Chelsea v Liverpool 27/09/2010

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Jose Bosingwa was due to play most of the game, so I wanted to make a point of watching this one. I'm glad I did. For the first 40 minutes, we were all over them. Bosingwa looked good, fast and classy with a good deal of trickery, and should hopefully be ready for the first team sooner rather than later. In line with the original plan, however, he was taken off after 70 minutes, even though Steve Holland had already made three half-time changes, not all of which were planned, Gokhan Tore pulling up with a suspected hamstring injury shortly before half time. Fabio Borini, also returning from injury scored our second goal (we were totally dominant for the first 40 minutes or so until a defensive error followed by a wicked deflection game them hope. Borini was outstanding, taking his goal well, setting up another, putting in a few dangerous crosses, and so on. 15 Nathaniel Chalobah, who scored our first goal, again showed why he is so highly rated, even at such a young age.

Down to 10 men for the last 20 minutes, we still managed to score a third. Good game, good result and a good runout for Bosingwa, especially.

Afterwards I watched the highlights of the Chelsea v Liverpool 1978 FA Cup win, which brought back all sorts of memories. Great game, great result, the lowlight being Emlyn Hughes, who went down like a sack of sh*t clutching his face Rivaldo/Nani style in a pathetic attempt to get Bill Garner sent off.

Match report (today not 1978!) here:

LINK

[sleepy_gonzalez]

Jose Bosingwa was due to play most of the game, so I wanted to make a point of watching this one. I'm glad I did. For the first 40 minutes, we were all over them. Bosingwa looked good, fast and classy with a good deal of trickery, and should hopefully be ready for the first team sooner rather than later. In line with the original plan, however, he was taken off after 70 minutes, even though Steve Holland had already made three half-time changes, not all of which were planned, Gokhan Tore pulling up with a suspected hamstring injury shortly before half time. Fabio Borini, also returning from injury scored our second goal (we were totally dominant for the first 40 minutes or so until a defensive error followed by a wicked deflection game them hope. Borini was outstanding, taking his goal well, setting up another, putting in a few dangerous crosses, and so on. 15 Nathaniel Chalobah, who scored our first goal, again showed why he is so highly rated, even at such a young age.

Down to 10 men for the last 20 minutes, we still managed to score a third. Good game, good result and a good runout for Bosingwa, especially.

Afterwards I watched the highlights of the Chelsea v Liverpool 1978 FA Cup win, which brought back all sorts of memories. Great game, great result, the lowlight being Emlyn Hughes, who went down like a sack of sh*t clutching his face Rivaldo/Nani style in a pathetic attempt to get Bill Garner sent off.

Match report (today not 1978!) here:

LINK

Great news that bosingwa's on his way back, hope tore's not out for too long. Just out of interest, how did Pacheco look?

[Hutch]

Great news that bosingwa's on his way back, hope tore's not out for too long. Just out of interest, how did Pacheco look?

I've got no idea to be honest. What I can tell you is that for most of the game, none of the Liverpool players looked up to much, especially in the first half.

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Seems I screwed up the link. Either that or the official site's been messing around again.. Either way, here's the match report:

RESERVE REPORT: CHELSEA 3 LIVERPOOL 1

Nathaniel Chalobah, Fabio Borini and Adam Phillip were the scorers in a deserved league win over Liverpool at Cobham on Monday afternoon, following up well on an away win at Newcastle earlier this month.

Chalobah's goal was the first at this level for the 15-year-old; Borini's strike was the best of the game and Phillip repeated his feat at St James Park of scoring having come on as a sub. Two of the goals came from Gokhan Tore assists.

Chelsea were down to 10 men by the time the third goal went in during the final quarter of an hour, Liverpool having pulled their goal back to make it 2-1 just before the break.

Jose Bosingwa continued his comeback from injury with 70 minutes in this game and the Portuguese international right back was forward early on supplying an over-hit cross and then a shot, but it was Tore who first tested the Liverpool keeper with a low effort.

Martin Hansen, the man between their posts, soon had to react sharply to keep out a Borini shot which he saved onto the near post.

Liverpool were then asked to survive a succession of goalmouth scrambles, the closest they came to conceding coming from a Borini shot which pushed over from close range.

Chelsea had started well but were fortunate when they left Danny Wilson unmarked at the far post but the Liverpool centre-back headed a Jonjo Shelvey cross over.

The Blues were soon back down the other end and Sala almost forced one of the Merseysiders' defenders to slice a cross into his own net. From the corner, the home team scored, Chalobah meeting Tore's delivery to head down into the turf, the ball bouncing high and into the net despite the presence of a man on the post.

On 25 minutes Steve Holland was forced into a change when Milan Lalkovic on the run appeared to pull a hamstring. Kaby came on as a direct replacement.

Jan Sebek in the Chelsea goal saved on 27 minutes when Billy Clifford, who initially had done well to cover back and win the ball, gave it to David Amoo. But again Chelsea responded well to a chance allowed to our opponents.

A swift attack was finished off by Borini who received a good pass from Tore and finished it with style, shooting across the keeper and just inside the far post. Twenty-seven minutes had been played and Liverpool were finding it hard to get hold of the ball.

Bosingwa showed he is still not quite up to full speed as he struggled to keep pace with the powerful Amoo down the flank on one run but the cross came to nothing.

However on 42 minutes Liverpool crossed again from the left and this time Rohan Ince's clearance was poor, Fernandez finding the net from the edge of the area to make it 2-1.

Danny Pappoe had a firm header cleared off the line near the beginning of a second half that begun with two Chelsea changes. Adam Phillip came on for Tore who had been struggling with an injury before the interval, and Aziz Deen-Conteh replaced Jacob Mellis, that one aplanned sub due to Mellis's presence in tomorrow's Champions League squad.

Liverpool nearly scored an equaliser that wouldn't have reflected the balance of the game when Sebek failed to meet a corner and the ball was headed wide just at the far post, and Pappoe conceded a foul for which he was booked as the Blues play lost a little of its impetus.

There was a save from Kaby from a tight-angle as the home side did stretch Liverpool at the back just beyond the hour before the scheduled removal of Boswinga on the back of the Mellis substitution and two injuries meant a man disadvantage for the final 20 minutes.

The 10-men continued to look strong and the game was made safe on 77 minutes when Borini made the most of a great ball by Billy Clifford into the corner, skinning the full back and crossing low for Phillip's first-time finish that went in via a deflection off Liverpool defender Andre Wisdom.

The away team, understandably given their numerical advantage, had the better of the final minutes but couldn't find a way through the imposing Pappoe/Ince central defence. There was much for manager Steve Holland to be pleased about against a club traditionally strong at this level.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Jan Sebek; Jose Bosingwa ©, Danny Pappoe, Rohan Ince, Billy Clifford; Jacopo Sala, Nathaniel Chalobah, Jacob Mellis (Aziz Deen-Conteh h-t); Gokhan Tore (Adam Phillip h-t), Borini, Lalkovic (Kaby 25).

Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Martin Hansen; Stephen Darby, Andre Wisdom, Danny Wilson, Jack Robinson; Daniel Pacheco, Jonjo Shelvey; Thomas Ince, Jesus Fernandez, David Amoo (Chrys Mavinga 71); Nathan Eccleston.

LINK