Category: News

Summary
The youth team secured a first leg win over their London rivals in the FA Youth Cup semi-final on a mild spring evening at Stamford Bridge. Chuba Akpom fired the visitors ahead 11 minutes into the second half before Charlie Colkett and Alex Kiwomya both scored in the space of seven minutes to turn the contest around.

The victory gives the young Blues a slender advantage ahead of the return leg at the Emirates next Thursday 17 April.

Team news
There were three changes from the side that started the 3-2 win over Newcastle in the last round, with Fankaty Dabo, Jordan Houghton and schoolboy centre-back Jake Clarke-Salter coming into the team. Captain Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Charlie Colkett joined Houghton in midfield, while Ola Aina and Andreas Christensen comprised the remainder of the back four.

Dominic Solanke, with six goals in four Youth Cup games en route to the last four, led the line up front supported from out wide by Alex Kiwomya and Izzy Brown. Mitchell Beeney continued in goal.

First half
The game’s first opportunity came inside five minutes as Solanke rose in the box to meet a long throw from Aina from the right, though Joshua Vickers in the Arsenal goal gathered comfortably as the striker’s aerial effort lacked pace.

However, the opening exchanges were proving more open than might have been predicted and the visitors had a great chance to take an early lead after 12 minutes. Ainsley Maitland-Niles got in behind Dabo down the right flank and drilled a right-foot effort narrowly beyond Beeney’s far post.

In response, Kiwomya did well to beat his man and deliver from the right, though his cross was just behind Solanke and the supporting attackers and Tafari Moore was able to clear. Colkett and Solanke then combined intricately on the edge of the box to fashion an opportunity for Kiwomya, though the young Gunners were able to clear once again.

Vickers was in action again midway through the half as he pulled off an impressive double save to keep the scores level. First he denied Colkett after the midfielder’s neat one-two with Houghton, before returning to his feet quickly to thwart Kiwomya’s shot on the rebound.

Down the other end, an interchange between Chuba Akpom and Daniel Crowley in the Blues box gave the latter a sight at goal, though Beeney was equal to the midfield man’s strike with a strong stop.

Solanke tested Vickers twice in the final minutes of the half, initially after combining with Brown and then with a low drive from 25 yards, though both were dealt with well by the man in the Gunners goal. Beeney tipped a looping header over his crossbar for a corner in injury time, though the delivery was hit too long and the scores remained level at the break.

Second half
The Blues were back on the front foot after the restart as Vickers held a Brown strike well after it bounced awkwardly in front of him and then skipper Loftus-Cheek fired over from distance.

Christensen and Loftus-Cheek had to be alert defending a couple of minutes later following an intercepted short ball out from Beeney, though the pair did well to snuff out the danger from Crowley, however the deadlock was soon broken 11 minutes into the second period and it was the visitors celebrating.

Maitland-Niles fed in Akpom down the left channel and, after being faced up by Aina on the edge of the box, the striker worked himself a yard of space and drilled a high left-footed effort beyond Beeney to put his team in front.

However, the visitors’ lead lasted less than three minutes as Viveash’s side responded strongly. Loftus-Cheek led the charge out from the back on the break and, after the initial move forward broke down and the loose ball was returned to him, he flicked a delicious pass through to the supporting Colkett, who rifled the ball past Vickers confidently for his second Youth Cup goal of the campaign.

The momentum was now with the hosts and Vickers had to get down low to make a strong save from Brown after Houghton’s layoff. Solanke was alive and pounced for the rebound, though could only strike wide as the ball came back to him at speed. Yet the turnaround was completed moments later as the young Blues got themselves ahead after 66 minutes.

Loftus-Cheek clipped an inviting cross into the box and Solanke powered a header towards goal that Vickers did well to keep out. Kiwomya reacted quickest to the loose ball in the air and twisted acrobatically to turn it into the back of the net for his third Youth Cup goal in three games.

Jay Dasilva replaced Brown with 20 minutes remaining to make his debut in the competition, a reward for a strong campaign with the Under-18s for the left-sided schoolboy, though chances were limited as the game was broken up by a series of stoppages for injuries and fouls.

Aina defended strongly up against Akpom as Carl Laraman’s side looked for a leveller, before the full-back broke forward to fire narrowly over with a left-footed strike from distance. 4,961 supporters had come down to the Bridge to support the youngsters and they were not disappointed with their evening’s entertainment as the match moved into its final stages.

Chelsea were in the ascendancy in the final 10 minutes and Vickers was again proving crucial to keep Arsenal’s deficit at one, firstly to thwart Solanke with a low stop with his feet following Dasilva’s centre from the left, and then to palm away Dabo’s powerful effort from the edge of the box.

That proved to be the final action of the night as Viveash’s side defended a couple of set-pieces strongly in the final few minutes and held on to take a slender advantage to the Emirates next week.

Next up for the Academy is a league trip to Newcastle for the Under-18s on Saturday, 12 April. The return leg of the Youth Cup semi-final will be played at the Emirates next Thursday, 17 April, with tickets priced at £4 for adults and £2 for concessions. Tickets can be purchased online until noon on Monday, 14 April. The game will also be screened live on Chelsea TV.

Manager Reaction
Viveash spoke afterwards of his belief that his side would be able to come from behind, after previous comebacks in the competition this campaign, and highlighted the game as a terrific representation of youth team football. Speaking to the official Chelsea website, he said: ‘It was a wonderful advert for youth football with two great sides going at it.

‘It was a big physical exertion and we’ve just shaded it tonight but there’s a long way to go and we know it’s only half time in the tie. We’ve seen tonight what it’s going to take to overcome this Arsenal team.

‘I never doubted our ability to come back in the game. We did it at Newcastle in the last round and that’s what happens when you get a positive result away from home coming from behind. Now that we’ve done it twice that will only build the belief in the group.

‘We’ll enjoy tonight but we’ll wake up tomorrow and I’ll start thinking about the second leg but a lot of the players will have to start thinking about Aston Villa away with the Under-21s on Monday. They’re trying to win the league so there’s a lot of games for us but come next Thursday we’ll be ready for the challenge and we look forward to it.’

Chelsea: Mitchell Beeney; Ola Aina, Andreas Christensen, Jake Clarke-Salter (Isak Ssewankambo 76), Fankaty Dabo (Kasey Palmer 88); Jordan Houghton, Ruben Loftus-Cheek (c), Charlie Colkett; Alex Kiwomya, Izzy Brown (Jay Dasilva 70), Dominic Solanke
Unused subs: Bradley Collins, Charly Musonda
Scorers: Colkett 59, Kiwomya 66
Bookings: Clarke-Salter, Loftus-Cheek

Arsenal: Joshua Vickers, Tafari Moore, Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill, Glen Kamara, Leander Siemann, Julio Pleguezuelo, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Gedion Zelalem (Jack Jebb 67), Chuba Akpom (c), Daniel Crowley, Alexander Iwobi
Unused subs: Ryan Huddart, Stefan O’Connor, Austin Lipman, George Dobson
Scorers: Akpom 56
Bookings: Kamara

Crowd: 4,961

By Sam Poplett

Nemanja Matic is the latest player to put six subjects into the categories first, last, best, worst, easiest and hardest…

FIRST
Holiday. It was with my mother and my brother in Montenegro. At that time I think I was about 10 years old. It was a beach holiday, next to the sea, at a place called Sutomore.

LAST
TV. That was Sky TV. I watched the football highlights from the Premier League’s games this weekend.

BEST
Game. For me I will never forget the Europa League final between Benfica and Chelsea. That was a special game for me. We lost but it was the best game because we played in the final and it was also nice to play against my old team, and now my team again!

WORST
Music. It’s a difficult question but maybe it’s the music that Salah likes! I don’t know what it is actually. I’m joking, I don’t know the worst music. I listen only to Serbian music and a few English songs – the rest for me is bad!

EASIEST
Training. That is always after the game when we just have to walk around the pitch, that’s it.

HARDEST
Opponent. I’ve played against a lot of good players. I like the way that Marek Hamsik from Napoli plays, he was very difficult to control in the midfield area. I think I also have to say Messi. That’s obvious.

Then there were four. Munich or Madrid beckons for the Blues, so the official Chelsea website takes a look at our possible opponents when the draw for the semi-finals of the Champions League is made tomorrow…

Tuesday night’s dramatic 2-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain secured our place in the semi-finals of Europe’s elite competition for the seventh time in 11 seasons. In that time it is a figure only Barcelona can match.

The draw takes place in Nyon, Switzerland tomorrow (Friday) at 11am (UK time). The Blues, who are 11/2 to win the competition with our official betting partner Coral, are guaranteed a trip to either the Spanish capital or the scene of our greatest triumph following the conclusion of the quarter-final ties last night. Here, the official Chelsea website checks on our potential opponents.

Reigning European champions Bayern Munich were for 22 seconds going out of the competition last night. Having drawn their first leg with Manchester United at Old Trafford 1-1, the German side – whose 53-game unbeaten league run ended this weekend – went behind to a Patrice Evra thunderbolt.

But they responded immediately through a neat Mario Mandzukic header and the Bavarians eventually ran out comfortable 3-1 winners courtesy of goals from Thomas Muller and former Blue Arjen Robben. Another ex-Chelsea man Claudio Pizarro made a late substitute appearance.

Bayern wrapped up the Bundesliga on 25 March with seven games to spare, a German record, and manager Pep Guardiola has since stressed all their efforts for the remainder of this campaign will go into retaining their European crown as well as lifting the German Cup again.

Though no team has successfully defended their Champions League crown, Bayern are favourites with Coral to lift the trophy again, priced at 11/8. A pairing with the Munich side would of course see us return to the Allianz Arena for the first time since 19 May 2012, a date etched in our club’s history. We also met Bayern in this season’s Super Cup in Prague, losing on penalties after a well-contested 2-2 draw.

La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid progressed to the semi-finals of the European Cup for the first time in 40 years after defeating Barcelona 2-1 on aggregate. They are 5/1 to lift the trophy for the first time.

Koke’s fifth-minute goal was enough to secure a 1-0 win at the Vicente Calderon last night which, coupled with the 1-1 draw they earned in the Nou Camp last week, sent Diego Simeone’s men through at the Catalans’ expense.

The result was all the more impressive considering Atletico were without the injured duo of Arda Turan and Diego Costa. The latter, who has struck 32 goals this season including seven in the Champions League, is expected to be fit for the semi-finals.

Thibaut Courtois is on loan at Atletico from the Blues and shone in both legs against Barca, while there is a further Chelsea connection in the form of Tiago, whose exemplary midfield play last night was a major factor in nullifying the threat posed by Xavi, Iniesta and co. The Portuguese, now 32, was at Stamford Bridge for a solitary season under Jose Mourinho in 2004/05.

This will be Atletico’s fourth appearance at this stage of the competition. Their last, in 1974, took them to the final where they met Bayern Munich, losing after a replay.

We played Atletico in the group stages of the 2009/10 season, romping to a 4-0 home success before drawing 2-2 in the Spanish capital, Sergio Aguero and Didier Drogba netting a brace apiece for their respective sides.

Atletico’s city rivals Real Madrid complete the semi-final line-up. The nine-time winners, now managed by Carlo Ancelotti, survived a quarter-final scare to progress to this stage of the competition for the fourth year running. Under Mourinho in the previous three years they were not able to reach the final being eliminated by Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund respectively.

In a fixture that was a repeat of last year’s semi-final, this time around Real ran out easy 3-0 winners at the Bernebeu before travelling to Germany for the second leg on Tuesday evening. The visitors were without the injured Ronaldo and Dortmund burst into a two-goal lead courtesy of Marco Reus and they had clear chances to level the tie on aggregate later on in the game. They were not taken, though, so Real held out for a 3-2 aggregate victory. Coral make them second favourites at 2/1.

After the quarter-final draw was made Real lost successive La Liga games, at home to Barcelona and away to Sevilla, handing the domestic advantage to their city rivals Atleti and their old rivals Barca. They are aiming to scale the European heights not reached since winning the competition in 2002 and in turn get one over their Spanish foes.

We have never met Real Madrid in the Champions League, but we have beaten them in two European finals – the 1971 Cup Winners’ Cup final and the Super Cup in 1999. Those games were played on neutral territory.

The club will be represented at the draw by Chief Executive Ron Gourlay, Director and Club Secretary David Barnard and Paulo Ferreira. Each side at the draw is sending a former player.

– You can find out who we are drawn against through this website, the club’s official Twitter feed @chelseafc and our SMS alerts.

Andre Schurrle was delighted to help the side through to the last four of the Champions League on Tuesday night, and added his name to those expressing their happiness for his follow goalscorer Demba Ba.

The German began the game on the bench but was called into action early due to Eden Hazard’s injury, and struck the first goal of the night just 15 minutes after his introduction with an instinctive right-footed finish from 12 yards.

Despite Schurrle’s intervention, we were still destined for elimination until another substitute, Ba, slid home a second goal three minutes from time to book our place in the last four.

‘We needed to have patience, we hit the bar twice but we never gave up, that’s what this team is about,’ the 23-year-old said as he looked back on a special night at the Bridge.

‘When you see on the clock there is five minutes to go and you need to score, you don’t give up. You put everything you have in the game and everyone is very happy for Demba, he’s had a difficult time but he totally deserves it.’

Trailing 3-1 from the first leg, the Blues knew it would be a difficult evening, but Jose Mourinho had instilled confidence in a side that is used to scoring goals on home soil.

‘Almost every time we played at Stamford Bridge we scored two goals, we only needed two goals, and that’s what we did,’ Schurrle said.

‘We knew we had to play like we always do, with a little bit more risk maybe because we needed to score, but we also had to be patient because we can score at any time. We wanted to score in the first half to give us more options, but after that it didn’t matter if we scored in the 46th or 90th minute, and in the end we did it and we deserved it because we played very well, we had the ball all the time and dominated the game from the beginning.’

The win leaves us awaiting Friday morning’s semi-final draw, but Schurrle is adamant it does not matter who we face in the last four.

‘We can win against every team, so that’s what we will try no matter who we get,’ he said.

The draw takes place in Switzerland on Friday morning, 11am UK time.

The FA Youth Cup returns to Stamford Bridge this week as Adi Viveash’s Under-18s host Arsenal in the first leg of their semi-final clash this evening [Thursday], in a game being screened live on Chelsea TV.

The Academy have had a busy week as the Under-21s, a group in which a bulk of the Youth Cup squad play their regular football, have been in action twice and the youth team won against Bolton at the weekend. It is, says Viveash, not the perfect preparation for the Cup tie but a schedule he is happy to contend with as the different age groups compete for silverware on various fronts.

Speaking to the official Chelsea website ahead of the semi-final, he explains: ‘The preparation isn’t ideal at this stage of the season but it’s good for us to be competitive. It’s great for the players and the staff involved for our Under-21s to be fighting to finish as high as they can in their league.

‘It’s probably been slightly easier for Arsenal to manage what they’re doing in terms of preparing for the game than for us, but we’ve had a similar build-up to the Newcastle game [a 3-2 away win in the last round], with a lot of analysis and working on our game plan.’

The manager admits the introduction of two-legged ties from the semi-final stage of the competition onwards brings new challenges for him as a coach, though his players will be solely focused on their immediate task this evening.

‘As a player you can only think about the game in front of you and we’re focusing fully on the first leg. If you get caught ahead of yourselves then it takes away from the first game and we know if we don’t do our job at the Bridge then there won’t be a second leg to contest.

‘We saw that against Blackburn when we won the competition in 2012, where we were exceptional in the first leg and finished the final there and then. I’m the only person that has thought about both games and I have to do that because it’s my job.’

The young Gunners come into the last four on the back of wins against Charlton and Everton, though have had an indifferent campaign across both Under-21 and youth team age groups. However, as Viveash points out, their strength in the cup competitions remains impressive.

‘Their best team only comes together for the Youth Cup and the UEFA Youth League [where they, like Dermot Drummy’s Chelsea Under-19s, reached the quarter-finals]. In the Under-18s their team has changed a lot this season, much like ours, with a lot of schoolboys involved, but in the Youth Cup they play their best team and their best team is very strong.

‘They can play a couple of different styles, either going with a high press and really going after you, or filtering into a 4-5-1 and making it extremely tight. I wouldn’t be surprised if they followed the second approach in the first leg and were then more expansive at home in the second leg, so I’m expecting a cagey game tonight but we’re at home and we’re going to try to dominate the game and the tempo.

‘They have players who can cause us a lot of damage and that is what we have to be aware of but if we do our jobs properly both on and off the ball then we have a team good enough to give anyone problems.’

While schoolboy striker Dominic Solanke has deservedly won many of the plaudits en route to the semi-final stage, after six goals in four games in the competition so far, there are a host of attacking options at Viveash’s disposal.

‘We have five or six of the best attacking players in the country at Under-18 level, with the likes of Solanke, Alex Kiwomya, Izzy Brown, Jeremie Boga, Charly Musonda, Reece Mitchell and Kasey Palmer. We have good players in all the positions but the forwards are the ones who get the headlines. They all bring something different and if you can get them fitting in together then you have a very exciting, potent force.’

The nature of the Youth Cup means that most players only get two opportunities to taste glory and, for the second year scholars among the group, this represents their final chance to lift the prestigious silverware. It is those senior members of the team that Viveash will be relying upon to demonstrate their experience and secure a place in the final against Fulham.

‘At this stage of the competition you want your senior players to really lead and that’s what I need. You look to people like Ruben Loftus-Cheek (pictured below) as our captain, who leads in a different way with the way that he plays, Fankaty Dabo, Andreas Christensen, Jordan Houghton and Mitchell Beeney, who’s been with the first team travelling in the Champions League this season.

‘We obviously need our experienced players to have big nights for us to get the positive result that we want but sometimes in these semi-finals it’s people out of the limelight that actually do something special. We’ve got a nice balance and they all have that steely determination to succeed, which is what playing for this club means.

‘After the win at Cardiff [in the fifth round] I felt we had momentum building and then we had a brilliant result at Newcastle. I don’t know think any of the other semi-finalists would have won that game from the position we were in and that has given massive belief to the group.’

Stamford Bridge has played host to a thrilling knockout contest once already this week and it is from that victory for the first team over Paris Saint-Germain that Viveash is hoping his own youngsters can draw inspiration.

‘It doesn’t get much better than that at Stamford Bridge and I’m sure some of the boys were watching and thinking “we’re out on here in two days”. We’ve prepared a team that is a very good, competitive side and it’s a mouth-watering London derby. They don’t come any bigger.’

– Tickets for the game are priced £5 for adults and £3 for juniors/seniors and are now only on sale in person at the box office until 4pm. Kick off is 7.05pm.

– Chelsea TV’s live coverage with exclusive build-up begin at 6.30pm.

– Click for ticket information for the second leg at the Emirates Stadium next week.