Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United - FA Cup quarter-final replay

Stefan Wermu - Reuters 

Chelsea’s Demba Ba produced the only goal in the FA Cup quarter-final replay win against Manchester United, setting them up with a semi-final tie at Wembley against Manchester City.

The game lacked life during the first 20 minutes of the game, as both sides were unable to find any rhythm in their game and were producing sloppy passing.

This may have been down to the fact a lot of players may have been tired from playing internationals during the last week and league fixtures during the weekend.

After Ashley Cole was subbed off the field and replaced by Ryan Bertrand due to a hamstring problem, the game started to earn a bit of life.

Javier Hernandez tried to take a shot inside Chelsea’s penalty area, but he took one turn too many and lost the ball to Ramires, who cleared.

Chelsea had a chance of their own not long later when Eden Hazard went on a good run, wrong footing Chris Smalling along the way, and then rolling the ball to Demba Ba.

Ba then had a shot from the right side of the penalty area but this shot was saved by David De Gea which caused the ball to go out for a throw in.

Moments later, Chelsea was given a free kick thanks to a Nani handball. David Luiz took the free kick, which went over the cross bar convincingly.

After this, Nani tried to redeem himself with a long shot in Chelsea’s half, but the ball went wide of Petr Cech’s right hand post.

Hazard then formed a nice one-two partnership with Oscar inside Manchester United’s penalty area, but his shot went harmlessly over De Gea’s crossbar.

Hernandez was the next Manchester United player to have a shot from range on Cech’s goal. His shot was on target, and was only saved by the feet of Cech as the ball swerved in the air.

Just before half time, John Obi Mikel had a shot on the edge of the area for Chelsea but the ball hit Smalling and went for a corner.

Nothing came from this corner for Chelsea, so the half time score was 0-0.

Manchester United started off with the first chance of the second half as Luiz fouled Phil Jones on the edge of the area, giving them a free kick.

Nani took the free kick but his shot hit the wall and his following cross was plucked out of the air by Cech.

Two minutes later, Chelsea broke the deadlock.

Ba outstretched his leg to make contact with a Juan Mata ball and he put enough power on the ball to guide it past De Gea to the left side of the net, giving Chelsea a 1-0 lead.

Manchester United replied not too long after this with an opportunity to get on the score sheet.

A cross by Danny Welbeck gave Hernandez a close range header and a chance to score, but his header pulled out a fantastic save by Cech.

Mata responded for Chelsea after picking up a nice through ball by Hazard in the left side of Manchester United’s area, but his shot hit the side netting.

Michael Carrick then had a chance for Manchester United, but he should have passed the ball instead of taking the shot as he had better options around him. His shot from the edge of the area went wide.

Carrick made another error moments later as his lose pass was picked up by Hazard. Hazard then dribbled the ball to the penalty area but his shot went wide of the right hand post.

After this chance, Chelsea looked more likely to score as Oscar’s shot five minutes before the 90 minute mark went wide of the left hand post.

Robin Van Persie had the best chance in the last few minutes for Manchester United as he was able to volley a Patrice Evra cross, but his volley went over the bar.

This was an unusual site from Van Persie, who has been scoring goals for fun this season.

No more real opportunities occurred for either side, which meant the score finished Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United.

This win for Chelsea sets them up with a trip to Wembley to play Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final on the 14^th April.

Line-ups

Chelsea

01 Cech

02 Ivanovic

03 Cole (Bertrand - 21’ (Booked))

04 David Luiz

28 Azpilicueta (Booked)

07 Ramires

10 Mata (Booked)

11 Oscar (Booked) (Moses 90’)

12 Mikel

17 Hazard

29 Ba (Torres 90’)

Substitutes

22 Turnbull

26 Terry

34 Bertrand

08 Lampard

13 Moses

30 Benayoun

09 Torres

Manchester United

01 De Gea

03 Evra

04 Jones

05 Ferdinand

12 Smalling

07 Valencia

16 Carrick

17 Nani (Giggs 65’)

23 Cleverley (Booked) (Van Persie 61’)

14 Hernandez

19 Welbeck (Young 80’)

Substitutes

13 Lindegaard

36 Vermijl

11 Giggs

18 Young

25 Powell

26 Kagawa

20 Van Persie

Man of the Match: Demba Ba

Ref: Dowd

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Swansea 0-0 Chelsea - Capital One Cup Semi Final Second Leg - Match Report

Michael Steele-Getty Images

Swansea will join Bradford City in the Capital One Cup Final after holding Chelsea to a 0-0 draw at the Liberty Stadium, defeating them 2-0 on aggregate, but the game will be overshadowed by Hazard's sending off for kicking a ball boy.

Swansea came into this tie with a two goal advantage, after winning 2-0 in the semi-final first leg at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago, thanks to goals by Michu and Danny Graham.

Swansea also haven't lost at home in the last five games in all competitions, winning two and drawing three including draws against Arsenal and Manchester United.

Under Rafa Benitez though, Chelsea have won six out of seven away games, with 17 goals in their last five away games in all competitions.

Not far into the game, the first penalty appeal occurred. Chelsea’s Demba Ba went down inside the box after a challenge by Swansea’s Ben Davies but a penalty was not given.

The first chance of the game came moments later, after Swansea went on the counter-attack after a Chelsea corner. Swansea’s Wayne Routledge shot was tipped away by Chelsea’s Petr Cech.

Routledge was involved in Swansea’s next opportunity at goal, as his good ball to Michu allowed him to shoot across goal but it was saved by Cech.

Then it was Michu’s turn to set up a chance, as his header from an Angel Rangel long ball, gave Jonathan De Guzman a chance at goal, but it was blocked by Chelsea’s Gary Cahill.

Chelsea finally got their first quality chance, when a Cahill header was goal-bound, only to be cleared off the line by Rangel.

From the clearance, Chelsea’s Eden Hazard had a shot but it was saved by Swansea’s Gerhard Tremmel.

Oscar then had an opportunity to give Chelsea a goal, but once again Tremmel was on top as he was able to cover the ball before Oscar got a shot away.

Ba had a chance just before half time from inside the box, but unfortunately his shot went over the crossbar.

Second half commenced the same way the first end with another Demba Ba shot from the edge of the area, but it went wide of the post.

A quick flick by Mata on a free kick gave Lampard and Chelsea another stab at goal, but Lampard’s shot from about 30 yards out flew over the crossbar.

Mata then had a chance of his own as he had a shot from outside the area that was travelling towards the left corner of the net, but Tremmel was able to stop it.

Although Chelsea dominated possession for most of the second half, they were unable to break the deadlock.

Swansea came close to breaking the deadlock near the end of the game, when Nathan Dyer had two opportunities to score in added time. However, these shots where both cleared.

Unfortunately though, the game will be overshadowed by an incident that happened ten minutes before the end of the game.

Chelsea’s Eden Hazard was sent off for violent conduct after he kicked a ball boy. Hazard felt the ball boy was wasting time by not giving the ball immediately to Tremmel.

It appears that Hazard kicks the ball boy in the ribs and then takes the ball away from him, which infuriates the players and fans that saw the incident.

Referee Chris Foy made the right decision by sending Hazard off for violent conduct, leaving Chelsea to play with ten men for the remainder of the game.

Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard being sent off
(Andrew Yates-AFP-Getty Images)

The game ended 0-0, with Swansea winning 2-0 on aggregate, meaning they will advance to play Bradford City at Wembley in the Capital One Cup Final on Sunday 24^th February.

Line Ups

Swansea – Tremmel, Chico, Williams, Rangel, Davies, Britton, Michu, Pablo, Routledge (Dyer - 65’), De Guzman, Ki Sung-Yeung

Unused Subs – Vorm, Monk, Tiendalli, Graham, Lamah, Shechter

Chelsea – Cech, Ivanovic (David Luiz - 68’), Cole (Bertrand - 86’), Cahill, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Lampard, Mata, Oscar (Torres - 81’), Hazard (sent off – 80’) Ba

Unused Subs – Turnbull, Ferreira, Terry, Marin

Referee – Chris Foy

Man of the Match – Ashley Williams

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Southampton 1-5 Chelsea - Match Report

Demba Ba scores on his Chelsea debut (AFP)

New £7m signing Demba Ba scores twice to help Chelsea advance to the next round of the FA Cup with a 5-1 thrashing of Southampton at St Mary's.

The FA Cup holders conceded after 22 minutes thanks to a great ball by Southampton's Jason Puncheon to Jay Rodriguez just inside the area, who struck the ball into the bottom right corner of the Chelsea goal.

Ba then equalised 13 minutes later by knocking Juan Mata's goal bound ball into the back of the net, his first ever Chelsea goal.

Just before half time, Victor Moses put Chelsea ahead by rifling home a one-two pass from Ashley Cole just inside the penalty area, giving his team a 2-1 lead at the break.

In the second half, it was all one way traffic, as Chelsea extended their lead to two goals with an accurate header from Branislav Ivanovic on the edge of the six yard box from a Mata cross, his second assist of the game.

Ba added a second goal on his Chelsea debut with a tap in from a well-placed pass into the penalty area by Eden Hazard from the right hand side of the pitch.

Steven Davis handled the ball in the penalty area, which allowed Frank Lampard to wrap up the scoring from the penalty spot with a powerful strike towards the bottom left corner of the goal, making the final score 5-1 to Chelsea.

This goal meant Lampard had scored 193 goals for Chelsea, making him their joint second highest top goal scorer of all time alongside Kerry Dixon, who also played for Southampton.

Next up for Southampton is a trip to fellow struggling side Aston Villa next weekend. A good result here from either is necessary, as it could be the boost they need to avoid relegation.

For Chelsea, their next game is a League Cup Semi-Final first leg tie against Swansea at Stamford Bridge on 9th January. Last time the sides met, the score finished 1-1, but a win will increase Chelsea's chances of achieving silverware this season.

Chelsea now enters the fourth round draw, which will take place this Sunday at 3:30pm. Ties for the fourth round will be played on the weekend commencing 26th January.

Man of the Match - Juan Mata

Match Facts

Southampton

Scorers - Rodriguez 22'

Substitutes used - De Ridder 54' (Schneiderlin), Hooiveld 63' (Fonte), Lee 78' (Puncheon)

Substitutes not used - K Davis, Reeves, Lambert, Mayuka

Yellow Cards - De Ridder 78', Ward-Prowse 88'

Red Cards - None

Chelsea

Scorers - Ba 35', Moses 45+2', Ivanovic 52', Ba 61', Lampard 83' (pen)

Substitutes used -  Lampard 65' (Ivanovic), Marin 73' (Moses), Oscar 79' (Mata)

Substitutes not used - Hilario, Ferreira, Betrand, Torres

Yellow Cards - None

Red Cards - None

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FA Cup Quarter Final - Chelsea vs Leicester City Match Report

Chelsea 5-2 Leicester City

Meireles and Torres celebrating

Fernando Torres scored two goals as Chelsea beat Leicester City 5-2 at Stamford Bridge to advance to the FA cup semi-finals.

The first real goal scoring opportunity of the match came from Leicester City striker, Jermaine Beckford, who had a shot from the edge of the penalty area that curled wide of the right hand post.

The first goal came 11 minutes into the match from Cahill, after he headed Juan Mata’s corner into the back of the net from close range.

For his celebration, Cahill revealed a ‘Pray for Muamba’ shirt, showing support towards Bolton Wanderers midfielder, Fabrice Muamba, who tragically collapsed when his side played against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA cup yesterday.

Cahill showing his support for Muamba

Five minutes later, Salomon Kalou scored Chelsea’s second goal of the day from a Fernando Torres pass. Kalou slotted the ball into the bottom left corner from inside the box.

Leicester City’s Paul Gallagher had a shot from the edge of the box two minutes later, which went wide of the right hand post.

Leicester City continued to press towards opening their scoring tally, with opportunities by Neil Danns and Beckford coming close throughout the rest of the first half.

Chelsea weren’t without their chances either, as Torres and Daniel Sturridge had occasions where they could have increased Chelsea’s lead, only to be stopped by the hard working Leicester City defence.

After the start of the second half, Mata was substituted for Florent Malouda. He nearly made an instant impact on the game as he had a shot towards the bottom right corner of the goal, causing Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel to make a save.

Chances came and went from both sides until finally Torres broke the dead lock in the second half and ended his goal drought by passing a ground cross by Raul Meireles into the bottom left corner of the net.

That goal was Torres’s first goal since October 2011, ending his goal drought that lasted 24 matches in all competitions.

However, on the 78 minute, Leicester City pulled one back through Beckford. After a poor through ball by Chelsea’s Michael Essien, Leicester City went on the counter attack which resulted in a Beckford goal from the rebound of Danns shot from outside the box that had hit the post.

Seven minutes after the Leicester City goal, Chelsea restored their three goal cushion thanks to a second goal by Torres.

Assisted by a Meireles corner, Torres managed to head the ball from the far left edge of the six yard box despite being marked by two players, into the far right corner of the goal.

Three minutes later, Leicester City midfielder Ben Marshall scored his first goal for Leicester City, one which could be a contender for goal of the season.

From around 30 yards out, Marshall smashed the ball into the top right corner of the net and out of reach of Petr Cech.

Meireles wrapped up the scoring with a goal in the 90 minute thanks to a Torres pass making the final score 5-2 to Chelsea.

Torres not being selfish and going for his hat-trick, decided to pass the ball across the box to Meireles who passed the ball into the bottom left corner of Schmeichel’s goal.

For their remaining games in the npower championship, Leicester City will focus on fighting for a place in the playoffs but it will be tough as they are eight points adrift of 6^th place with only ten games remaining.

With this win, Chelsea advance to the FA cup semi-finals at Wembley, to play against either Tottenham Hotspur or Bolton Wanderers on the 14/15 April.


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The Worlds Leading Sports Star In 2010 Was Carlos Tevez And Here's Why

Carlos Tevez - Manchester City Striker

Carlos Tevez, 27, is no doubt one of the best, if not, the best footballer in the Premier League and the world’s leading sports star in 2010. 


Since signing for Manchester City in July 2009 from local rivals Manchester United, he has been recognised as a player with great importance to the City squad in every game which they play. His contribution towards Manchester City throughout the 2009/2010 Premier League season can only be graded as phenomenal scoring a total of 23 goals, the 4^th highest goal scorer in the Premier League, and helping Manchester City finish 5^th place. 


This was Manchester City’s highest finishing position in the Premier league since the competition began in 1992 and only just missing them out on a Champions League spot. Carlos Tevez always steps up to the mark and sets an example to the rest of the team whether Manchester City is playing against their local rivals Manchester United, or against any other club in the Premier League. 


A key game which he contributed in the 2009/2010 Premier League season was against Chelsea on the 27^th February 2010 when he scored two goals to help Manchester City win 4-2, adding more pressure onto Tottenham Hotspur for 4^th place. 


However, this wasn’t enough as Tottenham Hotspur won the vital match against Manchester City by 1-0 on 5^th May 2010 giving them 4^th place and a Champions League spot. 


His overall fantastic performance for his first season at Manchester City earned him the ‘Player’s Player of the Year’ award and the ‘Etihad Player of the Year’ award.  Carlos Tevez was selected for the Argentina 2010 FIFA World Cup squad taking place in South Africa. He scored two goals for Argentina in the competition, both against Mexico in the Round of 16. 


There was though a lot of controversy over the first goal because Carlos Tevez was a couple of yards offside when he headed the ball into the back of the net. It was only because the goal was shown on the big screen in the Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg that the Mexican players surrounded the linesman and started to complain as everybody could see that Carlos Tevez was offside, causing it to be one of the most memorable events of the competition. 


After the World Cup, Carlos Tevez was awarded the captain arm band for Manchester City in replace for Kolo Toure. He continued his scoring form from 2009/2010 into the 2010/2011 Premier League season kicking off his scoring against Liverpool with two great goals helping Manchester City to their first win of the season. 


He then continued his goal scoring form against Chelsea with a 1-0 victory taking his tally to six goals in five games. Now in 2011, we can already see that Carlos Tevez is continuing his fantastic goal scoring form and earning his status of a world-class footballer. For as long as he doesn’t pick up any injuries, I see no reason as to why Carlos Tevez can’t continue to play football at a elite level, and help Manchester City continue to reach for the highest honours possible in football. 


The future is bright for Carlos Tevez. The future is bright for Manchester City for obtaining such a great player.


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