Cottagers Tamed: Fulham 0 Chelsea 2

Chelsea maintained their perfect start to life under Carlo Ancelotti with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Fulham on Sunday, reports nationalpost.com.
Ancelotti cut a contented figure at Craven Cottage after his side cruised home against their west London rivals rivals thanks to goals in either half from Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.
The triumph put Chelsea into second place in the English Premier League table behind Tottenham, but of more significance to Ancelotti will have been the nonchalant manner of the performance.
Chelsea were almost completely untroubled by Roy Hodgson's team, who badly missed the injured Andy Johnson, and this display - characterised by doughty defending and lethal finishing - sent an ominous message to their title rivals.
Ancelotti's satisfaction will have been compounded by the fact that Fulham are a side that traditionally revel in bloodying the noses of the top flight's elite, and Chelsea have suffered more than most.
The Blues had won just three of their previous seven encounters with their near neighbours: hardly a catastrophic record, but not exactly glittering, so the visitors would have been forgiven a little wariness.
That showed in the opening stages, when neither side took the game by the throat.
Fulham, who handed a debut to Republic of Ireland winger Damien Duff, were predictably high-octane, snappy in the tackle and eager to harry their glitzy opponents at every opportunity, and while they delivered precious little as an attacking force, Chelsea were largely neutered.
Instead, they were restricted to half-chances. Michael Ballack propelled a free-kick harmlessly over the crossbar from an inviting position five yards just outside the penalty area - much to the disgust of Frank Lampard, who had appeared the more likely taker - while moments later John Obi Mikel skimmed a 20-yarder two yards wide of the post.
But patience has been a feature of the early Ancelotti era and, just as in their previous league outings this season, their wait was rewarded again when they finally cracked Fulham's resolve with a neatly worked goal in the 39th minute.
The architect was Anelka, the striker splitting the hosts' central defensive pairing of Aaron Hughes and Brede Hangeland with a beautifully weighted pass.
Drogba, having curved his run to perfection, took the ball in his stride and clipped his shot into the corner.
Fulham were angry at the referee's assistant for failing to intervene then but they were grateful moments later, when Drogba was set clear by a delicious pass from Lampard, only for the flag to be raised. Replays suggested the 31-year-old had once again timed his run to the split-second.
Hodgson hardly had the manpower to instigate sweeping changes, so Chelsea remained largely unruffled after the interval.
Drogba might have had a second goal when his angled snap-shot on the turn was smartly saved by Mark Schwarzer, while Lampard dragged wide from a similar position moments later.
That might have briefly reinvigorated Fulham's hopes of an unlikely point but they were snuffed out in the 76th minute.
A slide-rule pass from Drogba picked a path through Fulham's back-line and Anelka rounded Schwarzer and rolled in his first goal of the season.

New Deal For Ash

Left-back Ashley Cole has penned a new four-year deal with the club, reports tribalfootball.com.
The deal will see the former Arsenal man pocket a cool £120,00 per week after Roman Abramovich was desperate to secure him for £25million.
Cole was receiving interest from Real Madrid and Barcelona but the Blues staved off their advances by offering the England international the lucrative deal.

Blues Claw Their Way Back Against Black Cats Sunderland 1 Chelsea 3

Chelsea hit back with three goals in 18 minutes from Michael Ballack, a Frank Lampard penalty and a great goal from Deco to beat Sunderland 3-1 at the Stadium of Light after the Black Cats had taken a half-time lead through Darren Bent.
The Blues' Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti had maintained his controversial midfield diamond, albeit with a different balance of players, but it was the hosts who sparkled the more in the opening exchanges. The nearest Chelsea came was when Germany captain Ballack had a shot cleared off the goal-line.
Bent put Sunderland ahead after Kenwyne Jones had a shot blocked and the ball luckily broke to him in an almost identical situation as the disliked Steven Hunt's opener against us on Saturday. It was the England striker's second goal in two games since his arrival from Tottenham but after hios goal Chelsea totally dominated the game till the final whistle, with fullbacks Jose Bosingwa and Ashley Cole making dangerous inroads up the wings.
Ballack levelled seven minutes into the second half after a corner then Lampard converted a penalty after George McCartney had tripped Didier Drogba. Deco, playing a more positive attacking role, wrapped up Chelsea's second win in two games with a sweet angled drive in the 70th minute.

Bremen Sign Pizarro Permanently

Claudio Pizarro has rejoined Werder Bremen on a permanent basis.
The Peru international spent last season on loan at Bremen but on his return to Stamford Bridge was told by new Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti that his services were not required.
Having already played for Bremen from 1999 to 2001, Pizarro looks set for another return and the Peru star has plenty of Bundesliga experience having also spent six seasons at Bayern Munich.
Pizarro scored 17 league goals for Bremen while on loan last season, impressing Bremen director of sport Klaus Allofs, who is reported to have contacted Chelsea on Sunday to express an interest in signing the 30-year-old.
Pizarro, who was left out of Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Hull City at the weekend, managed just two goals during his only season at Stamford Bridge.

Matic On Board

Chelsea have signed midfielder Nemanja Matic from MFK Kosice, according to the Slovakian club.
The 20-year-old, who has played youth football for Serbia, completed a switch to Stamford Bridge for £1.5m on Monday, a statement said on the club's official website.
MSK president Blazej Podolak said: "At around five o'clock in the evening we signed the contract on the transfer. Matic goes for 1.75 million euros.
"The success was down to the the fact that the money does not come in instalments, but immediately.''

£50m Bid For Aguero In The Offing?

Chelsea have been given 24 hours to meet the £50million get-out clause for Atletico Madrid’s Sergio Aguero, reports tribalfootball.com.
The Spanish club are preparing for a Champions League qualifier against Panathinaikos on Wednesday and if no deal is done, Aguero will play meaning he will be ineligible to play for the Blues in Europe, suggesting a deal would be extremely unlikely.
Atletico will be loathe to lose the Argentine striker but Carlo Ancelotti would hate to miss out on another potential target.

CHelsea 2 Hull City 1

Didier Drogba's double strike gave new Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti a winning start to his Premier League career in a 2-1 result over Hull.
The Ivory Coast international grabbed the winner in added time to shatter battling Hull's hopes of a point.
Chelsea had trailed to a 27th-minute goal from Hull's debut boy Stephen Hunt, but Drogba levelled the scores in the 37th minute with a dipping 25-yard free-kick and then grabbed the winner late in the game to secure maximum reward for the home side.
But prior to Drogba's face-saving strike there were worrying echoes of the Luiz Felipe Scolari era.
Chelsea resorted to far too much intricate approach play on the edge of Hull's penalty area and when that failed it opted to punt long balls into the danger zone from either flank.
They were tactics reminiscent of Scolari's ill-fated reign and, just as Chelsea did so often under their former coach, they saved themselves with a late winner.
The home side should have taken the lead as early as the second minute but Drogba fired wide from six yards after Michael Essien's superb cross fell directly at the feet of the unmarked striker.
Hull gave Chelsea a warning in the ninth minute when captain George Boateng shot just wide of Petr Cech's right-hand upright from 20 yards.
Four minutes later a cross from Hunt was headed over by Dean Marney. The Hull midfielder was allowed to ghost into the penalty unmarked and should have done better with his finish.
Cech then had to be alert to save another shot from Boateng as the Tigers began to find some success in the attacking third.
Hull had weathered the early Chelsea storm and had been far from second best.
Chelsea looked impressive going forward in their diamond formation but the same could not be said for the defensive element of the system.
The home side's failure to clear a free-kick in the 27th minute cost them dearly.
Chelsea had been upset at the free-kick awarded by Alan Wiley when the official insisted that Jose Bosingwa had tugged the shirt of Hunt.
It got worse for the Blues when Andy Dawson sent the free-kick towards the Chelsea penalty area.
It was only half-cleared to Boateng on the edge of the area and his shot cannoned off both Ashley Cole and Mikel before falling to Hunt to apply an easy finish into an unguarded net.
That made it a terrific start to his Hull career for Hunt who was booed all afternoon by the Chelsea fans.
They still have not forgiven the former Reading player for the challenge in an October 2006 match which left Cech with a fractured skull. Cech is still required to wear protective head gear.
The Blues were level in the 37th minute thanks to a superb free-kick strike by Drogba.
Seyi Olofinjana was penalised by Wiley for holding off Mikel 25 yards out and Drogba punished Hull severely when he sent a dipping shot over the defensive wall and into the right corner.
Boaz Myhill then had to dive low to his left to prevent Michael Essien from giving Chelsea the lead five minutes before the interval.
Ancelotti's side should have gone in front within seconds of the re-start.
Drogba set up strike partner Nicolas Anelka perfectly but the France international failed to beat Myhill from six yards.
In the 56th minute Myhill twice denied Drogba with stunning saves as the Ivory Coast international looked for his second goal of the game.
In the 68th minute Hull replaced Hunt with new signing Kamel Ghilas to a chorus of boos from the Chelsea fans and the Blues substituted Malouda, bringing on Deco.
Essien almost gave Chelsea the lead in the 74th minute but his 20-yard volley was narrowly wide of the target.
Bosingwa then brought a fine diving save from Myhill as his effort looked to creep in.
Substitute Salomon Kalou, on for Anelka, then headed over from Deco's cross as Chelsea chased a winner.
But Drogba scored a vital winner two minutes into added time when he somehow chipped the ball over Myhill and into the far corner from an acute angle.

Yuri Out

Carlo Ancelotti's main summer signing Yuri Zhirkov may have to wait before making his Chelsea debut because of a knee problem.
The Blues' Italian coach is likely to name a familiar line-up and formation for the season's opener against Hull City, with Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka leading the attack.Zhirkov, who cost £18million from CSKA Moscow, may have to wait until midweek for his Premier League bow, with John Obi Mikel anchoring a midfield of Michael Essien, Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda.

Mancienne Signs For Wolves On Loan

Wolves have completed the signing of Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne on loan.
The defender has signed a season-long deal with the Premier League new-boys, after the clubs decided a loan fee and Wolves captain Jody Craddock believes Mancienne can use his loan spell at Molineux to follow Joleon Lescott into England's World Cup squad.
The 34-year-old told the Express and Star: "He'll be playing Premier League football here which will be fantastic for him, because we all saw what that did for Joleon Lescott.
"He started playing well for Everton, scored goals and he got himself into the England squad. Michael has got every chance to prove himself here and do the same.
"That will be in his head - he's going to want to play and get himself noticed for the World Cup squad."

Matic Convinced Of Switch

Chelsea are poised to sign Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic from Slovakian club Kosice within days, according to the player, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Matic, 20, who has represented Serbia at youth level, also claims that Middlesbrough are keen on signing him, but eould prefer a move to Chelsea.
"The London club are very interested about seeing me in their ranks this summer," he said.
"I've left the whole matter up to my agents. The talks are being conducted on a daily basis and I think that everything will soon be finished.
"All in all, there's a big possibility that I'll become a Chelsea player in the next few days.
"It's important that my club Kosice, where I won recognition as a player, is satisfied.
"I have a contract with them for another one-and-a-half years and I hope that it will end in the best possible way."

Chelsea In For Pazzini?

The Blues have identified Sampdoria hitman Giampaolo Pazzini as a possible transfer target, according to French website les-transferts.com.
The Italian has scored 15 goals in 22 appearances in all competitions since joining the Blucerchiati from Fiorentina last January and has formed a fruitful partnership with Antonio Cassano.
Chelsea are reportedly willing to pay €18 million for his signature and the deal may allow them to offload seldom-used striker Andriy Shevchenko, whose salary takes up a significant amount on their wage bill. Coach Carlo Ancelotti is an admirer of the former Atalanta striker, who scored against the his Milan team last season.
Pazzini also earned his first cap for the Italian national team last year, but has been omitted from their latest string of matches.

JT Flattered But Not Tempted

John Terry has claimed that while he was flattered to be wanted by Manchester City, he was never tempted to leave Chelsea for the big bucks on offer at Eastlands.

Despite an offer of a reputed £300,000-a-week by Mark Hughes' employers to prize the defender away from the Blues, JT insisted that 'Sparky' failed to ignite his imagination.

"If I'd been tempted I'd have gone," Terry told The Sun."I was flattered but that was it.

"The bid was [big] but I don't know what kind of figures would have been thrown at me.

"I got a call from [chief executive] Peter Kenyon and told him I was flattered but I didn't want to leave."

However, the Blues' skipper said that his decision was made based on assurances that the key players would not be sold.

"I didn't want the club to sell Didier Drogba but we'd heard all the rumours and I wanted these kind of players around me," he confessed."I wanted assurances they would be staying."

Chelsea 2 Man. Utd. 2 (4-1 pens.)

Chelsea beat Manchester United on penalties to win the Community Shield on Monday after a feisty 2-2 draw that offered few clues as to the destination of the far bigger prizes to be fought over during the next nine months.
Frank Lampard again showed his knack of scoring from midfield with one of Chelsea's goals as they responded from a lethargic first half to take the lead while United's Wayne Rooney took his stoppage time equaliser with trademark zeal.
United's Portuguese midfielder Nani showed glimpses of the flair that could help him fill the large hole left by the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid while Chelsea's Michael Essien gave another powerful midfield display.
However, the traditional season curtain-raiser, that was marred by a bad-tempered clash between Patrice Evra and Michael Ballack, raised more questions than it answered.
While Carlo Ancelotti won a trophy in his first competitive match in charge since taking over from Guus Hiddink, his preferred midfield diamond looked far from polished, particularly in a first half in which United cut through Chelsea with ease.
United's new signing Michael Owen was given just 15 minutes and barely got a kick while fellow new recruit Antonio Valencia was also restricted to a substitute appearance.
Goalkeeper Ben Foster, deputising for the injured Edwin van der Sar, could have done better with both Chelsea strikes as England manager Fabio Capello looked on.
One certainty whenever United and Chelsea meet is a raw edge and Monday proved no exception.
United were furious when Ballack's crude bodycheck on Evra went unpunished by referee Chris Foy and with the Frenchman sprawled on the turf and United's players expecting the ball to be kicked out, Didier Drogba powered forward and squared for Lampard to shoot past Foster to put Chelsea 2-1 ahead with 20 minutes remaining.
"If the referee sees it properly it's a red card," United boss Alex Ferguson told reporters. "He's elbowed him clearly, he was lucky. The referee was in line and should have seen it.
"I'm disappointed because he has stopped the game twice before that. Once when Ballack went down he jumped up and was back on his feet again in seconds. That decision cost us the game. We've said it time and again, all we want is consistency."
Minutes later Evra launched a tackle on Ballack which earned him a yellow card.
Ancelotti was disappointed with Chelsea's display in the opening half an hour but said beating United would give his side confidence for the season.
"They are our most important opponent in the Premier League, they have great experience so it was important," said the Italian who broke Chelsea's penalty shoot-out jinx after they had lost their previous six, including the Champions League final in 2008 when United prevailed.
The impressive Nani opened the scoring after 10 minutes, waltzing across in from the left before arrowing a shot beyond Petr Cech. However, the 22-year-old's afternoon ended painfully when he dislocated his shoulder on the hour.
Chelsea looked far more comfortable after the break with Lampard and Essien much more involved. After 52 minutes Lampard linked up with Florent Malouda whose looping cross was not dealt with by Foster and he pawed the ball straight to Ricardo Carvalho who headed into an empty net.
Lampard appeared to have sealed it before substitute Ryan Giggs sent Rooney clear to bury a shot past Cech.
It was a temporary reprieve for United though as Giggs and Evra both had their penalties saved and Salomon Kalou struck the winning blow for Chelsea.

Reading 2 Chelsea 2

Brendan Rodgers, who learned at the feet of Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, almost masterminded a win over the current Blues crop at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday.

Chelsea had dominated the early moments, with John Terry heading over from a Frank Lampard corner and Deco, making a start despite much speculation over his future, seeing a penalty appeal turned down.

However, Jimmy Kebe gave Reading the lead less than ten minutes before the interval. Hal Robson-Kanu's effort bounced to the Malian off Ashley Cole, and the wide man was able to follow-up and stun the visitors.

Chelsea had their chances, though. Nicola Anelka had had a shot cleared off the line not long before Adam Federici saved well from Didier Drogba, but it was the Royals who struck first.

Before Carlo Ancelotti's side were able to regroup in the dressing room, Reading had doubled their advantage. Shane Long was brought down by a combination of John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho as he charged through, allowing Scott Davies, impressive in midfield, to slot home the subsequent free-kick from the edge of the box.

After the interval, Chelsea would make numerous changes and continue to get closer to finally making the net bulge. However, Alex, Michael Essien and Drogba haven't quite found their touch in front of goal yet and couldn't take advantage of far better second half play.

However, the Premier League side showed good character to salvage a result in the dying moments of the contest.

First, Salomon Kalou latched onto a Mikel John Obi through-ball and chipped home.

Then, Alex Pearce was the unlucky one as his header turned Florent Malouda's last-gasp free-kick into his own net.

Club America 0 Chelsea 2

Franco DiSanto and Florent Malouda each set up the other for a goal in the span of two minutes in the second half to lead Chelsea to a 2-0 win over Club America on Sunday in the final game of the World Football Challenge, reports espn.go.com.
Malouda took a pass from Ashley Cole and chipped it in front of the goal, where DiSanto beat Club America goalkeeper Armando Navarrete to the ball and knocked it into the net in the 76th minute.
Two minutes later, DiSanto, a halftime substitute, beat defender Oscar Rojas along the end line and dropped a ball back to Malouda, who fired it past Navarrete from about 12 yards out.
"It is very important for a young player like me to take advantage of every single opportunity," said DiSanto, 20, who made 16 appearances as a sub last season. "I'm just beginning with the Chelsea and I want to stay here."
Chelsea went undefeated in winning the four-team, round robin-style tournament, which was played in six cities across the United States over the last week. Club America was second, one point ahead of Inter Milan. AC Milan finished fourth.
The goals came about 15 minutes after Club America failed to capitalize on two of its best scoring opportunities. In the 61st minute, Chelsea goalkeeper Ross Turnbull pushed Enrique Esqueda's shot wide. Two minutes later, Pavel Pardo's free kick from 35 yards out glanced off the head of forward Salvador Cabanas, who flicked the ball off the post.
Esqueda also missed on back-to-back scoring chances in the first half, when goalkeeper Hilario tipped away a header. A minute later, Esqueda's shot missed just wide.
Chelsea outshot Club America 18-10, with 11 of those shots coming in the second half when the English Premier League team controlled the run of play.
Turnbull and Hilario combined for four saves. Navarrete finished with three saves for Club America, which plays in Mexico's Primera Division. Each team received a yellow card.
Chelsea kept most of its famous names on the bench. Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack and John Terry, who announced he would return to Chelsea, did not play.
Club America was without star goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who earlier in the day led Mexico to a 5-0 win over the United States in the championship of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Coach Jesus Ramirez took several players off the field in the second half, saying he was saving them for an upcoming match against Mexican club San Luis.
"It is hard to take off most of our starting team because everybody wanted to continue on the field," Ramirez said through a translator. "We have to be smart, because we need most our players ready for this Wednesday."
The game was the second sporting event at the new Cowboys Stadium, which last week was the site of a pair of Gold Cup quarterfinal matches. The crowd of 57,229 mostly favored Club America, but was about 25,000 fewer than the turnout last week to see Mexico's national team.

A C Milan 1 Chelsea 2

A wonder strike from Didier Drogba and a goal for debutant Yuri Zhirkov allowed Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti to get the better of his former club AC Milan in Baltimore, reports espn.go.com.
Drogba produced a stunning shot from distance with just seven minutes on the clock which was cancelled out by Clarence Seedorf before half-time.
Russian Zhirkov then restored Chelsea's lead midway through the second half and this time there was no way back for their Italian opponents.
Juliano Belletti gave Milan a scare with just three minutes on the clock, unleashing a shot from outside of the box which forced a save from Zeljko Kalac.
There was little the Milan goalkeeper could do to stop Drogba's opener four minutes later, however.
The Ivory Coast striker took everyone by surprise with a sublime strike from around 35 yards out which blazed into the top left corner.
It took a while for Milan to recover from the blow, but they slowly worked their way into the contest and Petr Cech made his first save after 19 minutes, using his feet to turn away Ronaldinho's effort.
The alarm bells really started to ring for Chelsea 10 minutes later when a lovely passing move set up Seedorf for a chipped shot which came back off the crossbar.
And the Serie A side were back on level terms after 37 minutes thanks to Seedorf, who hit a first-time strike from Ronaldinho's lay-off which sailed into the net from 18 yards.
Milan hit the woodwork for the second time after 57 minutes with Ronaldinho unlucky not to add his name to the scoresheet.
But Chelsea kept their heads, and their patience was rewarded 11 minutes later when Zhirkov capped his first appearance with a goal.
The Russian capitalised on a game of pinball in the Milan area which began when Andriy Shevchenko's shot was parried by Kalac to Frank Lampard.
His effort was also cleared by the Milan defence but only as far as Zhirkov who finished the job from the edge of the area.
Milan could have snatched a draw in stoppage time but Cech tipped Filippo Inzaghi's effort over the bar.

Internazionale 0 Chelsea 2

Slick Chelsea dominated former boss Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan at the Rose Bowl to get their World Football Challenge campaign off to a winning start in Pasadena, California, reports ESPN soccernet.
Goals from Didier Drogba in the 11th minute and a Frank Lampard penalty just after half-time gave Chelsea the victory over the Italian champions in front of 81,224 fans.
The impressive nature of the Blues' performance more than the scoreline, however, will have delighted new head coach Carlo Ancelotti, especially coming so soon into the ex-AC Milan chief's first pre-season campaign and against his former cross-city rivals.
Mourinho, facing the club he led to two Premier League titles during his three seasons at Stamford Bridge between 2004-07, had seen his Inter team open its campaign with a penalty shoot-out defeat to Mexico's Club America on Sunday. Chelsea, meanwhile, had warmed up with a 2-0 win over Major Seattle Sounders the previous day but had since lost German midfielder Michael Ballack to a broken toe.
Led once again by John Terry in central defence with Ricardo Carvalho, Chelsea fans at the Rose Bowl saw their African players start for the first time in pre-season, John Obi Mikel and Michael Essien returning to midfield with Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou in attack.
It was the central defenders, though, who had Chelsea's first sights on the Inter goal, Florent Malouda receiving a short corner on the left and crossing for Carvalho to head over the bar at the near post in the second minute and Terry heading from the resultant Malouda corner from the right.
Chelsea were dominant throughout the opening half and Drogba opened the lead in the 11th minute, receiving a short pass from Lampard with his back to goal, turning and shooting unimpeded from 20 yards, the ball bouncing over Inter Milan keeper Vid Belec's outstretched left hand and into the bottom corner of the goal.
The Londoners continued to play with purpose and fluency, highlighted in the 16th minute when Lampard and Branislav Ivanovic exchanged a one-two down the right, the Serbian full-back advancing to the byline and centering for Drogba whose shot was straight at a grateful Belec.
Trailing 1-0 at the break, Inter's first real chance came as Chelsea adjusted to the five changes made by Ancelotti at half-time.
With Carvalho making way for Alex in defence, the incoming centre-back gave the ball away to Mario Balotelli on halfway immediately following the restart and the through ball found Diego Milito who cut inside Terry but was blocked at his feet by Petr Cech, the Chelsea keeper making his first meaningful contribution of the game.
Daniel Sturridge, who scored on his debut at Seattle, and Nicolas Anelka had replaced Drogba and Kalou and they quickly caused problems. Deco, on for Malouda, sent Sturridge clear in the box in the 48th minute and when his cross from the left was blocked by Ivan Cordoba's hand, Lampard was given the chance to add to his goal scored against the Sounders, converting the penalty, right footed into the bottom corner.
Ancelotti made further changes in the 64th minute, taking off Cech, Essien and Ivanovic for Ross Turnbull, Juliano Belletti and Michael Mancienne, who was called straight into the action, blocking a Balotelli bicycle kick on the six-yard line after Inter sub Zlatan Ibrahimovic had crossed from the right.
Late substitute Franco Di Santo nearly added a third for the Londoners in stoppage time, taking a delicate Deco chip over the top on his chest and shooting right-footed over the bar.

Seattle Sounders 0 Chelsea 2

Daniel Sturridge jumped at the chance to join Chelsea as soon as he heard the club was interested in him.
His debut on Saturday made Blues' management look very smart for acquiring the talented 19-year-old player, reports ESPN soccernet.
Making his debut following an offseason move from Manchester City to Stamford Bridge, Sturridge scored in the 12th minute and assisted on Frank Lampard's goal later in the first half as the Blues opened their preseason tour of America with a 2-0 win over the Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday.
"Nobody ever thinks twice about going to such a big club when it comes calling," Sturridge said. "You have to take the opportunity and I'm very happy to be here."
Sturridge's goal early in the match quietened some of the 65,289 fans -- most in Seattle green -- who turned out to see the first of two international exhibitions the Sounders will host this season. It also made a winner of new manager Carlo Ancelotti in his first match leading the Blues after his move from AC Milan.
It was Chelesa's second appearance in Seattle in recent years. They faced Celtic in 2004 in an exhibition match that drew 30,504 and was part of an increased run of international exhibitions in the Pacific Northwest.
But Saturday was the first time those Northwest fans were cheering for their own team. Seattle coach Sigi Schmid said he went to pick up his dry cleaning at 8 a.m. Saturday and was met by a Sounders fan already in full regalia.
The hometown team responded with a spirited effort despite getting shut out.
"From a European point of view I think it definitely sends a message that we can play so well against Chelsea," Seattle midfielder Freddie Ljungberg said, a former Chelsea nemesis during his time at Arsenal. "When I speak to my friends back home there are a lot of questions about what is the level and how would you play against a great team. I think that message was sent today."
The match was Chelsea's first on-field test since beating Everton 2-1 in the FA Cup final on May 30. They are using the tour of the United States -- which includes matches against Inter Milan, AC Milan and Club America -- as their training leading up to the English Premier League opener against Hull on Aug. 15.
To that end, a number of stars either sat or played only one half. Didier Drogba and Michael Essien never took off their warmups, while Ashley Cole, John Terry and Petr Cech were among the Chelsea starters to only play a half. Terry did not speak to reporters afterward regarding the ongoing pursuit of his services by Manchester City.
The only Chelsea regular to play the full 90 minutes was Lampard.
"Today was the best atmosphere I've played in out here for sure," Lampard said. "I think the game was pretty even really except for the two goals that we scored which is maybe a slight difference in quality from the Premier League to here, but the Seattle team played good football."
Seattle is in the middle of its MLS season and had to balance upcoming matches with trying to make a good showing against the Blues. Goalkeeper Kasey Keller and forward Nate Jaqua only played a half, while Ljungberg played into the second half before leaving.
The Sounders host Houston in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals on Tuesday. They will play Chicago next Saturday.
With the blazing rave green of the Sounders easily dwarfing the royal blue of Chelsea's in the stands, the Sounders were clearly the more fit side. But some sloppy passing and poor first-touches kept the numerous runs by Ljungberg and striker Fredy Montero from becoming great scoring opportunities. Seattle also missed on a pair of open second-half headers, and Sanna Nyassi missed an open net when his chipped attempt went over the crossbar.
While Seattle failed to convert, the Blues made the most of their runs through Seattle's shaky defense. Sturridge took advantage in the 12th minute, accepting a pass from Florent Malouda near the top of the box, stopping while Seattle defender Tyrone Marshall slid past and beating Keller with a right-footed strike.
Just over 20 minutes later, Sturridge got Chelsea's next goal started. His pass from near midfield found the foot of Nicolas Anelka running free in the box. Anelka chipped a centering pass that Lampard easily deposited past the helpless Keller.
The second half featured reserves for both sides. Seattle defender Zach Scott twice saved goals by clearing balls off the line after keeper Terry Boss was beaten.
"Their speed, their movement, their touch, there's no mistakes in the back," Seattle's Steve Zakuani said. "They're all very, very good at what they do. That's the next level, that's why they are where they are. It was good to measure ourselves today."