Nine-men Chelsea no match for QPR (0-1)
Nine-men Chelsea no match for QPR (0-1)
A highly controversial game, where the referee being key figure, saw Chelsea lose at Loftus Road (1-0) and get further away from the top spots. The Blues were two men down still in the first half and leave QPR’s venue with lots of complaints against Chris Foy.
Chelsea could have passed Manchester United but suffered the second defeat of the season and keep their one-point distance. Helguson scored the only goal through a penalty kick, which punish a foul by David Luiz at 10’.
In the first half, still with 11 players on the pitch, Chelsea was rather uninspired and unable to create goal opportunities. The lack of form showed by the Blues was surprising as they have been at their top lately.
Referee Chris Foy became protagonist once more at’ 33, when he gave the first red card to Bosingwa at 33’, for grabbing Shaun Wright-Phillips, who was speeding up to the box. Didier Drogba was sent off less than 10 minutes later, at 41’, for a harsh tackle.
Chelsea get desperate and lose control
In the second half, Chris Foy gave yellow cards to almost all Chelsea players and didn’t award the Blues with a likely penalty after David Luiz was grabbed in the opposite box.
Chelsea, with only nine men on the turf, did a huge effort to get chances at a tie goal but QPR had solid defending.
André Villas-Boas’ men lost their temper and only keeper Cech and used substitutes Malouda and Anelka got off with a disciplinary clean sheet.
It was good news for Manchester City’s Roberto Mancini, who saw two of their rivals let them slip away in the lead. Chelsea are now six points down from the first place.
