Chelsea

Sina Sports have claimed the enigmatic Shanghai owner will hold a meeting in Singapore with Drogba’s two French agents and his Chinese deputy.

The 34-year-old Ivory Coast forward has long been linked with a big-money move to China when his current contract expires at the end of this season, following former Chelsea team-mate Nicolas Anelka’s switch to the Shanghai outfit.

It has been reported that Drogba, who scored in Saturday’s 2-1 FA Cup triumph over Liverpool, would be offered almost €250,000 per season by Shenhua on a two-year contract.

Drogba’s agent Thierno Seidy had told L’Equipe in late April that Drogba had “a lot of offers from everywhere”.

However, just last week Anelka revealed Drogba had made up his mind on his future, but hadn’t made it public because it was inconvenient as he bids for an improved new deal with Chelsea.

“Even if Drogba finally chooses to stay with Chelsea, that can only prove Drogba himself wanted to stay and Chelsea also wanted to keep him,” Anelka told Chinese media according to the Daily Mail.

“If Drogba cannot come to Shanghai, then there are no regrets because the world still has many other fine players.”

Chelsea

The Blues will take on PSG at the home of the New York Yankees baseball team – which will hold 54,000 spectators once configured for football – on Sunday, July 22.

Chelsea have not played in New York since 1954 and they and PSG will contest the first football match at Yankee Stadium since it opened in 2009.

The game reunites the Blues with former manager Carlo Ancelotti – who they controversially sacked at the end of last season – his assistant Claude Makelele, coach Paul Clement and defender Alex.

It will be the second game of Chelsea’s US tour, with the club also announcing today their final fixture would be against AC Milan at Sun Life Stadium in Miami on Saturday, July 28.

They had already confirmed matches against Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field on July 18 and and MLS All Stars at PPL Park, Philadelphia, on July 25.

“Chelsea Football Club is delighted to be heading to New York after such a long time away, and it will be a real pleasure to visit Yankee Stadium for what is sure to be a competitive game,” said chief exec Ron Gourlay on the club’s official website.

“Paris St Germain represents a true test for us in our preparations for the new season.

“We know Carlo well and respect the superb job he did for us, and continues to do in France. It should be a fantastic game.”

Didier Drogba

Drogba scored the only goal of the game – with Chelsea’s only shot on target – on the stroke of half-time to give the Blues every chance of reaching the final at the Allianz Arena.

The hosts had to withstand heavy pressure and rode their luck on several occasions, but Drogba felt it was a more mature Blues side than the one eliminated by Andres Iniesta’s goal at this stage three years ago.

“I think we’ve learnt,” Drogba told ITV. “We’ve improved from three years ago. We didn’t concede a goal.

“We are happy because the result is a good one. Now we’ll go there to try to score another and qualify – 1-0 at home is a good result.”

Captain John Terry added: “We had to be very patient. I don’t think we touched the ball for the first 15 minutes but from Didi on his own up front, the midfield and defence, it was a great team performance. They’re a great side.”

Chelsea will face a real test of their mettle when they travel to the Camp Nou for Tuesday’s return leg, but Terry is hopeful they can get a positive result and reach the final: “It’s going to be tough going back there.

“They had chances, we cleared a couple off the line, and quite clearly they’re going to have chances there, but we showed tonight we’re not in awe of them. Another performance like tonight and we’ll be okay.”

Terry also had words of praise for Drogba, who impressed in the 5-1 FA Cup victory over Tottenham on Sunday.

“Didi is all about these big nights, the big occasions,” Terry said. “He put fear into the Spurs defence at the weekend and he did that again tonight. He was up there on his own against some of best defenders in world and he did it brilliantly.”

The Blues once again proved the nemesis of the team feted by many as the greatest to play the game thanks to an amazing smash-and-grab display in the semi-final first leg at a jubilant Stamford Bridge.

Interim boss Di Matteo’s plan paid off spectacularly, Didier Drogba scoring the winner to go some way to burying the demons of the sides’ last meeting three years ago.

As well as being magnificent to a man in carrying out the instructions of Di Matteo, Chelsea also enjoyed the kind of luck that deserted them in 2009 and which they have had in spades since the Italian took charge.

They may need plenty more at Camp Nou on Tuesday to reach their second final after Barca missed a glut of chances after dominating possession from start to finish.

The pattern of the match was set the moment the visitors kicked off, Chelsea allowing them possession and Raul Meireles leading the pressure behind Drogba.

From a defensive point of view, it largely worked, although the visitors should have taken one of the chances to have fallen their way.

Luck played a part in the first of them in the ninth minute, Alexis Sanchez chipping against the crossbar from Andres Iniesta’s perfectly-timed pass.

The other two both fell to Cesc Fabregas courtesy of Lionel Messi, who was otherwise restricted to a quiet half.

The first was a sitter, Fabregas failing to connect properly with his finish after Messi’s burst and pass had set up Andres Iniesta for a shot Petr Cech parried.

Messi finally had the chance to build up a real head of steam two minutes before half-time, Fabregas this time producing a delightful dink which was only kept out by Ashley Cole’s clearance off the line.

Otherwise Chelsea had plenty to give them hope from what little ball they had.

The benefit of going long was quickly demonstrated when only a heavy touch prevented Drogba capitalising on Cech’s clearance.

Drogba, who got away with overstepping the mark when he trod on Sergio Busquets’ foot, also failed to make the most of a one-on-one with Carles Puyol.

Long throws predictably unsettled Barca, too, and Gary Cahill almost took advantage of the first of them.

Chelsea did tread a fine line discipline-wise, with Meireles lucky not to pick up a booking that would see him suspended for the second leg.

“Same old Barca, always cheating,” chanted the home fans whenever a Barca player went down.

They were in good spirits despite the deluge, which may have played a part in Drogba scoring with the final kick of the first half.

Barca were caught upfield and Frank Lampard’s ball over the top sent Ramires rampaging forward, the Brazilian’s cross picking out Drogba.

Victor Valdes should have saved the scuffed finish but could only help it into the net.

Barca were even more dominant after the restart, Cech parrying Adriano’s curler before Sanchez missed another gilt-edge chance when he stabbed Fabregas’ scooped pass wide from six yards.

Otherwise they were being kept at bay by a world-class defensive display led by Cahill and John Terry, who were almost single-handedly keeping Messi quiet.

Pep Guardiola sent on Pedro for Sanchez with 24 minutes remaining, with Barca becoming increasingly frustrated, not least with perceived play-acting from Drogba, who got an earful from Puyol.

There was finally a booking when Ramires tripped Messi in full flight, Pedro quickly following for a similar offence on Cole.

Busquets was also cautioned for scything down Ramires after Juan Mata was withdrawn for Salomon Kalou.

Fabregas left the field to a chorus of boos for Thiago Alcantara as Chelsea began to drop deeper and deeper, as they had done three years earlier.

Barca laid siege to the Blues goal and Cech produced a magnificent save three minutes’ from time when Puyol glanced Messi’s free-kick towards the corner.

And, in stoppage-time, the visitors saved their worst finish until last, Busquets skying high over the crossbar after Pedro’s effort had hit the post.

Salomon Kalou

The revitalised forward believes the Premier League club can also take heart from the fact that the European champions are not top of La Liga.

Kalou scored the crucial away goal for Chelsea as they defeated Benfica 3-1 on aggregate to reach their sixth Champions League semi-final in nine years.

“Every team has its weaknesses,” said the Ivorian.

“They have their weakness, we know that we can play on that. We know that they haven’t been so confident at the back, conceding a lot of goals so that is something we can play on.

“Everyone forgets that [Real] Madrid are having a great season with Jose [Mourinho]. Right now, if we had played Madrid people would not talk that Chelsea has no chance because it’s Madrid. But because it’s Madrid, because they have [Lionel] Messi and all those players people are thinking that we can’t make it. The Chelsea players only know that this is one game and in one game everything can happen.

“At the end of the day, we have to face them [Barcelona], you have to play, it’s a football game and every game is possible. I think they are one of the best teams right now with the best player in the world. But it doesn’t leave room for us to not believe that we can beat them.

“Our fans expect us to win, we expect to win. People see the way Barcelona play today, they can say ‘Chelsea have no chance against Barcelona’ but, as a player for Chelsea, we work hard every day in training and we believe that on the pitch that is the only way of answering all those negative thoughts thinking that we can’t do anything.”

Asked about Messi, Kalou added: “He is the best player in the world, no doubts. You can’t have any discussion about that. We hope that in the two games against us, he won’t be the best player.

“I think this season was a difficult season for us. We are getting back together as a team, we are fighting as a team and I think that will be a great way of showing that Chelsea is still a good team.”

But after Mourinho suggested that his former side stand no chance of beating the reigning champions, Kalou insists Chelsea will not pay any attention to his comments.

“We can see Barcelona as a big competition of Chelsea,” the Ivorian observed.

“Chelsea is coming back to its top level and Barcelona being the best team in the world for the past couple of years. The only way we can show that we can also be a great team is to go on the pitch, work hard and try to beat them.

“We learn from the past. We know that if you give them the ball and give them the chance to play they will punish you. That’s a good thing to know. It’s still a difficult game but I still believe we can pull it through.”

Tottenham Hotspur

In a game they largely dominated, Spurs were left to rue a number of missed chances, though they did maintain a five-point Premier League lead over their London rivals.

Van der Vaart told the club’s official website: “We had a few great chances – including me twice – and I was disappointed, but that’s life as a football player; sometimes you miss.

“When the ball was on my left foot it was much easier and I tried to smash it. It’s a pity.

“I think we played well today, we kept the ball well, and I think we deserved more than a point.”

Despite the disappointment, the Dutchman focused on some of the positives and believes the point can build confidence.

He added: “A point gives us confidence for the next few games, especially to have earned it away from home against a big team. We did well.”

Tottenham Hotspur

The encounter was a classic game of two halves, the first being pretty awful while the second was action-packed, with Gareth Bale going closest for Spurs.

Redknapp’s men had been on a bad run of form and had slipped behind local rivals Arsenal down into fourth place in the Premier League. However, the Spurs boss feels his side were unlucky not to come away from Stamford Bridge with three points.

He told the club’s official website: “It’s a big point for us; it keeps them five points behind us now. I thought we did enough to win the game. We edged it. We kept the ball great and we looked the more likely.

“I thought we played well today, I was really pleased. The longer the game went on I thought we looked more likely to score, and I felt we passed it well and created some good chances; their keeper’s made a couple of great saves.

“It’s a good point but there’s a long way to go, there’ll be twists and turns. It’s wide open for the top four. Everyone is capable of winning six or seven in a row.

“We’ve been playing well, we haven’t been in bad form, but we’ve come back today with a great performance.”

This result makes Chelsea fail to cut the difference in points with their rival. The Blues with 50 points remain behind five points from Tottenham. While Tottenham’s 55 points are level with Arsenal, but they are behind on goal difference.

Chelsea and Tottenham started the match slowly,no dangerous opportunities could be created by both teams throughout the 45 minute first half.

The battle between Chelsea and Tottenham began to increase at the second half. Nevertheless, there were still no opportunities that could threaten the defense of both team.

Tottenham almost went ahead before halftime. Luka Modric provided a low pass which was followed by a hard shot by Rafael van der Vaart. But goalkeeper Petr Cech was able to ward off the ball.

Chelsea’s pressure in the second half made Tottenham’s defense had to work hard. Didier Drogba gave an assists to Sturridge, but his header was wide.

A few minutes later, Tottenham spread threats to the host defense. But a hard shot by Kyle Walker from Gareth Bale’s pass did not meet the target.

Chelsea almost went ahead in the 73rd minute. Juan Mata’s free kick hit the post. Tottenham goalkeeper was lucky not to concede as he did not react at all.

Tottenham responded, and again threatened Chelsea in the 77th minute. Although standing free, William Gallas failed to score for the visitors.

Chelsea and Tottenham could not find the net and the game ended goalless.

Petr Cech

Cech and his team-mates produced a remarkable 5-4 aggregate win over their Serie A opponents in the round of 16 on Wednesday evening. But the 29-year-old fears the achievement will count for little if they do not perform against the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan or Bayern Munich, who have also qualified for the last eight.

“In the next two weeks we have the chance to reach the FA Cup semi-finals, third place in the Premier League and take a big step in the Champions League quarter-finals,” Cech told The Sun newspaper.

“One week ago, everything looked really bad for Chelsea but football is so crazy that it has all changed around. We won against Birmingham and Stoke and then came back from 3-1 down to beat Napoli and, suddenly, it all looks completely different for us.

“On Sunday, we play Leicester in the FA Cup, then we have two huge Premier League games against Manchester City and Tottenham before the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. We are still on track to do what we did in 2009 when we changed the manager in mid-season but, in two weeks’ time, this season could look completely different again – in a good way or a bad one.”

Cech insists the Blues must regain top form at home if they are to challenge for silverware this campaign as the team looks to revive their season under interim manager Roberto Di Matteo following the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas.

“We’re not playing well and when that happens you can’t intimidate opponents,” he said. “When you lose so many games at home, then every team that comes to Stamford Bridge believes they can get something out of the game.

“Not so long ago we had an unbeaten home record of four or five years and our opponents felt like they were already 2-0 down before they had even arrived.

“The expectation at this club is always to win trophies. Then you can attract new players and have a better atmosphere. This season, we are still on track to win two trophies but it is far from over and it would be wrong to judge us on just one good win against Napoli.”

Fellow veteran Frank Lampard says Chelsea will go into the next round of the Champions League with no fear of Europe’s biggest clubs after the confidence boost attained after the victory over Napoli.

“We have to believe and we do believe that we can beat anyone,” said Lampard. “It’s obvious that Barcelona are probably the strongest team along with Real Madrid.

“But we must carry on because we do have ability in this team, particularly at Stamford Bridge on a night like that. No-one’s going to want to come and play here when we’ve got that about us.”

Chelsea

Chelsea overcame a 3-1 deficit from the first-leg to win 4-1 (5-4 on aggregate) in a topsy-turvy game at Stamford Bridge that ended with Branislav Ivanovic scoring the winner in extra-time.

“It was a fantastic game to watch as well with two great football teams on the pitch,” Di Matteo said. “I think we made history tonight, as we were in such a difficult position before the game and we knew it would take a lot to go through.”

Andre Villas-Boas was fired after losing the first leg at Napoli’s San Paolo stadium, but Di Matteo has now won all three of his matches in charge.

“The performance of this whole team tonight was just outstanding,” he added. “It’s not just the senior players, but the collective performance of the whole team.

“The senior players put their experience on the pitch, as they are used to playing this type of game. David Luiz couldn’t walk at the end and John Terry had cramp, everybody was just incredible tonight.

“For the club, you know, it meant a lot. To still be able to play in the Champions League, and also you could see how much it meant to the players.

“I think everybody was very happy and delighted that we managed to stay in the Champions League after putting on such a big performance tonight. I’ve had some great nights, I have to say, but I think it will probably go down in the club’s history.

“To have come back from a two-goal deficit from the first leg and you saw the players tonight, how they performed. They showed passion, that they care about the team, the club, the supporters. We gave us a big boost going forward.”

Di Matteo has overseen an impressive change in fortunes at Chelsea since being handed the reins until the end of the season.

The 4-1 defeat of Napoli continues his 100% start to life at the Stamford Bridge helm, although he refused to take any personal acclaim for the upturn in fortunes.

“The home advantage was on our side tonight,” Di Matteo said. “Napoli are probably stronger at home than away from home, even though they are very dangerous with the transition. I think our supporters helped us win the game tonight as well and we just tried to go back to basics.

“We tried to be solid, not concede goals and we’re always confident in the quality we have in the team to score goals ourselves. Every win will increase the confidence of the team.

“We needed to find that team spirit tonight. We needed to play as a group and sacrifice ourselves.

“For me, in my position at the moment, I am just trying to win match after match so what happens after is not important. I am just focused on the games now.

“I don’t really think about myself. I am just focused on trying to win games for Chelsea Football Club and trying to get the best out of the players.

“We have got three wins in three games now, conceded one goal, scored seven, and that is all my mind is focused on.”

While Di Matteo struck a relieved figure, counterpart Walter Mazzarri tried to remain upbeat after Napoli’s exit from the competition.

“Well, of course it is a big disappointment for us, especially with the way we lost tonight,” he said. “I was happy with the performance of my team and I think it has been a great achievement to have reached this point in the competition.

“So I can only compliment the team, but tonight everything went wrong from the start very start when [Christian] Maggio got injured and we had to replace him.

“We probably paid for the inexperience of some of the players at both ends of the pitch. Anyway, I think it is a lesson for us we can take into the future as we have a young team.

“We can learn from this experience but the only disappointment is we could not give any more joy to our fans in the future.”