Bolton Wanderers 1 - 5 Chelsea - Match Report
Chelsea reminded everyone that there are three teams in the title chase as they demolished Bolton Wanderers 5-1 at the Reebok Stadium.
Chelsea reminded everyone that there are three teams in the title chase as they demolished Bolton Wanderers 5-1 at the Reebok Stadium. A hat trick from Frank Lampard and a brace from Daniel Sturridge helped them to victory, and they matched the convincing scoreline with some magnificent football. Yet another loss for Bolton though, who got a goal back in the first minute of the second half through Dedryck Boyata but couldnt come close to overcoming Andre Villas-Boas rampant Blues. Chelseas record against Bolton is nothing short of brilliant. The Blues hadnt lost in the last 15 games between the two, and had won the last six. In addition to this the Trotters have had a terrible start to the campaign; they started the day with the worst defensive record in the league, conceding 16 goals in just 6 games. They had also won just one game their opener against QPR, before embarking on a run of five straight losses. Overall it didnt look like it was going to be a good day for Owen Coyle. But Wanderers knew that they werent going to get many points from their opening games - theyve played four of last seasons top six already. Not that the manager was complaining, saying:
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I don't think it really matters if the points total so far is fair or not. It is what it is. We have to acquit ourselves today, try and get points.Points plural, being especially optimistic. Upcoming opponents include Wigan, Sunderland and Swansea so Coyle was probably hoping to get through the game with as little humiliation as possible before getting on to more pressing and winnable fixtures. Andre Villas-Boas spoke quite candidly of the Reebok Stadium, saying before the game:
It brought back a couple of memories to arrive here today (Chelsea won the league here in 2005). It's good to be back at such an emotional stadium for the club. Everyone has been training to a top level, we're happy with the choices that we've made with the starting eleven.All signs seemed to point to another enjoyable experience at the Reebok for the young Portuguese manager. Two big strikers were back in the respective starting elevens Kevin Davies led the attack for Bolton and Didier Drogba found a first team place again with Fernando Torres still serving a suspension. Chelsea lined up 4-3-3 with Bolton playing a 4-4-2, the big news for Bolton was that midfielder Stuart Holden was out for a further six months after follow up surgery on his knee cartilage. Gael Kakuta was ineligible to play against his parent club and suspensions to Ivan Klasnic and David Wheater meant starts for David Ngog and Dedryck Boyata. Chelsea took the lead in the second minute. After Boyata had almost put the ball into his own net, it was Daniel Sturridge - who spent last season on loan with the trotters, who scored it, nodding home a free header from a corner. Commendably the striker didnt celebrate showing his respect for Owen Coyle and his former club. The second came in the 15th minute. An exquisite passing move from Chelsea, the attack started within their own half and then some fantastic one touch football resulted in Sturridge squaring to Lampard who slotted home from just inside the area. Drogba, Sturridge, Ramires and Lampard were all involved. The midfielder almost had another a minute later, he overlapped Didier Drogba and was played through by the Ivorian, but his shot was well saved by the hand of Adam Bogdan, who was deputising for the injured Jussi Jääskeläinen. Bolton won a corner and it was swung in by Martin Petrov but Frank Lampard was there again to get enough on it to deny the oncoming Ricardo Gardner from getting a head on it. From the follow up corner Dedryck Boyata won the header but couldnt direct it goalwards. Daniel Sturridge added a third for Chelsea, he cut inside before getting in a shot that bounced past Bogdan and into the back of the net. The keeper really should have done better; Sturridge looked almost embarrassed to claim the goal and once again to his credit didnt celebrate empthatically. Paul Robinson had his hands more than full with the Chelsea striker so far he couldnt deal with his pace and trickery. Bogdan was in trouble again barely two minutes later; David Luiz was free to run for far too long before getting a shot away. It was straight at the keeper but he couldnt keep it out and Frank Lampard pounced on it to add his second. Chelsea had two players on a hat trick within the opening half hour. David Ngog staged a one man counter attack, running from deep within his own half to the edge of the Chelsea penalty area, where he was dispossessed. The Blues defence were working incredibly hard to track back despite the fact they had such a comfortable lead. Juan Mata had a shot from the edge of the area that was easily held by Bogdan. Whenever the hosts attempted to get an attack together a sloppy pass would halt them in their tracks. You could see the complete lack of confidence coursing through the team. Bolton went in at half time with the boos of the home crowd ringing in their ears. Nevertheless, it had been an impressive display so far by Chelsea, every bit as impressive as the two Manchester clubs recent demolitions of lesser opposition. HALF TIME The first minute of the second half brought a goal for Bolton. A magnificent cross from Martin Petrov right into the thick of the action found the head of Boyata who headed past Petr Cech. A long way back for the hosts but certainly a step in the right direction, it was the first goal ever conceded by Cech at the Reebok. Wanderers were starting to make their presence felt for the first time in the match and were obviously inspired by Owen Coyles team talk. Ricardo Gardner was performing brilliantly, working hard and making some good challenges to limit Chelseas play. Branislav Ivanovic was readied by Villas-Boas to stem the confidence from flowing through the Bolton players. Didier Drogba might have added Chelseas fifth if it wasnt for the intervention of Zat Knight. After being played in by a long Petr Cech throw, Daniel Sturridge was able to run through unhindered before playing the Ivorian through, but Knight was on hand to slide in and deny him. The result was put beyond all reasonable doubt as Frank Lampard put his third away. The midfielder was found by Ashley Cole before playing a one-two with Drogba he then slotted it into the corner, great stuff from the Blues and a fantastic way for the midfielder to hit back at the critics whod suggested he was past his best. David Ngog had been working hard despite Boltons unconquerable deficit. He beat two players with some good dribbling, but he was cynically blocked off by David Luiz. The defender picked up a yellow card for the challenge, and Martin Petrov wasted the resulting free kick. Bolton were denied a second consolation by some great defending though it should perhaps have been given as a goal. Martin Petrov did well to keep the ball from going out and squared to Kevin Davies who got a shot away but Ivanovic was there to make a last ditch clearance. It may well have been over the line but it wasnt going to make much of a difference to the result now. Daniel Sturridge had a chance to get his hat trick. He was played in by a reverse pass by Drogba but couldnt get it on target a disappointing effort. Chris Eagles almost scored the goal of the game for the hosts, his fired shot was a blur and it was all Petr Cech could do to get a strong hand on the ball, turning it onto the post. Peter Walton brought the game to a close. It had been a brilliant day for Chelsea, but one to forget for Bolton whose ridiculously difficult fixture list so far looks to finally be about to improve. Referee: Peter Walton Bolton (4-4-2): Bogdan, Steinsson (Knight, 45), Robinson, Cahill, Boyata, Petrov, Gardner (Eagles, 75), Reo-Coker, Pratley, K. Davies, Ngog (Tuncay, 75) Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech, Cole, David Luiz, Bosingwa (Ivanovic, 54), Terry, Ramires (Mikel, 57), Lampard, Meireles, Mata (Anelka, 73), Drogba, Sturridge