Chelsea 1 Juventus 0

Didier Drogba ruined Juventus manager Claudio Ranieri's return to Stamford Bridge, the Ivory Coast international scoring the only goal of the first leg of the UEFA Champions League last 16 tie.
Ranieri spent four years at Chelsea before making way for Jose Mourinho in 2004, but he still could have the last laugh though as the Blues' failure to turn pressure into more goals leaves the tie on a knife edge going into the return in Turin on March 10.
Guus Hiddink, the latest man to take his turn in the Chelsea hotseat, was brought in as a replacement for Luiz Felipe Scolari with the expectation of winning the UEFA Champions League and making Manchester United sweat for the Barclays Premier League title.
On the evidence of this energetic display, Hiddink, in just his second game in charge, has brought a sense of purpose and unity to a dressing room divided over Scolari's sacking.
Just as importantly, Scolari's stubborn policy of not playing Drogba and Nicolas Anelka in the same forward line has been scrapped.
The chance to avenge last year's UEFA Champions League final defeat by Manchester United is a powerful motivation for the Blues, and they made the kind of high-tempo start absent from the final days of Scolari's reign.
With Drogba back from exile and finally looking motivated, we look a team brimming with power and poise.
Jose Bosingwa whipped in a tantalising cross from the right touchline and Drogba launched himself into a diving header that flashed just over the Juventus goal.
Drogba can be unstoppable when he is in the right mood, and Juventus had no answer as he opened the scoring two minutes after having a penalty appeal waved away.
Salomon Kalou threaded a pass that dissected the Juventus defence and found Drogba, just onside, lurking on the edge of the area. The Ivorian was calmness personified as he took a touch before firing past Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to score his first goal of 2009 - and only his fourth of the season.
The Ivorian should have added to the total when he muscled his way on to Frank Lampard's corner moments later, but he mistimed his header and the ball drifted harmlessly wide.
Ranieri's side responded with a lightning break that almost produced an equaliser. Former Chelsea midfielder Tiago's astute pass picked out Alessandro Del Piero and the Juventus captain forced a fine save from Petr Cech with an angled drive.
Del Piero had another effort deflected wide before half-time, but Chelsea's relentless pressing gave Juventus little chance to settle.
Drogba showed no signs of easing up after half-time, and he powered a header wide of Buffon's near post from another Bosingwa cross.
Lampard then tested Buffon from long range, but Chelsea lost rhythm as the game wore on and found it increasingly difficult to prise open the Juventus defence.
Marco Marchionni went close for the visitors with a vicious strike that narrowly cleared the crossbar before Amauri's towering header forced Cech to save.
Anelka then arrowed a fierce shot just wide in the closing stages, but Chelsea were forced to settle for a perilously narrow margin of victory, but as long as we either score or don't concede, or hopefully both, in the 2nd leg, we'll be through to the quarter finals.

Aston Villa 0 Chelsea 1

The Blues have certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons in the race for the Champions League places with a hard-fought 1-0 win away at Aston Villa.
Nicolas Anelka will claim the plaudits after netting his 15th league goal of the season to help his side leapfrog their foes to move into third place.
There were some good showings from Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba too as the Blues showed a resemblance to the side that Jose Mourinho built some time ago, grinding out a result from a narrowly held lead.
The Portuguese's last league game in charge for the Pensioners came at Villa Park and ended in defeat. An Avram Grant and a Luiz Felipe Scolari later, Guus Hiddink inaugurates his Chelsea reign with a win here - the club's first in a decade. First Half
A side in tremendous form on the road, Aston Villa displayed frailties in front of their own fans.
Chelsea had not managed to net a first-half league goal in 2009 prior to kick-off, but it took only 18 minutes against slack hosts to rectify that.
Villa huffed and puffed in the early stages, Gabriel Agbonlahor leaning back on a shot inside the Chelsea box, but there seemed to be a component missing from the hosts' attacking play.
Lampard fired a warning shot over Brad Friedel's crossbar after eight minutes as the men in black eased into proceedings.
Hiddink's side made use of their possession, leaving Aston Villa unable to manufacture anything of their own.
Eighteen minutes in and Chelsea had created a goal right out of the top drawer.
Lampard's nimble footwork allowed him to evade the attentions of two Villa defenders on the edge of the box, and his lightness on his feet was matched by an exquisitely disguised through ball. Nicolas Anelka was onto it in a flash, and dinked an instinctive finish over Brad Friedel.
After taking the lead, Chelsea passed their way around Villa, looking every inch the side that outclassed the midlanders at Stamford Bridge in autumn.
Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou and Nicolas Anelka were interchanging positions with fluency, and it was Drogba from the left who almost set-up a second on 28 minutes.
He cut in and tried to find Anelka on the six-yard line; it was intercepted but Lampard looked better placed on the penalty spot.
Kalou was next to test the Villa back line; he played a one-two with his compatriot Drogba and was denied only by a last-ditch Carlos Cuellar clearance. The resulting corner was headed on target by John Terry, but Friedel reacted smartly.
Nonetheless, the hosts tried to muster a response, and it was from set-pieces that they asked the most questions. Ashley Young smashed a finely executed free-kick onto the crossbar just after the half-hour, although it should never have been given, and another delivery five minutes before the break was almost met by a lunging Curtis Davies.
Martin O'Neill produced a response from his charges at the half-time break and they competed better in the second half - after John Terry almost immediately added a second, that is.
Frank Lampard's corner was inch perfect; the captain rose unchallenged and saw his headed effort repelled by Stiliyan Petrov on the line.
The hosts managed to wrest a degree of control though, with the likes of Ashley Young and James Milner having more of a say.
Also, Gabriel Agbonlahor was beginning to have the better of his battle with Alex. Indeed, the England forward had a good chance to level proceedings after a misjudgement from the Brazilian on the edge of the box, but he curled his shot too close to Petr Cech.
Milner's strong volley from the resultant corner was well charged down by a resurgent Didier Drogba and Chelsea escaped.
There was danger again minutes later though, when Gareth Barry's fine strike was parried by Petr Cech, the Villa captain's left-footed shot coming after an misdirected John Terry header at the edge of the Chelsea box.
As Villa changed shape to accommodate John Carew, Chelsea struggled to be as attentive and diligent in possession as they had been in the first half. Passes were slipshod, the ball wasn't retained. Villa maintained the territorial advantage through to the closing stages, but couldn't summon the knock-out punch.
Combined with this, there still existed the threat of a break at the other end. After Drogba wasted an opportunity from a difficult angle, Chelsea almost added the second and clincher. Jose Bosingwa played a one-two with the Ivorian, who was just inside the box, and fired his first-time drive at Friedel.
Deco prompted Michael Ballack from the left-side at the death, but Friedel was again on hand to fulfil his side of the bargain, saving strongly from a powerful strike.
Nonetheless, an old, familiar tale unfolded at Villa Park, and that was the return of 'the 1-0 to Chelsea'.

JT Is Staying

John Terry says he wants to see out his career with Chelsea and has told Manchester City to forget about making a move.
The 28-year-old emerged as a January transfer target for mega-rich City but chief executive Peter Kenyon, after confirming an enquiry from Eastlands, moved to pour cold water on claims Chelsea could be tempted into doing business, and JT himself has also come out and backed his club's decision not to entertain any bids for his services.

"I was very happy with their reaction as mine would have been the same," he said in a statement.

"I have always said that I want to end my career at the club which I love and we all see no reason why that cannot happen.

"Given recent events I am more determined than ever to make Chelsea successful again."

Well done JT. Just what we wanted to hear.

Watford 1 Chelsea 3

Nicolas Anelka put Chelsea into the last eight of the FA Cup with a superb hat-trick which secured a 3-1 win after struggling Watford had given them a massive fright.
The Coca-Cola Championship side stung the Blues in the 69th minute when substitute Tamas Priskin raced clear to put them ahead, although clearly offside.
But with Chelsea's domestic season on the brink of collapse, Anelka hooked home the equaliser in the 75th minute and nodded them in front two minutes later. Petr Cech then denied Jobi McAnuff an equaliser in stoppage time and Watford's hopes were finished off seconds later when Anelka claimed his 20th of the season.
Chelsea's new interim coach Guus Hiddink takes charge on Monday and he watched from a seat in the main stand at Vicarage Road as Chelsea were made to fight all the way by the home side.
The Blues began tentatively but in the seventh minute Didier Drogba brought a fine save from Scott Loach with a 30-yard half-volley that looked destined for the top corner.
Chelsea almost broke the deadlock in the 35th minute when Drogba set up Anelka. The France striker's shot eluded the outstretched hands of Loach in the Watford goal but the ball bounced off the outside of his right-hand post.
But Watford stunned Chelsea when substitute Priskin, on for Grzegorz Rasiak in the 65th minute, put them in front four minutes later. The striker ran clear of the visitors' defence to lift the ball over the advancing Cech, yet another glaring mistake by an official punishing us unjustly.
But Anelka then sealed an amazing Chelsea comeback with a hat-trick. He levelled the scores in the 75th minute by hooking the ball home from close range.
Two minutes later the France international headed home a cross from Ashley Cole and then, after Cech had saved superbly from McAnuff in stoppage time, he drove Salomon Kalou's pass beyond Loach for his 20th of the season.

Hiddink Takes Charge

Russian national coach Guus Hiddink has been appointed manager of Chelsea until the end of the season, the club announced on today.
“Chelsea Football Club is delighted to confirm Guus Hiddink will become temporary coach until the end of the season,” says the statement on the clubs official website.
“He is due to meet the players later this week. The club would like to take this opportunity to thank the Russian Football Union for their understanding and cooperation.”

Talks With Hiddink Over Temporary Post

Chelsea have confirmed they have been granted permission by Russia to speak to Guus Hiddink about becoming their temporary manager.
Hiddink revealed earlier on Tuesday he was in talks with Chelsea about replacing Luiz Felipe Scolari on a short-term basis until the end of the season.
The Russian Football Union do not want Hiddink to quit his role with the national team and they will him to share the roles.
Former PSV Eindhoven and Real Madrid chief Hiddink is happy to take charge of Chelsea on a short-term basis as he is keen to lead Russia to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
"Chelsea Football Club can confirm it has officially approached the Russian Football Union (RFU) for permission to speak to Guus Hiddink to become the club's temporary coach until the end of the season while continuing to be in charge of the Russian national team," said a Chelsea statement.
"That permission has been granted and Chelsea would like to thank the RFU for their co-operation."
If all goes to plan Hiddink could take charge of Chelsea for the first time in this weekend's FA Cup clash with Watford.

Board Lose Patience With Big Phil

Ray Wilkins has taken temporary charge of Chelsea after the Premier League giants sensationally axed Luiz Felipe Scolari as manager.
Pressure has been building on the Brazilian after a series of poor results - particularly at home - has seen us fall well off the pace in the title race, and the board finally lost patience after Saturday's toothless 0-0 draw with out-of-form Hull City at Stamford Bridge.
A statement issued by the club on Monday afternoon said: "The Chelsea board would like to place on record our gratitude for his time as manager.
"Felipe has brought many positives to the club since he joined and we all feel a sense of sadness that our relationship has ended so soon.
"Unfortunately, the results and performances of the team appeared to be deteriorating at a key time in the season.
"In order to maintain a challenge for the trophies we are still competing for we felt the only option was to make the change now."
The club have already started their search for a replacement, with former Blues player Wilkins appointed as caretaker boss for now.

Chelsea 0 Hull City 0

Big Phil is under mounting pressure after his side was held to a dismal 0-0 draw by Hull City.
The Brazilian was subjected to jeers from the Stamford Bridge crowd, who were angered at seeing their side deliver yet another alarmingly uninspired performance on home soil, but perhaps they should have been grateful for the point.
If either side deserved to depart here with regrets, it was Hull. The Humbersiders might have arrived in west London having failed to win in the league since December 6, but they more than matched us and, with sharper finishing, would have notched a famous victory.
Our hopes of remaining competitive in this season's title race, meanwhile, look increasingly desperate. We are now two points adrift of third-placed Aston Villa and will fall within range of fifth-placed Arsenal if they win at Tottenham.
This performance matched last weekend's meek defeat at Liverpool for ineptitude and Scolari must wonder how he can inspire a revival.
Ricardo Queresma, debuting after signing on loan from Internazionale, did little to suggest he is the missing ingredient and much of the home side's play was predictable.
An early goal would have settled Chelsea's nerves but Scolari's side is painfully devoid of cutting edge.
The point was highlighted by a dreadful second-minute miss from John Terry, who had merely to lift the ball into the unguarded net from six yards after Frank Lampard's in-swinging free-kick had been spilled by Matt Duke. Instead he spooned over the crossbar.
That set the tone for a typically toothless first half from The Blues. True, there were moments of sheer bad fortune - as in the 19th minute when Queresma's fine curling shot was tipped aside by Duke - but for the most part the hosts were wasteful.
Alex might have done better than head over from Lampard's 22nd-minute corner, while a midfielder of Michael Ballack's quality should have hit the target with a 20-yard free-kick, instead of skimming the side-netting.
Throw in a handful of heroic blocks from Hull defenders and Chelsea's frustration as they trooped off for the interval was understandable.
That said, it might have been worse. Hull were largely in containment mode but they did cause the odd flutter of anxiety: Geovanni screamed an instinctive volley fractionally over from 25 yards, while Kevin Kilbane was unfortunate to see a thunderous header kiss the post.
Hull took heart from those near misses and continued to impress with their neat, incisive football. Only their finishing remained awry: Craig Fagan, for instance, had a gilt-edged chance to fire his side ahead in the 53rd minute when he beat John Mikel Obi to a loose ball and sprinted clear.
The 26-year-old spotted Hilario off his line but chipped tamely into the goalkeeper's hands.
As the seconds ticked past, so Chelsea's patience was stretched to breaking point. Didier Drogba was deployed from the bench just past the hour - although Scolari's decision to take off Queresma was greeted with chants of "You don't know what you're doing" by sections of the home support - but still Hull looked the more likely scorers.
The Bridge held its breath when Geovanni's clever pass found Marney in yards of space in the area but the former Tottenham winger could only drag his low shot past the right-hand post.
There was not even a grandstand finish from Chelsea, who by the end were doing little more than firing hopeful long balls into the Hull area, praying for a break. They might have had one when Andy Dawson appeared to handle Kalou's shot in the area, only for referee Lee Mason, who up until then had done very little to let the game flow, to wave play on, while the Ivorian shot later straight at Duke after a rare slip from the City defence.
There was still time for Hull to carve out one more chance, Fagan slipping the leash and bearing down on goal, only for Terry to save his side with a last-ditch tackle. Maybe it was more than we deserved.

Quaresma To Shine

Chelsea's new signing Ricardo Quaresma will take the Premier League by storm, according to his compatriot and new team-mate Ricardo Carvalho.
The Blues centre-back has welcomed the arrival of Quaresma, who joined on transfer deadline day in a loan switch from Inter Milan.
And Carvalho has hailed the move and thinks the Premier League will have to be on their guard.
"Quaresma is a very fast and explosive player who is a real warrior on the pitch, so he will be able to handle the physical nature of the Premier League," he said. "But at the same time he is a very technical player and can score goals, which will be good for us.
"He will be a huge help to us at this time of the season.
"He is a very attacking player and that is what we need at Chelsea at the moment."
Carvalho also insists that Quaresma has always been interested in the Premier League.
"At different times with the Portugal national team he would always ask about English football and was interested in what it was like," he continued.
"He could have come here last summer but he ended up going to Inter Milan with Jose Mourinho - but it has not worked out for him there.
"(Luiz Felipe) Scolari knows Quaresma well and this is an advantage for us.
"He also knows a lot of players here already, but he will need time to adapt.
"He will add more pace, which is important. Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba will love playing with him because he gets a lot of assists.
"We have to be strong between now and the end of the season after the defeat to Liverpool. I just want to get back to help out."

Quaresma has been given the squad number 18.

Liverpool 2 Chelsea 0

Fernando Torres struck two late goals as Liverpool revived their flagging title hopes with a deserved 2-0 victory at home to Chelsea.
The Spaniard headed home in the 89th minute after we had been reduced to 10 men by a red card for midfielder Frank Lampard and then made sure of a league double over the The Blues with a second in stoppage time.
It was a bitter blow to our title hopes although we could have few complaints as we barely mustered a shot on target even before Lampard was harshly sent off by referee Mike Reily for a tackle on Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso.
"After the Lampard sending off they had more possession, more quality, more chances in front of goal, but until then, no," Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari told Sky Sports.
"I want the referee to look at that decision on TV and change his decision. It was a foul by the other player not Lampard."
Liverpool, who had drawn their previous three Premier League matches, moved back above us into second place with 51 points from 24 games, two points behind champions Manchester United who have played a game fewer.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez had come under increasing scrutiny since his outburst at United manager Alex Ferguson last month and their rival's surge to the top of the table.
His decision to axe striker Robbie Keane from the squad looked baffling during a tepid first half, but Torres burst into life to spare him further inquests.
"He showed that he can score important goals and it's great to see him back so hopefully he can score more between now and the end of the season," Benitez said of Torres before adding that Keane was not leaving the club.
Torres, who has missed important chunks of the season with injuries, had been largely anonymous for most of the match as Liverpool toiled to break down the visitors.
He had not scored a league goal since October but chose the perfect moment to show what a lethal striker he is.
Cech had saved well from Alonso and substitute Yossi Benayoun after the break as Liverpool drove forward but he was powerless when Torres glided into space at the near post to head Fabio Aurelio's cross into the net.
There was a huge sense of relief among Liverpool fans, who have seen their side's attempts to win a first league title since 1990 stall in recent weeks, and they were celebrating wildly deep in stoppage time when Torres struck again after Benayoun robbed Ashley Cole.
Our only shot on target came from Salomon Kalou 16 minutes from time and the team trudged off at the final whistle with their title hopes fading rapidly.
"We were not good today, they were better for all the game," Scolari conceded. "We need to look again, and try again because we have many games and we need to fight until the last game."

Another awful display by the notorious Mike Riley.
How can Ickle Stevie get away with that disgraceful lunge on Kalou and not even get booked, then Frank gets sent off for nothing.
The red card will be rescinded but it's too little too late.
We didn't deserve to win the game but with 11 men on the pitch we'd have probably got a draw.
I hope Riley gets demoted. He deserves it.