Inter Milan 2-1 Chelsea: Advantage Don Mourinho!

We played poorly. There’s no two ways about it. We might have had the possession and the shots but still we were very lackluster. We weren’t sharp at all.

As a team we were always slower by about half a second. I don’t know why. Apart from a couple of efforts from Drogba, we did little to trouble the Inter defence and the goalie. With this kind of performance, I think a 2-1 result at the San Siro is a good result. At least you have an away goal.

Team selection was a headache as both Ashley Cole and Zhirkov were unavailable. Ferreira not having been registered for the champions league squad didn’t help. I would have played Belletti on the right back and Ivanovic as the left back. By having Malouda play as the left back, our left side of the defence was weaker and also we missed Malouda’s utility upfront.

As far as I remember, Inter were always trying to play on our left side, in order to exploit Malouda’s defence. Though their goals came from the right side, they did spend a lot of their possession on our left side. Malouda, credit to him, did decently well in that position.

John Terry played a blinder the day after the news of his affair broke out. He even scored the winner at an away stadium. Ever since he was sacked as the England captain, his form has gone downhill. He was lacking in confidence, big time. He was shaky and let that pass on to the other defenders and the goalkeeper.

For the first goal, he made it easy for Milito. I don’t want to take anything away from Milito. It was a striker’s finish. It was a superb goal. But Terry made it easier for him to take the shot. Meanwhile, Ivanovic was very good. He was one of the few Chelsea players who would get anything past a 6/10 in my books.

We played our 4-3-2-1 with Anelka and Kalou playing behind Drogba. Anelka has been out of form ever since Drogba returned. Kalou is not dependable at the big stage. Even tonight, Anelka and Kalou not being up to the mark hurt us badly. You have an in-form Drogba who just begs for service while Anelka and Kalou just not living up to the expectations.

It was the same story in the midfield too. You have Mikel who was simply fantastic and you had Lampard and Ballack who were substitute candidates by half time.

We must have certainly had a penalty, it occurred closer to half time. Kalou was very clearly fouled and we were denied a 10/10 penalty. Kalou could have forced a save by then, but anyway he did well enough to 'almost" earn a penalty.

Our goal was a silly one. Ivanovic made a great run but the shot from Kalou is nothing but a cutomary pop at the goalie, which adds one to the"shots on target" column but bothers none. Cesar should have saved it rather easily but instead welcomed an away goal!

Petr Cech limping away from the pitch was a bit worrisome. I really hope that he’d return for the weekend match.

I think Ancelotti took little too much time to get his sub in. By the hour mark, you had so many players who deserved to be subbed – Anelka, Kalou, Lampard, Ballack – but still he brought in Sturrdige only with about 10 minutes to go. I wasnt sure what he was expecting.

Any Chelsea fan watching the match must have been screaming for substitution, right from half time. We had to somehow get the ball to Drogba. We just could not do that because that’s Inter was doing a solid job against him.  With Malouda playing in defence, if Inter could switch off Drogba, they take much of the goal threat from Chelsea. Inter did it just well enough. TSO’s experience and knowledge was pretty evident there.

The match is evenly poised. Chelsea at Stamford Bridge is stronger than Inter at San Siro. It’s perfectly possible for Chelsea to get a 1-0 or 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge.

A lot will depend on Inter’s tactics. A lot will depend on what result TSO wants in the next leg. If he doesn’t want a win or a goal, we could have a tough night. It’s not so bad, this result. We’ve got a very important away goal and it’s not often we concede at home.

So chill out and gear for the weekend match against Man City! If you’re looking for good news, Adebayor just got a straight red! As for me, I’m already elated. You know why?

The darling of India, my hero, Sachin Tendulkar made history by scoring a double century in an ODI! It’s been a great day ruined only by my other hero, Jose Mourinho. Anyway, as they say with any two legged matches, it’s only half time and fortunately for us, we’d play the second half at home!