Michael Essien ensured Chelsea’s bid to regain the Premiership title got off to a record-breaking start as he sealed a thrilling 3-2 win against Birmingham.
LONDON: Michael Essien ensured Chelsea’s bid to regain the Premiership title got off to a record-breaking start as he sealed a thrilling 3-2 win against Birmingham on Sunday.
Jose Mourinho’s side have now gone 64 home league matches without defeat, eclipsing Liverpool’s previous top-flight record of 63, which Bob Paisley’s team set between 1978 and 1980.
Chelsea have turned Stamford Bridge into an unbreachable fortress in the Premiership since Arsenal won there in February 2004, but they were made to sweat by newly-promoted Birmingham.
Mikael Forssell gave Steve Bruce’s team a shock lead before Claudio Pizarro and Florent Malouda put Chelsea in front. Olivier Kapo drew the visitors level but Colin Doyle, the young Birmingham goalkeeper who had already been at fault for Pizarro’s goal, handed Chelsea the points when he made a hash of Essien’s second half strike.
Mourinho is now just one match away from a remarkable record of his own. If Chelsea avoid defeat against Portsmouth on August 25, he will have reached a century of unbeaten home league matches. The last time the Portuguese coach left a home game reflecting on a defeat was back in February 2002 when his Porto team lost to Beira Mar.
Despite the injury crisis that ravaged Mourinho’s squad during pre-season, he was still able to field a strong side including home debuts for Malouda, Pizarro and Tal Ben Haim.
Malouda had already shown his finishing prowess in the Community Shield and should put Chelsea ahead early on. Shaun Wright-Phillips’s perfectly-weighted pass found Salomon Kalou and he presented Malouda with a clear sight of goal, only for the France winger to blast over.
But just as Mourinho’s men were in the ascendancy, they fell behind in the 15th minute. Liam Ridgewell flicked on Gary McSheffrey’s free-kick and Forssell wrong-footed Petr Cech with a glancing header.
Chelsea haven’t gone unbeaten at Stamford Bridge for so long without having to face a moment or two of adversity and they hit back in clinical style two minutes later.
Wright-Phillips exchanged passes with Malouda and picked out Pizarro with a low cross. Pizarro’s side-footed effort lacked power but Doyle somehow let it squirm through his grasp and over the line.
Chelsea were into their stride now. A second goal looked inevitable and it arrived in the 31st minute. Frank Lampard’s back-heel ran to Kalou, who threaded a pass through to Malouda. This time the former Lyon star kept his composure and clipped his shot past Doyle.
An already enthralling match took another twist when Kapo brought Birmingham level with an exquisite strike in the 36th minute.
Essien’s curling strike from the right side of area was struck more in hope than expectation of scoring, but Doyle weakly palmed the Ghana midfielder’s shot into the top corner.
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