Offside? Who cares. That was the look on Carlo
Ancelotti's face after Chelsea stopped a run of six winless games
with a very streaky victory. Owen Coyle and his Bolton players
cared quite a lot, judging from their furious reaction to Florent
Malouda's 61st-minute winner.
World Cup final linesman Darren Cann might have raised his
flag to halt the attack which led to the winner because Didier
Drogba looked offside as he burst clear and crossed for Malouda.
Instead, he kept it down by his side.
Paul Robinson, booked as he disputed the goal, was still
ranting about the decision after the final whistle and Gary Cahill
was busy in the referee's ear as the teams came off the pitch. On
such tense occasions the tiniest fractions can prove significant
and, when things are starting to look desperate, you need an
element of fortune.
As the visitors fumed, relief washed around Stamford
Bridge. Chelsea had won in the Barclays Premier League for the
first time since November 10. They were back in the Champions
League places, four points behind leaders Manchester United, and
Arsenal had been held at Wigan.
There were also signs in the final half-hour that
Ancelotti's team were starting to find their stride again and they
finished the game with a flurry which could have brought more
goals. Nevertheless, he reacted with caution.
'We have to wait for the next game,' said Chelsea's Italian
manager. 'This victory was a very important step but I am not sure
everything will now be OK. We have to improve. We have to play
better. We needed the win. The most important thing was to change
the atmosphere, to change the trend, get back to winning. The
League is open again.
Despite the encouraging signs, Ancelotti can reflect on a
first-half struggle against Bolton, when nerves plagued his players
and the performance was littered with errors. They were jeered off
at half-time when they were lucky to be level. John Terry had made
two brave interventions in his own penalty area to thwart the
visitors and Jussi Jaaskelainen had barely had a save to
make.
One moment from Didier Drogba summed it all up when he
took aim with a free-kick on the left, intending to curl it at
goal, but fired it out of touch on the opposite flank.
Ancelotti looked to the sky but the near-miss injected his
team with greater urgency, a quicker tempo and more control. Then
his luck turned when Drogba darted on to Essien's pass and Malouda
converted his low cross at the back post. Malouda raced down the
touchline in frenzied celebration as Bolton went
berserk.
'Ultimately, we've been done with a huge decision that I believe
was offside,' said Coyle. 'My players were frustrated by the
decision. I had to go down to the touchline to get them away
because the decision had been given. We had to concentrate.'
Blues were lucky to nick all three points
after John Terry's handball in the box went unpunished
again.
The Bolton manager had left Stamford Bridge after a 1-0
defeat in April in similar mood, branding Drogba 'a world-class
volleyball player' after two strong penalty appeals had been turned
down. His frame of mind did not improve when Stuart Holden crashed
a shot into Terry's arm and referee Mike Jones played on. Then
Holden was denied by a fingertip save by Petr Cech in the final
minutes.
Coyle had criticised Cann after disputing a decision in a 1-1
draw against Wigan in October. 'I know who he is because I had him
earlier in the season and their goal was clearly offside,' said the
Bolton boss.
Bolton boss Coyle branded Drogba 'a world-class volleyball
player'
'He's a fantastic official. And I don't envy them their
jobs but the reason they are in charge of World Cup finals and
everything else is because they are believed to be real
quality.
'But I just look at the progress we have made. If somebody had
said to me that we'd be coming to Chelsea with a chance to leapfrog
them, they'd have probably taken me away in a straitjacket. There's
a lot to be pleased about.'
'I thought the shot was going in,' said Coyle. 'All I would say
is that sometimes they are given and sometimes they are not. Did
John Terry intentionally try to handle the ball? I'm not so sure
but what I do know is that if that had happened at the other end,
it might very well have been a penalty.'