I can't really complain about the manner of the defeat. We played well on the whole and showed a lot more commitment, ability and effort than at Blackburn last week and we even managed to outplay the Champions during spells of decent possession.
The difference between the two sides was the quality of finishing, which happens to be the most important thing in a football match! Pompey players made plenty of good build up play but were a bit reluctant to shoot and when they did shoot it was either off target or Petr Cech produced a top quality save, most notably from headers from Kanu and Cole.
On the other hand Chelsea scored with their first shot on target through the Premiership's top scorer after a cross was volleyed in on the far post by Didier Drogba who was unmarked to give the Champions an undeserved lead. Matt Taylor had the perfect opportunity to equalise not long after but made a hash of getting on the end of a cross into the box. We were unfortunate to go in 1-0 down at half time.
The second half was a similar story. After weathering a storm of early pressure we continued to play with endeavour but could not put the ball in the back of the bloody net thanks to some wayward passing and finishing, not forgetting the annoying Cech making some great saves.
Predictably, we get caught on the break as we go and search for an equaliser. Kalou gets a soft goal for Chelsea after beating David James to the ball after he rushed out of his goal. He can't be blamed for conceding though as there was not much else he could have done.
That late goal killed any hope of us getting something from a game where on another day against another team we would have won. 2-0 flatters Chelsea as it is but they could have had another late on. As it is, superior finishing has separated two evenly matched sides on the day and once again our need for a top class striker is highlighted by the chances we missed today.
Despite this result we're still only 2 points off a UEFA Cup spot and the performance by the team has filled me with a bit of belief for an absolutely massive game at Reading next week.
The lads can have their heads held high in defeat today, which is far more than what they can say for themselves compared to last week. We've seen it all before against Chelsea though haven't we?
Pompey Player Ratings
David James: 6 - Did what he had to do, can't really be blamed for Kalou's goal.
Noe Pamarot: 6 - Handled Robben better than he did at Stamford Bridge.
Linvoy Primus: 7 - Solid as usual.
Sol Campbell: 7 - Good performance on the whole.
Djimi Traore: 6 - Caught out a bit too often.
Gary O'Neil: 8 - Energetic performance on the wing and supplied some decent crosses.
Richard Hughes: 6 - Solid performance as you'd expect from Hughesy.
Sean Davis: 7 - Good all round display.
Matthew Taylor: 6 - Missed a really good chance but generally OK.
Lomana LuaLua: 7 - Caused the Chelsea defence problems with his pace.
Kanu: 7 - Held up play well and his trickery led to decent play.
Subs
Jamie Ashdown
Andy O'Brien
Arnold Mvuemba
Niko Kranjcar: 6 - Didn't really change the game.
Andy Cole: 6 - Missed two great headed chances.