Chelsea

Benitez denies rift with Mourinho
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez played down talk of a feud with Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho after they did not shake hands after the Community Shield match. \"I was focusing on my team and my supporters and maybe he was thinking about his team and his supporters,\" said Benitez after the Reds' 2-1 win. \"For me, it is not a problem. I am not thinking about this.\" Mourinho said: \"Football is 90 minutes. If we shake hands, if we kiss, do you think that is important?\" The pair did not shake hands after last season's FA Cup semi-final, which Liverpool also won. \"He decided not to shake hands in the last game and this time he was behind me and he did not say anything,\" added Benitez. But Mourinho stated after watching the Reds win the Community Shield: \"I was on the pitch from the last whistle until the moment Liverpool received the cup. I was there the whole time.\"

Blues uninterested in Gallas sale
Chelsea say they expect William Gallas to stay with the club even though the France international says he wants to leave Stamford Bridge. Gallas, 28, missed the club's tour of the United States and was left out of the squad for the Community Shield. Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck told Sir Stanley: \"We're not interested in transferring him to a Premier League club or another club in Europe. \"He has one year on his contract and we expect him to fulfil that.\" Gallas has one year left on his current Chelsea contract and is thought to be unhappy with the new terms he has been offered at Stamford Bridge. Despite Gallas' failure to turn up to pre-season training in the United States, manager Jose Mourinho has said he has forgiven the Frenchman. \"It is important for me that he is now behaving very well,\" said Mourinho. \"He trained well with the reserves and he is doing some work individually with Claude Makelele and the fitness coach, so he is being very professional. \"That is what is most important for me - today and tomorrow is more important than yesterday.\"

Essien ready despite broken wrist
Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien says he will be fit for the start of the season, despite breaking a wrist in the Community Shield game with Liverpool. The Blues will begin their Premiership title defence against Manchester City on Sunday. \"It's sore but it won't stop me playing - I will be ready for the start of the Premiership,\" Essien, 23, told The Sun. \"I'm looking forward to the first game. There are lots of trophies and we have to win at least one this season.\" Essien was impressive for Ghana at the World Cup finals this summer but he insists his focus is on helping Chelsea continue their recent run of success. \"It would be sad if we didn't win at least one trophy out of the Premiership and Champions League,\" he added. Essien, who joined Chelsea from Lyon for £24.4m in 2005, will turn out for Ghana in a friendly against Togo at Brentford on Tuesday.

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Ballack & Essien hope to be fit
Chelsea midfielders Michael Ballack and Michael Essien are both optimistic of playing in the Blues' first Premiership game of the season, despite injuries. Ballack hurt a hip against Liverpool in the Community Shield and will miss a Germany friendly to be treated before Sunday's match with Manchester City. \"I have to wait and see but I'm hoping it will be OK,\" said Ballack. Meanwhile, Essien played in Ghana's friendly win over Togo in London on Tuesday despite a broken wrist. The midfielder had insisted that the injury, which he suffered against Liverpool, would not stop him playing. \"I'll be ready for the start of the Premiership,\" he told the Sun newspaper. \"I had a scan on Monday and they say it is a fracture but not too serious. \"I didn't have much of a summer holiday but I'm fit and ready for the new season.\" Essien, 23, was impressive for Ghana at the World Cup finals this summer but he insists his focus is on helping Chelsea continue their recent run of success. \"It would be sad if we didn't win at least one trophy out of the Premiership and Champions League,\" he added. \"I'm looking forward to the first game. There are lots of trophies and we have to win at least one this season Essien joined Chelsea from Lyon for £24.4m in 2005.

Gallas still wants Chelsea exit
French defender William Gallas has reiterated his desire to leave Premiership champions Chelsea. Gallas, 28, was speaking after scoring in his country's 2-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday. He told French publication L'Equipe: \"I still want to leave Chelsea. I hope things will get sorted out fast but it does not prevent me from playing. \"Do I feel things are dragging on? Yes and no. My team-mates help me feel fine during training.\" Gallas missed the club's tour of the United States and was left out of the squad for Sunday's Community Shield defeat by Liverpool. Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck recently told Sir Stanley: \"We're not interested in transferring him to a Premier League club or another club in Europe. \"He has one year on his contract and we expect him to fulfil that.\" Gallas has one year left on his current Chelsea contract and is thought to be unhappy with the new terms he has been offered at Stamford Bridge. Despite Gallas' failure to turn up to pre-season training in the United States, manager Jose Mourinho has said he has forgiven the Frenchman. \"It is important for me that he is now behaving very well,\" said Mourinho. \"He trained well with the reserves and he is doing some work individually with Claude Makelele and the fitness coach, so he is being very professional. \"That is what is most important for me - today and tomorrow is more important than yesterday.\"

Chelsea v Man City
Manchester City new-boy Dietmar Hamann has a foot problem and has joined Andy Cole on the sidelines, with the striker recuperating from a knee injury. Defensive rock Richard Dunne should be fit and Middlesbrough-bound Sylvain Distin will play if still at the club. Manchester City (from): Isaksson, Weaver, Sun Jihai, Onuoha, Richards, Mills, Dunne, Distin, Jordan, Thatcher, Sinclair, Reyna, Dabo, Barton, Vassell, Samaras, Corradi, Dickov, Sturridge.

Chelsea v Man City
William Gallas could figure for Chelsea who start the defence of their title without a host of big-name players. Petr Cech, Robert Huth and Joe Cole are all out, Claude Makelele and Geremi have muscle strains and Michael Ballack is unlikely to overcome his hip injury. Manchester City new-boy Dietmar Hamann has a foot problem and has joined Andy Cole on the sidelines, with the striker recuperating from a knee injury. Richard Dunne should figure and Sylvain Distin will play if still at the club. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chelsea (from): Cudicini, Ferreira, Carvalho, Terry, Bridge, Diarra, Essien, Lampard, Mikel, Robben, Wright-Phillips, Shevchenko, Kalou, Drogba, Smith, Mancienne, Hilario. Manchester City (from): Isaksson, Weaver, Sun Jihai, Onuoha, Richards, Mills, Dunne, Distin, Jordan, Thatcher, Sinclair, Reyna, Dabo, Barton, Vassell, Samaras, Corradi, Dickov, Sturridge. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho: \"I prefer to play competitive matches than friendlies but I only like to go into matches when I feel my team is ready for it. \"That's not the case now. It's a funny situation to prepare a team without training sessions. \"We have new players, yes, but we also lost good players and we will have 15 players for Manchester City.\" Man City midfielder Dietmar Hamann: \"It might not be a bad time to play Chelsea. \"They have a few new players and virtually all of their squad played in the World Cup so they have not had much of a pre-season. \"I don't mind playing them first but it could have been an easier start.\"

Lampard pledges future to Chelsea
Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has reiterated his desire to stay with the Premiership champions for the rest of his playing career. The 28-year-old England star was linked with Spanish club Barcelona in 2005. However, asked by Sir Stanley whether he would like to end his career at Chelsea, Lampard said: \"I think so, I hope so. \"I'm very happy at the moment. I'm so lucky to be at a club where I have such a great relationship with everyone.\" Lampard has three years left on the five-year deal he signed in the summer of 2004. \"We have real potential to be successful as long as hopefully I'm playing football and that is my aim,\" added Lampard. And asked whether he would like to play Spain, Lampard said: \"I don't have that desire at the moment. \"When I came to Chelsea it was such a big thing for me in my career. \"I have done so well at Chelsea. A lot of that is down to me working hard but it also what is around me at Chelsea - the team-mates, the fans, the club - and I respect that and it has become a real part of me. \"I see myself being here for a long time.\"

Chelsea 3-0 Man City
Chelsea began their bid to win a third successive Premiership title with an easy win over 10-man Manchester City. The visitors were chasing the game from the 11th minute after John Terry headed in Arjen Robben's free-kick. Chelsea doubled their lead on 26 minutes when Nicky Weaver was powerless to stop Frank Lampard's deflected shot. City's miserable day was compounded just past the hour when Bernado Corradi was sent off and Didier Drogba added a third goal with a superb diving header. Corradi's second booking was for a wild lunge at Michael Essien and the Italian was not the only City player to display a lack of discipline. Ben Thatcher was guilty of a needless foul on Robben, which provided Chelsea with the free-kick that led to their first goal. If only City had shown a bit more zeal in attack but they were rarely able to trouble Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini. Chelsea had a host of players missing, including new signing Michael Ballack, but manager Jose Mourinho was still able to name 10 internationals in his team. One of those internationals was Andriy Shevchenko, who - on his league debut for Chelsea - showed some deft touches. But Shevchenko was unable to find the net and it was left to Drogba to show the Ukraine forward how to put the ball in the net when he flung himself at Wayne Bridge's cross to head past Weaver. Chelsea's almost total control of the game stemmed from a couple of first-half goals, provided by two of their England internationals. Terry had marked his first game as England captain with a goal in midweek against Greece and it was not long before he was wheeling away in celebration on his return to club football. Thatcher recklessly tripped Robben near the touchline and the Dutchman's dangerous curling free-kick was flicked past Weaver by Terry. The Manchester City goalkeeper, who last played in a Premiership game back in April 2001 against Everton, was soon to be beaten for a second time. After good work by Robben and Essien, Lampard worked space for a shot, which took a deflection off Richard Dunne to give Weaver no chance of stopping the ball. Two minutes before the interval, Weaver threw himself to his left to push a swerving shot from Essien. With Chelsea in such an omnipotent mood, City were restricted to a few tame shots - one from Trevor Sinclair, another from American Claudio Reyna, while debutant Ousmane Dabo also tried his luck. Just before the hour, City manager Stuart Pearce introduced two substitutes, replacing Georgios Samaras and Dabo with Paul Dickov and Darius Vassell. Having tried to reinvigorate his attack, Pearce soon lost one of his strikers as Corradi, another of City's debutants, saw red. Drogba's goal then served to inflict only more pain on his side. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chelsea: Cudicini, Paulo Ferreira, Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Bridge, Wright-Phillips (Kalou 72), Lampard, Essien, Robben (Diarra 79), Shevchenko, Drogba (Mikel 83). Subs Not Used: Hilario, Mancienne. Booked: Essien. Goals: Terry 11, Lampard 26, Drogba 78. Man City: Weaver, Richards, Distin, Dunne, Thatcher, Sinclair, Barton, Dabo (Vassell 57), Reyna (Ireland 72), Corradi, Samaras (Dickov 57). Subs Not Used: Hart, Danny Mills. Sent Off: Corradi (63). Booked: Dabo, Corradi, Dickov. Att: 41,953 Ref: S Bennett (Kent).

Mourinho surprised by performance
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said he had been pleasantly surprised by his side's powerful display in the straightforward 3-0 win over Manchester City. \"We played very well, maybe even better than we were expecting,\" Mourinho told Sir Stanley. \"I don't think it was a message to other teams because everyone knows the team we were over the last two seasons. \"It's just a good start at a difficult time with so many injuries and without the time to have a proper pre-season.\" Mourinho said he did not read too much into the performances of his side and their likely Premiership rivals in their first competitive match of the season. \"We will get better, but so will other teams,\" he added. \"From kick-off the team played well and pressed well, not giving Man City the chance to control things.\" Mourinho said he was as happy as he has ever been at Stamford Bridge, although he bemoaned the lack of a full pre-season and the uncertainty over the possible transfer of Ashley Cole. \"I couldn't be happier at the club, or in the country,\" he said. \"My family loves to be here and everything is good for me. \"(But) in football terms, we've started the season without a proper pre-season. In the last two seasons I've had my 23-player squad established on the first day of pre-season. \"This year, Khalid Boulahrouz should arrive on Monday and we still need a left-back in spite of Wayne Bridge playing very well. \"We can't do a whole season with only one left-back.\" Meanwhile, Manchester City boss Stuart Pearce said his side's defeat would not have a major bearing on the rest of their Premiership season. \"As I've said to the players, results at Stamford Bridge and places like that probably won't affect our season,\" Pearce told Sir Stanley. \"It's more the results against the teams around us that will affect us. \"I'm always disappointed when we get beaten, and I've got to learn lessons from this. \"From an effort point of view we've done pretty well. Going down to 10 men at Chelsea is never easy, they've got talent all over the pitch and you're at full stretch at the best of times.\"

Boulahrouz completes Chelsea move
Chelsea have completed the signing of Dutch international defender Khalid Boulahrouz from German club Hamburg for an undisclosed fee. The 24-year-old passed a medical and agreed personal terms at the weekend, and was at Stamford Bridge to see his new side beat Manchester City 3-0. Chelsea are thought to have paid in the region of £6m for the defender, who can play anywhere across the back. Nicknamed Khalid the Cannibal, he has been capped 15 times by Holland. \"In a short squad and in a country where you can have only 16 players for a match, it's important to have cover for many positions,\" said Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. \"So now I can have Boulahrouz, Ricardo Carvalho and John Terry - three options for the centre. I can have Paulo Ferreira and Boulahrouz - two options for the right side; I can have Boulahrouz and Wayne Bridge - two options for the left side.\" Boulahrouz started the last two World Cup games for Holland at the World Cup but he was red-carded in their defeat by Portugal in the last 16, a stormy affair in which he was accused of deliberately trying to injure winger Cristiano Ronaldo with a thigh-high challenge. \"He is a good competitive player and will be a good addition to our squad,\" Chelsea's assistant manager Steve Clarke told Chelsea TV. \"It is important to have one or two players around the squad who can play in a number of different positions.\" Boulahrouz is available for Chelsea's European campaign because he was a non-playing substitute in Hamburg's Champions League qualifier against Osasuna. He will go straight into Chelsea's squad for Wednesday's Premiership game at Middlesbrough.

Wenger bids for Chelsea's Gallas
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has revealed he has made an offer for Chelsea defender William Gallas, as the Ashley Cole saga rumbles on. Wenger, who is reported to want Gallas in part-exchange for Cole, said Cole's departure remains \"50/50\". He added: \"We are still in no man's land surrounding Cole's move. I made an offer for William Gallas and that is how far we are. \"I am very keen to resolve all of this. I want the squad to be settled.\" Arsenal and Chelsea have been involved in a lengthy battle for 25-year-old England defender Cole, with Chelsea reportedly offering £20m but Arsenal holding out for £25m. Last week Wenger said: \"It is not true that we have turned any offer down. \"Chelsea have had June, July, August. Everybody says Chelsea are interested in buying Ashley Cole but they have had three months now to buy him.\" Cole was left out of the Gunners' squad for the Premiership opener against Aston Villa. His move across London remains uncertain - and Chelsea have recently signed Dutch international defender Khalid Boulahrouz from Hamburg. \"We are ready\" said Wenger last week. \"From our part there's no problem. Why don't you ask Chelsea what the problem is? I don't know. \"It's also difficult for us. We have a player and we cannot really count on him. Is he with us or not? \"We have to sort this situation out quite quickly. The numbers are not so important for Chelsea. They just bought a player. \"This situation is not a money situation. We have not turned down an offer. The problem is not between us and Chelsea. \"He doesn't need to ask for a transfer because we gave him permission to leave when he extended his contract at the end of last season. \"He has permission to leave if a club come in and makes the right offer. \"If that doesn't happen the consequence will be that he will stay. If nobody gives us the right offer what can you do?\" The Arsenal boss insists he will play Cole when he thinks he is ready, although will not be in Wednesday's Champions League qualifier second leg against Dinamo Zagreb. The Gunners are 3-0 up from the first leg and playing Cole would cup-tie him and add an extra complication to the transfer. Cole made himself available for Saturday's opening league game at the Emirates Stadium. He said: \"I maintain I have no problem with the fans and the manager. They've been very supportive of me.\" Cole has been at odds with Arsenal since June 2005 when he was fined for meeting with Chelsea representatives, including Blues boss Jose Mourinho, without his club's knowledge. In the aftermath Cole blamed Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein for his contract dispute and in June 2005 told the News of the World newspaper: \"I blame David Dein for trying to force me out of the club I love.\" And in promotional material for his new book this summer the defender criticised the club for making him a \"scapegoat\" over the tapping-up affair.

Middlesbrough v Chelsea
Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate will be without new signing Julio Arca after he broke a bone in his foot. Emanuel Pogatetz or Andrew Taylor will step in while Lee Cattermole returns to the squad after an ankle problem. Dutch defender Khalid Boulahrouz goes straight into Chelsea's squad as he expects to have his international clearance through in time. John Terry (groin) should return while Claude Makelele and Michael Ballack have begun training and could feature. Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate: \"We do not go into games fearing teams. \"You have to pit yourself against the best and we know we have to be at our best to beat Chelsea. \"That's the same every week in the league. There are about 12 teams that have to be at their best to get wins.\" Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho \"Khalid Boulahrouz is travelling to Middlesbrough and I hope he can help us to get the result we need. \"We have worked together only two days, which is nothing, but it is enough to see the character of the player and I am really pleased with that. \"He's coming to a team of champions and I hope at the end of the season we can say 'You are also a champion.'\" Middlesbrough (from): Schwarzer, Turnbull, Parnaby, Davies, Pogatetz, Taylor, Riggott, Bates, Morrison, Boateng, Rochemback, Downing, Cattermole, Mendieta, Johnson, Parlour, Viduka, Yakubu, Maccarone. Chelsea (from): Cudicini, Ferreira, Terry, Carvalho, Boulahrouz, Bridge, Makelele, Essien, Lampard, Diarra, Ballack, Mikel, Robben, Kalou, Wright-Phillips, Shevchenko, Drogba, Mancienne, Hilario.

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