Jul
22
2011

Blues labour to 1-0 win

After capitulating 4-0 to Arsenal and losing 6-3 to Liverpool earlier, the Malaysian select side redeemed themselves yesterday by restricting English Premier League team Chelsea to a one-goal victory.

Chelsea had started the match promisingly, with star-striker Fernando Torres nearly getting on the score sheet just after the opening whistle. Midfielder Frank Lampard also came close midway through the half.

Halftime saw Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas making wholesale changes to his side, sending out an entirely different team from the one that started the match, this time including — to the delight of Chelsea fans — Didier Drogba.

It was also Drogba who broke the deadlock, when the brutish marksman hammered in a shot from a distance to score. The Ivorian’s shot hit the woodwork and appeared to have been stopped from crossing the goal-line, but officials awarded the goal despite Malaysia’s protests.

The generally cagey game was further marred when the Blues’ Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun was jeered incessantly by Malaysian fans each time he collected the ball.