Chelsea 0 Newcastle Utd 0:A WEEK that includes an awkward Champions League trip to France and a visit from Arsenal might prompt trepidation at most clubs but for Chelsea the prospect will bring relief.
Cramped and squeezed to distraction on Saturday and their attack blunted by a Newcastle side set on suffocation, they will relish the space that will surely open up against opponents whose ambitions extend to more than preserving stalemate.
Luiz Felipe Scolari has been here too often in recent weeks. The Brazilian has long since recognised the shortcomings in his squad, having been denied Didier Drogba for most of his tenure and inventive dribblers to supplement Joe Cole and eke out free-kicks in dangerous areas. His charges ran aground here, shedding more home points - nine have been spurned from a possible 21.
Jose Mourinho dropped 10 in his first season at the club and two in his second. Comparisons are cruel but Scolari's Chelsea have as yet offered only glimpses of their best at a ground where they had previously proved imperious.
They were swamped too easily here and Newcastle deserved their reward. "It was a game where we needed a special player," said Scolari after the game. "I have injuries, suspensions, players coming back very late from international duty and it's difficult. I don't need new players, just the players already here in the condition to play. We had 70 per cent of the ball and 10 shots on goal. How many chances did they have against us? How many shots on goal? None. Zero.
"But they are the winners today. They came to draw and they drew. Arsenal will be a different game. They don't play to draw, they play only to win . . . It's not easy, but they offer for us something different than clubs like Newcastle. They (Arsenal) don't put 10 players at the back, but it's not an easy game."
The inability of any of the other top-five Premier League sides to muster a single goal on Saturday offered Chelsea some consolation - they remain top with a staggering goal difference - and Drogba, described as "hungry" by Florent Malouda, will be back against Bordeaux on Wednesday. A win will be enough to secure progress into the knockout phase of the Champions League and will focus minds on Arsenal's visit on Sunday. A victory then would put Scolari's team 13 points clear of their London rivals.
"It's always the big four that everyone speaks about, but I think it's still about Chelsea and Manchester United," said Michael Ballack. "Arsenal are already behind . . . Liverpool are very good at this moment but, for me, they are always a club for the Champions League, partly because they can put all their focus on one or two matches. But when you look at results and squads over the past couple of seasons as a whole I think us and United are just a little bit stronger."
Newcastle are steeling themselves under Joe Kinnear. The interim manager was watched here by Dennis Wise, the club's executive director of football, after speaking at length to the owner Mike Ashley on Friday night, with his rolling contract continuing for another month. Negotiations over the sale of the club to an American consortium continue to crawl forward, with Kinnear now eyeing the transfer window as an opportunity to tinker with the squad he inherited from Kevin Keegan.
Progress has been clear. His side, so porous over the first few weeks of the campaign, boasted rare assurance at Chelsea with Michael Owen operating in midfield and their back four outstanding. Shay Given excelled; his only real moment of panic came when he slipped on the artificial turf in the goalmouth and almost carried Frank Lampard's looped free-kick over the line.
Kinnear, 61, had struggled to convince prospective employers he had fully recovered from the mild heart attack he suffered in 1999 while at Wimbledon. "Any time I got an interview, the first question was always: 'How is your heart?'" he said. "I had to get back somehow to prove I am physically okay. With Wimbledon I went to Old Trafford and Liverpool and won. I've come here to Chelsea and won two or three times, so I've had a decent record. I eat, drink and smoke football. I'm going to do all I possibly can to make sure this leads on to another job."
Guardian Service
