22/08/2000  Bradford 2 Chelsea 0
 
Benito Carbone inspired the Bantams on his full debut with a glorious second 
goal after Dean Windass had headed a first-half opener to give Bradford their 
first Carling Premiership points of the new season.

The former Aston Villa striker's destination this summer was far from clear 
until recent weeks but for the Bradford fans he arrived in earnest against last 
year's FA Cup winners.

Villa boss John Gregory - who failed to secure the little Italian on a 
long-term deal at the end of last season - watched from the stands as Carbone 
weaved a spell around the Chelsea defence.

Gregory - on a spying mission on the Blues whom Villa play on Sunday - will 
have realised his loss is Bradford's gain.

Chelsea manager Gianluca Vialli had warned before the game that his side need 
to beat the lesser Premiership teams if they are to mount a challenge for the 
title this year.

But Chelsea failed to contain or compete against a bustling City display in 
rookie boss Chris Hutchings' first game in charge at Valley Parade.

Chelsea, thrilling 4-2 victors over West Ham on Saturday, were deprived of the 
star of that show - recent 5.6 million pound signing Mario Stanic who was ruled out 
with a leg injury.

It was Bradford's new boys, however, who were centre stage tonight as Dan 
Petrescu - a £1million arrival in West Yorkshire after five years at Chelsea - 
made his home debut against his former team-mates.

Ian Nolan, Peter Atherton and David Hopkin also made their first City starts 
at home in the Premiership as Hutchings made his mark on a Bradford side that 
narrowly avoided relegation last year.

Bradford took the game to their cosmopolitan opponents from the start and were 
rewarded with a 24th-minute goal from Windass.

Hopkin had wasted an earlier chance when unmarked in the penalty area, but 
Windass showed him the way with a firm header passed Ed de Goey.

Lee Sharpe found space down the left flank and swung over a cross which 
Windass nodded back across the Dutch goalkeeper and inside the far post.

Chelsea had problems with the Windass-Carbone combination throughout, and 
Emerson Thome almost doubled the home side's lead five minutes later as, with 
the panic setting in, a back-header rolled wide of de Goey's goal.

Despite failing to trouble City goalkeeper Matt Clarke in the opening period, 
Chelsea showed more purpose at the start of the second with substitute Tore 
Andre Flo, on for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, almost fashioning an equaliser in the 
62nd minute.

The Norwegian forward burst into the area only for Clarke to block his 
side-footed effort.

Clarke was forced into action again six minutes later as Gianfranco Zola fired 
through a crowded penalty area - the City goalkeeper this time clawing the ball 
away.

But it was left to Zola's compatriot Carbone to steal the headlines with a 
wondrous, long-range effort that gift-wrapped his new side's first win of the 
campaign.

Substitute Christian Panucci misplaced a pass to Thome, enabling Windass to 
instigate a breakaway.

The former Hull striker found Carbone on the right-hand edge of the penalty 
area, and de Goey failed to keep out a dipping 20-yard shot at the foot of his 
left-hand post.

Zola brought two more saves from Clarke in the closing stages - but it was too 
little too late for Vialli's side.