Premier League - Chelsea frustrated by Newcastle

Eurosport - Sun, 23 Nov 06:33:00 2008

Chelsea missed the chance to move clear at the top of the Premier League after being held to a frustrating goalless draw by Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.

Jonas Gutierrez, Jon Obi Mikel - 0

Chelsea dominated throughout, swarming midfield and retaining possession with ease as Newcastle struggled to gain a foothold in the match. But Luiz Felipe Scolari's men could find no way past the resolute visitors.

On nine minutes Florent Malouda chipped a fine ball into the path of Frank Lampard, but his header across goal was well saved by Shay Given.

Soon after Jose Bosingwa bombed forward, but Damien Duff slid in to dispossess the full-back on the edge of the Newcastle box.

Malouda was next to threaten, collecting a pass from Deco and ghosting past Fabricio Coloccini and into the box. But his shot under pressure was weak and Given gathered with ease.

Chelsea's best chance of the opening period fell to Ashley Cole just after the half-hour mark. Bosingwa was the architect, curling a fine ball in from the right to find the England full-back unmarked at the far post. Cole could only head the ball back across goal, however, and once again Newcastle survived.

The second half continued on a similar theme. Chelsea had a monopoly on possession and goal-scoring chances, but still the breakthrough eluded them.

On 52 minutes Joe Cole reacted quickest after Anelka's shot was parried by Given, but much to Chelsea's chagrin his tap-in was ruled out for offside against Anelka earlier in the move.

The home side were appealing again 10 minutes later, when Given caught a Lampard free-kick and fell backwards towards the line. The Chelsea players thought the ball had gone in, but replays were inconclusive.

Lampard and Deco both tried their luck from free-kicks, but both found a solid Newcastle wall in their way.

Newcastle barely created anything, but Joe Kinnear - who was awarded another month-long deal after the match - can only have been impressed by his team's defensive concentration and their ability to frustrate Chelsea.

Habib Beye in particular impressed in defence, with Nicky Butt his usual tenacious self in midfield. Michael Owen, returning from injury, was virtually anonymous, but in truth the striker was given precious little to feed on.

Will Tidey / Eurosport

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  1. HAHAHA..

    chelSHIT!!!!!

    From faris, on Sat 22 Nov 9:14PM

  2. scott s , 26 attempts to 2, lol says alot for your front line attackers. newcastle's defence , rock solid. ha

    From sean.nufc, on Sat 22 Nov 8:47PM

  3. jack torrance
    if you want to be a comedian, try using your own material as that 'joke' is like your wife. . . . . well old, well worn out and has been used by others . . . . . many, many times before - coin-throwing clown.

    From cameron w, on Sat 22 Nov 8:42PM

  4. There's still 3 Newcastles in this country: Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Newcastle under Lyme, and Newcastle under Sunderland.

    From jack torrance, on Sat 22 Nov 8:17PM

  5. hhaaahhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!man utd champion again!

    From hoomalevickram, on Sat 22 Nov 8:11PM

  6. that game was a pumping! 26 attempts to 2 is a disgrace

    From yip, on Sat 22 Nov 7:58PM

  7. chelseas managers left nipple

    From rehman7st@..., on Sat 22 Nov 6:56PM

  8. liverpool is gonna take it all

    From rehman7st@..., on Sat 22 Nov 6:55PM

  9. to alan wilson 407 what team do you support then you @#$% head armchair freak ?

    From jayne.redpath@..., on Sat 22 Nov 6:55PM

  10. didier is ganna get it

    From rehman7st@..., on Sat 22 Nov 6:52PM

  11. hello my little f1 bum chums it marnio here from peru.
    mr hamiltons son say he stay with mclaren men for life. that nice for him but what do mclaren men say? you see mclaren is now german owned. the parent company is the mercedes benz which is the german. the engine is the german engine. everything about the team is the german. mr hamiltons son now the swiss gentleman he eat much cheese and sings in the morning at mountains. mr hamiltons father is also now the swiss man. in fact there nothing british about this team at all. even the man who tidy up the garage after the race has moved to switzerland with his mother. switzerland is owned by the german. my friends the whole team is GERMAN - and guess what - so is mr glock. now you see why the time stand still for mr glock on the last lap. like he in the time warp. not even the people abducted by the alien lose the amount of time he lost on that last lap. IT IS A DISGRACE!!!

    From , on Sat 22 Nov 6:40PM

  12. whats happened chelski without a ref in a blue shirt never thought i would see the day

    From craigwise70, on Sat 22 Nov 6:38PM

  13. hello my little f1 bum chums it marnio here from peru.
    mr hamiltons son say he stay with mclaren men for life. that nice for him but what do mclaren men say? you see mclaren is now german owned. the parent company is the mercedes benz which is the german. the engine is the german engine. everything about the team is the german. mr hamiltons son now the swiss gentleman he eat much cheese and sings in the morning at mountains. mr hamiltons father is also now the swiss man. in fact there nothing british about this team at all. even the man who tidy up the garage after the race has moved to switzerland with his mother. switzerland is owned by the german. my friends the whole team is GERMAN - and guess what - so is mr glock. now you see why the time stand still for mr glock on the last lap. like he in the time warp. not even the people abducted by the alien lose the amount of time he lost on that last lap. IT IS A DISGRACE!!!

    From , on Sat 22 Nov 6:37PM

  14. good result for newcastle and kinnear

    From peter f, on Sat 22 Nov 6:23PM

  15. chelsea hard luk kep the faith f*** the other teams they useless we'll win it, wait they will c.

    From drgpjohnston, on Sat 22 Nov 6:23PM

  16. typical chelsea cheats.....3 injured for England on wednesday...fat frank and the cole twins...hmmmmm.....must have been broken toenails......well done newcastle...revenge for the daylight robbery last year

    From gerry_dixon1, on Sat 22 Nov 6:02PM

  17. I love Man u

    From harry, on Sat 22 Nov 5:54PM

  18. Remember, last season Newcastle United were cruelly robbed when Chelsea's winner was 5 yards offside so what goes around comes around. This article appears very biased and unkind to Newcastle United; reports on BBC & Sky praise a 'magnificent' Newcastle United performance limiting Chelsea to 'long-range efforts' - hmmmm! This is a tremendous result for Newcastle who have now drawn at Chelsea and manchester united ; not too bad for a team in crisis. Hopefully they can keep the momentum going, who knows; as for Chelsea . . . . . Champions elect, sure thing.

    From cameron w, on Sat 22 Nov 5:48PM

  19. man u are self-confident bast**ds. Prey you'll be in top four this season. Chelsea are just teasing you, can't you see. HAHAHAHA!!!

    From alexander, on Sat 22 Nov 5:47PM

  20. MICHAEL OWEN IS BACK!!!

    From KIN, on Sat 22 Nov 5:47PM
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