Times
November 5, 2008

Luiz Felipe Scolari joke returns to haunt him
Roma 3 Chelsea 1

Matt Hughes in Rome

Given their rush to cut costs, it is as well that Chelsea have not
paid a deposit on rooms at the Cavalieri Hilton. Luiz Felipe Scolari's
side should still qualify from group A and could return to Rome for a
second successive Champions League final in May, but it will take a
dramatic improvement after this shocking setback, their heaviest
defeat for 3½ years.

Scolari's boasts about advanced bookings, which he insists were
intended as a joke, came back to haunt him. In his defence, the
Chelsea manager had also stated that returning to the Eternal City
would entail negotiating a long and difficult road, but against
opponents fourth from bottom of Serie A, this pothole was an
unforeseen danger.

Scolari's frustration will have been compounded by Chelsea storming
out of the blocks before stalling after half an hour, but he can also
reflect on some important lessons. To judge from their second-half
performance, Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka's future as a
partnership is even less promising than that of Russell Brand and
Jonathan Ross, while the Frenchman's very survival at the club could
be in doubt after his lacklustre attempt at leading the line on his
own in the first half.

This was a reminder of his ineffectiveness at the highest level after
scoring possibly the softest hat-trick in Premier League history
against Sunderland on Saturday.

Anelka was not the only one to emerge from a miserable evening with a
question mark next to his name — plenty of his team-mates failed to
perform. Florent Malouda also seems to lack the appetite for the
biggest occasions, his profligacy in front of goal an increasing
problem, and John Obi Mikel's inexperience was exposed.

For the first time this season, Chelsea looked like they are missing
the guiding hand of Claude Makelele, Mikel's predecessor in the
holding role, a player so distinguished that he had a position named
after him.

Scolari attributed the defeat to uncharacteristic defensive mistakes,
which were plentiful. Petr Cech was beaten three times in the space of
24 minutes either side of half-time after conceding just four goals in
15 matches this season.

Roma's first was the result of that rarest of occurrences, an error
from John Terry. A quickly taken free kick after a clumsy challenge
from Deco in the 34th minute found its way to Cicinho on the right
byline and his cross eluded Terry and Frank Lampard for Christian
Panucci to tap in unmarked against his former club.

If Chelsea's players looked shell-shocked after dominating the opening
half-hour, it was nothing compared with their emotions at the start of
the second period, when Roma scored twice in ten minutes to end the
match as a contest. Mikel was partially responsible for both goals. He
gave Matteo Brighi the space on the edge of the penalty area to find
Mirko Vucinic, whose first-time shot beat Cech from 20 yards, the
first second-half goal he has conceded this season.

After going 678 minutes without being breached after an interval,
Chelsea had to wait only a further ten before Vucinic scored again.
The Montenegro striker dispossessed Mikel just short of the halfway
line and raced upfield, being caught by the Nigeria midfield player
before beating him again and shooting calmly past Cech at the near
post.

While Scolari deserves sympathy for being forced to look on horrified
as his players made such elementary errors, the manager was also at
fault. His decision to bring on Drogba and Juliano Belletti and move
to a 4-4-2 formation after a first half in which Chelsea had enjoyed
58 per cent of the possession appeared impulsive and just three
minutes later it was made to look dangerously rash, as the visiting
team's attacking instincts left holes at the back. It is not the first
time this season that Scolari's desire to entertain has left his
players exposed, and for all the goodwill his free-flowing side have
created, the thrashings of Sunderland and Hull City will soon be
forgotten if Chelsea are beaten on the biggest European nights.

The even more desperate introduction of Salomon Kalou as Chelsea
chased the game was partially vindicated by Terry's late goal, but
their misery was compounded by Deco's dismissal for two yellow cards,
his second sin the trivial one of attempting to take a free kick too
early. Chelsea, though, would not have been in such trouble if some of
his team-mates had been sharper from the outset.

Scolari would prefer to dwell on the start of the match, in which only
a series of outstanding saves from Doni, the Brazil goalkeeper, kept
Roma on level terms. Lampard and Deco were outstanding in the opening
exchanges, but even their excellence could not be truly celebrated as
they failed to take advantage.

Doni's acrobatic saves after long-range shots from both of them meant
that they could not be held personally accountable, but the same
cannot be said for Malouda, who was played repeatedly into good
positions down the left, only to blast woefully wide.

Chelsea must learn to convert such chances if they are to challenge
for the top prizes this season, as this reconnaissance exercise fell
desperately flat. Scolari's preparations began by taking his players
to St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, but they would have been
better advised to take in the stunning spectacle that is the Trevi
Fountain.

According to local legend, visitors who throw a coin into the fountain
are guaranteed to return to Rome, which on this evidence may be
Chelsea's best bet of coming back next year.

Roma (4-1-3-2): Doni — Cicinho, Juan, P Mexès, C Panucci — D De Rossi
— S Perrotta (sub: R Taddei, 72min), M D Pizarro, M Brighi — F Totti
(sub: J Baptista, 61), M Vucinic (sub: J A Riise, 88). Substitutes not
used: Artur, S Loria, M Tonetto, J Menez. Booked: De Rossi, Perrotta.

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): P Cech — J Bosingwa (sub: S Kalou, 62), Alex, J
Terry, W Bridge — J O Mikel — J Cole (sub: J Belletti, 46), Deco, F
Lampard, F Malouda (sub: D Drogba, 46) — N Anelka. Substitutes not
used: C Cudicini, B Ivanovic, F Di Santo, P Ferreira. Booked: Deco.
Sent off: Deco.

Referee: L Medina Cantalejo (Spain).

* * * * *

Outnumbered

3: Seasons since Chelsea last trailed by three goals in a game

23: Before last night, 23 of the previous 24 goals in Chelsea games
had been scored by Luiz Felipe Scolari's side

6: Deco yellow cards (including last night's two) in his past nine
Chelsea games

8: Liverpool equalising or winning goals from 80th minute onwards this season

22: Liverpool attempts at goal, to Atlético Madrid's six. Chelsea had
21 to Roma's 14

-------------------------------------------


Telegraph:

Roma make Chelsea pay for carelessness
AS Roma (1) 3 Chelsea (0) 1

By Oliver Brown at the Olympic Stadium

The latest legend of Rome's magnificent Trevi Fountain is that you
need to throw three coins into the water, with your left hand and over
your right shoulder, to be sure of your return to the Eternal City.
Chelsea would have been well advised to try this before catching their
back from Fiumicino airport on Tuesday night, using one coin for each
of the three goals that they so carelessly shipped against Roma, and
that cast grave doubt over their chances of coming back to the Olympic
Stadium for the Champions League final next May.

Roma have built much of their own reputation around Francesco Totti,
their totemic forward, but it was his strike partner, a marauding
Montenegrin in the shape of Mirko Vucinic, who proved Chelsea's
nemesis here. Vucinic, emboldened by Christian Panucci's first-half
goal, announced his presence with one superb, swerving drive, then
outpaced John Obi Mikel with a mazy 50-yard run for an even more
impressive solo effort.

His contribution shot to pieces the notion that Roma were a spent
force, despite their position of fourth from bottom in their own
league. It also dismantled the logic that Luiz Felipe Scolari can
guide Chelsea to the Champions League title on the strength of their
defensive record. Where Scolari could have dismissed the recent home
league defeat to Liverpool, the evidence here was stark: the firm
foundations on which this team are built have started to creak.Chelsea
had prepared with this match with a little cultural immersion,
spending Tuesday morning at St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican. The
occasion was of signal importance to manager Luis Felipe Scolari, a
devout Catholic born of Italian parents, and someone who harbours a
passion for religious imagery.

Their encounter with Roma, however, threatened to be overshadowed by
storms of a Biblical magnitude that left a 13-year-old boy dead. So
sustained were the downpours that the game was in danger of being
called off before a pitch inspection by referee Luis Medina Cantalejo
allowed play to go ahead.

Even before a ball had been kicked in anger Luciano Spalletti, the
Roma manager besieged after his team's dismal run in Serie A, stressed
his resolve by ordering iconic striker Francesco Totti to play through
the pain of an inflamed knee, while abandoning his tactic of fielding
only man up front for the first time in two years.

When pitted against Chelsea's three-man attack, with Nicolas Anelka at
its centre, the two systems threatened to neutralise each other until
Deco unleashed a fine drive from 25 yards, which Doni was forced to
tip wide. The Portuguese playmaker was, in tandem with Frank Lampard,
controlling the midfield battle but such superiority was undermined by
a toothlessness in front of goal.

Chelsea allowed this creeping frustration to consume them, as their
players scythed into Roma with the type of tackles normally reserved
for gladiatorial combat. John Terry was guilty of a clear shove, Joe
Cole a 'two-handed' challenge, before Deco was finally booked for his
cynical trip on Totti.

This error proved the most costly, gifting Roma a free-kick from which
Cicinho delivered a telling cross from the right and straight into the
path of Christian Panucci. Although Panucci did well to angle his shot
beyond Petr Cech, who had recorded his 100th clean sheet for Chelsea
in last Saturday's Premier League win over Sunderland, he was profited
from the indecision of Terry and stand-in centre-half Alex, both of
whom stood motionless.

The entry of Drogba at half-time did little to arrest Chelsea's slide
as Vucinic wrought merry mayhem. First the 25-year-old took a short
pass from Matteo Brighi, dispatching a rising shot beyond Cech. Next
he capitalised on the doziness of Mikel, stealing the ball and running
the length of the Chelsea half, beating the retreating Nigerian once
more, and finally stroking the ball calmly into the net to seal a
three-goal lead.

Terry atoned for his earlier mistake when he latched on to Deco's
cross, watching the ball cannon off Doni's chest and finishing at the
second attempt. It represented one step forward for Chelsea, but the
good work was almost instantly undone when Deco was sent off,
needlessly collecting another booking for a quick free-kick. There was
to be no way back.


-------------------------------------------------


Independent:


Deco walks as Chelsea retreat in face of Roman onslaught

AS Roma 3 Chelsea 1

By Jason Burt at Stadio Olimpico


Two defeats in four games? It is not a crisis at Chelsea but it is
suddenly a lot less comfortable. A late afternoon deluge had put this
game in serious doubt and then Chelsea's Champions League hopes also
took a severe dousing as they succumbed – capitulated more like – to a
resurgent Roma to leave qualification in the balance. To add insult
they also had Deco sent off – his second caution coming, somewhat
ridiculously, for taking a free-kick too quickly.

Their manager Luiz Felipe Scolari said the decision would never have
been made against a Roma player but it wasn't the only act of madness.
"Crazy," Scolari said of his team's display and their defending. "We
didn't play very well. We made mistakes in critical times and they
[Roma] killed us. Today we lost the ball and gave them chances to
score. In other games we haven't made those mistakes. I'm not going to
change everything about what I think after one game." As for
qualification, Scolari added: "For the group, it's open. For all. We
have seven points, but if you're thinking about the points, if we win
one game, we are there. We need three points."

Chelsea still top Group A and still head the Premier League but it was
the manner of the defeat, their heaviest in almost three years, which
shocked so many, including, clearly, Scolari. Once behind, Chelsea
folded in an alarming way that has not been witnessed before. They
were pale, anonymous, naive at times. Beating Sunderland out of sight,
and Hull City, is one thing, losing to Liverpool and, more so, Roma
quite another.

The final is here, in this city, next May. It felt a distant prospect
on last night's performance and for all the aesthetic pleasure and fun
that Scolari has brought, for all the joyful football , he needs to
also rediscover that mechanical edge.

He cut a frustrated figure. In the first half he urged more from his
team – it all appeared a breeze against a Roma side shell-shocked by
five consecutive defeats and their worst start to a season for 45
years – while in the second he stood motionless.

His substitutions did not work while the paucity of Nicolas Anelka's
performance, and the lack of impact made by Didier Drogba, only
highlighted further Chelsea's need for a new striker. A day after
lauding the solidity of his defence, Scolari watched in horror as they
gifted goals and John Obi Mikel had the kind of horrific evening that
scars. At the end the Chelsea players trooped off quickly – apart from
John Terry, who stood staring at the turf on the final whistle, his
face frozen in frustration.

But how did it come to this? For half an hour it had been so, so easy.
The only bang from Roma came from the cannon-like crackers that were
tossed from the Curva Sud, the one bank of this cavernous arena that
was just about full. A couple of long-range efforts whistled wide from
Deco and Frank Lampard – forcing saves from Doni – and a goal seemed
an inevitability if Chelsea simply raised the tempo a notch more.

They did not. Scolari detected the danger signs and suddenly appeared
a more agitated presence. His body language spoke of exasperation and
that exploded when Mikel miscontrolled, and allowed the ball to run to
Francesco Totti who was then up-ended by Deco who earned his first
yellow card. From the free-kick, Wayne Bridge neglected to cover
Cicinho and he crossed low. The errors mounted as Alex and Terry stood
rooted, allowing Christian Panucci, a former Chelsea player, to slip
through and side-foot home.

It was a poor goal to concede and even poorer given how tamely Roma
had performed up until then. It was also the first goal surrendered by
Chelsea in this competition this season. Scolari had hailed his
defence. Now it had let him down. The goal meant one more thing.
Roma's confidence returned.

Scolari had seen enough. Off came both wide players – on came Drogba,
as one of the replacements. However, just three minutes after the
re-start, Roma struck again. And this time Cech appeared to be at
fault as Matteo Brighi teed up Mirko Vucinic whose shot was fierce but
perhaps should have been covered by the goalkeeper. Instead it rippled
the net from 25 yards. Once more Mikel dangerously surrendered
possession – this time to Vucinic who ran on the midfielder's
despairing lunge and then prodded a shot past Cech to cause mayhem,
with Luciano Spalletti, the Roma coach who has been under so much
pressure, throwing himself on top of a huddle of players piled on the
turf.

Everyone was stunned. And then there was a lifeline as Terry deflected
Deco's shot, Doni parried but, with Roma appealing for offside, the
rebound fell to the Chelsea captain who bundled it in. Chelsea pushed
on but there was no real hope while Cech had to throw himself to deny
Vucinic a hat-trick. Was Terry injured at the end, Scolari was asked?
"He's angry, nothing more," came the reply. He wasn't the only one.

AS Roma (4-4-2): Doni; Cicinho, Mexes, Juan, Panucci; Perrotta
(Taddei, 72), De Rossi, Pizarro, Brighi; Vucinic (Riise, 88), Totti
(Baptista, 61). Substitutes not used: Artur (gk), Loria, Tonetto,
Menez.

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa (Kalou, 63), Alex, Terry, Bridge;
Mikel; J Cole (Belletti, 46), Deco, Lampard, Malouda (Drogba, 46);
Anelka. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Ivanovic, Di Santo,
Ferreira.

Referee: L Medina Cantalejo (Spain).

Group A

Results: Chelsea 4 Bordeaux 0; Roma 1 CFR Cluj 2; CFR Cluj 0 Chelsea
0; Bordeaux 1 Roma 3; Bordeaux 1 CFR Cluj 0; Chelsea 1 Roma 0; Roma 3
Chelsea 1; CFR Cluj 1 Bordeaux 2

Chelsea's remaining group stage fixtures: 26 Nov: Bordeaux (a); 9 Dec:
CFR Cluj-Napoca (h).


-------------------------------------------------


Guardian:


Blues on red alert as messy Mikel sums up limp shows

Roma 3 Panucci 34, Vucinic 48, Vucinic 58
Chelsea 1 Terry 75

Dominic Fifield at the Stadio Olimpico


Luiz Felipe Scolari's reign at Chelsea has suffered its most
resounding setback to date. If this squad had travelled to Italy
sensing progress to the knockout phase was within their grasp, then
they returned home in the small hours of this morning beaten,
bewildered and with Group A breathing disconcertingly down their
necks. This was a painful reality check.

Not since Middlesbrough rampaged to a 3-0 success at the Riverside
back in February 2006 have they endured a loss this convincing but,
while it was baffling to witness the visitors so overrun by a side
that had apparently been broken by a dreadful run of recent defeats,
there were too many familiar failings here to enrage Scolari. Just as
against Liverpool in the Premier League last month, when the Brazilian
tasted defeat for the first time, his team failed mystifyingly to ally
possession with penetration. They will travel to Bordeaux in three
weeks' time in what now appears a critical tie without their suspended
playmaker, Deco, and aware that they cannot afford to be this wasteful
again.

Scolari might have sensed debacle in the air. For 33 minutes last
night, his team out-passed their hosts on a turf rendered sodden by a
four-hour deluge which had briefly threatened the fixture itself.
Florent Malouda tormented Cicinho, while Deco and Frank Lampard were
untouchable in central midfield. Roma gasped as they chased the ball
hopelessly. Yet the visitors boasted no bite in the six-yard box, no
physical presence in the air to unsettle nervous defenders, and their
monopoly of possession yielded nothing. Doni turned away long-range
attempts from midfield but Nicolas Anelka was anonymous and, after the
break, Didier Drogba demonstrated just how shorn he remains of match
fitness.

Yet it was still hard to accept the farcical nature of Chelsea's
defending. For a team had not previously conceded in this competition
this season - they had not conceded in the second half of any game -
they imploded remarkably as soon as they had been bypassed just once
last night. Uncharacteristic vulnerability flared, John Mikel Obi's
composure draining as his sloppy pass surrendered the ball and induced
Deco to foul Francesco Totti. With the visitors distracted at the
free-kick, Cicinho wriggled free down the right and crossed into a
cluttered six-yard box. Even so, the Premier League team should have
cleared only for one of their former players, Christian Panucci, to
glide in between John Terry and Alex to touch in from close range.

That was Roma's first real opportunity and it served to pep the hosts
after five successive defeats in all competitions, their mood further
buoyed when Mirko Vucinic, fed by Matteo Brighi's lay-off, rasped in a
glorious second from just outside the area three minutes into the
second period. Chelsea, yet again, had been slow to react to suffocate
the threat. Petr Cech was not close to reaching the shot, the ball
veering into the corner, though his reactions, too, seemed dulled. It
was as if this entire team had been lulled into a false sense of
security as they had toyed with fragile opponents in the first period,
with an utter inability to rouse themselves when urgency was most
required.

The errors were maintained as a sense of desperation welled. Mikel,
slack where he has been so impressive, lost the ball to Vucinic again
some 10 minutes later and, having tracked the striker as he tore
goalwards, failed to stifle his progress. He was sprawled on the turf
by the time the Montenegrin finished low beyond an exposed Cech, the
Roma manager, Luciano Spalletti, leaping head-first on to the
delirious huddle of celebrating players on the touchline as this arena
rejoiced. The coach had been on the verge of dismissal. He wheezed his
way through the post-match press conference, his throat swollen by his
screams of joy on the touchline.

Terry's consolation, tapped in after Doni had blocked the
centre-half's chest down, came too late to fray the home side's
nerves, with Deco's dismissal for taking a free-kick before the
Spanish official had blown his whistle merely rubbing salt into gaping
wounds. The Portuguese, already booked for the first-half foul on
Totti, will be absent in Bordeaux with Scolari hoping for the return
of Michael Ballack as a replacement. He will wonder how it came to
this. Chelsea remain top of this group, and a win in France would
secure passage into the knockout phase, but this was an unwelcome
shock to their system.


-------------------------------------------------


Mail:


Roma 3 Chelsea 1: Rome trip turns into nightmare for Scolari
By Matt Barlow

They came, they saw, they crumbled against a very ordinary Roma team
and this may prove the beginning of the end for Luiz Felipe Scolari's
love affair with the Italian capital.
After sampling the charms of Rome during the day with a visit to the
Vatican and a quick look at the Coliseum, the Brazilian was forced to
endure his second defeat as Chelsea manager and an error-strewn
performance.
His aim is to return for the Final next year, but this result and
Bordeaux's win in Romania against Cluj has blown Group A wide open.

Their former defender Christian Panucci started the damage when he
tapped the Serie A strugglers into the lead before the break as
Scolari's entire defence froze. It was the first goal conceded by
Chelsea in this season's Champions League but Serbia striker Mirko
Vucinic soon added two more, early in the second half.
John Terry pulled one back to restore some pride but Chelsea finished
the game with 10 men after Deco was dismissed for a second booking,
when he took a free-kick before referee Luis Medina Cantalejo had
blown his whistle.
Deco claimed afterwards he had already started to swing his leg before
Cantalejo told him to wait. 'There was nothing I could do,' he said.
'It was crazy.'
Scolari agreed, claiming the referee would never have produced the red
card if a Roma player had committed the same offence. Deco's first
booking of the night came ahead of the opening goal.

John Mikel Obi, who marked the offer of a new five-year contract with
a nightmare performance, left a pass short in midfield and Deco
tripped Francesco Totti.
Simone Perrotta rolled the freekick wide to Cicinho on the right and
his low cross was tucked away by Panucci, the only man who moved in
front of goal as he nipped between the frozen figures of Terry and
Alex, giving Petr Cech no chance. Roma's beleaguered fans roared. They
have suffered this season, losing six of their first nine in Serie A,
but they had promised not to turn on their team during the game.

Patience was being tested, however, before Panucci struck. Some Roma
supporters trace their rot back to the day when Spalletti met
Chelsea's chief executive Peter Kenyon in Paris to discuss the
manager's job at Stamford Bridge.
That went to Scolari, of course, but there are those in Rome who fear
Spalletti lost the special relationship he enjoyed with the players
and fans by showing an interest in moving on.
Last night he made up for it, and Roma's players and supporters
celebrated a terrific win as though they had won the trophy. It might
still have been different had Florent Malouda not wasted a wonderful
chance to equalise before half-time. He broke clear down the left but
shot wildly off target.
Chelsea had dominated possession in the opening quarter and Doni made
early saves to deny Deco and Frank Lampard twice.
Scolari's team were so in command that they appeared to pass
themselves into a lethargy and eventually nodded off in the buildup to
the ultra-soft first goal.
The manager tried to regain the initiative at half-time, sending on
subs Didier Drogba and Juliano Belletti to match Roma's four in
midfield. Drogba and Anelka were pushed up front together, but before
Chelsea had settled into their new system they fell further behind.
This time it was Vucinic who did the damage, collecting a pass from
Matteo Brighi and firing a 25-yarder past Cech just inside the post.
Vucinic then made it three in the 58th minute, stealing the ball from
Mikel just 10 yards from his own penalty area and sprinting half the
length of the field with the ball.

Obi chased the Serb back and tried to made amends, but his sliding
tackle was feeble and easily avoided. Vucinic steadied himself and
clipped a shot over Cech as he dived. The Chelsea goalkeeper later
denied Vucinic a hat-trick with a brave save at his feet.
With the game in the bag, Spalletti withdrew Totti, who had been
doubtful ahead of the game with a knee injury. On went former Arsenal
midfielder Julio Baptista.
Terry snatched one back 15 minutes from time, forcing home a rebound
from close range after Doni had saved a deflected shot from Deco, but
the game ended miserably for Chelsea. Deco's comical red card summed
it all up.

ROMA (4-1-3-2): Doni 7; Cicinho 5, Mexes 5, Juan 6, Panucci 7; De
Rossi 7; Perrotta 6 (Taddei 72min, 5), Pizarro 5, Brighi 5; Vucinic 7
(Riise 88), Totti 6 (Baptista 61, 5). Booked: Perrotta.
CHELSEA (4-3-3): Cech 6; Bosingwa 7 (Kalou 63, 5), Alex 6, Terry 6,
Bridge 6; Lampard 7, Mikel 6, Deco 6; J Cole 6 (Belletti 46, 5),
Anelka 6, Malouda 6 (Drogba 46, 5).
Sent off: Deco.
Man of the match: Mirko Vucinic.
Referee: Luis Medina Cantelejo (Sp).