Atletico Drop Chelsea, Face Rivals Real in UCL Final

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The first meeting between these two clubs last week ended in an uneventful nil-nil draw.  Atlético Madrid did not take advantage of playing at home and Chelsea did not produce an important away-goal.  Today the two met again for the second-leg of the Champions League semi-final.  Playing at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea and Atletico squared off to see would face Real Madrid in the final.

Over the weekend Chelsea won a huge match on the road to Liverpool despite resting a number of usual starters.  Torres did not start against Liverpool, but did start again today against Atlético.  Six defensive players also started for Chelsea with David Luiz and Azpilicueta in the midfield.  Captain John Terry also returned to the line-up quicker than expected after hurting his ankle in the previous meeting.

Chelsea first pulled ahead when Torres scored the opening goal.  Willian helped create the play when he was able to slip by two defenders and setup Azpilicueta for a cross.  Azpilicueta picked out Torres running towards him for a first-time shot to the near-post.  Torres' shot took a partial deflection off defender Miranda on the way towards the net to put the Blues on top.

That lead was taken away soon after though when Atletico Madrid responded and scored an all important away-goal.  From the edge of the box Thiago curled the ball to the back-post and Juanfran was able to keep it alive at the end line.  Juanfran volleyed the ball back across the face of goal which found it's way to Adrián López.  Hitting the shot first-time, López scored to put Atlético ahead on aggregate (44').

Coming into the second-half Chelsea needed to score again to survive the round so manager José Mourinho inserted Samuel Eto'o into the side, removing Ashley Cole in defense.  Before Eto'o could make an impact in the Chelsea offense he was caught making a clumsy challenge defending a set-piece.  Diego Costa drew the foul from Eto'o inside the box and proceded to score from the spot to extent Atlético's lead (60').

José Mourinho then added his final striker Demba Ba into the match, but Madrid only scored again shortly after he came on.  This time Arda Turan scored when his own header ricocheted off the crossbar and fell right back to his feet for a shot on an open net (72').

By this time Chelsea could not really expect to surmount a come-back and score three goals.  Atlético easily held on to the lead and secured their place in the final.  Next month the two clubs from Madrid will meet in Lisbon for the Champions League final in an epic meeting of cross town rivals.

Chelsea Tie Atletico In UCL Semi-Final

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Chelsea travelled to Spain today for an important Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid.  Today was the first-leg of the semi-final and Chelsea manager José Mourinho gave Torres the start up front for the Blues against his former club.  Torres had another tiresome day as Atletico were able to control the majority of possession forcing the Chelsea striker to remain isolated for most of the match.

Atletico were the team more likely to score in this first meeting between the clubs, but had trouble breaking down the stout Chelsea defense.  The Terry-Cahill tandem in the center of the defense won nearly every ball played into their box to deny a number of Atletico attacks and the supporting midfielders Mikel and David Luiz stopped anything coming through the middle.

Chelsea will have some concerns going forward though, as a pair of injuries could leave them short-handed.  Keeper Pert Cech came down hard while defending a corner and had to be replace by Mark Schwarzer less than twenty minutes into the match.  Also John Terry sustained an ankle injury late in the match forcing David Luiz to drop back into the Chelsea defense to cover his absence.

Today was not a particularly good showing for Chelsea who had little offensive presence, especially lacking in fullback support.  Ashley Cole and Azpilicueta did not get forward at all making it nearly impossible for Torres, or anyone else, to threaten the Atletico defense.

Chelsea have a huge match over the weekend against Liverpool before the second-leg replay with Atletico.  Both matches will truly test the mettle of José Mourinho's team as Premier League and Champions League titles are on the line.