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Chelsea quality crushes ambitious Betis
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-10-20 09:03
Chelsea had a second a minute before halftime when Frank Lampard's free kick
from 30 metres out and to the right of Doblas's area curled wickedly towards the
goal.
Doblas lost his balance and dropped the ball as he toppled backwards over the
line and Chelsea's prowling central defender Ricardo Carvalho pounced to knock
it home.
Betis kept the game open and free flowing but their quest to get on the
scoresheet left them exposed and Chelsea exploited every lapse in the second
half.
In the 59th minute they swarmed out of defence with pinpoint passes from
Makelele to Crespo and Essien to Cole. The England winger wrong-footed Juanito
and slotted home for the third goal.
The fourth followed six minutes later when a pass upfield from Lampard found
Wright-Phillips who crossed from the right on to the head of the advancing
Crespo and Doblas stood no chance.
Chelsea, prolific in the Premier League where they have scored 13 times in
their last four outings, had been finding goals hard to come by in the Champions
League with just one in their previous four games.
Wednesday's performance, on the back of an unbeaten run of nine games in the
Premier League, will confirm them as favourites to challenge for a coveted
European crown to add to last season's English title.
Mourinho finds flaws in 4-0 Chelsea triumph
LONDON,
Oct 19 (Reuters) - Chelsea overwhelmed Real Betis 4-0 in the Champions League on
Wednesday but exacting coach Jose Mourinho still had cause for complaint.
Asked if he could find fault in a powerful performance, the Portuguese
manager criticised his players' poor defending in the air at the start when the
Spaniards earned three corners in quick succession in the Group G match.
After competing well against lofty English defenders in their last two
domestic games they came unstuck against a diminutive Betis attack.
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