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Chelsea 6 Manchester City 0
Alyson Rudd at Stamford Bridge
Have you ever stood in front of a priceless work of art that appears to be the result of someone simply throwing pots of vibrant colours at a canvas and wondered: “I could do that, so why is it considered so remarkable?”
It takes years to be in a position to chuck paint meaningfully to critical acclaim. Artists have to master difficult classical techniques before they can express themselves with freedom and so it is with Chelsea. José Mourinho gave them the structure and discipline and now they are having fun.
It is by no means clear that Roman Abramovich made a calculated decision that Mourinho had taken Chelsea as far as he was able, but the owner could make a case for knowing what was best for the club all along. Mourinho was conservative; trophies were won without taking risks. Certainly that approach could have continued to bring success, but there was no sense of evolution and although Avram Grant’s philosophy seems vague, evolution is at the heart of it.
“We are in the process of trying to play positive football and the players are doing their best and we are going in the right way,” the Chelsea first-team coach, said. “It’s very important to get the players to play with the right movement. Even good players can become better if they move into the right positions at certain times - and also to play quicker because we want to move the ball more quickly and that happened against [Manchester] City. We are in the middle of a process. Other clubs have taken months and maybe years to achieve this, but we are trying to do it very quickly and we also have to win games as well.”
What next? Scoring eight away to Wigan Athletic on Saturday? Making Arsenal look pedestrian? Winning titles while winning over neutrals? Making Chelsea everybody’s favourite second team? “What we are doing now will affect Chelsea for many years,” Grant said. “And if we are successful in what we are trying to achieve then Chelsea will take many titles over the years to come.”
Grant said that he has been urging the players to improve individually and although that may sound a risky approach from a new man taking over from one who was charismatic and popular, it is a tactic that has paid off. Mourinho did not approve of tricks. Tricks come with risks attached and woe betide a player who gave away possession because he was trying to show off.
On Saturday, however, the Chelsea players were uninhibited. Frank Lampard even unveiled one of his favourite party pieces. Early in the second half, with the ball at the heel of his left foot, he chipped it, accurately, to Salomon Kalou with his right, something he has been wanting to do for a long time.
“I’ve been trying about ten years to get that one out,” Lampard said. “I do it in training all the time. But it was one of those games where you’re confident and you’re knocking the ball [around] at home and you can do it. If it was 0-0 or 1-0, I probably wouldn’t have done it.” And he never attempted it under Mourinho.
Grant said: “Lampard gives everything he can on the pitch for the club. He is very committed to Chelsea and he is the model footballer. He can do many things on the pitch, but even he can be better. It is very important that the players express themselves but also to help the team.”
The home supporters were in a party mood, too, waving flags, singing the old songs and marvelling at how it is possible for their team to attack from the start, rather than hanging back for half an hour, as used to be the case under Mourinho – but the fans still did not chant Grant’s name. This is not so much down to a dislike of Grant but a general sense of bafflement. Is it his name that should be sung? According to Lampard, Grant did not say anything of note after the match.
“After a performance like that, what can you say?” Lampard said. “Even at half-time, what can you say apart from ‘well done and keep going’? It’s all about players and the players who went out there today were all doing their stuff.” And so to keep it simple the fans are singing only about the players, too.
Manchester City were as baffling as Chelsea were refreshing. They arrived in West London with accolades ringing in their ears; they left to the sound of mocking laughter. Even amid the mess of a 6-0 defeat you could see glimpses of what had propelled City into the top three. Sven-Göran Eriksson, the manager, said that there had always been a possibility that his team would receive a reality check.
“But not like this,” he said. “Today we totally forgot how to behave when we defend. We come to Stamford Bridge and we lose the ball. Three, four of the goals were counter-attacks. We lose the ball and it’s like a motorway straight to your heart. And that’s not Premier League football.
“What can you say? It is a disaster. If we defend like this we will be very lucky if we are playing Premier League football next season, never mind Champions League. But this will not happen again. I am sure of that. It will not. Chelsea were very good, playing with style, playing good football all over the field, but I think we made them better than they are. I don’t think, I am sure.”
Although each Chelsea goal was a delight, City looked badly organised, some defenders opting to hold a high line, some opting to defend deep and Javier Garrido, the Spanish left back, opting to give up. Of particular note was Lampard’s incisive, arcing cross-field pass to set up Didier Drogba’s first and Joe Cole’s subtle, controlled flick to set himself up for Chelsea’s fourth.
Andriy Shevchenko arrived on the pitch in the 67th minute and several thousand in the ground must have said, at the same time: “Well, even he can score against this lot.” And the Ukraine forward was so relieved to score his first league goal of the season that he handed his shirt to a fan a few minutes later. But the star of the show without doubt was Lampard. “I feel like I’m playing on the top of my game. I feel very fresh and very hungry,” he said.
Whether or not that is Grant’s doing, it sounds like good news for Chelsea – and England.
How they rated
Chelsea (4-3-3) P Cech 6 J Belletti 6 R Carvalho 6 Alex 6 P Ferreira 5 M Essien Y 7 J O Mikel 7 F Lampard Y 8 J Cole 8 D Drogba 8 S Kalou 7 Substitutes A Shevchenko 6 (for Cole, 67min), C Pizarro (for Drogba, 80) Not used C Cudicini, C Makelele, T Ben Haim
Manchester City (4-4-1-1) J Hart 3 V Corluka 4 R Dunne 4 M Richards Y 3 J Garrido 2 S Ireland 4 D Hamann 4 M Johnson Y 4 M Petrov 5 Elano 5 G Samaras 5 Substitutes D Vassell 4 (for Ireland 63), M Ball 4 (for Hamann, 66), R Bianchi (for Elano, 73) Not used A Isaksson, N Onuoha
Alyson Rudd at Stamford Bridge
Have you ever stood in front of a priceless work of art that appears to be the result of someone simply throwing pots of vibrant colours at a canvas and wondered: “I could do that, so why is it considered so remarkable?”
It takes years to be in a position to chuck paint meaningfully to critical acclaim. Artists have to master difficult classical techniques before they can express themselves with freedom and so it is with Chelsea. José Mourinho gave them the structure and discipline and now they are having fun.
It is by no means clear that Roman Abramovich made a calculated decision that Mourinho had taken Chelsea as far as he was able, but the owner could make a case for knowing what was best for the club all along. Mourinho was conservative; trophies were won without taking risks. Certainly that approach could have continued to bring success, but there was no sense of evolution and although Avram Grant’s philosophy seems vague, evolution is at the heart of it.
“We are in the process of trying to play positive football and the players are doing their best and we are going in the right way,” the Chelsea first-team coach, said. “It’s very important to get the players to play with the right movement. Even good players can become better if they move into the right positions at certain times - and also to play quicker because we want to move the ball more quickly and that happened against [Manchester] City. We are in the middle of a process. Other clubs have taken months and maybe years to achieve this, but we are trying to do it very quickly and we also have to win games as well.”
What next? Scoring eight away to Wigan Athletic on Saturday? Making Arsenal look pedestrian? Winning titles while winning over neutrals? Making Chelsea everybody’s favourite second team? “What we are doing now will affect Chelsea for many years,” Grant said. “And if we are successful in what we are trying to achieve then Chelsea will take many titles over the years to come.”
Grant said that he has been urging the players to improve individually and although that may sound a risky approach from a new man taking over from one who was charismatic and popular, it is a tactic that has paid off. Mourinho did not approve of tricks. Tricks come with risks attached and woe betide a player who gave away possession because he was trying to show off.
On Saturday, however, the Chelsea players were uninhibited. Frank Lampard even unveiled one of his favourite party pieces. Early in the second half, with the ball at the heel of his left foot, he chipped it, accurately, to Salomon Kalou with his right, something he has been wanting to do for a long time.
“I’ve been trying about ten years to get that one out,” Lampard said. “I do it in training all the time. But it was one of those games where you’re confident and you’re knocking the ball [around] at home and you can do it. If it was 0-0 or 1-0, I probably wouldn’t have done it.” And he never attempted it under Mourinho.
Grant said: “Lampard gives everything he can on the pitch for the club. He is very committed to Chelsea and he is the model footballer. He can do many things on the pitch, but even he can be better. It is very important that the players express themselves but also to help the team.”
The home supporters were in a party mood, too, waving flags, singing the old songs and marvelling at how it is possible for their team to attack from the start, rather than hanging back for half an hour, as used to be the case under Mourinho – but the fans still did not chant Grant’s name. This is not so much down to a dislike of Grant but a general sense of bafflement. Is it his name that should be sung? According to Lampard, Grant did not say anything of note after the match.
“After a performance like that, what can you say?” Lampard said. “Even at half-time, what can you say apart from ‘well done and keep going’? It’s all about players and the players who went out there today were all doing their stuff.” And so to keep it simple the fans are singing only about the players, too.
Manchester City were as baffling as Chelsea were refreshing. They arrived in West London with accolades ringing in their ears; they left to the sound of mocking laughter. Even amid the mess of a 6-0 defeat you could see glimpses of what had propelled City into the top three. Sven-Göran Eriksson, the manager, said that there had always been a possibility that his team would receive a reality check.
“But not like this,” he said. “Today we totally forgot how to behave when we defend. We come to Stamford Bridge and we lose the ball. Three, four of the goals were counter-attacks. We lose the ball and it’s like a motorway straight to your heart. And that’s not Premier League football.
“What can you say? It is a disaster. If we defend like this we will be very lucky if we are playing Premier League football next season, never mind Champions League. But this will not happen again. I am sure of that. It will not. Chelsea were very good, playing with style, playing good football all over the field, but I think we made them better than they are. I don’t think, I am sure.”
Although each Chelsea goal was a delight, City looked badly organised, some defenders opting to hold a high line, some opting to defend deep and Javier Garrido, the Spanish left back, opting to give up. Of particular note was Lampard’s incisive, arcing cross-field pass to set up Didier Drogba’s first and Joe Cole’s subtle, controlled flick to set himself up for Chelsea’s fourth.
Andriy Shevchenko arrived on the pitch in the 67th minute and several thousand in the ground must have said, at the same time: “Well, even he can score against this lot.” And the Ukraine forward was so relieved to score his first league goal of the season that he handed his shirt to a fan a few minutes later. But the star of the show without doubt was Lampard. “I feel like I’m playing on the top of my game. I feel very fresh and very hungry,” he said.
Whether or not that is Grant’s doing, it sounds like good news for Chelsea – and England.
How they rated
Chelsea (4-3-3) P Cech 6 J Belletti 6 R Carvalho 6 Alex 6 P Ferreira 5 M Essien Y 7 J O Mikel 7 F Lampard Y 8 J Cole 8 D Drogba 8 S Kalou 7 Substitutes A Shevchenko 6 (for Cole, 67min), C Pizarro (for Drogba, 80) Not used C Cudicini, C Makelele, T Ben Haim
Manchester City (4-4-1-1) J Hart 3 V Corluka 4 R Dunne 4 M Richards Y 3 J Garrido 2 S Ireland 4 D Hamann 4 M Johnson Y 4 M Petrov 5 Elano 5 G Samaras 5 Substitutes D Vassell 4 (for Ireland 63), M Ball 4 (for Hamann, 66), R Bianchi (for Elano, 73) Not used A Isaksson, N Onuoha