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Chelsea and Atletico Madrid scrapped their way to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of Champions League on Tuesday. This match will surely be added to the long list of games where Jose Mourinho exhibits his conservatism, and he has no problem with that.
"Atletico needed to win this game and we stopped them from doing it," Mourinho told Sky Italia after the game. "We played a solid game. We frustrated Atletico, whereas normally they're the ones who frustrate others. I told our players not to keep the ball too much, because Atletico press well."
Chelsea packed men behind the ball on their way to a record 68 clearances and left Striker Fernando Torres isolated up front as Gary Cahill and John Terry shadowed Atletico’s 35 time goal scorer Diego Costa.
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech exited the affair in the opening 20 minutes after hurting his shoulder on a swooping corner that he sent over the bar. Mark Schwarzer was subbed on, and filled in nicely, but Mourinho confirmed Cech would be out for the rest of the season, leaving the 41 year old Schwarzer as his man in net. Atletico goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois who is on loan from Chelsea, never really faced a true disturbance in the contest.
Mark Schwarzer filled in nicely for Petr Cech, and will carry the load the rest of the way. (Photo: @chelseafc | Twitter)
Mourinho lost more than than just his goalkeeper for the next match. John Terry also joined Cech in the medical wing with an ankle injury and is expected to miss the rest of the EPL season, but could return should Chelsea make the final. It doesn’t end there, however, as Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel will also be spectators in Stamford Bridge next Wednesday, serving suspensions due to yellows.
Vicente Calderón stadium was electric, and at times defining, but Chelsea stayed true to what has silenced so many grand stadiums in the past. Flooding the midfield with an occasional counter attack. They’re not an entertaining team with this tactic, but keep in mind the Blues will have to make changes to their starting 11. In particular, Eden Hazard and Samuel Eto’o, who were out due to injury, will surely bring some creativity and pace to the pitch. Mourinho can also add Oscar and Demba Ba, who were hardly used.
Atletico on the other had shouldn’t be too disappointed with the result. Scoring one in Stamford Bridge would require Chelsea to score two, and after a 20 to 5 shot advantage, they have to like their chances to not concede more than 1 against a complacent Chlesea offense. Howeverm, on the flipside, Los Rojiblancos just couldn’t seem to penetrate the Chelsea back line and had a flurry of misplaced passes.
It was shame to see such a dreary performance on a fantastic stage, but the second leg will bring drama. Reshuffling is in order for both teams and most importantly a trip to Lisbon is on the line. So, will Mourinho continue his stubborn tactic? Or will the Blues come out of the gates punching? In the history of the European Cup, the away side has gone through 67% of time after a 0-0 draw in the first leg.
Stamford Bridge next Wednesday will set the stage for a second leg that surely won’t disappoint...we hope.
