The return of José Mourinho was a grim reunion for Chelsea. Their former manager engineered a bold display in which Internazionale created the bulk of the chances. A goal from them was overdue before the outstanding Wesley Sneijder released Samuel Eto’o twelve minutes from the end and the striker shot emphatically beyond Ross Turnbull.
The occasion became ignominious when the Chelsea forward Didier Drogba was sent off for taking a kick at Thiago Motta in the 87th minute. There had been a shortage of any other type of menace and this failure for the club in the last 16 of the Champions League, where it has been defeated in both legs, will raise questions about the extent of rebuilding that will have to be conducted.
Mourinho had come with the intention of making one last mark on Chelsea’s history. To be precise, what he had in mind was an ugly blot. His old club, after all, had not been eliminated at this comparatively early stage of the tournament since the spring of 2006. The means by which Mourinho intended to knock out Chelsea bore an element of surprise.
His position at Stamford Bridge had become untenable in the early autumn of 2007 because his pragmatic and almost world-weary style was no longer acceptable to the owner Roman Abramovich. Mourinho has not had a profound change of heart since then, but there was an unexpected emphasis on attack, with three forwards in the line-up here because he suspected vulnerability in his former team.
It made sense for Eto’o to attack on the right when Yuri Zhirkov, who has to serve at left-back because of Ashley Cole’s injury, is more of a midfielder by disposition. Mourinho also had the stylish Sneijder to support the strikers. Oddly the adventurousness brought about stalemate. Chelsea were not sufficiently co-ordinated before the interval and Inter did not look oppressed. The home side were more likely to make an impact through a piece of individualism, as when Drogba let fly and saw the attempt cannon off Maicon.
The Brazil full-back was part of the build-up that saw him link with Eto’o after 33 minutes, with Michael Ballack having to cover Diego Milito as the ball was pulled back into the centre. Such exhibitions of scrupulous defending are not a Chelsea speciality any longer.
The manager, Carlo Ancelotti, despite having many of Mourinho’s men still in the squad, had to show not just that his outlook is fundamentally more enterprising, but also that it could put paid to visitors of this sort. Faced with such an agenda, Chelsea have lost some of their fixation with security and the defence is hardly iron-clad any more.
Contrasts, all the same, are imperfect and it would be an injustice to depict Mourinho’s time as a period of well-executed tedium. After all, victories do tend to require risk and imagination at some point. At his peak with Chelsea, the former manager had Arjen Robben and Damien Duff to devastate the opposition and delight the spectators.
Such means had appeared to be lacking at Inter, but the summer dealings brought a little more style to the Serie A club. Mourinho added to that with a bold selection for this match. When the side was knocked out by English opposition at this juncture in each of the past two seasons, they did not score a goal against Liverpool or Manchester United. There is a determination to break with that sterility.
The change was apparent in the 2-1 win over Chelsea in the first leg and it was Mourinho’s plan to put the opposition on edge with his trio of attackers here. Chelsea had trouble achieving fluency in the first half, particularly when there was so much difficulty in making an impact on the flanks.
Attacks were messy and it was representative of the struggle when heated appeals were made for a penalty when Walter Samuel had his arms around Drogba. Chelsea really required smoothness in open play, but as half-time approached there was agitation on the Inter bench. It was an occasion when tension would become increasingly marked.
It was essential for Ancelotti’s team to score, but the visitors would not permit themselves to be confined to their own penalty area. Indeed Chelsea had to be vigilant and Zhirkov impressed by clearing for a corner after the influential and inventive Sneijder had backheeled the ball towards Goran Pandev. The Dutchman ought then to have had the credit for setting up an opener, but Milito’s shot from Sneijder’s chip was utterly miscued.
A sense of relief was of scant benefit to Chelsea and Ancelotti sent on Joe Cole. All the same, the side lacked a general rhythm to its work. That was scarcely a defect that troubled Mourinho’s men.
They could have been angry purely because they had not made enough of their superiority. There was a frantic tone when Ancelotti felt compelled to take off his left-back and add another striker in Salomon Kalou. The struggle here was as intense and nerve-racking as everyone had anticipated.
Champions LeagueChelseaInternazionaleKevin McCarraguardian.co.uk
