Portsmouth 0-2 Chelsea

Note: Pompey had manager Perrin sacked 2 days before this game. Assistant manager Joe Jordan is their caretake manager for now.

Lua-Lua causing problems for us. Needed great save from Cech to stop a blistering shot.

Joe Cole playing well.

Not creating chances though. Eidur being wasteful and careless again. One long-range shot from Duff about our only threat on goal so far. Then Crespo sneaks in between Pompey's two central defenders to tuck away a Ferreira cross. 1-0.

Carlton Cole (!) on for Crespo after the latter crocks himself. JM must be really confident in not conceding, given that he could have brought Drogba on instead.

Uncertainty from Cech in dealing with a Pompey cross leaves us with close escape.

CC utterly useless. JC, on the other hand, continues his good form. Wins penalty, which Lampard puts away. The match is safe.

Anderlecht 0-2 Chelsea

Easy stroll in frigid temperatures. Crespo opened the scoring by converting a Lampard cross, then made the match safe when he flicked on a corner for Carvallho to bury the second. With us on 13 points, Pool on 12 (after drawing 0-0 with Betis) and Betis on 9, Pool and us have qualified for the knockout stages.

Oh, and Keane quit Manure on Friday, after having blasted his teammates roundly on an eventually untelevised interview with MUTV. Manure seemed to bounce back well from the shock, beating Charlton 3-1, but yesterday they put their CL campaign in serious jeopardy with a 0-0 draw with Lille. Sweet.

Chelsea 3-0 Newcastle United

Chelsea delivered the perfect response to their critics with an emphatic second-half display that crushed stubborn Newcastle 3-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Newcastle had matched the reigning champions for effort and endeavour in a goalless opening half, but strikes from Joe Cole and Hernan Crespo inside four minutes ensured that Chelsea restored their nine-point advantage at the top of the Barclays Premiership.

Damien Duff completed the scoring right on the final whistle when his shot was deflected over the luckless Shay Given.

The home side were lucky to escape what appeared to be a valid penalty appeal in the fifth minute when John Terry felled Lee Bowyer, but referee Rob Halsey turned down the appeals.

Chelsea survived a second penalty scare in between when Asier Del Horno appeared to handle inside the area as Newcastle gave the champions a few restless moments.

Ricardo Carvalho had missed the best chance of the first half, before Cole put the Londoners in front two minutes into the second half.

Titus Bramble gave the ball away to Eidur Gudjohnsen and the Icelandic striker, playing in a midfield role behind Crespo, slotted the ball into the path of Cole, who ran on to despatch a right-foot shot into the corner of the net for his fourth of the season.

Frank Lampard, equalling David James's record of 159 consecutive appearances in the top flight, provided a trademark pass into Crespo's path after Michael Essien had won the ball in midfield.

The Argentinian checked his run before turning to fire the ball into the top corner to deliver the perfect response to those critics who claim he is unhappy at the club.

Chelsea had the last word when Duff burst into the penalty area and his shot was deflected over Given for the third.

Chelsea restored their nine-point lead at the top of the Barclays Premiership with a comfortable 3-0 win over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge although Jose Mourinho continued to insist that the title race will go right to the wire.

'It's nice to win,' he conceded. 'Life is difficult when you lose. When you are used to winning so many times, life is not easy when you lose because you are not happy.

'I said in pre-season that we will win the title on the last day of the season and I still think so.'

Mourinho denied he had given his players a half-time roasting after a lifeless first half in which they failed to create any clear cut openings.

'My half-time talk was more about preparing the team for the changes I would make in the last 20 or 25 minutes in case the result was still 0-0. The team played well in the first half but we were not winning because Newcastle gave us a difficult game.'

An injury to his anchorman midfielder Claude Makelele inside the first 10 minutes forced the Frenchman out of the action and his condition is of real concern to Mourinho ahead of their Champions League clash with Anderlecht on Wednesday night.

'I have no headaches about selection,' said Mourinho. 'Injuries are headaches to me. I like to have all my options available but Claude could not carry on. He is feeling pain in his knee and he will have some further examinations to see what kind of injury it is.

'When a player like Claude cannot play the rest of the game it might be something serious. We will have to wait and see.'

The Portuguese coach paid tribute to England midfielder Joe Cole after the player produced a man-of-the-match performance against the Magpies. Mourinho believes Cole is now the complete player one year after he struggled to make an impact on the coach.

'I think now he is a player,' said Mourinho. 'One year ago he was a player with potential, now he is a player.

'He has everything. He is strong defensively and physically and has not lost the attacking qualities or the skill that potentially made him a very good player. He understands the game and works for the team. We are very happy with him.'

While Newcastle manager Graeme Souness claimed that his side should have had at least one penalty in the first half, Mourinho had other thoughts.

'The hand ball I never saw,' he said. 'The other one was John Terry's tackle on Lee Bowyer - no penalty for me.'

Newcastle had managed to match Chelsea's work-rate in a first half that lacked entertainment but it had all fallen apart for the Geordies.

Souness revealed that England striker Michael Owen had travelled back up to Tyneside after a groin strain sustained in training on Friday was enough to rule him out of the game.

But the Scot was adamant that they should have had a penalty when Terry felled Bowyer inside the area.

'I haven't seen it on TV but it looked like a penalty,' said Souness. 'But I don't talk about referees and you don't ask them anything, because you don't get any sense out of them.

'There was not a lot between the two teams in the first half but within six minutes we were two goals down and that changed everything.

'Three-nil is hard on us and apart from two mistakes and a deflected goal there was not a lot between the teams.'

Newcastle had little cutting edge in attack without Alan Shearer and Owen.

'He (Owen) felt a bit of a groin strain in training and we thought we might get away with it,' said Souness. 'But this morning he felt it was not right so he travelled back up north at lunchtime.'

Manchester United 1-0 Chelsea

Carvallho dropped. Finally. Too many goals let in while he was at CB.

Robben and Crespo injured, not in squad. Drogba up front, supported by Cole and Duff.

The Chinese commentators refer to Horse-face as "Fan-ni". Hilarious.

Report from BBC:

Darren Fletcher's first-half header ensured Manchester United ended Chelsea's 40-match league unbeaten run.

Fletcher appeared to be trying to head the ball back across the goal, but his effort looped inside the far post.

Early in the second half Ruud van Nistelrooy should have made the game safe but he blazed his shot over.

His miss meant United had to live on their nerves as Chelsea desperately sought the equaliser and Edwin van der Sar bravely denied Frank Lampard.

The win saw United climb six places to third, leaving them 10 points behind Chelsea, with a game in hand on the league leaders.

On the 19th anniversary of his appointment as United manager the win provided Sir Alex Ferguson with something to celebrate in what has been a miserable week.

In that time United have been humbled by Middlesbrough, have lost to Lille in the Champions League and Roy Keane has questioned the calibre of some of the club's recent signings.

Fletcher was one of the players singled out by Keane for criticism but, with the Irishman watching from the stands, the young Scot produced a storming performance.

It was his cross that provided that gilt-edged chance for Van Nistelrooy in the second half when the Dutchman thrashed his shot over the bar.

Late on Wayne Rooney might have snatched a second goal for United, but his goalbound shot was deflected for a corner by Paulo Ferreira.

This was only the second Premiership defeat Chelsea have suffered under Mourinho since he took over at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2004.

Following their midweek Champions League defeat to Real Betis it is the first time Chelsea have lost twice in a row under their Portuguese manager.

Ten minutes into the second half Mourinho replaced Michael Essien with Eidur Gudjohnsen to try to provide Didier Drogba more support.

Gudjohnsen's introduction prompted Chelsea to lay siege to the United goal for the rest of the half.

The Icelandic striker quickly made an impact, passing to Damien Duff who, with the goal at his mercy, miscued his shot.

Van der Sar's courageous block to thwart Lampard - the Dutchman threw himself at the Chelsea midfielder's feet - was the save of the game.

If the game's closing stages were frenetic, then its opening exchanges were equally frantic.

Drogba tried to lob Van der Sar but the Chelsea striker was unable to get enough power in his shot.

Asier Del Horno also had a glimpse of the United goal, only to volley wide a Joe Cole free-kick.

In the opening half-hour Ronaldo had a succession of opportunities to cross from the left, each time failing to provide a worthwhile delivery.

But he finally got his angles correct to pick out Fletcher at the far post.

Fletcher headed the ball back across goal and his flighted effort took on an altogether more deadly trajectory floating over John Terry and landing in the back of the net.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Brown, Silvestre, Fletcher, Smith, Scholes, Rooney, van Nistelrooy (Park 82), Ronaldo.
Subs Not Used: Howard, Richardson, Bardsley, Rossi.

Booked: Smith, Ronaldo, Fletcher.

Goals: Fletcher 31.

Chelsea: Cech, Paulo Ferreira, Gallas, Terry, Del Horno (Carlton Cole 78), Essien (Gudjohnsen 55), Makelele, Lampard, Joe Cole (Wright-Phillips 74), Drogba, Duff.
Subs Not Used: Ricardo Carvalho, Cudicini.

Booked: Drogba, Paulo Ferreira, Gallas, Makelele.

Att: 67,864.

Ref: G Poll (Hertfordshire).

Real Betis 1-0 Chelsea

Report from BBC:

Chelsea slumped to a shock defeat as injury-hit Real Betis threw their Champions League group wide open.

Dani scored for Betis from close range after 28 minutes to ensure they remain a threat to Chelsea and Liverpool in the battle to reach the knockout stage.

Chelsea were desperately off-colour, although they were denied a second-half leveller when Michael Essien's shot bounced off both posts.

Betis are now one point behind Chelsea and still have to travel to Anfield.

Chelsea also picked up five yellow cards, with Shaun Wright-Phillips ruled out of the next game against Anderlecht in Belgium.

It was an amazing reversal of fortune for Betis, who were thrashed 4-0 at Stamford Bridge and went into the game on the back of four successive defeats.

And it continued Chelsea's miserable run of form on their travels in the Champions League.

Chelsea left Didier Drogba on the bench, giving a rare opportunity to Eidur Gudjohnsen in attack.

Betis desperately needed a victory to keep their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages alive - and they started with real purpose.

But they suffered two early injury blows, with Nano limping off and then influential striker Ricardo Oliveira, who suffered a knee injury as he was robbed in the penalty area by Ricardo Carvalho.

Dani came on for Oliveira, and made an immediate impact by putting Betis ahead after 28 minutes.

Capi's cross was cleverly dummied by Edu, and with William Gallas slow to react, Dani stabbed a close-range finish past Petr Cech.

The setback galvanised Chelsea, who then enjoyed their best spell of the game, with Pedro Contreras saving well from Joe Cole and Arjen Robben.

Gudjohnsen wasted Chelsea's best chance two minutes before the interval, shooting hopelessly over the top when sent clear by a long pass from John Terry.

There was another scare for Chelsea in first-half injury time, when Cech parried Edu's swerving shot and Dani sent the rebound agonisingly wide.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was clearly unhappy with Chelsea's first-half display, and took typically bold action, replacing Cole and Gudjohnsen with Wright-Phillips and Drogba.

Betis changed approach after the break, looking happy to protect their lead - but Chelsea were once again lacking punch in attack.

Mourinho played his final card after 64 minutes, sending on Damien Duff - fit-again after knee surgery - for the subdued Robben.

Robben was clearly disappointed to be substituted, but he had little cause for complaint.

Chelsea did everything except equalise in a remarkable incident with 19 minutes left.

Duff's cross narrowly evaded Drogba, but Wright-Phillips pulled the ball back for Essien, whose shot hit both posts and somehow stayed out.

Betis hit back, and Cech needed to produce a fine save to stop Capi's shot from the edge of the area.

And despite plenty of possession in the closing stages, Chelsea failed to mount any sort of sustained threat.

Real Betis: Contreras, Varela, Juanito, Nano (Castellini 20), Melli, Joaquin, Rivera, Arzu, Edu, Capi (Fernando 84), Oliveira (Dani 25).
Subs Not Used: Doblas, Xisco, Juanlu, Israel.

Booked: Capi, Varela, Melli, Contreras, Dani.

Goals: Dani 28.

Chelsea: Cech, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Gallas, Essien, Makelele, Lampard, Joe Cole (Wright-Phillips 46), Gudjohnsen (Drogba 46), Robben (Duff 65).
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Geremi, Bridge, Huth.

Booked: Joe Cole, Robben, Drogba, Wright-Phillips, Duff.

Att: 55,000

Ref: Alain Hamer (Luxembourg).

And here's the next installation in the catfight between JM and Wenger.

Wenger is now threatening legal action against JM.

List of JM quotes

On his arrival - June 2004
I intend to give my best, to improve things and to create the football team in relation to my image and my football philosophy.


We have top players and, sorry if I'm arrogant, we have a top manager.


I'm not a defender of old or new football managers. I believe in good ones and bad ones, those that achieve success and those that don't. Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm a special one.


I don't want special relations with one of them (his players). I hate to speak about individuals. Players don't win you trophies, teams win trophies, squads win trophies.


On his new job - July 2004
If I wanted to have an easy job...I would have stayed at Porto - beautiful blue chair, the Uefa Champions League trophy, God, and after God, me.


On Tottenham - September 2004
As we say in Portugal, they brought the bus and they left the bus in front of the goal. I would have been frustrated if I had been a supporter who paid £50 to watch this game because Spurs came to defend. There was only one team looking to win, they only came not to concede - it's not fair for the football we played.


On Arsenal after their 5-4 win at Spurs - November 2004
That was not a football score, it was a hockey score...in training I often play matches of three against three and when the score reaches 5-4 I send the players back to the dressing room, because they are not defending properly.


On Thierry Henry's quick free-kick in 2-2 draw - December 2004
I am more than unhappy. Unhappy is a nice word.


On Sir Alex Ferguson - January 2005
Maybe when I turn 60 and have been managing in the same league for 20 years and have the respect of everybody I will have the power to speak to people and make them tremble a little bit.


On Sir Alex Ferguson - January 2005 (a few days later)
People want a storm but there isn't one. I respect Sir Alex a lot because he's a great manager, but he must follow the procedure. I don't speak with referees and I don't want other managers doing it, it's the rule. One thing is to speak, one thing is to shout.


This is nothing against Sir Alex whatsoever. After the game on Wednesday we were together in my office and we spoke and drank wine. Unfortunately it was a very bad bottle of wine and he was complaining, so when we go to Old Trafford for the second leg, on my birthday, I will take a beautiful bottle of Portuguese wine.


But he is a great manager, he is clever and used his power and his prestige. The referee should not allow it. I have a lot of respect for Ferguson. I call him boss because he is the manager's boss. Maybe when I become 60, the kids will call me the same.


On David Beckham - January 2005
He is someone I respect as a man and as a player. He is the captain of England and has been a European champion. I have never been critical of him and reports implying that are incorrect as I've never made comments about him.


On Blackburn - February 2005
During the afternoon it rained only in this stadium - our kitman saw it. There must be a micro-climate here. The pitch was like a swimming pool.


Look at the blond boy in midfield, Robbie Savage, who commits 20 fouls during the game and never gets a booking. We came here to play football and it was not a football game, it was a fight and we fought and I think we fought fantastically.


On leading the title race - February 2005
We are on top at the moment but not because of the club's financial power. We are in contention for a lot of trophies because of my hard work.


On losing to Barcelona - February 2005
When I saw Frank Rijkaard (Barcelona coach) entering the referee's dressing room I couldn't believe it. When Didier Drogba was sent off (after half-time) I wasn't surprised.


On... your guess is as good as mine - March 2005
The moral of the story is not to listen to those who tell you not to play the violin but stick to the tambourine.


On Roman Abramovich - March 2005
If he helped me out in training we would be bottom of the league and if I had to work in his world of big business, we would be bankrupt!


On winning the Premiership title - May 2005
This is the start of a process not the end. I want more for me and Chelsea.


On Liverpool after Champions League loss - May 2005
It was a goal that came from the moon - from the Anfield stands.


The best team lost. After they scored only one team played, the other one just defended for the whole game.


Liverpool scored, if you can say that they scored, because maybe you should say the linesman scored.


They are in the final and from my heart I hope they win it. The night belongs to them and I don't want to criticise them.


On Manchester United - May 2005
I saw their players and manager go for a lap of honour after losing to us in their last home game. In Portugal if you do this, they throw bottles at you!


On Arsenal and their vice chairman and FA board member David Dein - July 2005
A person who works in the club should not work in the FA. The FA is the FA and the club is the club.


I am not concerned about how Chelsea are viewed morally. What does concern me is that we are treated in a different way to other clubs. Some clubs are treated as devils, some are treated as angels. I don't think we are so ugly that we should be seen as the devil and I don't think Arsene Wenger and David Dein are so beautiful that they should be viewed as angels.


Is Jose Mourinho the only one who can look at the fixtures and find something very strange?


On the Champions League - September 2005
I won't hold back. What I did last season was the consequence of something. So, if the competition is absolutely normal without anything strange, I would love to be a good boy and to behave well.


On Chelsea's start to the new season - October 2005
We have eight matches and eight victories, with 16 goals, but people say we cannot play, that we are a group of clowns. This is not right.


On the loss of their 100% league record at Everton - October 2005
Everybody is crying that Chelsea keep winning and winning and winning so I think that draw at Goodison Park makes everyone more happy. It gives people more hope and brings to the Premiership what everybody was waiting for.


I may look stupid saying this, but I think we should be going home with three points because we scored two great goals and usually, when you score two and concede one, you win the game.


On losing to Charlton in the Carling Cup - October 2005
I want to give my congratulations to them because they won. But we were the best team. We didn't lose the game. Ninety minutes was a draw and it was a draw after two hours. We lost on penalties.


On winning ways - October 2005
Everybody was waiting for Chelsea not to win every game and one day when we lose there will be a holiday in the country. But we are ready for that.


On Arsenal's French farce of a penalty - October 2005
You have to wonder why they did that penalty. Because they have so many penalties in the season, that's why. They have to do something special and different.


On Arsene Wenger - October 2005
I think he is one of these people who is a voyeur. He likes to watch other people. There are some guys who, when they are at home, have a big telescope to see what happens in other families. He speaks, speaks, speaks about Chelsea.