QPR
ended Chelsea's
100% Premier League record and secured just their second point this season as
they earned a deserved draw from a niggly game wear cheap soccer cleats. Anton
Ferdinand's refusal to shake John Terry's hand before the match following
allegations of racial abuse in the corresponding fixture last season set the
tone for a feisty encounter. Chelsea
had the better openings and had two strong penalty shouts dismissed wear nike mercurial vapor viii. But QPR
improved after the break and Bobby Zamora wasted a fine late chance. The
striker was gifted a great one-on-one opening as he ran on to a calamitous John
Mikel Obi backpass, but Blues keeper Petr Cech brilliantly delayed Zamora and
the England frontman's effort was cleared off the line by Terry wear nike mercurial vapor ix. Eden Hazard
then had an equally glorious opportunity to secure Chelsea's fourth consecutive league success,
but he shot wildly over after good work by substitute Victor Moses. The late
chances in a fiery and at times controversial game, played in a predictably
hostile Loftus Road
atmosphere, at least offered some hope of it being remembered for the football
wear adidas adipure 11pro. Almost all the
pre-match focus inevitably centred on the handshake, and whether Terry and
Ferdinand would try to move on from the incident last October that led,
ultimately, to Terry being acquitted of racially abusing the QPR defender -
although he still faces a separate FA charge wear adidas predator lethal zone. As
expected, Ferdinand refused to shake the former England skipper's hand when offered
the chance and also avoided Ashley Cole. An already simmering atmosphere hardly
needed further tension, but there was plenty of incident despite the lack of
goals. The European champions, who remain top of the table despite the draw,
felt they were denied two clear penalties before the break. But referee Andre
Marriner decided Ryan Nelsen was not guilty of grappling Terry to the floor
from a free-kick, and then waved away even stronger protests after a clumsy
Shaun Wright-Phillips wear adidas f50 adizero trx challenge led
to Hazard tumbling in the box. Chelsea, who have now won just two of their 18
top-flight games at Loftus Road,
could have gone ahead inside the opening four minutes, but debutant Rangers
keeper Julio Cesar made a fine block to keep out a low Hazard strike after a
swift break. And Cesar also did well to keep out a decent Fernando Torres wear adidas world cup shot after the
Spaniard showed some nifty footwork to cut in from the right flank. Chelsea's biggest concern
appeared to be the keeping all 11 players on the pitch. Ramires and Ryan
Bertrand - following a reckless lunge on Wright-Phillips - were both booked,
and the indiscipline that cost them so dear in last season's meeting always
threatened to resurface. QPR - despite being hampered by first-half injuries to
Fabio and Andy Johnson wear nike tiempo legend iv elite - were
solid, retained possession well and saw plenty of the ball. But apart from a Zamora shot that was
beaten away by Cech, they barely threatened in the first period. They stepped
up the pace after the interval, were the better side for lengthy periods and
created the two best chances. Park Ji-sung spurned the first, somehow finding
Cech wear nike total 90 laser iv with a free
header from eight yards, before Zamora
wasted the late gift from Mikel. Chelsea
came back into it in the latter stages, mainly thanks to an impressive debut
from Moses. He forced another decent stop from Cesar and also set up a
wonderful chance for Hazard, who was unable to continue his blistering start to
life in the Premier League, shooting wastefully over from 10 yards wear nike ctr360 maestri ii elite. Terry
and Ferdinand both ended the match limping after picking up knocks, but both
excelled defensively and were at least able to remind supporters what fine
players they are. Ferdinand was particularly impressive, giving an assured
display that was the main reason for his side's first clean sheet in the league
this season. Chelsea
starting lineup: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Lampard, Ramires
wear nike ctr360 maestri iii, Hazard,
Bertrand, Torres.Queens Park Rangers starting lineup:
Julio Cesar, Bosingwa, Ferdinand, Nelsen, Da Silva, Wright-Phillips, Granero,
Faurlin, Park, Johnson, Zamora.
The
Rossoneri succumbed to their second consecutive home defeat of the season.
After just three points from three games, alarm bells are ringing already. Max
Allegri’s side were poor as Luca Cigarini wear nike soccer cleats strike was enough
to give Atalanta their first win. Luca Cigarini scored the only goal of the
game in the 64th minute as the Bergamese side took all three points at a venue
where the home team, be it Milan
or Inter, have yet to win in five attempts so far this season. Milan went close enough on
numerous occasions, but lacked a cutting edge as a tactically perfect Atalanta
wear adidas soccer
cleats side took three points with them on their short
trip home. Winning a football game can sometimes be decided by a matter of
inches. Losing idem. Milan
were only inches away from finding the back of the net against Atalanta on at
least three occasions, but they drew a blank, and lost the game. Despite wear adidas f50 adizero trx spending almost 90 minutes
on the attack and sending ball after ball into the Atalanta penalty area, the
lack of an extra inch on the foot of Nigel de Jong, Giampaolo Pazzini and
others ultimately cost the Rossoneri dearly. As has been the case for city
rivals Inter Milan, there has been no joy on the new artificial pitch inside
the San Siro. Maybe wear adidas adipure 11pro the slippery nature of the
much-maligned predecessors to the stadium's new state-of-the-art surface would
actually have assisted Milan
and seen them pick up three points tonight. Instead, a little too much friction
prevented De Jong from making contact with Antonio Nocerino wear nike total 90 laser iv dangerous cross in the 70th
minute when no fewer than three Milan
players were just an inch or two away from diverting the ball in. Pazzini similarly
only just failed to reach a diagonal ball which needed just the slightest of
touches to beat Andrea Consigli a few minutes later. By this stage, Milan were chasing the
game they had appeared to be in control of. German Denis wear nike mercurial vapor viii had given them the first
warning when his deflected shot hit the post in the 21st minute as Atalanta
played an astute counter-attacking game. Consigli was tested just twice in the
first half, first from Stephan El Shaarawy's shot and then from his own
defender. A Massimo Ambrosini effort also tested Consigli wear nike mercurial vapor superfly iii grasp with Pazzini only
inches away from reaching the rebound. Atalanta took a not completely
undeserved lead in the 64th minute when Cigarini's low shot from 20 yards found
the bottom corner of Christian Abbiati wear adidas predator lz goal. After the succession of
excruciatingly near misses, an inch made the difference at the other end to keep
Milan in the
game as Abbiati tipped Maximiliano Moralez wear nike total 90 laser iv shot over the crossbar in
the 88th minute. But despite being granted over six minutes of stoppage time,
Milan failed to find an equaliser as the pressure increased on Milan coach
Massimiliano Allegri after just three games of the season. Atalanta starting
XI: Consigli wear nike tiempo legend iv elite, Bellini, Lucchini,
Manfredini, Brivio, Raimondi, Cigarini, Biondini, Bonaventura, Moralez, Denis. AC
Milan starting XI: Abbiati, Abate, Bonera, Acerbi, Antonini, De Jong,
Ambrosini, Emanuelson, Boateng wear nike ctr360 maestri ii elite, Pazzini, El Shaarawy.