Sunday Times

Last-gasp Florent Malouda goal keeps Chelsea top

Stoke 1 Chelsea 2

Duncan Castles at Britannia stadium


WELL might Carlo Ancelotti have indulged in a relieved smile as he
exited the Potteries with a still-perfect tally of Premier League
points. Punched on the chin by Fifa the week before, the Italian felt
Stoke City’s studied industrialism stick a fist into his admittedly
well-padded kidneys, yet once more victory was his.

Sepp Blatter’s double-glazed transfer ban apart, Ancelotti’s fortune
is holding strong at Chelsea. Here he appeared to underestimate Stoke
City, resting three key players for one of England’s toughest away
fixtures, fell a goal behind as his weakened defence struggled, but
found goals in each of two periods of stoppage time that added 13
minutes to the match.

Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda’s powered strikes allowed Chelsea to
equal their 2006 record of 10 consecutive League wins. “We got what we
deserved because we had to attack the whole game,” said Ancelotti. “It
was more difficult for Stoke’s goal, but we had a very good reaction.
We maintained good control, good pressure. We did very well.”

The Britannia is certainly not a stadium to indulge in charity. Stoke
had lost just two of their preceding 18 League fixtures here, holding
opponents scoreless in six of the past eight, and the home fans
relentlessly whistled and booed Chelsea, adding a chant of “you’re not
signing anymore” to their already renowned repertoire.

Chelsea’s early confidence drifted away, replaced by a nervousness. A
long ball down the middle saw Branislav Ivanovic chest the ball into
James Beattie’s path. Only a shot so misjudged that the Stoke striker
ended up twisting his own ankle kept the scores level. Salomon Kalou’s
attempt to head away a Rory Delap long throw at the touchline
emphasised the thoughtlessness in Chelsea’s play. The Ivorian entered
the book for not retreating two metres.

When a Glenn Whelan free kick was half-cleared back to the midfielder,
Chelsea’s resistance broke. Whelan spiralled the ball across the area.
With Ivanovic missing in action, John Terry could not get close to
Abdoulaye Faye and the African headed home.

If Ancelotti’s decision to rest Ricardo Carvalho, Michael Essien and
Nicolas Anelka ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League tie with Porto
appeared increasingly remiss, he was to be aided by a second Stoke
injury. A reassuring presence in the home goal, Thomas Sorensen hurt
his back making a clearance and was replaced. During eight minutes of
stoppage time, Frank Lampard capitalised with an exquisite reverse
pass to Drogba. A shimmy of the striker’s hips saw him past Faye, a
devastating left-foot strike ripped past Steve Simonsen.

More hesitancy from Faye almost allowed Drogba another as Chelsea
began the second half as they ended the first. Ancelotti pushed on
Anelka and Essien and his team took control. Essien, Drogba and
Lampard rained shots down upon the Stoke defence, splashing off
defender or goalkeeper. Then Essien latched on to the spillage from a
Juliano Belletti long throw, sneaked smartly into the area and passed
to Anelka. His layoff came back to Malouda, who shot low through the
keeper’s grasp.

“When you play against the best they wear you out,” bemoaned Stoke’s
manager, Tony Pulis. Chelsea refuse to let the world run them down.


Star man: Didier Drogba (Chelsea)

Yellow cards: Stoke: Shawcross, Delap Chelsea: Kalou, Terry, A Cole

Referee: M Dean

Attendance: 27,440


STOKE: Sorensen 7 (Simonsen 41min, 6), Wilkinson 7, Huth 6, Abdoulaye
Faye 6, Shawcross 6, Collins 5, Delap 6, Whitehead 6, Whelan 6,
Beattie (Fuller 12min, 5), Kitson 5 (Tuncay 66min)


CHELSEA: Cech 6, Bosingwa 6, Ivanovic 5, Terry 5, A Cole 6, Mikel 5
(Belletti 83min), Ballack 6 (Essien 66min), Malouda 6, Lampard 7,
Kalou 5 (Anelka 64min), Drogba 7.


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


Independent:


Malouda maintains Chelsea's perfection

Stoke City 1 Chelsea 2:

Stoke left feeling blue after being worn down by League leaders

By Myles Hodgson at the Britannia Stadium


If evidence were needed of Chelsea's capacity to overcome the impact
of Fifa's transfer embargo and mount a sustainable title challenge,
Florent Malouda's injury-time winner provided it by continuing their
100 per cent winning start to the season. Demonstrating considerable
resolve against a whole-hearted Stoke City, it was a victory which set
down a marker to their Premier League rivals.

Stunned by the sanctions imposed by Fifa this week, which have banned
Chelsea from signing any new players until January 2011, it is a fair
bet manager Carlo Ancelotti would have chosen any fixture other than a
trip to the Britannia Stadium to finish off a difficult week.

Yet after falling behind to a Stoke side strengthened by £18.5m worth
of signings in the recent transfer window, Chelsea delivered a
performance sure to provoke unease among their rivals after equalling
a club-record 10th successive victory in the top division. "We got
what we deserved," Ancelotti observed.

Once the Premier League's most enthusiastic transfer window shoppers,
Chelsea's victory underlined the strength of the squad available to
Ancelotti even if their appeal to Fifa fails to reduce their ban. They
have already been told by the game's governing body they will not be
allowed to recall players on season-long loans to boost a squad which
will be depleted by the African Cup of Nations in January.

Mindful of Tuesday's Champions' League opening match against Porto,
particularly after two international matches in the last week for the
majority of his squad, Ancelotti shuffled his pack to rest Michael
Essien, Ricardo Carvalho and Nicolas Anelka and still emerged with the
three points.

As if facing a Chelsea side with a point to prove was not a big enough
challenge, Stoke lost both goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen and forward
James Beattie before the interval through injury, yet they still came
within minutes of taking the first points of the season off the
Premier League leaders.

Beattie passed a late fitness test on a troublesome knee but lasted
only eight minutes. Chasing a long ball, he panicked Branislav
Ivanovic into a mistake but pulled his half-volley wide and the
subsequent collision ended his contest.

Stoke overcame that setback impressively, testing Chelsea's defence
with a series of set-pieces which led to the breakthrough. A cleared
corner was whipped back into the penalty area by midfielder Glenn
Whelan and captain Abdoulaye Faye's uncontested header put them in
front.

Their ability to defend that lead was tested further by the loss of
Sorensen as the interval approached after he clutched his right hip
after a clearance. Given eight minutes of extra time because of the
two injuries, Chelsea took advantage with Didier Drogba running on to
Frank Lampard's intelligent reverse pass to fire past substitute
goalkeeper Steve Simonsen from the left-hand side of the penalty area.

Set-pieces remained Stoke's best chance of restoring their lead and
twice they went close with Robert Huth heading over against his former
club from another Whelan corner, while Petr Cech made a good, low save
from Dave Kitson in similar circumstances.

The introduction of Essien and Anelka midway through the second period
provided them with a renewed impetus as they strived for a late
winner. Faye, the outstanding leader of a defiant five-man Stoke
defence, made blocks to deny both Lampard and Drogba as both sides
becoming frantic in the final stages.

Stoke manager Tony Pulis introduced new signing Tuncay to try to
ensure a greater share of possession without great success for the
final stages as Chelsea continued to press for a winner which finally
presented itself to Malouda on the edge of the box in injury time.

"It's desperately disappointing because they scored a late winner
against us at Stamford Bridge last season," said Pulis. "When you play
against the best teams they wear you down. It is very hard to keep p
ossession so you get tired chasing around and that's why the top-four
teams get a lot of late goals."

Attendance: 27,440

Referee: Mike Dean

Man of the match: Faye

Match rating: 7/10



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


Mail:


Stoke 1 Chelsea 2: Drogba wonder strike helps put the Blues behind Ancelotti

By DAN KING

Triumph in adversity: it is the mark of champions.

A stoppage-time winner from Florent Malouda was a deserved on-pitch
reward for a team whose fortunes are being buffeted off the field.

How much the Chelsea players will have registered confirmation from
FIFA that they will not be able to mitigate their transfer ban by
recalling season-long loan players like Michael Mancienne is
debatable.

But sides of lesser character and quality would have folded when
Abdoulaye Faye took advantage of defensive uncertainty to head Stoke
in front after 31 minutes of a first half in which nothing went
Chelsea’s way.


Instead, Didier Drogba’s fabulous goal in added time in the first half
drew them level, and sheer willpower ensured they maintained a
second-half siege right into the 100th minute of playing time, when
Malouda struck.
Until Drogba’s equaliser, Chelsea could have been forgiven for
thinking that the whole world was against them.

It took the typically vociferous home crowd less than five minutes to
come up with the chant of the season — ‘You’re not signing any more’ —
and little went right for the visitors thereafter.

Stoke suffered an early blow when James Beattie was carried off after
fluffing a ninth-minute chance laid on for him by Branislav Ivanovic,
but the home team’s physical approach was already getting under
Chelsea skins.

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti had clearly devised a plan for dealing
with Rory Delap’s long throws, but it failed at the first attempt,
comically so. Salomon Kalou stood close to the touchline and timed his
leap to perfection, heading the ball away firmly, but was booked for
encroachment.
Stoke played to type, putting bodies on the line and Chelsea off their
stride, their 3-5-2 formation making the visitors’ formation look
woefully narrow.
Worse was to come in the shape of the opening goal, a defensive
calamity for Chelsea. Petr Cech gave more ammunition to those who feel
he is far from the goalkeeper he was by starting to come for a Glenn
Whelan cross but then
retreating. Skipper Faye, who had stayed up after a corner, was
unmarked as he headed home.


To add insult to injury, Jose Bosingwa was penalised for a foul throw
as tetchy Chelsea were reduced to long-range shots and bickering with
the officials.

But the Beattie injury and the long delay while Stoke keeper Thomas
Sorensen was treated before also going off meant there were eight
minutes of first-half stoppage-time. In the third of them, Chelsea
produced the first moment of quality. Frank Lampard’s first-time
reverse pass was impressive enough, but Drogba’s finish was absolutely
brilliant, the Ivory Coast striker lashing the ball home across Steve
Simonsen.

The second half was embarrassingly one-sided, with Chelsea encamped in
the Stoke half and the home side threatening only when former Chelsea
man Robert Huth headed over the bar.

A winning goal for the visitors seemed inevitable and though they
forced Simonsen into one good save, from a Drogba free-kick, all the
other Chelsea shots went high, wide or were blocked by a defiant
defence, with Faye, in particular, proving an unyielding obstacle.

In the end, however, it was the immovable object which yielded.
Juliano Belletti’s throw was cleared only as far as Michael Essien.
His pass was touched back
by Nicolas Anelka into the path of Malouda, whose shot was too
powerful for Simonsen.
The question now is whether Chelsea’s squad will prove strong enough
to ride out the off-field storm.

STOKE (3-5-2): Sorensen (Simonsen 41min); Shawcross, Abdoulaye Faye,
Huth; Wilkinson, Whitehead, Whelan, Delap, Collins; Beattie (Fuller
12), Kitson (Tuncay
66). Subs (not used): Higginbotham, Lawrence, Pugh, Etherington.
Booked: Shawcross, Delap, Wilkinson.

CHELSEA (4-1-2-1-2): Cech; Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, A Cole; Mikel
(Belletti 83); Ballack (Essien 66), Malouda; Lampard; Kalou (Anelka
64), Drogba. Subs (not used): Hilario, Carvalho, Sturridge,
Hutchinson. Booked: Kalou, Terry, A Cole.
Referee: M Dean (Wirral).



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



Telegraph:


Stoke City 1 Chelsea 2:

By Oliver Brown at the Britannia Stadium



Florent Malouda was once Chelsea's forgotten man but yesterday he
symbolised a reawakening as his last-minute winner propelled Chelsea
to the type of start to a season of which Jose Mourinho would have
been proud.

The France winger left it uncomfortably late to help Carlo Ancelotti
record a fifth straight league win but it was his team-mates'
relentlessness, their refusal to settle for a draw with Stoke City in
one of the most hostile Premier League settings, that proved their
mettle as potential champions.

Chelsea needed this victory every bit as sorely as Malouda's
extravangant celebrations hinted. Not only was it the perfect fillip
before Tuesday night's Champions League opener against Porto, it was
also a tonic for the uncertainty they have endured over the Gael
Kakuta saga, which took a fresh turn yesterday after Fifa prevented
them from recalling any players on loan.

Carlo Ancelotti was calm in triumph, arguing: "We got what we deserved
because we tried to attack all the time. We had a very good direction
throughout the match, and we applied good pressure." But it was Stoke
who consistently put them strain. Chelsea's achievement was magnified
when set against the background that Stoke had lost only once here all
year.

Every lost cause chased, every 50-50 contested; this is the Stoke
philosophy. Tony Pulis has bred among his players an intimidating
resolve, which strengthens every time that they are able to feed off
the raucous din inside the Britannia Stadium. John Terry, you could
tell, did not like it one bit, as reflected in his running scrap with
Stoke's strikers. At one stage he had to be restrained by the
assistant referee after an agricultural challenge from Ricardo Fuller.

Stoke are a stolid, rough-hewn bunch, whose play has more than a few
parallels with the old Bolton of Sam Allardyce. Chelsea's moneyed
stars enjoy coming here about as much as they would relish being
forced to shop at the local Morrison's.

So it was ominous for Ancelotti when a familiar pattern established
itself, with heavy tackles all across the pitch and Chelsea pressed
into adopting a more defensive set-up than they would have liked. Even
the diamond formation, a feature so far this season, lost its rigidity
as Frank Lampard combined holding duties alongside John Obi Mikel with
frequent and usually futile surges at Stoke's resolute back line.

But it would be misleading to portray Stoke as negative when James
Beattie had the first scent of a breakthrough, the forward clear on
goal before he managed to skew his shot wide. Sadly for him, he had to
be taken off on a stretcher after suffering a recurrence of the knee
trouble that has plagued his year. Chelsea were shaken, though, when a
grossly mistimed lunge by Ryan Shawcross created a tetchier mood.

Faye was performing a faultless shift at centre-back and could not
resist trying his luck in attack. The lofted cross from Glenn Whelan
that came his way in the 32nd minute was like a sweet being prised
from a baby - just too easy. The power of Faye's physical presence was
such that Petr Cech, in two minds about whether to catch or punch the
ball, could only watch the resulting header sail beyond him.

A chant of "Abdoulaye, my Lord, Abdoulaye" resonated around the
stadium, a reminder of Faye's unlikely place in the hearts of Stoke's
supporters. Surely, some time soon, Stoke will be twinned with Dakar,
so closely do their side resemble the Senegalese national team. Amdy
Faye and Salif Diao are two others from the west African nation to
have joined Faye at each other's houses just like their mothers make.

The payback for Chelsea was somewhat perverse, as referee Mike Dean
awarded an excessive eight minutes of first-half added time for the
injury to Beattie. Drogba made every moment count with a virtuoso turn
out of nowhere, seizing on Lampard's cross before Faye could blink and
rifling a spectacular finish. Substitute goalkeeper Steve Simonsen
would have done well just to see it.

Chelsea were remorseless in the second half, besieging Sorensen's goal
with ornately-constructed counter-attacks, and Stoke's fatigue showed.
Pulis suggested as much when he said: "Chelsea wear you out. Players
switch off. That's why the top four or five teams score so often late
in games." Malouda underlined Pulis' point, latching on to Nicolas
Anelka's lay-off to dispatch a goal of potentially untold worth.


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


Observer:


Last-gasp Florent Malouda goal keeps Chelsea's perfect start intact

Stoke City 1 Diagne-Faye 32
Chelsea 2 Drogba 45, Malouda 90

Joe Lovejoy at the Britannia Stadium

AFTER their mid-table finish last season and promising start this
time, nobody should underestimate Stoke, but Carlo Ancelotti made that
mistake yesterday, and needed a stoppage-time winner from Florent
Malouda to maintain Chelsea's 100% record at the top of the table.

Having had 20 players away on international duty in midweek, Ancelotti
opted to rotate his squad, and was desperately close to dropping two
points as a consequence of resting Ricardo Carvalho, Michael Essien
and Nicolas Anelka before Tuesday's Champions League tie at home to
Porto. It was only when Essien and Anelka were introduced in the
second half that Chelsea were able to assert themselves.

Stoke had taken the lead with a headed goal from Abdoulaye Faye and
made light of the loss of James Beattie, who was carried off after
only 12 minutes, and Thomas Sorensen, who lasted 40. Intensely
committed and fiercely competitive, they matched Chelsea's power game
and hustled them out of out of their stride, with Robert Huth and
Danny Collins making impressive first starts in a back five that
effectively prevented José Bosingwa and Ashley Cole from causing
damage on the overlap.

For a long time, what had been a disconcerting week for the league
leaders looked like getting a lot worse. Much has been made of their
transfer ban, which was extended by Fifa yesterday to preclude players
currently out on loan returning to the mother club. It produced the
chant of the season so far from the Stoke choristers, who chortled:
"You're not signing any more."

If Ancelotti was concerned about not being able to recall the likes of
Scott Sinclair and Michael Mancienne it did not show. Chelsea were
more worried about their inability to break down Stoke's spirited
resistance, and the celebrations which greeted Malouda's decisive
intervention spoke volumes of their relief.

The decision to leave out Carvalho might have backfired after eight
minutes when his deputy, Branislav Ivanovic, chested the ball straight
to Beattie, who was charging through the middle like a runaway rhino.
Unfortunately for Stoke, he finished like one, shooting wide before
collapsing in a heap and getting carted off to the treatment room.

Briefed by Ray Wilkins on Stoke's modus operandi, Chelsea must have
spent hours on the training ground practising their defence against
Rory Delap's renowned long throw-ins. Or so one would have thought. So
what happened the first time Delap let fly? Salomon Kalou stood barely
a good stride away, headed it, and was promptly booked for failing to
retire the required distance. Priceless.

Another schoolboy error was at the root of Stoke's goal. Petr Cech
allowed himself to be lured from his line by Glenn Whelan's cross but
failed to get there, leaving Faye's powerful header from near the
penalty spot to fly into the unguarded net. Had Cech stayed put, it
would have been a routine save.

For Chelsea, inspiration came out of the blue in added time at the end
of the first half. Frank Lampard was the provider, with a deft through
pass which offered Didier Drogba the hint of a chance. A hint is all
the big man needs at the moment, and he turned Faye on the edge of
penalty area before scoring with a bristling left-foot finish.

Much improved in the second half, Chelsea cranked up the pressure in
search of the winner, but Stoke's resolute defence kept them at bay
until the stopwatch was in its 93rd minute. Then one of the
reinforcements, Juliano Belletti, hoisted Stoke with their own petard.
The Brazilian's Delap-like throw was only half-cleared to the edge of
the penalty area, where Essien claimed possession and dribbled into
the box before finding Anelka. He, in turn, laid it off to Malouda,
who fired home the winner.



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


NOTW:


STOKE CITY 1, CHELSEA 2

Florent Malouda Pott-shot is Premier class

By ROB SHEPHERD

FOR a second or two, Florent Malouda stood stock still, seemingly
stunned by what he'd done.

Then he was off, racing towards the Chelsea bench, chased by all his
teammates, a celebration you'd expect to see in the middle of May
rather than a couple of weeks into September.


Perhaps the enormity had sunk in that, even at such an early stage of
the season, this was the kind of victory that wins titles.


Clawed out, scraped together and five minutes into stoppage time in
what was an incredible 103-minute game.


Until Malouda struck, you see, Stoke were still standing. And it was
always going to take something special to break their spirit. And the
goal WAS special, a shot lashed so ferociously substitute keeper Steve
Simonsen appeared a brave man even to try to get his fingers to the
ball.


The goal led to the kind of cuddle huddle that is normally a precursor
to a silver pot being delivered by some Barclays' suit. Even the
usually suave Carlo Ancelotti was animated.


An early season win at Stoke for a favoured contender ought not to
provoke such delighted emotion - but within the context of recent
events off the pitch, these points were a massive relief for the
Blues.


Five games five straight wins. Any doubts that boss Ancelotti would
struggle to adapt to the differing demands of the Premier League as
Phil Scolari did last season would now appear unfounded.


Indeed, in an ironic twist belligerent, Stoke were eventually hoisted
by their own petard, Malouda's winner evolving from a Chelsea long
throw.


Eat you heart out Rory Delap.


Ancelotti admitted that assistant Ray Wilkins had made him well aware
of high-octane style from the Potters - so presumably in the build-up
Chelsea had done plenty of work defending set-pieces


Maybe as part of that they discovered in Juliano Belletti, a late
substitute, they had in their midst a latter-day Ian Hutchinson, who
first turned the long throw into a tactical weapon in the Seventies.


As the clock ticked down and Stoke lashed another clearance into
touch, Belletti seized his chance hurling the ball into the mixer.


The missile was only half cleared and fell to Michael Essien on the
edge. He rolled the ball into Nicolas Anelka - both had come on to add
extra urgency having been rested along with Ricardo Carvalho - who
teed up Malouda to dispatch that emphatic finish.


Even if it was deserved, it was still hard on Stoke.


They had defended stoically, having suffered the loss of keeper Thomas
Sorensen in the first half as well as James Beattie, which effected
Tony Pulis' plans of changing things late on to cope with an expected
Chelsea onslaught if the game was still close. And it had been nip and
tuck in the first half. Indeed, Stoke should have taken the lead in
the 10th minute when Carvalho's calmness was painfully missed as
Branislav Ivanovic got tied in knots from a lumped clearance.


The Serb should have dealt with it first time but tried to bring the
ball down on his chest, succeeding only in dropping the ball into the
path of Beattie.


The striker should have taken at least a touch to set himself, but
instead he lashed a shot from 22 yards tamely wide.


But in letting fly, Beattie landed badly on his ankle and was carried off.


Chelsea struggled to come to terms with Stoke's physical, no frills approach.


They were further hindered when ref Mike Dean made sure Delap had
extra help for his long throws when Kalou was booked for obstruction
in the 18th minute for jumping even though he was two yards inside the
touchline.


But it was a more conventional hanging centre that undid Chelsea in
the 32nd minute - and Petr Cech had to take the bulk of the blame.


Glenn Whelan's corner was only partially cleared and the ball was
returned to the wing-back. He cut inside and floated over a
tantalising cross just beyond the penalty spot.


Cech started to come but then stopped in no-mans-land. John Terry,
Michael Ballack and Jose Boswinga were caught off balance - but not
Stoke centre-half Abdoulaye Faye, who cushioned a lopping header way
over the keeper's reach.


Chelsea responded with the calm steely determination that all the best
sides have passing the ball around with great authority and purpose.


Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba were the outstanding figures and in
the fourth added minute of a staggering eight in the first half they
combined to equalise.


Lampard played a clever pass down the side. Drogba superbly shielded
the ball then rolled around Faye before unleashing a left-foot corker
into the far corner.


It was one-way traffic in the second half but a combination of some
wayward finishing, good work by Simonsen and heroic blocks kept the
Blues at bay - until that final flurry finished off by Malouda.


Chelsea look awesome but unless an appeal overturns that FIFA transfer
ban the one potential weakens is a lack of cover for totem Drogba, who
starts his four-match Champions League ban this week, especially as he
will also be absent for nearly a month at the African Nations Cup.


Ancelotti admitted: "We have to aim to be in a strong position by January."


On this gritty evidence they will be.