AFTER ROAD LOSS AT THE BRIDGE, BLUES GET 2 STRAIGHT WINS! Three games in 4 days, over 10,000 miles flown....NOT the most relaxing way to spend your Christmas holiday, but thats the way the 2013-14 Chelsea squad opened its replay season. Facing their UEFA Champions League winning 2011-12 side at Stamford Bridge in the opener on Christmas Eve - they were the away team for this - Frank Lampard opened the scoring - for BOTH sides - giving his 2013-14 mates the early lead with a goal after 17 minutes, deftly turning in a pass from Fernando Torres. His 2011-12 incarnation found the equaliser in the 32nd minute, getting the return from an indirect free kick, and the sides went into the break level at 1-1. It was billed as a match between Juan Matas and Eden Hazards Blues, but neither played a very significant role in the course of the contest. Mata did find halftime sub Jose Bosingwa, who turned it past Petr Cech in the 59th minute, giving 2011-12 Chelsea the lead, which proved to be the game-winner, and Branislav Ivanovic added a third in the 90th, after John Terrys steal, to make the final 3-1 in favor of the Champions League winners. After the fixture, the 2013-14 team boarded a plane and flew all the way across the pond to the west coast of the USA to face the 2013 Portland Timbers on Christmas Day, where they played a very sluggish defensive contest - with only 3 shots on target for both sides the entire game - with several bench players getting starts, including back up goal keeper Mark Schwarzer, who ended up getting a clean sheet as Willians 65th minute goal held up for the 1-0 Chelsea win. Then it was home again to west London for a Boxing Day replay with West Ham United (mirroring their actual fixture of this current EPL season), where they WERE the home side this time, and Hazard broke out with a hat-trick in a 3-0 demolition of the Hammers, all three Chelsea goals coming in the 1st half, with Schwarzer again in net, and racking up his second straight clean sheet. Hazard opened the scoring in the 6th minute, slotting Demba Bas pass from the left wing past West Hams Adrian. 10 minutes later Hammers striker Andy Carroll was shown a straight red card for his foul on the Belgian, and West Ham was reduced to 1 ten for the remaining 74 minutes. Hazard also converted 2 penalty kicks, the first in the 38th minute after a foul in the area by the Hammers James Tompkins, burying the ball in the West Ham net, and the other in the 4th minute of 1st half extra time, after Samuel Etoo was fouled by George McCartney in the area, doing twice what Andre Schurrle couldnt accomplish in the game against the Timbers.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 15:22:30 +0000
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