an even more
expensive signing. There was a show of independence from Grant in the
demotion of Andriy Shevchenko to the bench - unless it was actually
the owner, Roman Abramovich, who had lost faith in the Ukrainian at
last.

Chelsea had to believe in themselves. There were searing moments even
after the pace had dipped. In the 56th minute Villa was a metre
offside before he fired home. The victors will have felt blessed then
and at the close. For the time being, all brooding over machinations
and upheaval at Chelsea has been dissolved in joy.
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Mail:

Who needs Jose? Drogba lifts stuttering Chelsea
Valencia 1 Chelsea 2

By MATT LAWTON in Valencia

Avram Grant's wife must have raised a glass of something more
appetising than her usual tipple last night, toasting her husband and
his Chelsea team for securing an uplifting, widely unexpected victory
at a stunned Mestalla.

Inspired by John Terry's courage and Joe Cole's class, this was an
extraordinary result for a team who appeared to be lacking in
direction against a more fluent Valencia side.

For 45 minutes they were distinctly second best and thoroughly
undeserving of the scrappy equaliser Cole managed to steal in response
to a crushing early strike from David Villa.

The second half, however, was a different story. The story of Terry's
tenacity and Cole's considerable talent; of a captain who launched
himself at every corner, knowing that one blow to his right cheekbone
could put him straight back in hospital.

The story of a creative midfielder who demonstrated his long-admired
ability with a 40-yard pass that took out four Valencia defenders and
presented Didier Drogba with the chance to score a wonderful winning
goal.

"It was nice to play with freedom," said Cole in a not-so-veiled dig
at former boss Jose Mourinho and his more disciplined ways.

For Grant, a night when the pressure lifted off those broad, bulky
shoulders gave him the chance finally to enjoy being Chelsea manager
and the opportunity to stick two fat fingers up at his tormentors.

He went some way to proving he can get results, even after seven years
away from the Champions League.

His side had not only finished with 11 men and scored the kind of
goals that have been proving so elusive, he had just matched Mourinho
in emulating his predecessor's finest hour in Europe as Chelsea
manager.

Mourinho beat Valencia 2-1 here last April and Grant had managed the same.

Even at the sound of the final whistle, he responded exactly as
Mourinho had done. Standing proud in a blue shirt and tie, he greeted
every Chelsea player as they walked off the pitch. High fives for a
team now back on a high.

In Terry he had his superhero, complete with mask, and in Cole he had
a player relishing the opportunity to perform without the restrictions
imposed on him by Mourinho.

It was a joy to watch, even if Cole should still thank Mourinho for
making him a far more mature footballer.

Valencia paid for a lack of maturity last night, as well as a lack of
ambition. After beating Schalke in their opening game, they seemed
content to settle for a 1-1 draw and were punished when Chelsea
finally rediscovered their ruthless side.

Cultured in the first half, Valencia manager Quique Sanchez Flores
even resorted to sticking the big man up front in the second. Nikola
Zigic is as tall as Peter Crouch but wider and his arrival only
succeeded in convincing Chelsea they could win this game.

They started badly, conceding a goal after nine minutes when confusion
led to chaos and, in turn, to what looked like an insurmountable lead
for the Spaniards.

Paulo Ferreira and Claude Makelele collided in trying to challenge
Villa, Ferreira sent his hurried clearance against Michael Essien's
arm and the ball ricocheted into the path of Villa, who sprinted past
Terry and guided a terrific finish beyond Petr Cech.

Valencia were a little fortunate, although they had already looked
dangerous with a swiftly-executed attack that ended with a shot by
David Silva and their superior football suggested Chelsea were going
to suffer.

From somewhere, though, the visitors produced a 21st-minute equaliser,
Drogba providing the pass, Florent Malouda the cross and Cole the
close-range finish.

It had initially looked like an own goal by Emiliano Moretti but Cole
got the final touch. The half-time statistics favoured the hosts.
Valencia had unleashed eight shots to Chelsea's two and enjoyed the
majority of possession.

After the break, however, everything changed. Had Grant delivered a
rousing speech? Had he stood at the tactics board and come up with
Plan B?

In fairness to Grant, he did have the tactical nous to send on Alex
and switch to five at the back once Drogba had secured the lead in the
70th minute.

If there was an anxious moment when Villa had a second "goal" rightly
disallowed for offside, there was only elation when Drogba accelerated
away from Raul Albiol and guided his shot past Timo Hildebrand.

It was Drogba's 18th Champions League goal and a perfect demonstration
of why Andriy Shevchenko was dropped for this game and why he should
never start for Chelsea again.

Drogba has the kind of pace and athleticism that Shevchenko has so
clearly lost. Not only that, he has the passion and determination
Shevchenko so clearly lacks.

Drogba does, of course, owe much to Cole for finding himself in the
position to score and not just because of his team-mate's vision and
precision.

It was Cole who won the ball in the first place, wrestling it off
Carlos Marchena.

"Football with style" was what Grant promised and in that one moment
Cole and Drogba delivered.

VALENCIA (4-2-2-2): Hildebrand 6; Miguel 6, Albiol 6, Helguera 6,
Moretti 5; Marchena 6, Albelda 7 (Baraja 74min, 6); Silva 6, Joaquin 6
(Arizmendi 89); Villa 6, Morientes 6 (Zigic 69, 6). Booked: Marchena.

CHELSEA (4-3-3): Cech 6; Ferreira 6, Carvalho 6, Terry 7, A Cole 6;
Makelele 6, Essien 6 (Sidwell 84), Mikel 5 (Alex 89); J Cole 7, Drogba
7, Malouda 7.

Booked: Mikel.

Man of the match: Joe Cole.

Referee: Roberto Rosetti (Italy).
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Mirror:

AV-A-GO HEROES
VALENCIA 1 CHELSEA 2 Champions League Group B from the Mestalla
Bravehearts Terry and Drogba show Chelsea still have spirit
Martin Lipton Chief Football Writer

Avram Grant went to the scene of one of Jose Mourinho's greatest
evenings last night and proved he is no longer 'Avram who?'

Six months after the last truly memorable performance under the
Portuguese, Grant matched his stunning achievement by somehow
conjuring a truly season-changing victory.

And while it will take more than one triumph to cast aside the shadow
of Mourinho, this must bury for ever the notion that the dressing room
will never unite behind the Israeli.

Grant had shown bravery in dropping two men who have won the Champions
League Final with their right boot, in Roman Abramovich's pet player
Andriy Shevchenko and Juliano Belletti. But it was the peace talks
with Didier Drogba, persuading the most vocal critic of Mourinho's
departure to bury his hatchet, that bore the most remarkable fruit.

AdvertisementJust as here in the Mestalla six months ago, Chelsea
looked set for a kicking as they were ran ragged for 45 minute
minutes, even after Joe Cole cancelled out David Villa's early strike.

Yet little by little, piece by piece, Grant's message took hold in the
minds and bodies of his players - in a manner even Mourinho will,
through gritted teeth, have noted with approval.

And where it was a stunner by Michael Essien that silenced the most
passionate amphitheatre in Spain in what was the high water-mark of
Mourinho's last full season in SW6, last night Drogba struck to put
Chelsea top of Group B.

The goal was magnificent and reward for Drogba's willingness to take
on the entire Valencia back line by himself. It also owed so much to
the brilliance and vision of Cole as he threaded the ball past four
white shirts with the outside of his right foot.

What followed was equally majestic and unstoppable, as Drogba powered
past Raul Albiol and arrowed his shot into the bottom corner of Timo
Hildebrand's net.

Drogba deserved the headlines and the acclaim of the small knot of
travelling supporters.

Yet what made the difference, equally, was the resolve of each and
every one of Grant's players, especially as they shed every last drop
of sweat to hold on to what they had.

John Terry, ignoring the fractured cheekbone and the mask that covered
it, flung himself in front of everything, obliterating the memories of
the first half in which he had twice been embarrassed by Villa and old
foe Fernando Morientes.

Beside him, after six weeks out, Ricardo Carvalho also refused to
crumble, while Joe Cole and Essien ran themselves into the ground.

Quite how Grant got away with it is still hard to work out. Frankly,
tormented by the pace of Joaquin Sanchez and the vibrancy of Villa,
Chelsea were a mess for most of the first half.

The goal, after just eight minutes, stemmed from the confusion at the
heart of the Blues, with a wild ricochet off Essien sending the ball
ballooning into the space behind Terry and Carvalho. Villa was the
only man to react, bursting through the gaping hole to give Petr Cech
no chance. Had Joaquin, played in by Morientes, showed similar
conviction on 20 minutes, the game would surely have been over, but
the winger shot straight at Cech.

And out of nowhere Chelsea levelled as Drogba and Florent Malouda
worked an excellent one-two to send the French winger in on the
Valencia left.

Malouda pulled back and while Cole's lack of celebrations suggested an
own goal from three yards by Emiliano Moretti, the England man
subsequently claimed the vital touch.

Grant and his men had a foothold in the game, and while there were
scares at the start of the second half, the tide of the match had
begun to turn Chelsea's way.

Terry headed wide before Villa thought he had put Valencia back in
front when he swept home from Morientes' pass. The flag was rightly
up, however.

And within two minutes, Drogba struck the winner.

When Mourinho stormed the Mestalla citadel, he was hailed for his
brilliance. Grant has not managed that status yet.

Now, though, he has a night to remember. And the belief that there can
be more to come.

Valencia): Hildebrand 7, Miguel 7, Albiol 6, Helguera 6, Moretti 6
Albelda 6 (Baraja 75, 6), Marchena 6, Joaquin 7, Silva 7, Morientes 6
(Zigic 69, 6), Villa 8.

Chelsea: Cech 7, Ferreira 5, Carvalho 6, Terry 5, A Cole 5, Makelele
6; J Cole 8, Essien 7, Mikel 6, Malouda 6, Drogba 8.

56% POSSESSION 44%

4 SHOTS ON TARGET 3

9 SHOTS OFF TARGET 5

2 OFFSIDES 2

3 CORNERS 5

15 FOULS 22

1 YELLOW CARDS 1

0 RED CARDS 0

ATTENDANCE: 52,000

Man Of The Match: Drogba
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