First Blood In The Champions League

September 14, 2011

A late goal from Juan Mata rounded off another opening day victory in the Champions League, after a brilliant strike from David Luiz had broken the deadlock in Andre Villas-Boas’s first game in charge in Europe. With the game against Manchester United on the weekend in mind this was a decent result after many of the regular starters were given a rest, as Villas-Boas surprised everyone by resting the likes…

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Cheeky Sturridge Seals The Points

September 11, 2011

Chelsea continued their impressive record at the Stadium of Light as they beat a rather average looking Sunderland team by 2-1, which included a cheeky backheel from the returning Daniel Sturridge. André Villas-Boas has so far impressed a lot of people with his talks about the club and the team, but it was the first, hopefully first of many, time he showed that he can deliver on those statements too…

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Late Strikes Seal Blues Win

August 27, 2011

Late strikes from Frank Lampard and Juan Mata sealed Chelsea’s victory over Norwich, after Holt had cancelled out Jose Bosingwa’s early strike. Villas-Boas made a tactical change for the game as he started with a flexible diamond formation, which meant that both Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres started, much to the surprise of most fans. Branislav Ivanovic came in for Alex, with the Serbian now seemingly moving ahead of Alex…

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Malouda Spares Villas-Boas Blushes

August 21, 2011

The first home match of the season, against opponents we always score against and beat, looked to be the perfect antidote after the stalemate against Stoke. Chelsea lined up with Hilario replacing the injured Cech in goal, with Bosingwa continuing at right back, Alex and Terry in the middle with Cole on the left. Ramires, Lampard and Mikel continued in the middle with Torres up front, Anelka to the right…

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Everything But The Goal

August 14, 2011

The start of a season that heralded a new beginning, and a break from the old, turned out initially to be much the same as last season. A familiar line up read; Cech, Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, Cole; Ramires, Mikel, Lampard; Kalou, Torres, Malouda – eight of whom started the final match of last season, with Kalou making a substitute appearance in that match too. Yet to focus only on the…

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Torres & McEachran Strike To Seal Asia Trophy

July 31, 2011

Chelsea completed their tour of the far-east with a resounding victory over Aston Villa in the final of the Barclays Asia Trophy. This was the second time that the Blues had lifted this trophy, after being the inaugural winners of the tournament back in 2003 under Claudio Ranieri. An early goal from the talented Josh McEachran inside the first minute of the game gave the Blues the lead, and the…

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Getting Better As We Go

July 27, 2011

Chelsea began the quest for a second Premier League Asia Trophy by beating their local opponents Kitchee by 4-0 to set up the final against Aston Villa. Frank Lampard opened the scoring the again; then an own goal (again!) doubled the lead before goals from Didier Drogba and Daniel Sturridge rounded off another satisfying night for the Blues. The Premier League Asia trophy was one of the first tournaments that…

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We Are Getting There…

July 24, 2011

Chelsea stepped up a gear in their preparations for the new season after a much improved second-half performance against Thailand All Stars meant the Blues eventually cruised to a 4-0 win. The first half display was again of tireless hard work, without much reward, but the introduction of fresh legs on the hour mark made the final thirty minutes look like a stroll in the park. Another jam-packed stadium was…

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Another Step Taken, Or Not?

July 21, 2011

Chelsea continued their pre-season preparations with another win under some tough conditions, as the Blues started their Asian quest with a 1-0 win in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. A controversial own-goal from a Didier Drogba free-kick was the only goal of the game with the under-strength Malaysians giving a hard fight to the Blues. The Bukit-Jalil stadium, having capacity of 90,000, was almost full, creating a great atmosphere…

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Ben-Haim Blooper Gifts Blues Win

July 17, 2011

After a long break, Chelsea returned back to playing as a large crowd greeted them at Fratton Park in their first friendly in public eye, with the Blues securing a 1-0 win. This was also the first chance for the Chelsea fans to see the new boss, André Villas-Boas, in action after the first match against Wycombe Wanderers was played behind doors. On a day when three different Chelsea sides…

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