Chelsea Defeats Malaysia's Select XI 2-0
July 30th 2008 23:45
After cruising through one-sided games in China where they won 4-0 and 7-0, Luis Felipe's Scolari's troops were in for a tougher challenge against Malaysia's best U-23 players. Indeed, from the opening whistle to the end, the Malaysians seemed to be hungrier for the ball, and weren't afraid to challenge Chelsea players. Unfortunately for them, it was Chelsea who came out with the win, scoring one goal in each half.
Goalkeeper Peter Cech had probably seen more action in the first quarter-hour yesterday than the two previous games put together. It took a while for Chelsea to get started in the opening minutes, their best chance coming from Deco who volleyed Frank Lampard's corner to the net, requiring a superb save from the goalkeeper at 13th minute. In contrast to their first pre-season game where the majority of plays came from the left, the Blues seemed to completely avoid this wing yesterday, perhaps doubting Wayne Bridge's ability to deal with this kind of ferocious opposition. Despite the superior number of Malaysia's scoring chances, it was Chelsea who found the back of the net first at the 25th minute via French striker Nicolas Anelka. Malaysia would get another chance at the 36th minute, but the shot went wide.
As is the case in pre-season matches, half-time brought a slew of substitutions, the most notable being Ashley Cole retaking his spot in Bridge's place. Less than ten minutes after the beginning of the second half, A. Cole scored after receiving a pass/shot from Lampard. The English defender rarely scores in the regular season, but the timing of this goal (minutes after his entrance) showed why he is important to the Blues' attack. The score would stay the same until the final whistle as Malaysia found themselves once again denied by Cech at the 61st minute. Andrei Shevchenko's entrance at the 64th minute in Deco's place brought nothing new to the table. It was the Ukrainian striker's first match back, so he was still a little rusty.
So, it's 13 goals scored and 0 conceded for the Blues so far. Newcomers Deco and Bosingwa have nicely blended with the rest of the team. Now, let's hope Michael Ballack and Shevchenko get more playing time for the rest of the pre-season.
Chelsea's line-up: Peter Cech (Carlo Cudicini, 64th), Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho (Alex, half-time), John Terry (Branislav Ivanovic 77th), Wayne Bridge (Ashley Cole, h-t), John Obi Mikel, Deco (Andriy Shevchenko, 64th), Frank Lampard (Scott Sinclair, 77th), Joe Cole (Paulo Ferreira, h-t), Shawn Wright-Phillips (Florent Malouda, h-t), Nicolas Anelka (Franco Di Santo, 64th)
Goalkeeper Peter Cech had probably seen more action in the first quarter-hour yesterday than the two previous games put together. It took a while for Chelsea to get started in the opening minutes, their best chance coming from Deco who volleyed Frank Lampard's corner to the net, requiring a superb save from the goalkeeper at 13th minute. In contrast to their first pre-season game where the majority of plays came from the left, the Blues seemed to completely avoid this wing yesterday, perhaps doubting Wayne Bridge's ability to deal with this kind of ferocious opposition. Despite the superior number of Malaysia's scoring chances, it was Chelsea who found the back of the net first at the 25th minute via French striker Nicolas Anelka. Malaysia would get another chance at the 36th minute, but the shot went wide.
As is the case in pre-season matches, half-time brought a slew of substitutions, the most notable being Ashley Cole retaking his spot in Bridge's place. Less than ten minutes after the beginning of the second half, A. Cole scored after receiving a pass/shot from Lampard. The English defender rarely scores in the regular season, but the timing of this goal (minutes after his entrance) showed why he is important to the Blues' attack. The score would stay the same until the final whistle as Malaysia found themselves once again denied by Cech at the 61st minute. Andrei Shevchenko's entrance at the 64th minute in Deco's place brought nothing new to the table. It was the Ukrainian striker's first match back, so he was still a little rusty.
So, it's 13 goals scored and 0 conceded for the Blues so far. Newcomers Deco and Bosingwa have nicely blended with the rest of the team. Now, let's hope Michael Ballack and Shevchenko get more playing time for the rest of the pre-season.
Chelsea's line-up: Peter Cech (Carlo Cudicini, 64th), Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho (Alex, half-time), John Terry (Branislav Ivanovic 77th), Wayne Bridge (Ashley Cole, h-t), John Obi Mikel, Deco (Andriy Shevchenko, 64th), Frank Lampard (Scott Sinclair, 77th), Joe Cole (Paulo Ferreira, h-t), Shawn Wright-Phillips (Florent Malouda, h-t), Nicolas Anelka (Franco Di Santo, 64th)
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