ISN will be spending the summer covering the biggest European friendlies here in the States. Next up is Stoke v. Crew and then Liverpool v. Tottenham. More announcements to come!
Chelsea FC, the recent Champions League winners, are touring the United States in an effort to promote soccer nationally and abroad. The Blues arrived in Seattle without many of their top players. Those not in attendance include Mata, Terry, Malouda, and the recently departed Didier Drogba. Drogba was a key player in Chelsea’s victory over Bayern Munich in the finals. In a recent interview, he claimed that money was not what drew him to leave for China; I don’t believe it for a second.
Seattle put up a good fight, with many scoring chances from corners and breakaways. However, Chelsea won as predicted. After last year’s embarrassing loss to Manchester United, Seattle looked infinitely more poised and even deadly at times.
Early in the match, Romelu Lukaku powered past the Seattle defense and blasted a shot past Bryan Meredith. Seattle looked clumsy and nervous early on, especially Jeff Parke, who continually slipped and lost his footing. Following the early goal, Seattle began to possess the ball in the back and play cautiously. Several minutes after the Lukaku goal, Mauro Rosales had a smart shot which sailed over the bar.
In the 11th minute, newly acquired Eden Hazard shot from inside the box. The ball was struck by a flailing Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. Merdith was in position, but after Hurtado redirected the shot, all hope was lost. Credit the goal to Hazard, but it looked like an own goal if you ask me.
Chelsea’s squad, while poised and elegant, did not go without their own slew of mistakes. David Luiz made a mistake early and then pretended to be injured, breaking up the play. While annoying, you do have to congratulate European league players on their ability to manipulate referees and draw “fouls”.
Fredy Montero scored a beauty in the 14th minute following a poor clearance by the Chelsea clearance. A minute later, Eddie Johnson had a scoring chance go awry due to his tendency to hold onto the ball for too long and then do some step-overs.
In the 25th minute, Alvaro Fernandez had a great shot from the top of the eighteen, but the save from Henrique Hilario was even better. Marko Marin of Chelsea responded with a strong shot on target in the 28th minute which was blocked by Meredith.
In the 32nd minute, Rosales blasted in another great corner. The ball bobbled around and found its way back to Rosales on the outside. He crossed to Montero, who was patient and direct with his shot, earning his second goal on the night. At this point, Seattle and Chelsea were tied and the crowd couldn’t have been happier nor more pleasantly surprised.
Many of the Sounders tried desperately to score during the match. Although, when David faces Goliath what else can you expect? Zach Scott volleyed a few shots, and Andy Rose looked eager to score. Fernandez had several great shots, and a few header attempts off of set pieces, but he was never able to find the back of the net.
In the 41st minute, Josh McEachran passed to Marin who shot to the far post. Parke deflected the ball past Meredith on accident for a third Chelsea goal. Credit the goal to Marin, although it was really an own goal. I have a feeling they were not counted as own goals because it looks better when two newly signed players score goals, rather than an own goal scored by a defender. Lukaku scored again right before the half. He entered beast mode and simply out ran the Seattle defense and outsmarted Meredith. Fernandez retaliated by testing Hilario again in the 45th minute. Chelsea was up by two at the half.
The second half was fairly uneventful, as no more goals were accrued. The most exciting thing was seeing some more recognizable Chelsea players on the pitch. Frank Lampard and Michael Essien came in during the latter half, but had minimal impact on the outcome. Lampard was not at his best, as several shooting chances went completely amuck and were poorly struck.
Steve Zakuani and Roger Levesque also got some game time. The match was the last one for Levesque, who retired following the match. King County of Seattle has officially declared July 18th, 2012 as Roger Levesque Day, in accordance with his retirement.
All in all, the Sounders played better than expected and put up a fight against one of the top teams in the world at the moment. For this, they should be proud.
