Mickey Ambrose revisits his old club Chelsea, ponders West Ham’s fortunes and looks forward to the 2022 World Cup

I have to thank the directors of my old club Chelsea for inviting me to one of the biggest fixtures of the season which saw the Blues come from behind to claim a 2-2 draw in this top-of-the-table clash against Liverpool with all four goals arriving in a pulsating first half.

Sadio Mane set the tone of this fierce battle when he was shown a yellow card for an elbow on Cesar Azpillcutea in the opening ten seconds of the match. The Liverpool forward could even count himself a bit little lucky not to have received a straight red because the replay showed him catching Chelsea’s Captain heavily in the face with a swinging elbow and I did wonder why VAR was not used because that is what it is there for.

Chelsea enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges, keeping possession well and creating chances which they would rue later… because they could not put the ball in the net, or the onion as we tend to call it. The busy Mane getting boos from the home fans for the earlier incident capitalised on Trevoh Chaloba misjudging the flight of the ball and rounded the Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy to slot the ball neatly home which sent the Liverpool fans who made the trip down south wild.

The tempo of the game increased suddenly and we did not have to wait long for another goal because watching the pace of Mane and Mohammed Salah up close is frightening. You can see why Salah is rated as one of the best players in the world; he is pure class and from an acute angle, he slotted Liverpool’s second. Bloody hell, (?) 2–0 down and only 20 minutes in I thought it was time to go home when Liverpool counter-attacked again and Salah could have made it 3-0.

I remember organising and playing in a celebrity charity match at Chelsea a few years ago, as part of a Testimonial for former captain Steve Clarke against PSV Eindhoven. Eastend and Hollywood actor Ray Winstone said to me on seeing his performance on video, and yes they were called VHS videos back then: “Mickey was I really running that slow”. I replied: “Now you know, Ray, what box to box means because as a player you have to have the energy to run up and down the pitch something N’Golo Kante does so well the heartbeat of the Chelsea team.

My despair turned to joy when the Liverpool keeper Kelleher punched clear to the edge of the box, Kovacic volleyed a looping effort that evaded the keeper and went in off the far post the Chelsea fans went wild and so did I – Game On and we didn’t have to wait long for the equaliser with Kante releasing Pulisic who took his time to calmly let a bouncing ball settle before sending a left-footed shot high past Kelleher. Two goals in four minutes had turned the game completely on its head just as it seemed to be slipping away from the Blues. Chelsea kept up the pressure in the second half and in the closing stages, the atmosphere inside the ground grew ever louder as the home fans urged the Blues on in search of the winner, but it was not to be.

Since West Ham’s 3-2 win against Chelsea they have had mixed fortunes and were narrowly beaten by Manchester United in the 93rd minute on January 22with Marcus Rashford sending United into the fourth spot in the Premier League table with the Hammers now fifth and Arsenal and Tottenham closing in. This is where West Ham really has to grind out some wins or they will slip back down the table – I hope not.

I bumped into Steve Holland, former Assistant Manager of Chelsea and now Assistant Manager to Gareth Southgate’s England Team. We shared our memories of the late great Ray Wilkins, my boyhood hero while growing up in Poplar who passed away on April 4th, 2018. Let us hope England do well in the forthcoming FIFA World Cup scheduled to start with the first game kicking off on Monday, November 21, 2022. COME ON ENGLAND

Mickey Ambrose is a former Chelsea and Charlton player who lives in Stratford

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