A Brilliant Defensive Effort In Madrid

After the debacle at home to Sunderland, erratic, inconsistent Chelsea reminded us of their knack of rising to the big occasion against formidable opposition and why they are dark horses for further European glory. Critics may scoff at his bus-parking antics but Jose Mourinho sure knows how to orchestrate a defensive display of 'effective' football.

Even free-scoring Liverpoo and Manchester Mercenaries can only look on in envy at a club that could teach them a thing or two about how to defend [away from home] in Europe. The Calderon cauldron was almost silenced by a performance that was scarcely eye-catching in terms of 'total football' but which was in its own way a statement of intent. Chelsea may remain a work in progress in terms of being a potent attacking force, armed with abundant creativity and pace, but west London's finest emphatically continue to tell Europe that we don't lose easily, aside from the hiccup in Paris. If we can squeeze into the showpiece in Lisbon next month, our final opponents will be under no illusion that Chelsea will be a pushover.

Meanwhile, Chelsea may have one foot in the final, but we still have to win the Champions League the hard way. Petr Cech has been ruled out for the rest of the season and John Terry may struggle to be fit in time for any possible shindig on Saturday the 24th of May on Mourinho's native soil. Furthermore, Lampard and Mikel will be missing from the return leg on Wednesday, although I tend to think that this may be a blessing for all concerned. It frees Frank and John Obi for the final, so maybe a suspension from the semi-final second leg is a shrewd move for the two midfielders. What is more, their forced exclusion forces Jose's hand regarding team selection. He now will have to field Oscar and hopefully a fit Hazard in the second leg. We do after all have to win the return contest. A score draw simply won't do, while the prospect of holding out for a scoreless draw over two hours and hoping to progress via a penalty shoot-out is an unbearable prospect, not least because our record in penalty shoot-outs is still not one which would inspire confidence. There is after all no Didier Drogba around to assist in such matters.

In spite of the optimism and perhaps smug satisfaction that emerged after a job well done in Madrid, the omens are not entirely favourable for Chelsea. The two occasions when we reached the final, we scored away from home [1-1 at Liverpoo and 2-2 in Barcelona]. The three times that we failed in the last four, we failed to score an away goal [0-1 and 0-1 at Shamfield and 0-0 at the Nou Camp]. Will our failure to be more positive and score an away goal come back to haunt us again? If so, then the architect of the first-leg stalemate will have to take some flak for his questionable strategy. In defence of the manager, he has ensured that the tie is up for grabs in the home match, having possibly been unnerved by the 3-1 in Paris that left his team with an awful lot to do and which resulted in an eleventh hour rescue act. Jose was determined to avoid that again. Furthermore, Chelsea once lost 3-0 in Spain in 1995 to a very good Real Zaragoza, leaving ourselves far too much to do in the return at the Bridge. A 0-0 in Madrid has nullified such an obstacle this time. Chelsea don't have to win by any margin. They simply have to score more goals than the Rojiblancos. It is as difficult and as easy as that.

As for the first leg, Mark Schwarzer deserves applause for an assured performance between the sticks, aside from one feeble punch in the second half. To escape from Spain with a clean sheet away to the leaders of La Liga is definitely something to write home about. Elsewhere, Fernando Torres put in a great shift in the unenviable role of lone ranger, with little support and nobody really committing themselves far forward. Alas, Torres is no Mark Hughes. He cannot hold the ball up, with his back to the net, and bring other players into play. He does excel at running at the opposing defence, and at his old hunting ground he earned a few free kicks and corners. Regrettably, the otherwise excellent Luiz fluffed his lines at two free kicks. On such fine margins as set pieces, this titanic tussle may be decided. It seems perplexing to many of us of a Blue persuasion that Frank wasn't permitted to take the free kick at the end. It was a crying shame that 'Louise' didn't at least give our very own Courtois a rare touch of the ball!

Whilst Schwarzer and Torres arguably surpassed expectations, our midfield and defensive barriers were at their very best at negating and blunting Atletico's attack. The second leg will probbaly be a bit more open and will tell its own tale, but on the evidence of the first leg, I fail to see how Diego Costa is anywhere near Luis Suarez as a lethal striker. All that we learnt from DC is that he is not afraid to square up to JT!

So, 0-0 is great if your glass is half full and the failure to find an away goal is bad if your glass is half empty. Well, final mention should go to some of our heroes. Cole was back to his vintage best. I reckon that he should captain the team for the second leg, in the absence of our evergreens Cech, Lampard, and Terry. Azpilicueta was solid, as was birthday boy Mikel. John Obi was unlucky to get booked for foolishing entering into a fracas. His fellow birthday-boy Luiz also gave a good account of himself. JT was a tower of strength, while best of all Gary Cahill just looks calmness personified. Maybe he might be upgraded to captain for the second tie. His composure would be a useful asset, although I admire Ashley's tendency to get animated and cajole his team-mates. Whatever happens next week, we will see a glimpse into the future as Courtois will be more tested, while the young Blues must make do without the veterans of Cech, Lampard, and Terry.