If too much shouldn’t be read into pre-season friendlies, it’s
worth turning the page back a year: Albion looked a level below Spurs in a
first loss at the Amex, losing 3-2 via an awful mistake by Peter Brezovan.
One
summer of careful spending later, with a defence almost entirely resolute in
front of the excellent Tomasz Kuszczak, Gus’s side vanquished the champions of
Europe with something to spare, looking like promotion contenders.
The Spanish
pair, Vicente and Bruno, weren’t with us then, and they have added real class.
The winger, who had earlier revealed a hope to stay even longer than a year if
the season goes well, played a brilliant early through ball to Barnes, whose
cross forced a corner. Bruno, his new neighbour, was constantly getting forward
to contribute dangerous crosses, going beyond a midfield which looked far less
porous than last year.
Building works meant the away end was empty, with
Chelsea fans filling parts of the Upper West. Below them, their team’s ability
to control play on the fringes of the penalty area was only hampered by several
overhit passes in the direction of Ramires on the right.
A pristine tackle by
Bridcutt on Torres resulted in a loud rendition of “what a waste of money”, and
then Dunk read his run perfectly as the millionaires tried to break. The
standard of play made the game a total exhibition, and the biggest question was
whether our parity with the elite was down to the new players or simply a case
of everyone raising their game.
Almost all of Chelea’s attacks came down the
right, with Ivanovic, Meireles, Lampard and Torres playing endless little
passes, trying to crack Calderon and Dunk. They eventually did it when Dunk
misplaced a pass to Calde just inside their half. The break down the right
finally gave Lampard some time and space in the middle, placing his shot past
the advancing Kuszczak from just inside the area. Dunk looked crestfallen,
Lampard flicked a thumb to the North Stand.
The lead didn’t last long. From
bang on centre, Bridcutt played a lovely pass to give Barnes space to run into
on the left. He sprinted a few yards, then crossed low with the outside of his
foot to Vicente, who curled a low shot into the only inch of the corner of the
net Cech couldn’t reach.
Salvation for Albion’s only mistake of the half, but
there was more in store. Buckley broke through at a velocity even Ashley Cole
couldn’t match. Cech came out and almost foiled him as he reached the six yard
box, but from a difficult angle he cut it back to Barnes, who finished expertly
with a crisp drive, leaving one of the world’s best goalkeepers picking the
ball out of the same corner of his net, with half the England defence planning
more speed drills for the rest of pre-season.
Torres had a great chance to equalise shortly into the second half, but
skied a half volley into the empty stand.
Then Cech had to palm away a vicious Vicente shot from 20 yards
out.
Chelsea were looking ragged for the
first time. As David Luiz tried to grab the ball after falling to the floor,
Bruno controlled it with a backheel and exchanged a series of slow passes
with Vicente, advancing 50 yards and allowing the latter to toy with Chelsea’s defenders
in the same way most people might mess around with bits of lego.
Barnes’s
resulting header had to be palmed away for a corner. Kuszczak started another
move from inside the Albion half, throwing to the newly-introduced Noone, who
passed to fellow substitute Harley. From his pass, Barnes crossed to Crofts on
the edge of the area, who shot well over.
Kuszczak saved from Ramires,
but by now Chelsea were visibly backing off where in the first half they might
have gone in for tackles, although Torres still ran back to foul Barnes in an
improbable collision of two strikers less different than we once thought.
Torres could have scored shortly after, when Dunk played the ball straight to
Lampard across the back line. Unselfishly, the midfielder played Torres in on
goal, but Kuszczak was out quickly to beat his shot away for a corner.
Torres
was subbed ten minutes before the end, and Noone shot just wide from long range
in a sign of Albion’s growing confidence. The winger then gave Ivanovic, Cahill
and Mikel a hard time with a run which ended with a foul just outside the area.
Vicente struck the free-kick inches over the bar.
Hazard shot wide from 20
yards, and then an altercation between Barnes and David Luiz caused carnage.
The defender claimed malice after the two jumped in the air but, as play
appeared to stop, Crofts ran straight through to slot past Turnbull. Luiz attempted revenge with an elbow, allowing Barnes to be substituted and receive
rapturous applause from the North Stand.
Cole and Crofts exchanged shoves, and
the Chelsea fans in the Upper West headed back to the pub early. The result was
probably unimportant to them, but it was no fluke.
Kuszczak; Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Calde; Bridcutt, Crofts,
Dicker (Ryan Harley ees good 57); Buckley (Noone 66), God, Barnes (Toby 89)
