Petr Cech

In what turned out to be a rather uninteresting and dull West London derby, defending champions Chelsea turned out an insipid and shallow display of football as they were held to a goalless draw at their West London neighbours Fulham. A late drama ensured that the spectators have something to talk about but Petr Cech dashed all hopes of a Fulham win when he coolly saved an injury time penalty and atleast guaranteed some momentum in their bid to finish in the Champions League spots.

Ancelotti earlier took the gamble and benched Drogba for the 50 million pound signing Torres and the gamble misfired when Chelsea were unable to make any impression in the first few minutes. The game slowly dropped off pace and baring some lightning moves by David Luiz and Ivanvic there was nothing much to talk about. Fulham looked settled in for a point as most of the attacks came from the Blues half.  Torres, though, was once more struggling to make an impact, with some of his many mistakes greeted by chants of ‘What a waste of money‘ from the Fulham fans. With few and far chances falling for both the teams and some wayward shooting by the players; Chelsea had to wait for more than 30 minutes when a low cross from Ivanovic landed in front of Lampard who shot it high and wide. With Chelsea missing the form of its influential midfielder, it remains to be seen how they tackle as the season heats up.  A branislav Ivanovic miscued cross could have easily landed into the net but Fulham custodian Mark Schwarzer was equally alert to it.

The call for subbing Torres for Drogba was evident but Ancelotti decided to wait until the 70th minute to do so. And it proved costly as the introduction of Drogba and Kalou seemed to spice up the game. A superb skill show by Drogba opened up the defence but his pin point cross across the goal went to no man’s land. However the drama was yet to end as the search for a winner almost cost the Blues the match. A rare mistake from David luiz gave Fulham a penalty much to the raptures of the home crowd. But Petr Cech ensured that Chelsea head back home with atleast a point when he parried Clint Dempsey’s weak shot out.

Individual performances were quite flashy and good and the match was an excellent debut for David Luiz who hardly put a foot wrong apart from the penalty given at the end. The debate is still on whether Torres is at all a good buy. Only time will tell that but what is certain is that Chelsea must now rework their strategies and focus as the EPL title is out of their reach now.

Tags: Chelsea, English Premier League, EPL, Football, Fulham, Petr Cech, West London Derby