PAT NEVIN: EURO VISION

A veteran of watching matches in the Europa League and its earlier incarnation, columnist Pat Nevin discusses the competition Chelsea are about embark upon…

Another week where news is not hard to find at Chelsea but this time most of it is pretty good.

First the win at the weekend and four goals was just what was needed with the likes of Everton, Spurs and Arsenal breathing down our necks in the league. Well done to the team for that one.

Congratulations also obviously must go to John Mikel Obi, Victor Moses and Kenneth Omeruo as they were each influential in Nigeria lifting the Africa Cup of Nations. On top of that Mikel and Moses are now on the way back to bolster a squad that was certainly stretched in their absence. With David Luiz available again, JT also working back to full fitness and Demba Ba managing to make himself available even with a rearranged face, there are finally a few options in the squad.

Those options will be needed as the cup ties come thick and fast and the fight to stay in the top four heats up. Last season obviously could have been a nightmare if we hadn’t won the Champions League final, so this time there is officially no room for error.

When I say nightmare I mean financially because unlike some folk I actually enjoy the Europa League each season. Of course I would rather Chelsea were in the Champions League still, but having covered the Europa League and the UEFA Cup before it for 15 years with Channel 5 TV here in the UK, I don’t have the superiority complex many have towards the competition.

On the downside, football snobs only have interest in the biggest prizes and think anything else is beneath them. There are plenty who feel that way and good luck to them, everyone is entitled to an opinion. As a player however I would have been delighted to have got to the final of what was then the UEFA Cup, unfortunately most of my career was blighted by a ban on English clubs playing in Europe. The idea of a trip to Sparta Prague would have certainly got me interested and to be fair it still does, it also seems to interest the rest of Europe as well.

I always found it very interesting travelling around the continent to find that the only country that was largely sneering towards the Europa League was England. I would turn up to games in Madrid, Bilbao, Amsterdam, Porto etc. and the locals would be seriously up for it. Back in Blighty it sometimes felt like an encumbrance. Yes I understand the Premier League will come first and the pressure of the number of games and the intensity does pressure English clubs, but they have more money to start with than other European sides, so they should have better squads, so why moan on when your opponents are just happy to be there in European competition?

One of the other things I like more about the Europa League than the Champions League is that you do not necessarily, with any level of certainty, know who is going to be in the last four every season. The Champions League semi-finals will almost always be from Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern, Man Utd, Chelsea, a Milan club and maybe another English club if you’re lucky. Once in a blue moon a Schalke or a Villarreal will get in, i.e. once each of them in the last seven seasons, but generally it is a closed shop.

The Europa League is more open even if Spanish and Portuguese sides have dominated of late. I think there is a reason for that however and it is nothing more than they take it totally seriously whereas the English generally do not- apologies to Stoke City and Fulham fans, whose teams were definitely up for it. Just look at the careers that have been launched from this competition, Mourinho and Villas-Boas were both huge beneficiaries of winning this tournament. Even a look at the final in the last few seasons would have opened a few eyes to Radamel Falcao, eyes that were maybe too focused on the Champions League.

I hope the jaunt to Prague isn’t Chelsea’s last this season in the Europa League, I hope the fans and the team embrace it. For me there is no embarrassment with being involved in the Europa League, though I am sometimes embarrassed by those who think they are somehow above it. As a player I can honestly say if you gave me losing semi-finalist in the Champions League or a winner’s medal in the Europa League, I would take the latter. In fact a silver medal in the Champions League compared to gold in the Europa and I am still with the Europa. Surprising maybe, but there is nothing like celebrating winning a trophy for the players and the fans, which certainly wouldn’t be beneath me!

Last week I asked an interesting quiz question and I knew it would be pretty difficult, but I can’t seem to beat you lot. I asked, have two Chelsea players ever scored in the same England match, for opposing teams. If so name them and the match? I was impressed that one or two mentioned the international tie in 2008 between Serbia and France where Ivanovic and Anelka scored for the opposing national sides of Serbia and France, but that wasn’t of course England.

A few also suggested that both John Terry and Andriy Shevchenko scored in the World Cup qualifier between England and Ukraine at Wembley on 01 April 2009, which England won 2-1. A good call because although at Milan at the time Sheva was only on loan from us.

One other good answer was Joe Cole and an Ashley Cole own goal in a 2-2 draw for England with the Czech Republic on 20 August 2008 at Wembley. Milan Baros was credited with Ash’s goal but our full back certainly (unfortunately) deflected it into his own net.Of the mere 31 correct answers this week, the lucky winner chosen at random is Tom Rumbelow from Beckenham, Kent.

This time it is just a little easier I trust. Who were the first and the last players to score for Chelsea in a recognised European club tournament? The most recent is pretty easy, but the other might need just a little digging, I wonder how many of you know both answers off the top of your heads without googling?

Answers to me at pat.nevin@chelseafc.com and the lucky winner randomly chosen will receive a winner of a Munich Champions League final picture signed by one of the players.

GETTING TO KNOW: PRAGUE

Later this week the Blues’ Europa League campaign begins with a trip to face Sparta Prague and for our supporters descending on the city, the official Chelsea website has the lowdown on what to do.

Martin Holub lives in the city, and offered travelling fans some important advice on getting around.

‘The best way to travel around Prague is by public transport,’ he says. ‘You can use the Underground (Line A – green, Line B – yellow, Line C – red), or alternatively both trams and buses are reliable.

‘I would recommend a one-day ticket, which costs 120 CZK, while a single ride is priced 32 CZK and is less effective.

‘When travelling into the city from Prague airport, you can use Bus AE (Airport Express) or regular lines 100, 119 and 179. It’s also worth checking the Prague Public Transportation Website.’

Sparta Prague Stadium

Martin went on to add that the stadium itself [pictured above] is accessible from most areas of the city.

There is so much to see and do when in the city, and Ludek Jando, another local resident, suggested the following landmarks.

‘The Charles Bridge [pictured below] is probably the most famous site in the city,’ he explains. ‘It’s one of the oldest bridges in central Europe and a must-see for all tourists who visit Prague.

Charles Bridge

‘Wenceslas Square is the biggest square in the country. Located on both “Muzeum” and “Mustek” stations, it’s full of shops and restaurants and is a famous place for both locals and tourists.

‘Prague Castle [pictured below] is the home of our president and one of the biggest castles in Europe. It’s definitely worth the hike up the hill, or you can also take a tram to “Pohořelec” station and then just walk the way down through the castle. There’s also a beautiful St. Vitus’ Cathedral, which is definitely worth visiting.

Prague Castle image 1

In a city renowned for its quality beer, Ludek went on to cite the best places to eat and drink ahead of the game.

‘Veleslavínova 3 is a pub which is great for beer, burgers, Czech and also international cuisine,’ he says. ‘There are two floors, with one separated for smokers, and the great thing is that there are taps on each table and you can tap a beer by yourself.

‘You can get a nice meal with a beer for under 200 CZK, which is about 6.7 GBP. It’s located right in the city centre, around five minutes from the Old Town Square and just a few minutes’ walk from Prague Castle.

‘Lokál Dlouhá is the best place to get typical and traditional Czech cuisine, and many people say this is the best place to get beer in Prague.

‘It’s located very close to the Old Town Square, but be aware, it’s very popular and it might be very crowded and full if you arrive after 7pm with no reservation.’

For those supporters who enjoy spending the day exploring what shops are on offer, Holub believes they won’t be disappointed.

‘The biggest shopping malls are Paladium (Line B, station “Namesti Republiky”), Arkady Pankrac (Line C, station “Pankrac”), OC Novy Smichov (Line B, station “Andel”), and OC Chodov (Line C, station “Chodov”),’ he explains.

‘You will also find many souvenir shops in the city centre, although the prices of clothes and electronics are usually higher than in the UK.’

SEE THE TROPHIES AT THE KINGSTON STORE

Fans have two opportunities to get up close with the Champions League and FA Cup trophies in our store in Kingston next week.

The trophies will be making the short trip from Stamford Bridge to our new Kingston store, and will be available for photos with supporters on Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 February from 10am-4pm.

UNDER-21 REPORT: BLACKBURN ROVERS 2 CHELSEA 1

Summary
Marko Marin fired Chelsea ahead shortly after half-time but a run of three wins came to an end as two mistakes were punished in a game the Blues had otherwise controlled.

Most of the action on a bitterly cold night in Leigh, Lancashire, came in the second half. Chelsea hit woodwork either side of Blackburn’s goals which came in quick succession and were two well-taken strikes.

Marin, whose goal was also one to admire, played for an hour.

Team news
The defence and goalkeeper were unchanged from the win over Sunderland in the previous game. With Ruben Loftus-Cheek away with England Under-17s, Lewis Baker came into midfield with schoolboy Jeremie Boga handed the ‘no. 10’ role.

Milan Lalkovic moved from the wing to centre-forward with Marin starting on the left flank.

First half
Marin, fresh from his maiden first-team goal for Chelsea at the weekend was at the centre of the first incident of this game. A tug on him resulted in a free-kick wide on the left which the German took. It initially looked as if he had fired it far too high but the ball dipped quickly and bounced off the top of the crossbar. The back-peddling goalkeeper may well have made up enough ground to have it covered.

Sandomierski then had his hands warmed on a freezing night by a cross-cum-shot from Adam Nditi after Marin had played the ball quickly on to the overlapping left-back.

Alex Kiwomya on the other flank showed good early signs that his pace could take him beyond players out there, and he came infield on 22 minutes and exchanged passes with Boga but drilled a shot wide.

Blackman made his first save shortly after, down at his near post, and Chelsea launched a counter-attack when the resulting corner was cleared. Marin spotted a gap and played a pass behind the defence for Boga to run onto. Unfortunately the bounce of the ball made the shot more difficult than it might have been and the 16-year-old couldn’t keep his effort down.

Chelsea were on top but needed to make more of our possession in the Blackburn half. Lalkovic was well-policed in the first period.

Blackburn hadn’t really threatened but they nearly took the lead just past the half hour when Jamie MacLaren took his chance with a lob and Blackman retreated fast enough to tip over at full-stretch. The tall Chelsea keeper then made a good save from Kellen Daly’s header at the corner.

The minutes leading up to half-time saw Chelsea turn up the pressure on Rovers.

Boga curled a well-struck shot but it never looked likely to beat the keeper and then Baker fired across the face of goal from a tight angle after Marin had found his run from midfield.

Nditi was denied for a second time in the match by Sandomierski. This time the defender controlled a high ball and excelled in striking on-target from a wide position. The keeper saved at full-stretch, as he did soon after from Alex Davey’s header when found by a Baker free-kick.

Second half
Dermot Drummy made one change at half-time – bringing Nathan Ake on in midfield in place of George Saville.

Marin was also substituted a quarter of an hour into the half but not before he had put the Blues ahead with a quality goal. Collecting the ball midway inside the Blackburn half, he ran at the defence and sidestepped inside before dispatching a shot from the edge of the area into the far bottom corner of the net. It was pinpoint accuracy.

Chelsea could have had a penalty for a challenge on Reece Mitchell, who came on for Marin, had the referee not blown a second earlier for an offence in midfield on Ake. Baker came within a whisker of doubling the lead from the free-kick 30 yards out, rapping the crossbar with his strike. The Blues were soon cursing that misfortune when Rovers equalised two minutes later.

Losing the ball deep in the Blackburn half, they were caught on the break by a long pass to centre-forward Anton Forrester who was allowed to run behind the backline and beat the stranded Blackman. We were two-thirds of the way through the game and Forrester made it 2-1 to the home team with his second goal five minutes later.

Central defender Davey gave the ball away and couldn’t catch Forrester who fired an unstoppable shot into the net.

Chelsea hit woodwork for the second time in the half when Boga’s shot from just inside the area cannoned back off the post and there were appeals for a penalty for a challenge on Nditi. Andreas Christensen then had a header saved but there was no way back for the Blues.

Blackburn could have wrapped it up but Blackman saved well with his legs from MacLaren. The home side’s two goals proved to be sufficient for the three points.

Under-21 manager Dermot Drummy said: ‘It was disappointing because it was a game we shouldn’t have lost.

‘We made individual errors but regardless of the fact we have young players, the mentality in the second half was that we didn’t really fight as a team. We were individuals off the ball and I have told them I was not pleased with that.

‘We had control of the game on the ball but didn’t have enough in the final third. It was three points thrown away and they have to understand that. We will hopefully learn from this and we will see who has a stronger mentality in the next game.

‘The substitutions were planned. We knew that Marko Marin would play 60 minutes for first-team requirements and George Saville and Nathan Ake are travelling to Prague and we were asked that they did 45 minutes.’

Chelsea Jamal Blackman; Tika Musonda, Alex Davey, Andreas Christensen, Adam Nditi; Lewis Baker, Jeremie Boga, George Saville (c) (Nathan Ake h-t), Alex Kiwomya (Connor Hunte 60), Milan Lalkovic, Marko Marin (Reece Mitchell 60).
Unused subs Mitchell Beeney, Dion Conroy.

Blackburn Grzegorz Sandomierski; Peter Wylie, Ryan Edwards (c), Kellen Daly, Will Beesley; Darragh Lenihan (Hugo Fernandez Molina 63), Robbie Cotton; Tim Payne (Daniel Laverty 87), John O’Sullivan, Jamie Maclaren (Deniz Pero 90+2); Anton Forrester.
Unused subs, Matthew Unwin, Reece Hands.

AZPILICUETA: THE RIGHT RESPONSE

Chelsea came through an important test against Wigan on Saturday.

Having gone 2-0 up against the lower table side early in the second half, the Blues allowed our opponents to pull a goal back almost immediately. However unlike in other recent games an equaliser was prevented and instead we kicked on to take all the points with a comfortable 4-1 winning margin.

Cesar Azpilicueta, selected at right-back at the Bridge this weekend, spoke afterwards about the vital passage of the game and was pleased with the fortitude he and his colleagues displayed.

‘When we scored the second goal we needed to be more attentive, we should not concede one minute later,’ he acknowledged.

‘When you are with a little less confidence it is difficult but we kept the shape of the team very well. Instead of being scared and dropping back a lot we had a reaction to keep the ball and create chances. This is the main thing, that the mentality is still strong. We kept going and scored the third and the fourth goals that helped us.’

On an individual level, Azpilicueta played one of his best Chelsea games, looking every inch the full international he became on Wednesday. It was his delivery that led to Eden Hazard making it 2-0 and his shot that was well-saved late in the game, only for Marko Marin to head in. The 23-year-old also crossed menacingly for compatriot Fernando Torres to head on-target although on that occasion the Wigan goalie tipped the ball over.

‘It was the first time I was involved in so many goals and it was a very good week for me, finished by winning with Chelsea. The keeper did a good save from my shot but hopefully Marko’s goal is going to help him a lot.

‘The last few results have been disappointing so it was very good we won with our supporters here. Tottenham had won before our game and we wanted to keep our league position, and we did.’

Attention now turns to our first Europa League action, beginning with the visit to Prague on Thursday. The fixture schedule has remained jammed throughout Azpilicueta’s first Chelsea season, yielding 27 appearances for him to date.

‘We want to play every few days because it means we are still in competitions,’ he insisted. ‘It is very important for the team to keep going in the Europa League and the FA Cup.

‘It is true the Europa League is not the same as the Champions League because that is the top but the Europa League is a big competition, an important competition, and now we have the chance to win it. Never in the history of Chelsea have we won this cup and we are going to try to do it.

‘The first months I was here we had Roberto [Di Matteo] with us and now Rafa came here and we are working very hard with him. We are trying to do the things that he asks and I think that we are playing well and doing the right things. When we have lost we have done a good game but when you make mistakes you pay.

‘When you don’t win it is difficult but hopefully we now recover the smile that is important for the team and for the future.’