Monday, December 11, 2006

Absolute classic at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea and Arsenal simmered at first, creating wonderous aromas around Stamford Bridge before bubbling and bursting into a delicious hearty meal for the 42,000 souls on hand in West London and the millions watching worldwide.

Plain and simple, when football is played at this level, the EPL makes its rival European leagues look and taste like moldy old sandwiches.

With Man United 9 and 19 points clear respectively of the Blues and Gunners before the start of play, Sunday evening was a must-win match for both clubs as they attempt to chase down the club that has so far shown no signs of slowing down.

Hence, a 1-1 draw will be a bitter pill to swallow for Jose Mourinho and Wenger but not for Ferguson and the neutral fan, who just wanted to watch a classic.

What I witnessed over the 90 minutes was exactly that a classic pitting Chelsea's power against the precision of a weakened Arsenal side, missing Henry,Gallas and Toure.

There is no denying that the Blues form the most brutally efficient machine since the great Liverpool sides of the '70s and '80s and that the midfield quartet of Lampard, Essien, Ballack and Makelele aimed to put a stranglehold on the proceedings effectively.

With the Gunners looking to produce another 'smash-and-grab' performance to mirror the famous win at Old Trafford in September, the question for me as the match progressed was not if, but when Chelsea would break the North Londoners down.

Against the run of play though, Arsenal took the lead in the 78th minute through Mathieu Flamini and Theater of Dreams déjà vu must've been flowing through their veins.

However, the ex-Gunner would have the last laugh as the two would meet up again in the turning point of the match. In the 84th minute, Cole seemingly fouled Hleb in the build-up to Chelsea's equalizer. Wenger didn't miss this incident, saying after the game: "I feel a bit frustrated because before the goal they scored it looked to me a foul on Hleb."

35 metres from goal, Essien thumped the ball with the power of a juiced-up howitzer, creating the perfect mixture of pace and swerve to elude the dive of Jens Lehmann, who for once was diving with purpose instead of looking towards the Oscars after a entanglement with Drogba. It was a goal worthy of the occasion.

However, Essien's glaring miss from 2 yards out just minutes later may come back to haunt the Blues when reckoning time beckons in May, as will Lampard's effort that also hit the woodwork when it seemed easier to score.

With United 8 points clear, Mourinho was quick to throw down the psychological gauntlet, saying: "I think Ferguson must be happy now because we can say we dropped 2 points but if he thinks it's over, he is in trouble."