Chelsea are 16th in the league
That’s their seventh Premier League defeat out of 11 games this season, their third on the spin. It leaves them in sixteenth place, three points off the relegation zone. The win moves Stoke up to 12th, sandwiched between West Brom and Watford. They were completely outplayed at times tonight, but dug in for a fine win against a Chelsea team that put in one of its better performances of the season, but still got beaten. Man of the match for me was Eirik Pieters, who soldiered on for the entire game despite having his nose smeared all over his face for most of it. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he also took a football in the swingers, which will at least have taken his mind off the pain in his nose.
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Full-time: Stoke City 1-0 Chelsea
That’s a fine win for Stoke City, who take all three points courtesy of a spectacular goal from Marko Arnautovic. Chelsea’s players look extremely fed up as they applaud their defiant travelling support and traipse off the field.
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90+3 min: With his team a goal down in added time, Diego Costa is still chipping away at an opponent over some perceived slight. Arnautovic goes close to scoring a second for Stoke, but is denied by his own greed - he should have played the ball wide to Afellay, but went for glory himself. Chelsea go on the counter and win a corner - this is heart-in-mouth stuff!
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90+1 min: As funny as everyone apart from Chelsea and their fans will find this result, if Stoke hold on, both teams are to be commended for their performances tonight. Chelsea were, compared to their recent standards, mightily impressive but still unable to break down an obdurate Stoke side who refused to be bullied in their own stadium.
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88 min: Diouf and Afellay gambol up the field on the counter, but Chelsea stop them in their tracks and go in search of an equaliser. Willian gets the ball down by the corner flag and passes to Fabregas on the edge of the penalty area. Stoke get the ball out for a throw-in, Glen Johnson gets booked for something or other and the board goes up suggesting four minutes of added time.
85 min: Through on goal with only Butland to beat, Remy hurdles the goalkeeper as he rushes towards him and stumbles upon landing, rendering him incapable of poking the ball into the gaping goal. Not bothering to appeal for a penalty which he may or may not have been given, he regains his balance and from an awkward position, hooks the ball high and wide. It would be interesting to hear what his manager makes of that. Butland didn’t bring him down, but the collision between the pair, prompted by Butland, did cause Remy to lose his balance and ruin an otherwise marvellous goalscoring opportunity.
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84 min: Stoke substitution: Mame Biram Diouf on for Shaqiri. The sub is immediately involved, linking up withy Afellay and Arnautovic to tee up Jon Walters with a shot from the edge of the penalty area. He shoots high over the bar.
82 min: I stand corrected - it seems that Hazard effort was deflected out for a corner, from which nothing comes. Chelsea have eight minutes and whatever extras are added on to save something from this game.
81 min: That could have been a splendid goal from Chelsea. Intricate interplay in and around the edge of the penalty area, involving Oscar, Fabregas and John Terry (no, really) leads to Hazard being presented with a chance. He shoots low, hard, diagonally and wide of the far post. I’d have bet the farm on him scoring there.
79 min: Chelsea win a free-kick, just to the right of the Stoke penalty area. Willian stands over the ball, but his curling delivery is woeful and fails to clear the first man in the line of defenders. Stoke clear.
79 min: Stoke substitution: Charlie Adam off after a good but unspectacular shift, Ibrahim Afellay on in his stead.
78 min: Surrounded by Stoke players inside his own half, costa is forced to play the ball backwards to Kurt Zouma, who is in turn forced to play it back to Asmir Begovic. Stoke’s fans roar their approval - Chelsea won’t score playing like that.
77 min: Chelsea substitution: Loic Remy on for Ramires.
74 min: Diego Costa is penalised for another petulant dig at Shawcross which results in another promising Chelsea attack breaking down. “He’s a warrior,” says somebody on the Sky Sports commentary. More of a liability or idiot, I’d suggest from my high horse. His team-mates can’t be impressed at that constant nonsense when he’s not backing it up with goals or assists, can they?
72 min: Chelsea win a throw-in down by the corner flag in Stoke’s half of the field. It’s taken and the ball’s hacked upfield, where Jon Walters and Kurt Zouma battle for possession. Luckily for Chelsea, Zouma wins the duel.
69 min: Activity on the Chelsea bench, where Cesc Fabregas and Oscar are readying himself to come on. Baba and Pedro make way. Azpilicueto moves to left-back and Zouma to right-back. For Stoke, Bojan goes off after another good showing and is replaced by Geoff Cameron, a defender.
67 min: Pedro picks up a pass from Willian on the edge of the Stoke penalty area, shoots and beats Butland, only to see the ball rattle the left upright. When your luck’s out, your luck’s out ... although his absent manager may view this as part of some great conspiracy. Great effort by Pedro, who looks genuinely distraught to see his effort clank off the goal frame.
65 min: More great play from Stoke, who attack down Baba’s side of the pitch again. Shaqiri gets in behind the full-back and sends a cross towards the near post, where Arnautovic gets in front of Zouma but heads over.
63 min: Chelsea continue to put the pressure on Stoke, but it’s alleviated by Bojan who plays a sensational pass up the field towards Shaqiri. He picks out Glen Johnson on the edge of the area, but the full-back, who’s played very well against his former club, shoots high over the bar when he really should have done better.
62 min: In a Stoke hotel room, Jose Mourinho has thrown his television out the window and is now dismantling his Corby Trouser Press, with a view to putting it back together again in the Partridge style.
59 min: Chelsea continue their search for an equaliser, advancing out of their own half with Willian taking control. He picks out Costa on the edge of the penalty area and finds Hazard. Shimmying this way and that trying to find an opening, he eventually creates enough space for himself to unleash a long range effort. It’s high and wide.
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57 min: Ryan Shawcross gets booked shortly after Matic had tried and failed to beat Butland with a long range effort. Chelsea have a free-kick wide on the right, but after a spell of pressure, they win their seventh corner of the game.
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55 min: That was a fine goal - galloping down the inside right flank, Johnson got in behind Baba to pick up a through ball form Bojan, which he promptly crossed into the centre. Jon Walters miscued, causing the ball to loop into the air off the side of his boot and Marko Arnautovic was on hand to volley a scissors-kick past Begovic. Having dominated all night, Chelsea are losing again.
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GOAL! Stoke City 1-0 Chelsea (Arnautovic 54)
Stoke City take the lead and it’s a fine goal from Arnautovic, who’d done nothing all night.
52 min: Just outside the Stoke penalty area, Diego Costa goes down with all the theatricality of an am dram pantomime dame after making slight contact with Shawcross. No free-kick is forthcoming.
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51 min: Charlie Adam is penalised for a foul on Matic after leading with his arm to contest a dropping ball. He looks very unhappy with the decision, but was fairly lucky to avoid getting a yellow card, in my humble opinion.
49 min: Stoke win a free-kick deep in their own half, when Diego Costa sells Baba up the river with a short pass that results in the Chelsea full-back getting clattered by Glen Johnson.
47 min: A good positive start from Stoke, who are finally playing like the home team. Their fans approve.
46 min: Xherdan Shaqiri crosses from the right towards the far post, aiming to pick out Jon Walters. Begovic is quick off his line to leap and grab the ball.
Stoke get the second half under way against Chelsea
Glenn Whelan and Bojan do the honours, with no changes on either side after the half-time interval. They’ll need to play a lot better in the second half than they did in the first if they’re to avoid defeat.
Half-time: Stoke City 0-0 Chelsea
It’s all square after 45 minutes of football that was quite entertaining until I happened to muse aloud that it was quite entertaining, at which point it all became a bit scrappy and niggly. Chelsea have dominated in a manner in which I haven’t seen them dominate in quite some time, but have yet to beat Jack Butland, who’s pulled two fine saves out of his Big Top Drawer. Stoke have been largely on the back foot, but have shjown signs that they have enough about them to nick one or all three points from the defending champions.
45+4 min: Willian goes down injured after slipping in a manner that suggests he might have done a serious mischief to his groin. It’s not as bad as it looks and he’s fit to continue for the time being at least.
45+3 min: From the right side of the Stoke penalty area, Pedro crosses for Costa, but it’s too high for the striker. A spell of passing play ensues around the edge of the Stoke penalty area, before Chelsea get too intricate and Arsenal the ball down a blind alley.
45+1 min: We’re in the second of four recommended minutes of added time. Once again, Baba is bamboozled by Shaqiri and ends up tripping the Swiss international, earning a booking for his troubles.
44 min: I can’t be the only person wondering if it’s a coincidence that Chelsea’s most dominant and impressive Premier League display in recent weeks happens to be the one where their moaning manager isn’t sulking in his dugout seat or leaping around, gesticulating furiously in his technical area. Whelan gets booked for a foul on Hazard and Matic is flagged for offside as he attmpts to bring down Willian’s free-kick.
42 min: We’re in the 42nd minute, but there’s likely to be at least seven or eight minutes of the half left after that long spell of treatment for Eirik Pieters and his nose-knack.
41 min: Another fine Chelsea move ends with Jack Butland doing well to save with his feet from Diego Costa, who’d played a wonderful one-two with Pedro on the edge of the box, running on to a back-heeled return pass before shooting low and hard at Butland. Good effort, good save.
40 min: Chelsea corner. Stoke head clear again, but are unable to embark on a counter-attack as Ramires is on hand to ping the ball back towards Begovic.
37 min: A nice little piece of skill from Shaqiri is the higlight of a spell of play in which the ball rarely leaves the middle third of the pitch. He hoiks the ball over Baba’s head and nips around the other side to retrieve it, before switching the play with an inch-perfect cross-field pass.
35 min: Two more corners for Chelsea result in nothing more exciting than a ticking-off for Ryan Shawcross and John Terry for unseemly grappling in the penalty area.
34 min: Another corner for Chelsea, as Eirik Pieters goes down injured again after shipping a blow to the swingers, from the ball I presume. It’s really not been his evening - first a busted nose and now an assault on his crown jewels. #prayforpieters
32 min: Diego Costa wins a corner for Chelsea off Philipp Wollscheid. Willian pulls the ball low and hard to the edge of the penalty area, where Hazard’s steals in for a shot that’s blocked by Shawcross.
30 min: Charlie Adam is penalised for clattering into Pedro with a late tackle, presumably as punishment for the nutmeg he’d just been subjected to by the Spaniard.
28 min: Xherdan Shaqiri shimmies this way and that on the right side of the penalty area, turns Baba inside-out and pings a cross towards the far post. Jon Walters meets it, but heads over the bar. Good stuff from Stoke - this is a decent game.
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27 min: Eden Hazard picks up a wonderful pass down the inside left from Pedro, then cuts inside toward the Stoke goal. Diego Costa shapes to run to the near post, but veers off towards the far one. The cross, when it arrives, is no more than a few inches beyond his reach.
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25 min: With a quarter of the game gone, Chelsea have had the better of things so far, although both sides have had their chances. Pedro and Eden Hazard are both looking lively for the visitors.
24 min: Chelsea win a free-kick a good way out from Stoke’s goal, but not so far that you’d put it past Willian scoring. He doesn’t, but his fine ball into the penalty area dropped nicely for Zouma. Offside.
22 min: Chance for Chelsea! From just outside the D on the edge of the Stoke penalty area, Ramires brings down a pass from Pedro and strikes a sumptuous dipping volley goalwards. It takes a fine save from Jack Butland to prevent the goal and tip the ball over the bar for a corner.
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19 min: Costa gets clattered by Ryan Shawcorss as the two battle for a high ball and goes down injured. To be fair, only Shawcross was contesting the high ball, while Costa looked to be contesting the small of the Stoke defender’s back after thinking twice about leaping to contest the header. Not one of his smarter moves, as it turned out. He’s fit to continue, with the sounds of more loud abuse that is not fit for a family minute-by-minute report ringing in his ears.
17 min: Good save from Asmir Begovic, who has to stretch every sinew to keep out a carefully placed Glen Johnson shot from inside the area towards the corner. He’s unable to clear the danger completely, but Cesar Azpilicueta is on hand to hack the ball from six-yard box to the safety of the stand.
16 min: Costa misses a half-chance for Chelsea, while Eirik Pieters returns to the action looking considerably less handsome than he was before the game began.
14 min: Stoke win a corner, which leads to a Chelsea counter-attack. Hazard gallops down the left flank to get on the end of a wonderful ball from Rahman and plays it inside to Willian. He dinks the ball to Ramires in the penalty area, but the ball gets caught under his feet and pokes wide. Stoke get to clear their lines, but that was good play from Chelsea.
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13 min: Play finally resumed, with Pieters having walked to the touchline where I think he’s going to put on a clean shirt and have some swabs of cotton wool rammed up each nostril so that he can continue playing.
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11 min: Pieters is still getting treatment, so Mark Hughes summons Bojan to the touchline and starts giving him lengthy instructions. Meanwhile in the stands, the Chelsea fans sing in praise of their manager, while waving a lifesize cardboard cut-out of the great man. At least I think it’s a life-sized cardboard cut-out.
10 min: Pieters continues to receive treatment, sitting on the ground with a big was of bandaging pressed to his nose.
8 min: Eirik Pieters goes down holding his face after receiving an accidental boot in the face from Pedro, as he stuck his head in to win a dropping ball. He looks to be in a lot of distress. Signalling to the bench, Charlie Adams signals to suggest that Pieters’s nose has been broken.
6 min: Willian swings in the corner, which Butland punches clear. Costa is already being booed every time the ball comes near him, while referee Lee Mason has already had words with him and Shawcross for grappling with each other as they waited for the previous corner to come in.
5 min: Diego Costa wins a corner off Ryan Shawcross, then shares a giggle with Jack Butland as the players wait for it to be taken.
3 min: Chelsea get in behind the Stoke City defence and Eden Hazard blasts the ball over from a tight angle and close ange after receiving a pass from Pedro that took a deflection off a defender. It wasn’t a gilt-edged chance, but it was a decent one.
2 min: Loud boos echo around the Brittania as JonWalters goes down under a challenge from Kurt Zouma out by the touchline and doesn’t get a free-kick.
Peeep!
Chelsea get things under way – and immediately give the ball away, Stoke breaking quickly down the left as the crowd let up a roar. The ball is chipped into the middle for Shaqiri whose volley sails high over the bar.
Not long now ...
The teams line up in the tunnel, march out on to the pitch on referee Lee Clayton’s signal. The pre-match niceties continue with manly handshakes all round and ina short time there’ll be a minute’s silence for Remembrance Sunday.
Where’s Jose #3: A huge number of Stoke City fans appear to have handed paper Mourinho masks outside the Britannia, so he’s everywhere at the moment ... although the bloke in the middle of the photo below may well be the real thing, dressed as he is in a hat, beard and dark glasses.
Punditry corner: David Jones is presenting and Frank Lampard is in the studio with his cousin Jamie Redknapp to provide analysis. They’re currently discussing the need for Ryan Shawcross and Diego Costa to avoid kicking lumps out of each other and picking up red cards. On the subject of Eden Hazard’s loss of form, Frank reckons his problem is that he’s thinking too much about things rather than playing on impulse.
News from the Stoke camp ...
Jonathan Walters starts up front for a fairly exciting looking Stoke attack after signing a new and improved two-and-a-half year deal with the club this morning. That’s quite a turnaround for a man who looked a certainty to sign for Norwich a couple of months ago. The Irish international has been in typically fine form this season and seems to have won something of a moral victory as Stoke had been reluctant to offer him anything longer than a one-year deal.
So where is he?
The word on the street is that Jose Mourinho will be watching tonight’s football recital from the comfort of the Chelsea hotel, which may or may not be the Holiday Inn on Junction 15, just off the M6. If that is where he is, he can unwind before “with a stroll outside” and “then take a dip in the heated indoor pool, hot tub and spend time in the sauna and work out in an exercise class”. That’s quite a lot to pack into half an hour, mind. Jose’s place in the technical area will be taken by Steve Holland, Chelsea’s assistant first team coach.
Stoke City v Chelsea line-ups
Stoke: Butland, Johnson, Shawcross, Wollscheid, Pieters, Adam, Whelan, Shaqiri, Krkic, Arnautovic, Walters.
Subs: Ireland, Wilson, Afellay, Diouf, Cameron, Crouch, Haugaard.
Chelsea: Begovic, Azpilicueta, Zouma, Terry, Baba, Ramires, Matic, Pedro, Willian, Hazard, Costa.
Subs: Fabregas, Oscar, Mikel, Kenedy, Remy, Cahill, Amelia.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)
Kick-off: 5.30 (GMT)
Team to face Stoke: Begovic; Azpilicueta, Zouma, Terry (c), Baba; Ramires, Matic; Willian, Hazard, Pedro; Diego Costa. #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 7, 2015
#scfc Starting Line-Up and Substitutes for this evening's clash against @ChelseaFC pic.twitter.com/MFgBSIz5Og
— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) November 7, 2015
No sign of him yet ...
There was no sign of Jose Mourinho, who is serving a one-match stadium ban today, when the Chelsea team bus rolled up outside the Britannia Stadium, although we’re not sure the FA’s powers extend to searching the kit hampers, one of which - it is alleged - he has previously used as a conveyance while ignoring a Uefa-imposed ban during his last spell at Chelsea. On the same occasion, his assistant coach Rui Faria was communicating with his manager via an earpiece hidden under a woolly hat.
Whether or not Jose has rocked up at the Britannia or not this evening remains to be seen, but considering the filthy weather today, you can’t help but feel he’s better off in some hotel watching on the television, or at home with his feet up with a nice cup of tea and one of those lovely vanilla-infused Portuguese custard tarts on the go.
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