2002/03 Chelsea v Charlton Athletic (Full Match)

11th January 2003 at Stamford Bridge (37,284)
Chelsea 4 (3) (Hasselbaink (pen) 3, Gallas 11, Gudjohnson 34, Le Saux 54): Cudicini; Gallas, Terry (Morris 23), Desailly, Babayaro; Gronkjaer (Zenden 80), Lampard, Petit, Le Saux (Zola 78); Gudjohnsen, Hasselbaink. Subs. (not used) De Goey, Cole.
Charlton Athletic 1 (1) (Euell (pen) 42): Kiely; Young, Rufus, Fish, Powell (Johansson 46); Kishishev (Bartlett 46), Parker, Jensen, Konchesky; Euell, Lisbie (Fortune 64). Subs. (not used) Bart-Williams, Rachubka.
Referee: Mike L. Dean (Wirral).
Order of goals: C(3) CA C
Booked: Powell (2), foul on Hasselbaink, leading to penalty award; Konchesky (68), foul on Le Saux; Parker (87), foul on Zenden; Le Saux (6), foul on Parker; Gudjohnsen (34), kicking ball away while celebrating his goal; Desailly (40), foul on Lisbie, leading to penalty award; Petit (45), foul on Young.
Penalties: Chelsea awarded spot kick after Powell pushed Hasselbaink; Desailly pulled back Lisbie for Charlton penalty.
Injured: Scott Parker had seven stitches inserted in a knee wound following a foul tackle from Graeme Le Saux which led to the booking of the Chelsea player.
Terrible pitch: Chelsea were due to dig up their pitch and lay a new surface after the above match. The whole pitch was covered with tons of sand - five inches deep without a blade of grass on view. If it had rained before the match, it was likely that the referee would have called the game off.
On January 15th, Charlton formally requested that the match should be replayed on a grass surface, in compliance with Premiership rules. However, after an enquiry, Charlton were informed on February 10th that their request had been dismissed. The enquiry team also agreed with the referee’s submission that the pitch was playable - completing missing, or ignoring, the point that the pitch was an artificial surface. It was no consolation to the Addicks that Chelsea were deemed to be “in breach of Premier League rules” for not informing Charlton of the condition of the surface prior to the match. As a result, the West London club a £5,000 fine plus the Premier League’s costs imposed on them.

[@JumaaNdululu]

Thank you for this match