Atletico Madrid came from behind to beat Chelsea 3-1 to reach the Champions League final in Lisbon.
Goals from Adrian Lopez, Turan and a Diego Costa penalty cancelled out a Fernando Torres opener for the Blues as Jose Mourinho saw all the hard work his side did in the first leg to get the scoreless draw he desired.
Chelsea started the game with six defensive players as Mourinho went out to silence the critics over his “parking the bus” tactics used during the first leg in Spain and Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Liverpool over the weekend, which has got a lot of people saying that he is playing “anti-football”.
The match saw a lively opening as Atletico went looking for the away goal that would put them in the drivers seat of the tie. That goal almost came in the fourth minute as an Atletico corner lead to a shot being taken from outside the box, beating Mark Schwarzer but to Chelsea’s relief the ball bounced off the crossbar. Atletico got into the Chelsea box again, this time it was Chelsea transfer target Diego Costa. The striker’s attempt being blocked by recently named PFA team of the year player, Gary Cahill.
Chelsea had their fair share of chances in the first half as well, Willian having the pick of the bunch with a free kick that went just over the Atletico goal. The Brazilian winger was at the heart of another Chelsea attack towards the end of the half. This time it would end with Chelsea taking the lead. Willian used some neat footwork to get past two defenders before he was brought down, play continued however as the ball fell to the feet of a Chelsea player, who put the ball into the path of Fernando Torres. The former Atletico player showing some of the form he showed in Spain by putting away the chance with a little help from a deflection off an Atletico player. This was the Spanish striker’s first goal in two months but he refused to celebrate the goal against the club he supported as a child.
Right at the end of the half, Atletico pulled the goal back and put the tie on its head as they took advantage of some lax Chelsea defending. Juanfran picked up a Tiago pass in the Chelsea box completely unmarked and managed to put it right in front of the Chelsea goal for Adrian Lopez to beat the Chelsea ‘keeper.
In the second half, Ashley Cole made way for Samuel Eto’o as Jose went in search for the goal that would wrestle the tie back in his favour. The Cameroon striker however, had the opposite effect as he brought down Diego Costa in the Chelsea box to award the Spanish side a penalty. Before the penalty was taken, Diego Costa was booked for time wasting as the now Spanish striker spent time complaining about the penalty spot as well as exchanging his views on the matter with Ivanovic. After everything was cleared up, the striker put the penalty away making it 2-1 on the night and giving it all to do for Chelsea.
Things went from bad to worse as Courtious pulled off a string of miraculous saves to deny Chelsea a way back into the game, including one where the keeper showed lightning reflexes to punch the ball out for a corner. Minutes later, Atletico put the game beyond doubt as they got their third goal to send them through to the final. Turkish mdifielder Turan with the goal this time. His initial shot rebounded off the Chelsea keeper back into his path. He didn’t need to be asked a second time as he put the ball past Schwarzer to send all 3000 Atletico fans into euphoria.
Chelsea threatened towards the end of the game but the best they could muster was a Eden Hazard chance which Courtious did well to keep out. The loss meant this is now Jose Mourinho’s fourth defeat at the semi-final stages of the competition and that this year’s final would be a Madrid derby as Atletico will now meet their local rivals Real Madrid. This will be the first time that two teams from the same City have reached the final in Europe’s elite competition.
Line Ups
Chelsea
Schwarzer, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole (Eto’o), Ramieres, David Luiz, Willian (Schlurre), Azpilicueta, Hazard, Torres (Ba)
Atletico Madrid
Courtios, Filipe Luis, Godin, Miranda, Juanfran, Koke, Tiago, Suraez, Turan (Rodriguez), Costa (Sosa), Adrian Lopez (Garcia)