Salomon Kalou wasted a glut of first-half chances before eventually breaking the deadlock from Ashley Cole's deflected cross just before the break.
The Ivorian, only in the team because fellow countryman Didier Drogba is suspended, added a second seven minutes into the second half and Frank Lampard made it three when he struck his 133rd goal for the Blues, moving him up to fifth in the club’s all time list.
A late own-goal merely demoralised Atletico further.
After the inquiry into Chelsea's weekend defeat at Aston Villa, the axe was wielded in the heart of defence where Branislav Ivanovic came into the side for Ricardo Carvalho. Juliano Belletti also came in for the suspended Jose Bosingwa.
On paper it promised to be the hardest assignment of all the English clubs in the Champions League this week. In reality it was as routine a victory as any one in the Europe's premier competition could have hoped for.
The Red and Whites have got used to life in the shadow of the imperious city neighbours, yet have reacted worse than many expected to the exciting new Galactico project being assembled at the Bernabeu this season. They do have a wealth of attacking talent, namely Diego Forlan, Sergio Aguero and Simao, but are a side built on desperately unsteady foundations. They boast the worst defensive record in La Liga and here again at times, they were positively ramshackle at the back.
Within a minute of kick-off Belletti was granted the freedom of the right flank to thunder a low cross into the box. Kalou, though, perhaps surprised by the timing of the opportunity, dithered a second too long and the chance was gone. Seconds later the same pair conspired for the Ivorian to head wide.
At the other end Forlan bit back with an inquisitive effort from distance. The Uruguayan then stooped to meet Simao’s low centre and Aguero sprung the offside trap but rifled his half-volley into the side netting.
However the initiative remained with those in blue.
In fact Chelsea had the ball in the back of the net midway though the half, only for the celebrations to be cut short by the offside flag. Lampard's dipping free-kick from fully 45-yards beat everyone including an amateurish flap by young goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo. Kalou, though, in mid-flight, had unsighted the stopper from a position ahead of the last man.
Then came a case of the sublime leading to the ridiculous. Essien, in his typically marauding style, fizzed the ball between a bank of visiting shirts for Deco who beautifully heel-flicked it to Ballack, taking out at least five defenders from the game. The German had a clear run at goal but instead, unselfishly, fed the more-central Kalou whose scuffed finish wide of the unguarded net would have been laughed off a Sunday League pitch.
And the chances kept coming. John Terry towered above his marker to nod a corner into the path of a hapless Kalou who lamely swung out a right boot at the far post. Fortunately this time his embarrassment was saved by the linesman flagging for offside.
Then eventually came the chance he simply couldn’t miss. Four minutes before the interval Lampard’s cute reverse pass found Cole galloping beyond the right back and the Englishman’s cross was inch perfect for Kalou to stab home.
Minutes after the restart Anelka almost tore Asenjo arms from their shoulder joints with a fierce drive from distance. A poorly defended corner followed before another from the opposing side prized the door open once more.
With the ease in which Richard Dunne and James Collins had defeated Chelsea in the weekend Premier League fixture Kalou this time squeezed a yard ahead of his man and confidently dispatched the header low into the bottom corner.
The Atletico beast was briefly stirred when Raul Garcia's lump forward was cleverly flicked on by Forlan into the path of his strike partner. Yet, for a reputation as prodigious as his, Aguero's finish was woefully inept.
Had the visitors maintained some poise they may have made a fight of it. Instead a succession of crude challenges upset the tempo of the game and it only served to reignite Chelsea.
Lampard had had another quiet night by his extraordinary high standards until, from one of countless free-kicks, the England star played a neat give and go with Essien. It bamboozled three Mardid players and Lampard hammered a low drive that snuck inside the near post.
Kalou’s final act before leaving to a standing ovation was to get a whiff of his hat-trick. He was, though, a yard behind Anelka’s delightful centre.
The visitors, to their credit, tried to rally and went close twice through substitute Maxi Rodriguez before Florent Malouda’s swerving free-kick nipped off the head of Perea deep into stoppage time.
The Ivorian, only in the team because fellow countryman Didier Drogba is suspended, added a second seven minutes into the second half and Frank Lampard made it three when he struck his 133rd goal for the Blues, moving him up to fifth in the club’s all time list.
A late own-goal merely demoralised Atletico further.
After the inquiry into Chelsea's weekend defeat at Aston Villa, the axe was wielded in the heart of defence where Branislav Ivanovic came into the side for Ricardo Carvalho. Juliano Belletti also came in for the suspended Jose Bosingwa.
On paper it promised to be the hardest assignment of all the English clubs in the Champions League this week. In reality it was as routine a victory as any one in the Europe's premier competition could have hoped for.
The Red and Whites have got used to life in the shadow of the imperious city neighbours, yet have reacted worse than many expected to the exciting new Galactico project being assembled at the Bernabeu this season. They do have a wealth of attacking talent, namely Diego Forlan, Sergio Aguero and Simao, but are a side built on desperately unsteady foundations. They boast the worst defensive record in La Liga and here again at times, they were positively ramshackle at the back.
Within a minute of kick-off Belletti was granted the freedom of the right flank to thunder a low cross into the box. Kalou, though, perhaps surprised by the timing of the opportunity, dithered a second too long and the chance was gone. Seconds later the same pair conspired for the Ivorian to head wide.
At the other end Forlan bit back with an inquisitive effort from distance. The Uruguayan then stooped to meet Simao’s low centre and Aguero sprung the offside trap but rifled his half-volley into the side netting.
However the initiative remained with those in blue.
In fact Chelsea had the ball in the back of the net midway though the half, only for the celebrations to be cut short by the offside flag. Lampard's dipping free-kick from fully 45-yards beat everyone including an amateurish flap by young goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo. Kalou, though, in mid-flight, had unsighted the stopper from a position ahead of the last man.
Then came a case of the sublime leading to the ridiculous. Essien, in his typically marauding style, fizzed the ball between a bank of visiting shirts for Deco who beautifully heel-flicked it to Ballack, taking out at least five defenders from the game. The German had a clear run at goal but instead, unselfishly, fed the more-central Kalou whose scuffed finish wide of the unguarded net would have been laughed off a Sunday League pitch.
And the chances kept coming. John Terry towered above his marker to nod a corner into the path of a hapless Kalou who lamely swung out a right boot at the far post. Fortunately this time his embarrassment was saved by the linesman flagging for offside.
Then eventually came the chance he simply couldn’t miss. Four minutes before the interval Lampard’s cute reverse pass found Cole galloping beyond the right back and the Englishman’s cross was inch perfect for Kalou to stab home.
Minutes after the restart Anelka almost tore Asenjo arms from their shoulder joints with a fierce drive from distance. A poorly defended corner followed before another from the opposing side prized the door open once more.
With the ease in which Richard Dunne and James Collins had defeated Chelsea in the weekend Premier League fixture Kalou this time squeezed a yard ahead of his man and confidently dispatched the header low into the bottom corner.
The Atletico beast was briefly stirred when Raul Garcia's lump forward was cleverly flicked on by Forlan into the path of his strike partner. Yet, for a reputation as prodigious as his, Aguero's finish was woefully inept.
Had the visitors maintained some poise they may have made a fight of it. Instead a succession of crude challenges upset the tempo of the game and it only served to reignite Chelsea.
Lampard had had another quiet night by his extraordinary high standards until, from one of countless free-kicks, the England star played a neat give and go with Essien. It bamboozled three Mardid players and Lampard hammered a low drive that snuck inside the near post.
Kalou’s final act before leaving to a standing ovation was to get a whiff of his hat-trick. He was, though, a yard behind Anelka’s delightful centre.
The visitors, to their credit, tried to rally and went close twice through substitute Maxi Rodriguez before Florent Malouda’s swerving free-kick nipped off the head of Perea deep into stoppage time.
No comments:
Post a Comment