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NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Nairobian

Devils' mission

Pulse

By The Standard Sports | Sep 23, 2011

By TONY NGARE

Prior to the game, I had dared two die-hard Chelsea fans to make a strongwilled bet of what they expected of the score. Both were unanimous and optimistic that a draw would be a good day in the office for both teams. Well ... this is Chelsea we are talking about here and if they cannot go to Old Trafford and expect to win what happens in the Champions League if they were to meet United at the knockout stage? Rollover and concede to defeat?

That tells you the extent of divided opinion about the game.

This was a match that had everything: spectacular strikes, horrendous misses and relentless scrutiny of the beauty and blemishes of a star’s technique.

One moment Wayne Rooney was tapping home, the next he was slipping up. One moment Fernando Torres was finishing like Romario, the next like Ronnie Rosenthal.

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The Chelsea back four seems to be permanently twitchy, at least every time I see them, which is often.

Immobile defenders

The moaning was about the ref, who should have disallowed a goal for offside: the incredulity arose from the sight of every Chelsea defender resolutely rooted to the ground as if secured by six-inch nails. A good delivery from Ashley Young, but hardly a surprising one for Chelsea. And so it went on, defences all too willing to melt away if forwards simply did the obvious, as though the team talks and analysis sessions had never taken place. Forwards didn’t make penetrating runs so much as run to where defenders weren’t in the knowledge that they wouldn’t be followed. As if both managers and teams knew that bad play and mistakes make for exhilarating matches.

There have been a lot of contestations in the game regarding the officiating . Lots of coulda, shoulda and woulda. One of them is about Ashley Cole’s challenge on Chicharito. I understand a penalty was not given because the tackle was so late that the ball was out of bounds before Cole actually kicked Javier Hernandez. However, the ball was in play at the time Cole started the violent lunge so I would say a penalty should have been given.

There has been suggestion that Chris Smalling may have been offside when he headed a thunderbolt past Petr Cech.

Well...offside is offside but unfortunately linesmen and refs get one look at real time in a game that is played at an ever-increasing speed.

If you look at the Chelsea players’ reactions after the goal none of them, amazingly, contested what now been baptised ‘off goal’.

That’s how close and fast the situation was in the penalty area.

It’s not all gloom for Chelsea for a number of reasons. Firstly, this game has come early and it will be used as ‘syllabus’ by the Chelsea backroom. The manager and his coaches will look back and improve on a performance that, otherwise had it taken place in late March could have derailed Chelsea march towards the coronation grounds.

Secondly, AndrÈ Villa Boas substations were spot on. Trailing 3-0, he needed to be more offensive and with a 33-year-old Frank Lampard, we know he is not the player he was, we need to be frank to him. He can no longer sustain a 90-minute dance.

Thirdly, AVB as he is fondly known to Chelsea fans, is not afraid to make the right decisions as far as it is for the greater good of Chelsea as a club even though Roman Abramovich may at times disagree. Let’s just say that since the rich Russian is unlikely to consult AVB when he next goes shopping for a yacht, its perhaps gentlemanly to let the football man manage the football team.

When Sergio Aguero bagged his second goal of the afternoon less than a minute into the second half at the Craven Cottage, increasing Manchester City’s seemingly insurmountable lead to 2-0, the story seemed to already have been written for me.

City chaos

"Manchester City dominates again, remains locked with Manchester United atop the table."

But a funny thing happened in the 52nd minute. Moussa Dembele fed a ball to Clint Dempsey atop the box, who then thread another pass to Bobby Zamora just inside the box, who took a quick touch, opened and fired an unmistakably classy finish, putting Fulham on the board and cutting City’s lead in half.

It was only a goal, and City looked likely to dominate for the remainder of the match. Except, they didn’t. Fulham did, or did for a significant portion at least.

And in the 75th minute, when Danny Murphy’s shot took a fortunate deflection off Vincent Kompany and past goalkeeper Joe Hart, the Cottagers deservedly levelled the score, a score that would remain level for the remainder of the match.

It was a breathtaking match and an eye-opening result, Man City contrary to popular belief are after all infallible.