Burnley stunned Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this evening, winning 5-4 on penalties to extend the Blues' seemingly endless penalty curse and progress into the 5th Round of the Carling Cup.
Luiz Felipe Scolari - who had no doubt seen the damage Arsenal's youngsters had done against Wigan the night before - chose to field an experimental side which was spearheaded by Didier Drogba, starting his first game since his return from injury.
6 changes from the weekend win at Blackburn were made in all, and Wayne Bridge was a surprise choice as captain in the absence of both Frank Lampard and John Terry, who were both on the bench.
Alex had a chance to hit a free-kick at goal, but his effort was poor and Wayne Bridge's follow up was little better.
Controversy then occurred when Burnley's Danish keeper Jensen appeared to handle the ball outside of the box in trying to prevent a Drogba shot. The referee saw nothing untoward and the game went on.
Defender cum-midfielder Juliano Beletti was forced off with an injury after 25 minutes, and his replacement - Frank Lampard - help set up Drogba for the game's opening goal with 27 minutes on the clock.
- B/R Ticket Guide
The Ivorian ran on to Lampard's pass, leaving two defenders trailing in his wake before finishing with aplomb.
Branislav Ivanovic almost doubled the home side's lead before half time, but saw his diving header come back off the crossbar.
Chelsea sat back as the game moved towards the middle of the second half, and substitute Akinbiyi made them pay.
Ex Manchester United midfielder Chris Eagles forced Cudicini to parry his shot and Akinbiyi was on hand to put the ball in and send Burnley's travelling fans into raptures.
The goal gave Chelsea a much needed wake up call, and they probed and pressed in an attempt to avoid extra time and - potentially - penalties.
Substitute Franco Di Santo had two chances to decide the game in 90 minutes, but he shot wide from outside the area and headed the ball into the arms of Jensen.
Extra time it was to be, and Chelsea continued to press in an attempt to avoid the lottery of penalties. Lampard had the ball in the back of the net, but was judged to have been offside.
An injury to Franco Di Santo meant that the Blues had to play the majority of extra time with 10 men, but parity was restored towards the end when Burnley's captain Steven Caldwell was shown his second yellow card for hauling down Florent Malouda.
But, probe as they did, Chelsea couldn't find a way through, and for the first time since that fateful night in Moscow, the club were to be involved in a penalty shootout.
Wayne Bridge was the first player to crack under the pressure leaving Elliot with the chance to make himself a hero, but he missed his kick, sending the shoot out into sudden death.
Nigerian midfielder John Obi Mikel's penalty was saved by Jensen, and with that Burnley had knocked Chelsea out of the Carling Cup.
Scolari's side might be playing a more attractive brand of football, but it appears as if some old habits die harder than others.
comments (14) write a comment »
write a new comment
about 1 month ago
I think it's difficult for me not to stand on Drogba's side and feel he had every right to throw that coin back into the crowd. Someone felt it acceptable to do it to him so why not respond likewise.
It's just that the nature of football doesn't tolerate that kind of behavior from players who are supposed to setting an example. Fans should expect Drogba to get a hefty fine and probably a couple of games ban.
from about 1 month ago
I agree Ricky, thanks for commenting.
from about 1 month ago
Got to disagree there Ricky. Can't condone either sides behaviour but for me Drogba's was worse. He didn't know who threw the coin at him so really he just aimlessly threw a coin into a crowd of people that were 99.9% innocent. If the fan is caught he'll get a lifetime ban. What will Drogba get 2 games?
about 1 month ago
This is a great result for the carling cup as a competition and Chelsea will not be to worried about this in the end. Burnley for the cup!
from about 1 month ago
Yeah, we'll have to wait and see at the end of the season how things pan out. This result will be all but forgotten about if we manage to capture the title or Champions League.
about 1 month ago
It happens every year, a big team always crash out. Don't expect Burnley to get far though.
about 1 month ago
What happened to the "emaculate fortress" at the Bridge?
from about 1 month ago
It's shaking, but still intact. One of the features of Scolari's regime so far has been that we seem to drop more points at home then away. Whether it's because teams defend more at the Bridge and we struggle to open them up, who knows.
Thanks for commenting Jermaine.
about 1 month ago
Well.. I don't know what Ray Wilkins will feel about that result!
In all honesty, this was a shock.. but I guess that this is the beauty of cup competitions.. "giant killers" as they call them - but this was a "big giant."
Arsenal played Burnley last season in the FA Cup 3rd round - albeit away from home, but that was not an easy game.. and Chelsea found out the same thing.
I'm split as far as the Drogba coin toss is concerned.. yellow card? Yes. 3 match ban? I'm not so sure.
But if that prevents him from playing against Arsenal, I wouldn't mind. ;)
from about 1 month ago
I'm sure you wouldn't mind Shyam, Drogba always seems to play well against Arsenal!
Thanks for commenting.
about 1 month ago
brilliant result for the mighty burnley!! the clarets to win the carling cup!! good article alan.
from about 1 month ago
Thanks Yoosof. If Burnley did win it, at least we could then say that we lost to the eventual winners of the competition!
about 1 month ago
Great result for Burnley and I hope Ray Wilkins is enjoying some humble pie!!
As for the Drogba incident - he should of just picked up the coin and handed it to the ref not thrown it into the crowd where he could of hit an innocent person but the person that threw it first was the bigger idiot - what's the point in doing that? I hope he was short on change for the bus home!
from about 1 month ago
Drogba should have done that, but maybe it's easy to say that from a detached point of view. Personally, I probably would have done the same but people do things in the heat of the moment so maybe that's what happened to Drogba.
Thanks for commenting Maire.
write a new comment