Comment: Better team, better manager
Jose Mourinho: Chelsea have struggled to replicate his achievements since he left in 2007
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By DArren Estwick. |  |
Wednesday, 17, Mar 2010 09:50
By Matthew Champion.
For the first time in four years Chelsea have exited the Champions League to a better team.
Not since Barcelona beat the Blues at the same stage in 2006 has a team comprehensively outmatched the west London club in Europe, whose search for a first Champions League trophy goes on.
Few Chelsea supporters could argue that Inter Milan did not deserve their 3-1 aggregate victory, secured last night as Samuel Eto'o scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
But if fans blurred their eyes (and reality) they could almost feel like they had gone through. Had the victorious team not turned up with a first leg lead to preserve and defended immaculately? Had their tactics not been perfect? Were they not led by a dashing striker and a star midfielder? Was it not Jose Mourinho celebrating at the end? Wait...
Inter's victory had all the hallmarks of the many famous wins Mourinho earned in his three full seasons at Chelsea, leaving players and fans alike misty-eyed at those halcyon days.
Chelsea's players complained after the match that Inter had not let them play, another Mourinho-era trademark, but in truth the Blues had exited the competition with a whimper, something that never happened under the Portuguese.
For Carlo Ancelotti, the jury is still out, although if his side goes on to win the Premier League and FA Cup he will have had a better first season than Mourinho did in 2004/05, albeit only technically.
The Premier League that Ancelotti joined is also very different from the one left behind by Mourinho, the big four has more or less become a big three but there are a hatful of teams capable of beating anyone. Mourinho's glorious first season in charge at Stamford Bridge, when Chelsea lost just once all season and conceded just 15 goals as they finished winners on 96 points, a record that still stands, is unlikely to ever be matched.
Ancelotti deserves time to rebuild at Chelsea, the job he was hired to do. His XI last night featured eight players either signed by or synonymous with the Mourinho era, and it would have been nine had Petr Cech been fit.
Last night felt a lot like a first meeting between a couple who hadn't met for several years after breaking up. On the evidence of last night, Mourinho has moved on.
Three years on, Chelsea clearly haven't.