Chengdu Blades 0 Chelsea 7: All the action as it happened

Nicolas Anelka, who opened the scoring, is tackled by Li Mingyi of Chengdu Blades
13 April 2012

from Macau

Chelsea (4-1-3-2): Cech; Ferreira (Ivanovic 46min), Alex (Carvalho 46), Terry (J Cole 54), A Cole (Bridge 46); Essien; Wright-Phillips, Deco, Lampard (Obi Mikel 46); Kalou (Malouda 46), Anelka (Di Santo 65). Subs: Cudicini, Hilario.

Chengdu Blades: Lan Yi, Liu Cheng, Demar, Li Mingyi, Li Tie, Zhou Yougen, Zhang Chaosong, Zhu Xiaogang, Shi Jun, Wang Song. Subs: Fu Bin, Ding Qi, Zheng Wangyang, Xu Chao, Zhou Peng, Yang Zezhi, Peng Xingli, Jiang Xiaoyu, Denilson, Zhang Yuan.

FINAL SCORE
90mins: 7(SEVEN)- nil. Well, Roman Abramovich wants to win in style, and Chelsea have certainly done that. But you suspect that not every opponent will make it as easy as this. Di Santo had time to miss from two yards but it felt more like mercy than incompetence. Two games of the tour down, two wins, 11 goals for, 0 against. The Malaysian national team will surely provide a stiffer test in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

GOAL
84mins (0-7): It's getting really embarrassing now. SWP is on the scoresheet this time after Malouda's cross hits him and goes in. It's time for the vidiprinter to start putting the score in brackets: (SEVEN).

GOAL
80mins (0-6): Essien, playing in his third different position of the game, crosses from the right and Joe Cole scores with an impudent backheel to make it 6-0. With Deco going through his repertoire of skills, it's just like watching Brazil. No, really.

72 mins: Carvalho seems to bring down Chengdu captain Wang Song in the box but the referee says no. 'Chelsea propaganda' is the cry as a replay of the incident on the big screen gives way to the more comfortable view of the scoreline.

Heads I Win: John Terry battles for possession with Shi Jun

GOAL
66 mins (0-5): A horrible defensive error gives Franco di Santo, on as a 65th-minute replacement from Anelka, a straightforward chance to score from close range. It's 5-0 and it's really not a competitive match at all.

GOAL
55 mins (0-4): Joe Cole makes it four, running round the 'keeper after Anelka's cute through ball to score barely a minute after coming on for John Terry. Not to play at centre-back, obviously. Terry did not seem to be injured, but there may be news in the post-match bulletin. If Chengdu's partner club, Sheffield United, are watching this display, they will wonder if they want to be associated with them anymore. Sean Bean will not be getting another Blades tattoo to celebrate this lot anytime soon. Sharp(e), they ain't.

SUBSTITUTION
46mins: Who says football hacks don't know what they're talking about. Not just one or two substitutions, but five, with Branislav Ivanovic, Wayne Bridge, Ricardo Carvalho, John Obi Mikel and Florent Malouda replacing Paulo Ferreira, Ashley Cole, Alex, Frank Lampard and Salomon Kalou. Nothing else to report.

HALF TIME
45 mins: There was just time for one more wave of the flag from the suspect lino before a miserable half for the Chengdu team came to an end. 3-0 flatters them, to be honest. Wayne Bridge and Florent Malouda went off to warm up before the whistle, so expect Scolari to make some half-time changes. The Chelsea players leave the pitch to strange, high-pitched cries from the crowd.

GOAL
38 mins (0-3): Kalou cuts the ball back and Lampard sets himself before lashing the ball into the net. It's a rout. A game of dubious footballing value still doesn't look like a winner in commercial terms either - despite the late opening of the gates, which led to a flood of people entering the ground, there are still lots of empty seats.

Nicolas Anelka, who opened the scoring, is tackled by Li Mingyi of Chengdu Blades

Nicolas Anelka, who opened the scoring, is tackled by Li Mingyi of Chengdu Blades

GOAL DISALLOWED
36mins: It's that linesman again! Kalou dubiously ruled offside in the process of setting Anelka up for what would have been a third goal. The Chengdu defence is like a paper colander.

GOAL
31mins (0-2): Another defence-splitting SWP pass, Anelka shows a previously unsuspected streak of unselfishness by playing in Kalou, and the Ivorian scores easily. Cue some mild cheering. On this form, the Champions League will be a doddle. Maybe.

30mins: Apart from an ugly shot over the bar by SWP and the odd Chengdu incursion into Chelsea's penalty area, the most notable feature of the last few minutes has been some very suspect officiating. The nearside linesman's grasp of the offside rule is rather tenuous and the referee himself is inconsistent when it comes to deciding what constitutes a foul. Just like the Premier League, then.

GOAL
15 mins (0-1): After creating a few other chances, Nicolas Anelka accepts Shaun Wright-Phillips's through ball, goes round the Chengdu goalkeeper and gives Chelsea a deserved lead.

Luis Felipe Scolari, having told us yesterday that he has always been regarded as a European-style coach, has gone a bit Brazilian on us with a sort of 4-1-2-2-1 formation.

Michael Essien is holding, Deco and Frank Lampard are in front of him, with Wright-Phillips and Kalou on the flanks pushing up in support of Anelka. It's working quite well, as it goes.

Well, Chelsea's plan to conquer the Far East seems not have caught the imagination of the people of the Macau. Despite reports of a sell-out, the Olympic stadium on the island of Taipa, whose capacity cannot be much more than 15,000, has huge swathes of empty seats.

If there are 3,000 people here, 15 minutes before kick-off, then it would be surprise. Time to push back that break-even target again, Mr Kenyon?

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