Red cards derail Chelsea

CHELSEA’S attempt to stay close on the heels of leaders Manchester City was spectacularly derailed when the first-half dismissals of Didier Drogba and Jose Bosingwa killed off any hopes they had of claiming three points from an explosive west London derby yesterday.

Heidur Helguson’s ninth-minute penalty ultimately divided the two teams and gave QPR a first home win since their return to the top flight this season.

The game was shaped, however, by the two red cards that meant Andre Villas-Boas’s side were forced to play with nine men for 49 minutes.

With Manchester City having thrown down the gauntlet in the title race with the staggering 6-1 victory at Old Trafford, Villas-Boas wanted his side to respond in style.

The Chelsea manager claimed he was proud of his side’s efforts in almost snatching a point from a game in which he felt the odds were stacked against them by the performance of referee Chris Foy.

It was impossible to escape the fact, however, that they blew it, paying a heavy price for reckless indiscipline that first cost them the opening goal and then two of their players. If Chelsea are to rise to the challenge currently being set by City and, almost certainly in the months to come, Manchester United, they cannot afford a repeat of this display.

Frustrated initially by the referee’s decision to award a penalty when Helguson was pushed by David Luiz, Chelsea’s day went from bad to worse.

Bosingwa went for pulling back Shaun Wright-Phillips when the winger threatened to break clear on goal while Drogba’s sending off was even more stupid, the striker reacting to losing possession with a two-footed lunge on Adel Taarabt.

Inevitably the game grew increasingly fractious and the final minutes were played out against a background of spats, of confrontations and minor skirmishes. On another day the referee’s red card might have even got more use.

None of that mattered to Neil Warnock and his QPR players, who were jubilant at claiming a first victory over Chelsea since 1995. For Chelsea there was nothing to celebrate and it showed.

Warnock admitted in his programme notes the respective team sheets would highlight the “gulf in class” between the two teams, with Helguson’s name certainly one of those that betrays Rangers’ recent Championship past.

The Iceland forward’s career has been spent largely in the second tier but he demonstrated Premier League nous and cunning when he made the most of a gentle, if foolish, push from Luiz as he chased a loose ball down inside the visitors’ penalty area.

Helguson’s fall appeared exaggerated but there was undeniably contact and there was no doubt Luiz was guilty of one of his familiar errors of judgement.

Helguson wrested the ball from team-mate Taarabt and converted from 12 yards, despite Petr Cech getting a hand to the ball.

Worse was to come later in the half — much worse — but even when fully manned, Villas-Boas’ side had offered few signs of the fluent play that had brought 13 goals from their previous three games that had confirmed they should not be overlooked in the title race.

Juan Mata has been central to Chelsea’s recent progress but for once the Spaniard was unable to exert any meaningful influence on the game as Rangers worked hard to close down the playmaker quickly.

It became clear this would be a day when Chelsea would have to fight to get anything and their hopes receded further when Bosingwa was out-paced by Wright-Phillips.

Even with 10 men, the visitors’ superior quality should have told, but the loss of Drogba meant their class would be too diluted to tilt the balance in their favour.

Still, they came close with Nicolas Anelka heading straight at Paddy Kenny and Frank Lampard flashing a header wide while Luiz felt he should have won a penalty.

There would be no fightback, however, and Villas-Boas was left with nothing but grievances and plenty of cause for thought.