Chelsea Loses Against Lokomotiv Moscow on Penalty-Kicks
August 3rd 2008 18:41
Before Friday night's game, Chelsea players were riding a wave of high, having completely dominated previous opponents. The match against Lokomotiv Moscow seemed to be only more of the same until a late free-kick leveled the score and sent both teams to penalty-kicks in order to find a winner for the final of the Russian Railways Cup. Finally, in a replay of the Champions League final back in May, it was Chelsea who found themselves on the losing side by scoring four kicks against Moscow's five.
It was all Chelsea in the first half as they got numerous shots on goal and applied intelligent pressure on the ball-carrier when they didn't have possession – one player went for the ball-carrier while two other players cut off the passing lanes. Their only weakness was on the left flank where Ashley Cole was making too many runs offensively and often couldn't get back in time to defend. As a result, both Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel had to cover for him, leading the latter to get a yellow-card after a late challenge on a Lokomotiv player. With so many options at his disposal, Luiz Felipe Scolari had decided to experiment a bit with his attack, putting Michael Essien on the right wing in an attacking role. That move would prove to be instrumental as the Ghanian midfielder became the most dangerous player on the pitch, firing several shots at Moscow's net and scoring the game's first goal at the 27th minute – a right-foot volley to the near post.
Leading 1-0 at half-time, Chelsea was in the driving seat for the rest of the game. The second half was played in the same fashion as the first with Chelsea getting several scoring opportunities while Lokomotiv struggled to get inside the Blues' 18-yard box. At the 67th minute, Nicolas Anelka had the opportunity to give his team a two-goal lead but his close-range shot went straight to keeper and was quickly cleared out of the box. With a little less than ten minutes remaining on the clock, the locals got a free-kick right at the edge of Peter Cech's box. Substitute Ruslan Kambolov didn't miss his chance, and his curling effort left no chance to Cech as it hit the post and went in.
On the penalty-kicks, it was the same as four months ago. Chelsea had the chance to win it after Lokomotiv had scored four out of five but Wayne Bridge's half-hearted shot was blocked by the keeper. In sudden death, Kambolov converted his kick but Shevchenko's attempt was also blocked by Lokomotiv's goalkeeper.
It was Chelsea's first 'loss' under Scolari's regime, and their second in Moscow. Still, they're playing some great football and will have no problem getting their groove back.
Chelsea's line-up: Peter Cech; Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, John Terry, Ashley Cole (Wayne Bridge, 64th); Deco, John Obi Mikel (Shaun Wright-Phillips, h-t), Frank Lampard; Michael Essien, Nicolas Anelka (Andriy Shevchenko, 75th), Joe Cole (Florent Malouda, h-t).
It was all Chelsea in the first half as they got numerous shots on goal and applied intelligent pressure on the ball-carrier when they didn't have possession – one player went for the ball-carrier while two other players cut off the passing lanes. Their only weakness was on the left flank where Ashley Cole was making too many runs offensively and often couldn't get back in time to defend. As a result, both Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel had to cover for him, leading the latter to get a yellow-card after a late challenge on a Lokomotiv player. With so many options at his disposal, Luiz Felipe Scolari had decided to experiment a bit with his attack, putting Michael Essien on the right wing in an attacking role. That move would prove to be instrumental as the Ghanian midfielder became the most dangerous player on the pitch, firing several shots at Moscow's net and scoring the game's first goal at the 27th minute – a right-foot volley to the near post.
Essien's goal
Leading 1-0 at half-time, Chelsea was in the driving seat for the rest of the game. The second half was played in the same fashion as the first with Chelsea getting several scoring opportunities while Lokomotiv struggled to get inside the Blues' 18-yard box. At the 67th minute, Nicolas Anelka had the opportunity to give his team a two-goal lead but his close-range shot went straight to keeper and was quickly cleared out of the box. With a little less than ten minutes remaining on the clock, the locals got a free-kick right at the edge of Peter Cech's box. Substitute Ruslan Kambolov didn't miss his chance, and his curling effort left no chance to Cech as it hit the post and went in.
Kambolov's goal
On the penalty-kicks, it was the same as four months ago. Chelsea had the chance to win it after Lokomotiv had scored four out of five but Wayne Bridge's half-hearted shot was blocked by the keeper. In sudden death, Kambolov converted his kick but Shevchenko's attempt was also blocked by Lokomotiv's goalkeeper.
Shootout
It was Chelsea's first 'loss' under Scolari's regime, and their second in Moscow. Still, they're playing some great football and will have no problem getting their groove back.
Chelsea's line-up: Peter Cech; Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, John Terry, Ashley Cole (Wayne Bridge, 64th); Deco, John Obi Mikel (Shaun Wright-Phillips, h-t), Frank Lampard; Michael Essien, Nicolas Anelka (Andriy Shevchenko, 75th), Joe Cole (Florent Malouda, h-t).
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