Tag: Chelsea

The pressure on the Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez has increased once more after the 3-2 defeat at the hands of Newcastle United during the weekend. Chelsea appeared to have taken all three points after a remarkable comeback in the second half, but a collapse late in the match meant that Tottenham have closed the gap on to the European champions in the table. Benitez said after the match that he was extremely disappointed with some of the refereeing decisions. He pointed out to the lack of a penalty and a red card when Fabricio Coloccini challenged Demba Ba in the penalty box.

In trying to go for the ball, the Argentine defender had a high boot that eventually resulted in the eventually resulted in the striker suffered in a broken nose. The 27-year-old was then substituted for Fernando Torres, who was ineffective in the second half. The defeat now means that Chelsea have a slender one-point advantage over Tottenham in the table. The Argentine Jonas Gutierrez opened the scoring for Newcastle in an amazing first half, as they overpowered the European champions. However, two goals from Frank Lampard and Juan Mata meant that Chelsea were able to come back in the second half. The January signing Sissoko then scored two goals to help Newcastle to an amazing victory.

“I think there were too many mistakes. I could see a red card that was not shown for Coloccini. So we had a chance, he [Demba Ba] had the ball, he received a kick and got a broken nose, it was bleeding. It was so simple, if it was in the middle of park you would go back and give a free-kick. It is very simple and very clear – penalty and red card because it was a chance. It’s a strange rule and the penalty could have changed everything,” said Benitez.

The Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez has suggested that it is time that the fans and the media started moving on from the past and into the future. He has suggested that the club will be focusing on new players rather than the old legends, which has suggested that the likes of Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole will definitely leave the club at the end of the season. The two players are out of contract at the end of this season and there has been no negotiations for both the players. Lampard is regarded as one of the club legends due to his 11 year spell at the club in which he has scored close to 200 goals.

The 34-year-old is cherished by the Chelsea fans, but Benitez reckons that it is time that the club moved on from the past. He has also paid tribute to the achievements of the players at the club during the last decade. Chelsea have come a long way since their first trophy – League cup – in 2005. Many of the players who were part of the team like Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, John Terry, and Petr Cech have been the backbone of the team in the successes that have followed.

“It’s easy to talk about the legends and we have to have a lot of respect for them. What they have achieved at this club is fantastic, but we have to have new players — English or foreign, it doesn’t matter — and carry on winning games. Everyone knows the legends have been here and what they have achieved, but we have to see new players coming in. It’s part of life. I can see the club are changing things and thinking about being successful again,” said Benitez ahead of the League cup semi-final match against Swansea.