Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Chelsea Match Report 02-Apr-2014

The French champions showed the full array of attacking flair that has put them on the verge of defending their Ligue 1 crown this term to claim a healthy advantage, leaving Chelsea with plenty to do in the return clash at Stamford Bridge next week.

Ezequiel Lavezzi - a constant menace to the Londoners' defense - put the hosts ahead inside the opening four minutes of the encounter at the Parc des Princes with an effort from 12 yards.

But Chelsea was back on level terms shortly before the half-hour mark when Eden Hazard converted from the penalty spot after Thiago Silva had carelessly felled Oscar in the box.

Hazard then hit the post before the end of the first half as Chelsea pushed for the lead, but David Luiz found his own net - after giving away a cheap free kick - to restore PSG's lead.

PSG talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic was worryingly withdrawn in the second half, appearing to be nursing a hamstring injury.

But the French side soon forgot about that blow when substitute Javier Pastore - a late replacement for Lavezzi - added a superb third in injury time to give his side a two-goal margin.

Chelsea opted to start without a recognized striker, leaving Fernando Torres and Demba Ba on the bench, while PSG boasted one of the most recognizable of them all in Ibrahimovic, who this week appeared to rule out a future move to the Premier League.

While Jose Mourinho's men will have been suitably prepared to deal with the Swedish frontman's capabilities, it was Lavezzi who struck the first blow four minutes in.

The Argentine superbly controlled a weak headed clearance from John Terry on his chest, before allowing the ball to bounce and firing a left-footed effort into the top corner of the net from the center of the penalty area.

Lavezzi continued to pose a threat to the Chelsea goal, sending an attempt into the side netting after 25 minutes, but a clumsy challenge on Oscar by masked captain Thiago Silva – recovering from a fractured cheekbone – offered the Premier League outfit a way back into the clash just two minutes later.

Referee Milorad Mazic pointed to the spot and Hazard made no mistake in rolling the ball beyond Salvatore Sirigu, who leapt the wrong way.

Hazard – back in the country where he cut his teeth as a player with Lille – almost doubled his tally five minutes before the break, striking the right-hand post with a volley from a chipped Willian cross.

As in the first half, PSG started brightly once again after the interval, Lavezzi heading narrowly over from a Blaise Matuidi cross when unmarked in the box.

And the French side was back in front just after the hour, when Luiz inadvertently knocked the ball into his own net from a teasing Lavezzi free kick.

However, there were worrying scenes for the hosts in the 68th minute, when Ibrahimovic, who was quiet for much of the encounter, pulled up with what appeared to be a hamstring strain.

Cavani's late curling effort whistled just wide of the right-hand upright, but Pastore forced his way into the penalty area in stoppage time to drive home from a tight angle and compound Chelsea’s misery.

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Source : http://www.goal.com/en-ca/match/133139/paris-saint-germain-vs-chelsea-fc/report

Chelsea Tickets Sale High for the Match against Stoke City in EPL 2013-14

The Barclays English Premier League will soon enter week 33, just six weeks short of going into the finals. This week will see Chelsea battle against Stoke City, the team at number ten position. However, it seems that the battle is currently between Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool to win the title cup.

Sale of Chelsea Tickets High

Chelsea which was at number one position until at the points table has recently replaced by Liverpool. However, there is nothing to worry for the team as of now for they are performing good. Chelsea has won 21 out of 32 games with 69 points. This shows how determined the team is, so the Chelsea tickets will not suffer any fall back in the near future. Meanwhile, they fight against Stoke City on 5th April soon.

Stoke City Look to Better

The Chelsea vs Stoke City match at the Stamford Bridge will see the number two team on a strong act against their opponents. They will face Swansea City, Sunderland, Liverpool and Cardiff pretty soon before the EPL finals. Meanwhile Stoke City will look to tighten their midfield and defense.
They will need a strong performance from their players Osaze Odemwingie and Marko Arnautovic to come out better. As the team is currently at number 10, there will still be some takers for Stoke City tickets for this match. The team has won 3 games out of their last few matches, so their confidence level is good.
It will be like a practice match for Chelsea.

English Premier League will See Arsenal and Chelsea Fight it out to the Finish

On the March 22 2014, all the English Premier League fans will hold their breath while watching the two contenders of the EPL 2013-14 title fight it out to the finish. The Arsenal vs Chelsea match at the Stamford Bridge is expected to have a full attendance. The fans are already booking the Chelsea Tickets online from several websites available on the internet.

Arsenal Has a lot to prove

Team Arsenal is now on 3rd position and is still in the race to win the title, while Chelsea is number one team at present and will look to shake the confidence of their arch rivals anyhow. There are talks that Arsene Wenger, who is the manager of team Arsenal may lose his job if they lose to Chelsea. Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey are out of action but will hopefully be in this crucial match against Chelsea. Arsenal will now have to prove that they are not 'failures' by winning this match. Arsenal Tickets are already on the verge of being sold out on online websites.

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Chelsea are on 66 points with 20 wins out of 30 games while Arsenal has won 19 out of 29 games in this series.

Aston Villa Vs. Chelsea at Villa Park:A Match Most Awaited on 15 March

The 15th of March 2014 will see two major teams competing against each other at Villa Park in the English Premier League 2013-14, Week 30. The number one team at the points table-Chelsea will fight it out with Aston Villa the team at number 11th position at the points table.

Chelsea needs to improve on center forward area

Chelsea has come out really good in the past month replacing Arsenal at the number one spot. They are with 66 points winning 20 out of 29 matches, while Aston Villa are with 31 points winning 20 out of 29 matches. Experts say that team Chelsea only needs to maintain its consistency and defend well at the center forward area. The Chelsea tickets are selling like hot cakes at the box office currently before the clash.

Aston Villa Hoping for a Good Match Result

The Aston Villa will have to boost their efforts and gift a win to their fans. They did not have a good month and if they lose this one, then they may face relegation zone soon. However, the team's fans are very sure that things will turn around for the team. Currently the Aston Villa tickets sale is going online.

The Villa Park will be seeing some good action or the match of Aston Villa vs. Chelsea on 15th March. The prediction is that Chelsea will win the match against Aston Villa with 2-1 margin.

Match Report - Chelsea FC 1-0 Everton 22-Feb-2014

Priceless winner at the death: Frank Lampard’s free-kick was deflected into his own net by Tim Howard after captain Terry got a slight touch!

Chelsea beat Everton 1-0 at Stamford Bridge courtesy of a goal from Frank Lampard’s free-kick which was helped by Terry’s sliding effort and Tim Howard’s howler at the death. The Blues of London are still top of the league with 4 points clear of Arsenal who are second and has a game in hand later on after this game. Let’s take a look at how the match unfolded…

Starting Line-ups: 

Chelsea FC (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Lampard, Matic; Hazard, Willian (Torres 62′), Oscar (Ramires 45′), Eto’o (Schurrle 69′)

Everton FC (4-2-3-1): Howard; Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; McCarthy, Barry; Mirallas (Deulofeu 75′), Osman (Barkley 63′), Piennar (McGeady 80′), Naismith

Summary: 

The Visitors were very strong in attack and play a fluid passing football since a managerial change last summer when David Moyes departed and the stylish football admirer Roberto Martinez arrived at the club. Chelsea also tried to counter attack all Everton’s attack through the pace of our attacking players and that saw the first shot on target for Chelsea by Willian.

Moments later, the game was more intensified as both teams attacked and missed chances before Oscar was booked early on for a foul on Naismith.

As the game progressed, both teams were playing open football with attacking and scoring in mind rather than defend and counter.  However we were looking more of a threat than at any time in the game so far, with the half inside its final 10 minutes.

As the game approached the 40th minute,  Terry planted a header wide from a corner, won and taken by Willian before Everton went back on the attack on the stroke of half-time.

Soon after the first half ended with both sides exchanging much shots on target and with the Blues going closer of many chances in the first half.

In the 2nd 45 minutes, Jose Mourinho decided to bring on the Energetic Ramires for Oscar who was booked in the first half. The game restarted as the Blues try to see out the resiliency of the visitors and notch up a win.

Chelsea had three corners in succession and went close with those chances especially from Ivanovic’s attempt from Terry’s header. On 57 minutes, Cech did well to keep out a deflected Osman shot that was creeping inside the post, before a couple of minutes later it was a double save from his counterpart that kept Chelsea at bay.

Then, after lots of missed opportunities, Jose Mourinho decided to act in the 63rd minute by bringing on a second striker, Fernando Torres for Willian upfront. And after Eto’o position change to the right, Schurrle came on for the Cameroonian later on.

Everton were far less of a threat to the Chelsea goal in this second period, with Matic an increasing influence in midfield. Hazard created many chances but, Torres failed to take advantage of those and put one into the back of the net.

The game is now around in the 80th minute and Everton were trying to hold on to this crucial point against the league leaders while Chelsea pushed for a winner. Ivanovic, with the next move forward, found Schurrle with a high ball to the far-post area but with German perhaps not realizing he had time for a second touch, he volleyed high and wide.

Moments later in the additional time after the 90th minute, Ramires was fouled by Jegielka..

The chance was there for Lampard to initiate a set-piece savior. The ball was whipped in for a Chelsea header but when it cleared the crowd, Terry was still alive and slid in to make the vital touch just centimeters ahead of Howard. From a yard out the ball was turned into the net and the league leaders had three more points.

The Blues moved four points clear of their next close challengers as a result. Hope you enjoyed the game and thanks for reading! KTBFFH

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Source : http://chelseafc360.com/2014/02/22/match-report-chelsea-fc-1-0-everton-late-903-winner-ensured-victory/

Manchester City 2 Chelsea 0 - Match Report

by Richard Buxton at Eastlands. Published Sat 15 Feb 2014 23:00, last updated: 15/02/14
Chelsea's 'little horse' was barely out of the stables, let alone at the races, in this encounter. 

Jose Mourinho's perceived fear of failure appeared to be more an inability to overcome a Manchester City side that remain in contention for FA Cup glory and on course for an historic quadruple.

For the self-styled Happy One, the statistics make for unpleasant and damning reading; three shots mustered throughout 90 minutes and not one on target. They were a shadow of their previous visit to the Etihad Stadium, a fortnight prior, when they announced themselves as title contenders.

Yet it was City that were utterly dominant this time round. Yaya Toure and Javi Garcia controlled the midfield battle with John Obi Mikel and Nemanja Matic while Vincent Kompany had Eden Hazard Samuel Eto'o comfortably stifled to the point that Mourinho withdrew the latter at half time.

Chelsea's obsession with the FA Cup promised a stronger challenge. The reality was toothless and stark, as their seldom contrite manager conceded in the aftermath.

"City played much better than us. They deserved much more than us to win," admitted Mourinho.

"When the best teams wins, I think football is in peace. Two weeks ago, the best team won and today the best team won so for me that's simple.

"Was the refereeing team very poor in the second half? Yes. But even with a perfect refereeing team, would Chelsea win the game? No. They were better than us. The second goal is offside but they would [still] win 1-0 because we were never close to score or be dominant."

City's breakthrough arrived barely a minute after Stevan Jovetic had spurned a golden opportunity, as he clipped a close-range effort over the crossbar after Petr Cech had spilled Toure's shot on the edge of the area.

Redemption was swift for the Montenegrin striker as David Silva and Edin Dzeko combined to tee him up for a cool finish. Injuries have plagued Jovetic's debut season in England but he atoned for lost time and proved a relentless pursuer. Only a booking for a comical dive after attempting to go past David Luiz tainted his hour-long outing.

Hazard was the scourge of the Etihad when the sides faced off in the Premier League but he was largely absent in this latest grudge match. Mourinho's solution was to hand Mohamed Salah a baptism of fire as Eto'o's replacement before summoning Fernando Torres after the hour mark.

Both the diminutive Salah and Torres, now enduring a third year of failing to capture former glories at Stamford Bridge, were bystanders for the best part while Manuel Pellegrini avenged their previous meeting by introducing a fit-again Samir Nasri for his first outing in over a month.

Within five minutes of his return, the winger had doubled the advantage as he linked up with David Silva before ghosting past Gary Cahill and Cech before rolling the ball into an empty net.

Silva was City's designated recipient for the man of the match award but in reality he was merely one of several serious contenders. Toure continued to dominate affairs in the middle of the park, ably assisted by Garcia, while Joleon Lescott was on hand with some vital interceptions late on.

Chelsea's horse may have bolted but the next challenge for City - a Champions League clash with Barcelona on Tuesday night - will provide a swift distraction from the elation of this victory.

MANCHESTER CITY (4-4-2): Pantilimon; Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy; Milner, Garcia, Toure, Silva (Navas 69); Jovetic (Nasri 61), Dzeko (Negredo 80). Subs not used: Hart, Richards, Demichelis, Kolarov

Goals: Jovetic (16), Nasri (67) Booked: Kompany, Jovetic, Toure, Garcia

CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Azpilicueta; Mikel, Matic; Ramires (Torres 61), Willian (Oscar 71), Hazard; Eto'o (Salah 46). Subs not used: Schwarzer, Cole, Lampard, Schurrle

Booked: Luiz, Matic

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Referee: P Dowd (Staffordshire) Attendance: 47,013
Source : http://www.click-manchester.com/sport/manchester-city/1219516-manchester-city-2-chelsea-0---match-report.html

CHELSEA V STOKE CITY FA CUP PREVIEW AND PREDICTION

Chelsea take on Stoke City in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup in the only match of the round featuring two Premier League sides. Read on for my preview and prediction along with analysis, betting odds, and TV coverage for the last match of the weekend on Sunday at 10:30/15:30.

Chelsea

Chelsea come into Sunday’s match having gone unbeaten in 30 out of their last 31 FA Cup matches, which is a very impressive record. They are also unbeaten in their last seven games in all competitions which includes their Third Round FA Cup 0-2 away win over Hull City.

They have also scored two or more goals in each of their last five matches and have kept five clean sheets in their last seven matches.

Stoke City

Stoke advanced to the fourth round after beating Leicester City 2-1 at home. Since then they have lost both of their Premier League matches, 3-5 at home to Liverpool and 1-0 away to Crystal Palace.

This season Stoke has had a rather inconsistent form which has made it difficult to predict just how well they will play and what they could do from week to week.

Prediction: Chelsea 3 – 1 Stoke City

My pick is a Chelsea win. Stoke is no longer a team that looks to sit back and defend, but instead they will often go out looking to go at teams and I would expect them to do so against Chelsea. The problem is that Chelsea is a solid defensive team that also has the quality and ability to break quickly and score goals.

Betting Odds (Ladbrokes):

Chelsea win: 1.25; Draw: 6.00; Stoke City win: 11.00

Form: Chelsea (W, W, W, W, W, W) Stoke City (L, L, D, W, L, L)

TV: US coverage features the match on FOX Sports Two starting at 10:30. In the UK viewers can watch live on ITV 1 at 3:30pm.

Get involved and leave your predictions below.

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Chelsea Football Match tickets are available here on : https://www.gofootballtickets.com/leagues/english-premiership/chelsea

Source : http://premiersoccerchat.com/6422/chelsea-v-stoke-city-fa-cup-preview-and-prediction/