Times July 26, 2008

Chelsea cut Chengdu Blades to seven pieces

Shaun Wright-Phillips stars as London side's Asian tour continues with
leisurely rout of spineless Chinese opposition

Wayne Veysey
THE ERA of Luiz Felipe Scolari may have begun in emphatic fashion with
two handsome wins and 11 goals, but it would be premature to hail the
Brazilian's rebranded team as the great entertainers.

Such was the poverty of the opposition in Macau yesterday that
Chelsea's players have probably exerted themselves more in kickabouts
in their back gardens. The visitors were able to stroll through this
game, slicing open their hosts at will. Had they wanted to rack up
double figures, they would surely have done so. Total control?
Absolutely. Total football? Absolutely not.

In midweek, Scolari growled at the mere mention of Jose Mourinho,
stating that, like Frank Sinatra, he would do it his way and that
beautiful football would come second to winning.

However, the message from his players is that the former Brazil and
Portugal manager is advocating a more gung-ho style in training, with
two strikers rather than the one that has been the norm, and the
club's deep reservoir of attacking midfielders encouraged to show
their creative sides.

Yet there was more than a hint of Mourinho in the personnel and
formation that Scolari selected. It was a strong starting XI for late
July and the tactics were a throw-back to Mourinho's time, three
central midfielders and two wingers complementing a single striker, in
this case Nicolas Anelka.

As hosts, Chengdu Blades could not have been more hospitable. They are
owned by Sheffield United but they showed no steel. Chelsea scored
three in the first half and four in the second, the pick of which was
a delightful backheeled flick from substitute Joe Cole, one of two
goals for the winger in his first pre-season game. Anelka, Salomon
Kalou, Frank Lampard, Argentinian teenager Franco Di Santo and Shaun
Wright-Phillips weighed in with goals.

There was occasional slickness in Chelsea's play, Michael Essien
typically shining in two different roles, firstly anchoring the
midfield and later at right-back, while Deco and Lampard dovetailed
effectively in central midfield without getting in one other's way. On
the down side, Deco made a few rash challenges and would surely have
been shown a yellow card in a Premier League fixture.

Scolari was a relaxed presence on the bench, choosing to stay rooted
to his seat for the whole game. He clapped the opening two goals, was
undemonstrative for the rest and laughed when the seventh crept in via
Wright-Phillips's shoulder.

Pre-season rides do not come much easier than this but Scolari says it
was exactly the type of run-out he wanted and that his lineup for the
opening Premier League game against Portsmouth on August 16 will be
shaped by the considerably tougher fixtures in Moscow on Friday and
Sunday.

"Look, for us, this is match training. If I was at Cobham it would
make it the same," he said. "We are here not only to play games but
other things and for me it is better because I build my team for the
Russian games and after that I have the team for the first game
against Portsmouth."

One player the manager knows very well is Deco, who contributed a full
90-minute shift despite his exertions for Portugal in the summer,
evidence perhaps that Scolari wants this key cog in the wheel in prime
shape for the start of the league season.

Star man: Joe Cole

Scorers: Chelsea: Anelka 15, Kalou 31, Lampard 38, J Cole 55, 82, Di
Santo 66, Wright-Phillips 83

CHENGDU BLADES: Lan Yi, Liu Cheng, Demar, Li Mingyi (Ding Qi 55min),
Zhu Xiaogang (Xu Chao 62min), Zhang Chaosong (Yang Zezhi h-t), Li Tie
(Peng Xingli 78min), Xia Qiqi (Zhou Peng 55min), Zhou Yougen (Jiang
Xiaoyu 82min), Shi Jun (Denilson h-t), Wang Song

CHELSEA: Cech (Hilario 60min), Ferreira (Ivanovic h-t), Alex (Carvalho
h-t), Terry (J Cole 53min), A Cole (Bridge h-t), Deco, Essien, Lampard
(Mikel h-t), Wright-Phillips, Anelka (Di Santo 60min), Kalou (Malouda
h-t)
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Telegraph:

Chelsea knock seven past Chengdu Blades in pre-season match
Chelsea's pre-season tour of Asia continued in Macau on Saturday as
Luiz Felipe Scolari's side eased to a 7-0 victory against Chinese
Super League side Chengdu Blades.

By Emily Benammar

Chengdu Blades 0 Chelsea 7

Nicolas Anelka, Solomon Kalou and Frank Lampard handed their side a
comfortable half-time advantage at the Macau Stadium before Joe Cole,
Franco Di Santo and a fortunate Shaun Wright-Phillips wrapped up the
second rout in four days.

Paulo Ferreira replaced the injured Jose Bosingwa at right-back, while
Alex and Wright-Phillips also came into the side who beat Guangzhou
Pharmaceutical 4-0 on Wednesday at the expense of Ricardo Carvalho and
Mikel John Obi, with Michael Essien taking over the holding midfield
role.

Like at the start of Wednesday's pre-season opener, Chelsea dominated
the opening exchanges against the Blades, who currently sit ninth in
the Chinese top-flight, and after Kalou and Essien had shots saved by
Chengdu goalkeeper Lan Yi. Chelsea opened the scoring after 15
minutes.

Wright-Phillips found an unmarked Anelka charging into the area, and
after the French striker beat the Blades offside trap, he calmly
rounded Lan and rolled the ball into the net.

The lively Wright-Phillips blazed over and Lampard saw his low drive
saved before Kalou doubled the Chelsea lead 14 minutes before the
break.

Wright-Phillips picked out Anelka on the edge of the Chengdu area and
with time and space, the Frenchman turned and fed the onrushing Kalou
who scored with ease.

Kalou turned provider seven minutes later as the Ivory Coast
international crossed for Lampard to fire into an empty net from the
edge of the area after Lan went to ground in a vain attempt to
intercept the initial low delivery.

Following five half-time changes, Cole was also introduced shortly
after for his first pre-season appearance after missing the opening
game due to a lack of match fitness.

And Cole made an instant impact two minutes after his 53rd minute
introduction as the England midfielder broke clear of the Chengdu
backline following an Anelka through-ball before deceiving Lan and
passing the ball into the unguarded net.

Six minutes later Argentinian teenager Di Santo smashed home the fifth
from close range after the Blades defence failed to clear Carvalho's
low cross following good interplay from Cole on the edge of the
Chengdu area.

Di Santo was denied a second with 15 minutes remaining as his
near-post flick was acrobatically turned away by Lan.

Cole grabbed a second with eight minutes left on the watch with an
exquisite close range backheel drag from Essien's low near post cross
before Florent Malouda's left wing cross hit an onrushing
Wright-Phillips on the chest and looped over Lan a minute later to
complete the scoring.

Former Everton and Sheffield United defender Li Tie played 80 minutes
for Chengdu, who are owned by the Blades of the Championship.

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Chelsea's victory over Chengdu Blades fails to win over locals

Considering the jackpot they hope to eventually land from such exotic
pre-season tours, it is perhaps appropriate that Chelsea have spent
the past four days in Macau, Asia's answer to Las Vegas.

By Jeremy Wilson in Macau

Surrounded by casinos, Chelsea's base at the Grand Lisboa on Macau's
main strip has been the subject of curiosity from well-wishers rather
than the focus of any notable hysteria from the supposed new legion of
Asian fans.

For the cynics, the money and glitz of a gambling city is well suited
to Chelsea's sudden arrival among football's high rollers, while the
disappointing crowds have underlined the lofty challenge of realising
their ambition to become the world's biggest club by 2014.

After 35,000 watched Wednesday's 4-0 win against Guangzhou
Pharmaceutical, a crowd of around 7,000 watched another procession
yesterday afternoon as Chelsea coasted to a 7-0 victory against the
hopelessly limited Chengdu Blades.

Chelsea were without Jose Bosingwa, who flew back to London after
scans revealed a small tear in a thigh which manager Luiz Felipe
Scolari expects to keep him out of the first game of the Premier
League season against Portsmouth. "I have players in this position. It
is not a problem for us, I think three weeks he is ready to play,"
Scolari said.

Chelsea took a 14th-minute lead through Nicolas Anelka. Shaun
Wright-Phillips then provided the assist and combined with Anelka to
present Salomon Kalou with Chelsea's second.

Frank Lampard notched his second goal in two pre-season games, then
Joe Cole returned from an ankle injury to put Chelsea 4-0 ahead.

Franco Di Santo also scored his second goal in four days, before Cole
provided the best moment of the game with a back-heel beyond
goalkeeper Fu Bin.

The rout was completed when Florent Malouda fed the ball into the area
and it was directed past Bin by Wright-Phillips.

Portsmouth are expected to bid for Wright-Phillips but Scolari said:
"He is a player who is important for us, he is a different player – he
has been training very well."

Despite the oppressively hot conditions and poor opposition, Chelsea
are adamant about the football benefits of spending 10 days in the
Asian humidity. "If I choose the opponents, I would choose this now, I
don't want to play against strong teams because they [the players]
have to stay healthy," said Scolari. "I am new in Chelsea, I need to
know some players. It's important for me this game. It was better than
the match on Wednesday."

Cole added: "It's hot and humid, but as professional players it is our
responsibility to come to these places. These fans spend a lot of
money following us around."
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Mail:

Chengdu Blades 0 Chelsea 7

By Daniel King from Macau
Last updated at 3:37 PM on 26th July 2008

Chelsea (4-1-3-2): Cech; Ferreira (Ivanovic 46min), Alex (Carvalho
46), Terry (J Cole 54), A Cole (Bridge 46); Essien; Wright-Phillips,
Deco, Lampard (Obi Mikel 46); Kalou (Malouda 46), Anelka (Di Santo
65). Subs: Cudicini, Hilario.

Chengdu Blades: Lan Yi, Liu Cheng, Demar, Li Mingyi, Li Tie, Zhou
Yougen, Zhang Chaosong, Zhu Xiaogang, Shi Jun, Wang Song. Subs: Fu
Bin, Ding Qi, Zheng Wangyang, Xu Chao, Zhou Peng, Yang Zezhi, Peng
Xingli, Jiang Xiaoyu, Denilson, Zhang Yuan.

FINAL SCORE
90mins: 7(SEVEN)- nil. Well, Roman Abramovich wants to win in style,
and Chelsea have certainly done that. But you suspect that not every
opponent will make it as easy as this. Di Santo had time to miss from
two yards but it felt more like mercy than incompetence. Two games of
the tour down, two wins, 11 goals for, 0 against. The Malaysian
national team will surely provide a stiffer test in Kuala Lumpur on
Wednesday.

GOAL
84mins (0-7): It's getting really embarrassing now. SWP is on the
scoresheet this time after Malouda's cross hits him and goes in. It's
time for the vidiprinter to start putting the score in brackets:
(SEVEN).

GOAL
80mins (0-6): Essien, playing in his third different position of the
game, crosses from the right and Joe Cole scores with an impudent
backheel to make it 6-0. With Deco going through his repertoire of
skills, it's just like watching Brazil. No, really.

72 mins: Carvalho seems to bring down Chengdu captain Wang Song in the
box but the referee says no. 'Chelsea propaganda' is the cry as a
replay of the incident on the big screen gives way to the more
comfortable view of the scoreline.

Heads I Win: John Terry battles for possession with Shi Jun
GOAL
66 mins (0-5): A horrible defensive error gives Franco di Santo, on as
a 65th-minute replacement from Anelka, a straightforward chance to
score from close range. It's 5-0 and it's really not a competitive
match at all.
GOAL
55 mins (0-4): Joe Cole makes it four, running round the 'keeper after
Anelka's cute through ball to score barely a minute after coming on
for John Terry. Not to play at centre-back, obviously. Terry did not
seem to be injured, but there may be news in the post-match bulletin.
If Chengdu's partner club, Sheffield United, are watching this
display, they will wonder if they want to be associated with them
anymore. Sean Bean will not be getting another Blades tattoo to
celebrate this lot anytime soon. Sharp(e), they ain't.

SUBSTITUTION
46mins: Who says football hacks don't know what they're talking about.
Not just one or two substitutions, but five, with Branislav Ivanovic,
Wayne Bridge, Ricardo Carvalho, John Obi Mikel and Florent Malouda
replacing Paulo Ferreira, Ashley Cole, Alex, Frank Lampard and Salomon
Kalou. Nothing else to report.

HALF TIME
45 mins: There was just time for one more wave of the flag from the
suspect lino before a miserable half for the Chengdu team came to an
end. 3-0 flatters them, to be honest. Wayne Bridge and Florent Malouda
went off to warm up before the whistle, so expect Scolari to make some
half-time changes. The Chelsea players leave the pitch to strange,
high-pitched cries from the crowd.

GOAL
38 mins (0-3): Kalou cuts the ball back and Lampard sets himself
before lashing the ball into the net. It's a rout. A game of dubious
footballing value still doesn't look like a winner in commercial terms
either - despite the late opening of the gates, which led to a flood
of people entering the ground, there are still lots of empty seats.

GOAL DISALLOWED
36mins: It's that linesman again! Kalou dubiously ruled offside in the
process of setting Anelka up for what would have been a third goal.
The Chengdu defence is like a paper colander.

GOAL
31mins (0-2): Another defence-splitting SWP pass, Anelka shows a
previously unsuspected streak of unselfishness by playing in Kalou,
and the Ivorian scores easily. Cue some mild cheering. On this form,
the Champions League will be a doddle. Maybe.


30mins: Apart from an ugly shot over the bar by SWP and the odd
Chengdu incursion into Chelsea's penalty area, the most notable
feature of the last few minutes has been some very suspect
officiating. The nearside linesman's grasp of the offside rule is
rather tenuous and the referee himself is inconsistent when it comes
to deciding what constitutes a foul. Just like the Premier League,
then.
GOAL
15 mins (0-1): After creating a few other chances, Nicolas Anelka
accepts Shaun Wright-Phillips's through ball, goes round the Chengdu
goalkeeper and gives Chelsea a deserved lead.


Luis Felipe Scolari, having told us yesterday that he has always been
regarded as a European-style coach, has gone a bit Brazilian on us
with a sort of 4-1-2-2-1 formation.

Michael Essien is holding, Deco and Frank Lampard are in front of him,
with Wright-Phillips and Kalou on the flanks pushing up in support of
Anelka. It's working quite well, as it goes.

Well, Chelsea's plan to conquer the Far East seems not have caught the
imagination of the people of the Macau. Despite reports of a sell-out,
the Olympic stadium on the island of Taipa, whose capacity cannot be
much more than 15,000, has huge swathes of empty seats.

If there are 3,000 people here, 15 minutes before kick-off, then it
would be surprise. Time to push back that break-even target again, Mr
Kenyon?
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