Mourinho Proves Possession Is Key

Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan side dominated possession against Chelsea and that was the platform for their 3-1 aggregate victory on Tuesday night. Leading 2-1 from the first leg Inter put in a near-perfect Champions League away performance and deservedly moved into the quarter-finals.

It was a display master-minded by Mourinho, who instilled in his side the importance of wrestling possession away from the hosts. Chelsea are a formidable force at Stamford Bridge, although not unbeatable, and visiting teams have had a tendency in the past to sit back and attempt to soak up wave after wave of attacks. On the odd occasion that may work, look at Manchester City’s recent win, but more often than not the blue tide will eventually break through.

However, on Tuesday night Mourinho's men had 52 per cent of the possession and that was the foundation for the 1-0 victory. Mourinho, as you would expect, knows Chelsea inside out and recognised that if he allowed them to dominate possession his side would struggle coping with crosses coming into the box.

But Inter were defensively strong with Maicon, Lucio and Walter Samuel putting in outstanding performances, while in Wesley Sneijder they have a midfielder who can see a defence-splitting pass. Indeed, it was the Dutchman who sprung the Chelsea backline to allow Samuel Eto'o to score, but in truth Inter had several other chances. Eto'o will be looking to carry that kind of form into the summer so he can boost Cameroon's hopes in South Africa. However, the side are currently long shots in the World Cup 2010 betting odds.

Against Chelsea, The Italian side were ambitious, they played with a three-man frontline and threw bodies forward with purpose and speed. But it was the amount of possession which Inter held that helped them win the game. You simply cannot score if you don't have the ball and Mourinho showed how possession and ambition can win the day.

Meanwhile, in horse racing news, this year's Grand National runners are gearing up for the big race which takes place at Aintree on April 10th.