Inter do Italian job against Chelsea
Reuters - Tuesday 16 March 2010, 22:36
LONDON - Jose Mourinho enjoyed a
triumphant return to Stamford Bridge with Inter Milan who
secured a 1-0 win at his former side Chelsea on Tuesday that
sent the Italians into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Samuel Eto'o hit a 78th minute winner for Inter, who had
fallen at the first knockout stage for the last three seasons.
The Serie A side went through 3-1 on aggregate.
NEWS: Chelsea overwhelmed by Mourinho
"We were the best team by far. To win here was almost a
perfect performance not just by the team but by the individual
players," Mourinho, who left the London club nearly three years
ago, told Sky Sports.
"I celebrated a lot in the dressing room because it was a
big victory for my team. I love Chelsea, I love this stadium and
I love these people. But I'm a professional and who knows I
could coach another English team and come here again."
FEATURE: The two players with whom Mourinho destroyed Chelsea
Inter had missed the three best chances of the match before
Wesley Sneijder sent Eto'o free and the Cameroon striker scored
with aplomb as Inter fly the flag for Serie A as the only
Italian team into the last eight.
"I think we dominated the game and there was no danger for
us... when we were attacking we created the chances and the goal
finally came and we should have got two or three," said
Sneijder.
NEWS: Jose leaves Stamford Bridge happy - as usual
Chelsea, who had reached the semi-finals in five of the last
six years and last lost a home Champions League game four years
ago, were desperately short of invention and barely troubled
goalkeeper Julio Cesar.
Inter opted against trying to sit back and defend their
first-leg lead and produced an energetic display in a first half
that featured more appealing, complaining and theatrical
over-reacting - from both sides - than constructive football.
Mourinho's tactic to start with three strikers - Eto'o,
Diego Milito and Goran Pandev - seemed to catch Chelsea out and
it took the Londoners a long time to get a hold on the game.
However, solid Inter defending, with centre backs Lucio and
Walter Samuel in dominant form, and a sharp block by Cesar to
keep out a Nicolas Anelka flick ensured a goalless first half.
Inter began to pile on the pressure midway through the
second half and a clever backheel by Sneijder sent Pandev
through but was thwarted by a terrific covering tackle by Yuri
Zhirkov.
Four minutes later Milito sprung the offside trap but shot
wide with just stand-in keeper Ross Turnbull to beat while
Thiago Motta headed over the bar from a free-kick.
Chelsea were showing nothing at the other end and it was no
real surprise when the impressive Sneijder looped a ball over
the home defence and Eto'o, who had not scored in eight games
since returning from the African Nations Cup, advanced on
Turnbull and drove the ball confidently past him.
Turnbull did well to deny Eto'o again in injury time but by
then it was all over for Chelsea, who had been reduced to 10 men
by a late red card for Didier Drogba after a clash with Motta.
"Inter played very well, we could have played better, now we
have to stay focused on the other competitions," said
disappointed Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti.
"It's fair to say we were never fully in control, they put
us under a lot of pressure, they controlled the pace of the
game."
NEWS: Honda steers CSKA past Sevilla
Follow FFT.com on Twitter
Join FFT.com on Facebook