Played
July 27, 2011 1:30 PM BST
Referee: Mike Dean
July 27, 2011 1:30 PM BST
Referee: Mike Dean
Kitchee 0-4 Chelsea: Lampard, Drogba and Sturridge on target as Blues set up Asia Trophy final clash with Aston Villa
The Stamford Bridge outfit will now lock horns with Alex McLeish's side after the Midlands club defeated Blackburn Rovers in the opening match in the Hong Kong tournament
By Richard Parry
Getty Images
Chelsea will face Aston Villa in the final of the Barclays Asia Cup after a comfortable 4-0 victory over Kitchee.
Goals from Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and substitute Daniel Sturridge sealed victory, with Kitchee captain Ubay Luzardo also putting the ball past his own keeper.
Yuri Zhirkov, who scored a stunning volley in Moscow during Chelsea’s Champions League campaign last season, went close to putting Andre Villas-Boas’ side ahead with a similar effort in the opening minutes of the match, but unfortunately for the Russian his effort drifted wide.
But Kitchee were certainly not content to simply make up the numbers, with fan favourite Roberto Losada looking to infiltrate the channels behind Chelsea’s backline at every opportunity.
But the Premier League outfit were quick to hit back, with a flowing move involving Lampard and Yossi Benayoun before Florent Malouda’s half-volleyed delivery drifted inches away from Drogba, with the Ivorian poised to fire them in front.
Minutes later, Drogba turned creator. His whipped cross found the head of Salomon Kalou, but he could only direct his effort against the crossbar, before Benayoun tried an acrobatic attempt on the rebound, which bobbled harmlessly wide.
Having seemingly weathered the Chelsea storm, Kitchee conceded a penalty after Benayoun was fouled on the edge of the box. Lampard stepped up and duly fired the ball home, straight down the middle.
With the half drawing to a close, Drogba was denied by an eccentric save on the stretch by Wang Zhenpeng after the striker unleashed a thunderous free kick from all of 30 yards.
Nonetheless, there was still time for Tsang Kam To to attempt an audacious lob, with Ross Turnbull caught on his heels. While the effort drifted harmlessly over, the shot conjured rousing support from the Hong Kong terraces.
With the start of the second half, Fernando Torres looked set to enter the game, for what would have been the Spaniard’s first appearance with Drogba under Villas-Boas.
But Torres remained on the bench, and his omission seemed to spark the Ivorian into a gear change, as again he fired a free kick at goal from long range, which flew just over.
And Chelsea quickly doubled their lead, as Kitchee captain Luzardo diverted Malouda’s low cross past Zhenpeng, with Drogba ready to pounce.
Two became three shortly after, and this time Drogba found the net, latching onto another Malouda cross to put Chelsea into cruise control.
That goal saw Villas-Boas ring the changes. Hilario replaced Turnbull, while Josh McEachran and Torres came on for Zhirkov and Drogba respectively. Shortly after, captain John Terry made way for Branislav Ivanovic, while Lampard was replaced by John Obi Mikel.
Having seemingly weathered the storm, Kitchee were put to the sword again, as substitute Daniel Sturridge meandered through the penalty area before firing an unstoppable drive past the keeper from a tight angle to cap off Chelsea's victory in stunning style.
Starting XIs
Kitchee: Zhenpeng; Recio, Cancela, Luzardo, Wen; Zicheng, Guerrero; Tarres, Huang; Losada, Kam To.
Chelsea: Turnbull; Ferreira, Rajkovic, Terry, Cole; Benayoun, Lampard, Zhirkov; Kalou, Drogba, Malouda.
Goals from Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and substitute Daniel Sturridge sealed victory, with Kitchee captain Ubay Luzardo also putting the ball past his own keeper.
Yuri Zhirkov, who scored a stunning volley in Moscow during Chelsea’s Champions League campaign last season, went close to putting Andre Villas-Boas’ side ahead with a similar effort in the opening minutes of the match, but unfortunately for the Russian his effort drifted wide.
But Kitchee were certainly not content to simply make up the numbers, with fan favourite Roberto Losada looking to infiltrate the channels behind Chelsea’s backline at every opportunity.
But the Premier League outfit were quick to hit back, with a flowing move involving Lampard and Yossi Benayoun before Florent Malouda’s half-volleyed delivery drifted inches away from Drogba, with the Ivorian poised to fire them in front.
Minutes later, Drogba turned creator. His whipped cross found the head of Salomon Kalou, but he could only direct his effort against the crossbar, before Benayoun tried an acrobatic attempt on the rebound, which bobbled harmlessly wide.
Having seemingly weathered the Chelsea storm, Kitchee conceded a penalty after Benayoun was fouled on the edge of the box. Lampard stepped up and duly fired the ball home, straight down the middle.
With the half drawing to a close, Drogba was denied by an eccentric save on the stretch by Wang Zhenpeng after the striker unleashed a thunderous free kick from all of 30 yards.
Nonetheless, there was still time for Tsang Kam To to attempt an audacious lob, with Ross Turnbull caught on his heels. While the effort drifted harmlessly over, the shot conjured rousing support from the Hong Kong terraces.
With the start of the second half, Fernando Torres looked set to enter the game, for what would have been the Spaniard’s first appearance with Drogba under Villas-Boas.
Fernando thwarted | Torres failed to find the net after coming on as a substitute
But Torres remained on the bench, and his omission seemed to spark the Ivorian into a gear change, as again he fired a free kick at goal from long range, which flew just over.
And Chelsea quickly doubled their lead, as Kitchee captain Luzardo diverted Malouda’s low cross past Zhenpeng, with Drogba ready to pounce.
Two became three shortly after, and this time Drogba found the net, latching onto another Malouda cross to put Chelsea into cruise control.
That goal saw Villas-Boas ring the changes. Hilario replaced Turnbull, while Josh McEachran and Torres came on for Zhirkov and Drogba respectively. Shortly after, captain John Terry made way for Branislav Ivanovic, while Lampard was replaced by John Obi Mikel.
Having seemingly weathered the storm, Kitchee were put to the sword again, as substitute Daniel Sturridge meandered through the penalty area before firing an unstoppable drive past the keeper from a tight angle to cap off Chelsea's victory in stunning style.
Starting XIs
Kitchee: Zhenpeng; Recio, Cancela, Luzardo, Wen; Zicheng, Guerrero; Tarres, Huang; Losada, Kam To.
Chelsea: Turnbull; Ferreira, Rajkovic, Terry, Cole; Benayoun, Lampard, Zhirkov; Kalou, Drogba, Malouda.
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Goal
Own Goal
Penalty
Penalty Missed
Yellow Card
Assist
Penalty Save
Penalty Shootout Goal
Penalty Shootout Miss
Yellow Card / Red Card
Red Card
Substitution IN
Substitution OUT
Injury
Goal.com Rating
Goal.com Man of the Match
Goal.com Flop of the Match
Top & Flop Global Ranking
Fans' Man of the Match
Fans' Flop of the Match
Results
Live
Final
scheduled
Suspended
Cancelled
Postponed
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Edin Dzeko Striker Manchester City |
2 | 0 |
|
César Azpilicueta Defender Chelsea |
1 | 1 |
|
Marco Di Vaio Striker Montreal Impact |
1 | 0 |
|
Micah Richards Defender Manchester City |
1 | 0 |
|
Javi García Midfielder Manchester City |
1 | 0 |
