Before the match, Gesualdo Ferreira and Jose Mourinho solved each their own problems. The London coach once again put Terry in the center of Essien's defense instead of Terry, not becoming involved with Bularouse. The guests, meanwhile, studied without Bosingwa and chose a striker. It could be sent to attack Elder Poshtigu or Adriano. But Ferreira did otherwise, easily leaving both on the bench. Apparently, he decided that Quaresma, Lisandro Lopez and Lucho Gonzalez are enough to score. Especially if the Chelsea defenders get bustled - for example, Essien, by his old habit, the hava will rush forward, and Ricardo Carvalho will get stuck somewhere on the side, completely preventing the Argentinean Gonzalez from making an accurate and simple transfer to Quarezma. Here, Czech is not an assistant ...
In short, by the middle of the half, the guests were already leading. Tactics “Porto”, built on attentiveness and literacy (without the skill, of course, also could not do) gave an excellent result. Chelsea are now such that they can’t do without mistakes. You need to use them, not make mistakes yourself and hope that you are lucky. If everything works out, then no Drogba will be terrible.
For a while, it was. The champions of England were constantly missing a little. That did not work for Shevchenko, then for a moment ahead of Ballack. Lampard received a pass in excellent position after a good pass by Sheva - but could not handle the ball. Once Robben fell in the penalty area, without really reaching the defender. Referee Rosetti winked at the over-arching Dutchman, but then he thought and added a yellow card for the simulation.
Mourinho meanwhile hastily wrote something in a notebook. He probably made a to-do list. These included: replacing the cautious Makelele with the young Obi Mikel, transferring Robben closer to the right flank and a polite but intelligible explanation of the mistakes to bored leaders.
Intermission measures worked. It's not even that the panicked goalkeeper Elton voluntarily threw the ball into the goal after a simple long-range shot by Robben. “Porto” ruthlessly clamped near his gate. And it turned out that with enough prosperity, the guests did not have much exposure to cope with such pressure. The ball was constantly moving near the box. The Portuguese began to lose their nerves: fussy running around the opponent did not give any sense, and all the confidence of the first half disappeared somewhere. The decreasing mood did not increase. The goalkeeper and the defenders multiplied mistakes, the midfield became completely, and even the militant Quarezhma somehow slipped.
“Chelsea” nibbled the opponent from the right, then from the left and nevertheless did it. Three passes in one touch allowed Ballack to break through on goal from eight meters without any resistance. Then the owners remembered the remaining time and the likely risk and carefully finished the meeting. “Porto” did not mind.
Vladimir STOGNIENKO
CHELSEY England - PORTO Portugal - 2: 1 (0: 1)
Goals: 0: 1 - Quaresma (15), 1: 1 - Robben (48), 2: 1 - Ballack (79).
CHELSEY : P. Chech, Diarra (66 Paulo Ferreira), Ricardo Carvalho, Essien, E. Cole, Makelele (Obi Mikel, 46), Robben, Lampard, Ballack, Shevchenko (Kalu, 85), Drogba.
PORTO: Elton, Fisule, Pepe, Bruno Alves, M. Chech (Adriano, 56), Ricardo Costa, Paulo Assunsao, Lucho Gonzalez, Raul Meireles (Ibson, 56), Lisandro Lopez (Bruno Morais, 82), Quarezhma.
Warnings: Robben (35), Quaresma (58), Diarra (61), Fisoul (83), Adriano (87).
March, 6. London. "Stamford Bridge".
Judge: Roberto Rosetti (Italy).
The first match is 1: 1.