Wheels come off for Jose as Atleti take fast lane to Lisbon
A 3-1 home defeat against Atletico means there will be an all-Madrid final in Lisbon next month, and Mourinho’s hope of taking Chelsea to his home country to face his former club Real — a scenario which almost seemed to be written in the stars — has been consigned to football’s long list of ‘what could have beens’.
“Until the penalty, Atletico were not better than us. We were in control until that moment,” Mourinho said.
“One minute changed the game. The keeper made incredible save, and the forward won a clever penalty. From there it was all Atletico.
“Sometimes in the Champions League finalists feel bad as best team is not there, but this year Madrid are better than Bayern and Atletico were better at the end.
“I must have respect for the team which has eliminated me today.”
As Mourinho conceded, Chelsea can have no complaints; they were punching above their weight this season and it was only really the sheer genius of their manager that kept in them in the hunt for trophies for so long.
Without a top quality striker — even though Fernando Torres did score against his former club to put Chelsea 1-0 up — the west London club were always going to be up against.
So when Mourinho, stung by Brendan Rodgers’ suggestion he “parked two buses” in front of the Liverpool goal to win at Anfield last week, had spent much of the build-up defending his team’s style of play, it was understandable.
They still have an outside chance of glory in the Premier League — Norwich visit Stamford Bridge on Sunday and they will certainly run Liverpool and City close — but in Europe, for another season, the dream is definitely over.
Given the absence of the suspended Mikel and Frank Lampard plus the injured Petr Cech, Mourinho had little option but to be cautious in the shape of his team once more; and he chose defender Cesar Azpilicueta to play in midfield, such was his desire keep things tight. But even his tactical genius, on show this season in particular at Anfield at the Etihad against Liverpool and Man City, wasn’t enough.
Ironically it was Azpilicueta who made an impact at the attacking end of the field as he set up an opening goal after 36 minutes.
Willian did well to spin around his marker in the corner of the pitch before the defender crossed low for Torres to finish with a deflected shot from 10 metres out.
Somehow it had to be Torres who did it — the man who played in the youth team at Atletico, who made his debut for the club in 2001 and who has been a self-confessed fan since his grandfather first introduced him to the club as a young boy; and it was no surprise, either, that the striker — rumoured to be returning ‘home’ this summer — refused to celebrate.
Atletico, who had hit the crossbar through Koke early on, responded well, however, and were level before half-time when a comedy of errors in the Chelsea box — Terry slipping twice, Cole missing the ball — left Adrian Lopez free to fire home Juanran’s cross at the far post. And it was the Spaniards who showed greater ambition early in the second half, too.
They eventually went ahead on the hour mark when substitute Samuel Eto’o clumsily brought down Diego Costa — the man rumoured to be replacing Torres at Stamford Bridge next season.
It took a while for the inevitable to happen — the striker was booked for taking too long over his kick — but eventually he beat Mark Schwarzer to put Atletico within sight of Lisbon.
Maybe it could have been different if Willian’s header, which hit the crossbar minutes later, had been a little bit lower; but the visitors were clearly the better side and when they made it 3-1 as Arda Turan followed up his own powerful header after it was saved, you sensed the game was up.
Chelsea had finally run out of steam — and not even their mercurial manager could save them.
Now it is just the Premier League — which Mourinho insists his side cannot win — left to play for.
But don’t rule out Chelsea in May 2015 after a summer spending spree; because despite the disappointment, this season has nevertheless been a very positive stepping stone.
Subs for Chelsea: Eto’o for Cole 54; Ba for Torres 67; Schurrle for Willian 77.
Subs for Atletico: Raul Gacria for Adrian 66; Sosa for Diego Costa 77.
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