Chelsea’s supporters taunt Benitez goalless game against Man Cit

Rafael Benitez suffered a fiercely hostile reception from Chelsea’s supporters as his managerial reign opened with a goalless draw against Premier League champions Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich appointed the former Liverpool manager on an interim basis after sacking Roberto Di Matteo only six months after winning the Champions League and FA Cup.
Benitez’s arrival has met with an angry response from Chelsea fans in the wake of his old rivalry with them during his time at Anfield – and they made their strength of feeling abundantly clear.
The Spaniard was met with deafening jeers when he arrived in the technical area before kick-off, with the stadium announcer struggling to make himself heard ahead of a minute’s applause for former Chelsea manager Dave Sexton, who has passed away.
The mediocre affair did little to lift spirits, with City, still unbeaten in the league, marginally the better side but unable to fashion the victory that would have taken them back above Manchester United at the top of the table.
Benitez was left with plenty to ponder after the frosty response from his own fans, who directed abusive chants at him during the game and also delivered a minute’s applause for Di Matteo after 16 minutes, in honour of the Italian who wore the number 16 shirt as a player.
And there was no instant revival for Fernando Torres as he struggled once more – although Benitez will be pleased with a clean sheet.
The antipathy directed towards Benitez continued throughout a subdued first half, with City creating what few opportunities there were.
David Silva headed off target from an inviting cross from Pablo Zabaleta, who saw a shot from the edge of the area blocked by Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.
Sergio Aguero missed City’s best chance four minutes before half-time, heading straight at Cech from eight yards after being set up by strike partner Edin Dzeko.
One of Benitez’s priorities is to rekindle the fire in Torres and it was clear Chelsea’s game had undergone a swift shift in emphasis, with an obvious increase in the number of long balls being hit towards the striker. On this occasion, though, it made life even easier for City captain Vincent Kompany.
Torres came to life on the hour when a loose ball fell in his direction in the area but he could only fire a rising left foot drive narrowly over the bar.
In a torrential downpour, moments of quality were scarce although Chelsea had an anxious moment as the game entered its final 10 minutes as Cech was forced to divert James Milner’s cross with his legs.
Benitez had remained largely impassive but moved to question the fourth official when Ashley Cole’s late shot was clearly turned over by City keeper Joe Hart only for referee Chris Foy to award a goal-kick.
It almost counted as a moment of high drama in a game that was, to put it politely, subdued and low key.
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini:
“Games here are always hard but we played well while missing the last pass. We were too soft when we arrived near the box, you can play well, like we did, and not win the game.
“We had the better chances, I think that we lost two points. We dominated the first half, but the second half was not quite like that.
“It was difficult for them [with the atmosphere about Rafael Benitez], but we played well. Last year we lost a good game, this year we took one point. I am not happy but I prefer this.”

Sebastian Vettel wins third F1 world championship for Red Bull

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel won a third consecutive world drivers’ title by three points in the Brazilian GP.
In an incident-packed, rain-affected race, Vettel fought back to finish sixth after dropping to last on lap one following a collision.
His rival Fernando Alonso of Ferrari finished second, meaning he needed Vettel to be lower than seventh.
McLaren’s Jenson Button won after leading team-mate Lewis Hamilton was hit by Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg.
The German was trying to pass Hamilton for the lead with 27 laps to go but lost control on the slippery track and slid into the side of Hamilton’s car.
Hulkenberg, driving the race of his career up to that point, was given a drive-through penalty and finished fifth, behind Alonso’s team-mate Felipe Massa in third and Red Bull’s Mark Webber in fourth.
Vettel becomes the youngest driver in history to win three world titles – at six years younger than Ayrton Senna. He is only the third driver to win three in succession.
“It is difficult to imagine what goes through my head now even for myself,” Vettel said. “I am full of adrenaline and if you poke me now I wouldn’t feel it.
“It was an incredible race. When you get turned around at Turn Four for no reason and it becomes like heading the wrong way down the M25 it is not the most comfortable feeling.
“I was lucky no-one hit me but the car was damaged and we lost a lot of speed, especially when it dried up. Fortunately it started to rain again and I felt so much happier.
“A lot of people tried to play dirty tricks [during the season], but we did not get distracted by that and kept going, and all the guys gave a big push right to the end.”
A breathless and topsy-turvy race, with intermittent rain, created drama from the first lap.
Vettel made a bad start from fourth on the grid and at the fourth corner was first tagged from behind by Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen and then hit by Williams’s Bruno Senna.
The impact knocked Vettel into a spin, and damaged the rear bodywork of his car, and he was last as he crossed the line at the end of lap one.
Alonso finished the first lap fifth, but seconds later passed Massa and Webber as they went three abreast into Turn One to take third.
In those positions, Alonso would have been champion, but Vettel set about recovering lost ground and by lap eight was remarkably up to sixth place, while Alonso had slipped behind Hulkenberg after running wide at Turn One on lap five.
Through a series of twists and turns at the front, including varying degrees of rain and a safety-car intervention, Vettel was always in control of the championship.
With 20 laps to go, Alonso was fourth behind Hamilton, Hulkenberg and Button, and Vettel seventh.
As rain began to fall harder, Hulkenberg closed on Hamilton and the two collided. So Hamilton’s last race for McLaren ended in a retirement rather than a victory.
More pit stops were needed for the leaders to fit intermediate tyres as the rain intensified, after which Button led from Massa and Alonso, with Vettel seventh.
Massa let Alonso by into second on lap 62, and two laps later Michael Schumacher, driving the last race of his career, moved over for Vettel to rise into sixth place and make his grip on the title more secure.
In the closing laps, Vettel was repeatedly urged by his team to slow down, reminding him that his position was good enough to win the title.
And then in a final dramatic twist, Paul di Resta crashed his Force India coming up the straight on the penultimate lap and the race finished under the safety car, confirming Vettel as champion.
“I’m very proud of the team,” said Alonso. “We lost the championship before today, not in Brazil, this is a sport after all. When you do something with your heart and do it 100% you have to be proud of yourself and your team and we’ll try again next year.”
Race winner Button said: “I want to congratulate the whole team. This is the perfect way to end the season. We have had ups and downs and to end on a high bodes well for 2013.”

Final Brazilian GP top 10

1. Jenson Button – McLaren 1:45:22.656
2. Fernando Alonso – Ferrari +2.754
3. Felipe Massa – Ferrari +3.615
4. Mark Webber – Red Bull +4.936
5. Nico Hulkenberg – Force India +5.708
6. Sebastian Vettel – Red Bull +9.453
7. Michael Schumacher – Mercedes +11.907
8. Jean-Eric Vergne – Toro Rosso +28.653
9. Kamui Kobayashi – Sauber +31.250
10. Kimi Raikkonen – Lotus +1 lap

Final F1 Driver’s Championship standings top 10

1. Sebastian Vettel – Red Bull 281
2. Fernando Alonso – Ferrari 278
3. Kimi Raikkonen – Lotus 207
4. Lewis Hamilton – McLaren 190
5. Jenson Button – McLaren 188
6. Mark Webber – Red Bull 179
7. Felipe Massa – Ferrari 122
8. Romain Grosjean – Lotus 96
9. Nico Rosberg – Mercedes 93
10 Sergio Perez – Sauber 66

West Brom climb to third for the first time in 22 years

West Brom went third in the Premier League after recording four successive top-flight wins for the first time since 1980 with victory at Sunderland.
The club continued its stunning start to the Premier League season on Saturday by climbing into third with a 4-2 victory at Sunderland.

West Brom’s fourth successive win took them two points ahead of Chelsea, although manager Steve Clarke’s former club can reclaim its spot in the top three by beating Manchester City on Sunday.
Zoltan Gera put West Brom ahead on the half-hour and Shane Long fired into an empty net before half time after goalkeeper Simon Mignolet fumbled Chris Brunt’s pass.
Sunderland launched a fight back when Craig Gardner’s free kick was deflected home in the 73rd minute.
Romelu Lukaku restored West Brom’s two-goal cushion from the penalty spot before Stephane Sessegnon pulled another back for Sunderland. But Marc-Antoine Fortune had the final say, with West Brom’s fourth in injury time.
The Baggies were brimming with confidence from the start and took the lead in spectacular style when Gera turned neatly and blasted a left-foot shot past Mignolet and inside the post.
Sunderland might have been level within two minutes when the ball fell to John O’Shea inside the penalty area but he curled a right-foot effort just high and wide of the top corner.
Martin O’Neill’s side went close again two minutes before halftime when Sessegnon’s enterprising run ended with a deflected shot which West Brom goalkeeper Boaz Myhill stopped with little difficulty.
However, their hopes were dealt a major blow within seconds with Mignolet’s calamity in goal.
The Belgium goalkeeper went down to collect Brunt’s harmless through-ball as Long close him down, but inexplicably fumbled it into the path of the striker, who was left to tap into an empty net.
The game might have been effectively over within four minutes of the restart when Long ran in on goal, only for Mignolet to partially redeem himself with a vital block.
And Sunderland gave itself hope when Gardner’s free kick clipped Fortune in the defensive wall and flew past the helpless Myhill.
But Adam Johnson’s trip on Liam Ridgewell led to the penalty kick which Lukaku converted in the 81st.
Sessegnon pulled a second goal back from close range for Sunderland after Myhill had parried Fletcher’s header in the 87th. But after Lukaku had hit the post, Fortune ended Sunderland’s hopes with a neat finish in the fifth minute of injury time.
In other results, Manchester United came from behind to win 3-1 against Queens park Rangers, who are yet to record a victory this season. Jamie Mackie had put the away fans in a frenxy before goals from Jonny Evans, Darren Fletcher and substitute Javier Hernandez changed the game for the hosts. Everton were held to 1-1 draw by Norwhich while a goal from Charlie Adam ensured Stoke took the three points against Fulham.
Jordi Gomez scored a hattrick including a late winner as Wigan dispatched a resolute Reading side 3-2 at the Madejski.