Chelsea and Jose Mourinho have reverted to type in the last couple of games, securing a goalless draw with Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final before another disciplined defensive display on Sunday as they defeated Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield. It may not be pretty, it’s definitely not everybody’s cup of tea, but it’s effective, and it gets his sides results. Mourinho is also aware that his striking options are not at the level he would like them to be so has to play with the squad and players at his disposal, which is what he has done in the last two games and in countless other ‘big’ games throughout his managerial career. He will have to rally his troops once again this Wednesday and turn a good result from the first leg into a terrific result in the tie.
I was full of praised for Atletico and their manager, Diego Simeone, last week but I don’t think we seen anything like the standard that they are capable of. Despite having lots of possession they failed to threaten their opponents and looked content with keeping a clean sheet and trying to progress by getting a result in London. They took another giant step towards the La Liga title with a 1-0 win at Valencia so they come into this match full of confidence knowing that two wins from their final three league games will land them the Championship. Before that, however, they will be looking to reach their first ever Champions League final by knocking out a Chelsea side who have not lost a knockout home game in the Champions League since 2011.
After resting several players in the win against Liverpool, Mourinho will recall the likes of David Luiz, Gary Cahill and Willian, none of which started in the victory. They will be without several key players though, including Petr Cech (injury) and Frank Lampard (suspension). Not only do both possess great quality, they are hugely experienced and played big roles in Chelsea’s Champions League success of 2012. Their replacements will be more than capable of helping the side get a result but that experience will be hard to replace on an occasion such as this, in two crucial positions.
Having secured scored away goals resulting in positive outcomes against Milan and Barcelona in the previous two knock-out rounds, Atletico Madrid know exactly what it takes to play away from home in the Champions League. Although they never breached the Chelsea defence at home last week, Simeone will be happy that his side kept a clean sheet as it means scoring in London will leave their opponents needing two, such is the value of the away goal in today’s football.
It may not have the same array of attacking options on show as the other semi-final but it’s still a very intriguing tie and exciting in its own way. The margins will be so small in this game that any mistake or moment of brilliance could be the deciding factor. Chelsea are limited with what they can do because of injury and suspension whilst Atletico will assume the role of frustrating the home side, this time around. I think Diego Costa –likely to be at Chelsea next season – will be the key player and he can produce the moment of brilliance to see his side through.
Atletico Madrid 13/5 @ Betvictor
