Football: Winter of discontent continues for Barnsley

Chelsea 2

Barnsley 0

Sometimes during games as tedious as this you actually find yourself looking forward to the press conference, hoping it might prove more entertaining if not enlightening than the match itself.

Alas on this occasion Danny Wilson and Ruud Gullit, the two managers, merely heightened the sense of disillusionment, the former taking a leaf out of Gordon Strachan's book with a futile tirade against the referee, the latter purring with contentment after a very ordinary Chelsea performance.

So Chelsea have moved up to second in the table again, and for that Gullit is entitled to be pleased and look smug when asked whether he is close to signing a new contract. "I'm close," he said, adding that he would not be going to any other club including, presumably, Milan. But as a manager, even one who admits to having much to learn, it would be surprising if he was as kind to his players in private as he was in public. They lacked creativity and the absence once again of Roberto Di Matteo, this time through suspension, was frighteningly conspicuous.

Chelsea have been on an indifferent run and failure to beat Barnsley at home would have done strange things to the morale of any side with championship aspirations. They did what they had to against mediocre opposition, two scrappy goals either side of half-time sparing any blushes, but the introduction of Mark Nicholls at the interval was a tell-tale sign that all was not well despite a one-goal lead. They failed to improve, so Gullit's apparent complacency later on was all the more astonishing.

The attack by Wilson on Jeff Winter's handling of the game was prompted by the suspicion of offside that accompanied Dan Petrescu's run down the right wing leading to Chelsea's second goal. He was found by a searching pass from a sprightly-looking Gianluca Vialli, but it was hard to imagine even Petrescu's speed accounting for the distance he was behind the last defender when the ball arrived at his feet.

Unfortunately the television cameras failed to tell us whether the criticism of assistant referee Wendy Toms was justified, but "she was miles behind play," according to Wilson, while Winter's was "the worst refereeing performance I've seen all season. I think he was throwing cards at Chelsea players at the end just to pacify us".

He came off to a chorus of disapproval from the Barnsley fans while Graham Rix, Gullit's assistant, was giving him an earful at the same time. Perhaps Rix was thanking him for not sending Vialli off following a blatant elbow in the face of Jovo Bosancic.

Goals: Vialli (23) 1-0; Hughes (47) 2-0.

Chelsea (3-5-2): De Goey; Duberry, Leboeuf, Clarke; Charvet, Petrescu, Newton (Nicholls, h/t), Wise (Sinclair, 80), Le Saux; Vialli, Hughes. Substitutes not used: Zola, Flo, Hitchcock (gk).

Barnsley (4-4-2): Watson; Eaden, De Zeeuw, Moses, Barnard; Bullock, Bosancic (Liddell, 80), Sheridan (Morgan, 58), Redfearn; Ward, Fjortoft (Hendrie, 66). Substitutes not used: Hristov, Leese (gk).

Referee: J Winter (Stockton on Tees).

Bookings: Chelsea: Duberry, Le Saux, Vialli, Charvet, Petrescu. Barnsley: Barnard, Bosancic.

Man of the match: Vialli.

Attendance: 34,442.