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 12-09-2007, 12:00 AM | #154 (permalink) | ||||||
| Fredua Koranteng Adu Offline Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Estados Unidos Posts: 256,709 vCash: 20158194 Rep Points: 916 | Chelsea´s Drogba set to miss key games after knee op Written by: AFP
Chelsea club doctor Bryan English said in a statement on Saturday: "Didier's knee locked yesterday (Friday) afternoon and the decision was taken to have the operation immediately in the medical interests of the player. "The procedure went well and he will begin his rehabilitation as soon as possible," English added. Drogba will miss Saturday's league match at home to Sunderland and is also set to be sidelined when Chelsea play Valencia in the Champions League on Tuesday and go up against fellow London club and league leaders Arsenal a week on Sunday. But by having the operation now, Drogba has increased his chances of being fit to captain the Ivory Coast in next month's African Nations Cup. Chelsea started this weekend third in the Premier League, six points behind Arsenal. | ||||||
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| 12-09-2007, 12:01 AM | #155 (permalink) | ||||||
| Fredua Koranteng Adu Offline Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Estados Unidos Posts: 256,709 vCash: 20158194 Rep Points: 916 | Shevchenko seizes Chelsea chance Written by: AFP
The Ukrainian, handed his chance in the absence of the injured Didier Drogba, headed home in the 23rd-minute before Frank Lampard sealed victory with a second-half penalty. An ultimately routine victory moved Avram Grant's side to within three points of the top of the Premier League, although his team did little to warm the hearts of their fans at a wet and cold Stamford Bridge. Sunderland hardly sparkled themselves and unless Roy Keane's side, who finished with 10 men after Liam Miller's sending-off, acquire more firepower when the transfer window reopens relegation looms large. Chelsea, meanwhile, have their own problems to contend with. Drogba's absence may not have cost them on this occasion but Grant - for all that his team are now unbeaten in 15 games - can hardly have been encouraged by this shot-shy performance. They will, however, have to find a way of coping without their talismanic forward. Ivory Coast international Drogba underwent surgery on Saturday on a long-standing knee problem and it is anticipated that he will not return until January at the earliest. The decision suggests Drogba - who had wanted remedial work to be carried out as soon as possible to aid his chances of playing in next month's African Nations Cup - won the battle of wills with his club, although Chelsea claimed an operation became essential once the 29-year-old's knee locked on Friday. Perhaps the only man in Chelsea blue grateful for Drogba's absence was Shevchenko. The former European player of the year has been a peripheral figure since Grant's appointment but the chance to impress against lowly opponents appeared tailor-made to pep his confidence. So it proved. Shevchenko was hardly dynamic but a rare league goal, just his second of the season, suggested he had not lost all his old qualities. It was Salomon Kalou, however, who shone the brightest. The Ivorian is an eccentric character, superb one week and clownish the next, but he illuminated the first half. He almost headed Chelsea in front in the fifth minute when he crashed Joe Cole's corner onto the crossbar, but consolation arrived soon enough. After controlling Frank Lampard's chipped pass, Kalou took one glance to check his options and, seeing Shevchenko storming into the six-yard box, picked him out with an inch-perfect cross. His team-mate could hardly miss. But Chelsea then appeared to be lulled into complacency by their visitors' lack of ambition - it took Sunderland 32 minutes to muster an effort on target - and the half duly dwindled to a close. The interval failed to shake Chelsea out of their lethargy and, minute by minute, Sunderland grew in stature. Their wild shooting might have reduced the home goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini to the role of an uninterested spectator, but at least Keane's team struck their passes more purposefully and moved with more urgency. The Wearsiders might even have been harbouring faint hopes of a comeback when their chances were dashed by a defensive indiscretion. Danny Higginbotham's 75th-minute tug at Alex, as the Brazilian attempted to convert an inswinging free-kick, was spotted by referee Peter Walton and Lampard converted the penalty with ease. Sunderland were beaten and their misery was complete in the 88th minute when Miller was sent off for pushing Claudio Pizarro in the face. | ||||||
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| 12-09-2007, 02:35 AM | #159 (permalink) |
| Fredua Koranteng Adu Offline Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Estados Unidos Posts: 256,709 vCash: 20158194 Rep Points: 916 | Chelsea boss Avram Grant: "We dominated the match but we could not kill the game off as early as we would have liked. "It was not easy to play against Sunderland because they defended cleverly with a lot of men. "It was a very mature performance because we looked for opportunities to find the second goal which we got in the second half with a penalty." |
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| 12-09-2007, 02:35 AM | #160 (permalink) |
| Fredua Koranteng Adu Offline Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Estados Unidos Posts: 256,709 vCash: 20158194 Rep Points: 916 | Sunderland boss Roy Keane: "We weren't too bad and we did some good things but the sore point is the two goals we gave away. "It was fairly poor defending for the first as we didn't stop the cross coming in and a striker like Andriy Shevchenko won't miss from there. "When it's 1-0 you're in with a chance but the second goal killed the game." |
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| 12-09-2007, 02:35 AM | #161 (permalink) |
| Fredua Koranteng Adu Offline Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Estados Unidos Posts: 256,709 vCash: 20158194 Rep Points: 916 | Chelsea: Cudicini, Belletti, Alex, Terry, Ashley Cole, Wright-Phillips, Obi, Lampard, Joe Cole (Sidwell 85), Kalou (Pizarro 66), Shevchenko. Subs Not Used: Hilario, Bridge, Ben-Haim. Goals: Shevchenko 23, Lampard 75 pen. |
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| 12-09-2007, 02:36 AM | #162 (permalink) |
| Fredua Koranteng Adu Offline Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Estados Unidos Posts: 256,709 vCash: 20158194 Rep Points: 916 | Sunderland: Ward, Halford, McShane, Higginbotham, Collins, Miller, Leadbitter (Stokes 70), Etuhu, Whitehead, Wallace, Jones (Murphy 67). Subs Not Used: Gordon, Yorke, Cole. Sent Off: Miller (88). Booked: Wallace. |
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| 12-09-2007, 02:49 AM | #165 (permalink) |
| Fredua Koranteng Adu Offline Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Estados Unidos Posts: 256,709 vCash: 20158194 Rep Points: 916 | Andriy Shevchenko celebrated his Chelsea return by spearheading the Barclays Premier League victory over Sunderland. The Ukraine striker was handed only his fifth league start of the season but did his chances of securing an extended run in the side no harm. His second Barclays Premier League goal of the season may only have been a routine finish of Salomon Kalou's 23rd minute cross, but it capped a lively display. It took Frank Lampard's conversion of a 79th minute penalty - given for Danny Higginbotham's weak pull on Alex - to kill off the match when Chelsea should have been out of sight sooner. From the whistle Shevchenko looked sharp, showing composure with his first touch to release Ashley Cole in the opening minute. Sunderland keeper Darren Ward punched clear Cole's cross as far as Shaun Wright-Phillips but the England winger's effort flew wide. |
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| 12-09-2007, 02:50 AM | #166 (permalink) |
| Fredua Koranteng Adu Offline Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Estados Unidos Posts: 256,709 vCash: 20158194 Rep Points: 916 | Proving toothless Kalou, who had escaped the attention of Higginbotham, headed a Joe Cole corner at the crossbar as Chelsea persevered with their early assault Wright-Phillips saw a penalty shout turned down by referee Peter Walton who was unmoved by his 11th-minute tangle with Dean Whitehead. Sunderland were struggling to escape their own half and when they did manage to break free they ran down blind alleys before being relieved of the ball. Juliano Belletti picked out Kalou from long range and the Ivorian sent a rapid cross to the far post where an unmarked Shevchenko was free to nod home. The goal took some of the urgency out of Chelsea's game but with Sunderland unable to keep hold of the ball and proving toothless in attack, they were never under serious threat. Kenwyne Jones produced their first shot in the 34th minute but keeper Carlo Cudicini made light work of a tame effort. Sunderland finally began to string some passes together shortly after but the move ended with a free-kick that Ross Wallace smashed into the stands. |
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| 12-09-2007, 02:50 AM | #167 (permalink) |
| Fredua Koranteng Adu Offline Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Estados Unidos Posts: 256,709 vCash: 20158194 Rep Points: 916 | Slick manoeuvre The Kalou-Shevchenko axis nearly produced a second but the Ukraine marksman was off target this time. The second half began with a slick manoeuvre by Shevchenko, who saw the ball dart across goal but no one was there to capitalise and then the Ukrainian himself over-ran a Joe Cole pass with the net beckoning. Mirroring the first half, the Black Cats appeared to have weathered the initial storm but with little to offer in attack themselves, the game once again resulted in stalemate. Chelsea were awarded a spotkick when referee Walton adjuded that Higginbotham tugged Alex. Lampard converted from the spot and Sunderland were dealt another blow with three minutes to go. Then Claudio Pizarro was sent off after a tackle on Miller. |
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| 12-09-2007, 02:50 AM | #168 (permalink) |
| Fredua Koranteng Adu Offline Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Estados Unidos Posts: 256,709 vCash: 20158194 Rep Points: 916 | "We dominated the match but we could not kill the game off as early as we would have liked. It was not easy to play against Sunderland because they defended cleverly with a lot of men. It was a very mature performance because we looked for opportunities to find the second goal which we got in the second half with a penalty." - Avram Grant |
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| 12-09-2007, 02:50 AM | #169 (permalink) |
| Fredua Koranteng Adu Offline Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Estados Unidos Posts: 256,709 vCash: 20158194 Rep Points: 916 | "We weren't too bad and we did some good things but the sore point is the two goals we gave away. It was fairly poor defending for the first as we didn't stop the cross coming in and a striker like Andriy Shevchenko won't miss from there. When it's 1-0 you're in with a chance but the second goal killed the game." - Roy Keane |
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| 12-09-2007, 03:09 AM | #172 (permalink) |
| Fredua Koranteng Adu Offline Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Estados Unidos Posts: 256,709 vCash: 20158194 Rep Points: 916 | Chelsea 2-0 Sunderland Andriy Shevchenko celebrated his Chelsea return by spearheading the Barclays Premier League victory over Sunderland. The Ukraine striker was handed only his fifth league start of the season but did his chances of securing an extended run in the side no harm. His second Premier League goal of the season may only have been a routine finish of Salomon Kalou's 23rd minute cross, but it capped a lively display. |
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