There was no love lost between the West London rivals as Craven Cottage played host to a most un-romantic evening of football.
The 0-0 stalemate surely handed Chelsea’s title dream a Dear John letter, as Carlo Ancelotti’s side, lining up with an unconvincing Fernando Torres in attack and Didier Drogba warming the bench, huffed and puffed but failed to blow down a determined Fulham. In the end Chelsea had Petr Cech’s to thank for salvaging a point with late spot-kick save from a Clint Dempsey 12-yard effort…
Carlo Ancelotti opted for what appeared to be a 4-3-2-1 formation, with Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka operating either side and tucked behind Fernando Torres at the spearhead. Didier Drogba was relegated to the bench then, while in midfield Ancelotti recalled Ramires with Mikel dropping out and Michael Essien given the job of protecting the back four. That defence saw a full debut for David Luiz who slotted in alongside John Terry; Branislav Ivanovic switched to right-back with Jose Bosingwa sidelined through injury.
The changes reflected the turbulence within the Chelsea squad. Ancelotti’s recent claims that the arrival of Luiz and Torres offered increased rotation options was confirmed by his decision to “rest” Drogba and shift Ivanovic back to full-back on the right – a position he made his own last season. Ancelotti was quick to justify his team selection in his post-match comments.
“I wanted to have control of the game in midfield by using Malouda and Anelka between the lines, and it was normal rotation because we have a lot of games coming and we want to maintain the players fresh. Drogba was a case of normal rotation as happened to Mikel and Kalou, and these players will play the next game.”
The situation up front is of particular interest – clearly, away from home playing both Drogba and Torres with Anelka or Malouda will be an issue. Monday’s team selection seems to suggest that Ancelotti will choose between Torres and Drogba away from home, but did suggest that this is subject to change…
“Maybe in the next game we will use both. I don’t know if Didier was happy, but every player knows every game is important. It doesn’t matter.”
Torres endured another miserable night in blue. Replaced by Drogba on 70 minutes, Ancelotti was again forced to defend the £50 million striker.
“Fernando played well. He needs time to play with us and, after one week, he was better. He used his ability to move. I substituted him just to use Didier’s freshness and power.”
We’re not quite sure that the “ability to move” is enough of a demonstration of his talent right now – Torres is looking low on confidence and seems very unlikely to tempt even a second glance from Fantasy Managers right now.
Elsewhere in the Chelsea squad we look to be limited when it comes to “untouchables” – Ancelotti has stated that John Terry is under threat, leaving just Petr Cech, Ashley Cole and perhaps Frank Lampard as those names set to be ever-present on the Chelsea teamsheet until the end of the season.
David Luiz could yet be an option at 6.0 in the Fantasy Premier League game. He enjoyed a strong debut, staying firm at the back alongside Terry and then at right-back later in the game. His evening was turned upside down by the late challenge on Dempsey that conceded the penalty, but Cech came to his rescue there and Luiz’s contribution, particularly in terms of his distribution of the ball, stood out.
Chelsea will of course face a blank fixture in Gameweek 28 should they get past Everton in their fourth round FA Cup replay this weekend. The midweek clash with Man United at Stamford Bridge will be postponed to make way for their fifth round tie – that prospect will temper any interest in their squad, regardless of rest and rotation issues.
In the Fulham camp, Mark Hughes made just one change to his lineup – drafting in Calos Salcido in the troublesome left-back area with John Pantsil dropping out of favour once again. Steven Sidwell enjoyed another encouraging game in central midfield, while Damien Duff was an influence on the flank. The Fulham back four also continue to win plaudits. This was a fifth clean sheet in the last 9 for Hughes’ side – they’ve conceded just 5 goals in that run. With favourable home fixtures to come against Blackburn, Blackpool and Bolton, their defensive assets are likely to earn some attention in the next week or so.
Clint Dempsey again lined up on the left of midfield but shifted up front late on with the introduction of Simon Davies. Dempsey’s miss from the spot-kick will have come as a blow to his Fantasy owners of course. He only assumed those duties because Danny Murphy was off the field at the time. The miss is unlikely to see the American regain the responsibility any time soon.
