Blackburn 0 - 1 Chelsea

Scorers: Joe Cole (21')

Starting Eleven:
Cech
Ferreira, Carvalho, Alex, A.Cole
Essien, Lampard, Mikel
J.Cole, Shevchenko, Kalou

Chelsea just did what was enough to win a match. Considering it was an away game, and that Chelsea had key players injured, it was a good effort. Roman wouldn't have seen all the beautiful football he wanted, but Kalou's defense splitting pass that found Joe certainly had all the beauty. And what a finish. And it was nice to hear the traveling fans make most of the noise.

Blackburn started well. Bentley showed us why he is seen as the next Beckham. Chelsea lived dangerously then. In my scoreline prediction the goal margin was correct but the number of goals scored was far less than what i predicted, thanks to the goalkeepers and the woodwork. Bentley hit the post from a free kick early own but I think Cech had it covered well. Lampard and Friedel combined to hit the post again in the other side of the pitch. After the goal Chelsea seemed to control the match and had a 52-48 possession at half-time.

Blackburn got fewer chances in the second half. A clash with Santa Cruz left Cech with a hip injury early in the second half. The Chelsea medical ward must be house-full now. Hilario replaced Cech and seemed out of sorts till he made a brilliant save from a Santa Cruz header. Lampard was invisible in the second half but came out of nowhere to hit a left-footed rocket that forced a good save from the the American goalkeeper. SWP came in for Shevchenko and played in one or two good crosses. Pizzaro came in for Joe Cole later, too late to make an impression in the game. Essein had a chance, but Dunn came in with a timely challenge. Then on, it was just holding on to the ball and killing the clock. Six minutes of injury time was ridiculous, but Rovers could never get the ball out of their own half.

The last person Chelsea would want injured after Terry and Drogba is Petr Cech. Especially with Cudicini injured the loss of Cech could be a big blow in the festive season. Let's hope its a minor injury and the best goalkeeper would be back soon for the match against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.

Happy Christmas to all.