Saturday February 18, 2012 5th Round Finished Stamford Bridge

Chelsea 1 - 1 Birmingham City

  • Sturridge 61’
  • Murphy 20’

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  1. Chelsea draw increases pressure on AVB

    Chelsea draw increases pressure on AVB

    Chelsea produced another poor performance as they came from a goal down to draw 1-1 at home to Birmingham in the fifth round of the FA Cup. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Chelsea
    • Birmingham City
    • - The Chelsea hierarchy look unhappy in the stands after a poor performance from Chelsea. Is Villas-Boas in even greater danger now? Let me know on Twitter. Follow Tom Adams on Twitter
    • 90+4' FULL TIME. A replay for Chelsea and more scrutiny on Villas-Boas after a 1-1 draw with Championship Birmingham City.
    • 90+3' Mutch swings the free kick in and Davies gets his head to the ball but Cech saves with ease.
    • 90+2' Luiz goes into the book for a blatant foul to halt a Birmingham break.
    • 90+2' We will have three added minutes here at Stamford Bridge.
    • 90+1' Sturridge and Drogba both run over the set piece before Lampard thumps his effort into the wall.
    • 90' Ivanovic is fouled 20 yards from goal and this free kick is in an excellent position for Chelsea...
    • 88' A great chance for Redmond! He is played in by a fine pass and opens up his body, only to turn the ball into the body of Cech. A disappointing effort.
    • 86' Ivanovic goes to ground under contact from Murphy but there was little in it to be honest.
    • 84' It is Mata who is replaced, surprisingly, and the crowd don't respond very well. Lampard on though.
    • 83' Birmingham make their third change first as Chris Burke comes on for Elliott.
    • 82' Lampard is now stripped and ready to come on for Chelsea. Ramires or Meireles to make way probably.
    • 81' Meireles flashes a shot wide and we are inside the final ten minutes now.
    • 79' Frank Lampard earns generous applause from the home fans when warming up. The Blues have one change left of course.
    • 77' Mutch wins a free kick 25 yards from goal though and his firm hit from the set piece is smothered by Cech at his left-hand post. Not a bad effort but the Chelsea keeper was in no real danger.
    • 76' It seems like a long, long time since Birmingham had a chance. Chelsea are in control at present.
    • 74' Goalkeeper Doyle appears to be in pain but Sturridge feels he is time-wasting and tells the Birmingham man as much.
    • 73' Sturridge tries to negotiate his way past Murphy and into the box and wins a corner for his side. The set piece is cleared into the path of Meireles, who sees his deflected effort rise just over the bar.
    • 72' Change for Birmingham as Rooney is replaced by Jake Jervis.
    • 71' Now Mata does excellent to turn the ball back across the face of goal on the volley and Meireles sees his shot blocked as Birmingham clear.
    • 70' Ibanez forced into a panicked clearance as Drogba lurks in the box. It's a corner to Chelsea, and Mata's delivery flashes across the face of goal.
    • 69' A slip from Sturridge sees Chelsea concede a throw. However his efforts are beyond reproach so far today, unlike some of his colleagues.
    • 68' Meireles delivers a deep free kick from the left channel but Doyle comes off his line to punch clear. When Sturridge then swings in a cross from the right the keeper catches at the back post.
    • 67' Excellent work from Mata as he shields the ball from his marker and twists to play a nice pass into the box. However, Davies has spotted the danger and comes across to help clear.
    • 66' So can Chelsea now push on and win this or will they be subjected to a tricky replay at St Andrew's?
    • 65' Stat from Opta: Sturridge has scored seven goals in six starts in the FA Cup for Chelsea.
    • 63' Now Kalou gets on the end of a cross but his header soars over the bar. Chelsea suddenly playing with real belief.
    • 62' GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Birmingham! Sturridge gets Chelsea back in the game when being left completely unmarked to head home from an Ivanovic cross. Criminal defending.
    • 60' In his central area, Mata controls a long pass well and thumps his effort just wide with his right foot. That was close.
    • 58' Here is Kalou and it is Mikel who he replaces. Presumably Mata will drop into a central area.
    • 56' More slack defending from Chelsea as Elliott takes a corner and picks out Redmond, who sees his first-time effort fly over the bar.
    • 55' Cahill appears to do well when muscling Rooney off the ball but the referee spots a pull on the Birmingham man and Cahill goes into the book.
    • 54' Salomon Kalou appears to be getting some instructions from Villas-Boas on the touchline. Another player who has just returned from the African Cup of Nations.
    • 53' Rooney gets his head to the ball when challenging Luiz in the box but Ivanovic sweeps up behind his team-mate and clears.
    • 52' Drogba has already looked more lively than Torres did and you feel it may be a while before we see the Spaniard in the starting line-up again.
    • 50' Rooney executes a smart lay-off to Mutch but he takes the wrong option when trying to dribble past Luiz and is dispossessed.
    • 49' Ivanovic spots Drogba making a run into the box and drills in a searching pass to find him in the box. The striker can't quite control but races after the ball to pick it up and place it for Doyle to kick. His enthusiasm goes down well with the home fans.
    • 47' Drogba into the thick of things as he races onto a ball over the top but Doyle is off his line quickly to collect.
    • 46' KICK OFF!
    • - Confirmation that Torres is replaced by Drogba.
    • - Henry Lewis has this to say on Twitter: "I think AVB has it in him to manage this team to victory. I also think chelsea could very easily turn this match around!" Get in contact on Twitter
    • - Apparently Torres will come off at half time to be replaced by Didier Drogba. What an embarrassment he has become. It's desperately sad to see.
    • - So is Andre Villas-Boas in danger of getting sacked in the morning, as the Birmingham supporters suggest? Let me know on Twitter. Follow @tomEurosport
    • 45+2' HALF TIME. Murphy's goal and Mata's failed penalty have us on course for a shock.
    • 45+2' Ibanez pulls out a fantastic challenge to prevent Mata from driving into the box. The Birmingham defence have performed very well.
    • 45+1' We will have one added minute in the first half.
    • 45' Doyle saves well following a firm header from Mata. The ball had popped up into the Spaniard's path after Torres miscontrolled from an Ivanovic cross.
    • 44' Didier Drogba is warming up: I wonder if we will see him at the start of the second half.
    • 43' Sturridge receives a square pass from Mata and a weak effort is blocked. The England international is looking Chelsea's brightest spark at present though.
    • 42' Chelsea supporters chant the name of Jose Mourinho. Not the biggest vote of confidence in Villas-Boas that.
    • 41' The ball bounces into the path of Mikel some 35 yards from goal and the Nigeria international lashes a shot at goal, seeing the ball fly a few yards wide.
    • 40' Great effort! Torres heads a long ball back into the path of Sturridge, who controls with his thigh before thumping a volley at goal that flies just past the top corner. An excellent attempt.
    • 39' Unlucky from Sturridge. The forward pops up on the left and delivers a teasing cross into the box that looks destined to find the onrushing Ivanovic at the back post. However, the Serbian defender just fails to get his boot on ball.
    • 38' Mata with a inswinging free kick into the box and as Luiz fails to make contact Adam Rooney is on hand to head away for he visitors.
    • 36' Redmond finds a pocket of space to the left of the box and drives in a firm shot from a tight angle. However, Cech is equal to it as he smothers the ball at his near post.
    • 35' Meireles with another ball into the box but Sturridge can't get his header on target at the back post.
    • 34' It is Luiz who takes the free kick and his firm, dipping effort is tipped over the bar by Doyle. Good football all round.
    • 33' Luiz embarks on a trademark run forward from the back and is brought to ground by a rather unsubtle challenge from Mutch.
    • 32' Redmond drifts into a central area and plays a square pass for Jordan Mutch. However, his subsequent pass wide to Murphy is poor.
    • 30' Meireles attempts to find Torres with a curling ball into the box and though the Spaniard does get a faint flick-on the ball is cleared by Birmingham.
    • 29' Mata slips a pass into Torres but Davies is across quickly to stick a boot in. The deputy captain has impressed so far for Birmingham.
    • 28' Stat from Opta: This is only the fourth goal Chelsea have conceded in 12 FA Cup ties.
    • 27' Sturridge does to ground under contact from Ibanez in the box but it was a rather theatrical fall and the referee was unmoved.
    • 26' Nice work from Sturridge as be bursts into space down the right and plays the ball into Torres. The Spaniard is eight yards from goal but can't get a clean shot away under pressure from Davies.
    • 25' How must Villas-Boas be feeling? He conducted a heated meeting with his players after that Everton defeat and has had Roman Abramovich breathing down his neck at the training ground. A defeat today would be unacceptable.
    • 24' What a crazy two minutes. The upshot of course is that Chelsea are at present heading out of the FA Cup - a competition they have a superb chance of winning given Manchester City and Manchester United are both out.
    • 23' Saved! Mata places the ball low to the left of the keeper but Colin Doyle pulls off a stunning save to tip the ball onto the post and away!
    • 22' Penalty to Chelsea! Wade Elliott with a blatant trip on Ramires. A silly challenge.
    • 22' And the cries of "sacked in the morning" are sung with renewed vigour.
    • 21' GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Birmingham City! Murphy puts the Championship side in the lead after a scrappy corner. Really poor defending from Chelsea as they fail to clear on about three occasions. Davies fails to connect with an overhead kick before the ball bounces into Murphy's path and he thumps the ball home.
    • 19' Cries of anguish from the Chelsea fans as John Obi Mikel horribly over-hits a long pass. They were distinctly unimpressed with that.
    • 18' Chelsea have retained possession pretty effectively and are looking to probe in wide positions, but they haven't achieved a lot through the centre and Torres has been fairly isolated.
    • 17' Luiz looks somewhat tentative when watching the ball soar towards him but Petr Cech comes to the edge of the area to grab the ball and take charge.
    • 16' Juan Mata looks to find Sturridge at the back post with a neat cross but Murphy heads away. Sturridge then returns the favour but when pulling the ball down the Spaniard miscontrols and the ball runs out of play.
    • 15' Birmingham have not beaten Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in all competitions since 1979, giving you a sense of the scale of the challenge today. However, they have started okay here today.
    • 13' How unlucky. Carr's afternoon ends early after a heavy fall by the touchline and he is replaced by Jonathan Spector.
    • 12' Ivanovic does well to rob Redmond of possession on the Chelsea right and slips a pass out to Sturridge, who accelerates forward before being denied by a sliding challenge from Murphy.
    • 11' Redmond wins a corner for Birmingham and David Luiz is fortunate to see his clearing header hit David Murphy and go behind for a Chelsea goal-kick.
    • 10' Sturridge is forced out to the left of the box by Curtis Davies, who then slides in without making any contact with either ball or player. That was a bit lucky.
    • 9' Oh, and Fernando Torres has now gone more than 21 hours without a goal.
    • 8' Neither side has conceded a goal in the competition yet this season.
    • 6' Torres initially demonstrates some nice hold-up work when chesting a high ball down but tries to flick the ball over the head of Keith Fahey and loses possession in the process.
    • 5' Now Daniel Sturridge gets some joy down the right but his cut-back is cut out buy a Birmingham shirt. It looks as though Chelsea are keen to attack the Birmingham left.
    • 4' "Sacked in the morning" sing the Birmingham fans. If Chelsea lose it probably isn't outside the realms of possibility.
    • 3' Ivanovic embarks on a surging run down the right flank but takes the ball out of play in the process. Joe Bosingwa performs that kind of role better but he is on the bench today.
    • 2' Raul Meireles receives the ball from David Luiz and tries to find Torres with a searching pass using the outside of his right boot. However, Pablo Ibanez heads away.
    • 1' KICK OFF!
    • 12.30 The players stream out of the tunnel and we are just minutes away from kick-off now. Can Chelsea's players produce a performance that reinforces their manager's position?
    • 12.25 Want to have your say on today's game? Got any Fernando Torres jokes? If so then get in contact on Twitter. Follow Tom Adams on Twitter
    • 12.20 With Drogba returning from Gabon and Equatorial Guinea this could be one last chance for Fernando Torres to end his goalless streak before being relegated to the bench once more. He has not scored a goal in 20 hours and 54 minutes - going all the way back to a match against Genk in October. He hasn't scored in 21 games for club and country now.
    • 12.15 Birmingham, sitting in sixth place in the Championship, are unbeaten in 13 games in all competitions so approach today's contest with far more confidence than their opponents. However, their pedigree in the competition pales in comparison: Chelsea have won the FA Cup six times, and in three of the past five years, while Birmingham's best results were losing the 1931 final to West Brom and the 1956 final to Manchester City.
    • 12.10 Chelsea, and manager Andre Villas-Boas in particular, find themselves under huge pressure having won only one of their past five games in all competitions. Reports indicate that AVB had a blazing row with his players following a defeat to Everton last weekend and he appeared to admit this week that some players are unhappy with his methods. AVB: I don't need players' backing
    • 12.05 Birmingham are without strikers Marlon King and Nikola Zigic but keep an eye out for young midfielder Nathan Redmond. The 17-year-old is tipped for big things and plenty of Premier League scouts will be taking a keen interest in his performance today.
    • 12.00 Ramires returns to the Chelsea midfield after overcoming a knee injury so Frank Lampard is dropped to the bench, where he is joined by Michael Essien. In defence, Gary Cahill comes in for Jose Bosingwa as Branislav Ivanovic moves to centre-back and Ryan Bertrand makes his first start outside of the Carling Cup.
    • 11.55 TEAMS: Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahil, Bertrand, Ramires, Mikel, Meireles, Sturridge, Torres, Mata. Subs: Hilario, Bosingwa, Essien, Lampard, Malouda, Kalou, Drogba. /// Birmingham: Doyle, Carr, Davies, Ibanez, Murphy, Redmond, Mutch, Fahey, Gomis, Elliott, Rooney. Subs: Butland, Caldwell, Spector, Burke, Reilly, Asante, Jervis.
    • 11.50 We have some early team news filtering in and it appears Didier Drogba returns to the bench after his exertions at the African Cup of Nations, with Fernando Torres starting. John Terry also misses out with a knee injury. Full teams when we get them.
    • 11.45 Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the FA Cup fifth-round clash between Chelsea and Birmingham City at Stamford Bridge.

  • Summary

    • 88' A great chance for Redmond! He is played in by a fine pass and opens up his body, only to turn the ball into the body of Cech. A disappointing effort.
    • 77' Mutch wins a free kick 25 yards from goal though and his firm hit from the set piece is smothered by Cech at his left-hand post. Not a bad effort but the Chelsea keeper was in no real danger.
    • 73' Sturridge tries to negotiate his way past Murphy and into the box and wins a corner for his side. The set piece is cleared into the path of Meireles, who sees his deflected effort rise just over the bar.
    • 62' GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Birmingham! Sturridge gets Chelsea back in the game when being left completely unmarked to head home from an Ivanovic cross. Criminal defending.
    • 60' In his central area, Mata controls a long pass well and thumps his effort just wide with his right foot. That was close.
    • 56' More slack defending from Chelsea as Elliott takes a corner and picks out Redmond, who sees his first-time effort fly over the bar.
    • 40' Great effort! Torres heads a long ball back into the path of Sturridge, who controls with his thigh before thumping a volley at goal that flies just past the top corner. An excellent attempt.
    • 36' Redmond finds a pocket of space to the left of the box and drives in a firm shot from a tight angle. However, Cech is equal to it as he smothers the ball at his near post.
    • 34' It is Luiz who takes the free kick and his firm, dipping effort is tipped over the bar by Doyle. Good football all round.
    • 22' Penalty to Chelsea! Wade Elliott with a blatant trip on Ramires. A silly challenge.
    • 21' GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Birmingham City! Murphy puts the Championship side in the lead after a scrappy corner. Really poor defending from Chelsea as they fail to clear on about three occasions. Davies fails to connect with an overhead kick before the ball bounces into Murphy's path and he thumps the ball home.
    • 11.55 TEAMS: Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahil, Bertrand, Ramires, Mikel, Meireles, Sturridge, Torres, Mata. Subs: Hilario, Bosingwa, Essien, Lampard, Malouda, Kalou, Drogba. /// Birmingham: Doyle, Carr, Davies, Ibanez, Murphy, Redmond, Mutch, Fahey, Gomis, Elliott, Rooney. Subs: Butland, Caldwell, Spector, Burke, Reilly, Asante, Jervis.

Team Line-up & Ratings

  • Line-up

    Live Team Line-Up

  • Rate Players

    Rate Players

    Please to rate the players.

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    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      5.3 6
      Defenders
      5.2 6
      Yellow Card 5.2 6
      Yellow Card 5.2 6
      4.7 5
      Midfielders
      Substitution Out58′ 4.8 5
      5.4 6
      4.4 5
      Strikers
      Goal 6.4 8
      Substitution Out83′ 6 7
      Substitution Out45′ 4.6 4
      Subs
      Substitution In45′ 5.9 6
      Substitution In83′ 5.7 6
      Substitution In58′ 5.3 6
    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      6.7 7
      Defenders
      Substitution Out12′ 6 6
      6.3 8
      6.5 8
      Goal 7.1 7
      Midfielders
      5.9 6
      Yellow Card 6.2 6
      5.9 6
      Strikers
      Substitution Out83′ 5.6 6
      6 6
      Substitution Out71′ 6 5
      Subs
      Substitution In12′ 6.1 7
      Substitution In83′ 5.1 6
      Substitution In71′ 5.2 6

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