Source: Daily_Mail
Stoke 0 Chelsea 0: Blues frustrated in Andre Villas-Boas' first game as boss
[LNB]It was all so terribly familiar. A pouting Portuguese manager in the technical area and a Chelsea team faced with exactly the kind of problems that led to the departure of Carlo Ancelotti.[LNB]How does he accommodate Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka in the same team? And how does he do so while trying to remain on the right side of Roman Abramovich? [LNB] Going close: Fernando Torres has a shot blocked by Jonathan Woodgate [LNB] [LNB]MATCH FACTSSTOKE (4-4-2): Begovic 8; Huth 7, Shawcross 7, Woodgate 7, Wilson 6; Pennant 6, Delap 6 (Pugh 71min, 6), Whelan 6, Etherington 7 (Whitehead 62, 6); Walters 6, Jones 6 (Shotton 86). Subs not used: Sorensen, Collins, Diao, Wilkinson. [LNB]Booked: Shawcross, Wilson.[LNB]CHELSEA (4-3-3): Cech 7; Bosingwa 6, Alex 7, Terry 7, Cole 6; Ramires 6, Obi 6, Lampard 6; Kalou 6 (Drogba 75, 6), Torres 7 (Benayoun 89), Malouda 6 (Anelka 66, 6). Subs not used: Hilario, Ivanovic, Ferreira, McEachran. [LNB]Booked: Cole, Lampard.[LNB]Man of the match: Fernando Torres.[LNB]Referee: Mark Halsey 6.[LNB]How they stand: Premier League table[LNB]Fortunately for Andre Villas-Boas, Chelsea's Russian owner gave this game a swerve and missed his new man wrestling with the conundrum. He started his first Premier League encounter with Torres but in his desperate search for a goal ended up with all three on the pitch after 75 minutes, and to no avail against a Stoke side that deserved their point from a predictably physical contest. [LNB]Rather like a certain predecessor, Villas-Boas did have a whinge afterwards. Stoke, he said, were guilty of some serious 'pushing and grabbing' in the penalty area. 'It was out of this world,' he declared, to which someone quite rightly pointed out that it was not a great deal different to tactics that were often employed by you-know-who. [LNB]As a central defensive partnership, John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho were masters of the art and Stoke's defenders in particular Jonathan Woodgate and Robert Huth deserve credit for the way they played here. [LNB]But it was all rather fascinating. Villas-Boas is just as animated as the other guy but a touch more unusual. He sank into a squat every time he got excited which was so often he is in danger of wearing out his knee joints before he reaches 40 and waved his arms around in a manner that made him look ever so slightly metrosexual alongside the Man at Sports Direct, Tony Pulis. [LNB] Full stretch: Asmir Begovic saves from Nicolas Anelka[LNB]Stoke's affable manager even played up to the contrast. 'I know you all want to speak to the other bloke so I'll be off,' he said after answering the first question of his post-match press conference.[LNB]Villas-Boas does seem to possess a certain aura though and there is no doubt Torres has responded well to his arrival. Stoke did not make life easy for the Spanish striker, in the way they handled him directly as well as the way they cut off his supply, but he looked the sharpest he's been since he joined Chelsea from Liverpool in January. [LNB]Keen battle: Matthew Etherington clashes with Chelsea's Florent Malouda[LNB]Villas-Boas will take some encouragement from that and when he watches atape of the game he will see that his side not only created the best ofthe chances but could have also had two penalties; first when Ryan Shawcross brought down Torres and then when Marc Wilson planted a boot in front of an advancing Frank Lampard. [LNB]While there was a drop of the leg that convinced Mark Halsey that Lampard might have dived, Wilson will not want to make a habit of doing that.[LNB] Acrobatics: Ashley Cole attempts an overhead kick at the Britannia Stadium[LNB]Had Abramovich been at the Britannia Stadium, he would have also appreciated the improvement Chelsea made after the break; the fact that their football was more fluid and purposeful and the fact that Asmir Begovic had to make some excellent saves to keep his side in the game. [LNB]They are moving in the right direction even if Villas-Boas was so disappointed with the draw that doesn't quite stand up to the defeat of Manchester United that marked one predecessor's introduction to English football's top flight. [LNB] Going down: Lampard, centre, falls over Stoke's Marc Wilson, left, but is not awarded a penalty[LNB]This was always likely to be a tough game, though, and so it proved. Stoke lost out in the battle for possession Chelsea enjoyed 66 per cent of the ball yesterday but made the kind of advances that created real problems for their visitors. In dealing, in particular, with those long throws from Rory Delap, Petr Cech, Terry and Alex had to be as alert as they were athletic. [LNB]Torres threatened a couple of times in the opening half, at one stage beating two players only to then scuff his shot. But the touch was assured and the movement was excellent, and at times there were even flashes of the old acceleration. He was pulling clear of Woodgate at onestage until the centre half dragged him back by the shirt.[LNB] Start of a big season: Fernando Torres battles with Jonathan Woodgate for the ball[LNB]It was after the break that Chelsea could have had a penalty or two. There was another incident when Torres felt he had been dragged down by Woodgate, and again he had a point.[LNB]It was moments after Lampard went crashing to the ground that John MikelObi forced a fine save from Begovic with a super volley. And it was soon after Anelka came on that the Frenchman so nearly beat Stoke's goalkeeper with a delightful chip. A further opportunity then fell to Salomon Kalou. Torres planted the ball on his head with a perfect delivery but the striker directed his effort straight at Begovic.[LNB] Come on, ref: John Terry makes his feelings very well known to Mark Halsey[LNB] [LNB]Villas-Boas responded to that by replacing Kalou with Drogba, which gaveChelsea more of a physical presence in the box but did not give his side the width they really needed. [LNB]'I was happy with the width,' their manager said afterwards but he also said enough to suggest he is looking to bring in some new players before the transfer window closes, adding: 'There's plenty of time still to make those decisions. I think the market will get extremely frenetic in the last week.'[LNB]Villas-Boas was in philosophical mood after the game, he said: 'I would have enjoyed it better if I had won it but I came up short in terms of the result. I was away from it (the Premier League) a couple of years but I never stopped following it. There's so many beautiful things in this game.[LNB] Penalty? Stoke were appealing for handball in the first half against John Terry[LNB]'The challenge this season is to get back the Premier League title. It's a point away from home, at Stoke, and it's a difficult place. Last season we finished second and we are here because we want to finish first.[LNB]On Sunday, there was not one new face in Chelsea's ranks just on the bench and until that changes there might be only so much Villas-Boas can do. [LNB]He needs to put his own signature on this Chelsea team; he needs a player like Luka Modric in midfield; and he needs Torres to continue hiscurrent rate of improvement to justify Drogba's presence on the bench.A win against West Bromwich next weekend would obviously help, too.[LNB] [LNB] Click here for the latest Premier League table, fixtures and results Stoke 0 Chelsea 0: How the action unfolded at the Britannia StadiumWatch all the Premier League goals every week on our brilliant video playerAll the latest Stoke news, features and opinionAll the latest Chelsea news, features and opinion[LNB] [LNB]
