£100 million Shopping List

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich wants a £100 million shopping list drawn up by Guus Hiddink.
The Daily Express says Abramovich is set to spend – despite denials all season by the club – aware that an ageing squad is in urgent need of reinforcement to enable them to compete with Manchester United, Liverpool, big-spending new boys Manchester City, and Arsenal.
On the list are CSKA Moscow and Russia winger Yuri Zhirkov, another CSKA ace in Brazilian Wagner Love, Lyon striker Karim Benzema, Barcelona defender Dani Alves – and the man Abramovich tried and failed to bring in last summer, Manchester City’s £33m Brazilian star Robinho.
That list will cost Abramovich more than £100m if he manages to land them all but, he will fund the recruiting drive by also having a mass summer clear-out at Chelsea.
Among those on the list to leave Stamford Bridge are Michael Ballack, Deco, Florent Malouda, Paulo Ferreira, Mineiro and Branislav Ivanovic.

Van der Vaart To The Bridge?

Real Madrid playmaker Rafael van der Vaart has linked himself with a move to Chelsea - but only if Guus Hiddink stays on as boss, reports Yahoo Sport.
The Netherland's attacking midfielder opted to move to Madrid in the summer, citing his Spanish mother as a reason for his choice.
But he has found games hard to come by and, when he does start, is the first to be sacrificed if Los Merengues are protecting a lead or looking to change things around.
"It's flattering when someone like Hiddink is interested as he is one of the best," the former Ajax man was quoted saying in The Sun.
"If my World Cup selection is threatened I must think about a transfer."
The 24-year-old, who played for Hamburg before moving to Spain, has scored four Liga goals so far this season but has started only 10 matches, with 12 more appearances off the bench.
Hiddink is combining his temporary role at Stamford Bridge with his full-time job as Russia coach and, while he has publicly stated he will leave Chelsea in the summer, he has been linked with a stay in West London.

Tottenham 1 Chelsea 0

Chelsea missed a golden opportunity to close the gap at the top of the Premier League as Luka Modric's winner helped Tottenham to a 1-0 victory and inflict Guus Hiddink's first defeat since arriving in England.
A suspect vehicle near White Hart Lane delayed kick-off, meaning the we kicked off knowing leaders Manchester United were struggling at Fulham, but we failed to take advantage.
Victory would have taken us to within a point of United but Hiddink's men were frustrated by a Tottenham side who have been transformed since Harry Redknapp's arrival five months ago, with Modric striking the winner just after the interval.
Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes also played a huge part in the victory, saving from John Terry late on when the away fans thught they were on level terms. Alex also hit the crossbar in stoppage time as Spurs held on.
On a personal level, Redknapp had not beaten Chelsea in a league game since 1999. More importantly, he feels his side could challenge the traditional top four in their next campaign.
The visitors, however, have still not recorded a win over one of their London rivals this season and their task was not made easier by Ricardo Carvalho picking up an ankle injury this week, meaning Alex deputised at centre-back.
Deco's hamstring problem meant Juliano Belletti came in on the right side of a midfield squeezed for space, especially when Spurs skipper Robbie Keane dropped back to help his team-mates.
Hiddink's men were predictably limited to long shots and Michael Essien, back from a serious injury, forced Gomes into a save which he gathered at the second attempt early on.
At the other end, Jermaine Jenas just cleared the angle of crossbar and near post with a fizzing drive.
The hosts got closer in the 18th minute after Alex failed to deal with a long punt forward, with Petr Cech required to beat away Keane's powerful volley.
Cech stopped Keane again after Vedran Corluka had raced down the right and pulled the ball back, although this effort was much closer to the Chelsea goalkeeper.
The visitors were being denied space on the ball, with Nicolas Anelka often dropping into midfield to get involved. That was how the France striker started the move that ended with the ball breaking to him on the edge of the area and Gomes saving at the near post.
Encouraged by Chelsea's limited chances, Spurs attempted to break forward. Cech claimed the ball when Keane cut in and had a shot blocked by Alex and the Chelsea goalkeeper also plucked the ball from under his crossbar from Ledley King's looping header.
King clattered Didier Drogba with his thigh while winning a header and the Chelsea striker looked dazed while receiving treatment and heading down the tunnel, the visitors seeing out the first half with 10 men.
Drogba was fit to start the second half but Chelsea were behind within five minutes of the restart.
Aaron Lennon received the ball on the right, feigned to go down the flank but instead he crossed early, between Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard.
Keane could have struck but Modric took control of the situation, crisply finishing from the edge of the area into the bottom corner for his fourth goal of the season.
He almost repeated the trick when he got on the end of another Lennon cross, but this time his effort lacked power.
Hiddink's response was to bring on Ricardo Quaresma for Belletti, moments before Lampard struck the frame of the goal with a header at the far post.
Gomes saved from Drogba at the near post and from Quaresma's long-range effort as Chelsea searched for the equaliser.
Drogba sliced another shot wide, with Hiddink's next move to bring on Florent Malouda for Essien.
Terry forced Gomes into his stunning full-stretch save, then King's block on Anelka was equally important. Alex hit the bar deep in stoppage time with a header from a corner but Spurs held on.

Hiddink seems to be playing Ballack and Essien in central midfield with Lampard on the left and we are missing his late runs into the box from central midfield.

Personally I would drop Ballack to the bench, as his passing has been very wayward recently, and move Lampard back into the centre where he is most effective.

This was confirmed with ten minutes to go when Frank was moved to the centre when Essien was withdrawn and we had, arguably, our best spell of the game.

Chelsea 1 Man. City 0

Chelsea took full advantage of Liverpool's demolition job on Manchester United to move back into second place in the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Manchester City.
We are now just four points behind United after Michael Essien's first-half goal enabled Guus Hiddink's side to overcome a disappointing Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.
It was Chelsea's fourth straight league win under Hiddink and we remain unbeaten since the Dutch coach agreed to take charge until the summer.
Although United also have a game in hand on the Blues, Chelsea ensured they kept up the pressure on the leaders with a typically combative victory that moved them ahead of Liverpool on goal difference.
City were lucky to remain on level terms in the opening minute when Frank Lampard's goal was ruled out for offside.

The England midfielder flicked the ball beyond Shay Given from six yards but his effort was disallowed by referee Mike Riley.
City had plenty of early possession but despite their intricate approach play, there was little penetration.
In the 13th minute Ricardo Carvalho rose highest in the City penalty area to meet a corner from Lampard but the Portugal international sent his glancing header wide of the target.
But Chelsea went ahead through Essien's second goal in as many games in the 17th minute.
City's Stephen Ireland brought down Nicolas Anelka midway in his own half and Lampard made the most of the free-kick by passing the ball to Essien on the edge of the penalty area.
The Ghanaian international, starting only his second game since damaging knee ligaments on international duty last September, hit a first time shot beyond the flatfooted Given to put the Blues in front.
The goal followed his midweek strike against Juventus in our Champions League aggregate victory in Turin.
Robinho, who joined City instead of Chelsea last summer, was given a hard time by the Stamford Bridge crowd whenever the opportunity arose.
City were being outfought as well as outplayed and their frustration was evident as referee Riley had to speak to Elano and Michael Ballack after the pair clashed off the ball.
Elano's feud with Ballack erupted again in the 29th minute when the City midfielder upended the Germany international.
Riley quickly showed the City player a yellow card and advised him to calm down.
Essien tried his luck again on the half hour but this time he screwed his low drive wide of Given's left hand upright.
A minute later Chelsea felt they should have had a penalty when Anelka appeared to be brought down by Nedum Onuoha but Riley ignored their appeals.
They should have added a second when they carved City open in the 36th minute.
A fabulous move, started by Lampard's ball to Didier Drogba, was almost brought to a successful conclusion by the Ivorian's clever back-heel into the path of Ballack, but the German midfielder curled his effort around the post with Given well beaten.
It was all Chelsea now and another classy move three minutes later saw Lampard cross for Drogba to head over.
At the other end Robinho's cross-shot had to be cleared from danger at the far post by relieved Chelsea right-back Jose Bosingwa.
Deco, clearly still struggling with his long-running hamstring problem, was replaced by Juliano Belletti in the 40th minute.
Drogba should have made it two for Chelsea in the 47th minute but he dwelled too long on a pass from Essienand Onuoha and Richard Dunne crowded him out.
Moments later Chelsea's top scorer, Anelka, sent a 20-yard shot on the turn just wide of Given's right upright.
Chelsea were rampant now and in the 51st minute a fine pass by Bosingwa enabled Drogba to test Given with a fierce right-foot drive which the City keeper did well to keep out at his near post.
Two minutes later Essien collected a short pass from Lampard and ran towards the City goal before unleashing a low 20-yard drive that flashed wide of the target.
But in the 62nd minute the woodwork prevented Chelsea from increasing their lead.
Substitute Belletti played a neat interchange of passes with Essien before watching his 20-yard shot rebound off Given's left hand upright.
Moments later City replaced Elano with Kelvin Etuhu and the substitute soon flashed an angled drive across the face of the Chelsea goal.
Worringly for Chelsea, Drogba was clearly suffering from a knock and was replaced by Florent Malouda in the 69th minute.
Chelsea continued to press for a second but the loudest chants were reserved for Robinho when the Brazilian was substituted by City.
Chants of 'What a waste of money' rang out as he was replaced by Valeri Bojinov.
Captain Terry headed a Lampard corner over the bar and Dunne cleared a Malouda effort off the line as Chelsea continued to dominated the closing stages.

Juventus 2 Chelsea 2 (Agg 2-3)

Goals from Didier Drogba and Michael Essien earned Chelsea a 2-2 draw at Juventus in the Champions League to send them into the quarter-finals.

Chelsea won 3-2 on aggregate after their 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge in the first leg.

In a pulsating match, Juve finished with 10 men following the second half dismissal of Giorgio Chiellini but goals from Vincenzo Iaquinta and evergreen Alessandro Del Piero had briefly given them hope.

Instead the first of three anglo-Italian ties in the second round went the way of the powerful Premier League.

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg and needing to score, Juve coach Claudio Ranieri picked an attacking line-up, with Del Piero playing behind forwards David Trezeguet and Iaquinta.

Even so, they did not create much until the 19th minute when the hosts took the lead out of nothing.

Iaquinta played a one-two with Trezeguet, whose return ball flicked over his head was perfectly weighted, allowing his strike partner to outpace John Terry and finish past Petr Cech with aplomb.

Juve suddenly had a spring in their step and Del Piero tried his luck from distance, forcing Cech to tip the ball over.

The hosts were looking comfortable and having the better of things without looking like adding to their lead.

But the game turned on its head in a crazy spell at the end of the first period.

On 45 minutes Drogba lined up to take a free-kick which he bent around the wall and just inside the post.

Gianluigi Buffon got across his line to clutch the ball at the post at the second attempt but television replays showed it had just sneaked over the line.

It wasn't given but Chelsea's frustration fired them up enough to equalise in first half stoppage time anyway.

Frank Lampard set his sights from distance and his shot took a deflection and looped up with Buffon arching back to tip it onto the bar.

It came down and may too have crossed the line but Essien charged in to bundle the ball home and leave no doubt this time that the Blues were on level terms.

It was his first goal in 11 months in his first start since September.

That changed the tone of the game and it took Juventus a full quarter of an hour of the second period to start looking dangerous.

When they did Del Piero was the architect of a move on 65 minutes that almost resulted in a goal as he crossed for Trezeguet to head goalwards, only for Cech to produce a flying save. Ranieri introduced young playmaker Sebastian Giovinco and he too almost created something but Del Piero couldn't quite get a flick on his team-mate's free-kick.

Any chance of a Juve revival seemingly died 20 minutes from the end when Chiellini picked up a second booking for clattering into Drogba.

But moments later Del Piero fired a free-kick into the Chelsea wall that struck Juliano Belletti's raised arms and the referee pointed to the spot, with Del Piero himself cooly slotting the ball home.

It was game on but seven minutes from time Chelsea sealed their passage into the last eight as substitute Juliano Belletti crossed for Drogba to poke home from close range for his fourth goal in five games.

Coventry City 0 Chelsea 2

Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink was "satisfied" with his side's performance in their 2-0win over Coventry City in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

Hiddink will make his first journey to Wembley as Chelsea manager in the semi-finals and if they play like they did against Coventry then they will be a hard side to beat.

Chelsea opened the scoring through Didier Drogba and secured the win with a delightful second goal which started in their own penalty area and was finished off by Alex.

"We can be very satisfied with the win and the way we played," Hiddink told ITV. "I think we controlled the game very well and then made a beautiful goal to kill the game."

Chelsea are still unbeaten under Hiddink and one of the main reasons for their success has been the return to form of Drogba. The Ivorian was an outcast at Chelsea under previous manager Luis Felipe Scolari, but has been back in the Chelsea first-team under Hiddink.

"He's (Drogba) dangerous but he's good for the team as well," he said. "He can still improve and he's working on some special training sessions. He likes to do that and it's paying off.

"It was an all round good day for Chelsea as not only did they reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup, but also saw inspirational midfielder Michael Essien make his long awaited return from injury.

The Ghanian international played almost 30 minutes and could now start against Juventus in the Champions League.

Portsmouth 0 Chelsea 1

Didier Drogba kept Chelsea's faint title hopes alive with a late winner against Portsmouth to seal a 1-0 victory at a rain-soaked Fratton Park.
The Ivory Coast international pounced to convert a low cross from Jose Bosingwa to hand interim coach Guus Hiddink his fourth straight win as Chelsea boss.
It leaves the Blues four points behind leaders Manchester United who still have two games in hand.
But Chelsea were made to battle all the way by Pompey who remain just two points off the relegation places at the foot of the Barclays Premier League.
The home side had Chelsea rocking from the off when a free-kick from Glen Johnson provided Hermann Hreidarsson with a clear chance but his effort from eight yards was deflected wide.
The game was being played in atrocious conditions with rain sweeping down onto the Fratton Park playing surface.
The pitch was extremely slippery and made ball control difficult for both sets of players.
In the 16th minute, Chelsea should have taken the lead but Drogba was inches away from putting the finishing touches to a drilled cross from Ashley Cole.
The Ivorian flung himself at the ball but missed it by inches at the far post.
Moments later a clever ball by Frank Lampard put Drogba through but the Chelsea striker's shot was charged down by the onrushing David James.
Chelsea continued to have the better of the exchanges and in the 21st minute Florent Malouda flashed an angled 20-yard drive beyond the far upright.
Seconds later Chelsea were unable to take advantage of an error by James. The Pompey goalkeeper allowed a cross from Malouda to slip out of his grasp in the wet conditions but Pompey's Sean Davies cleared for a corner.
The Blues had goalkeeper Petr Cech to thank for keeping the scoreline level in the 28th minute when he dived to his right to keep out a powerful low drive from Davis.
A foul by John Terry on Peter Crouch on the edge of the penalty area brought Pompey a free-kick but Johnson smashed his effort straight into Chelsea's defensive wall.
James failed to hold Lampard's 20-yard drive in the 34th minute but again Chelsea were unable to make the most of it as the ball bounced out of his hands.
Chelsea were now beginning to assert some consistent pressure for the first time in the game but the conditions were preventing them from playing the neat passing game they rely on.
Long passes through the middle for Drogba to chase also had little effect with the ball skidding off the surface and out of play on numerous occasions.
Three minutes before the break a goalmouth scramble from a Pompey corner ended in relief for the visitors when Cech pounced to grab the ball inside the six-yard box.
Chelsea almost broke the deadlock in injury time but Michael Ballack's header was just over the bar.
In the 59th minute Chelsea had Cech to thank again as a header from Crouch put David Nugent clear but the Pompey striker's shot was pushed away by the Czech Republic keeper.
Chelsea made two quick changes with Ricardo Quaresma replacing Salomon Kalou and John Obi Mikel making way for Juliano Belletti.
Both sides had increased the tempo but had little luck in the worsening conditions.
A shot from Belletti was well-held by James as it skidded across the turf.
The Blues remained in overall control though and in the 66th minute a cross from Quaresma was headed just over by Drogba who managed to get ahead of Sol Campbell.
Quaresma was providing an excellent service from the right flank and another cross had to be cut-out by Campbell as Drogba lurked inside the six-yard box.
Portsmouth had become penned in their own half and Davis presented the Blues with a free-kick opportunity in the 68th minute when he brought down Lampard.
Lampard, normally deadly from 20 yards, sent the free-kick into the wall and Campbell's clearance sent Crouch racing clear into the Chelsea half.
The England striker crossed for Niko Kranjcar but the Pompey midfielder sent his effort just wide.
But Ivorian Drogba settled the contest when he drilled home a cross from Bosingwa with 11 minutes remaining.

Chelsea 2 Wigan 1

Frank Lampard scored a stoppage time winner as Chelsea moved to second in the Premier League with a tough 2-1 win over Wigan, reports viewlondon.
Chelsea captain John Terry had given them the lead with a thumping half-volley. Wigan took the game to Chelsea and got a deserved equaliser thanks to an Olivier Kapo goal. But Lampard grabbed the points for Chelsea with a late close-range finish.
Chelsea, who were looking to make it three wins in-a-row under new manager Guus Hiddink, handed a Premier League debut to rising star Michael Mancienne and once again went with an attacking line-up which included both Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba.
But it was Wigan who made the surprisingly better start. Former Chelsea defender Mario Melchiot made a surging run into the Blues half which led to Amr Zaki having a shot which was deflected just wide.
Chelsea were slow to get started but they looked dangerous once they got into their stride. Drogba saw a low right-foot shot go just across the face of goal and Jon Obi Mikel also had a rasping 25-yard shot tipped over by Chris Kirkland.
Wigan then failed to clear a Lampard corner and Chelsea skipper Terry was on hand to volley in the ball, which took a slight deflection on route to goal.
Despite going a goal down, Wigan still had their fair share of possession and were almost back on terms as Titus Bramble had a header cleared off the line by Ashley Cole.
The chances continued to come at Stamford Bridge in a very open game. Lampard was close to doubling the lead for Chelsea as he tried to lift the ball over Kirkland, which the England keeper did well to save.
Chelsea thought they had doubled their lead when Drogba was put through by Lampard and the Ivorian put the ball past Kirkland, but Bramble was on hand to make an acrobatic clearance.
Chelsea then looked to be heading for another home draw as Maynor Figueroa burst down the wing and put in a low cross into the box which Kapo flicked a leg at and it went in.
But Chelsea were not to be denied as they grabbed the winner in stoppage time and unsurprisingly the goal came from their talisman Lampard. Chelsea took a free-kick from the halfway line which Ballack headed on into the path of Lampard and the midfielder made no mistake with a header which he lifted over the hapless Kirkland.