Chelsea Heartbreak in Moscow

I suppose it’s about time I broke my long silence and finally let rip on last week’s Champions League final. As they say, no time like the present. Especially since it’s been seven days- time sure flies - since Man U overcame Chelsea to lift the cup in the middle of the Moscow night. More importantly, we are a mere ten days away from the start of the summer jamboree that is Euro 2008. No better time to get all the club stuff out of the way and start thinking international soccer, at least for a few weeks.

Well, Moscow proved to be all I had expected and more – save for the red card, penalties and the destination of the cup, of course. Okay, my prediction didn’t pan out. Let’s get that out of the way from the off. A highly attritional affair climaxed with the sending off of Didier Drogba and the high drama of the penalty shoot-out lottery. This was one of those finals that could fairly have gone either way, and I guess that should be true of any final that goes to the dreaded shoot-out. But that isn’t always the case. I am a Liverpool fan but there can be no denying that Milan should have won the 2005 final after dominating the first half and leading by three goals at half time.

Man U dominated the first period in Moscow and in truth should have been well ahead by the time Frank Lampard arrived in the box – as he does – to cancel out Ronaldo’s opening goal. That Chelsea were still in it at this point was down to the brilliance of Petr Cech and the profligate finishing of Carlos Tevez. Sir Alex won the early tactical game by playing Ronaldo wide on the left with a two-fold effect. First, with Michael Essien filling in at right back, the Portuguese winger had the advantage of facing an out-of-position defender, and he took full advantage getting past the Ghanaian at will, and heading home the opening goal with Essien caught in no-man’s land.
Second, the constant threat Ronaldo posed on the flank effectively kept the usually marauding Essien out of the Man U half for the entire first half. Indeed, the one time Essien ventured forward in the first half, his deflected shot ended at the feet of Lampard for the equalizer.

Chelsea never quite got going in the first half. Their midfielders kept treating the ball like a hot potato, seemingly unwilling – or unable – to keep possession and constantly pumping long balls in the direction of the outnumbered Drogba in attack. They were certainly lucky to be back on level terms by the break, but they started the 2nd period in much better form, effectively stifling Man U’s free-flowing game while attacking with more poise, purpose and imagination. The more patient build up allowed Ashley Cole and Essien to join the attack down the flanks, something that was wholly missing in the first half and Chelsea gradually established a stranglehold on the game. Sir Alex addressed that with the entry of Ryan Giggs for Paul Scholes, bringing Owen Hargreaves into the middle alongside Michael Carrick. But it was Chelsea that came closest to the winning goal when Drogba cracked a shot against the upright with Van der Sar well beaten.

Extra time was especially notable for three incidents: Lampard hit the cross bar from seven yards out; Giggs’ goal bound effort was headed clear by John Terry; and then Drogba waded into the scrum that followed a disagreement between Terry and Tevez to slap Vidic across the face and earn himself a well-deserved red card.

Well, we know what happened in the shoot-out: Ronaldo was well on his way to being the villain – after the season he’s had, that would have been quite the twist – until Terry’s wayward effort saved his bacon and gave Man U a dramatic lifeline. But did Terry miss because he slipped? Or did he slip after he had hit the shot? It wasn’t all that clear to me, nor should it matter. Either way, it’s hard not to feel for the Chelsea captain. I bet he could just picture himself lifting the Cup - as we all did – as he strode forward for that decisive penalty kick.

Now we can only wonder what might have been had Drogba not been sent off. Chelsea fans are convinced he would have scored one of the penalties – perhaps even that final one that Terry fluffed. It’s been suggested that Terry only stepped up for the last kick because Drogba was missing and I have no doubt the big striker would have been one of the five. Yet, no one is infallible from the spot and Drogba could very well have missed too. After all, Ronaldo is Man U’s most reliable penalty taker – he took all of his club’s penalties this season - yet he was the only one of seven Man U players not to score. Had the tables been turned and Ronaldo been sent off, I am sure Man U fans would have blamed a subsequent loss on his absence.

Still not convinced? Well, think back two years to the final of the African Nations Cup in Cairo. Egypt beat Ivory Coast to lift the cup after a penalty shoot out in which Mr. Drogba missed one of the Elephants’ kicks.

In any case, this is all conjecture now. Man U win another one just when it seemed to be out of reach – shades of Barcelona nine years ago – and Chelsea’s hunt for European respectability continues. I can’t but recall the telling words of Fox Soccer Channel’s Bobby McMahon in the aftermath of last Wednesday’s final: “No team will come closer to winning the cup without actually winning it.”

That will be scant consolation for Roman Abramovich, the man who’s billions have yet to land the “holy grail”. Manager Avram Grant has already paid the price after getting the sack just days after the final. Okay, Grant is no Mourinho, but I don’t think the Israeli has performed poorly since taking over from “The Special One” in mid-season. Chelsea finished the season runners-up in the Premiership, the Carling Cup and the Champions League. That’s certainly not a disaster for your everyday club. But Chelsea is anything but normal. If that is the standard that future Chelsea managers would be held to, I think Abramovich will be sacking a fair number of managers in the years ahead.

For my last word on this year’s Champions League, I’d like to pay tribute to one of the game’s biggest unsung heroes. Was I the only one marveling at the performance of Claude Makelele in the Chelsea midfield last Wednesday? What a player this tiny defensive midfielder is! And it wasn’t just about man-marking, game-reading and breaking up the play either. Makelele put on a one-man clinic on how to keep the ball on Wednesday night. As the likes of Ballack, Lampard and Malouda struggled, he hardly played a bad pass, never got caught in possession and always managed to twist and turn his way out of tight spots. For a player with hardly any pace left, it’s a wonder to see how he uses space and his opponents’ movements in his role just in front of the back four. Little wonder that he’s still playing comfortably at the highest level at the ripe old age of 35 years.

Watch out for more Makelele when France take the field at Euro 2008 – yes, he’s still in the squad.

But I’ll delve more into the Euros in my next post. Later

No Double for Man U

It’s what they call the business end of the season and it’s down to a dog-fight between Man U and Chelsea for the major spoils – on two fronts, no less.

First, the Premiership comes to a potentially thrilling climax this weekend with the two clubs neck and neck at the top of the table. It’s been 9 years since the title chase went all the way to the wire – Man U pipping Arsenal at the tape in 1999 – and I think we’ll have the same winner again this year.

Man U’s vastly superior goal difference gives them the clear edge as they travel to the bumpy Wigan pitch on Sunday, and I just don’t see Alex Ferguson’s team slipping up here. Yet slip-ups are rife in the history of the beautiful game so I won’t be taking anything for granted. Luckily for Man U fans neither will Sir Alex. The wily Scot’s been here one too many times and surely his young wards will be well prepared to give everything on Sunday.

Chelsea entertain Bolton at the Bridge and they must win to have any chance of unseating Man U. That shouldn’t be a problem for Avram Grant’s in-form team, yet I don’t think it’ll be enough to bring the title back to London this year.

It’s Man U’s title to lose now and, on the whole, it would be a well deserved title for the Red Devils. They’ve won more games than any team in the top flight (26), while scoring the most goals (78) and conceding the fewest (22). They’ve been simply magic at Old Trafford too, winning 17 of 19 matches and dropping just 5 points of a possible 57.

Championship stuff indeed, but for all that, I don’t think Man U will be celebrating a double this year. That’s right, I think Chelsea will win the Moscow showdown on May 21 and claim its first Champions League Cup.

Don’t get me wrong, this will be no walk in the park for the Blues. It will be a hard fought final between two highly skilled and motivated teams, yet I think Chelsea will edge this one.

Why? Well, for one thing Chelsea seem to have found their form at the right time. As is their wont, this side has been grounding out results all season but it’s only in the last month or so that they have looked anything like the side Mourinho built. Key players have either returned from injury – as with John Terry and Frank Lampard – or to back to form – as with Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba – and Man U will be stretched to cope with the sheer physicality and never-say-die attitude of this team.

In addition, for all the skill and resilience of Man U, their opponents just seem to have winners all over the pitch. Not necessarily more skilled, just the kind of players that somehow grind out a result against all odds. Think Carvalho, Essien, Ballack, Makelele, Lampard and Drogba. While Man U’s style and players like Ferdinand, Scholes, Carrick, Tevez, Rooney and Ronaldo are far easier on the eyes, I think Chelsea’s lot would be much more at home in a dog-fight, if you know what I mean.

So, here’s the thing. I think Moscow will be a dog-fight of a football match. When Man U are on top of their game, they’re very hard to beat. But I don’t think Chelsea will let them play to the best of their ability in Moscow. The difference is that Chelsea, on current form, don’t need to play well to win. I think they’ll make a scrap of it and something tells me that Chelsea’s fighters will find a way to win the battle and take the ‘Cup with the big ears’ to Stamford Bridge for the first time. History beckons.

Kudos to Man U and Chelsea

I know it feels like I've been in mourning - after the Liverpool heartbreaker on Wednesday night - but that's not why you haven't read from me in two days. Just life getting in the way.

Kudos to Man U and Chelsea for making it through to Moscow. And don't forget Zenit St. Petersburg, who put the mighty Bayern Munich to the sword in the UEFA Cup. Tuesday night went as expected; Barca playing, Man U scoring. But Wednesday was something else. Great game that could have swung either way. In the end, the home team got the breaks but Liverpool gave as good as they got and contributed to a fantastic game.My extended thoughts on all these will come in a later post.

But wasn't it odd how injuries and substitutions setled this affair? Riise came in for the injured Fabio Aurelio in the 1st leg, and scored an own goal at the death. Then in the 2nd leg, Hyppia replaced Skrtel and gave away a sloppy penalty in extra time. Even on the Chelsea side, substitute Kalou provided the cross that led to Riise's blunder at Anfield, and subs Malouda and Anelka set up Drogba's ultimately decisive 3rd goal at the Bridge. C'est la vie.