When Sylvain Marveaux arrived from Rennes on a free transfer two years ago just one day after Demba Ba signed on for the club we thought Sylvain was going to be an excellent signing and he would add some class to the Newcastle side. Sylvain Marveaux has looked a very good player [...]
One area of play where Newcastle have to be a lot better than we've been this season, is from set plays and especially from corners, and we've only scored once this season from a corner and that was when Demba Ba handled the ball into the back of the net at Reading but [...]
Papiss Cisse is in the zone right now, after scoring two sensational goals in added time in our last two games, which helped us beat Stoke City last Sunday 2-1, and also beat a very good Anzhi side 1-0 on Thursday night, to go through to the last eight of the Europa League. Papiss Cisse [...]
Newcastle player Moussa Sissoko (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Hatem Ben Afra's failed attempt at goal in Newcastle's Europa Cup match against Anzhi Makhachkala on Wednesday represents the Magpies season; close but not quite there.
After the team sold star striker Demba Ba to Chelsea it was clear that Newcastle was looking to go in a new direction with their squad, but this season has not indicated where exactly this team is going.
Papiss Cisse is a Muslim and like his former striker partner Demba Ba, he is a very humble guy, and while he was pleased with the great goal he scored on Sunday against Southampton, he says the best goal he's ever scored was last season against Chelsea, when he was on the left wing late [...]
A Chelsea flag is waved during the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 second leg match (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)
Manchester United officially captured the Premier League title with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa on April 22nd and having been knocked out of the Champions League and the FA Cup, and with the points record out of reach, the last several matches really don't mean much for the Red Devils.
Manchester United v Chelsea Rivalry: 9 talking points in the Abramovich era - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Manchester United and Chelsea lock horns this weekend, in what is a fixture with history. Although the Red Devils have already wrapped up the Premier League title, Sir Alex Ferguson will want to win at Old Trafford, while the Blues are involved in a battle for a top-four berth.
It took us the half time interval to get our tempo going after conceding a goal just before half time but within 15 minutes or so from the re-start, this game was dead and buried and Chelsea head to Amsterdam to take on Benfica on Wednesday 15th May in the Europa League final!
It was always going to be one of those games tonight with Chelsea leading 2-1 after the first leg with two away goals scored.
Chelsea will travel to Anfield on Sunday to take on a struggling Liverpool side that has earned just five points in its last four matches against four teams in the bottom half of the table.
After a beautiful 3-0 victory over Fulham, Chelsea recently regained their third place spot in the table ahead of Arsenal and below Manchester City.
After a morale boosting victory in the Manchester derby, Manchester City continued their late season surge in the FA Cup as City took down Chelsea 2-1 at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon. A spot in next years Champions League looks imminent at this point in time; however, Roberto Mancini is likely urging his side forward to claim the FA Cup crown.
Manchester City withstood a late fightback from Chelsea to win a gripping FA Cup semi-final 2-1 at Wembley Stadium this afternoon and knock the holders out of the competition.
Goals in each half from Samir Nasri and Sergio Aguero put City in control, but Chelsea replied through Demba Ba, only for Roberto Mancini's men to resist the holders' desperate search for an equaliser.
Chelsea face a potential defensive crisis this week with no first-team left back available after Ryan Bertrand has been struck down with a virus. Ashley Cole is still injured, so it may mean that Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez will give 18-year-old Nathan Ake a start against Rubin Kazan on Thursday in the Europa League quarter-final.
In a cross between Blue Man Group and Avatar, the bodies of nine Chelsea footballers have been completely painted blue to promote the club's new home shirt that will be unveiled next month.
The new advertising campaign from adidas features Juan Mata, Fernando Torres, David Luiz, Petr Cech, John Terry, Demba Ba, Eden Hazard, Oscar and Gary Cahill.
Fernando Torres scored twice as Chelsea seized the initiative with a 3-1 win in their UEFA Europa League quarter-final tie with Rubin Kazan.
The much-maligned Chelsea striker now has 19 goals on the season in all competitions. That is more than Demba Ba, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero
Torres scored a scrappy opener after 16 minutes and a headed second after 70 minutes, while Victor Moses was also on target for the Blues.
Following Demba Ba's wonder strike against Man United at the weekend, surely Fernando Torres had to do something anything to get everyone else to sit up and notice! So in the Europa League last night, he borrowed a mask from The Petr Cech Collection™, fittingly scored twice against Rubin Kazan and transformed himself into the Spanish Batman for a good 90 minutes.
Demba Ba was featured in the media yesterday fresh from scoring the winner against Manchester United on Sunday. That goal put us through to a semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley next weekend.
Tonight, Chelsea take on Rubin Kazan in the quarter final first leg at Stamford Bridge, another cup competition we are doing well in so far and BA himself has re-iterated that it's the trophies you win that are more important that finishing inside the top four this season.
Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 in their FA Cup quarterfinal replay thanks to some great saves from Petr Cech and Demba Ba's 49th-minute goal. With both clubs playing on one day's rest, Juan Mata provided Ba with an exquisite long pass into the box, which Ba finished with impressive leg extension.
A spectacular strike from Demba Ba saw FA Cup holders Chelsea to a 1-0 win over Manchester United in their quarter-final replay.
The Blues, who have lifted the trophy in four of the last six seasons, will now face Manchester City at Wembley in the semi-finals with another fixture added to an already hectic April schedule for Rafa Benitez's side.
After Chelsea defeated Manchester United today in the 6th Round replay of the FA Cup, Demba Ba reminded TV viewers that he's used to scoring over-the-shoulder goals like the sensational one he did today.
In his post-match interview on ITV Sport, Ba mentioned the goal he scored for Newcastle United against Manchester United on January 4, 2012 when he got the first goal to give the Toon Army the lead.
Chelsea vs Manchester United 2013 Highlights 1-0 Demba Ba Goal Cech Save Hernandez Video 6th Round Replay is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter
Chelsea vs Manchester United 2013 Highlights 1-0 Demba Ba Goal Cech Save Hernandez Video 6th Round Replay is a post from Soccer Blogger.
Chelsea striker Demba Ba scored a sublime goal in the 49th minute of the FA Cup 6th Round replay match against Manchester United to make it 1-0 to the Blues with 40 minutes to go in the match.
Juan Mata floated the inch-perfect cross into Manchester United's penalty area, over Rio Ferdinand and over the shoulder of Ba, who turned his body and hit the ball with his right foot to send the ball into the corner of the net.
Southampton's 3-1 win over Liverpool last time out had the air of one that could come to be regarded as a season defining victory. A potentially challenging opponent deservedly vanquished to secure a vital three points in their battle against relegation. With a four point gap between them and the bottom three, the Saints have a genuine chance of getting out of this.
David Luiz has assured the media and fans alike that Chelsea are keen for success in the Europa League.
The Blues, who lifted the Champions League trophy last May, are in Romania for the first leg of their last sixteen tie, and ahead of the game Luiz has insisted the club have the hunger to go all the way in the competition.
Cesar Azpilicueta during a Chelsea press conference (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)
Chelsea take on Steaua Bucharesti in a rematch that they will hope to see go their way as utter disappointment last week in the first leg. The Blues suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Romanian side, but will be looking to take advantage of their home crowd in the return.
Ramires (l) of Chelsea celebrates scoring his teaam's second goal with team-mates Cesar Azpilicueta and Juan Mata (r) (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
On Sunday, Manchester United started off brilliantly in the FA Cup at Old Trafford scoring two early goals from Chicharito and Wayne Rooney; however, Rafa Benitez's side reconfigured their approach in the second half to level the match at 2-2.
Chelsea vs West Brom Highlights 2013 1-0 Demba Ba Goal Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter
Chelsea vs West Brom Highlights 2013 1-0 Demba Ba Goal Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Chelsea vs West Bromwich Albion 2013 ( Chelsea WBA VIDEO BELOW) Final score and result:- Chelsea vs West Brom 1-0 ( Demba Ba) Stamford Bridge, London- 2 March, 2013- 2/3/13- Saturday- 15.
Eden Hazard of Chelsea (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Seventh place West Bromwich Albion will travel to Stamford Bridge Saturday to face Rafael Benitez and his 4th place Chelsea squad.
Over the past few weeks, Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez has been under heavy scrutiny after a disappointing 1-1 draw to Sparta Prague in the Europa League, followed by a 0-2 loss away at Manchester City.
Head coach Jose Mourinho of Real Madrid (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)
Sitting third in the La Liga table, Real Madrid have had a bit of a roller coaster season. There has been a lot of talk about whether or not Cristiano Ronaldo will retreat back to the Premier League in the off-season, and suffering a shocking upset to Granada in the last month has not stabilized anything.
Andre Villas-Boas was sacked following a defeat to West Brom, Roberto Di Matteo was sacked following a defeat to West Brom... so Rafael Benitez would do well to avoid an embarrassing result at home to the Baggies this weekend.
Di Matteo based his Chelsea side around the creative trio of Oscar, Eden Hazard and Juan Mata earlier this season, but Benitez has favoured a more cautious starting XI.
Grant Leadbitter of Middlesbrough-Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images
A trip to Old Trafford is at stake for the winner of the FA Cup fifth round match between Chelsea and Middlesbrough.
Despite falling 2-0 on Sunday to Manchester City, Rafa Benitez's Chelsea side will look to see themselves through to the quartfinals against a tough Middlesbrough side.
A penalty save from Joe Hart became the spark that Manchester City needed to dispatch Chelsea 2-0, giving the defending champions their first league win since January 19.
The goalkeeper committed a foul on masked Chelsea striker Demba Ba in the box early in the second half, setting Frank Lampard up for a chance at his 200th club goal.
Demba Ba is heavily featured in an interview with the London Evening Standard and has championed the idea of Rafa Benitez starting him alongside Fernando Torres against Liverpool.
He said:
"When he came on the pitch against City he helped me a lot. We caused them problems so I think we could play together.
Yaya Toure of Manchester City-Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
A couple of this season's issues were settled over the weekend just past. One of them was that there will not be a clean sweep of domestic silverware by northern clubs, after League Two Bradford City's Capital One Cup adventure came to a horrible end at the hands of Swansea City.
Mark your calendars football fans Saturday, May 11th will see Chelsea and Wigan Athletic square off at Wembley Stadium in the final of the FA Cup. Ousted from the Champions League in the group stages, and the Premier League crown stolen weeks ago by Manchester United, a light may be at the end of the tunnel for a so far, trophy-less season for the Citizens.
12 months ago the Toon Army were buzzing. They had just defeated Stoke City 3-0 at St James' Park, brushing aside Tony Pulis men with consummate ease. At the heart was a midfield the envy of much of the Premier League. Yohan Cabaye, Cheicke Tiote, Hatem Ben Arfa and Jonas Guitierrez were the pivot of a team that was enjoying a run of six unbeaten games conceding just one in the process.
Exactly 22 things happened/were worth talking about in April. One of them was Margaret Thatcher's death. Another was this picture of George Osborne crying. Here are the other 20. (20: what could possibly be the significance of that number?)
20 things (not quite in chronological order):
1: Take away this Cup from me
Manchester United had no cup football in April of last year: good, no distractions.
Gareth Bale of Tottenham (Google Creative Commons)
The biggest match of the week saw Chelsea travel north to face Manchester City in a FA Cup semifinal clash between two teams also in the middle of a fight for Champions League qualification in the Premiership standings.
Coming into Sunday's match with home pitch advantage, Manchester City clearly had the upper hand.
Demba Ba tried to spark a second-half comeback for Chelsea in their 2-1 loss to Man City in the FA Cup semifinals by scoring a tremendous goal in the 66th minute. Ba reigned in a long ball from David Luiz, then displayed impressive balance and control by turning and hooking the ball past Costel Pantilimon.
This afternoon is interesting for many reasons. The fact we have three games in the space of six days will stretch our squad to the limit. The biggest of the all is United at home in the FA Cup on Monday and you would have to believe that Rafa will select his "strongest eleven" for that one, so it will be interesting to see who starts up front against Southampton today.
