The Times
April 4, 2008

Gael Kakuta leap has Avram Grant cheering
Kaveh Solhekol

Avram Grant has not had much to laugh about this week but the Chelsea
first-team coach was jumping for joy in the stands at Stamford Bridge
last night after watching his youth team come from behind to draw the
first leg of the FA Youth Cup final.

Daniel Sturridge swept Manchester City into the lead five minutes
after half-time with a low left-foot strike, but Chelsea regrouped and
equalised when Gaël Kakuta rose highest in the penalty area to head
past Greg Hartley, the City goalkeeper, in the 67th minute.

Sturridge, the 18-year-old striker, has already scored twice for
City's first team, the City defence played like seasoned professionals
and Kakuta, the French winger, and Sergio Tejera RodÍguez, the Spanish
midfield player, caught the eye for Chelsea. The second leg at the
City of Manchester Stadium in 12 days is too close to call.

Chelsea (4-5-1): R Taylor – S Ofori-Twumasi, J Bruma, P van Aanholt, B
Gordon – M Stoch, M Woods, J Mellis, S Tejera RodrÍguez, G Kakuta – M
Nielsen (sub: A Phillip, 62min). Substitutes not used: N Heimann, T
Taiwo, D Philliskirk, F Nouble. Booked: Nielsen, Mellis.

Manchester City (4-4-2): G Hartley – K Trippier, D Boyata, B Mee, R
McGivern – V Weiss, A Tuttle, S Kay, D McDermott (sub: A Tsiaklis, 71)
– D Ball (sub: A Ibrahim, 86), D Sturridge. Substitutes not used: A
Nimley, F Mentel, J Poole. Referee: P Walton.

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Telegraph:

FA Youth Cup Final: Man City have the edge
By Oliver Pickup


Chelsea (0) 1 Manchester City (0) 1

Manchester City's Daniel Sturridge underlined his precociousness by
scoring the opening goal of the FA Youth Cup Final first leg at
Chelsea's Stamford Bridge last night.

Although Chelsea's French Under-17 international Gael Kakuta levelled
with a half hour remaining, Sturridge's Manchester City team enter the
second leg at Eastlands with a slight advantage.

City, who reached the final two years ago only to be beaten by
Liverpool, were looking to go one better and a crowd of 11,980 watched
as striker Sturridge, who has scored twice for the first team this
season, score his seventh of the competition five minutes after the
interval.

Belgian Vladimir Weiss found Sturridge on the left of the penalty area
and he cut in to calmly beat Rhys Taylor with a left-footed shot.

Chelsea under the gaze of first teamer Frank Lampard, gained a
deserved equaliser in the second half.

A corner from Miroslav Stoch was met firmly by the head of Kakuta to
give City goalkeeper Rhys Hartley no chance.

His goal leaves the tie nicely balanced going into the second leg at
Eastlands on April 16.

Match details

Chelsea (4-4-2): Taylor; Ofori-Twumasi, Bruma, Van Aanholt, Gordon;
Stoch, Mellis, Woods, Kakuta; Tejera, Nielsen. Subs: Phillip, Heimann,
Taiwo, Nouble.
Manchester City (4-4-2): Hartley; Trippier, Boyota, Mee, McGivern;
Weiss, Tutte, Kay, McDermott; Ball, Sturridge. Subs: Nimley, Mentel,
Ibrahim, Tsiakus, Poole.

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Youth Cup final, first leg

Chelsea youngsters draw hope

Chelsea 1-1 Manchester City
Kakuta 66 | Sturridge 49

Paul Doyle at Stamford Bridge
Friday April 4, 2008
The Guardian


Roman Abramovich is so sincere about wanting to cultivate talent at
Chelsea rather than simply buy it that, according to the youth team
manager Paul Clement, he regularly turns up to support even the
Under-13s. The club's youngsters strive to play the entertaining
football the owner is said to crave and the 11,890 people who took
advantage of free admission last night were treated to a skilful
spectacle which ended with honours even before the second leg in
Manchester in a fortnight.

Chelsea, contesting their first Youth Cup final since 1961, have one
of the most expensive youth squads ever assembled, with the fees paid
to lure players from the academies of clubs such as PSV Eindhoven, FC
Copenhagen and Espanyol reportedly amounting to millions of pounds.
Their starting line-up here had seven nationalities, much like their
senior side, compared with Manchester City's three.
It may not have escaped Abramovich's attention that the two best
performers were playing for the visitors, and fittingly they combined
for the opening goal. The Slovakian winger Vladimir Weiss exhibited
for most of the evening the sort of magical dribbling Stamford Bridge
has rarely witnessed since the heyday of Arjen Robben and Damien Duff,
and early in the second half he weaved his way through Chelsea's
defence before slipping the ball to Daniel Sturridge, an 18-year-old
with first-team experience, who steered it into the net from 10 yards.

Chelsea's French winger Gaël Kakuta powerfully connected with a corner
to head an equaliser which leaves finely poised a final in which away
goals do not count double. "The boys are disappointed with the draw
because we're all about winning," said Clement. "But we're delighted
with reaching the final and the big crowd that came tonight. That's
raised the profile of our academy and shown we're serious about youth
development."
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Mail:

Kakuta on the mark as Chelsea kids peg back City

Gael Kakuta came to Chelsea's rescue to seal a 1-1 draw with
Manchester City in the first leg of the FA Youth Cup Final at Stamford
Bridge.

The France Under 17 international headed home 15 minutes into the
second half after Daniel Sturridge, who has two goals in three
first-team games this season, had given City the lead shortly after
half-time.

The game was watched by a crowd of 11,980, which included Chelsea
first-team stars Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Shaun Wright- Phillips.

The second leg is at Eastlands on April 16.