Some things we learnt from Chelsea v Inter…
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
- Jose Mourinho is still the king of Stamford Bridge – The Special One had a remarkable record there in charge of Chelsea, and in inflicting a rare home defeat on Ancelotti’s men reminded everyone, especially Chelsea fans, just how good he is. Indeed, his favourite biscuits were put out specially for him, he has a wall dedicated to him and his achievements within the stadium, and was raucously applauded by the Chelsea fans. They wish he was still there.
- Serie A is not dead yet – Despite AC Milan’s abject defeat to Man United, there is life in the old (in Milan’s case very old) Italian dog yet. Inter fully deserved what in the end was comprehensive qualification, and particularly in the second half outplayed Chelsea. No-one will want to draw them in the next round.
- But they are no angels - Inter employed every trick in the book from shirt pulling, tugging, holding and fouling to diving, moaning, complaining and dramatising to the more sly but no less infuriating timewasting, the most cowardly form of cheating. Despite catching up in the insidious stakes English sides still have a lot to learn from cunning Italians.
- Didier Drogba is still repulsive – The Ivorian was sent off again, making 4 of his 5 dismissals in the Champions League. Clearly he has a problem with losing – not a sin in itself, but coupled with his on pitch histrionics they make him a thoroughly dislikable character despite his obvious footballing merits.
- Referees need to man up – We’ve commented on this several times before, but until referees clamp down on holding and shirt pulling in the box defenders will continue to cheat relentlessly. Drogba himself was clearly held by Walter Samuel in what was a clear foul, and there were several other potential penalties. The common argument is ‘if refs gave every one of those there would be ten penalties a match’ – no there wouldn’t you absolute spastic, DEFENDERS WOULD STOP DOING IT. It needs to happen.
- Wesley Sneijder is a great footballer – A delightful performance from Inter’s dutchman showed why he has been so crucial to Inter this term. Chelsea were linked with him months ago and must rue missing out. Particularly last night.
- The first half was one of the worst halves of football I’ve seen in a long time – Bitty, scrappy, and very low on quality. The second was better as the game opened up a bit, but this was an absorbing contest rather than a great one.
A few things I learned from the game:
1. Inter are serious contenders for the CL title mainly due to their outstanding defenders. Samuel is clearly scum but a quality defender, Lucio is pretty much inpenetrable, and Maicon looks every inch the best right back in the world. Even Zanetti’s good for a 50 y.o.
2. Chelsea were impotent last night and need to overhaul the playing staff ASAP. Ballack should be the first to go – I’m fed up of him prancing around the centre circle like a toothless peacock. They need an injection of pace, energy, and creativity – Essien & Ashley Cole badly missed
3. If you support Chelsea, don’t watch their games with a group of Man Utd supporters.
@Tiger: I agree with the first two, for sure. Not sure about the last one though, I think that’s funny.
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