Chelsea

1-1

Arsenal

Gudjohnsen 53

 

Pires 59

 


English players in action:

Chelsea: John Terry, Wayne Bridge, Frank Lampard, Scott Parker, Joe Cole (sub)
Arsenal: Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was at Stamford Bridge last night to see the first all-English clash in the European Cup since Nottingham Forest did battle with then-European champions Liverpool in 1978/79.

As usual Chelsea fielded a side with plenty of English talent and early on it was centre-back John Terry and former Charlton Athletic midfielder Scott Parker who stood out from the home side's ranks.

Terry seemed to be comfortable with anything that the Gunners could throw at him, dealing admirably well with the twin threats of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry.

All season Terry has been putting in some brilliant perfromances and there is no doubt that Sven will have been impressed with his ability to cope with Henry. The Frenchman will be one of the key men to stop when England take on Jacques Santini's side in Lisbon on 13th June.

Parker was tireless in midfield, working well with fellow England international Frank Lampard. He had a couple of opportunities to fire a shot at Jens Lehmann's goal but chose to pass to team-mates in better positions on each occasion.

Lampard, who has been Chelsea's most consistent player this season, had one of his quieter games for the Blues but still managed to deliver the defence-splitting pass that Eidur Gudjohnsen scored from.

Possibly the best English player on the pitch, though, was Arsenal defender Sol Campbell. He was immense and soaked up all the pressure that Chelsea heaped upon the Arsenal goal.

Even when faced with the pace of Damien Duff, Adrian Mutu or Gudjohnsen, Campbell was there to keep Chelsea at bay.

With Terry and Campbell in such fine form, Sven would have taken many positives out of what was a showcase for English football.

Team Details

Chelsea: Ambrosio; Gallas, Terry, Desailly, Bridge; Parker (Cole, 72), Lampard, Makelele, Duff; Mutu (Crespo, 72), Gudjohnsen (Melchiot, 86)
Subs not used: Sullivan, Geremi, Huth, Gronkjaer

Arsenal: Lehmann; Lauren, Cole, Toure, Campbell; Ljungberg (Reyes, 78), Edu, Vieira, Pires; Bergkamp (Gilberto, 72); Henry
Subs not used: Stack, Keown, Cygan, Silva, Clichy, Kanu