I wasn’t stupid enough to think that this match was going to be a walkover, what was unexpected the day before we set out for the second leg of our 10 day tour of “Shitholes of the North” to Burnley (which I am reliably informed is somewhere north of the Watford Gap) was the explosion of the gutter press in one of the most disgraceful displays of hypocritical mass hysteria I have ever seen.
One paper speculated that Terry would be dropped, which was never going to happen and indeed the only two changes following the Birmingham game were the introduction of Alex and Zhirkov in place of Deco and Ricky, who dropped to the bench.
The home crowd was comically hostile, in a look-at-us-aren’t-we funny-we-changed-the-words-to-some-songs manner which was wholly expected but the Chelsea end was wholly in support of the captain. The only moment of note during the opening minutes was Anelka swiping at thin air when well positioned but you can forgive him one or two of those of late. A few minutes later he made amends fully when a Malouda pass cued up his fellow Frenchman to net his 12th of the season and put us in front. The home crowd found something to sneer at when JT picked up a booking and after some quick thinking from the beast in the Burnley goal and a narrowly missed pass from Zhirkov, who impresses more in every game, the half closed out without any additions to the scoreline.
Chelsea started brightly after half time but within four minutes we found ourselves level. Alex attempted to flick a high ball away from Fletcher but the ball bounced off the Burnley man who fired low past Cech, leaving the Brazilian defender visibly fuming. If we win the title it will be down to games like this and suffice to say the Blues dug their heels in and worked hard. Certain performances lacked, Joe Cole still isn’t turning in what I’d consider to be an effort worthy of a starting place and for the love of God will somebody teach him how to shoot. Ballack, you will note has been shifted to the Burnley lineup on the team sheets below. He was dire - I’d love to see a stat on how many successful passes he made to a member of the opposition. (Pop on Chelsea Chat and ask that question…Ed.)
Joe Cole did manage to put the ball in the net, taking advantage of a flappy display of Burnley defending, but it was deemed offside at the other end of the pitch from the away fans. Anelka continued to impress and won us a free kick which Lampard put in at the near post. Ballack’s follow up shot went across the box.
Both Alex and Lampard had chances to put us ahead before Joe Cole made way for a Sturridge and Ashley Cole picked up a knock and was replaced by a recently impressive Deco, with Zhirkov dropping to left back from midfield. Malouda and Ivanovic were largely responsible for a continuing harassment of the Burnley defense as the clock ran down and Burnley never looked like going ahead. It was about to be a panicky end to a match we had battled hard enough to win but Lampard and Sturridge combined to win a corner as the final ten minutes approached. As Lamps swung it in it met with the head of the under fire Chelsea captain. John Terry’s header sent the Chelsea end mad and there was a justifiable amount of chest thumping on his part and vocal support on ours. Just what the doctor ordered in terms of silencing the red tops and the odious likes of the Daily Mail(BOYCOTT THE DAILY MAIL!!!!…Ed). It wasn’t our best performance, but on a difficult trip it was a hard fought and deserved victory.
Moment of the day: John Terry’s goal - suitable defiance to what must have been a pretty miserable day for him.
Tw*t of the day: Take your pick from any one of twenty journalists arguing their case for “the public’s right to know”. This sudden advent of shock at the fact that footballer’s are human and in some cases act like idiots would be comical if it wasn’t conducted in the manner of a witch hunt against one and not the profession as a whole.
Chelsea: Cech, Branislav the Scouse Slayer, Alex, Terry(c), A. Cole, (Deco 76) Lampard, Zhirkov, J. Cole (Sturridge 70) Malouda, Anelka.
Burnley: Ballack, Fat Keeper, Mears, Cort, Carlisle(c) Kalvenes (Duff 34) Elliott, Bikey, McDonald (Paterson 59) Eagles, Blake (Thomson 70) Fletcher