Inter Milan 2 Chelsea 1
Milito 3, Kalou 51, Cambiasso 55
“A real high-level game” – Jose Mourinho
Thrilling game. Compelling. Really loved it.
I bottled having a bet because I couldn’t call it. Almost backed Inter but then bottled it.
On nights like this I prefer just to watch. Not to gamble, then watch.
Lucio was phenomenal, Wesley Sneijder was hot, it was abrasive and close, as I predicted. And it’s not over. Could still go either way.
Drogba’s thunderbolt free-kick hit the underside and bounced 12 feet in the air in 15, Eto’o miskicked badly from Sneijder’s killer pass, Kalou should have had a penalty when Samuel bought him down in 45 but Kalou came back with a goal that Julio Cesar should have saved, Cambiasso replied within four minutes, blasting past Cech after his first shot came back off Terry.
The first goal was quality.
Ten passes : keeper rolls the ball out, nine more passes, Eto’o is marked by Carvalho who doesn’t get near him, flicks forward to Milito on his left, although I think it he was flicking it into Wesley Sneijder’s run, Sneijder saw it was going to the Argentinian and swerved infield looking for a pass, Milito didn’t use him, just beat Terry with ease and smashed his shot inside the near post.
Great football, fabulous finish by a proper striker who goes in the box and scores goals. Diego Milito is a specialist who does one thing and does it very well. After that I didn’t think Chelsea’s could win. I didn’t write them off but I didn’t think they could win.
Trouble was, Chelsea were playing with ten men.
Anelka was spineless. Words can’t describe how anonymous he was, how gutless he was. He just played deep, never went near Lucio or Samuel, never took on Samuel as Kalou did for the penalty that never was. It’s a good job I’m not a football manager. I’d have taken Anelka off after 11 minutes.
One flash was all he produced, a dart to the left, a one-two with Drogba, a cross that Lampard could not quite reach and stabbed straight at Cesar. That was it. That was all Anelka did in the whole game. He was a passenger.
Vicious substitutions by Mourinho, the master of thinking on his feet, ruthless as ever.
Balotelli for Thiago Motta, a big fast striker on the right wing for a central midfield player in 58, going for 3-1 right after you’ve made it 2-1, while Chelsea were rocking. Then Pandev for Eto’o in 67, right after Cech went off with a calf injury in 61. If your opponent has a scratch, make it a cut. If he has a cut, make it a big wound, if he has a serious wound, kill him.
Mourinho said, “Chelsea can play better, Inter can play better. In eight games in this round, nobody won by two goals.”
Inter v Chelsea excited me. I loved it. A proper big game that should have been a semi-final. It gives me something to think about for the next three weeks. It was close but more exciting than I thought it would be. Chelsea have a lot of discipline, a lot of spirit, that’s why I was reluctant to bet against them. But I’ve begun to wonder if Inter could win the European Cup for the first time in 45 years.
Normally, when the quarter-finals come round, I think : Who will win it? Who will win it this year? Who has the best keeper, the best defence?
But today, with 16 teams still in the competition, I’m thinking : Whoever beats Inter will win it. If any team is good enough, disciplined enough, creative enough to beat Jose Mourinho’s Inter, they will be good enough to win the Champions League.
INTER (4-3-1-2): Julio Cesar; Maicon, Samuel, Lucio, Zanetti; Stankovic (Muntari, 84), Cambiasso, Thiago Motta (Balotelli, 58); Sneijder; Milito, Eto’o (Pandev, 67). Subs not used: Toldo (gk), Cordoba, Quaresma, Mariga.
CHELSEA (4-3-2-1): Cech (Hilario 61); Ivanovic, Carvalho, Terry, Malouda; Ballack, Mikel, Lampard; Anelka, Kalou (Sturridge, 78); Drogba. Subs not used: Joe Cole, Alex, Belletti, Bruma, Borini.
Referee: Mejuto Gonzalez (Spain).