Chelsea Squeeze Through To Wembley

At the fourth time of asking, Jose Mourinho has presided over a semi-final success against his former nemesis, Liverpool. Now perhaps JM has got the Indian sign on the Merseysiders, as the latter have now failed to win any of their last six skirmishes against the west Londoners. However, it is not a time for gloating, as the 210 minutes produced a brutal, delicately balanced, epic semi final that could have gone either way.

Ultimately, the Liverfools paid the price for not having a genuine striker in their midst as they spurned chances in the first half at the Bridge which might have taken the contest beyond Chelsea's reach. Again big Courtois rescued his team and was nominated man of the match. The Belgian prodigy has been largely redundant during our autumn procession and has rarely been called upon, but now that his team are entering the 'business end' of the season, he will have a greater workload, as we deal with accomplished opposition in the Champions League. The Blues may be masters at siege defending, but they will still need a solid performer between the sticks as the last line of defence. Speaking of defence, young Kurt Zouma really looks the part. He could find himself a permanent fixture at the back, unless he was merely drafted in to cope with the threat of Sterling, a task which seemed to be beyond the inconsistent Cahill.

However, while Chelsea's defence and goalkeeper can indulge in a bout of back-slapping for accumulating a two-hour clean sheet, less credit ought to be allocated to our attackers. Fabregas, Oscar, and Willian were all eclipsed by the enterprising Coutinho. Although the loss of the influential but rather peripheral Fabregas seemed like a blow, it was good to see Ramires bring a different dimension to Chelsea's game with his trademark driving runs. Unfortunately, Ramires is not and never will be the complete footballer. He is capable of the occasional peach of a goal, but more often than not he is horribly inaccurate in front of goal, and last night was an obvious example. Costa meanwhile could [and should?] have been sent off for apparent stamps on opposing defenders. His manager has explained such moments away as "accidental". To quote Mandy Rice-Davies "Well he would say that, wouldn't he?"  

Costa regrettably is a red card waiting to happen, and although the Chelsea faithful will blame the media for cranking up the pressure on DC, the painful reality is that Costa will be the author of his own imminent misfortune. The irony is that Diego will probably be dismissed for a nudge on an opponent who then feigns a terrible injury [and recovers quickly after the brandishing of the inevitable red card]. Costa's reputation goes before him and referees will be on red alert to dish out a small red-coloured piece of paper at the loose cannon. It's coming, for sure, unless his manager instructs him to curb his aggressive antics.

Of course Liverfools are far from blameless in the proceedings. Henderson and Lucas could both have been dismissed for a second bookable offence. Unfortunately Michael Oliver lost his nerve in one of the most abject displays of refereeing. Mr Oliver should be limited to refereeing the more genteel cirumstances of a snooker match instead. He also refused an obvious Chelsea penalty. The thing is that most referees gladly blow for a free kick when a Chelsea player is fouled outside the penalty area. However, inside the box, when a Chelsea player is brought down, the match official decides 'Oh they're just looking for a penalty.' Well, if a foul outside of the box is a free kick, then an infringement inside the penalty area is a penalty, regardless of whether the attackers are 'looking for' one. The inconsistency in the awarding of penalties in English football is outrageous. Liverfools were awarded two awful penalty decisions on New Year's Day at home to unlucky Leicester, the first of which was a consequence of a Foxes' defender deemed to have handled the ball when in fact it hit him on the face. This stupidity came a few days after Fabregas was clearly tripped and then booked at Southampton.  

To make matters worse for the likes of Mourinho [and other managers], they are asked by the broadcasting media to comment on referee decisions, such as penalties that were or were not awarded. When JM speaks his mind or others engage in a frank reply about the quality or lack of it from various refereeing decisions, they are then penalised and fined by the FA for bringing the game into disrepute. It seems a nonsense to ask managers to comment and when they then provide an opinion, they are punished for their honest or outspoken assessment. This gagging order upon managers itself brings the game into disrepute.

Anyhow, a standing ovation is allocated to the ever-reliable Eden Hazard for continually dazzling us with his skill. He is at least on a par with Charlie Cooke, Pat Nevin, and Arjen Robben, which is a huge compliment. I shudder to think how the Blues would cope without his pace and trickery, as our attacking last night was not of a sufficient quality to achieve a goal. In the end it took big Ivanovic to rise to the occasion and rise to a Willian free kick to decide the issue. Ivanovic previously announced himself to English football when he famously scored twice with headers at Shamfield in a Champions League tie. He is a man for the big occasions, as he demonstrated with his outstanding header that won Chelsea the Europa League against Benfica. Branislav, we salute you. You're a legend.

Now Chelsea can look forward to either a repeat of the 1915 'khaki cup final' against Sheffield United or a revenge mission against Tottensham Hypespur. Chelsea can and should win the final. However, let's not forget that had Liverfools fielded a genuine striker, then the outcome could have been so different. On such fine margins are sporting occasions decided. Liverpool deserve respect for their fine efforts. 

CHELSEA 1 Liverpool 0 (after extra-time); full time: 0-0. Tuesday 27th January 2015.

CHELSEA goal scorer: Ivanovic

CHELSEA team: Courtois, Ivanovic, Terry, Zouma, Filipe Luis, Matic, Fabregas, Oscar, Willian, Costa, Hazard. Used substitutes: Ramires, Azpilicueta, Drogba.

CHELSEA LEADING SCORERS:

Costa - 17 goals

Hazard - 12 goals

Oscar - 7 goals

Drogba - 6 goals

Schurrle and Terry - 5 goals

Fabregas and Remy - 4 goals

Ivanovic, Matic, Ramires, and Willian - 3 goals

Cahill and Zouma - 2 goals