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| Mourinho appointed as manager for a second term at Chelsea Courtesy : Chelsea FC |
This was the day all Chelsea fans were waiting, for the return of the Special One. Mourinho's 1st spell in charge was still fresh in mind. However his lack of European Glory with the Blues was something the fans were waiting to end when they played Atlético Madrid at the Bridge. Sadly the bridge no longer seems to be a fortress. After Chelsea lost their 1st home game in 77 games under Mourinho against Sunderland a win was the least that could have made up for it. A 3-1 defeat not just put Chelsea out of the competition but might ensure a 2nd trophyless season for Mourinho.
Lately Chelsea have been criticized for their defensive play. A 6-0 win against Arsenal looked a shining thread of hope but their defensive approach shouldn't come as a surprise. However when the team sheet was released for the second leg of the semi final it shocked me. Azpi on right wing? What was Mourinho thinking? Why were Schurrle and Oscar on the bench? All these questions were popping up in my head.
The game began and Chelsea managed to hold on , and they did what they do best. Keep Atlético scoring and managed to score one in the 36'. A Torres strike which was deflected into the back of the net made the score 1-0(1-0 on agg) and gave hope to all Chelsea fans of reaching the final and probably a 3rd European title on the row, a title all fans wanted Mourinho to win at Chelsea.Torres' lack of celebration as a mark of respect for his boyhood team didn't dampen my celebratory mood. A goal, an advantage and one step closer to the final in Lisbon. However 8 minutes later a mistake leads to the slide which doesn't stop throughtout the game. A diagonal ball from Tiago towards the far post for Juanfran and he did well to cut back the ball across goal on the volley and Adrian Lopez hits the ball into the ground and up into the top corner. 1-1 (1-1 on agg) and Chelsea hearts broken. Comical defending by Chelsea was a perfect gift to Atlético Madrid. Hazard wasn't marking JuanFran who still had a lot to do. However his pass to Adrian Lopez went through Terry who was on the ground and Ashley Cole who definitely should have cleared it. What was Hazard doing has been a mystery. Mata was shipped out for his lack of defending prowess and Hazard did no better there.
The 2nd half was a different game and Chelsea had the first opportunity to go one up in the 53' when Willian's ball was headed goalwards by Terry only to be kept out by a brilliant Thibaut Courtois save. A goal up and Mourinho would have parked the bus at the Bridge. The fact that Courtois is on loan from Chelsea is rubbing salt into wounds. Lukaku's loan move to Everton and selling Mata to a competitor could come to haunt them in the future. However Chelsea's transfer policy is a different topic altogether and that is a lengthy discussion by itself. Not getting an early leand in the 2nd half made Mourinho impatient and he did something he never does atleast 10-15 minutes until the end of the game. He sends Etoo in place of Cole and opens up the game. Chelsea playing in a 4-2-2 formation looked all over the place and it didn't take long for a stupid mistake. 58' - An unnecessary foul by Etoo in the penalty box on Diego Costa and the referee had no hesitation pointing to the spot. Diego Costa's not so great penalty conversion rate in addition to his unhappiness at the penalty spot with the ball rolling into a hollow would have given a Chelsea fan slight hope. Who could have forgotten Messi's penalty miss against Chelsea at the same stage of the competition 2 years ago where Chelsea eventually went on to win their first Champions league title. Torres couldn't bear to see it, neither could I. But this was Atlético's night and Diego Costa made no mistake in putting the ball beyond the hapless Schwarzer and into the net.
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| Diego Costa's penalty.. Torres Praying Courtesy : Chelsea FC |
One might think it was easy for Chelsea to score 2 goals for a comeback. They did that couple of weeks ago against PSG. So this shouldn't be too difficult? However in that game Chelsea came into the match with a 2 goal deficit and not being the favorites always has it's added advantage of being able to play your own game. Against Atlético,Chelsea were in the driving seat until the end of the 1st half where comical defending led to their own downfall. Any hopes of a comeback where dashed in the 71' when an unmanned Arda Turan had to tap the ball in beyond a couple of defenders. Juanfran crossed to Filipe Luis whose shot hit the bar and to the unmanned Arda Turan. Juanfran lost Hazard who was tracking him and Hazard didn't look like he wanted to do any defending on the night. No wonder he had harsh words for Mourinho after the game. 3-1 down and 3-1 on aggregate there seemed no way back for Chelsea and so the score stood when the final whistle blown.
After the game strangely there were no complaints from the Chelsea manager about the referee or the Atlético Madrid players or manager. It was a pleasant surprise to see the Special One accept that the other team was better than his on the day and fully deserved the win.
As a Chelsea fan I felt the game was lost even before it began.
- Playing Azpi on right wing when you have Schurrle and Oscar on the bench is stupid.
- Starting Hazard when he was out for so long was no good as his lack of defensive played a part in 2 of the 3 goals scored.
- Playing an untested formation like 4-2-2-2 on one of the biggest nights of the season does no good for the team who looked all confused.
- Lack of plan B was evident after AM scored their 1st goal.
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| Courtesy : www.uefa.com |
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