Gianfranco Zola admitted he had mixed emotions after making a successful return to Stamford Bridge as his West Ham side held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw.
The ex-Chelsea striker, voted the club's best-ever player after a memorable seven-year spell with the Blues, inspired the Hammers to a resolute performance which prevented his former club climbing above Liverpool into top spot.
Craig Bellamy stunned the home crowd by giving the visitors a 33rd-minute lead and although Nicolas Anelka equalised six minutes after the restart, West Ham's Carlton Cole went closest to winning it at the death.
Chelsea dominated possession throughout but the visitors were solid at the back and deserved a share of the spoils, giving Zola something to celebrate on his return to the Bridge.
"The first 10-15 minutes I couldn't understand what was going on because the crowd was singing my name and I have to say 'thank you very much' for that," he told Sky Sports.
"It is fantastic to see they haven't forgotten you. I'm sorry I didn't wave at the time.
"It was unbelievable and at the end I think I was more tired than the players.
"I think they played really well and the result was excellent," Zola added.
"There was a point I thought we could maybe get something more out of the game but it was a tough match and I have to say that the players did fantastically well.
"I was very pleased for the players, particularly Bellamy because he got a goal."
Zola was delighted with his side's response after suffering a disappointing 2-0 home defeat by Tottenham last Monday.
The point sent the Hammers above Manchester City into 16th place and lifts some of the gloom at Upton Park having won just once in their last 11 league games.
"We know that it's not a great time for us but we're confident, we believe in ourselves and we don't feel any pressure," Zola said.
"We just want to go out there and show that we're a good team and the way we did that today was the right way.
"The players put the result against Tottenham behind them and came in determined to bounce back.
"The performance was outstanding not only in terms of the result but also in the way they played.
"It was a good reaction after a very disappointing game, as it was against Tottenham."
0 comments:
Post a Comment